Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi everyone.
I am developing a niche social bookmarking site. I have my domain name and it is now being designed. When do I start PR/marketing efforts. I know it still has to be tested. I`m planning on rolling it out in "beta" mode. Should I start planting seeds now or wait until the site is done? 

I have seen great efforts from some people using social media with launch dates months away.

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

When we`d put a new band together, we obviously wouldn`t want to go out and play a big club. But we also needed to get the word out. So there were two basic options.

The first was to contact an agent or two with a good reputation for honesty and ethical values (not so easy to find). We`d have them come to an audition session, knowing they`d only be hearing a few songs, and that the band was still in development.

That`d give us some advance advice, along with a chance to get some feedback on the current market.

The second option was to book into a very small club, "off the radar" in terms of the main circuit. We could afford to screw up or tighten up the band, while the club owner got a big price break, knowing the band was a startup.

The key was to go live in a highly controlled environment, so that feedback would be real, valid, and useful, but where our screwups wouldn`t have any major impact on the overall word-of-mouth in the main circuit.

That`s still a fundamental principle in any kind of public situation. The main problem with ecommerce and the Web is finding that sort of backwater area. In some ways, site critiques here on SuN or on other similar sites can do the job. Maybe another way is to put up the site without an easily accessible URL, then email the URL to specific people.

Thanks Melanie and Craig! Very sound advice. I`m very excited, but petrified at the same time. Probably comes with the territory right?

Yes. If you notice you`re starting to lose feeling in fingers, toes, or particularly at the tip of your nose, then see a medical specialist immediately! Tell them that you`ve embarked upon an entrepreneurial venture, and they`ll give you a prescription.

Petrification can be a serious problem, particularly if left unattended. It begins simply, and many people laugh it off, thinking their hand or foot just fell asleep. But with continued denial, one eventually turns to actual, solid stone. This puts a burden on family members, who then have to spend extra time with a dolly and cables moving the entrepreneur from place to place.

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

agreed with the experts - just 2 cents to add.  PR are extremely powerful. to me this coupled with article marketing can be the bread and butter of your online marketing efforts.  it can pay off instantly because the sites you submit to have a long standing and establishing PR rank which is normally high (or higher at least).  search engines frequent these sites often as they have regular updated content as well through submissions. that said, dont worry about the time it takes for the seed to be planted and the plant to grow.  that can happen instantly to your surprise.  focus on perfecting your concept to make sure you make that good first impression and then have what it takes to continue to  retain your visitors.

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Congratulations on starting your business, welcome to the world of entrepreneurship. A social networking site can be hard to get a lot of interest in, so it`s best to start promoting the site as soon as possible just to get the word out about it coming out soon or just to generate a small buzz. The last thing you want to do is wait until the last minute and then try to get people interested in you site.
If your curious about ways to market your site you should really look into the YES movie at http://www.theYESmovie.com, it was created by Louis Lautman  to provide valuable information and inspiration to all entrepreneurs.