Help with starting a business from home

[PillowBed97]

Dear All

I am a new member and am trying to start a business from the family home and need some advice.
I have come up with an idea to sell and my daughter has helped me with a website on GoDaddy at www.pillowbeds.co.uk, however I have no idea on getting the marketing done - especially on a shoestring budget.

I have made quite a few items up ready and have done what I can with the website, but no-one seems to be interested overmuch and I wondered if anyone can give me some insight on selling to other mums.
All help is gratefully received!

Best wishes to all x

I think there are a few things

• there need to be pictures on the landing page which show the product in use (eg at sleepovers, with kids all watching tv and having a great time etc) so people immediately grasp the concept.
• you can employ search optimisation techniques so that the site lists high when people search for floor cushions or beanbags (because no-one is realistically going to search for a "pillow bed" because it's not common terminology.)
• can you consider listing on an aggregator site like Etsy or Not on The HighStreet? Or try local craft fairs to gauge interest?

Even so, I think you're looking at a pretty niche market. We live in an apartment and I don't have 10 pillows worth of storage space to be taken up with two of these for the majority of the time. I imagine you're really looking at people who have playrooms or similar where they can stay out all the time.

I think you need to think more about what the competitor products are (eg big floor beanbags) and how you can persuade people to buy this instead of those.

Your returns policy is illegal and you are not compliant with the Consumer Contract Regulations. I would start by reading up on your legal requirements as an online retailer, and then ditch the website and set up on Etsy. You need a massive budget to market a brand new website with a niche product, even more so when you are using a cheap website provider with rubbish SEO.