I have been planning and preparing for this launch for nearly five months, so I am very excited to finally have the site launched.

To celebrate the launch, I have…

• published 13 posts.
• run a giveaway of a Leatherman wave.
• started a Facebook page.
• built my Twitter profile.

Launching this site has been a new learning experience for me.  On my past blogs, I have simply started posting, and the following and traffic have slowly built.  This time, however, I used a splash page to build a subscriber base of more than 100 people… before launch day.

What I Learned…

• Splash pages are a big help.
• Proofreading is essential (If I don’t fix my own mistakes, my readers will).
• Expectations are rarely met (My traffic was good, but not nearly what I expected).

In the future, I have more exciting plans for my website… starting with a manifesto release next month.

I made this campaign with the goal of helping to stop the current health care “reform” bill that is winding its way through Congress.  After I heard yesterday that the bill had passed the House (by five votes), I have been mulling over a number of different ways to oppose this bill.

This morning, I set to work building this campaign.

Americans Against Socialist Health Care (HR 3200)

I started with a central “hub” – a Facebook group.

After quickly assessing the differences between “pages” and “groups”, I decided that a “group” would better fit the needs of a cause whereas a “page” would work better for a business or website.

Speedily designing the group, I…

• Added a Profile Image – a picture of the Statue of Liberty
• Started Two “Discussions” – one on action steps and one on the dangers
• Posted One Video – by Daniel Hannan
• Posted Four Links – more to be added periodically

Health Care Reform Poll

After finishing the Facebook group, I built a related poll.

The poll simply asks whether people support the health care “reform” bill, and gives the options:

• No – I want my freedom!
• Undecided – I need to do more research.
• Yes – I want the government to control my health!

So far, this poll has received only four votes, but that should grow in time.

Traffic Building

After finishing the group and poll, I began building traffic using the following methods:

• Natural Facebook – First, I promoted the group to my personal network by inviting them to join.
• Natural StumbleUpon – Second, I “stumbled” both the group and the page to build natural SU traffic.
• Paid Facebook – I setup a short two-day Facebook advertising campaign to help promote the group.

Currently, after only three hours, the Facebook group already has two fans (three including me).  I am looking forward to watching it progress!