No More Website...

[Steve5D]

I don't think I could justify maintaining multiple web sites if one of them was not making any money.
I suppose you could do it just because you WANT to keep it, but since you already mentioned having other websites that are actually generating revenue, i dont see much point in paying for one that isn't.

was there something about your wix page that was different from the rest? a different portfolio or setup that showed your work differently that might make it worth keeping? were all your pages linked, and is there any chance that your wix page drove people to your fine arts page and to buying prints? if so, the wix page might be earning its keep. if not, I think i would ditch it since your really not losing a "web presence".

No, there was nothing really special about it. It was little more than an online portfolio, with a page which listed rates for shooting and for prints.

Not. A. Dime.

 

[amolitor]

At best, a web site is a piece of the puzzle. It's not going to do much by itself. If there's no plan for how it's going to convert Something into Something Else (e.g. potential client into paying customer, idle browser into potential client, whatever) then it's probably not going to accomplish much.

Once that's in place, then you have to figure out how to get the Something's onto it. That also does not happen by itself.

It has to fit into your sales pipeline model, or it's not going to produce revenue.

Lots of businesses feel they "need a web presence" because everyone has one, but almost all of them are rubbish and accomplish nothing. There ARE other reasons to have a web presence. Credibility is one (I guess?) and there's a lot of "for more information" sorts of things out there, some branding activity (again, maybe?), as well as post-sales customer support activities. Virtually all the corporate web site usage I make is post-sales customer support.

 

[astroNikon]

No, there was nothing really special about it. It was little more than an online portfolio, with a page which listed rates for shooting and for prints.

Not. A. Dime.

It could evolve to .. these are my best works .. and my rates
Make your dreams live in special memories by my expertise ... type marketing

you know, what a wedding photographer does.

of course, I haven't even looked at your site ... :scratch:

 

[runnah]

At best, a web site is a piece of the puzzle. It's not going to do much by itself.

Bingo. I have clients who think that once they have a site the money is just going to flow in. They get mad because they don't understand why their site isn't generating money. I then explain to them that they haven't changed anything on it for over 2 years and they don't pay me to run their online marketing campaign.

It's a massive multi-pronged undertaking to gain a substantial web presence.

Oh and if you say SEO I will slap you.

 

[jowensphoto]

I paid $15 for a year of hosting through GoDaddy during a sale. Pretty much an online portfolio linked to my Wordpress blog.

 

[KmH]

Today you not only need a web site (or 2 or 3), you need a regularly updated blog(s) and a business presence on several social media web sites.

Many small business marketing gurus suggest that the base for business social media marketing is to have a Google Public Profile that you keep updated with links to your blog(s), social media accounts, portfolio web sites, and YouTube channel.

As always, marketing and promoting a photography business is in itself a never ending, pretty much full time job.

 

[amolitor]

I'd be interested in hearing from any actual small business owners who are generating business from a web site.

 

[runnah]

I'd be interested in hearing from any actual small business owners who are generating business from a web site.

I can give you numbers from my clients, but its really not that unexpected. Those who actively participate get more business.

One client I have whom I help with certain aspects does a ton of work and they've seen their business take off.

Currently they have:
Linkedin
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Google+
Blogs that are frequently updated and contain dozens of sharing tools.
Pay per click advertising
Direct marketing
Dynamic Email sent to past and present clients
Customer satisfaction surveys
Plus all the normal print stuff like ads and brochures.

With the exception of the print ads and pay per click their only investment has been time.

 

[lambertpix]

If I were paying $150 / yr, I'd *definitely* want to see a return, and if you've got a presence elsewhere that's working, I'm not sure I'd shed too many tears over it. A decent FB presence helps, too, and it sounds like you've got that covered. At this point, it's only a loss if *you* feel that it's a loss.

 

[jamesbjenkins]

Steve, I'm sure you've already thought of this, but perhaps not in the very recent past. My website is on the Smugmug platform, and while I have the Pro version that's $249/yr, they have several lower levels that would likely have the portfolio display capabilities that are probably all you care about.

IMO, having a website is absolutely mandatory these days. Even if no commerce is conducted directly on the site, the customer wants to see a website 99 times out of 100. At least my customers do.

 

[runnah]

If I were paying $150 / yr, I'd *definitely* want to see a return, and if you've got a presence elsewhere that's working, I'm not sure I'd shed too many tears over it. A decent FB presence helps, too, and it sounds like you've got that covered. At this point, it's only a loss if *you* feel that it's a loss.

Sorry but $150 is a very small drop in a very large bucket.

If you are expecting a big return or any return for that little money you are very misinformed.

 

[cbarnard7]

$150 seems like a lot for a year? I know nothing about it, but I wouldn't pay for it if you weren't getting what you wanted out of it. There's many, cheaper ways of doing that.

 

[runnah]

$150 seems like a lot for a year? I know nothing about it, but I wouldn't pay for it if you weren't getting what you wanted out of it. There's many, cheaper ways of doing that.

Why do I have to pay for a wedding photographer when I can just have a MWAC shoot it?!

 

[cbarnard7]

$150 seems like a lot for a year? I know nothing about it, but I wouldn't pay for it if you weren't getting what you wanted out of it. There's many, cheaper ways of doing that.

Why do I have to pay for a wedding photographer when I can just have a MWAC shoot it?!

I get it: quality, quality, quality. But, is the quality really that much more worth it for what you're paying? I've seen some fantastic sites linked through a wordpress or something that cost a third of what he's paying.

 

[cbarnard7]

If I were paying $150 / yr, I'd *definitely* want to see a return, and if you've got a presence elsewhere that's working, I'm not sure I'd shed too many tears over it. A decent FB presence helps, too, and it sounds like you've got that covered. At this point, it's only a loss if *you* feel that it's a loss.

Sorry but $150 is a very small drop in a very large bucket.

If you are expecting a big return or any return for that little money you are very misinformed.

It really depends on what he wants. It doesn't matter if your website shoots fireworks out of the screen every time you visit- if it's not working, it's not working.