I reviewed the first 10 pages of Google and Yahoo and I found the following websites to be our potential competitors:
Note: By directories I mean: providers’ directories: entertainers, food, venues, party supplies, etc.
1- http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/
This is a content website that offers party ideas. They also have a directory of providers.
2- http://www.birthdayexpress.com/
This website has a shop and offers content about parties.
3- http://www.party411.com/guides.html
This website has content and offers advertising.
It is a shop and has content. The ideas contributed by users offer simple, cheap party ideas.
5- http://www.kidsparties.com/
This is a directory of services for kids’ parties. Directory by state and category.
6- http://www.partydirectory.com/
This is a party directory for all types of parties. It does not seem to be an active website
7- http://www.partypop.com/planning/Birthday/
It offers complete directories for all types of parties. It also has some rudimentary interactive tools for budgets and offers ecards and boards.
8- http://www.kidspartyfun.com
It offers directories by state. It is a fun site; a mom created it.
This is a local Fairfield county, CT and Westchester county NY directory. These counties are two of the richest counties in the country next to Beverly Hills and Nassau and a couple of others. They offer directories and other kids’ activities. It is one of the best-designed websites and the co-founders look like very smart people. They do not pop-up in search engines with the regular terms. We found them with very different terms, which are usually not used by people searching. I had a hard time finding them. These guys have the juice to become strong competitors, if they can scale the model nationally.
You may visit their advertising page to get an idea of their services.
http://www.kidsevents.com/advertising/index.cfm
10- http://www.expressbirthdayplanning.com/
This is the closest competitor to our plan. It offers directories of services related to the birthday party. Party directories by state.
They charge the providers for the listings and have many packages.
Sample of their charges:
Step One: Pick a Service
BASIC LISTING :
Select 1 category for your listing plus coverage in up to 3 area codes - $49.95/yr.
ENHANCED LISTING:
Select 1 category for your listing plus coverage in 6 area codes - $79.95/yr.
WEB PAGES OPTIONS are:
ONE WEB PAGE link including 2 photos and 1 title/logo plus text - $95.95*
THREE WEB PAGE links including 8 photos, 4 titles/logos/graphics - $275.00*
* One time fee. Customer must supply all text, graphics and photos.
An Express Birthday Planning representative will contact you within 24 hours of
your purchase to arrange transfer of all elements by mail or email.
MUST HAVE BASIC OR ENHANCED LISTING TO ORDER.
Step Three: Create Your Own Web Site & URL
Instead of our Web Pages residing on our server, we will set up your own domain name and upload your files to your own URL. You will have your very own registered domain name that you can use to refer people to on your business card, news letter and stationary. I.E. http://www.YOURNAME.com. A $30 domain registration fee will be applied if it hasn't been already registered. PLEASE NOTE: We can transfer the Web Pages created in STEP TWO to your own virtual domain, or you can create your own from scratch.
"Express Birthday Party Planning" currently offers 3 hosting options: CLICK HERE to view more information about our hosting plans.
Must have a Basic or Enhanced Listing to order.
Starter - $14.95/mth, 10 megs disk space, 1000 megs data transfer, 5 emails
Power - $19.95/mth, 75 megs disk space, 6000 megs data transfer, 40 emails
E-$$$ - $29.95/mth, 125 megs disk space, 9000 megs data transfer, 60 emails
Similar business models
The knot and the wedding-channel
Both are best in class in wedding and related events planning. They have been in business sine late 90s and have deep pockets.
The knot has extended to all types of media including TV and magazines.
The Wedding channel is the largest in number of visitors and users. It is a wonderful website, very well designed, provides a very pleasant user experience, and is easy to navigate. They work with wedding publications to advertise and attract target visitors.
They offer to providers:
Banners
Direct marketing (ezines)
Local listings
To the users they offer free:
Wedding planning
Articles and very good interactive tools such as:
1- Planning check lists.
This includes list of activities and times (schedule)
2- Wedding Website
You can:
Share your engagement story
Communicate event details and provide maps
Give out-of-town guests travel and lodging information
Display all of your registry information in an etiquette-appropriate way
You also receive:
A choice of designs, including flash animation
A FREE custom web address, good for 2 years
A guest book manager that lets you delete posts
24-hour access for you and your guests
3- Save the date
It's fun and easy to do!
Choose your wording
Select your favorite design
Then, send to everyone you're inviting to the wedding.
4- Guest list manager
Enter guest names once, and we help you:
Total your invitations and RSVPs
Print lists of names for envelope and place card calligraphy
Record table assignments and menu selections
Track gifts and thank-you cards
5- Scrapbook
In order to start your own Scrapbook, you need a FREE WeddingChannel.com membership.
The best way to save all your favorite ideas!
Your Scrapbook makes it easy to organize your favorite photos, add comments to each, and even email them to friends. Plus, your FREE membership gives you unlimited access to all WeddingChannel.com's easy-to-use planning tools.
6- Budget Calculator
To use our Budget Calculator, you need a FREE WeddingChannel.com membership.
Tell us your budget amount and we:
Suggest how much to spend on the gown, flowers, cake and more, based on national averages
Track deposits and balances
Help keep your budget balanced with at-a-glance totals
Reveal insider budget tips to help you save!
They also offer a huge catalog of gowns, party places, etc. That is how they make their money.
They have gift registry services.
They work with some shops that let the clients access the registries (all the articles) from the wedding channel website
Rates for local directories:
Local listings rates:
Premier Listing
$75.00 per month ($900.00 per year)
A web page custom-designed for your business (we take care of all the technical details).
A complete description of your services, along with pricing information
A company logo
A Photo Album of your work (up to ten photos)
A map and driving directions to your front door
A pop up window for special offers or coupons (can be updated monthly)
Geo-targeted banner ads - $30.00 per month
Promote your business with banners that appear in entire region of your Premier Listing
Top tier - $62.50 per month
2- Spa-addicts.com
This is not an ideal model, but perhaps some of their ideas can be part of our offering.
This is how their regular listing works:
National Spa Directory
You can choose from Bronze, Silver or Gold Directory Listings. (Platinum Directory Listings are reserved for Red Hot Special advertisers only.) Prices range from $8.25 - $18.25 per month, plus you receive FREE EXTRA SPACE to offer a spa-addicts EXCLUSIVE special of your choice (encouraged but not required). There is a one-time $50 setup fee for each listing.
Bronze. $99 per year. $199 destination spa
Silver. $169 per year. $269 destination spa
Gold. $219 per year. $ 319 destination spa