Taking an established mini site to the next level

[melat0nin]

Hi all

I started a mini site (noisyneighbours dot net) back in 2008 and it's been a reasonable success, although arguably it's developed beyond the strict definition of a minisite. It's got a forum now which is growing all the time, and adsense earnings are £2-3 per day, sometimes spiking up to £7 or £8.

I'm lucky enough to be #1 in SERPs for most of the relevant terms, and I get 150-300 uniques per day.

I'm just wondering what else I could try to further monetise the site. I can't help but think that there's more potential there, especially as the community is growing, but I'm not sure where to go with it. It's not an obvious topic for affiliate sales (at least I don't think so - ear plugs?!).

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? Has anyone else had success with their minisites such that they've been able to move them on to the next level?

Any thoughts much appreciated

 

[Ashton]

Nice site, and congratulations on your earnings.

Why not ask the people on your forums, see what other sites they would be interested in. If they can provide the first surge to a new site, you can grow from there.

Similar things in the same niche I see your already in ( highhedges ) and thats good.

Ill think over some more ideas!

\/ Great idea if your users will buy it!

 

[cc976a]

Yes - approach insullation companies, companies specialising in soundproofing.

There's up to 9,000 potential customers coming to your site each month and a very targeted audience for advertisers. Plus the money involved in proper soundproofing can make it worth your while and the manufacturers / fitters.

You could arrange a

- Sponsorship option,
- Lead generation with a fixed price per lead,
- Affiliate sales

Or could even sell the site as a marketing tool for a company specialising in providing soundproof solutions.

 

[melat0nin]

Hi guys

Thanks for your replies. I've never done this part before so it's quite interesting!

I emailed a host of sound proofing companies asking if they would be interested in coming to some kind of arrangement. Thing is, those without an existing affiliate scheme want to know what my proposals are. I don't want to scare anyone off with my noobness in this area - can you advise on how to approach this?

I said:

Hello,

I'm the owner of Noisy Neighbours (www.url.net), a website dedicated to providing advice and assistance to people who are forced to live with the hell of noisy neighbours. As you can see from the website, we have a community of users who discuss their experiences and approaches to tackling noisy neighbours. The community is growing all the time, with an average of 1-2 signups per day. The site receives several hundred visitors per day and is at the top of Google search results for most keyword searches relating to noisy neighbours.

Would you consider promoting your company through Noisy Neighbours? It looks like your products are precisely the kind of thing the users on my site would be looking for. Please let me know if you'd be interested in an affiliate sales agreement or sponsorship.

Regards,

Laurence
NN Administrator

..and the first response was basically "What do you propose?".

Any thoughts? Thanks for your help so far... I have a good feeling about this...

 

[cc976a]

Sounds promising.

This is where you need to think of the best revenue model for you and the site. For someone starting a fresh I would opt for either:


1. Banner adverts with an article / feature from the company giving helpful advice to your visitors on ways they can tackle the problem (in terms of soundproof and insullation - rather than diplomatic resolution with neighbours)

Again as starting new you could charge a fixed fee (rather than CPA) as it will be easier to control and both parties agree costs up front.


2. Could ask them to become a 'sponsor' of the site. In return they would feature across the site (banner ads, sponsored by message etc...) plus they could reguarly contribute by ways of advice / Q&A from your visitors / latest product news (better and improved ways to tackle the problem) etc...

It gives the company the benefit of becoming the trusted expert. This option you would need to prove that a good % of the revenue of the sponsorship would go to marketing and promotion - attracting more visitors etc.... - this in turn would pay for the site to be developed and become more valuable to you.

Choose your sponsor carefully though as you need to have of mutual benefit (i.e. sponsor site not very good and will not convert to sales could only harm you long term).



Easiest way to provide some residual income would be fixed price banner ads and promotion of business through way of article feature.


Let us know how you get on

 

[Edwin]

Lead gen on a revenue share basis sounds like the way to go. Brew a strong cup of your favourite hot beverage, set aside a couple of hours and start reading David Carter's blog from the beginning. He's the master of turning small amounts of traffic into 4-figure and higher leads!
http://www.david-carter.com/wp/

 

[melat0nin]

Thanks for your replies, I will read David Carter's blog and digest your two options, cc976a.

Things have developed somewhat - I've been contacted by two further companies, one of which is willing to pay "a monthly small fee" for advertising (and has asked me what my fee would be - i have no idea). They want exclusivity, which immediately makes me think more ££.

The other wants to chat about the options - I haven't got any further than that so far.

The first one looks promising, but I've never negotiated this kind of thing before so I've no idea where to start. I like the idea of the article - that would add value which could increase monthly revenue. But exclusivity, for a novice like me, might lead to me being taken for a ride (which I might not be able to identify at this early stage of my online 'career'!)

Any thoughts as always appreciated greatly

 

[melat0nin]

Well as it happens the .com of the domain dropped yesterday, and I got it!! So hopefully that might increase traffic further.

I've had some interest in exclusivity from the companies I contacted, but I'm biding my time to think about what to do. Some of them were interested in creating a kind of live Q&A system, like an advice clinic, but I don't think I want the site to be that closely tied to any one company. It is supposed to be a source of neutral advice and a community, after all.

But i'm not sure yet. Going to see how the .com changes matters (perhaps with a 301 redirect) and take it from there.

 

[Sussexite]

The sales letter

Your sales letter is well written but more of it could be about the benefits to your target customer.

More direct phrases like:

• Be seen by x,000 people a month who are looking for [their product]
• Have your products featured prominently on the market leading website about noisy neighbours; or
• We'll send customers looking for [your product] straight to you.

Might get their attention a bit more.

Some of the stuff about the NN website could be put in an About NN section at the bottom.