another web experiment, and a call for victims .. i mean beta testers …

I’m currently setting up a new website that focuses on local small and home based business, and as I start to promote it over the next three months I hope some of my readers may want to get involved and hopefully also benefit from it.

While hardly a new or stunning idea, The Daily Downtown is another “Local Small Business Directory” with extra emphasis on the “local” and “small”. I want to offer a very low cost advertising alternative to the smaller entreprenuer, with a good chance of reaching a target audience that is indeed local to the advertiser.

Rather than category lists or banner ads, each advertiser at the site gets a full page, such as this live demo page.

I have several advertising plans to promote the site now in place and ready to start, but I don’t want to pull the trigger until there is a good amount of content at the site. Ye olde chicken and egge conundrum … I need content (ads) to attract readers, but I need readers to attract content providers (advertisers).

So for the next three months, I’m offering a free highlight page ad any readers who have a small business and would like to try it out. I’ll alert all my beta testers when I start to run promotions for the site. After the three month evaluation, you’ll be invited to continue as an advertiser at a special discount rate, or you can choose not to continue. No hurt feelings here, whichever you choose.

There are only a couple restrictions I need to place on prospective advertisers:

1. The product or service you offer must be family friendly.

2. Your products or services must be easily available to your local prospective customers. Whether you have a physical storefront, operate out of your home, do home visits, sell at the local famer’s or flea market, or any combination, all of these are fine. If you also offer goods or services over the web that’s great too .. as long as you also cater to your local customers. I’m not out to disparage the “web only” businesses out there (which would include myself) but there are already numerous quality “web directories” available. I want this site to have a narrower focus.

If this sounds like something you would like to try, use the contact form on this page and you’ll get a reply from me shortly.

Thanks in advance to all who participate!