Thread: Vantage based directories Launch Strategies

Vantage based directories Launch Strategies

I'd like to discuss something different than coding and styling. After countless hours scrolling long php files and cramming our computer memories with 17 opened tabs, we look at our homepage and can't help but make the "i'm gonna make a lot of money with this" grin face.

Once the site is nicely done, you're slapped with a reality call: It's only the beginning. There are people to contact, social media pages to create, social media friendly logos to design, forum signatures to create, blogs to target, facebook statuses to update, friends to email and a lot more stuff just keep adding up to your pre-launch todo list.

For directories, there are other strategies to plan. Of course all the main launch articles you've read elsewhere do apply to directories but i think this genre should be approached differently since it's really based on user content, rather than a publicity blog of how awesome you are. Your directory won't rank and be popular if users don't create content, and your users won't create content if your directory is not popular or at least have some content. So it's a tricky start for us, but i believe with a beautiful Vantage design and promising dev team, we do have a great starting point.

Now what?..

Let's all brainstorm for a bit and try and find a marketing strategy that fits our genre: Directories. I've searched the net before opening this thread but i honestly lost hope in finding quality advice as most crawled articles are now outdated or are not really addressed specifically to Directories. (I even found an article that advised me to open a MySpace account.. imagine).

Are you already planning your pre-launch strategies? What steps are you taking next after designing your site? What are the best steps to take to gradually launch your directory site, take advantage of the generated buzz, and convert your early adopter to customers? Which packages, promotions, social media marketing, cold calls, online (or offline) tactics worked for you?