You seem to have a lot of good ideas. My main concern is that it's too many topics too soon but I could be wrong. The good news is you have a list of email addresses you can promote to so that's definitely a start. That will certainly help get the word out in the beginning.
But I always go back to search engines. I know they aren't the only way to bring in traffic but they've been so good to me over the years (and it's free targeted traffic) so they should definitely be a part of the plan.
With a site that focuses on so many different topics (especially shop sites), it will be difficult to get ranked high for anything unless your site becomes extremely popular and other "shop sites" link to you voluntarily. So with a site like that you are going to have to really do some heavy word of mouth promoting, perhaps even pay per click.
Backlinks are everything with the search engines so getting links from many different sites is key but since your site is a hodgepodge of everything, it's hard for the search engines to categorize your site into one theme. Shopping is so broad I'm just concerned you'll get swallowed up.
Tell a friend scripts are OK but again... with no traffic they're useless. You can add them once you start getting traffic (same goes for a forum) but I found my TAF script didn't start getting activity until I had the traffic. So again... it all goes back to the big "T". Also make sure you get a secure script because spambots will ruin the TAF experience. That's why I got rid of mine.
My advice would be start with one theme... home decor for example. Focus on promoting a very specific themed site first. Once that takes off use that site to leverage the next.
I've just seen so many people who are new start out with great ideas for many different site features without a realistic plan for marketing the site. And part of that is there is an assumption that the more features a site has the more attractive it will be but that's not always the case unless the site is very unique and does something other sites do not.
Facebook and MySpace is a great example. Facebook had a lot of the same features as MySpace but it had a specific focus on college students. Once it started getting popular they branched out and targeted other groups. But the creators of Facebook has the technology experience and money to compete with MySpace and grab some of their market.
The other part is that I don't think people understand what makes a site popular. People often don't define who they are targeting. For example, you should be able to tell me "My site is geared toward people who want this or people who need to know this." Having a site that targets everyone or many people is too broad.
For example, 2createawebsite.com is targeted to beginners who want to create a website. flat-stomach-exercises.com is targeted toward females who want a flat stomach. Two clear focuses.
The reason that's important is it helps me when I'm building content I provide information that will appeal to these people. I know the questions, problems and concerns my audience has so I can build information that will attract this group. It also tells me what forums and sites I should go to advertise on. I know what keywords to target in the search engines and what keywords to bid on if I choose to advertise in PPC.
With your topic I'm not even sure what keywords you would target. "Electronic help" is too broad. Same for "home decor"? And I'm just not sure these two topics should even be combined on a new site.
Facebook, MySpace and other networking sites are definitely a great place to get traffic, especially if you promote your site within groups related to your site. But that's a small piece of the puzzle.
Not trying to discourage you at all, but I have read shopping sites are the most difficult to get started because of many of the reasons I've mentioned above. So it's important you really have a clear plan for who you are targeting and how your site is going to be different than the other multi topic shopping/theme sites out there.
There are tons of electronic sites out there that cater to people with questions. So what is going to be different about yours? Will you be targeting a certain kind of electronic device or is it all electronics? Why would I come to your site instead of howstuffworks.com?
When I'm helping my friends with their sites I always tell them you should be able to tell me in a few words who your site is targeting (specifically). People who want to chat about electronics is too broad, but people who want to learn how to troubleshoot Windows Vista problems is much better.
I am definitely playing devil's advocate here because I want you to think this through. What does everyone else think? I seem to be on this thread by myself.
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If you visit the site, it may seem a little dated. That's because I'm in the process of changing it to another location and making it an information site for health reasons. Unfortunately, I just can't do the physical work anymore.
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