"My thought is set up a blog/posting site with my main revenue stream coming from advertisements by lawyers/real estate agents/apartment finding companies/landlords/property management companies. You said that something like that might get a little more complicated. Would that be something someone with the ambition, but no experience, be able to set up, or would I need to get some professional input."
Absolutely! Here's the great thing that many entrepreneurs looking to start an online business do not know about, there are a lot of +
FREE +tools available out there on the internet to help you create some of the more common types of dynamic (complicated) sites. Discussion boards (forums,) content management systems, ecommerce tools, blog systems, etc. So in your case, you could easily get a domain name and acquire some hosting space, then you could either try to install the systems yourself (most come with
very good documentation on how to install) or you could see if the proving company themselves offer installation services or even find a local web designer to do it for you (this should cost you much less since they are not building a site from scratch.
Where you would possibly want to contract out a web design firm is exactly for that, the design. These systems already have a great core structure (in terms of code, not looks,) but if you wanted your site to have a specific look, then I would recommend finding a professional who can give you that look. Design and ease-of-use is
highly important when building a "service" site (which is essentially what you are providing.) If people can not figure out how to use your site and it looks like something thrown up over the weekend, it may affect if they give it a try.
Look at these solutions:
(Note: On these sites, you can get a free version of each of their systems, however, they all sell packages as well; so you may have to look for the download link to their free systems.)
Forums:
CMS - Content Management Systems
Blog Systems
eCommere Systems
Now all though these systems are free, however, even after you have installed a system you may still need to look for professional help with setting up and configuring your system to do what you want to do (especially with the content management systems and the ecommerce shopping carts!) Finding help on this should be relatively easy and should not cost you too much if
"I would want to start small and inexpensive to even see if this idea can generate enough traffic to start generating some advertising revenue."
This is +
VERY +smart! You definitely have to build the traffic and +
PROVE +who is using/viewing the site before you can attempt to get potential ad clients to devote a percentage of their marketing budget to posting ads on your site. They will want to know how many are using the site per month and if they are located nearby (as it sounds like your potential advertising clients will be focused on their geographical area.)
I would look at two avenues to build your traffic depending on the geographical focus of your site.
If it is nationally focused (meaning all over the U.S.):
I would recommend working with a firm that has expertise in online marketing and SEO (search engine optimization) to help you position your service site in front of tenants looking for a place to vent. As that traffic builds, the current users on the site will likely start fueling the future growth in traffic.
If the site is geographically focused (let's say just in Chicago, IL):
I would recommend setting up the site and then planning to go around different residential locations with the individuals you would target (anything with a landlord) and posting flyers about your site. While this is simple and cheap; it may by no means be the most effective way. The emphasis is on containing your initial reach to the geographical area you want to focus on.
I hope this helps you!
Brian
