I’ve been laid up for a few days with the worst cold/flu that I’ve had for years. I’m blaming it in the fact that I didn’t properly get over the last one and then got very, very cold over at Bisham Abbey last week.
The time off has been extremely useful in helping me to consolidate my thoughts and plan for the future. The fundamental problem still remains: how to raise my public profile to the extent that I’m converting leads into clients? The answer is, as always, down to marketing. For that, the main weapon in my arsenal is
the internet. Not only to present and project an image of what I am about to the world at large, but also for it’s directory finding capabilities. This isn’t the end of the story though. Oh no, not in the slightest. I’m also considering other advertising channels too such as…
- magazine adverts,
- partnerships with other early vendors,
- the local mummy’s network (courtesy of my lovely wife, Mrs. LightMatters)
- word of mouth and personal recommendations
- fairs and exhibitions
There are pros and cons with each of these, some obvious and some not. I’m also expecting the list to grow change over time too. New items will be added and older ones removed if I deem them not to be as effective. I don’t have a huge budget for marketing so I am planning to be lean, agile and promiscuous. I don’t think of it as “trial and error” but rather “trial and measure”.
But first, I need a foundation upon which to build a mighty empire. For this I call your attention to the internet and my new website: http://gavinthorn.com
I’ve spent a few days building the site now and I’m at last starting to get pleased with the results. It is staring to become what I originally visualised. The main drivers for this project were…
- Clean and simple – I don’t need to carry all the clutter and baggage that exists around my QTImages.co.uk site.
- Easy to navigate – No confusing menus, just give the prospect what they want to see
- Big images – The business is about images and the site needs to reflect that too. I wanted to move away from the complexity of the gallery presented on my (now defunct) Joomla based website, QTPortraits.com site and go for WOW factor instead. Not sure if I have achieved it so your homework, dear reader, is to give me some feedback if you choose to do so.
- Integrated blogging – Why??? Because it will really help with my SEO and is a means to keep adding fresh material to the site.
- Image gallery – to showcase some of my work
So, where am I today? Well, not too far off in fact. The QTWeddings site is almost ready for launch. I’m happy with the result so far although some of the articles will need to be reworked. Nevertheless it is a good starting point.
- I like the theme and the colours and the overall impression a first time visitor gets. I’ve had some very favourable feedback too which is great.
- The image rotator adds just enough eye candy without going overboard on special effects.
- The “About us” page is very weak as it stands. The prose need to be beefed up and I’ll need to upload a self portrait. Not because I want to be flash or anything but because I want to project the human side of the business.
- The image rotator needs at least one more image but there is no immediate rush for this. I want to wait until I take the right image first.
- The strapline needs to be reworked. I’m not happy with it which is why I haven’t included it with the site name as I have with all my other websites.
- Need to add the gallery feature
- The blog is perhaps a compromise. I’ve used Joomla as the framework for the site with a Shape5 theme. Joomla isn’t as well suited (my opinion) to blogging as say WordPress is. But as I’m not looking for comments and in all honesty it is only going to be myself and Mrs LightMatters that write articles for the blog anyway, I can live with it. Integration is far more important to me at this stage than a feature rich and extendable blogging framework. [Cue the villages with torches and pitchforks]
Next problem – driving (the right) visitors to my site. And that, dear reader, will be the subject of another post.
Have fun,
Gavin
Founder, Gavin Thorn Photography
