Here's a couple of questions I have as I am thinking that perhaps a directory in my niche, Japan, would be good, as I'm only aware of two others, and one of these is pretty spam-filled. I've read the FAQ here and a few other sites, but: 1. My main site is quite an authority on Japan, so whilst http://directory.whatjapanthinks.com is not a very snappy name, I have confidence in my brand. Would you recommend that over a shorter but new name? 2. Say I download phpLD or whatever, set it up, advertise and then... charging money straight off the bat for a PR0 site with no entries seems difficult. Do these things naturally fill up, or do people ask friends to submit for free, or do owners add a few sites from their bookmarks?
Download phpLD and get a new domain that is advertised throughout What Japan Thinks with maybe a 468x60px banner in the top right. You can start by charging and offering a limited period only discount to get the directory under way.
or u can start charging really low but accepting only very high quality sites and refunding fee if rejected.