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First website sold

by abelamorales
18 replies
Hey guys,

So I finally sold my first website to a client. This is how the story went:

I've been advertising my business using Social Media Marketing. You can find me on LinkedIn. I try to post on my LinkedIn on a daily basis which posts to my twitter and Facebook Fan Page.

During the day, I'm a full-time Sr. IT Analyst and my manager has been following what I've been doing. Anyway, he e-mailed me about his cousin which has been hired as a 'Marketing Manager' for a Mechanic Shop in Brooklyn, NY (I'm in Atlanta)

After a couple of conversations with her, we agreed to work together. She's also agreed to refer business owners to me once the project is complete. I honestly am not making much from this project, however considering that I am completely outsourcing the 6 page site, I'll take it. (Plus the experience)

The deal:

$700 ($300 profit)
$10 per/month hosting (hostgator reseller account)
Made sure to have a contract in place
They filled out and returned a detailed questionnaire

My next move:

I'm going to try and sell them SEO services to drive targeted traffic to their website.

I'm going to ask the client for the referrals promised and contact them via e-mail/phone.

BTW, all this was done without my website being up. My website is still in the works. Anyway, I would like your advice.

I have $300 that I will reinvest into my business to continue growing it. How would you invest the $300.00 to target dentists for SEO services? What would you do?

I hope this encourages other Warriors to sell whatever service they have, but making sure they market themselves first. You can do anything you'd like.

Thank you in advance for any advice you guys give me!
#sold #website
  • Profile picture of the author Isaiah Coe
    Congrats, even without the site up nice

    For re-investing I would buy a site with the exact match for a local dentist key phrase and get it ranked at least #5. Then show the prospect your traffic results. But this may not be a option if you live in a big city. It's a common method but highly effective.
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    • Profile picture of the author kyusho77
      Well done, mate.
      That's how it's done.
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      • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
        Why do SEO? Rank videos kind sir. Create awesome videos, rank them, and let the calls flow.
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        FILL IN THE BLANKS!
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    Originally Posted by abelamorales View Post

    How would you invest the $300.00 to target dentists for SEO services? What would you do?
    Congrats on your first website client.

    To answer your question right here, and I'm not trying to be rude or offensive or anything but you're too new to target dentists. Don't do it. You're going to waste your money. Dentists are one of the toughest niches to crack and should only be for the experienced people that want that challenge. To be honest with you, most dentists I've talked to are more familiar with SEO than most people selling SEO. They've used multiple companies, and if they don't, they've already been approached by a lot.

    I think the smart thing for you would be to capitalize on what you have going. You signed up a mechanic, great, now get another mechanic! People like to see something, and you can become the expert in your field for mechanics. I don't like how people say just stay in one niche, I target quite a few niches but once you know certain things about an industry it makes it easier for you to sell within that industry. You have a site for a mechanic being built now, focus on getting that done and getting more mechanics. Referrals will allow you to expand in other niches, but keep it simple.

    Websites and marketing for mechanics... you can be the one that dominates that niche.
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    • Profile picture of the author abelamorales
      Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

      Congrats on your first website client.

      To answer your question right here, and I'm not trying to be rude or offensive or anything but you're too new to target dentists. Don't do it. You're going to waste your money. Dentists are one of the toughest niches to crack and should only be for the experienced people that want that challenge. To be honest with you, most dentists I've talked to are more familiar with SEO than most people selling SEO. They've used multiple companies, and if they don't, they've already been approached by a lot.

      I think the smart thing for you would be to capitalize on what you have going. You signed up a mechanic, great, now get another mechanic! People like to see something, and you can become the expert in your field for mechanics. I don't like how people say just stay in one niche, I target quite a few niches but once you know certain things about an industry it makes it easier for you to sell within that industry. You have a site for a mechanic being built now, focus on getting that done and getting more mechanics. Referrals will allow you to expand in other niches, but keep it simple.

      Websites and marketing for mechanics... you can be the one that dominates that niche.
      Thanks for your honesty. How would you suggest I target other mechanics? This one just fell on my lap.

      My options for targeting mechanics would be:
      1. Direct Mail
      2. Cold Calling
      3. E-mail Marketing
      4. PPC targeted towards mechanics

      Thanks in advance!
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  • Profile picture of the author dietmtndew
    Congrats on your first site sold, I have my first sale in the works as well although the deal is not done. Why is it costing you $400 to outsource a 6 page website?
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    • Profile picture of the author abelamorales
      Originally Posted by dietmtndew View Post

      Congrats on your first site sold, I have my first sale in the works as well although the deal is not done. Why is it costing you $400 to outsource a 6 page website?
      I have a custom WordPress site being built. I checked out a lot of work in from different web designers and his definitely surpassed anyone's work I've seen.

      My goal is to create a mind blowing product for this client and future client that will hopefully create a flow of referrals.

      My plan is to offer other products such as SEO (onsite and offsite) and Social Media Management to my clients. They'll see that I have been able to provide them with a web solution that works and I'm sure they'll have confidence I can help bring in more clients.
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      • Profile picture of the author Scott Stevens
        Originally Posted by abelamorales View Post

        I have a custom WordPress site being built. I checked out a lot of work in from different web designers and his definitely surpassed anyone's work I've seen.

        My goal is to create a mind blowing product for this client and future client that will hopefully create a flow of referrals.

        My plan is to offer other products such as SEO (onsite and offsite) and Social Media Management to my clients. They'll see that I have been able to provide them with a web solution that works and I'm sure they'll have confidence I can help bring in more clients.
        Sincerely well done to you. I hope this is the start of great things for you.

        A healthy 'kyeah to this.
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        Yours in prosperity,
        Skochy - The Musical Salesman

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      • Profile picture of the author mdtorres83
        Originally Posted by abelamorales View Post

        I checked out a lot of work in from different web designers and his definitely surpassed anyone's work I've seen.
        If you don't mind my asking, who did you outsource to? I am currently looking for someone to outsource wordpress projects to.

        Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author pingsters
    Banned
    Congrats ! Now scale up your marketing and grab more clients.
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  • Profile picture of the author alex richardson
    Well done mate - now keep the momentum going.

    I only ever use one method of traffic generation and that PPC.
    I make my entire living online by using PPC as my traffic source - where else can you see an immediate effect and have the data that tells you what is working and what isnt?

    For me its a no brainer
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  • Profile picture of the author The Offline Oracle
    Brilliant news. Keep going. As the guys said go find another mechanic as you now have a reference point and a portfolio site.
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  • Profile picture of the author abelamorales
    How would you guys target mechanics? Would you just cold call them?

    I was hoping in also finding a way to generate inbound calls with people ready to buy.

    I'm thinking PPC would be a good way, however I don't have much experience with PPC and I know you can lose $300 easy.

    Does anyone recommend a course or something I can use to learn PPC for my business?

    In addition, how would you reinvest $300 back into your business to generate more business?
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    • Profile picture of the author FusionFinish
      I have built and sold several websites in the past few years. My approach was using the tried and true direct mail marketing. I am going to get into this method again but basically I just printed out on 4 x 6 index cards and paid for postcard postage. Better delivery rate then bulk mail plus like you I was working on a small budget and simply reinvesting my money. I found blue collar jobs (mechanics, carpet cleaners, maid services) the best to target because you are dealing with owner / operators. They know their business very well but most know little about SEO.
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    • Profile picture of the author oildrops
      Originally Posted by abelamorales View Post

      How would you guys target mechanics? Would you just cold call them?

      I was hoping in also finding a way to generate inbound calls with people ready to buy.

      I'm thinking PPC would be a good way, however I don't have much experience with PPC and I know you can lose $300 easy.

      Does anyone recommend a course or something I can use to learn PPC for my business?

      In addition, how would you reinvest $300 back into your business to generate more business?
      For PPC recommend: Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords by Perry Marshall and Bryan Todd (Aug 7, 2012) - can get it on Amazon and includes lots of good info on internet marketing.
      MikeR
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  • Profile picture of the author FusionFinish
    It's a great rush selling your first website though! Just remember all you need to do is duplicate what you did!
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