Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello everyone,

I`ve been lurking and reading for a while now and love that this community is truly helping each other.

We`ve recently launched www.MyOnlineMeals.com offering meal plans, recipes, and organized shopping lists to subscribers for $4.95 a month.  We are certainly not the first to do this, but we hope to offer what others don`t by means of growing a community via message board.

Since our April 2007 launch we`ve had some good solid success, but we really want to kick it up.  We`ve recently launched an affiliate program of 50% commission and that too has added subscribers.

We would love any and all ideas on marketing our service. And how on earth do we get members to participate in the message board? It`s growing too slow.

Thanks,

Kathy

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www.MyOnlineMeals.com
www.YourVirtualAdvantage.com

Hi Kathy,

Welcome to the community! Have you tried any initial, media relations efforts yet? You can really grow your business quickly by using the Power of PR (see all the PR articles on StartupNation and the various posts).

If you create a list of appropriate media venues, develop some interesting story angles and contact press members directly, you may have a story written about your business that your target market will notice. Plus, if the story is written by a third-party, it will build credibility.

If you get the power of the press to help you build awareness, you`ll definitely see an increase in site traffic!

Hope this helps,

Melanie

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Melanie Rembrandt
CEO, Rembrandt Communications®, LLC
Visit www.rembrandtwrites.com for valuable PR tips and SEO copywriting help!
Twitter: @RembrandtWrites

Hi Melanie,

Thanks for your response. We do have a publicist, but I`ve never been one to sit and wait for something to happen. I will check out the PR articles and get to work.

Thanks again,

Kathy

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www.MyOnlineMeals.com
www.YourVirtualAdvantage.com

Hi Kathy :-)

I`m gonna go with my favorite fishing analogies, since I like fishing AND I totally love to cook. So it may not make a lot of sense right away...but there`s a point. It speaks to the USP---unique selling proposition.

When we go to any lake, anywhere around here (upper Midwest), the first thing we look for is sunnies and bluegills. These are little rock bass, very prolific, and something like squirrels in the water. If there aren`t any of these, the likelihood of other, bigger fish is about nil.

But when we do find these sunnies, they steal the bait, they`re small, and they don`t really tell us much other than there may be larger fish....somewhere in the water.

Here`s the point:

No matter what anyone has to sell online, there`s no doubt that SOME number of people are going to buy it. They`re the "sunnies and bluegills" of the world. If nobody at all looks at a site, a product, or even clicks through, then the product absolutely has zero potential for any success. But for the most part, ANY product can sell......to someone.

So the first question in my mind is that although you`ve had an initial number of these sunnies- and bluegill-type customers to your site, how do you know that there are bigger fish out there willing to go for the bait? Is it intuition?

My reason for asking is that I see too many small business owners get fooled into believing they have a terrific product, because they have some initial activity. It`s like little kids getting excited because they see the bobber go down all the time, as soon as they throw in some bait.

Is that action really going to be productive in terms of big fish? Is the nipping and pulling you`re seeing initially going to be significant? The probabilities are that yes, to *some* extent there likely are bigger customers---subscribers.

This long story is all about your USP. I don`t see much about that on your site, as it currently exists. Your direct competition is every other recipe and food site, including the many with forums. Your secondary competition is places where someone simply chooses to put a "food" topic into their site, like Startup Nation. That`s not a cooking or recipe site....just happens to have a place for folks to share "food and wine."

What makes you different? What will attract those big fish to what sort of "bait?"

Hi Craig,

It`s been a long time since I`ve been fishing, but I love your analogy.  I`ll be working on our USP and getting it on our site.

Thanks,

Kathy

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www.MyOnlineMeals.com
www.YourVirtualAdvantage.com

I`m a busy mom and I also like to cook. I`m probably who you`re targeting.

In looking at your site, there are a couple things that I found lacking. First, I want to see a week`s menus right up front before I register. I need to know that the meals are doable for my skill level/time allowance. I also want to know if I can get recipes catering to my family`s preferences. For instance, my kids and husband don`t eat cheese, so lasagnas and mac and cheese are useless to me.

If you`re trying to get your registered guests to the message board, how about asking a question along with the week`s menus? People (especially cooks) love to share their knowledge. It can be something as simple as a useful kitchen tip to something like, "what`s your fondest memory from your mom`s kitchen?" Really get them involved and the community will develop.

I think you have a great idea and I think your subscription fee is reasonable. But I do think you have to give away a little more up front to whet their appetites ;).

I hope that helps some. Good luck.

Lisa



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We just saw a book at Aldis, something about living on half a budget. It`s for divorced folks who suddenly lose half an income.

That`s been our situation, not from divorce, but from life changes. What we`ve found is that we can eat REALLY well on a whole lot less than even I would have thought possible, and I know all kinds of nifty ways to stretch a food dollar.

What if you were to develop a strategy on how to cook terrific meals on a shoestring, but NOT things like casseroles? For example, pork shoulder roast is way moister and flavorful than tenderloin or a loin roast (all the fats--the good kind). It just takes a couple of hours to slow cook it.

A roast like this sells for about $7, on sale, and can be cut into 4 parts, where each quarter is plenty for 2 people. So the meat is about $1.25/meal. Add some rice or mashed potatoes, simple pan gravy, and a veggie, and you`re feeding two people for about $3 ($1.50 each).

Magazines have lots of cheap meals, but they`re either weird, or a minor variation on hamburger or pasta. Come up with some real meals, then list all the ingredients.

Another thing: Use a database, and track your purchase suggestions. Then each recipe can reduce the "stock" ingredients per week, so you could send out a reminder. Anyone who`s following your recipes each day would run out of flour at the same time as the database. So you`d put up an "alert." Maybe? :-)

Hi There,

Craig, I love the fishing analogy too!

Kathy, as you develop your USP and talk about all of the benefits you have to offer, have you thought about creating a free booklet on "simple recipes," "time savers in the kitchen," "5 tips to save money grocery shopping," etc. - You get the idea. 

Perhaps you could offer this to people who take part in your online community or as a "thank you" gift for orders? You`ll be offering unique, free information that will help with word-of-mouth marketing.

(Also, you may want to add a newsroom to your site so that media members can find the information they need quickly.)

Melanie

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Melanie Rembrandt
CEO, Rembrandt Communications®, LLC
Visit www.rembrandtwrites.com for valuable PR tips and SEO copywriting help!
Twitter: @RembrandtWrites

Thanks to all so far.

Craig I love your ideas of the pantry database and cooking on a budget. We have a lot of ideas in the hopper and will add both to the list.

Lisa and Melanie, you both make me rethink the set up of my web site.  Some things you mention are already there. We do offer a free weekly menu as a sample (requesting it allows me to capture your email address so I can add you to my follow-up) and have a media room there already (not much, but it`s there).

Lisa a question of the week goes out with each menu with a link to the message board- great minds think alike  and unfortunately we are not set up for specific family requirements. It`s something we are looking at for the future.

Melanie your ideas for free booklets are great, I`ll work on that this weekend.

Great ideas as I knew there would be.

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www.MyOnlineMeals.com
www.YourVirtualAdvantage.com

I saw that on your site. And I do understand that you want your prospects` information. However, as a prospect, you would lose me there. I think you need to offer up something even before asking for registration.

What about testimonials? I want to know how this has helped simplify life for someone.

Lisa


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