During a conversation with a close friend today, I talked about my goals and what I was learning during this process of growing my business. It was good to hear it all out loud. Stating my goals to my friend made them sound more realistic and attainable. It also sparked the marketing guru that lives inside my friend. Later in the day she took some time to look at my newly re-vamped website and wanted to chat some more.
While we were on the phone Lisa navigated around my website. She "thought out loud" as she was looking and noticed a few things that didn't seem inviting to her or that she felt were missing. At first I felt a wee bit put out. Didn't she know how much time I put into my site!? Wasn't she aware of how expensive it is to hire someone else to design and then update the site!? How could she not understand how lucky I was that I found a web hosting site that was designed for artists!?
Then I thought about it. She was doing me a favor. While she, a customer, was looking at my work she had feelings about her interaction and had some issues with ordering. That's really helpful information. She also noticed that I was lacking a page that talked about me, and hey, who doesn't like to talk about themselves! Even though she loved the overall look and feel, and the organization there were aspects of the site she felt were impersonal and didn't reflect me as the artist behind the work.
After a bit more chatting I continued on with my day and jotted down some notes in my "studio to-do list". Throughout the evening I thought about my conversation with Lisa. I thought about how much we miss each other, how nice it would be if we could visit more often, and how lucky I was to have a friend who was so invested in my success. Sometimes in moments like this it dawns on ya, that your family, your friends, even your colleagues care about your successes. They're interested in what you're doing and how you're doing it. Just like you are in them.
Our friends and family want us to do well because they love us and want to see us succeed. They want us to be happy. They'll buy from us, tell their friends about us, and speak our praise whenever they can. They also take the time to review our websites and look at our pictures. They wear our jewelry and hand out business cards. They are our best resource for information on how our customers view our business. I've been so involved in the making that it's hard to be a viewer. I'm too connected to everything. As an artist we want someone to critique our work. The same should hold true for the business side of our studios.
I have a few more things to think about adding to my website. Looks like I have a lot more pictures to take and some more writing to do. I value the thoughts and opinions of my friends and family and I'm feeling pretty lucky. And practically speaking, free marketing advice is pretty nice.
For those of you who are interested in making your own site but haven't the skills (like me) there is a great web hosting site called Other People's Pixels. It was created by artists for artists. It's an affordable way to create your own professional site where you can showcase your work, sell it, and connect. You get 30 days free and they're so helpful. Try it!
http://otherpeoplespixels.com
Tell them Melton Metals Studio sent you!
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