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Why is this "Directory Site" shutting down?

by midasman09 Banned
16 replies
Here's a "Directory Site" a guy in my town set up;

http://www.2buylocal.com/

The concept was GREAT...."Promo Videos" for each participating business. Wonderful, Professional Videos any biz owner is PROUD to show off.

The money was good too; He charged $250 for the "Voice-Over" Video and got 100 biznesses (100 x $250 = $25,000) + $50/mo for a year ($50/MO x 100 = $5,000/MO X 12 = $60,000)

So....$25,000 PLUS $60,000 = $85,000!

WHY is the promoter of this (IMHO) great Directory Site shutting it down on the first of the year?

Well....he's a promoter guy in MY area so....I knew many of the participants so, I went to them and asked them "How They Liked The "2BuyLocal" Directory!

They all told me they "didn't think it had brought them any New Bizness"!

Now....I did NOT check every participating biz so, some of them could have gotten good biz from this HOWEVER....the Directory Site is being shut down in 3 weeks!

So....I'm posting this as an "Instructional" and "Educational" item, presenting the experience of someone who, IMHO, did a wonderful job creating the Videos.....setting up the Directory Site AND promoting it!

Robert ran ads in newspapers and bought ads on "BIG" BILLBOARDS!

However....my experience with "Directories" has been.....from the first one I did in Aspen, CO to Glenwood Springs, CO to the larger town of "Grand Junction, CO"......THEY DON'T RENEW!

They WILL try it when it's starting out THEN....when you go back for Renewals.....forget it! Why? There's no PROOF, to participants that it's bringing them more biz....even though their "Yellow Page Ad" does NOT provide any "proof" it is "working" to bring them more biz! They just "know" they HAVE TO BUY AN AD IN THE YP!

Thus.....I thought I'd "hang this out for your perusal and congetation" as a subject to discuss.

AND....please provide some feedback on any "Directory-Sites" you've found that ARE....SUCCESSFUL!

Don Alm
#directory site #shutting
  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    It may have helped if the actual directory got any traffic, this site according to Alexa got zero traffic to speak of.

    I also noticed that his site is poorly seo optimized so these two factors could easily = no measurable results from the participating businesses in the form of new customers. Who knows.
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  • Profile picture of the author Peter Lessard
    I can't imagine why someone would just "shut it down" even if nobody was renewing.

    The particular directory you listed is clunky and has issues that are not related to your question so I will keep it brief.

    To increase views I would only build a directory that also included user generated content.
    You need new content so he could have made this a hybrid with business listings and also allowing general public to post.

    Next there should be adsense/banners on there so that renewals is not the only income.

    Also he should not have to rely on guessing regarding ammunition for renewals.
    Business owners should of been receiving monthly reports on total views, submits and phone contacts.

    I would of also thrown in a value add for renewals such as a custom youtube channel with the already created video ranking for city/service and make it clear that comes down if the renewals are not processed.

    Renewals should also be setup to happen automatically on credit card or direct debit of bank account. Most business owners would forget and barely notice the charge.

    Another angle would of been to flip the site with the proof of earnings. Renewals become the issue of the new owner.

    I don't bother with directories. If I can't be the biggest and best at something I don't do it and there are some killer directories out there with endless budgets but it all depends how much money you want to make. I would be cool with $85,000 for one year on one project and re-invest that money into the next bigger and better idea not to mention the client base that has already bought from you once waiting to be pitched the next idea.
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    • Profile picture of the author Boatguy
      The site is not bad. I don't think the key to success is how "nice" looking or "cool" a website, or any other marketing vehicle is, because all that matters are results. If it was not generating new business for it's clients then they would be silly to continue with them.

      If something is not producing measurable results AND it's a new way of doing things it will fail pretty quickly. I have found after many...many years in the marketing game that the hardest thing for most people to handle is change.

      They might try something new for a brief while but if it doesn't start producing results almost immediately they will go right back and rejoin the marketing herd and do the same thing that they, and most other businesses in their town do...more "me too advertising" filled with platitudes, meaningless buzzwords and using s shotgun approach.

      In some ways you can't blame them, being a small business owner these days is harder than ever. Many have been burned by all these new marketing methods because they don't produce results. Most of the time it is garbage in garbage out.

      A business wants more new customers and more repeat customers. Do that for them, and make it measurable and scalable, and the medium doesn't matter.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ragz
    A few ads in the local paper or even flyers saying to visit that site for discounts on this, this. and this would have probably helped. I don't know, maybe he did that.
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    • Profile picture of the author midasman09
      Banned
      He DID run a bunch of newspaper ads at the first of the year AND....some BIG BillBoard ads.

      My 2 reasons for posting this are;

      1) Take a SERIOUS LOOK at the Videos he made for each biz (IMO these are some of the best Video Promo Ads I've ever seen!.....GREAT VIDS and should be used for further promotion) you can use these to give you examples of how Video Promos should be made (imho)

      2) Realize that "Directory-Sites" need ONE Thing.....TRAFFIC! Otherwise, your members will NOT renew!

      Now....I'd like to hear from some "experts" as to WHY this site did not work!

      Thanks,
      Don Alm.....marketing guy
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  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    2) Realize that "Directory-Sites" need ONE Thing.....TRAFFIC! Otherwise, your members will NOT renew!
    Wasn't that already pointed out by an "expert"?
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  • Profile picture of the author dmaster555
    So much promotion, billboard and everything and "strengthening" is spelled wrong right on the top banner. I personally would not take this guy seriously just for that reason alone.

    The deals are not very attractive either.

    10-20% are not deals good enough to get someone to leave the business they've been loyal to in most cases. They don't even know what they're getting, or what the usual price is. Some coupons give literally no details and they're unprofessionally written. "20% off total lunch check."

    Some deals I saw on the site look like they weren't deals at all. Free quotes.. Free estimates. Come on. It looks like the owner just offered a deal that they offer ANYWAY just for the sake of having something to put on the coupon. No one is going to be lured into a store because they're offering a free tshirt with a $100 purchase either.

    The deals are not set up to lure new customers in.

    There are grammatical errors throughout the site.

    Even if this site had traffic, I doubt it would perform very well anyway.

    I honestly am surprised someone spent money on "BIG billboard" advertising for a site like this. I almost don't believe it...
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  • Profile picture of the author meepo
    Yelp is a directory site that is doing well. So is Restaurants.com. Or Angie'sList.

    But each of these examples offer VALUE to the customer, and VALUE to the registered business. They are directory based websites that have special functionality built into the directory.

    Just making a list of all the local businesses in the area does nothing for the customer.

    Google can give me a list of all the local businesses in the area, and it's easier to navigate than 2BuyLocal.

    No wonder there are no renewals... it's has zero value for either business or customer.
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  • Profile picture of the author meepo
    Originally Posted by midasman09 View Post

    So....I'm posting this as an "Instructional" and "Educational" item, presenting the experience of someone who, IMHO, did a wonderful job creating the Videos.....setting up the Directory Site AND promoting it!
    Yeah the videos are nice, but they don't have a call to action OR customer testimonials. Mostly just platitudes about the company. They don't tell a story.

    Originally Posted by midasman09 View Post

    Robert ran ads in newspapers and bought ads on "BIG" BILLBOARDS!
    So? How good was his ad copy? And what website was advertised on the billboards? Did he send traffic directly to the home page? Cause that would be a huge mistake. There's no call to action on the homepage, it's leaking clicks like a sieve with 10-foot holes.

    There's not even an OPTIN form on the whole website... you can't sign up for an email list???

    Furthermore, the website is not mobile friendly, this is a huge problem. People searching for local businesses do so primarily on mobile devices (this statement based on legit industry data)

    ALSO - the site is super hard to navigate & the review areas are hard to read. I can get better reviews for these businesses on Yelp.

    Originally Posted by midasman09 View Post

    However....my experience with "Directories" has been.....from the first one I did in Aspen, CO to Glenwood Springs, CO to the larger town of "Grand Junction, CO"......THEY DON'T RENEW!
    They sure renew for Angie'sList. They don't renew for bogus directory websites because there is no value in them... I'm getting the feeling you're claiming that Robert did everything right, and it still doesn't work... I say Robert was wasting money on this site.

    Fundamentally, a directory website is nothing but a list of businesses in a given area. It's something that worked back when the internet was a 1-way information resource. But today, the net is a 2-way communication medium... a static directory website is a deprecated method of communication from a by-gone era. Businesses sign up once, try it for a year, and then say "Never again... tried that... didn't work."

    Can you run a successful directory site? Sure... You have to turn it into something that people can't get anywhere else. You gotta have the built-in social communication tools... You have to layer on the value like Yelp and Restaurants.com have done with their directory websites. You need a unique hook.

    I'm not an "expert" but actually engaging the community on a meaningful level and using the website as a hub for community activity might be one way to do this... and getting local charities involved would be strategic as well.
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    • Profile picture of the author StarkContrast
      I hear what's being said and agree. I also hear that directory sites work but folks are pickier now. There are a ton of options that vie for time and money. The two examples given Angies and Yelp are classic examples of marketing and web done right. Do they provide value? Obviously they do or people wouldn't keep renewing with both. Obviously the big classified sites drive traffic.

      But what about town directories? How would you create one that is informative and content filled, plus people would come to over and over? I'm thinking forum but that's missing the events and directory element. So, what makes people keep coming back to yelp and listing with them? Is it ranking alone? What's the draw? And so with a town/city directory, what's the draw?
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      • Profile picture of the author meepo
        Originally Posted by StarkContrast View Post

        I hear what's being said and agree. I also hear that directory sites work but folks are pickier now. There are a ton of options that vie for time and money. The two examples given Angies and Yelp are classic examples of marketing and web done right. Do they provide value? Obviously they do or people wouldn't keep renewing with both. Obviously the big classified sites drive traffic.

        But what about town directories? How would you create one that is informative and content filled, plus people would come to over and over? I'm thinking forum but that's missing the events and directory element. So, what makes people keep coming back to yelp and listing with them? Is it ranking alone? What's the draw? And so with a town/city directory, what's the draw?
        Yelp & Angie's list automatically creates listings for businesses. If you're the business owner, you have the option to claim your business listing.

        So they just create the list, they don't charge the business owner for being on the list.
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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    I looked at Roseburg.

    There is 1 business listed in each business category.
    There does not really appear to be much actual revenue
    in this deal.

    I assume this is a small town. If that's so, then
    a business in a small town can simply use Google as the "directory".

    It only takes some simple local SEO to get found.

    That's my take anyway.

    Dan
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    "If you think you're the smartest person in the room, then you're probably in the wrong room."

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  • Profile picture of the author mjbmedia
    directories don't just need traffic, they need buyers of whats being promoted on the directories business listing , they need visitors to be converting into customers, most times people on here talk about setting up directories, all they talk about is charging for it and ads etc, they don't talk about how they will ensure their clients (businesses listings) win clients because often that's bottom of their aims and objectives, yet its top of the business listings objectives. Clearly here this is what has happened, the guy got all horny re the videos and bells and whistles and overlooked the thing that brings in the money, buyers with cash to spend and desire /need in their hearts/heads.
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    Mike

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    • Profile picture of the author mraffiliate
      WeddingWire is a directory that produces results. I know some wedding photographers who rely totally on this site for their business. Some of these photographers are paying between 250 and 500 per month to have their listing on there.
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      • Profile picture of the author meepo
        Originally Posted by mraffiliate View Post

        WeddingWire is a directory that produces results. I know some wedding photographers who rely totally on this site for their business. Some of these photographers are paying between 250 and 500 per month to have their listing on there.
        Thanks for sharing this site!

        Why are the photographers paying that much for the listing? Because WeddingWire is not just a list of businesses. (unlike 2BuyLocal)

        WeddingWire attracts their customers by providing an immense amount of Value. They offer a "One-Stop" wedding planning service. Couples find the service helpful, so they use it for inspiration, guestbooks, wedding websites... etc.

        Their positioning is not just "Here's a list of wedding businesses" - instead it is "Here's all the tools you need to have a great wedding and also here's the best wedding vendors for you to choose from"

        All the incoming customers create a wonderful lead list for wedding vendors... such a valuable list that they readily pay monthly just for site access. That's AWESOME!

        So again, directory sites fail if they offer JUST a list of businesses. There's very little value in just a list. WeddingWire is a great example of how to go beyond the list and add incredible value to customers & providers both.
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  • Profile picture of the author IMBlest
    Here is the link to jaybyrd42's thread about how he was able to built a successful directory site:

    http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...000-month.html

    He seems to be doing well with driving traffic to his directory so that the business owners are the ones calling him so that they can get a listing on his directory.
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