Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

hii
we are in the process of creating a financial plan for a social networking web site. As we are completely novice in this area, can somebody help with some real hard numbers on the marketing and advertising expenses that goes into it?

that is impossible to estimate because your question is so non-specific. Advertising has all different costs, depending on where you advertise and for how long, etc., plus your marketing costs such as market research, testing, brand identity and promotion. I could tell you half-a-million dollars, but if you are planning for a myspace size website, that`s not enough. So you (like many other postings on this website) need to give us more information.

Thanks Steve for your quick reply,
I will post some in details facts and figures after I discuss with my business partner

We are in the process of planning our marketing expenses for a social networking web site which has to be lunched mainly for US, canada and europe. Can someone guide us in terms of sizing such expenses with rough ball park numbers ? (eg., typically web startups spend $x on cpc, $y on print if targeting a growth in subscriber base to "z" in year 1 etc) Any links or articles on such sizing problems are also welcome.

Google and Yahoo offer cost-per-click campaigns using keywords. You basically register, give your add a title and write 2 brief lines describing your website and services. I`ve used it with much success with an earlier project I did after 9/11 called the www.911patchproject.org  You set your montly campaign. Start out with $100 to $200  month and see how your site traffic improves. Many companies average a $5000 month campaign looking for banners and video ad`s to get 1million impressions are various popular sites.

As for hard numbers, the more you can invest in traditional advertising (print ad`s, magazines and news) the better off you will be considering you are looking at a 1-3% return on your advertising. Beyond operations and salaries, it is your highest cost.

I did well using FREE and low cost Internet campaigns. Also register your site with www.Alexa.com  this site ranks website traffic. The higher your ranking, the more you are worth. You can use "organic" strategies. In other words, link to as many sites as you can. This isn`t providing website links on a seperate page but incorporating links, bolding them and hignlighting them in blue throughout your web pages. A great example of how to do this is to go to Wikipedia and your`ll see all the links incorporated in just about every paragraph. Then run the site on Alexa and you`ll see their ranking.

Not hard numbers you were looking for but at least a way to begin strengthening you ranking and driving people to your site. Blogs are really good for this as well. Post everywhere you possiblly can. Spend money to hire a blogger as it is money well spent!

Wikipedia

An online collaborative encyclopedia.
wikipedia.com

Thanks ELCEO very much for your suggestions
I really appreciate it

For the baiscs if it is ready, taged etc... estimate cost for: submission to
directories and search engines if you don`t wish to do it manually yourself
and pay someone ($50-$85), and what I did was take out a full page ad
online with www.nbc44.com $60 for three years, which will come out in a
week or so. You can start low cost and then build up if your buget is tight.
Post your press release all over the net, which you can do for free.   Hope
this helps.

thanks katt for your suggestions, I will do it