November Newsletter
November was a very momentous month for Data & Sons. We had five major accomplishments this month and a lot of good news to share. (1) First, we completed an entire redesign of www.dataandsons.com. The new Data & Sons is designed with a more elegant interface to make the presentation of information on the site more structured and intuitive. Our number one goal is connecting data buyers and sellers and we think the ordering of information now makes that a much more fluid process. Easier to upload datasets, easier to find datasets, good for everyone. I want to recognize and thank Aaron Darr and his team in Perth, Australia for all the excellent work on making this an outstanding data marketplace.
(2) Our next major accomplishment was being accepted into the Tampa Bay Wave’s Accelerator program. Data & Sons was one of 13 companies selected from over 100 applicants this year. We have now moved offices to the Wave and have enjoyed a wealth of great information, meaningful connections, and some very good business leads. For anyone considering the Accelerator program, we give our highest endorsement. Landing in the Wave also led to some media coverage for Data & Sons. We were mentioned along with the other Accelerator companies in Tampa Bay Business Journal, Tampa Bay Times, the Business Observer, tech.com, and niblets.com. We also want to thank Wave Founder and President Linda Olson and Accelerator Program Director Rich Heruska for all the work they put into the Wave and the Accelerator. A thanks and shout out to the Accelerator selection committee too!
(3) Our third major accomplishment was shattering all of our November growth goals. Our initial goal was 150 users and 100 datasets uploaded on the site. I’m ecstatic to report we now have over 200 users and 174 datasets uploaded! We look forward to continued user and content growth to finish out 2017 strong.
After completing the site redesign, we then began our first marketing campaign after the Thanksgiving break. Beginning on 11/27, we launched Google AdWords campaigns to increase site traffic and brand recognition as well directing buyers to specific datasets for sale. We also added social media campaigns on Facebook and had a lot of site traffic from a Reddit user posting our complete listing of US Craft Breweries on the sub-Reddit Datasets. (4) Combined with the Wave related media mentions, our site traffic was up 443% for the last week of November. Not a bad way to shake off the turkey!
(5) Finally, we got our first sales. The increased site traffic led to two purchases of the US Craft Beer dataset. The first was from our good friend Tom Williams, Founder of eLease and St Pete Brewing that saw the dataset on Facebook. Being revenue positive is a major accomplishment for any startup and we are extremely thankful to have crossed over into the world of money making ventures.
What’s next in December
Big things ahead for Data & Sons before the end of 2017. First, we anticipate finalizing terms with our first third party data provider. Data & Sons would provide a branded, custom gateway to their excellent data. This would significantly increase our data content while providing our partner with a new marketing and distribution channel. We think this will be a win for all involved in the Data & Sons marketplace.
Second, we will be adding a data request feature to our marketplace. The feature people asked for the most was the ability for buyers to request datasets at a specified price. You spoke, we listened. We will be adding this excellent idea to the market in December. This will be a great way for data sellers to understand what kind of demand exists and for buyers to readily get the kinds of data they need.
Third, we will be launching our affiliate partner management system. The system will create a unique weblink the partners can use in their marketing. When a partner’s customer visits Data & Sons through the unique link and creates a user account, the customer is now affiliated with that partner. Anytime that customer sells data on Data & Sons, the partner receives a commission. This will allow us to reward individuals and businesses that drive content to the Data & Sons marketplace. It also allows a lot of people and businesses to get rewarded for creating new revenue streams for their customers. In keeping with out core values, we think our new affiliate system will be a major win-win-win-win for everyone on Data & Sons.
Finally, growth goals for year end: 2 X users and content. Time to get to work!
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