IWannaFreeGame.com not getting much interest, suggestions?

Hi, my site, IWannaFreeGame.com is not getting that much interest. I took suggestions from all of you earlier and made lots of changes, what more would you like to see from the site (besides shipped products, lol) that would make you consider doing it?

Current prizes
2 refs x 1 Game for Xbox, PS2, PSP, GameCube or PC
4 refs x 3 Games for the same systems
4 refs = Xbox, Ps2, or Gamecube system
4 refs = $125 Amazon.com GC
6 refs = PSP system

I loved the suggestions I got last time and just wanted to see if there were any more you could offer.

Easier offers. P

[quote5b37b44c6d="Collateral"]Easier offers. P[/quote5b37b44c6d]

I'm still workin on that one. I'll be calling metarewards to set up an account on Monday =)

There are still lots of offers though, Arctic White, Blockbuster, BMG, Body By Jake, Carboburn, Coastal Vineyards Wine Club, DermFX, Dreamshape, Ink Wholesaler, Netflix and Video Prof are all relatively easy offers. Although some old timers will find it hard to do cheaper ones.

why does it take so long after you complete and your referels complete before you ship. I think faster shipping times would be an idea.

[quotedcf272162e="scooter2479"]why does it take so long after you complete and your referels complete before you ship. I think faster shipping times would be an idea.[/quotedcf272162e]

Because it ensures that I've received the check from my publisher before I ship. This reduces fraud making sure that not only you receive your gift, but everyone after you receives theres as well. I don't want to be one of those sites that ships one set of gifts and then has to close. If the site receives a steady cash flow there is a chance later on that the shipping times will be reevaluated.

My suggestion, pick out games that won't be out til I ship anyways, that way you would have to wait anyways. With new games being released every week, this should not be hard to do =)

im going to do it anyway, im waiting for my 2nd referel to green

Anyone have a link to here that they would like to trade me?

Warning Body by Jake refused to pay Anygift4free.com... we all had to do other offers.

Your site is catering to a very small niche market gamers.

If you want a successful site, your main focus needs to be on products that a larger range of people would enjoy, such as ipods, tv's, digital cameras, etc.

That is how freeipods did so well, they offered a product that appeals to multiple generations.

Send me a PM if you would like sometime, i have degrees in marketing and psychology, so I can probably give you some more advice if you'd like.

[quoteccd3634cb6="iusa"]Your site is catering to a very small niche market gamers.

If you want a successful site, your main focus needs to be on products that a larger range of people would enjoy, such as ipods, tv's, digital cameras, etc.

That is how freeipods did so well, they offered a product that appeals to multiple generations.

Send me a PM if you would like sometime, i have degrees in marketing and psychology, so I can probably give you some more advice if you'd like.[/quoteccd3634cb6]

there you go slease....that sounds like a good offer.

[quote02831ae551="iusa"]Your site is catering to a very small niche market gamers.

If you want a successful site, your main focus needs to be on products that a larger range of people would enjoy, such as ipods, tv's, digital cameras, etc.

That is how freeipods did so well, they offered a product that appeals to multiple generations.

Send me a PM if you would like sometime, i have degrees in marketing and psychology, so I can probably give you some more advice if you'd like.[/quote02831ae551]

gamers are not a small niche market though. they are a niche market but certainly not a small one.

[quotea9d02d1c4f="slease"]
gamers are not a small niche market though. they are a niche market but certainly not a small one.[/quotea9d02d1c4f]

Sorry, I should clarify...Comparatively, they are a small niche market.

Video games appeal mostly to males, aged approx. 13-24.

Ipods appearl to males AND females 13 - 55ish

TV's appeal to males AND females aged 0-death

Digital Cameras appeal to males AND females aged 13- 65ish

See my point?

Just to add, you may see gaming as a bigger market than it really is, which could be because you are a gamer, you are friends with many gamers, or you are simply in that demographic of 13-24, which I'm assuming you are, so you will overestimate how big the market really is. You have to take a step back and think more "outside the box" (I hate that expression, but its applicable here.)

Anyways, best of luck with your site!

[quote215d00f93b="iusa"][quote215d00f93b="slease"]
gamers are not a small niche market though. they are a niche market but certainly not a small one.[/quote215d00f93b]

Sorry, I should clarify...Comparatively, they are a small niche market.

Video games appeal mostly to males, aged approx. 13-24.

Ipods appearl to males AND females 13 - 55ish

TV's appeal to males AND females aged 0-death

Digital Cameras appeal to males AND females aged 13- 65ish

See my point?[/quote215d00f93b]

I absolutely see your point, but I think the target market is the one currently engaged in most of the freesite business. Do you know a lot of 50 year old males attempting to win a free anything? Look at the success of gratis's freepsps.

True. Another thing to consider is the recent influx of "newbie" free sites. Wtih more and more sites started by individuals with little to no initial capital, it is hard to trust that a site will actually pay out, whether it be from scamming, which I'm sure you aren't in the business to do, or by simply a lack of funding.

As someone in the marketing business, as well as a graphic designer, I think your site needs to be more aesthetically appealing. Right now, it looks very amateur, and one of the ways people become more comfortable with something if they feel it looks professional.

For example, the prize boxes on the main page being just white boxes with some black text in a default font makes it look somewhat "cheap."

The black/dark blue color scheme also does not look as professional as it could be for a freebie site.

Just some thoughts, sorry for the mini-novel.

can we have 360 games as a prize? you can pre-order some now and having my copy of gears of war lined up would be nice for when gratis sends me my 360

[quotea54a1161f8="iusa"]True. Another thing to consider is the recent influx of "newbie" free sites. Wtih more and more sites started by individuals with little to no initial capital, it is hard to trust that a site will actually pay out, whether it be from scamming, which I'm sure you aren't in the business to do, or by simply a lack of funding.

As someone in the marketing business, as well as a graphic designer, I think your site needs to be more aesthetically appealing. Right now, it looks very amateur, and one of the ways people become more comfortable with something if they feel it looks professional.

For example, the prize boxes on the main page being just white boxes with some black text in a default font makes it look somewhat "cheap."

The black/dark blue color scheme also does not look as professional as it could be for a freebie site.

Just some thoughts, sorry for the mini-novel.[/quotea54a1161f8]

I know what you mean about the aesthetics. I've been working on the layout for a couple days straight, I'm sure you've noticed the html issues in the last 30 minutes, lol.

The prize images are just placeholders. I threw them together yesterday when I made the prizes. I'll be replacing them.

[quote11437b6a4c="zone.of.the.enders1640"]can we have 360 games as a prize? you can pre-order some now and having my copy of gears of war lined up would be nice for when gratis sends me my 360[/quote11437b6a4c]

I'll definately think about that. Great idea.

[quotebd51103367="slease"]
I know what you mean about the aesthetics. I've been working on the layout for a couple days straight, I'm sure you've noticed the html issues in the last 30 minutes, lol.

The prize images are just placeholders. I threw them together yesterday when I made the prizes. I'll be replacing them.[/quotebd51103367]

Yeah I did notice that, I was hoping it wasn't just my browser going crazy, because it seemed the page changed every couple minutes when I refreshed.

Sorry if anything I say has or may sound rude or blunt, but I just want to give you some honest feedback. )

I think it might have been a mistake to launch before getting all of the "bugs" worked out, and definately before finalizing the site design. Perhaps a better idea would have been to "pre-release" it to a few of your friends first to make sure everything worked smoothly, then went "public" with it.

Also, if you don't mind me asking, and you can answer via PM if you'd like...approximately how much capital do you have to start this site? Obviously you've got some cash from your freebie endeavours, but I think one key to a successful site is being able to have an moderate to substantial initial investment, rather than operating commission check to commission check.

[quote61daf4161c="slease"]
I absolutely see your point, but I think the target market is the one currently engaged in most of the freesite business. Do you know a lot of 50 year old males attempting to win a free anything? Look at the success of gratis's freepsps.[/quote61daf4161c]
Good point.

Also, I think iusa is underestimating the gamer's market. It's a huge market already (bypassing box office) and is growing quickly. I've often read that the average age of a "gamer" (depends on defintion) is around 30. A quick google search turned this up (USA today sucks but hey)
http//www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-05-12-gamer-demographics_x.htm
13 to 24? I don't think so...

However, if you want more exposure, I agree with iusa in that you should offer ipods as well. Everybody wants them. And fill in the spaces that Gratis doesn't occupy. Games are already a good idea for those with their free psps and consoles, but why not offer memory sticks? Offering PSPs probably won't be popular as they can be had for 5 elsewhere. Why not offer 4 Gig ipod minis for 4 referrals (if that's feasible)?

[quote26a08dae14="iusa"]Also, if you don't mind me asking, and you can answer via PM if you'd like...approximately how much capital do you have to start this site? Obviously you've got some cash from your freebie endeavours, but I think one key to a successful site is being able to have an moderate to substantial initial investment, rather than operating commission check to commission check.[/quote26a08dae14]

I'll answer you vaguely. I have enough startup capital to fund a first set of shipments, but I won't be using it to do that unless I have to. My shipments won't be going out until I receive a check from my advertiser, I must stress that I'm not doing this because of a lack of funding, but to prevent fraud. Advertisers have a habit of pulling payments for certain offers due to fraud, they often don't let you know until right before shipping time. If I've shipped gifts already to those that went green using a pulled offer, than the site loses money, meaning gifts won't ship to to those further down the line. So startup capital in this endeavor, while present, isn't a necessity.

Yes, I realize that I should have let more people see the site before I opened it. I didn't receive all these wonderful suggestions until after the site was opened, and I'm correcting the problem now. The site functions correctly, it's only aesthetical changes.

[quote9a16363abb="hehehhehe"][quote9a16363abb="slease"]
I absolutely see your point, but I think the target market is the one currently engaged in most of the freesite business. Do you know a lot of 50 year old males attempting to win a free anything? Look at the success of gratis's freepsps.[/quote9a16363abb]
Good point.

Also, I think iusa is underestimating the gamer's market. It's a huge market already (bypassing box office) and is growing quickly. I've often read that the average age of a "gamer" (depends on defintion) is around 30. A quick google search turned this up (USA today sucks but hey)
http//www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-05-12-gamer-demographics_x.htm
13 to 24? I don't think so...

However, if you want more exposure, I agree with iusa in that you should offer ipods as well. Everybody wants them. And fill in the spaces that Gratis doesn't occupy. Games are already a good idea for those with their free psps and consoles, but why not offer memory sticks? Offering PSPs probably won't be popular as they can be had for 5 elsewhere. Why not offer 4 Gig ipod minis for 4 referrals (if that's feasible)?[/quote9a16363abb]

If this site is successful I'll be opening other sites. Ipods will certainly be one. That's why I've prematurely named the sites a network. As for gaming accessories, thats why I've included the amazon gift certificate, I'm not going to create a site that offers 100 prizes on their front page, I don't like those sites at all. Of course, since the gaming site is all thats open now, I'll probably allow custom orders.

[quote="hehehheheGood point.

Also, I think iusa is underestimating the gamer's market. It's a huge market already (bypassing box office) and is growing quickly. I've often read that the average age of a "gamer" (depends on defintion) is around 30. A quick google search turned this up (USA today sucks but hey)
http//www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-05-12-gamer-demographics_x.htm?

I'm not overestimating by any means.

Compare the number of people who buy "gaming" stuff to the number of people who buy portable mp3 players, televisions, digital cameras, etc.

Like I said, the gaming market is small COMPARATIVELY to huge markets such as mp3 players, tv's, digi cams, etc.

The numbers don't lie. Sony sold 500,000 PSPs in the first week, which is impressive, but sales after that aren't constant. Apple sold 2 MILLION ipods in one quarter (July - Sept 2004), and they continue to post steady sales numbers.

Yes, you were underestimating, as far as the age group goes ("Video games appeal mostly to males, aged approx. 13-24. "). That doesn't even cover the bottom half of the demographics dist. curve. That's why I provided the link.

As you can see in my prev post, I agreed with you that the market for people after ipods is greater. Slease seems to want to stick to the gamers anyway...

[quote3d81862c2d="hehehhehe"]Yes, you were underestimating, as far as the age group goes ("Video games appeal mostly to males, aged approx. 13-24. "). That doesn't even cover the bottom half of the demographics dist. curve. That's why I provided the link.

As you can see in my prev post, I agreed with you that the market for people after ipods is greater. Slease seems to want to stick to the gamers anyway...[/quote3d81862c2d]


Okay, so I underestimated the age group. I think accurately estimating the overall demand for gaming units is a little more important, which I addressed and you did not.

I think you should introduce your site to some of the top freebie
forums such as Gearlive and Anything4free and the like

I think you should add some acce. like Xbox live Kits, Xbox dvd remotes, Controllers, etc.

[quote6afdd72c8a="iusa"]Okay, so I underestimated the age group. I think accurately estimating the overall demand for gaming units is a little more important, which I addressed and you did not.[/quote6afdd72c8a]
Don't take it so personally lol. I just don't like it when people pull numbers out of their ass. You "accurately estimated the overall demand for gaming units" (quite a task for someone just to post on a freebie site) just by stating that the PSP sold 500k units its first week? Ok, sure...

Just relax a bit. Overall, I agreed with you. (I don't want to further litter this thread so I won't pursue this.)

[quote6628c68eb8="JUNIOR6886"]I think you should introduce your site to some of the top freebie
forums such as Gearlive and Anything4free and the like[/quote6628c68eb8]

They've already started a semi-c0nga for it at Anything4Free and I rarely go to gearlive. Maybe I'll pop in on them once I finish my site enhancements.

If I could mix and match consoles for the 3 games (Ie. 2 PSP games and 1 PC game) I would be more than happy to do your site.

[quotea7814c15ae="JOSHBOX"]If I could mix and match consoles for the 3 games (Ie. 2 PSP games and 1 PC game) I would be more than happy to do your site.[/quotea7814c15ae]

I have no problem doing that, but I guess it's not obvious. I'll try and add that option somewhere.

I just think it would look cleaner instead of having 1 game for 4 different consoles offered, and 3 games for 4 different consoles offered, maybe you should just put ANY 3 games valued at 50 or less or ANY 1 game valued at 50 or less. Dunno if it would be better or worse, just a suggestion.

[quote50aa09d891="slease"]Hi, my site, IWannaFreeGame.com is not getting that much interest. I took suggestions from all of you earlier and made lots of changes, what more would you like to see from the site (besides shipped products, lol) that would make you consider doing it?

Current prizes
2 refs x 1 Game for Xbox, PS2, PSP, GameCube or PC
4 refs x 3 Games for the same systems
4 refs = Xbox, Ps2, or Gamecube system
4 refs = $125 Amazon.com GC
6 refs = PSP system

I loved the suggestions I got last time and just wanted to see if there were any more you could offer.[/quote50aa09d891]

I thought you sold you site on ebay? ?

[quote6e6d556502="freedesktoppc"][quote6e6d556502="slease"]Hi, my site, IWannaFreeGame.com is not getting that much interest. I took suggestions from all of you earlier and made lots of changes, what more would you like to see from the site (besides shipped products, lol) that would make you consider doing it?

Current prizes
2 refs x 1 Game for Xbox, PS2, PSP, GameCube or PC
4 refs x 3 Games for the same systems
4 refs = Xbox, Ps2, or Gamecube system
4 refs = $125 Amazon.com GC
6 refs = PSP system

I loved the suggestions I got last time and just wanted to see if there were any more you could offer.[/quote6e6d556502]

I thought you sold you site on ebay? ?[/quote6e6d556502]

yeah... didnt you?

[quote00876c1e06="iusa"][quote00876c1e06="hehehhehe"]Yes, you were underestimating, as far as the age group goes ("Video games appeal mostly to males, aged approx. 13-24. "). That doesn't even cover the bottom half of the demographics dist. curve. That's why I provided the link.

As you can see in my prev post, I agreed with you that the market for people after ipods is greater. Slease seems to want to stick to the gamers anyway...[/quote00876c1e06]


Okay, so I underestimated the age group. I think accurately estimating the overall demand for gaming units is a little more important, which I addressed and you did not.[/quote00876c1e06]

Hmm... not to mention, the piracy of these games sort of devalues the target group does it not?
IMO 13-24 is the most prone at pirating or buying illegal copies of games... and there you've already lost a good chunk of your targeted demographic....

Making tech stuff your prizes instead of software may help widen the target group...

[quote1ea9e99393="Blackstar"][quote1ea9e99393="iusa"][quote1ea9e99393="hehehhehe"]Yes, you were underestimating, as far as the age group goes ("Video games appeal mostly to males, aged approx. 13-24. "). That doesn't even cover the bottom half of the demographics dist. curve. That's why I provided the link.

As you can see in my prev post, I agreed with you that the market for people after ipods is greater. Slease seems to want to stick to the gamers anyway...[/quote1ea9e99393]


Okay, so I underestimated the age group. I think accurately estimating the overall demand for gaming units is a little more important, which I addressed and you did not.[/quote1ea9e99393]

Hmm... not to mention, the piracy of these games sort of devalues the target group does it not?
IMO 13-24 is the most prone at pirating or buying illegal copies of games... and there you've already lost a good chunk of your targeted demographic....

Making tech stuff your prizes instead of software may help widen the target group...[/quote1ea9e99393]

It's a rather small group that pirates console games, PC is a different matter. Systems are offered.

I did sell my site, to a non paying bidder. After that I considered relisting, but I found I wanted to keep it and run it instead. So I did. -)

I like the idea of condensing the prizes into an all consoles game option. I'll see what I can put together.

[quote0de885174d="slease"][quote0de885174d="Blackstar"][quote0de885174d="iusa"][quote0de885174d="hehehhehe"]Yes, you were underestimating, as far as the age group goes ("Video games appeal mostly to males, aged approx. 13-24. "). That doesn't even cover the bottom half of the demographics dist. curve. That's why I provided the link.

As you can see in my prev post, I agreed with you that the market for people after ipods is greater. Slease seems to want to stick to the gamers anyway...[/quote0de885174d]


Okay, so I underestimated the age group. I think accurately estimating the overall demand for gaming units is a little more important, which I addressed and you did not.[/quote0de885174d]

Hmm... not to mention, the piracy of these games sort of devalues the target group does it not?
IMO 13-24 is the most prone at pirating or buying illegal copies of games... and there you've already lost a good chunk of your targeted demographic....

Making tech stuff your prizes instead of software may help widen the target group...[/quote0de885174d]

It's a rather small group that pirates console games, PC is a different matter. Systems are offered.

I did sell my site, to a non paying bidder. After that I considered relisting, but I found I wanted to keep it and run it instead. So I did. -)

I like the idea of condensing the prizes into an all consoles game option. I'll see what I can put together.[/quote0de885174d]

I had a feeling the guy wasn't gonna pay after it went so high. maybe you should have done a buy it now.

smoother interface, the plain black and blue is monotonous, view other webpages (i.e gratis and offer centric). humans are prone to build a quick mental judgement on everything in less than 30 seconds. create a slogan or icon that will grab anyone who enters the site. not that bad though, 4 refs for 3 games..........

maybe some paypal would be gooood too, so that everyone will know fosho that your' legit, i got more to add, but gotta go, PM if you need any more suggestions.......

You should also put a time frame for offers crediting. I did the Body by Jake offer last Thursday and I'm still waiting. Hopefully it will be credited in time so I can enter into the drawing.

[quote84397cc57a="adam254"]You should also put a time frame for offers crediting. I did the Body by Jake offer last Thursday and I'm still waiting. Hopefully it will be credited in time so I can enter into the drawing.[/quote84397cc57a]

Good idea, once I get an estimate on all those time frames I'll add it. I've had no credits for body by jake so far.

Having a forum section on the I Wanna Network should help too. Maybe you can talk to Admin about it.