Swappa featured on Androinica

Swappa has been featured on Androinica, an excellent Android blog.

Check out the article about Swappa here:
http://androinica.com/2011/01/25/swappa-is-a-cool-idea-but-needs-more-people/

A new website has popped up called Swappa. It’s intent is to set up a place where users can easily buy and sell Android phones.

I like the idea, and it’s nice to have a centralized service for this rather than scouring Craigslist or eBay. Unfortunately, as with any site like this, it needs users, and inventory.

As they mention, Swappa needs more buyers and sellers. So help spread the word about Swappa!

Reddit Advertising Again: Round 2

I am currently setting up another Reddit advertising campaign for Swappa. The last experience using Reddit advertising for Swappa turned out very good.

The ad this time is nearly identical to the last one (only the period at the end of the sentence "Buy and sell gently used Android devices" has been removed).

The campaign is also very similar. I will run the campaign on the same days as last time (Friday through Tuesday). The difference is that the ad will run for all of Reddit versus just those that subscribe to the Android sub-reddit.

I am interested in seeing the differences in the numbers (e.g. click-through rates and cost per clicks) in this relatively controlled advertising experiment. I look forward to sharing the results next week.

Swappa featured on AndGeeks

Swappa has been featured on AndGeeks, a great Android site with news, reviews, and all sorts of other great Android information.

Check out the article about Swappa here:
http://andgeeks.com/google-android/gphones/want-to-upgrade-your-android-swappa-can-help-sell-your-old-one-882816/

It’s going to take the Android community to let it grow. After all, a marketplace dedicated solely to Android devices helps us all. The more devices, the better prices we can get on an off-contract Android device. It also allows sellers more opportunities to offload their phones and obtain funds to get a new handset.

Thanks for the mention AndGeeks!

Swappa featured on This Green Machine

This Green Machine, a great Android blog, has featured a write up on Swappa, a new way to buy and sell used Androids.

Sometimes devices can stand the test of time and age gracefully (Nexus One), and others are quickly forgotten (Motorola Devour).  So what happens if you just bought your Android phone and are already pining for another?  Have no fear, Swappa.com is here.

It's harder than you'd expect getting noticed and mentioned when still trying to get rolling, so thanks This Green Machine.

Reddit Advertising Results: Swappa's First Campaign

Swappa has just completed a 5-day campaign using Reddit's self-serve advertising. The ad/campaign was focused specifically at Redditors subscribed to the Android sub-Reddit. (Swappa is a simple marketplace for buying and selling gently used Android devices.)

A little background on Reddit's advertising: Reddit requires a $20 per day minimum spend to run an ad campaign. Your impressions are determined by your "share" of the total money bid for the day. Learn more about Reddit advertising...

I spent the minimum $20 per day. The ad ran for 5 days, from a Friday through Tuesday. So it got a good mix of weekday and weekend traffic.

Break me off some digits:

• Total spend: $100
• Daily spend: $20
• Start date: Fri Jan 7
• End date: Tue Jan 11
• Impressions: ~ 9,872 / 75,503 (unique/total)
• Clicks: ~ 1,289 / 1,445 (unique/total)
• Click-through %: 13.06% / 1.91% (unique/total)
• CPC: ~ $0.07
• CPM: ~ $0.13
• Up votes: 85
• Comments: 51

Overall, I'm pleased with the numbers generated by the ad and the relative CPC and CPM costs.

My favorite part about Reddit ads is the ability for users to leave comments. The Swappa ad got 50+ comments, nearly all positive and several with useful suggestions for improvements.

I will definitely be using Reddit ads again in the near future. Next campaign I think I will try showing ads to all of Reddit (rather than just those interested in the Android sub-Reddit). I would imagine this would result in lower click-through-rates, but there's only one way to find out...

If you've read this far, be sure to check out Swappa, the ultimate used Android device marketplace.

Swappa featured on SlapStart

Swappa has been featured on SlapStart: http://slapstart.com/2011/01/swappa/

From the write-up:

Using a site that specializes in top quality Droid products is one way to ensure you get the best phone available. Getting them for cheap is a nice added bonus. One thing that’s particularly nice about Swappa is that it acts like a store. You don’t have to spend any time negotiating or connecting with the seller. You just buy the product like you would at any online store. It’s just cheaper.

SlapStart is unique in that their reviews are entertaining and enjoying to read.  If you launch a startup, contact SlapStart about doing a review.

Reddit Advertising Results: Day 1

Friday was the first of 5 days of a (somewhat experimental) Reddit advertising campaign I setup to promote Swappa. The ad/campaign was focused specifically at Redditors subscribed to the Android sub-Reddit.

Before I get to the stats I must say that I really love the ability of Redditors to comment on your add. I got some very good feedback.

I think my main complaint at this point would be that Reddit requires a minimum spend of $20 per day to show an ad.

Day 1 stats:

• Spend: $20
• Impressions: ~ 2000 / 15000 (unique/total)
• Clicks: ~330 / 500 (unique/total)
• CPC: $0.18
• CPM: $0.58
• Up votes: 31
• Comments: 20

Trying out Reddit advertising

Swappa is trying out Reddit's self-serve advertising platform. The ads should  show on the Android sub-reddit starting Fri Jan 07 to Wed Jan 12.  I'm anxious/curious to see kind of numbers I'll see. I'll post some numbers after the campaign runs...

Swappa featured on StartUpLift

We are pleased to see that Swappa has been featured on StartUpLift.

StartUpLift was created to help promising new startups get exposure and receive insightful feedback. People come to StartUpLift to learn about new startups and engage in stimulating conversation.

Swappa uses Feedback Army

Swappa has just recently launched, and at this point we're really looking for as much feedback as we can get. To help us get quality feedback, Swappa is making use of a truly innovative service called Feedback Army.

Feedback Army's selling point is "cheap, simple usability testing for your website." And it is living up to reputation. So far the feedback has been quick and thoughtful.

Thanks, Feedback Army.