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2 weeks after launch, and no real traffic. What should I do?

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: 2 weeks after launch, and no real traffic. What should I do?

#31

Post by davidw »

timg wrote: post #24
davidw wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate that - I don't think it's quite dishonest, but it doesn't feel real, either. Unfortunately, I think it's also a good idea:-( Edit - hate is too strong a word, but still, it annoys me - see below.

Have fun basking in your honesty, all alone on your fantastic new site. (if you were against it, that is.)

I said it's a good idea, and think it's probably effective. I still don't like it though, even if all things considered, there are a whole lot of worse things going on.

Re: 2 weeks after launch, and no real traffic. What should I do?

#33

Post by randallsquared »

edawerd wrote: post #2

After months of after-work-hours programming, I launched my site http://www.mygrub.net but haven't seen any traction. Any tips for getting traffic? How did reddit get its very first users? I applied to YCombinator with this, but was rejected. Maybe for good reason =(

Hey, in Safari the "Add this..." doesn't work. Well, I assume it's just Safari. So, if I can't add any restaurants, I'm much less likely to use the site. :)

Re: 2 weeks after launch, and no real traffic. What should I do?

#34

Post by vlad »

sabat wrote: post #25
sabat wrote: post #23

PATIENCE, grasshopper. Give yourself longer than two weeks to build up 'traction'. The more stuff that builds up on your site, the more people will want to go there. And that takes time. I would not worry about yelp or any other sites people are comparing you to. Google emerged after the problem of internet search was 'solved', and Flickr appeared and succeeded after photo sites had been around for years. You might w…

More anecdotal info: Digg didn't have very much traction until Paris Hilton had her Sidekick hacked, and someone posted a link to her photos. All of a sudden everyone went to Digg to see Paris kissing girls, and apparently the traction started there. Even with a Digg/Reddit effect, there is no guarantee of traction. It takes time and persistence.

No, it was the number one or two result on Google.

Re: 2 weeks after launch, and no real traffic. What should I do?

#35

Post by orlick »

Cool site. I co-founded a startup that was doing a very similar thing in 2002 (it failed). Here are some ideas that will hopefully make your site successful.

- Start off with a really niche site. For example: Vegan food in Portland, Oregon. It's the niches that sites like Citysearch aren't serving very well.

- Don't code any more features. Spend the next 3 months on marketing. Making this site successful is an exercise in savvy marketing, not programming.

- No one cares about keeping track of restaurants they visited. Everyone cares about going to good restaurants. Same features, different message.

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