Looking for constructive criticizm of my site.

[Garage Sale Solutions]

www.garagesalesolutions.biz

Just getting started on this. I'm not sure how I'd make money with the website other than as advertising for me and what I plan on doing. Visiting the site for 2 minutes should give you an idea of what I'm doing. This will be a part time gig during about 7 months of the year.

I know I need to read up on affiliates, advertising and such. Where's a good place to start for someone who has no idea what he's doing...

Thanks...

[angienewton]

Welcome! Feel free to introduce yourself when you get a chance.

Here is one of Lynn's best blog posts about getting started.

How to Make Money Online for Beginngers

As for your site, I would remove coming in 2012 and just fill that page with the content you have and maybe add an opt in form so people can keep up to date with how your product is coming along. Do you have a mailing list manager? Lynn (and many of us) highly recommend Aweber.

Hope this helps.

[Garage Sale Solutions]

Thanks Angie. I think what I'm struggling with is that since my service is local, I'm not exactly sure what's next? I think that I'll want a facebook site, though I've never done facebook. My business will blossom with word of mouth advertising from satisfied customers. Would twitter be necessary? I don't know. Advertising for my customers on craigslist might also drum up some attention. I mean, who wants to create the craigslist-ing? If I did it for a client and said, "Another Spectacular Garage Sale at Location XYZ, Sponsored by Garage Sale Solutions" might generate some traffic/interest.
Driving around with the website and phone number on a trailer would also get some attention.
About all I can think of selling from the site would be the packets, maybe a tip guide on garage sale-ing, balloons, custom banners? Also, this is going to be seasonal, which here in MN, can be 6-8 months depending on when winter comes in... With something this niche and local, does blogging make sense? I have a business plan that I drummed up because until Spring comes, I'm in a holding pattern and slowly building inventory of tables, clothes racks. I want to jump in and do things now, but nobody is going to have a sale when it's 20 degrees outside.

[cindybidar]

What a cool idea for a business!

Yes, I think blogging makes a lot of sense for a site like this. You can cover all kinds of tips and tricks for holding successful garage sales, like dealing with weather difficulties, the best places to advertise, how to price stuff, how to create attractive displays for easier sales, best weekends for garage sales in your area, creative signage...the list is endless.

As far as making money - your market for the service end of your business is local, but you could easily turn your knowledge into an information product. What about an eBook (complete with worksheets and fill-in-the-blank ads) about planning and holding a garage sale? Or one for planning a group sale, or charity (think church) sale?

I think I'd get to work on that while it's cold, as you say, and you can have it up for sale in time for the spring garage sale rush.

Good luck with it - I can't wait to see where you take this!

[cindybidar]

Shoot - I totally got off task there, LOL!

You asked about your site, so here's a few thoughts about that:

Your title tag says "Home - A Website Builder Website" - you should change that to your primary keyword (ideally) or at the very least your site name. No need to advertise someone else's business in such a prime location.

Your header image is a bit stretchy and out of focus - maybe hop over to Fiverr.com and see about getting one made?

Consider adding an "About" page, so visitors can find out who you are and why you're qualified to be offering garage sale tools for rent.

And lastly, I'd consider switching to WordPress - I think you'll find it much easier to develop and maintain, especially if you're thinking of adding a blog. (I say this without knowing anything about WebsiteBuilder, however, so take it with a grain of salt.)

[Kayla Fay]

Ditto what Cindy said on switching to Wordpress. Blogging about some of the fun things that happen at garage sales would be great - when Susie found that perfect hat for her sister's wedding, how Molly found a piece of china that matched her grandmother's set. You could also do great posts on "how to price items", "best places to advertise", "creative advertising", "hiring help", and so forth. It's a great topic!

[gailjrichardson]

I think you've came up with something neat. I would get a better header(clearer) and add some more pictures to the site. And for me using Wordpress.org would be the first switch.

As far as making money with your site I would start by handing out flyers about your site even before spring get here. I would get the sites design right and I would start adding content as Kayla comment about above.

Then by the spring maybe you will be the go to person to ask about yard sales and once so many people are looking for a place to get their questions answered, what better place to sell them advertising spots about their upcoming sales.

Just my 2cents worth
Gail j Richardson

[MeekMike]

Get more content on your homepage. People need more information if they are to really check out your site, here images catch the eye much better than text. Also do some link exchange with other sites related to garage sales. This will be good search engine optimization for your site.

[DebraLloyd]

I would definitely recommend a switch to WordPress, it is so easy to manage a site if you dont have coding skills and SEO will be essential to the growth, there's a reason it's so popular but be sure you set it up right. Learn how to from our own Stormy Liz Jamieson at DevonWebDesigners, they have plugins to help you do this right and easy.

Clean up the header image, add content with a view to selling an eBook with tips on how to have a successful Garage Sale - without losing your shirt or your sanity!

Another focus should be on how you can make this less of an offline business model - look for ways to take the delivery out of the equation then you can do this for any location in any state. You could become the goto site for Garage Sale info in any state/city by making it a directory where people can list their sale for a small fee.

Be sure when you set this up that you set the domain up with an extension people will recognize and use .biz is still strange to many, so you may want to look for a domain that you can secure the .com for - I just checked and garagesalesolutions.com is available! IF you set this up correctly, keep good records of your sales and expenses you could easily sell it down the road for some real money.

Cheers,
Deb