I am thinking of starting a website that posts local take out menus that are not already online so that it is easier for people to find a take out or delivery place, now the area in which I need help is how to make this a lucrative website.... can I go to the local area take out and delivery places and ask them if they would be interested in having their menus on my website ( I know I would probably need their permission anyway) and is this something I could charge them for a small one time or annual fee to do. Any help? it would be much appreciated.
dmr

Hello. A business would use your website only if it will make them more money. Which means your website would probably have to have plenty of hits etc. So you will need to advertise big time. Hope this helps

>I am thinking of starting a website that posts local take out
>menus that are not already online so that it is easier for
>people to find a take out or delivery place, now the area in
>which I need help is how to make this a lucrative website....
>can I go to the local area take out and delivery places and
>ask them if they would be interested in having their menus on
>my website ( I know I would probably need their permission
>anyway) and is this something I could charge them for a small
>one time or annual fee to do. Any help? it would be much
>appreciated.
>dmr

Maybe it would help you to feel better about your idea if you knew that someone was already doing something like this. That "someone" is called the Yellow Pages!;-)

I say that because your idea isn't as far fetched as you think because someone else is already doing it.

Number 2 you're going to have to define lucrative. How much money would you have to make on a monthly, yearly basis in order for it to be "lucrative" to you?

The person that replied to you has made a very good point. You see what it is that you want to do is definitely doable. How you make it lucrative is that people are willing to pay a premium price to advertise and that equates to having your website be a lucrative place for them to advertise. I have seen websites from others who are doing the same thing that you want to do and their websites are all encompassing which means that they don't just have the menus but they have other things on their websites as well namely inter-activity like when people talk about the different places (As a matter of fact I have such a thing on my Internet radio station where someone talks about the eateries in my local area). So in order to make your website more lucrative you are going to have to place more than just menus on it. Think of your website as though it were a magazine. Magazines make their money with advertising and subscriptions. The advertising comes as a result of the magazine convincing the advertisers that it would be in their best interests to advertise in their magazines and the subscribers come as a result of the magazine having what it is that they want to read - namely content.

In a nutshell THAT is what your focus should be on.

So content is what i should aim for first, then i will be able to pull in potential advertisers? I just dont kniow where to begin the site....what content to start with to pull in visitors?thank you for the replies and i welcome more please.
dmr816

I agree with Rose. I want to add, too, that the restaurants will want to see trackable results. I suggest printable coupons.

T

Tina Brooks, VP Marketing
Brooks Pepperfire Foods, Inc.
Makers of Peppermaster Hot Sauces
http://www.peppermaster.com

Eat more peppers!

Websites are cheap and easy to setup, so it's almost worth just trying it out to see what happens.

Phase I
Setup a basic site that lists all of the places in your area... a map feature would be good.

Phase II
Go by the places and say "Hey, I've got this site that's listing the local places to eat. I'd like to include your take-out menu so that people can see what you have. It's free for now while I build the traffic so do you mind if I put your menu online?"

Phase III
Assuming traffic continues to come in you could start with some basic banner ads based upon food category. This is where you revisit the places and go "Hey, I get 1,000 local hits a week of people trying to find places to eat in this town. And for $xx I can put your name at the top of the Italian Food category so that people see you first."

Phase IV
Now you can start going back to the places and saying "Hey you again, I know get 2,000 visitors a week to the site... which is great, but I've got to quit my day job so that I can keep everything up to date... so, how'd you like to give me $50 bucks for a permanent listing and another $50 and I'll put your menu and take out number"

Feel free to change up the phases as needed, but that should give you something to think about.

Graydon


Marlin Creek
http://marlincreek.com

Ideas from Marlin Creek
http://ideas.marlincreek.com

Marlin Creek Photography
http://photo.marlincreek.com

Mako's Kitchen
http://makoskitchen.com

Why not try setting up a performance based revenue model. Set up the menus and a way for the customer to order online then send that order to the restaurant and have the restaurant pay you per order received?
I've been looking into how to do this on my own and have more ideas, email me if you're interested in comparing notes.