Is this idea worth developing?

14 replies
The other day, I was flipping through People magazine (which, by the way, is an excellent resource for trendy niche ideas) and I came across an article titled 'Hollywood Tot Shots' which was about a professional photographer who takes posed photos of people's children dressed up like a "look-alike" celebrity...so if their child looked vaguely like Tom Cruise, they might take a photo of him dressed up in a 'Risky Business' pose and photoshop the picture next to an original shot from Risky Business. Seemed like a cute concept based around an internet meme (icanhazcheeseburger.com for cat memes, for example). To make a long story short, I bought a domain (hollywoodtotshots.com) with the intent of building a meme-based site where proud parents could upload photos of their kids looking like celebs, sports stars, politicians, etc., vote on other photos...basically the same kind of site structure as icanhazcheeseburger or similar meme sites.

I have about $15,000 that I'm considering pumping into this site's development (purchasing articles, buying backlinks, some technical development) but am starting to question the validity of my idea: The monetization model seems challenging with little opportunity for significant ROI. I'm starting to question whether this is a decent niche idea worth time and development efforts or whether it's one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" ideas. What do you think? Could I see a show of hands of those who think this idea has merit or would this be a profound waste of time and money. I'm either going 'all in' or throwing in my cards. Would appreciate any thoughts from the Warrior experts. :confused:
#developing #idea #worth
  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Evans
    15k seems an awful lot to invest without a solid plan to monetize.

    With that aside, I think the overall idea is good.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Perhaps spend some time on a site like Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? for ideas on how to monetize.

      You could connect with places that can print the images on mugs, etc.

      I'd have a full business plan in order with some numbers before spending that kind of money.
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    I think it's a good idea. I'll contribute a couple of ways to monetize.

    Develop a network of photographers who would be willing to take these pics. You could have an ad or two on the site urging people to get their kid looking hip like the stars. Of course, you get a referral fee. This idea would also serve well as article fodder once you have some feedback from parents who were so pleased with the photos.

    Another thing you might do is offer to get the pics made into T-shirts, tote bags and other garments. People love to show off their kids. You could outsource this and just take a percentage.

    You might also want to build some urgency and go viral with a Kid Pic of the day, week, month, etc. That will get people talking about the site and visiting, which will help drive your ad rates up. Good luck.
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    • Profile picture of the author aabb
      Originally Posted by travlinguy View Post

      I think it's a good idea. I'll contribute a couple of ways to monetize.

      Develop a network of photographers who would be willing to take these pics. You could have an ad or two on the site urging people to get their kid looking hip like the stars. Of course, you get a referral fee. This idea would also serve well as article fodder once you have some feedback from parents who were so pleased with the photos.

      Another thing you might do is offer to get the pics made into T-shirts, tote bags and other garments. People love to show off their kids. You could outsource this and just take a percentage.

      You might also want to build some urgency and go viral with a Kid Pic of the day, week, month, etc. That will get people talking about the site and visiting, which will help drive your ad rates up. Good luck.
      I like these ideas. The market for parents and kids are big. If your site functions well, there should be lots of traffic.
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      • Profile picture of the author LilBlackDress
        Originally Posted by aabb View Post

        I like these ideas. The market for parents and kids are big. If your site functions well, there should be lots of traffic.
        But is it "Buying Traffic" ?
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  • Profile picture of the author dannygnenerate
    First of all great idea. But no don't do it. The potential could be great but if $15 thousand is all you have then don't do it. Because ROI will pour in very slow, and the only way you could monetize it from the jump is to use a service like adsense. Unless you offered a service or ran a monetary contest. Even with the contest there will still be problems because it will still take you time to establish yourself with enough members. Do you have an integrated software that will allow them to easily upload and what are the benefits of being a member? What are the keywords you plan to use and how? What's the blog content going to be about?

    You have a great plan that is more of an long term investment which could go very well if handled correctly.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    I like the idea but I would go viral on it and bootstrap it. Don't put $15k into it. But if you can get a good ROI ramp it up and maybe in time spend thousands on it. But test the ROI first.

    You need to find a way to monetize it before you invest thousands into it. So get started and text it via bootstrapping and/or cheap investment. If the ROI is there ramp up the investment to drive traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author adebayjim
    Hmmm yes I agree, $15,000 is a lot of money to put into this. Why don't you spend your time instead of money, developing the site and the traffic yourself. The rewards would be far greater.

    As for the idea itself, it's pretty good. But I might be worried about the audience your targeting. I'm probably wrong but you could potentially attract Paedophiles to this site.
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  • Profile picture of the author rooze
    I think it's a great idea, but you'll struggle with only $15K. Your biggest challenge (aside from the technology) will be getting a novel concept in front of people who aren't aware that it exists, so they aren't proactively looking for it. I could be wrong but I suspect you'll have a hard time finding organic search terms to target, so you'll need to advertise on other websites which may not convert well.
    I started a niche about 9 years ago involving a product that few people had heard of, so few people realized that they needed it I got most of my traffic from PPC and worked with a negative ROI for every order received. Fortunately the product garnered repeat business, so my challenge was to get people to reorder, at which point I made money. I think you'll see a similar pattern. With enough capital this could be a goldmine, but again, $15K is a bit on the low side.

    Good luck
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    • Profile picture of the author czilbersher
      Well, my site (www.hollywoodtotshots.com) is now developed about as far as I can go. I will continue to add content to keep it fresh but need to find a way to get visitors to stop by. Many good comments here but few that point to specific concrete steps or action plans. Not so interested in building SEO for organic traffic because I don't think that's where the key user base is located. I mean, who does a search for "toddlers who dress up as celebrities". This could be a very difficult biz model.
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      • Profile picture of the author LilBlackDress
        Originally Posted by czilbersher View Post

        Well, my site (www.hollywoodtotshots.com) is now developed about as far as I can go. I will continue to add content to keep it fresh but need to find a way to get visitors to stop by. Many good comments here but few that point to specific concrete steps or action plans. Not so interested in building SEO for organic traffic because I don't think that's where the key user base is located. I mean, who does a search for "toddlers who dress up as celebrities". This could be a very difficult biz model.
        There are much easier ways to make money...
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  • Profile picture of the author Anton Nadilo
    I am not going to repeat all the good points raised here by some of the warriors in the thread. I think the underlying theme is that you have a great idea. The problem is that you a SEVERELY uncapitalized for the concept. Your $15,000 will disappear before you can blink an eyelid and then you will run out of money, the project will stall and eventually die a quick death. Then.....only to resurrected or copied by someone else with you left saying...."that was my idea you know!!". To really kick this thing off the ground you need more capital. Have you looked at the angel investors networks on line...you need some more seed capital and probably some business partners that bring other skill sets to the table that you lack. Approach your local Chamber of Commerce...they may be able to point you in the right direction and many governments and local authorities manage angel investment and seed captial programmes for start up enterprises...good luck!!
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  • Profile picture of the author Gaz Cooper
    I would incorporate a Modeling agreement into this, meaning give the uploader the opportunity to put their picture in a special for hire section (for a listing fee) where they are exposed to the modeling world and Hollywood talent scouts. (that is how Harry Potter was found)

    They would sign an agreement that you would act as the initial agent and contact point and take an initial finders fee or percentage of earnings to make the connection between the modelling agency or Hollywood agent, casting agent etc.

    The Casting ageny Hollywood agent modelling agency could then click the picture for contact information and you act as the go between.

    This is a massive business that has millions of parents wanting to get there children into acting modeling etc.

    Kickin it on Amazon

    Gaz Cooper
    Amz Training Academy
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  • Profile picture of the author Daystar11
    I think you need to do more research, keyword research, not just speculation. it wouldn't hurt to do some SEO. How about writing some articles and submitting to article directories, building a fanpage on Facebook, and perhaps even advertising there.
    Press releases, too.
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