Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

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Matthew Nalett
Chicago Music Promotions


http://www.chicagomusicpromotions.com

http://www.newmusicpromote.com

I took a look at the main network. Having been a musician in a past life, I was interested to see how it all works. The problem I have is that I don`t really see that.

In the Department of Nitpicking, the font you`re using for your introduction content on the home page is a bit hard to read. Small, in relation to the page, but as I said, it`s picking nits.

But the bigger issue is that the main page doesn`t "do" anything to attract my attention, start me on a journey, and get me moving around the site. Is this just a place where artists advertise, talk, find something, look for something?

The two big concerns on a web site are "the customer journey," and "the call to action." Where do you want your viewers to go, after they`ve landed on your main page? Then, what do you want them to do (other than donate).

I get that you think this is a place for some sort of communication and networking. I thought I`d be a fan, just to see, and of course I can`t go anywhere without first signing up.

Now consider Startup Nation. Did you immediately want to sign up just to see what was going on? Likely not. Instead, you could read articles, check blogs, and read forums. It was only when you decided to participate that you had to create a user ID and account.

Why not offer that to the casual viewer? I`d like to see what`s happening on the site, get to know whether or not it`s something I`d be interested in bookmarking and visiting on a regular basis. That`s what missing at the moment. It`s basically, "try before you buy," regardless that there isn`t anything to buy, so to speak.

We also had a discussion about forums and how to "seed them." The issue is that when someone new goes to the forums and sees 0 topics and 0 responses, it looks like a club where nobody`s showed up. You and some of your friends should at least start some topics, have a discussion, and make it look like something`s going on there. :-)

The site works really nicely. I clicked a couple of artists and it all loaded quickly, told me a lot about each person, and so forth, so that`s great! But again, what should I do? Can I book someone through your site? If not, maybe you should consider that as another way to make some money off the site (monetize it).

Cruising around, it begins to look to me as if this is sort of like Merchant Circle, only specific to music? Like a business directory?

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Matthew Nalett
Chicago Music Promotions


http://www.chicagomusicpromotions.com

http://www.newmusicpromote.com