6 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
6 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

How to launchthis kind of site?

by Joe Ray
5 replies
I have developed a web application which is a very similar concept to Reddit. Registered users can create a post, comment, vote and post a URL.

The site will target a broad niche, sort of a main category and there will be many sub-categories.

I have never launched a site like this, so my question is: how do I start?
When this site goes live, it will be completely empty with no posts, no users no comments. How do I populate it?
#kind #launchthis #site
  • Profile picture of the author GinaStringer
    To be honest, it would be hard to promote a website that has similar feature with Reddit. You need to target a specific niche, for example: Product Hunt is Reddit for startups, List' em Up is Reddit for mobile games.

    Like those two websites, you need to find specific niche that isn't popular on Reddit but has big market.

    But, if you want to promote your website, you can post it on some SubReddits like /r/startups and /r/SideProject. You can also post your website to Product Hunt, although they manually select which ones to accept.

    Your problem is generally called 'chicken and egg problem', for a platform website like yours, you need content to get users, but you need users to get content.

    To solve this problem, you need to populate your website with fake users and fake activity from yourself of your family and friends. Even a big website like Reddit faced this problem at first, but they created their own on-site activity with their own staff.

    Good luck
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9477394].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Joe Ray
      Originally Posted by GinaStringer View Post

      To be honest, it would be hard to promote a website that has similar feature with Reddit. You need to target a specific niche, for example: Product Hunt is Reddit for startups, List' em Up is Reddit for mobile games.

      Like those two websites, you need to find specific niche that isn't popular on Reddit but has big market.

      But, if you want to promote your website, you can post it on some SubReddits like /r/startups and /r/SideProject. You can also post your website to Product Hunt, although they manually select which ones to accept.

      Your problem is generally called 'chicken and egg problem', for a platform website like yours, you need content to get users, but you need users to get content.

      To solve this problem, you need to populate your website with fake users and fake activity from yourself of your family and friends. Even a big website like Reddit faced this problem at first, but they created their own on-site activity with their own staff.

      Good luck
      Thanks very much your reply.

      I think I have a pretty good niche in mind, at least it's something I am enthusiastic about and very interested in. This is why I don't want to populate the site with fake users, although I know it's very easy to do it.

      I want to get quality posts, but I am not sure how to market the site when its still empty.

      Yes, you are right it is a "chicken and the egg" situation.
      Signature

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9477787].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JensSteyaert
    I would be very selective on who you let in. Instead of just open the doors to everybody, make it a private community. This way you don't have to worry about the quality of the content they post, plus you'll have more time advertising your site.

    If it's a niche site then look for high traffic forums in your niche and bring in traffic from there. Or you could use social media too.

    Good luck!
    Signature

    Join ADZbuzz Here:

    ADZbuzz Social Network And Content Discovery Platform

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9477950].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Joe Ray
      Originally Posted by JensSteyaert View Post

      I would be very selective on who you let in. Instead of just open the doors to everybody, make it a private community. This way you don't have to worry about the quality of the content they post, plus you'll have more time advertising your site.

      If it's a niche site then look for high traffic forums in your niche and bring in traffic from there. Or you could use social media too.

      Good luck!
      Yes, you are probably right about making it a private community and filtering the posts. However, if I have to read every post and comment, it could get overwhelming very quickly if the site starts to have some traffic.

      In any case, when that happens I am sure I will find a way to deal with it.

      Great traffic suggestions about the forums and social media! Thanks.
      Signature

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9478074].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author James.N
        You could start it as a beta and invite people from Warrior Forum to essentially review the site/system. Have them ask some questions, start some threads, comment on others. Once it looks like the site is working properly and you have a little content on it, you will probably need to run a lot of ads on different networks.

        I'd imagine that you will need or want a large influx of people right away so that the site can keep its momentum.

        That's probably the way I would approach it.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9480810].message }}

Trending Topics