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How Would You Launch a Site Like Groupon/Living Social for Dog Deals

by jlmason
14 replies
Hello Offliners,

I'd like to get your advice on a site that I'll be launching in about a month.

I want to launch a site similar to groupon or living social that is targetted to the dog care niche.

I will have local city pages so that dog owners can benefit from deals offered by providers in their local areas. For right now this will only be US cities.

Has anyone here created any niche deal sites? If so, what type of experiences have you had? What advice would you give on what to do/what not to do?

How should pricing and monetization be handled? I'm thinking of offering a low start up fee but making it a flat fee then the provider (service owner) can keep 100% profit.

For instance, instead of giving free advertising and keeping a percentage I thought it would be better to charge $100+ a week to advertise then the business owner would keep 100% profit.

any other ideas on this subject would be appreciated as well.

Thanks,
Joanne
#deals #dog #groupon or living #launch #site #social
  • Profile picture of the author HvilleSEO
    There are plenty of groupon clones out there if you just do a quick google search.

    I like Couponic but the coding is a little much for me to do any of the designing myself. They do have a forum set up with designers ready to hire though.
    Couponic - Groupon Clone - Group Buying Script - Daily Deal Software

    I've read to say away from the Agriya Clone as the customer service is bad.

    This clone is based on Magento so their is plenty of support to figure out the bugs.
    Groupon Clone | Groupon Clone Script | Groupon Clone Software

    But ultimately just do your own research and you can find the clone that is right for you.

    I know for a fact Couponic allows you to set your pricing model up where you just get the business owner to agree to run the deal and then in the back end of the website you set the % you will make for each sell. So you could either agree with the business owner which % of the sells you get or set a flat fee for running the ad on your website. Kinda a gamble for which way you choose. Say you agree on a 50/50 split on a $30 item/service and sell 14 you made $210. But it might not be a good offer and you only sell 3 so you only made $45. It can go both ways with that pricing model.

    Hope that isn't too confusing.

    Good Luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author brianng
    Dear mason,

    I own a similar business in CA. My 2cents is, don't charge them fixed amount per month. If you do so, they will ask for the lowest possible. And some startup business really can't spend 100$ per week for something they're not sure of.
    We always have an estimator team to review the business and come out with a fair percentage of share. After all, it's almost free to host their deal on the website, isn't it?

    FYI my theme was bought from mojo themes daily-deals-wordpress-theme/
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  • Profile picture of the author NewParadigm
    I'm surprised groupon hasn't done much much more in developing more tailored deals according to individual taste. It's becoming spam like. I think relevant niche deals is where its at. Good luck.

    Please list more clone applications as I am looking for one too for another idea!
    Signature

    In a moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

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  • Profile picture of the author thomasmps
    Charging could work but you also need to prove that your list will purchase the deals. I have been in sales management for 2 major daily deal companies and if you need some advice feel free to ask.

    Niche sites is the way to compete at this point in time. The merchants are getting savvy as too who they decide to run a deal with. I could go on and on about this industry but if I can give you advice I will be more happy to help you out.

    thomas
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  • Profile picture of the author thomasmps
    also in most cases stay away from the daily deal scripts too many problems. i would advise that you look for a white label solution,because there are alot of moving parts they can help you with.

    there is alot of money in this industry and i can tell you merchants STILL want to use the daily deals sites!! just have to have a plan of action
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  • Profile picture of the author jlmason
    Thanks for the great responses. I have looked at several deal scripts and was a bit disappointed so I am using a wp theme that I've customized.

    Brianng - you are right....some of the very businesses that I'd like to target may not be able to go with an upfront payment and it's not going to cost me anything to run their deal and keep a percentage so that may be a better model...thanks

    Thomasmps - I would LOVE to get more info from you on this topic of niche deal sites...I have another that I will be launching in a couple of months so your advice would be greatly appreciated!

    Warriors Rock!
    Signature

    Joanne Mason
    Washington, DC

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  • Profile picture of the author thomasmps
    Joanne,

    feel free to PM any questions
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    • Profile picture of the author jlmason
      Originally Posted by thomasmps View Post

      Joanne,

      feel free to PM any questions
      Will do...I have a few questions for you
      Signature

      Joanne Mason
      Washington, DC

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  • Profile picture of the author JunkDawgs
    I've worked with the small sites all the way up to Groupon and Living Social and from a merchant's stand point, I would suggest better splits and targeted ads. In example, Groupon is 50/50 but 60/40 would be better since the services companies are the ones breaking their backs. Also, consider subject email blasts that actually feature the companies name, i.e. $140 worth of carpet cleaning from "...."
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    • Profile picture of the author jlmason
      Originally Posted by JunkDawgs View Post

      I've worked with the small sites all the way up to Groupon and Living Social and from a merchant's stand point, I would suggest better splits and targeted ads. In example, Groupon is 50/50 but 60/40 would be better since the services companies are the ones breaking their backs. Also, consider subject email blasts that actually feature the companies name, i.e. $140 worth of carpet cleaning from "...."
      Agreed on the splits....I'm thinking 60/40 or possibly even better since I'm starting in a very lucrative niche...dogs!

      Also, great idea about the customized subject line in the email....seems better than a ton of emails from groupon/livingsocial....it teaches the recipients to ignore the emails after a while.
      Signature

      Joanne Mason
      Washington, DC

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  • Profile picture of the author JMB Marketing Group
    Originally Posted by jlmason View Post

    Hello Offliners,

    I'd like to get your advice on a site that I'll be launching in about a month.

    I want to launch a site similar to groupon or living social that is targetted to the dog care niche.

    I will have local city pages so that dog owners can benefit from deals offered by providers in their local areas. For right now this will only be US cities.

    Has anyone here created any niche deal sites? If so, what type of experiences have you had? What advice would you give on what to do/what not to do?

    How should pricing and monetization be handled? I'm thinking of offering a low start up fee but making it a flat fee then the provider (service owner) can keep 100% profit.

    For instance, instead of giving free advertising and keeping a percentage I thought it would be better to charge $100+ a week to advertise then the business owner would keep 100% profit.

    any other ideas on this subject would be appreciated as well.

    Thanks,
    Joanne
    Joanne,

    Check out this poster -- she has a "Groupon" script in her signature.

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...-my-ebook.html

    Maybe you can help each other out as well.

    Cheers,

    JMB
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  • Profile picture of the author vududawg
    Have you considered a directory type of approach? This is simply have a directory of local deals and charge for the listings. If you have a site ranked, you have value so if you have say 20 listings and charged say $200.00 a month, you would be making $48,000.00 a year passively.
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    • Profile picture of the author McGruff
      Have you seen doggyloot ? Maybe you can get look at what they're doing and model your site after them.
      Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author mjbmedia
    How are you going to get your initial email list?
    Signature

    Mike

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