I make and sell about 4 boxes a month. Most of my call's I've sold have been local by word of mouth, a few from here, and a few from facebook. I enjoy making them and could do a few more a month than I am now. Is a web site the way to go? On the other hand, would a web site generate to much for a part timer, or not enough to pay for itself, and for someone who has trouble loading a 50 second soundbite and a picture what skills would be needed to maintain a web site? Any input is welcome. Thanks Steve
I think a website would be helpful. I started building one several months ago, just havent had a chance to publish it yet. I cant tell you how many people have contacted me on various web forums who have tried to access my site and cant. Guess I need to take the time to pull the trigger on it
I built my website using Yahoo as a host. It's my first effort at building a website, and I have learned as I have gone along.
I need to completely overhaul my website with new pics and such. I just can't find a block of time to sit down and do it.
I would suggest posting one here and there in the classifieds. Post pics on the callmakers forum here. Let some folks see your calls a bit before building a website. You might even post one on ebay if you get a chance. That is where I first started making my calls seen by the general public. Ebay and Old Gobbler have allowed me to get calls in the hands of a lot of folks, who then tell their friends. Word of mouth has been my best advertising.
I played around on the free google sites. I am not thrilled about it, no website will sell for you if you have no traffic to boost customer searches to the top.
I just made a second FB business page for my calls, FB has traffic and its viewable to non-FB users. And its free. Downfall is no store, but you could buy an add and hit a lot of people real fast if thats your goal. My goal was just to make a page where I can send people to view pics.
websites are a good way to showcase your calls in one place. it helps you reach anyone that is interested in your calls (because some folks don't have facebook). however, it will not boost your sales in my opinion. people doing random searches may stumble across your site, but will probably have to wade through pages upon pages of google hits. just remember that everything costs money. you have to pay for hosting, pay for the domain name, and if you want to increase traffic to your site, you have to pay for that too. it can get down right expensive if you let it.
I've spent a lot of time in classrooms taking web design and other computer related classes. I've also built several websites for myself and some other folks. Just building a simple website can be a daunting task, but there are great softwares out there to help. Hosting, updating, etc. can eat up some time. And none of it guarantees you will get any more business. You need to promote your site, and make sure the content contains the right keywords for search engines to pick up. In the end, it can be a useful tool to help you sell more. But you can't just build a website and put it up and expect business to start falling in your lap.
If you set up a FB business page anyone can view it. They would need a FB account to post comments. But a website doesn't usually allow that either.
The FB page shows pics and the info needed for a potential customer to find you. And FB shows up at the top of most searches. :you_rock:
Thanks for all the input. A web site just might be too much for too little return for me!!!