Getting nowhere fast

Ok, it would seem that the website I mentioned before can use this type of skill based game for entry because their prize is set and pre-existing. Sadly it is not permitted for the prize to be dependent on the number of people entering. So it seems a complete change in outlook is needed. What form this will take is still beyond me. I just wanted people to have the opportunity to help create something that most of them would never have a chance to participate in, but I fear without the carrot of the prize at the end, it would be impossible to get people to invest money.

The search continues....

Thank god for the Blog

You may recall that we had a problem, i.e. avoiding lottery laws. Well a very good friend of mine was reading the Blog and made me aware of the solution that "Best of the Best" (the people who let you win Ferrari's and the like) use to get around this. They use an online spot the ball competition. This is frankly, inspired as it would not put many people off entering as everyone still has the same amount of chance of winning whilst satisfying the skill based element for the Gambling Act. Also the result can be put off for as long as necessary and no-one can second guess it, as the final position is decided by a professional sports judge. So well done Blog reader, you know who you are!! Now I just have to re-read the Act to see if there are any upper limits on skill based games!

Houston we have . . .

. . . a problem. Spent most of last night reading the Gambling Act 2005 and it would seem that my scheme does indeed constitute an illegal lottery, it would seem some creative thinking is sorely needed. Oh well, this all needs to go on the back burner for a while as I do my 17th edition electricians course. The joys of learning.

Ups and Downs

Found a site that will supply a billion email addresses for £100. This is considerably better than the prices I have been finding elsewhere!

Fired off an email to a local solicitors firm just sounding them out about the whole idea. They were quite cautious and said I had to be careful not to set up something that would be viewed as an illegal lottery. However with further advice at £180 per hour + Vat I think I will spend a bit of time looking into this myself!!

Been thinking about how to launch recently and wondering about the idea of partnering with a magazine. Just a thought for the future.

How to reach tens of thousands of people

Currently scratching my head over how to advertise. The trouble is, once people start signing up, there should be plenty of money to spend, but for now, how do I get people to sign up. Looking into opted in email lists. Seems if I was in the USA then I could happily afford a million names but here in the UK I may struggle as they seem very expensive. The search continues...

IFRAME to the rescue

Finally managed to embed the email form onto the registration page today. Using IFRAME (which I didn't know existed) I managed to put a frame in the middle of the page and point the source at the PHP page that contains the form. All sounds very complicated (or simple, depending on the reader) but I was chuffed as it gives a much cleaner look. Happy with the way the form emailer is working too. Not only do I get a notification email with all the details but the form service provider holds a database of all the registrations which I can access anytime, and with unlimited entries. All for a few pounds a year. Some providers want thousands of pounds for similar services!
All I need now is thousands of people to access the site. Oh well, time to start learning about Search Engine Optimization.

We have lift off, sort of...

The holding pages have been extensively remodelled so both fantasy2reality.co.uk and fantasyhome.co.uk have fully fledged websites. Have put an email form on fantasy home for people to register early interest but not 100% happy with it yet, want to embed it in the site. Also I am using web forwarding at the moment to avoid hosting costs at this early stage but not happy with the results when clicking links between the two sites. Will have to dip into the old pockets again, moths beware! The upshot of all this is that if someone does stumble across the site without me doing any marketing, they will understand about the project and be able to register their interest. If nothing else, the sites may act as a sort of interactive business plan, to show the proposal off in it's best light.

Anyway, off to work, shopfitter head back on.

And so it begins...

Just managed to set up the blog. Almost paid for it via my web host before coming across blogger. Good old Google.

The website I am trying to set up is an interactive property development site where members subscribe to join, then 80% of the members fees go into a trust or development fund where they control it via votes on the website. The idea is that, through the website, the members purchase and develop a property through to completion.

This is where it gets interesting. At this point, one of the members is selected at random and gets the house outright.

My only problem is that I do not have the skills to create such a site, nor much money! So slowly but surely, I am doing a feasability study and working out some sort of business plan so I can go cap in hand to the bank or some wealthy investor.

So far I have secured the two domain names I wanted; www.fantasy2reality.co.uk and www.fantasyhome.co.uk and have received a quote from the web developers for the phase 1 (name collection) and phase 2 (Implementation of voting and discussion) websites. As expected, I can't afford them, but feel the quotes are very reasonable nevertheless.

Currently am in the process of putting holding pages on both, and an email form on fantasyhome.co.uk for people to register early interest if they stumble across the site.

Anyway, better crack on, Dreamweaver awaits...