|
A
how-to web site makes an irreverent pitch for a young audience
By
Greg Morage
So
you wanna learn how to throw a wedding shower, or how to
buy your first laptop, or how to choose a good scotch, or
how to, ahem, donate sperm?
You just gotta find the answer? So who you gonna call? SoYouWanna.com
is probably your best bet.
Encompassing the spectrum of lifestyle topics, SoYouWanna.com
is a new how-to site offering factual (and cleverly written)
advice on everything from how to get a tattoo to how to
pitch a TV show to how to eat sushi. Billed as the place
where you can learn "how to do all the things nobody taught
you in school," the Web site was founded, ironically enough,
in school.
Co-founders Brendan Maher and Peter K. Stris were students
at Harvard Law School when they began tossing around the
idea of writing a how-to book about getting into Harvard
Law. At the same time, a friend had been trying to get a
book agent to get a book published.
The proverbial light bulb flashed in their head for a one-stop
answer source for all those "so you wanna?" questions.
"We thought if there was one place on the Internet where
you could get how-to information, it would be a terrific
resource," Stris said.
That was spring 1999. By July of that year, the company
was incorporated with Maher as chief executive officer and
Stris as president and chief operating officer. The site
went live in March and has been doing boffo business since.
It has grown from about 800,000 page views in June to 3.3
million in July. Last month, the site had almost 400,000
first-time users, according to PC Data Online.
The high traffic may be due to the hip, clever tone of its
advice.
But it probably has more to do with the obvious target audience:
the 18- to 29-year-old demographic, which spends more than
$200 billion annually on goods and services.
"We started with the intent of focusing on a transition
audience: people who are finishing college or graduate school
and are facing particular lifestyle concerns," Stris said.
"The content has really resonated with this demographic."
With only word of mouth (zero dollars spent on marketing),
SoYouWanna.com is now the 36th fastest-growing site on the
Internet, according to PC Data Online.
This month, the site, whose mascot is a grinning goose,
will expand its lifestyle coverage with an emphasis on fashion,
which is a major concern for the demographic. SoYouWanna.com
has formed a relationship with Stan Williams, fashion director
of Maxim magazine, to provide fashion content for the site.
Williams will be working on a series of upcoming fashion
articles targeted at men, such as, "So you wanna update
your wardrobe?" and "So you wanna buy a watch?" and "So
you wanna dress for a date?"
"Fashion and general lifestyle stuff is an area our demographic
is really interested in," Stris said.
It doesn't hurt that both Maxim and SoYouWanna.com share
the same cheeky tone. "Our voice is a really distinctive
one. It's one of the first things that's said about us:
that we have an irreverent tone," Stris said. "But we also
want to be trusted for the information provided. We want
to be fun and interesting."
Oh, by the way, the co-founders, now both 25, both graduated
from Harvard Law. Can you say, "So you wanna be a dot-com
millionaire"?
|
