I send out the link to a few friends and asked them to take a look at it beforehand. I also got my sister to make a purchase to make sure Paypal and the order system were working correctly. Must say, I have been very impressed with Shopcreator so far.
The feedback I got suggests that the site is a bit basic, and when you take a step back and look at it from an unbiased angle, it is. But it's a start, that is all we ever aimed for.
And I am glad to say that we had our first proper sale on Saturday! A gentleman in Norfolk purchased one of the blankets. I have to admit to getting a bit of a kick from seeing that e-mail land in my inbox.
I spent an hour yesterday at the launch of the Fairtrade Fortnight on London's South Bank. Very interesting but I was a bit disappointed that it was mainly bigger, more corporate type companies with a presence. I'd like to have seen more independent companies involved, to check out the competition if you will. Is aiming for next year a little ambitious?
Unfortunately the site is going to have to take a bit of a back seat over the next few weeks as I have an exam at the end of March that I really need to do well in. It's a shame because I would love to get stuck in to some marketing over the next few weeks.
However the best (and cheapest) way of promoting the site initially is by word of mouth, so if you are reading this, please tell your friends about the site.
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3 comments:
Hello keith,
Just checked your site and it's quite a newbie site. Are you interested in blog, article, site review exchange? I am interested in reviewing your site and stuffs as well. I don't allow spam sites, and I'm dealing with formal business. I am not taking any fraud stuffs. Just want to review, and in exchange of my service you'll review my site too. If interested email me at mandy@primeoutsourcing.com .
Thanks,
Amanda Soriano
http://www.primeoutsourcing.com
As you know I'm telling as many as possible for you!
Have sales increased yet though?
Again..it would be great to see how the blankets are made. The piccies on your website give very little information so that could be addressed to give potential buyers a reason to buy.
I know you and I have been emailing but why not share our thoughts in this blog of yours? I think your readers might like it so what do you think? After all everything you say,the way you think and feel does give out a lovely message of hope and inspiration
Karen
i there,
I just launched a fair trade boutique myself so I completely understand the frustrations of trying to make sales and promote it. You put so much effort into sourcing the items and then building the website but the real work starts with the search engine optimisation and the marketing. It takes such effort - but your blog is a really good start. I hear that you need to have at least 40 updates and then at least 1 weekly update to your blog before google will pick it up. Not sure how true that is though.
Do you have a twitter feed too as that can help you reach a new audience? Google will rank your site according to how well meta tagged it is, and how many other sites link to your site - have you optimised the site as well as you can? (and how high ranking they are), have you registered it with the google directory? My website is www.boudalu.com if you want to compare!
I've just hired someone to do PR for me for a couple of months - though this won't probably bring in the sales it will help build the boudalu brand. Have you thought about doing similar?
good Luck with it
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