Websites - who has one?

Technical problem right now. Duoooh! I should get it straightened out soon.

Update – Got it fixed. Billing issue with my hosting company.

-- http://amherstcabinets.com - also a marketing consultant with expertise in direct response marketing for woodworking and online businesses - http://COPYMATCH.COM

Great looking site Loren.

-- Growing older but not up!

I like your site too.
Mine is here...

-- www.brianpenning.com

I also like your site.

-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/

Nice site Loren.

I have http://lumberjocks.com – does that count? ;)

-- Martin, http://lumberjocks.com | My Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin_Sojka/1357216976

Well, since you asked… ;)

-- I'm a wood magician... I can turn fine lumber into firewood before your very eyes! - http://www.woodworkersguide.com

i don’t have a site, but a seperate (pre-LJ) blog… though i’ve become more active here, and a bii stagnant there of late.

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

Of course…some people even visit every now and then.

-- Rich, WNY, www.nyrockingchairs.com

Here’s mine
http://www.superwoodworks.com/

-- Garry, Engadine, Michigan (Upper Peninsula)

Here is my site . My son takes care of it for me . http://www.extremebirdhouse.com

-- John in Cranbrook http://www.extremebirdhouse.com ....http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2

Here’s my new site. I just started it this week. I will continue to ad more photos of older projects as I find them.

http://www.oldworld-construction.com/

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

Always happy to plug the site: http://tenonandspline.com and http://tenonandspline.com/blog

-- Patrick, Chicago, IL www.TenonAndSpline.com

Wow- lots of you guys have some really beautiful work. There are certainly
a lot of talented people on this forum.

For those of you who actually charge professional rates – what affect
has your website had on your marketing? Have you found a site useful
in getting new customers in your local areas?

-- http://amherstcabinets.com - also a marketing consultant with expertise in direct response marketing for woodworking and online businesses - http://COPYMATCH.COM

Here is my site. It is only about a month old so it is slowly being searched. I made the decision to also place prices on my website for my work that I consider limited productions or part of my growing collection. I did this to limit the inquiries to only serious potential clients.

http://brianfullerdesigns.com

-- Brian, Folsom, CA http://www.brianfullerdesigns.com

I just finished my website! TheEaselLife.com

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

just got this up a couple of weeks ago. http://www.ncwoodencreations.com
it aint much but its better than no website.
skeez

.

-- hey honey! watch this!

Your not going to trick me into THAT ... dustnlint.com

-- Odie, Confucius say, "He who laughs at one's self is BUTT of joke".

Adding to the list of sites…

http://www.projectwoodworks.com/

Lemme know what you think.

-- christopheralan http://www.projectwoodworks.com

i have one to help market my wooden utensils, and i’ve started putting some pieces of furniture on it.
http://woodnwaresms.com

-- Joey, Magee, Ms http://woodnwaresms.com

Had this site for the duration I’ve been in business. It’s alright, but needs a few changes. kolwoodworks.com

-- ~ Inspiring those who inspire me ~

I am currently building mine. Since this is my first stab at it I wanted to go at it the cheap way and see what will be come of it.

-- Something that goes unnoticed will never be remembered.

I have used my site mainly as an online portfolio. I talk with clients and show them the type of work that I can do. I mainly do custom work and it shows them examples of pyrographic and scroll art, along with small things I build. It has helped a lot with my new prospects. It is kinda hard to describe what I do: “I take a picture and then burn your face onto wood…” just doesn’t sound all that cool. Once you see what I can do, it helps to close the sale.

It also gives them a chance to read about me, and see what others are saying, in a no-pressure kinda way. It also allows them to pay with credit card if they wish. Most pay me with cash or check, but it is nice to have a paypal account, just in case.

Overall, I have had a good return on my investment.

-- christopheralan http://www.projectwoodworks.com

www.snowdog.com mostly just my own portal page

-- "so much to learn and so little time"..

Christopher, if I were you I would look at doing lamps and perhaps
incorporating Mica sheets into it. Your designs show talent beyond
what it takes to cut out a scroll-saw pattern.

Also…decorative things like intarsia, marquetry, and so forth attract
a lot of attention when shown at county fairs. Marquetry can
be a good way to make money because you can do it for other
wood-workers who don’t have the confidence to do it themselves.
It also screams “exclusivity” which is something affluent people will
pay for.

-- http://amherstcabinets.com - also a marketing consultant with expertise in direct response marketing for woodworking and online businesses - http://COPYMATCH.COM

I always heard I could sell my furniture if I would only get a web site…ya and I was told the presents under the tree came from a fat guy who came down the chimney. Good luck!

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

The main thing, if I may comment, Dennis, is to develop a list of prospects
who visit your site. Collecting emails, phone numbers and even physical
addresses will allow you to reach out and remind people of your beautiful
work and the benefits of bringing such beauty into their homes.

With the internet this selling mechanism is best done with an email
“opt-in” form. If you email the people who sign up to receive valuable
information or updates from you and then you are diligent about
keeping in touch with them you can expect to make a sale to 1% or more.

This may sound pathetic and discouraging – but consider the 7500 advertising
messages that bombard each of us every day and it becomes clearer why
this is necessary.

By making a habit of inviting every person you meet who might have the means
to buy custom furniture to look at your website and sign-up you will
both be driving traffic and making friends. The conversion of that 1% or
more to sales may take 2 years or more, so be patient and consistent.

-- http://amherstcabinets.com - also a marketing consultant with expertise in direct response marketing for woodworking and online businesses - http://COPYMATCH.COM

I have three.

www.closetdreams.com – My core business of 7 years which needs updating.
www.appalachiancraftsmen.com – My ecommerce site for online sales.
www.dgmwoodworks.com – My craft show business and a work in progress.

I also have an etsy store at http://appcraftsmen.etsy.com and a new store that I’m trying out at http://www.handmadefusion.com/Appalachian-Craftsmen,name,100104,user_id,shop

Oddly enough, I get my most traffic and inquires from http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgmwoodworks/

-- I don't make mistakes, only design changes....

Hi Loren, I have just looked at your site – some of the tabs are not working “tables for example” or at least there is no information in there! I think you need to get some pictures of you projects into a gallery, it seems a little lacking in demonstration your skills.

My site is not perfect in anyway, but you are welcome to take a look -

-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

Thanks Tony. To be honest there is very little movement in my
local market so my furnituremaking is on the back-burner – I’m
focusing on other marketing income streams that are more oriented
towards “must have” than “nice to have if you can afford it” -
and since I have those I’m less motivated to take on the unprofitable
small jobs you have to do if woodworking is your whole income and
times get tough.

In today’s economy I wouldn’t want to lead people to believe you
can put up a website and sell custom-made profitably furniture from it
without laying a deep foundation in the minds of affluent buyers -
those whose lifestyles and spending habits are unaffected by the
present crisis. Study the work of the contributing editors of
Fine Woodworking if you want to see one way to lay such a
foundation as a go-to expert furniture authority.

I do in fact plan to flesh-out the site more in the future. Since
I’ve moved recently from the West coast to the East coast I’m
assessing what direction I want to go in – there was simply not
going on with windsor chairs in California for example, but in
New England they are popular and the traditional materials are
easy to get.

-- http://amherstcabinets.com - also a marketing consultant with expertise in direct response marketing for woodworking and online businesses - http://COPYMATCH.COM

My site is not ready yet , but I am impatient to show it and get some feedback .

I know nothing about PHP ,CCS or MySQL and very little of html (and I am to lazy and old to study them ).
It whose fun and interesting for my to make this site without eny help .

Sry my bad english .

http://www.isetehtud.pri.ee/

-- I made thus things . http://www.isetehtud.pri.ee/

Nice work Loren and your site looks good.

http://www.Greggswoodworking.com

-- I want to know Gods thoughts....rest are details "A. Einstein"

question for Loren (or anyone else)

I have found that my website does not bring in customers who find the site on the web. But…...It is a wonderful tool for me. If someone I meet wants to see my work I can send them there and they tend to really like being able to see my stuff on there time schedule.
Seems as though the only people that really find my site are salesman hawking products.
Has anyone else run across this?

-- I want to know Gods thoughts....rest are details "A. Einstein"

Yes, I ran into the same thing when I started up my site. I don’t know if you have done it yet but you have to register your site with all the search engines so when people are looking for what you offer your site pops up in the search. Of course you also have to get all your meta tags right as well. Think of terms people would use when they are looking for something that you offer(when they are searching)and use those. I hope this helps draw more people in.

-- Jed,Ala,jmwoodworks057.com

Yeah. For woodworking you are going to get your best traffic
from people who have met you or seen your work locally. You
might get website traffic but how likely are random browsers
to become buyers today?

Your website is like your brochure/salesletter today. You can
even call designers in your area and ask them to review your
site while you are on the phone with them.

For custom furniture or cabinetry even your website is like
your calling card. If folks are shopping on the web there are
dozens of shops making cabinets and shipping them all over
America who will kill you on prices – you cannot compete with
them on that standard.

The only customers that are worth pursuing for custom woodwork
is people for whom PRICE IS NOT THE ISSUE. It’s a losing
game for your business to do otherwise. Make quality, service,
design, and prestige part of what you offer.

Ideally you should be using drop cards and ads to draw local people
to your site and request Free Information where they supply their
mailing address and phone number. Then using a combination
of email, phone calls, and carefully worked-out direct mail you make
the prospect aware on an ongoing basis of your eagerness to discuss
solving their problem. That’s client-centered marketing.

-- http://amherstcabinets.com - also a marketing consultant with expertise in direct response marketing for woodworking and online businesses - http://COPYMATCH.COM

Here is my website… that started out just for myself, to keep things organized & easy to get to, then, decided to make it public, to help others too.

http://www.woodworkstuff.net/

-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=1389"

I’ll through mine in the mix WoodchuckCanuck.com. Basically its a work portfolio of the work I’ve done over the years, either paid for or volunteer. Its great for locals who may catch my vehicle graphics and can visit at their own time. The site also offers links to a few of my other sites.

Jim

-- Wodwork Safely,

Loren, I think the site is well done and a decent layout. Better than most shop pages that I have visited. It would be a nice addition to have a gallery page even though you have sprinkled images throughout already.

One other comment. I notice on the contact page the e-mail is “info@yourwebsite.com”. That looks like a generic, might want to make sure to put your real contact email in there. If that is your email, sorry for any confusion.

-- Doug, woodworking in Alabama

Thanks Doug,

I omitted a legit email for a reason. Emails can be easily “harvested” by
spammers. There is a way to conceal the real email from the automated
programs that cruise the ‘net hunting for emails – I just haven’t put in
the time to figure it out yet. Should be simple – just on my back-burner.

-- http://amherstcabinets.com - also a marketing consultant with expertise in direct response marketing for woodworking and online businesses - http://COPYMATCH.COM

Gotcha. I think the spam issue is the main reason a lot of companies go the info@ route for store front activity and personal e-mail accounts only become available once they determine you are a legitimate customer.

Over the years I have had my e-mail address posted on several sites and never had much issue with spam. The worst offenders are sites that you sign up for who then farm out your contact info to affiliates or for money. I have a friend that hosts his own site. When he has to sign up for something he simply adds the company name to his email. His exchange server accepts all the e-mail and he can see if he starts getting spam where it originated. Pretty clever, but over my head with respect to IT. At that point what do you do anyhow, about the only thing you can do is to shut down that e-mail account because the spam will continue.

-- Doug, woodworking in Alabama

Hi loren,i,ve only used my web in the last year for ads. all my work comes out of that now .I have a tatget market ;manufacturing jewellers;My wife send out letters to them all we had a good response ,wildwoodboxes.co.za

-- Johan, South Africa, www.wildwoodboxes.co.za

Nice site Loren, We don’t have one, haven’t seemed to need one so far. All our work is mostly by word of mouth. We tend to have all the work we can do most of the time, however we have slow spots once in while too. this next year I’m sure will be a challenge to stay busy though.

-- Les, Wichita, Ks. (I'd rather be covered in saw dust!)

Here is ours Richinscarpentry

I have built 3 web sites over the last 4 years. Unfortunately I have found that the hardest part is getting what you want. I built my first site and it looked like it. Any one that can do it and make it look good has my admiration. The second was a trade job that turned out to be a royal pain in the @##. The Gentleman that built this current site is truly my hero. You can see and judge.

Now this site has only been up a few weeks. Already we are taking contacts and phone calls from it. I do pay to be at the top of Google search in my area as well as advertising with Google Add words. I have decided that it takes time and luck to get a site that will drive customers to you. Work with in your area. Post your site address on local web boards. Advertise your site in local classifieds and I have had good luck in advertising it in surrounding areas.

-- See us at www.richinscarpentry.com