My muse, three months in the making

[youngMinn]

http://www.shanghai-tourism-guide.com

I don't know if anyone here is using the software "Site Build It" but it is pretty neat.

The software is built on the premise that I write my content based on the most searched for topics related to my niche (Shanghai). The idea is that I will get more traffic with this website and then release an ebook about expat living and working in Shanghai.

Also, I ran into some documentary makers who are involved with this fairly high profile project:

www.theyoungandthewireless.com

They said that they were interested in documenting how I plan to use my muse to free myself and create a mobile lifestyle. I am hoping that my exposure in this documentary will give my site a lot of traffic.

[obue]

Awesome, I was in Shanghai for a few days about two years ago, absolutely breathtaking city. Really want to go back some day.

The articles look good on skimming. I do think your design could be improved a lot, it looks kinda amateurish. Probably the biggest gripe is the extreme contrasts - the dark background and then a white slate with black text on top of it. All the shades and nuances in the top banner sort of disappears. Either try making the background a bit lighter, or make the text background a bit off white with the text dark gray. Just ease it up a little.

However I think the main problem with the design is that it doesn't say "Shanghai" to me. Sure, the images are there, but the fonts, colors, patterns etc say pretty much nothing.

If you have the money, you really should ask a pro to take a look at it!

[youngMinn]

Cool, thanks for the advice. I understand that this is somewhat crude at the moment.

I was thinking of using elance to make this site look better...do you have any suggestions in terms of the description I should write on elance and a reasonable price to request?

-Mike

[Daydreamer]

I do not have a "professional eye" but I think your site looks really good.

I would agree with obue, though, and say it doesn't look Shanghai but the information was interesting and I liked the feel that you know what you're talking about because you've been there, done that.

I've been thinking about taking the plunge and purchasing SBI! for my muse. I want to start out providing information, like you have, and then one day sell products via drop-shipping.

Did you find SBI easy to use? I am a complete novice when it comes to website design and marketing and I really need someone to kind of (I hate to say for lack of a better statement) hold my hand or lead me in the right direction of what I need to do. Yes, I have a good idea at least I think so but how do I build the site? I've got the domain names can I use them in SBI? And, how do I build the traffic? SBI presents itself as a guide but is it really? Sure I could learn all this on my own, so the internet gurus say, but why if theres a program that can do it for me? Wouldn't that be working harder and not smarter trying to educate myself all at once? I mean I absolutely want to learn HTML and CSS and about trafficing and hosting etc., etc. but I'd also like to get started now and THEN learn all of that stuff.

Anyway, best of luck with your endeavor!! I think you're off to a great start!

[rimam1]

Congratulations on your site. Keep it updated and learn some SEO tricks to rank high in the search engines. I started a few blogs about strength training exercise (http://www.isometricexercisesite.com) and another one about the new Palm Pre (http://www.PalmPreReviewer.com)

At the end of the day, your site may never get the traffic you were hoping for, but it's ok because it's all just a game. Have fun and success will follow.