Help Needed!

[MrBerger]

Question. Did you ever embark on a project without a clear idea of where it was going only to find that it got too big and unwieldy for you to cope? Well did you? Because that is pretty much where I am at.

This is my first post in this forum (which, let's be honest I have woefully underused) and it is a bit of a painful one. I have worked in the gambling industry for quite a number of years but about 12 months ago, during a period of inactivity, I figured that I would have a go at creating a casino affiliate website. What is more, I started on a budget of £/$/€ Next2Nothing!.

Basically, I am a content creator. I write copy and have done a fair body of work for operator and affiliate sites. However, website design and SEO etc are totally out of my skill set. I can read though! Anyway, I started a project but probably did not put as much work in as I would have liked due to unforeseen obstacles during the year. Now I am playing catch up and it is tough. I am one person and the work that I have set myself is just too much for me alone.

So, by way of getting to the point. I need help. Possibly a mentor. Possibly a partner. Possibly a team. Maybe even all three! I have done the best that I can with the resources available to me and even though my site looks quite pretty (I think) it isn't much of an earner. At the risk of making myself look like a total knob, I am putting it out there. I really need some assistance or advice to help me go to the next level. I know that I am making mistakes (lack of planning be the most obvious) but I guess I need someone else to point them out for me. I do understand that I should start by checking into this forum much more regularly.

Anyway, my website is named Ken Slots (not sure if I am allowed to post that) advice would be great, but what I really need is someone (preferably UK based) to help take the pressure off.

Thanks for listening. Feel free to DM me!

 

[KasinoKing]

Question. Did you ever embark on a project without a clear idea of where it was going only to find that it got too big and unwieldy for you to cope?

I have lost count...

However, website design and SEO etc are totally out of my skill set....

Me too! (Though your website design looks pretty damn good to me)

Anyway, I started a project but probably did not put as much work in as I would have liked due to unforeseen obstacles during the year.

Tell me about it...

I am one person and the work that I have set myself is just too much for me alone...

Welcome to the club.

At the risk of making myself look like a total knob...

I never let that stop ME!

A few comments - feel free to ignore!
Your site looks awesome - I thought mine were big, but your's is mahoosive!
Bigger is not always better though...
But seriously, I am in awe of the amount of content you have there.

It looks to me like you don't need any help with content - just with SEO. The affiliate market today is crazy-tough compared to when I started 14 years ago - I would never get anywhere if I tried to start now.

I can't offer any help even if you wanted it, as I am up to my eyeballs and beyond with my own work as always - but I will wish you the very best of luck!

The only comment I have on your site, is that it's hard to read the white writing on these picture backgrounds:

KK

 

[MrBerger]

Thanks for the kind words KasinoKing. The design took me ages to get it to a point where I am satisfied. The content, well I am never satisfied. The images that you picked up on need to mouseover to reveal the words more clearly. I may change that.

 

[AussieDave]

The images that you picked up on need to mouseover to reveal the words more clearly.

That's a bit like saying, Oh... you missed the secret-door, you didn't pull the bright-pink-leaf

Your site looks awesome

It's a WordPress site using the Mercury Theme. Anyone can make it look amazing. No design/coding skill needed.

Just another WP cookie cutter site!

 

[MrBerger]

That's a bit like saying, Oh... you missed the secret-door, you didn't pull the bright-pink-leaf

No, not really there is quite clearly text over the image which reveals itself on mouseover. Difficult to miss they're quite prominent.

It's a WordPress site using the Mercury Theme. Anyone can make it look amazing. No design/coding skill needed.

Just another WP cookie cutter site!

Yes, it's a theme. It cost me less than $100 and it does the job. I chose the theme because it was value for money and as I have no coding experience (and no real desire to acquire any) it has enabled me to produce a pretty fair looking site. It may interest you to know (although it probably doesn't) that I spent quite a significant amount of time and energy trying to get it to look nice. Is it as nice or as visually stunning as it could be if I had the money to hire a developer? Probably not, but right now it does what it is supposed to do, it looks fairly decent (even if I say so myself) and it is a more than adequate vehicle for my creativity. Thanks for asking.

 

[PennyCJ]

+1 on the amount of content you have! Impressive!

It looks to me like you don't need any help with content - just with SEO. The affiliate market today is crazy-tough compared to when I started 14 years ago - I would never get anywhere if I tried to start now.

To echo this you can only go so far for free/low cost nowadays. To level up you'll need a good SEO budget to get the site ranking. So if you are looking to partner up with someone an SEO expert (or an investor) would be a great shout!

 

[KasinoKing]

Is it as nice or as visually stunning as it could be if I had the money to hire a developer? Probably not, but right now it does what it is supposed to do,

Have you seen my original website???
It is literally just Word documents uploaded to the internet. It looks crap.
But I have made a very nice living of it for the last 14 years, thank you

I'm sure your site will be much more successful. But like all things - it takes time.

I thought about getting a developer - but unless I was literally sitting next to him/her it would just be a total nightmare getting them to make the site look the way I want.

KK

 

[MrBerger]

Have you seen my original website???

I have seen your website. It lacks a little in sophistication, as I'm sure you are aware, but if it has served you well then that's OK. The point is, that for my own personal satisfaction I put as much effort as I could to make it as visually appealing as I could. I am not a web designer. Far from it, I have limited design skills. I found myself looking at hundreds of other affiliate websites out there to try and pick up some tips (some may say copy) for my own site.

If I had have had the resources to hire a design company would have I done so? Hell yeah! That is my character. I would not have been satisfied with a product that I didn't enjoy visually, myself. Of course, I was limited by the restrictions of the theme that I chose, but you can't have everything. You do make a good point though. Maybe I am a little bound up with the visual aspect of the site over the function. However, one has to start somewhere, doesn't one!