Launching marketplace NOW - What should I do/change to grow this
** The site and premise:
BIDWEB.US - Find Local US-Based web experts to work with for your web projects.
- usu only avail in USA /CA generally - but I turned off IP matching for this..
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** Why I launched this:
After consulting with some top web firms, I saw that leads were one of the biggest issues (same for most businesses). I even started a small firm to test building leads and between yelp, craigslist, and competing with Upwork, it was tough to get decent leads without competing with low ball shops or paying out the nose. Even places like Bark and Thumbtack had poor leads and charged a ton.
I saw an opportunity to have a place JUST for webwork focused right now or USA shops - - Essentially find a web expert near you (or at least in your timezone) that you can work with.
** Forgive design
I've simplified the site to be fairly simple, so it's not ultra designed.
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** ABOUT ME
I've launched many smaller things - local services, kindle publishing, ecommerce products, website generators, DVDs, etc that have all done OK. BUT - This is the FIRST marketplace I've done and I think it CAN do well - if I take my time and build momentum.
--- I expect this to take some serious time to build into consistent revenue, but like most of us, sitting and waiting can be discouraging so I don't want to waste time and money being stupid, lazy or doing it wrong :)
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** Launching...
I just spent a week or so testing a few google ads and lots of traffic, no projects posted yet . what should I change? I realize it's a numbers game, but also as time goes on, showing examples of projects posted, etc and other things to build confidence. That's what I need I guess.
I don't have a problem finding web experts - freelancer, web shops web design firms willing to take on projects. But I need to generate projects being posted. It's fairly straight forward, but designed so that users will have to give certain info to make this useful to web pros to want to bid on it.
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** Potential issues (minor I think)
1 - USA ONLY right now (most can't access this from outside US/CA)
2 - NEED projects posted
3 - I HAVE NO social history - not a 'personality'
4 - designed minimally, but could improve
5 - messaging - need to improve - I may be too close to it...
6 - site name - no worse than godaddy, upwork, etc, but...
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WHAT ARE SOME SIMPLE (but important) THINGS I CAN DO TO LAUNCH THIS & GET MOMENTUM:
Thanks!
Kevin
Hey Kevin, Great to see you around here and congrats on getting this project out and launched.
A few things I can suggest to get the ball rolling on people posting projects:
A few real testimonials about someone getting a project done through this. Since it’s the start, you could even use a previous client of yours that you helped in a similar fashion
The design of the website needs to be upped a bit more. There are a ton of templates you can purchase at a low price so the entire website looks a bit more modern
Maybe look at Fiver a bit how they present their designers/developers and the language they use to get you (the client) to hire one of these people.
I really love it that it’s market and industry specific. No fluff, straight to the point.
Also, make sure to get the service in front of an actual customer (mini local conferences, gatherings, offline mostly). I see this used by a small biz owner who has no idea how to find someone good and all he has to do is explain their project and web devs start pitching them with an offer / could work wonders for such clients
🤘 Good luck
Hey there,
good points
1 - I did have some related testimonials up there during ads, but didn't seem to sway. I think I can do that part better.
2 - design - agreed - very light at this point - I'm open to suggestions
3 - I didn't want to showcase devs yet, because... right now the product is "post your product and devs/designers will respond".
Concerned if I expose the devs/designers, then the client will hand pick and then it's a bit more of a directory then.. Am I wrong on this? Wasn't thinking of this as a choose your service and provider, but more as a post your needs and available, qualified, near-local providers will respond.
Thanks for the suggestions - yes I do need to promote this to more business owners, but I am still concerned that my messaging is not solid/clear enough and that people aren't exactly sure how to approach this site.
thoughts?
thanks!!
Kevin
In that case, I think you need to reword it better / like an agent of sorts? Not a marketplace per se...
As in - "We are the experts. We have a huge network of developers waiting to bid for your project..."
Crew was something similar before being sold to Dribble... See if you can dig their early purpose and how they were operating...
As for the design / super clean / brutalist even / I would say get a decent designer to get you the three pages designed
Home/Value
Form (make the form short, than for qualified leads follow up with Email about details - plus it will show that you are interested in their project as a Company
Thank You
Super clean/concise --- and not testimonials -- but a quick-like case study "Jack Jones from Dominos found their developer in 3 days, 10 applied, he interviewed 3 and decided on 1 as a best match... we stand by our talent pool, they are well vested individuals with a solid track record... etc" -- a copywriter will do a better job
Thanks Val,
brutalist - :) true - I'll work on that. thanks!
good ideas on the positioning - sort of agency-ish.
I'll review and update the wording some.
Yes, need testimonials, active projects, probably dev profiles too.
it's a bit of catch-22 - need to show what I hope to be there soon.
I think I should have primed this better, but no time like the present.
thanks
Kevin
Ok it's much simpler now and working much better...
I still think the design needs a bit more work Kevin. Icons are a bit outdated and you have to check how everything is looking on retina. Wouldn't hurt to get some designer/frontend to quickly bring it home. I feel there's a ton of colors...
Also, I'm curious how the length of the form works? I would probably put a super small form just to get someone to post, then continue chatting about details with them via Email // I feel this would get a bit more posts than the current form which is really long. From experience I know that most of the clients don't even know if they need hosting or not (they bought some domain on GoDaddy which prob has hosting but they don't know, etc.)
Once you get some traction you can bring back the extensive form so you filter out the bad ones...
Also, I wouldn't block access outside of US / just say somewhere on the site US Only...
You're almost there / great progress!
haha @valsopi you're are a tough audience but I love it and need it.
thanks
Yes outdated - agreed. didn't think about that.
and yes working on the form next - will reduce greatly.
Thank you!
it's been great feedback.
No matter how much I do this the one lesson I am continuing to learn is 'simplify'.
Thank you greatly!
Kevin
You've built a two-sided marketplace. You now need to seed at least one side enough to make the overall offering compelling.
Typically, these types of ventures are hard for indiehackers as seeding one side costs a ton of money.
SO -
Find a way to seed one side of the marketplace without expending large sums of money
Use that as a bait to woo the other side.
Study how other 2 sided marketplaces generated enough network-effects to stay relevant
Yes Mankash - you are right on. The problem here - I think* is that the projects are the primary 'seed' - getting those seems to be the main problem.
1 - I have 40 or so devs ready and willing in some commitment level to handle projects posted, but they are easier to find.
2 - the general public or business owners/starters are the main source of projects. I'm looking at ads on certain websites and maybe places like quora? to advertise, but I think my main concern is ...
What are some obvious(?) blockers that exist right now on the site that would limit/decrease peoples willingness to post projects - assuming I get it infront of the right interested parties??
Do I need to change my messaging?
Do I need to simplify in some way
Do I need to be more explicit that there is no cost (no fee) to post a project, etc.
So far, I've had people go to page 2 of project, but not confirm or complete. It's only been several days but I want to eliminate any barriers to post..
thoughts?
Kevin
@valsopi @DeanLJ I've adjusted design a bit to spruce it up.
still haven't done much with bottom half of home or changed the form much, but I have an idea to simplify the project form.
I added ability to start project from home page as well.
let me know if better, same, worse (no feelings hurt :)
thanks
Kevin
19x tactics to launch a marketplace here. Great article.
https://www.nfx.com/post/19-marketplace-tactics-for-overcoming-the-chicken-or-egg-problem
Reading now! Thank you @yungrollneck
Your website looks great, congrats on starting! Hope you don't mind, since this forum is generating discussion around building a marketplace, I'll ask a question of my own.
What safeguards do builders of online marketplaces, especially marketplaces for services rather than physical products, put in place to prevent the buyers and sellers from using the online marketplace just as a place for finding the other party but then settling those deals outside the platform, on terms that might be monetarily more attractive to them?
Hey there, @sushantc
first thanks for the compliments - believe it or not, they at least make me feel like I've succeeded a bit when people are positive.
As to your question - this platform I designed for that express purpose of allowing a client and pro to connect off platform.
As a client, you post your needs. As a provider, you'll pay a small fee to access that lead (couple of bucks - maybe more if activity grows large) and then both the client and the pro will get access to the other's contact info.
They can negotiate all they want and build a long term relationship - that is really the goal. Real leads that are yours.
Now there are a couple of other limits: - example - only 5-10 pros can bid on any one project - that's a positive as it keeps the client from being overwhelmed and also limits the competition to the pro.
This design was for the purpose of creating a connection between local pros and clients and providing better quality project posts to facilitate that, and also creating a bit of scarcity/barrier so that a pro doesn't propose to every client.
for a platform that doesn't allow this - many use filtering and warnings anytime any email, phone, skype, or social media acct is posted in any messages.
Hope that helps - please ask more if I missed your question.
Thanks for your reply, your revenue generation idea is very interesting, and different from what is more common, where the marketplace ekes a percentage cut out of each transaction's value.
I've been working on a marketplace idea myself, where I give the pros a profile page. My sense was that giving the pros a profile page was important both to attract the pros, as well as for the clients to feel like they are entering a credible transaction with a real person. But then, I was apprehensive that buyers/clients might prefer to just google the pros they are interested in, and settle transactions off-platform. But I think your idea works around it.
Yes, the pros can have a profile page, but working with these pros before etc, the biggest issue is exclusivity, or limited competition and contact info for client.
I was planning to have client profiles public in a way, or at least a very few, but might hide the company name.
I agree with the premise as I have seen the same. In fact in one lead source, a business had posted a request and the business name and logo were public. so a quick google turned up the business and eliminated the fee to the marketplace.
It goes both ways
thanks for sharing. Keep me up to date. I would love to know more. Market places are tougher and can be discouraging when people don't quite get what you're trying to do. I've got to work on a few things to make it easier and less difficult to submit projects.
after that I'm sure there will be more issues to solve!
kevin
To get started I suggest you do some manual work to find paying customers. Look for places where people are looking for developers, social media, Discord, forums etc. Off the top of my head /r/forhire would be a good place to check, there are people searching for devs: https://www.reddit.com/r/forhire/comments/9gmqyj/hiring_remote_vuejs_developer_for_custom_vue/
Hi Hannu
Those are great suggestions - is there a good way to promote the idea of posting a project on BidWeb there without getting banned, or upsetting people. :)
I'll test that - Thanks!
By the way, any suggestions are accepted - other than the 'do something else' kind ;) thanks!
Hi Kevin,
you've probably thought of this but i'll state it anyway...
It'd be good to a see a list of open projects near me when i visit the site. So if I'm not logged in then show some project details but not who it's with (be careful showing text fields input by users).
Once logged in then i can see full details.
Same the other way around, If i am a project poster then I should be able to see a summary of local devs but not enough to contact them unless i login.
To seed with Devs offer them free listings until their first work (or for x months). Lots of manual work to get people signed up in the early days though.
re design, I'm not really going to comment as I'm the worlds worst but i didn't notice the 'post your project' link as it's not underlined so didn't tell me it was a link and the dashed box says to me it's an info panel. just my 2c.
Is it free to post a project? Maybe 'Post your project' needs 'for free' on the end?
Every time I've thought of a marketplace idea I've come to the conclusion that it'd need to be free for both sides for at least 12 months but this is niche enough that you could make it work.
Hi @DeanLJ - thanks for the feedback.
I'm working on that exact thing - I think it's a great idea. Need to show activity / social proof to push people past.
Devs are free to join - I don't have 'public' profiles yet for the main reason of giving it all away.
Thanks for the feedback on the button - it is an eyesore - haha - I will revisit that.
Thanks again.
Great feedback!
kevin