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Advice on website idea

by j65737
6 replies
Hello, I found this forum a few months ago and although I have not posted much, I have been diving into as much information as I possibly can to learn.
I came up with a website idea/concept nearly 10 years ago (when I was 16) and I am finally at the stage in my life I am finally ready to more forward with this idea and turn it into a reality. The idea is part social network part meetup for the gaming community.

The problem is ..everything I have been reading about starting a social networking type site seems to simple state two main facts.
1) it takes a lot of money.
2) it takes forever to actually make money.

As I said, this idea has been in my head and on scratch paper for 10 years & now that I am finally diving into actually having this developed.. I'm getting cold feet. I have a background in sales, I'm savvy, and would like to think I am very good at promoting things, so I don't see an issue there. However I have no experience in web development and I have gained some idea by talking to freelances and local businesses the price tag of a project like this just to turn it into a reality.

I guess my question to the pro's on warrior forums is what would you do? If you had a great idea that has stuck with you for 10 years, can it still be lucrative if you have to have someone develop it and maintain it as needed? is it worth going into blindly when you cannot even edit your own website you've invested in?

I appreciate any feedback
#advice #idea #website
  • Profile picture of the author j65737
    Thanks for you opinion Alokp I appreciate it! I think this is very unique compared to what's out there. My main concern is upfront cost to have something developed and learning how to monitize a social platform correctly without becoming a money pit lol.
    I may be contacting you on skype soon.

    Any other opinions, idea's or experiences with this is more than appreciated .
    Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author luketr
    In the past you may have gotten away with some affiliate sales of games (like how amazon uses IMDB) but with the shift ever increasing towards digital copies, I don't see this being a big part of your revenue.

    First of all, you'll monetise the same way all social networks do. Leverage the info and reach you have to a specific demographic and either market your own products (inc affiliate) or sell advertising. I would say your main revenue is going to come in the form of the latter by way of sponsorships & advertising from the major gaming companies. If you've got the user base, they will pay to advertise with you. Simple as that.

    The problem of it becoming a money pit, IMO, has nothing to do with being able to monetise and *everything* to do with you being able to generate constant high quality traffic.

    For a good example, take a look at twitch & their revenue model.
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  • Profile picture of the author MSutton
    With a solid business plan in place and a website up and running, you might be able to get investors. But it has to be unique from what is already out there or at least have a good spin on something already out there.
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    • Profile picture of the author NomadLifestyle
      Work backwords.

      How are you going to make money?

      Validate your concept, get some buy-in from actual potential future customers, and you won't have a money problem.

      If you can prove it will make money - ACTUALLY PROVE IT - then investors won't be a problem.
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      • Profile picture of the author j65737
        Thanks for the feedback, I'm working on getting a concrete business plan in place and proving my concept before I drive in.
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        • Profile picture of the author arrival7
          Remember Facebook did not know how they were going to make revenue , they just went with the idea and made it work. If your idea is good , you will find many ways to monetize. If possible start on a small scale with your idea. Best of luck!
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