Ask HN: How to get more users for a startup website.

[huuleon]

For the last 6 months I've been working on building my first startup. It was finally ready and launched last month. I'm trying to build a community to help people classified ads via video. I believe if everyone can watch videos of what people are selling they can save so much time traveling from place to place to check out the product. They can enjoy watching classified ads videos without leaving the comfort of their homes. It's like craigslist but by videos instead of posting photos. It's been about 1 month, we have about 200 members signed up but not many actually uploading videos. I'm thinking of running a contest to encourage them to upload their unwanted things lying around their houses. Are there any other ways for them to start uploading videos? Plus how can I get more users to join a site like this. I'm a bit new on marketing for a startup website and looking forward to learn from you guys. Please review my website and provide me some tips. If you don't like anything about the site please let me know so i can fix it to better serve users.

Thanks Http://www.123exchanges.com

[keiferski]

1. You need a new domain name.

2. The design could use some work. Sorry to say it, but nearly everything is very poorly designed. Have you looked into Wordpress themes for video? There's a lot of quality ones floating around.

3. Your copy needs re-done too. It's not completely clear what the site is, and there's some readability issues there too.

Good luck!

[huuleon]

First of all thank you for your feedbacks shantanubala and keifersk. I definitely will redesign the homepage and create an apps to make uploading videos much easier. I totally agree with executing small but with high quality. I'm planning to focus on helping people sell used things like a second hand marketplace. A video will best describes a second hand product. I believe it would be a great niche and it's a huge market also. What do you guys think if we concentrate and focus our marketing resources aiming toward used things?

[Mz]

Recent discussion with so many good links I am not yet done reading them all:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2239281

[shantanubala]

Have you thought of starting really niche? Like for a specific city?

Also, have you thought of making an iPhone/Android app or something? Make it as frictionless as possible to upload videos and add a posting. Right now, Craigslist has all the users, so your value-add should be more specific. Nothing prevents me from linking to YouTube from my Craigslist postings, but almost nothing is as easy as tapping a couple buttons on my smartphone.

"The Local Marketplace to Buy, Sell, Exchange and Advertise Anything You Desire by Video" is a little too wordy. Make a large bold heading that says something like "Buy and Sell Anything With Video."

Mention the web site at every opportunity. Even to friends. Friends are the best people to tell. Not because they'll give you honest feedback, but because you'll know you've got a good idea if they begin to talk to each other and their friends about it. Similarly, comment on every blog that has a related post. Google Blog Search works wonders for finding recent posts to comment on. I've found that when I mention my startup, a person sometimes just goes and writes a blog post that drives a couple hundred users my way. Include a link in every email you send. Include it in your forum signatures. Tell everyone you get the opportunity to tell. On your blog, talk about something loosely related to the product. Write very thoughtful posts, but write consistently. Once a week is good. Once every day is outstanding. Your posts should produce some value well beyond the scope of your product. Your posts should be helpful on their own.

EDIT: I noticed a comment below about design -- I agree with it. If you look at Craigslist, it's minimal, but it's consistent. I'm no designer, but I use one technique that has allowed me to "fake it till I make it" -- pick a single color that looks nice on a screen. Use 3 different shades of that color (a light, middle, and dark). Use black, white, and 2 shades of gray. Take these 6 colors, and limit yourself to them. The more consistent your colors, the more professional you look.

Don't do a contest unless it's completely necessary. It's only been a month, and not many people actually buy/sell stuff online. See if you can narrow your focus a little more. Craigslist started small, and you can too.

Try branding yourself as a sleeker, easier, more intuitive Craigslist. Right now, your idea is good, just focus on executing small but with high quality.

[_sagacity]

Clickable:

http://www.123exchanges.com

[priv_acy]

123exchanges.com makes me think "spam site". A new domain is in order.