HN Explorer

When is it time to give up?

3 points by monsterhunter32 ↗ HN
I've spent two years trying to build my website and have tried for over a month to get people to join it with no luck at all. I know it takes time for websites to gain traction, but do you think the idea is stupid and I should try something else? I don't like the idea of having wasted 2 years with nothing to show for it.

Website: https://www.doityourselfnation.org/

10 comments

[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 29.2 ms ] thread
oldmancoyote
Failure is a necessary part of the path to success. Nobody gets it right at first. You must get help identifying why you have failed and redesign accordingly. Then, you must iterate (probably multiple times).

Good luck!

jmg1138
When I visit this URL in Firefox on Android I get a warning that says "This connection is untrusted". That might be turning away visitors.
monsterhunter32
Thanks, someone else told me this issue which I relayed to Amazon Web Services and they said they didn't see the problem when testing it for themselves.
mindcrime
A month isn't a very long time. Despite the occasional story you see in the press about some new site that is a literal "overnight sensation", you should probably give it a bit longer. Most "overnight sensations" take a LONG time to become such.

That said..

but do you think the idea is stupid and I should try something else?

I spent a few minutes looking around the site and still don't really know what "the idea" is. I mean, yeah, I see that you can share videos and stuff, but I don't get what makes this site distinct. I can share videos on Youtube, why should I use this site? Are you trying to appeal to a certain community or topic? Is the key element the monetization aspect, or is just the sharing? What's the "leaderboard" link at the top for and why would I care about a "leaderboard"? And how does it go from videos to the stuff about flipbooks and what-not?

I just feel like you need more / better messaging, right front and center, that articulates exactly what/who this site is for and why they should use it.

monsterhunter32
Thank you for your feedback. It was supposed to be a website that combined YouTube, Amazon, and Facebook together along with other aspects like uploading flip books. The leaderboard was an attempt to add a gamification aspect to the website where others could compete for top views, sales, endorsements, ect... I was hoping that the homepage could convey the message of being able to upload books, video's, files, and products free of charge and earn money doing so, but it looks like it doesn't do a good job.
jmnicolas
You're talking about your idea in the past tense like you already made your mind about it.
monsterhunter32
I honestly thought of just giving up, but there looks like there are some things I should try first before calling it quits.
mindcrime
the message of being able to upload books, video's, files, and products free of charge and earn money doing so

Well there ya go. Add that sentence, almost exactly like that, right at the top of page. Something like

<h1>Content Creators: Upload books, video's, files, and products free of charge and earn money doing so!</h1>

would go a long way towards making the site's purpose more clear. You'll still have to sell people that you can deliver on that promise, but there's probably a segment of people out there, that if you can get them on the site, will say "Oh, I'd kinda like to do that".

monsterhunter32
Thanks for the great advice. Having a header to give an exact idea of what the website is would probably help.