your suggestions/advice will be appreciated!

so i've re-vamped and re-launched www.dixter.com and would really like your expert opinion on what you really think about the site.

it's been a somewhat successful site over the two years that it's been online, but i feel as though something is missing that may be limiting it's growth. the concept maybe? the quality of the shoots? the design/flow? i don't know! i think sometimes as webmasters and business owners we can think ourselves into a box, and i may have done that with dixter, specially since it's been an ongoing project of mine since i was pretty young. i would love to hear from some of you and get some fresh perspective so that maybe i won’t make the same mistakes i made when i first launched the site in 2007.

btw, the two things that i'm changing for sure is the splash page (index.php) and the join page. if you have some suggestions on these, let me know

thanks guys and gals! really appreciate it

allan

ps. if you require a pass, just shoot me a pm and i'd be happy to provide it

Why do you think it has limited growth?

What is your growth rate right now month to month?

Regards,

Lee

From what I'm seeing, you've got your ducks all lined up just right. The dixter tour is pleasing color wise and has a definate 2.0 feel about it, and the guys are what you say they are: masculine, amateurs, and a bit rough.

The site name is certainly original and quite brandable. I like the logo design/font used for it.

Can I ask what CMS you're using and is that a transparent tour? If so you seem to be showing nice sized model pics, good text to support each one, and plenty of video viewing options. Definately a site I'd look to promote on a jock niched hub or blog. The one thing I didn't sit and work out though is how often you update? That needs to be done on a very regular basis.

Your affiliate tools need expansion, but you're already working on that. Offering an affiliate trackable rss feed would be the one other item I'd recommend you look at adding to the list.

Perhaps investing in some webmaster board advertising, or at least being a bit more involved on various boards, would draw more attention to the program.

thanks lee! why do i think it has limited growth? because the first time i launched the site in '07 it peaked at a certain point and i really had to work to maintain that level and it just wouldn't grow past that (hence the reason i re-designed and re-launched), and i don't want to star again this time around and have those same underlying issues. some webmasters have pointed to the fact that it's "missing a key ingredient" that could potentially take it to a whole other level, mainly referring to the concept.

the new site just when up three weeks old, so not sure if the growth rate would be very valid right now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lee

Why do you think it has limited growth?

What is your growth rate right now month to month?

Regards,

Lee

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hey bec! i'm using SiteDepth as my CMS and the only problem is that it is limited in what it can do so every thing is pretty much considered an upgrade and requires custom programming ($$), which is fine and i'm willing to do. Is it transparent? not sure what you mean, but the tour mirrors the member's area if that's what you're talking about.

right now i update once every two weeks but as soon as things pick up, i'll be updating weekly. but i'm not so concerned with my retention rate right now, but would like to increase my sales conversion. do updates affect your conversion rate? i guess it does wrt returning visitors

and i've been considering doing some webmaster advertising and promoting, but waiting for the majority of the marketing tools to go up (by end of next week)

you mentioned that you think everything is inline, but i can't help to think that it's missing something or that something needs to be improved. you think it may just be the limited updates?

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Originally Posted by Bec

...Can I ask what CMS you're using and is that a transparent tour? If so you seem to be showing nice sized model pics, good text to support each one, and plenty of video viewing options. Definately a site I'd look to promote on a jock niched hub or blog. The one thing I didn't sit and work out though is how often you update? That needs to be done on a very regular basis...

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by GPallan

the new site just when up three weeks old, so not sure if the growth rate would be very valid right now.

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Growth rate is extremely valid, especially since you just did the new tour.

For example, lets say you had a growth rate of 15% on the old tour month after month but right now, you only have a growth rate in the last 3 weeks of 5% that means the new tour isnt doing what it is supposed to.. Increasing sales and you need to change it back.

Dont forget, making money isnt about how much you make each month, but about how much more you make each month which is why knowing your growth rate is an important factor.

If you are doing the same thing all the time and only making $1000 in sales month after month then you are doing something wrong and you have no means of growing your business, a well designed site should have at least a 5-15% growth rate (or higher) month after month to allow you to expand your business reach.

The added benefit of knowing your growth rate over the past few years is that you are able to take into account more effectively the current economic state, for example, lets say that overall the economy has declined by 5% last month, but you had a monthly growth rate of 15%, realistically, you shouldnt be concerned if your current growth is only 10% because on average, everyone else will have lost 5% growth due to the economy, if you are sustaining a 15% rate of increase though, it means you are doing something right because your business IS growing even during bad economic times.

As i said, making money online isnt just about knowing how much you are going to be making at the end of the month, but knowing how much MORE you are going to be making at the end of the month when compared to last month, last year, etc, only by knowing these numbers can you get a true idea of whether or not your business is actually working or if it is just ticking by.

Regards,

Lee

anyone else have any suggestions?

Everyone else is winding up at the Phoenix Forum

haha! while i freeze my butt off here in toronto

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Originally Posted by Bec

Everyone else is winding up at the Phoenix Forum

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I heard from one of my friends that it has been arctic cold in Toronto this week! I've been needling him with reports of beautiful, cloudless 75 degree days, after which he told me to fuck off :)

I really like the look of the tour. You've got some hot guys, good write-ups, and nice pics to go with. If it were me, I'd offer up a few video clips at full resolution (or maybe they were there, but I couldn't find them) to show people what they'll be getting, but I think it should convert well.

Also, I don't know if it affects conversion, but I'm a stickler for spelling and grammar, so if it were me, I'd go back through the text. There are a handful of spelling errors (mostly words correctly spellled, but the wrong word, such as "starring" when you mean "staring"), and a few cases of words missing in a sentence, in a couple cases enough so I had to re-read to figure out what the intended meaning was. I dunno how many people actually *read* any of the text anyway so it might not be an issue.

The tour is well done, good choice of screen shots, good models

don't see any problems

I think the site looks great. Just my kinda men, too!