How I built a directory and make over $10000/month

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First off, a little about my background. I have been a lurker on WF for over two years, reading everything I could on making money in different ways and up until now have yet to put anything into action. In fact this is my very first post.

Now to the meat of the post...

So back in spring of this year I had been talking with a friend about the fact that there is no good way to find things to do for nightlife in my town. This had got me thinking..... I hear all the time the best way to sell something is to find a problem then find a way to fix that problem and sell it.

So over the next few weeks after that conversation I had brought it up to anyone I was talking with to see what they thought of a place to find all the events in town in one localized place and if they would use it if there was such a place. The outcome was an overwhelming "YES PLEASE!!!"

This is what I did.

1. Used business finder Wordpress theme by AIT to create a portal for businesses to post events for free and business listing by paying a monthly fee.

2. I populated the listings with free non-paid listing that included name, phone and address...no map, link to their site, description or pictures/video

3. Filled ~20 paid listings with all the feature (these had not been paid listings yet they were just there for when I start calling businesses to sell listings so they see what they would be getting and I could tell them that they are already advertising with me)

4. I followed every bar/restaurant in my area on Facebook. Every time one of these places posted about an event I filled in a free event listing.

5. Create Facebook "like page to drive traffic. I would repost all the events/posts of the local bars I followed previously in a weekend preview post (telling everyone what each bar was doing that weekend/night all in one post and linking back to my events page on my site.) I had gained about 2500 likes in ~2 weeks.

6. Now I had the traffic coming in from facebook but have yet to do any SEO for targeted keywords. So I focused on this for about 3 weeks while doing all the other things on facebook. After about 3 weeks I had gained page 1 spot 1 on every keyword I targeted. Boom more traffic not much but more.

7. With all the traffic coming in and quite a few more followers on FB I had, create significant "value for businesses to post their listings with me based solely on traffic alone. But to make this a no-brainer I needed more.
So these are the features of each paid listing: professional promotional video (made by me), custom full menu made with "restaurant menu manager" plugin, happy hour specials listing, picture gallery, daily specials list, social network connection, hours of operation, link to business website, map to location and allow customer reviews. All for $80/month, $70/month billed bi-annually and$60/month billed annually. The video alone is a feature worth $80/month YP charges $670 just for the video and it sux

8. Now was the time to start calling businesses in my town and sell the listings. If you're afraid of doing cold calls this is what I have to say "Just do it", Nike had it right. If you don't do it you'll never get good or comfortable with it. I wanted to book enough client listings to cover a radio marketing campaign to drive more users and businesses to the site. My goal was $6000 for a 7 week campaign. I reached that goal in two weeks of calling.

9. Started radio adverts: week 1 traffic had jumped a little but not by much, week 2 is when I saw a massive burst in traffic. When I say massive I mean quadruple what I've saw on even the busiest week previously. The next week was double.... lol people liked it and they continued to come back.

10. I didn't have to cold call anymore.... Businesses were calling me left and right to be listed on the site

11. This where I didn't have to post events on my site any more from the businesses FB posts. They were posting them for me now and I simply took 3 random events each time I would post to FB from my page.

There is more to it than what I posted here but it's late and I must get to sleep.

I know I didn't explain everything in a great amount of detail(I did plan to) so if you have questions please ask.

I do have warriors to thank for posting threads that helped me tremendously while in the start up staged ....even now. But I will make sure to edit my post when I have the whole list of them and post links to each of the threads that helped me put this plan into action.

Jaydan
#offline marketing #$ or month #built #directory #make #makemoney
  • Epic post and congrats to you.
    • [1] reply
    • Great post Jaydan, congratulatons on your success so far. Look forward to hearing more in coming installments
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    • Jaydn, can you give us a link to the site.
      • [1] reply
  • Congratulations! I can see from your story that you really knew what you were doing and made the most of what you learned here in WF. You found a problem that offered a simple solution and provided value to everyone in the community. Bravo!!
  • Great job and nice to hear your success!
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    • Thank you guys, I really owe every bit of my success to this forum. Without it I would have been too scared to go forward with cold calling and not even think of some of the ways I've done things without reading them from here first.
  • 4,5,6 & 7 , excellent thought processes there, I like it, I like it a lot mate, one of the best step by step on here for ages .
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Congratulations and thank you for taking the time to do a
    detailed posting.

    Dan
  • Awesome post detailing a true plan of action anyone could follow. Thanks for the share.
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  • Awesome post man. Truly taking action!!
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  • Nice work, Jaydan!
  • Hey Jaydan -

    Great stuff and good for you. I have a directory site of my own and certainly haven't been able to get it to your level...but I believe completely that's my own fault.

    You mentioned the theme you are using...

    Does it do all those things you mentioned? You did mention you used a restaurant menu plugin, but for all the other features of the 'paid' listing, is that a part of the theme?

    Thanks for your feedback and again...GOOD WORK!
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  • You did a very good job with that website, and for several reasons:

    - You provided quality at the beginning, before you asked for payments
    - You helped businesses to promote without asking for money
    - You leveraged your efforts with a real marketing campaign
    - You know how to scale your business
    - You are making regular income

    So I really want to say "Congrats", and thanks for the thread, it's really inspiring.

    Just one question: how much time did it take you from the beginning ?
  • I was considering a business directory for my local area a few months ago. This has sparked an interest again. Great post!

    This is the Wordpress theme I want to use. Geo-Craft InkThemes
  • Nice work on your directory!

    You mentioned radio advertising, I wonder how a EDDM post card would do? I know very little about EDDM or postcards in general but it seems like a 5x7 post card with three of your listings on the back in the form of coupons and your directory name and url on the front might do well.

    I doubt that the three coupons on the back would cover the campaign (it might) but having them share the cost would make for some affordable exposure for you.
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    • The theme doesn't have all the features but it is quite easy to add most of them with plugins or editing a bit of code(which is quite easy).
      The professional custom video I ask the business to send me between 12-15 photos, the exterior and interior of the building, drinks or food they would to feature or the staff and patrons. After I get the pictures I use proshow web to create the video I simply add the photos, some text slides promoting some part of their business and the software takes over for the most part. Looks completely professional. Then I upload to Youtube on my channel (which is really good to have if you will be doing video as well)

      Happy hour specials listings were not included in the theme but I simply added custom field types to the custom post type "businesses" via editing a few lines of code. ( AIT makes this really simple with instructions in their documentation).

      Same with daily specials list. Note: you could also do both of these using a custom table and posting the short code in the listing content. ( I manually add the content of all listings that come through my site so this wouldn't be a problem for me but maybe for you if you would like to have in autonomous)

      The rest were integrated in the theme.

      From start to the point I made good money I'd have to say it took 3-4 months. I lolly gagged around while designing the site itself, I would have an idea about a feature I think would be cool then I would research google to see how hard it would be to implement or if there was a plugin to do what I wanted, I checked double checked then triple checked every link and features and plugin would work together or worked at all. I checked for bugs for maybe 2 weeks before posting the link to my Facebook page just to make sure the user would have a good experience when they come.

      I think if I knew everything I know now and I do it again(which I plan on) it would take about a month.
      Thank you very much!!

      All I can say is "Just do it!!!". It could completely change your life as it has mine.

      As for the theme I would consider using Vantage, Business Finder(the one I use), Geo Places, or Directory by AIT.

      The reason I say that is I did A LOT of research before buying a couple themes and looking at the theme here I just don't think you would satisfied with IMHO

      I'm not very knowledgable about direct mailing marketing but i would definitely consider it. Every marketing strategy should employ multiple strategies to be truly effective. Thank you for the idea
  • And they say directory sites are dead!
  • Nice post Jaydan.

    I'm currently building a directory in a different market and wondering how to price it...

    Would you mind sharing with us how many of your customers pay monthly v bi-annually v annually?


    Thanks,
    Andrew
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    • In the beginning, when I started cold calling to gain the capital needed to start the radio campaign I focused solely on year subscriptions so as to get the capital fast, I sold 9 in the first 2 weeks. But I still had business want to do trials so I would sell them the monthly sub, I sold many more of these than yearly in the beginning. I would say now that I'm established businesses tend to go with the yearly subscription because they know what their getting into and they know they want to be a part of it for the long term. I'm sure if I had a 5 year plan most would switch over when their term ends.
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  • jeez guys don't get hung up on the theme or prices even

    Seriously points 4,5,6 & 7 are why this worked so well upfront, read these points again, and again, and again if you have to, bish bash bosh!
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    • Definitely automate. The theme I have has built in recurring payment via paypal. I personnaly use Gravity Forms pro paypal add on for all my recurring payments and Freshbooks to send invoices via email.

      If I didn't automate I would definitely have to hire someone...

      Thank you for the rating!

      As with payments, the theme is has built in recurring payments set up for paypal. I don't use it(I use Gravity Forms paypal add on to handle all of my recurring payments.) but it can easily be used to handle all of yours...if you so choose to use Business Finder or Directory theme from AIT.

      I think the thing with the radio was that I made it TOO easy for people to use my services. I made it so there was so much value for the end user in event listings, complete list of happy hour specials, top 10 steak house etc etc that it would be dumb not to come back when they had the question of 'what to do tonight'.

      You are absolutely right! I had a problem in the beginning and I simply thought of a solution to that problem. It just so happens that I was able to monetize it and make a good living doing so.

      Completely agree.
      • [ 3 ] Thanks
  • Fantastic post, Jaydan. Congrats on your success and hard work. I love this kind of systematized business model which gets more powerful the more people you get involved.

    I'm doing something fairly similar to you and wondered how you decided to handle the billing? What I'm hoping is to automate the process either through Paypal or SO's so I don't have to manually invoice all of them and then wait for a cheque and be chasing them every time bills fall due.
  • This thread is just the kick in the pants I needed. Jayden is proving that a directory that provides value to the business and to the people in the community, it can definitely be a lucrative model to go. But you can't just do it half assed and throw up a theme.

    I worried about my theme and the look of it, and tried to get it perfect. I was building engagement, but too hung up on the aesthetics and not on the contact with local businesses.

    I had most of the steps Jaydan listed, but was missing one critical piece.

    Thank you Jaydan, for showing that this can be done, and for the value you provide. I rarely rate a thread, but I've rated this one five stars.

    As far as payment, I am leaning toward recurly or PayPal, both handle recurring payments.

    One other thing is I've tried most of the directory themes out there, and none are ideal. To me, I don't want a business to have to register a username and maintain their listing. I want them to submit their info and payment, and me contact them to set up the listing. Jaydan even, through his way, opened my eyes to a different way to handle this.

    Outstanding thread, Jaydan, and thank you for your knowledge and sharing your success!!
  • yep the difference with this directory approach is nowhere does Jay focus on making money for himself, its all about getting results for the prospects who then become clients making him money, which of course is why he done it, but wasn't his overall driving force behind it (I am presuming here I know)
  • Congratulations Jayden. Great post. I appreciate you going into the detail you did and see how I can improve on my directory project.

    That is impressive with the radio ad. I have done that for business before, years ago when I had a store, but did not get that kind of results in foot traffic.

    But people like their entertainment.... think that makes a difference.
  • Jaydan, are you and your customers happy using Paypal? Don't they need to create an account there for subscriptions?

    Thanks,
    Andrew
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    • I doubt they would mind setting up an account. Especially if they can see there analytics etc.

      Is there analytics available for each post?
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  • So you're trying to tell me you did all this in just 7 days? Sounds like you're talking smack, probably trying to build hype for a WSO you are going to release.



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  • Good catch, what a bummer. Still a solid actionable plan...
  • either that or he has something to do with the theme...

    And yes, im still going to do the plan
  • Ill be gutted if this isnt straight up
  • awesome congratulations on the success!

    Guillermo-
  • So, jaybyrd, this true? Did you really do this or not?

    It seems like a great plan, and I still am going to try it.
  • true inspirational and perseverance. looks like i have to jump o the boat too.
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    • I noticed he has disappeared. I guess that pretty much tells us that he DID NOT actually build a $10k/month directory site.

      Kind of a shame... he had a good plan and sound advice. I did find it odd that he would go into detail on how he built and managed the site however he would not provide a link to his site.

      Ref. Post #42
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  • I still think the meat of this post is solid. It's a good plan of action for a directory, so take action .
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  • I agree. This could be a real good plan IF he actually built it and built it the way he says he did otherwise it is just speculation and a theory at best.

    I guess my problem with him posting this as "True" is due to the fact that a lot of fellow Warriors have taken him at his word and now they will spend money, time and energy building a directory site in hopes that they will have the same success and results as Jaybyrd42.

    If his post is a lie then the steps he took may not work either and Warriors will be following a doomed blueprint all because he didn't tell the truth.

    That being said... I do think he has put together a very good plan and it surely could work but why not disclose the fact that it is only a blueprint? There was no reason to lie.

    I don't have a horse in this race. I'm not building a directory site and I don't make my living via the internet. But I have seen quite a few business plans that in theory look fantastic only to see the model fall apart after implementation for one reason or another.

    All he needed to do is be honest and say "This is my blueprint for a directory site". I really believe he and his plan would have been just as well received and Warriors would have been more then generous with helping him put his plan into action.

    Just my 2 cents.
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    • Banned
      Best thread, ever! Cheers. - Frank
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  • Great post baxter
    im actually going to follow this plan but instead of radio ads im going to do flyers.
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    • I totally agree with your thinking.

      I have used radio in the past and I personally do not think it is the right medium for driving traffic to a website like Jaybrd42 was promoting. I think direct mail would be a better bet.

      I think a well built, informative directory site can generate a lot of money if it's done right and promoted right.

      Good luck with your site!
  • it's not meat, it's empty words. like a dinner without meat and proteins
  • Would love to see Jayden come back here and offer a response to all this

    I think he may prove himself
  • Am I the only one who thought it was a certain banned member soon as he posted?
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    • I (like many others) have been watching this thread with great interest. It's always great to see someone doing well, especially if they share bits and pieces you can borrow to use in your own projects.

      Did you? No I didn't pick that, but it would make perfect sense actually.

      If so, how do you suppose they (or anyone else for that matter) could think they could come and post something like this without being caught out fairly quickly? The Internet is such a transparent place. Perhaps years of spending time here has made me take every success story with a healthy dose of scepticism, as within a few seconds of Googling the username (which people generally use for multiple accounts) I'd brought up a couple of names, neither of which seemed linked to a profitable directory as you would expect. I'm away from home at the moment so only had my little phone to go online, or I would have gone further into it.

      I would love to give the OP the benefit of the doubt, I still hope they're going to come back with a plausible explanation. But when post #42 came along I checked and jaybyrd42 was online. A couple of hours later he/she still was. Later that day they were again. You'd think if this wasn't a made up story they'd have explained themselves by now.

      I think the lesson learned for all members (new and seasoned, even if this is shown to be a truthful success story) is to always do your due diligence before you waste your money and most importantly, time and valuable energy on anything. It pains me that so many Warriors spent money on that theme. I just hope it takes them down another path, there is plenty of other ways you can use a directory theme.

      There really is a finite amount of energy to put into starting up a business on the path we have chosen, you do eventually run out of gas, that is why so many of us fail. Please don't waste it, especially without fully substantiating anything said here.

      Just my 2c.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • Yes, I was halfway through the post and i thought the exact same.
    • Yes, I've just read over a very similar thread to this one posted a while back and I'm seeing a remarkable resemblance in both style and content.

      Still want this to be legit, but just saying.
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  • Because he was going to sell it as a WSO - that looks like research he was doing at the themeforest site - so he could get the nitty gritty on the theme he was going to tout. Schoolboy error, though, posting there with the same username! Really? Maybe there's more to this but he'll need to respond with some damned good answers if he's to gain back a shred of credibility. Maybe he was going to sell a WSO and he did make the directory site? Who knows?
  • I doubt he was promoting that theme, seeing as he wasn't even using the theme's own ecommerce features. He said he was using GravityForms at $200/yr and Paypal Pro $30/mo to make it work for him.

    Anyway, it's been an interesting thread, and the good news is that many people are indeed making money with directories. I believe that 5 figures per month is very achievable depending on the market you choose.

    Andrew
  • Haha if this guy created the theme then this was all some brilliant bullshit marketing.

    Well played son, well played.
  • Personally, I don't think the theme is the critical part of this process, I think it's the implementation. From what I can tell, using this method to build a directory is solid, and builds value for the business owner and for the user. Many people slap up a directory online, start filling it with free listing, and then go and try to sell businesses a spot in the directory. This method is similar to the way I am doing, and despite how this turns out, I can say 100% that I've learned some things, and that I am thankful for the information.

    I still don't know what Jayden's motivation was here. I don't think selling a theme was it, because Jayden mentioned several other themes that are options. I don't know why he/she has some conflicts in the timeline, if that is indeed the same person on that support forum, and the odds of that same username being a different person are very low.

    jaybyrd42 is online right now. So, Jayden, how about responding to these things that have come up?
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  • Wow, this has spiraled huh? Go on holiday for the weekend and come back to this. I didn't start with Business Finder(it only came out two months ago). I changed for the aesthetics and a few extra features I was lacking in another theme. I want to make sure I could either do what I had been doing before using different plugins or have it integrated into the theme itself. I found it easier to continue with the plugin route but I still wanted to know before I changed the theme if those things could be done. Wow....
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    • Well... That's a good enough explanation for me. I definitely over reacted when I saw the screen shot from Theme Forrest and I apologize. It just didn't add up to me.
    • But in your OP, you state (copy paste) This is what I did.

      1. Used business finder Wordpress theme by AIT to create a portal for businesses to post events for free and business listing by paying a monthly fee.

      2. I populated the listings with free non-paid listing that included name, phone and address...no map, link to their site, description or pictures/video

      3. Filled ~20 paid listings with all the feature (these had not been paid listings yet they were just there for when I start calling businesses to sell listings so they see what they would be getting and I could tell them that they are already advertising with me)

      4. I followed every bar/restaurant in my area on Facebook. Every time one of these places posted about an event I filled in a free event listing.

      -----------------------------

      Point 1 suggests you started with this theme , now you are suggesting otherwise, I aint bothered as its the other points that make this good still, just you know people like loose ends cleared up mate .
  • I have no dog in this race. I am not affiliated with the theme(I should be, if I can sell that many over the course of a few days lol) nor am I going to be putting out a WSO. I simply wanted to share a story of how things worked for me. It is a very solid plan for anyone to follow and be successful with.
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  • Glad you're back and explain... will definitely implement your method.
  • Who is this banned member you all keep talking about? I'm out of the loop

    One thing that Jayden definitely showed me has to do with the gravity forms. All of the current directory themes are a pain for a business to register and submit payment. I do not like any of the way that current themes handle that part, because I as the directory owner want control of that process. I want a way for a business to easily fill out a basic form, and me contact them. If I want to charge $80 a month for this, I want to earn that and show the value I can provide by actually TALKING to these business owners. Plus, I can build a relationship and talk about other services I can provide.

    I don't see a better way to do that than using Gravity Forms to bypass the system that most directory themes have. Is it more work on me? Absolutely, but I see the potential return on that work, and personally would rather go that route.

    Now if any of you have any suggestions other than gravity forms, which ain't cheap (like maybe contact form 7 or a google doc), please tell me.
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    • If you're doing it manually then you can use any free form. You can disable registration on your theme by unchecking "Anyone can register" in wp settings.

      Andrew
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    • John Durham, I believe
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  • Am I going to be penalized by using domains like (mycity)(niche)listings.com?

    I was talking to a person this evening about building a brand, not just keyword stuffing my domains in order to keep search engines happy, but I'm not sure if that is 100% true or not.

    Any thoughts?
    • [1] reply
    • You won't be penalised for using it, but don't expect any bonuses either.

      I'd go the branding route, come up with a memorable name and use that domain instead.
  • I've bought the theme and web domain, but i'm terrible with wordpress. Can anyone help me get this set up? Anyone interested in working with me on it? Online Business Directory | Find local business online!

    Let me know,
    Nate
    • [1] reply
  • What does a directory list do more than a Facebook page these days?

    I've been talking to business owners a lot and they rather stick with their Facebook page because it's free and they can communicate with their customers a lot easier/better.

    Can anyone tell me why a business owner should't stay with his free Facebook page but pay $80 a month for a listing?

    Also, how can you attract visitors to a directory site in the beginning? Your site isn't highly ranked in Google and there's a lot of competition?
  • Very interesting post, contains solid knowledge
    thanks for sharing
    good luck
  • Traffic. And they do get traffic - promoted correctly, quite a bit and most of it local.

    NAP - one more place to get their name, address, and phone published.

    Solid backlink from a locally relevant website.
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  • Jay, I think your post is honest, it doesn't make sense for someone to blow this kind of smoke. I know this audience of warriors is the most skeptical group when it comes to making money online, so I think that comes from a good place.

    Anyways, I was wondering if you'd mind sharing the angle you pitched from in your cold calls? I mean don't write a word for word script but what angle did you use to get through the gate keeper and pitch your product to them?
  • Hi OP glad your back, Would you might sharing how the radio ad went. Did you promote by saying "visit our directory for info on said product" or "list your business here" I'm guessing the first?
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    • Mostly the first, I promoted like crazy about the benefits of having all this info on one page, in the first 25 seconds of the ad then at the end I have "if you own/manage a bar or restaurant you can benefit from (site name) too by listing with us and increasing your visibility with your customers. Visit (site name) for more details."
      • [ 4 ] Thanks
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  • So OP, in your opinion, what's the better theme, the AIT or ThemeForest option?
    They both cost about the same...
    Also, I think there are a couple being sold here on WF, one seems to have been withdrawn and the other doesn't have the best of reviews...

    Anyway, looks like you've tried at least two now, so what do you think?

    EDIT: Forget the first bit, I now see they're the same theme...
  • Both AIT themes can be found @ Themeforest. One in the same

    Ait | ThemeForest (no aff)

    You could also try Directory Press or the Vantage Theme from AppThemes
  • Yes, most likely the same guy as you know who...
  • Did anyone try the directory theme from templatic? What do you think? Care to share your experience ?
  • Interesting that you mention the directory theme from templatic. I just got done looking over their directory theme and it looks really good. However to make it better there are additional plugins to buy. Seems to me it is still worth it though.
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  • I have used this thread as a guide to create my own directory. I haven't yet made money as I'm still building the site but I think this is a great idea.

    If any of you would like to check it out here's my site 701Buzz.com - Your North Dakota happy hour guide
  • Congrats on this thread jaybyrd42, very informative. Would it be possible to see just an example of one of the videos you offer to your clients? There's no need to see your website or anything, just an example video, it would be super helpful. Thanks a lot!
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    • Not sure what his look like but mine will be based on this video. Basically going to have a set of questions that I will ask staff and owners/managers to get all the information "out the horses mouth" so to speak.here
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