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Ten and a half months ago we switched from imaginationcorporation.ca to www.imaginationcorporation.com With the change I worked up a new website on squarespace.com with the idea I would maintain it myself, adding new content often. I have done that regularly including the blog (journal) at least 3 or 4 times each week.
I posted the site when I started it and received many comments from folks here about the plain design... which I took to heart. I'm still not happy with the design of the site but am working on redoing that in the next while.
But even in it's current state the website is working for us very well. The blog generates the bulk of our hits - about 40% directly. People who visit hit an average of five pages. I receive feedback from many who check in regularly. I write with a casual style, telling stories and showing pictures of our projects and also tidbits of life as a grampa and artist. The idea is to show folks who we are and how we do business. It is about building trust with our potential customers.
I hear from customers that many found us through our website. They enjoy seeing and reading of their projects as we progress and report on the blog. They also take great delight in showing our website to friends and acquaintances. Some follow our website for a while before they have us do a job for them.
Page views grow each month at a rate that surprises me. We are now climbing through 15,000 hits per month with over 100,000 hits in the ten months the website has been up. This is exclusive of the bot and spider hits.
The web has changed the way we advertise in a big way. Social media including short Facebook posts with a link back to our website is part of that strategy. The large view count on our website means little unless it translates into business. Maintaining a blog takes effort and time and must pay off for it to be worth it.
The obvious 'secret' to high numbers is a serious commitment to REGULARLY add content or folks won't come back time and again and send their friends too.
-grampa dan
[ January 17, 2012, 03:27 PM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8739 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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I went to your site just a couple nites ago. I spent probably 2 hours browsing around, wonderful site with many things that I can only dream of. I have forwarded the site to several others and each one I tell this guy really lives the dream! Your world is in another dimension than mine. I look at my walls and things around me and think it seems like I live in a flat dull world after looking just a little into yours. GREAT SITE! Thank you for the time you spend putting that up for so we too can DREAM!
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Thanks for the kind comments Steve. My question to you is 'Why just dream?' Take a small step towards those dreams each and every day. If we wait until the time is right it may well never happen.
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8739 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Dan works tremendously hard at keeping his blog updated. I know it's a lot of work because I'm trying to keep mine up as well...and it isn't always easy! I've been trying to increase my updates and be more consistent. I'd give myself a C+. I'll keep at it, though! I think can get to an A- before next semester...HA!
I see the pay-off as I see increases each week on my own site. It's nowhere near Dan's numbers, but very good for the time it's been up. I really need to spend more time taking pictures and documenting the process of what I'm doing. Dan does an excellent job. I'm going to try keeping the camera on me and see if that doesn't help.
I know it's working because calls are coming in, and I'm quoting fun projects and the clients keep telling me how much they enjoyed my site and journal. Great reason to keep at it!
-------------------- Doug Haffner Haffner Signs www.haffnersigns.com 309-338-9570 211 W. Williams Wyoming, Il 61491 Posts: 211 | From: Wyoming, Illinois | Registered: May 2010
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I have had mine for ten years at least. I do not get the large number of hits, but I do get regualr sales and it certainly shows my clients that I do more than just sling paint on windshields and windows. At least once a year I sell a farily expensive landscape and there is always interest in the auto paintings. I do not do a blog as I really do not think people will want to go to the site on any kind of weekly or regular basis, but just being able to have a place that shows what I do is vital.
Using Dreamweaver and even an old 2003 version of Front Page, I update it as often as I can. For the money, it really is the best way to have a place that clients can see what I do. I consider it 'money and effort well spent'.
-------------------- Preston McCall 112 Rim Road Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 text: 5056607370 Posts: 1558 | From: Santa Fe, New Mexico | Registered: Nov 1998
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Nice! Next time I'm by, I'm going to encourage you in these two social media outlets as well.
Pinterest is now my biggest source of referrals and the numbers have far exceeded my expectations.
Basically what it is... whatever website you frequent, you can feature or 'pin' a pic from their post. Whatever you have pinned will get repinned over and over again on other's boards. It's like passing a magazine around.
If one clicks on that picture, they are sent to that blog post. I pin my stuff on occasion but it's others pinning my stuff for me that are making those numbers go through the roof! While not all will visit your blog, a great percentage do.
Twitter is another way to bring traffic one's way. It captures a different group altogether and doesn't have to cost you an extra minute of your time daily. You can activate a fB feed to your twitter so twitter runs on it's own. I've been recognized by some big names (HGTV) as well as had opportunities to join (and win) some contests that were exclusively advertised on twitter. There are other benefits to using it but this is long enough!
For those not making active moves to be seen in more than one spot on the net, they're missing out a very valuable opportunity for their business.
(I don't yet '$offer$' anything but am actively working towards that goal! I am getting paid for hits though so it's a good start)
[ January 18, 2012, 05:35 PM: Message edited by: Donna in BC ]
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You all are obviously happy about and profiting from the way the Internet works. Are you aware of the two bills now working their way thru Congress that many folks think will seriously interfere with Internet operation? They're known as SOPA and PIPA. Wikipedia is particularly upset with them. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:CongressLookup?new=yes
-------------------- dennis kiernan independent artist san francisco, calif, usa Posts: 907 | From: san francisco, ca usa | Registered: Feb 2010
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Dennis, from what I understand, it's copyright infringement they're attempting to stop. ie: if you show a bottle of coke on your blog, they have the right to block your IP address. Scary stuff and over the top. The White House isn't supporting the bill.
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