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Web Design and Content Creation Case Study
PROJECT: Web Design, Content Creation, and Pinterest Marketing
RESULTS: Thanks to 65 search-engine-optimized pages and a Pinterest marketing campaign, this artist was able to give up the strenuous life of weekly art shows and make a full-time living from sales from his website.
After experiencing great success with my first online business, Eventful Ventures, I decided to use my newfound online marketing skills and see if I could help my father with his business. My dad was a lifelong full-time artist who made positively gorgeous handmade jewelry boxes of exotic wood. Because of his immense talent and skill, he was quite successful.
However, his only stream of income was by traveling all over the country and going to high-end, upscale art shows. This meant that he would create inventory all week, then head out and sell at art shows on the weekend. Many times the weather would ruin what was destined to be a great show, and the artists would walk away making no sales. Given the fact that they spent a lot in overhead (booth fees, gas, hotels, and food) to travel to these shows, it often resulted in a loss. Needless to say, this was a challenging way to make a living and not the best business model.
Therefore I decided to build him a website. He fought it at first, not believing that people would buy high-end pieces such as his on the internet. I persisted, and built a site anyway. In no time at all, the sales started rolling in. Before long, he started canceling a few art shows here and there. And within two years of launching his site, he was able to give up art shows completely and make a full-time living from his website. This meant, for the first time in his life, he could have weekends free.
I found this extremely rewarding, and it only fueled my desire to start a business where I could help people find success through online businesses and websites.
This project is a perfect example of what I have to offer in regards to:
WEB DESIGN:
I will be the first to admit this site looks a bit dated. I started this site in 2009 using a site builder called SBI (Site Build It). SBI was the original Squarespace or Wix; except SBI is designed to create optimized sites. As the years went on and I learned how to build WordPress sites, I wanted to move my dad's site to WordPress, but he insisted I "not touch a thing." He was enjoying the flow of traffic and sales; and he had built a following. He understandably didn't want to "fix what ain't broke" (as the grammatically incorrect old saying goes). Since I was busy running my own site, working full time, and adding content to his site, I didn't have the time to argue.
Therefore, this site might not be a great example of updated design, but it's a perfect example of how an optimized site, even without the latest design, can still be a success.
CONTENT MARKETING:
I'll be the first to admit; this was a very difficult site to create content for. After all, there are only so many ways you can talk about handmade jewelry boxes! Not to mention, Google penalizes "duplicate content," so I had to be very cautious when writing what minimal content we used on these pages.
One way around this was to create a few "filler" pages, using other keywords such as "Christmas gift ideas for women," "unique gift ideas for men," etc. This is where hiring a designer who truly understands SEO, keywords, and optimization can make all the difference in the success of your online business.
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT TRAFFIC STATS:
While the daily visitors for this site only peaked at around 150-400 visitors a day (which is considered nothing in the online marketing world), the traffic was highly targeted and therefore high converting. In other words, some sites might get 5,000 visitors a day, but only convert 1% to a sale. This site was so optimized that it didn't get large numbers of traffic, but the people who did find this site knew exactly what they were looking for and were ready to buy. Since the high quality of the product surpassed their expectations, it was an easy sell.
Also keep in mind that my father was a one-man shop. He could not have handled thousands of orders a day. Clearly, if you plan on selling a product that has an endless supply (like an ebook or online course), then traffic matters greatly. But if you are an artist, or a consultant, or a coach, then you can only handle so many sales in a day. In your case, the quality of your traffic matters more than quality. Just keep that in mind as you strategize your business plan!
PINTEREST MARKETING CAMPAIGN:
To supplement the organic traffic (traffic found through Google without paying for advertising), I designed a Pinterest campaign right before Christmas time. The campaign included optimal keywords, and encouraged re-pinning. The campaign resulted in an increase in traffic of 15%, and still brings in traffic to this day.
Thanks to his high-converting website, the artist was able to stop doing art shows completely and had so many orders from his website that he often had to turn orders away. His website helped him defy the "starving artist" stereotype and led to a successful and busy career doing what he loved.
Sadly, my father passed away in 2018 after a long battle with illness. I will keep his site up for awhile longer as he had a huge following and many loyal, repeat customers who would want to know.
Yes, I figured all of this out on my own. And if you're a real "go-getter" and really disciplined at teaching yourself new concepts, you can too. But it took me years...I've been working on learning online marketing for nearly thirteen years now. Why not save yourself a LOT of time, a ton of frustration, many late nights working while everyone else relaxes or goes out with family or friends....and learn from someone who's been there?
If you need web design, I can get a basic site set up for you in less than a week (it took me seven years to find a system I liked). If you need content, I can guide you on SEO fundamentals or write optimized content for you. If you just need general guidance, I would have done anything for a mentor to show me a few shortcuts; and would have saved immeasurable time and money along the way.
So fill out the contact form below and we'll see how I can help. I look forward to helping you start your exciting journey!
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MY PROFESSIONAL services and skills
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WordPress Web Design
Just about every business, no matter how small, needs a "home base" to be effective. Let me create yours.
Content Creation
In the online world, there's a saying; "Content is king." You simply can not succeed online without fantastic content.
Writing: SEO, Blogs, etc.
I specialize in SEO content to help you succeed; blogs, website articles, ebooks, and email marketing.
Proofreading / Editing
Maybe you don't need a writer, but just need an extra eye to catch errors or organize the flow.
Email Marketing
One of the most under-utilized but more effective tools is email marketing; but it's got to be done right.
Keyword Consultation
The "secret sauce" to effective online marketing is the proper use of the proper keywords. Click here to learn more.
Video Course Creation
Ready to make money teaching what you know? Let me guide you on making your own paid video course!
Marketing Consulting
Sometimes you just need to chat with someone who can offer feedback and guide you in the right direction.
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