Marketing a unique concept??

hi, i am totally new to website marketing and would like some tips on how best to market a unique concept.

because my site is so unique, (or i believe it to be), it is difficult to decide which category in website directories it should be placed under, also, as it isn't a blog but intended as a purely commercial idea, linking to and from blogs seems the wrong way to go about it.

although there is some funds available for marketing, these are limited and i would prefer to spend that money in the best way possible and/or find reliable ways to market the site and the concept for free.

i firmly believe that, because the concept is so unique, the site is capable of selling itself if i can get the name/logo/idea into people's consciousness.

any genuine tips would be extremely welcome.

Laz

 

What kind of market are we talking about here Laz?

 

well i don't want to launch into a marketing spiel on here, especially when i am a new member, but the site is based around the idea that everyone has skills that other people don't.

the concept is to utilize those skills and, by doing so, save money, increase social networks, and give job satisfaction. i want to create a "community" where the members trade their skills for the skills of others, a "favour for a favour". Doesn't almost everybody say at some point "can you do me a favour?" my idea takes that a step further insofar that members can ask anybody, not just people that they know, to "do me a favour"

 

I think you should place it in the Miscellaneous category. Sounds like a very interesting idea - it is ideas like this that pay off and capture the publics imagination.

Here is what I suggest you do.

1) Contact your local radio or newspapers for publicity

2) Tell all your friends and family through word of mouth marketing

3) Consider hiring an expert to write a press release or an article about this

4) Use Google Adwords to bring in targeted traffic or you might want to build a buzz beforehand.

Good Luck with this my friend.

 

Well firstly congratulations on coming up with a unique idea

There are many methods of advertising, my advice is to do as many as possible. Work extremely hard and promote as much as you can. If your idea is as creative as you think it is, the idea should market itself, but of course you need to give it a helping hand

So yeah things like word of mouth, press releases are a must, forum marketing, article marketing, perhaps make a youtube video, that seems to work well.

Just do as much as you can and believe in your idea and with a bit of luck and careful marketing your website should do very well.

 

1) local radio is slightly out of our budget range, a one month targeted campaign would cost around £5k, even a simple link on the local radio website, (around 90k unique hits per month) costs somewhere in the region of £400-£500

2) friends, family, associates, people i meet in the street, even the postman doesnt get off lightly

3) definitely considering this option, are there any "experts" on here who could, 1. write a quality press release and 2. submit/suggest places for submission that would help drive traffic, (preferably targeted) to my site for a reasonable fee?

4) i've considered adwords, but i think creating a buzz beforehand is more likely to yield success.


thanks for all the good wishes, and as for the "hard work" this is the only project that i am working on and i am working my nuts off! i truly believe that, with the proper marketing, this site can become a new internet phenomenon.

Laz