Going Live

**richrf** · 08-28-2010, 02:20 PM

Hi everyone,

Well, I am going to try out Hotaru on Links.com. Right now the prototype is in links.com/hotaru. I'll be working on adding posts this weekend before I go live. If you have a chance, I would greatly appreciate any feedback before I go live. I will be upgrading the site with more features and a better look, if it looks like it is getting traction over the next couple of weeks. Let me know what you think. Thanks for all of your help!

Rich

**Bill_C** · 08-28-2010, 05:24 PM

Good luck Rich!

**richrf** · 08-28-2010, 05:30 PM

Thanks Bill. I get about 500 unique visitors a day so I am sure I will find out quickly whether the concept has stickiness.

Rich

**carlo75** · 08-28-2010, 08:26 PM

Rich you have a really good domain name!
You need only a bit of fortune and you'll rock with Hotaru...

**Gunaxin** · 08-29-2010, 12:23 AM

Links.com eh? I actually contacted you back in the spring about possibly buying that domain, before I settled on http://links.gunaxin.com
Glad to see you are using the domain again, and using Hotaru =)

**richrf** · 08-29-2010, 12:25 AM

Originally Posted by Gunaxin

Links.com eh? I actually contacted you back in the spring about possibly buying that domain, before I settled on http://links.gunaxin.com
Glad to see you are using the domain again, and using Hotaru =)

lol! Nice to meet you again. Yes, I am going to give Hotaru a go. Hope it works well. I took a look at your site. Looks great! Is it meeting your expectations? Let's keep in touch. Looking forward to working with other Hotaru users to create a strong and lasting community.

Rich

**richrf** · 08-29-2010, 04:16 AM

OK. I am live now on links.com. Wish me luck. :-)

Rich

**Gunaxin** · 08-29-2010, 06:04 AM

Originally Posted by richrf

lol! Nice to meet you again. Yes, I am going to give Hotaru a go. Hope it works well. I took a look at your site. Looks great! Is it meeting your expectations? Let's keep in touch. Looking forward to working with other Hotaru users to create a strong and lasting community.

I've been extremely happy with Hotaru, but building the site has gone slower than I had hoped. We're getting about 1000 visitors a day right now and that includes us pushing most users there via our main site (www.gunaxin.com). We only have about 10 active users submitting their own content, and even with Anonymous voting turned on now, we're not getting a ton of users voting. I'm gonna keep pushing on it, but its tough.

That said, it looks like we're doing very different sites. I am assuming your site will be mostly SEO based, and you are working in a fairly profitable niche. My goal is really just to develop a community of users, and to send traffic to sites that link to our main site. It is cool how Hotaru can be configured to serve such varied purposes though. =)

**richrf** · 08-29-2010, 06:16 AM

Hi,

Thanks for the help on that sitemap problem!

Yes, I am going after the financial market. I am hoping to build some revenue if I can capture enough visitors. Even with a favorable name and niche, it is not easy. But I am hopeful. If I can help you out, let me know.

Rich