Marketing changes - update

[rickryan.com]

I really appreciate the nuts&bolts info that Taso has been sharing. It has inspired me to work on my website and social media visibility. In looking at my analytics, here are a couple of numbers;

Last month, unique visitors - 158
This month to date, unique visitors - 505

What I'm doing:

1. have created a new logo
2. have created a new intro using the new logo
3. have created 2 slideshow videos (thanks for ya'll's input)
4. have been posting more on bridal group on FB
5. created a page with complete project galleries 63 clicks
6. realized my blog was grossly out of date. exported my old blog from wordpress and loaded it to my current website. probably 75-100 blogs. now writing feverishly to catch up on events from the past 2 YEARS (yes, I said years)
7. using Grambler to schedule photo distribution to my Instagram, every day, 1 photo per 4 hours
8. add a mitzvah details/inquiry page. 44 unique visitors (in the last 3 days)
9. have boosted 3-4 FB posts, both wedding and mitzvah, very specific tailoring on the targets

Can't say that I'm seeing a flood of inquiries but the traffic numbers are encouraging. Just sharing. Open to suggestions but also wanting to encourage you guys and would like to hear what you're doing in regards as well.

 

[scgstuff]

Where is number 1-9? Remember 17 had many of us reviewing you Mitzvah page as well. So that is inflated since you posted the link and asked for feedback, I would assume.

What is Grambler? I might need to research that a little. Does it help alot on social media to have a photo drop every several hours instead of a single album? Guess it keeps you on top of the feeds.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[rickryan.com]

Where is number 1-9? Remember 17 had many of us reviewing you Mitzvah page as well. So that is inflated since you posted the link and asked for feedback, I would assume.

What is Grambler? I might need to research that a little. Does it help alot on social media to have a photo drop every several hours instead of a single album? Guess it keeps you on top of the feeds.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

I think I only saw less than 10 coming from this forum. The click numbers are likely inflated, due to you guys as well as my own modifications/previewing, however the unique visitors numbers should be spot on. As for grambler, it's a posting tool for instagram. It lets you schedule distribution and it also lets you animate photos. Try it. It's free.

 

[steve149]

Didn't Kenny Rogers write that song? The Grambler ...

You got to know when to post them, know where to host them ..

 

[DJ Ricky B]

Appears to be worth while changes, but the higher click numbers are only working if you are obtaining at least a 2% conversion rate.

At 505 clicks, you should have had at minimum 10 to 11 direct inquiries in the last 30 days. Have you had 10 or more direct inquiries asking for a price quote since July 29th?

We try to shoot for 3% conversion rate, but 2% is the minimum number you need to see contacting you.

 

[rickryan.com]

Appears to be worth while changes, but the higher click numbers are only working if you are obtaining at least a 2% conversion rate.

At 505 clicks, you should have had at minimum 10 to 11 direct inquiries in the last 30 days. Have you had 10 or more direct inquiries asking for a price quote since July 29th?

We try to shoot for 3% conversion rate, but 2% is the minimum number you need to see contacting you.

Yes, I've seen at least that many. Have had several meetings and a few bookings out of it. Have to admit though, the one I was so proud about ($7k out of one meeting) hasn't materialized. They still could book but until the money's in the bank, anything can happen.

 

[djtaso]

This was told to me by the girls who made my website... if you're trying to attract weddings, your wedding page shouldn't have info on any other type of event. You should have a dedicated wedding dj page on your site, with info for JUST weddings. They don't want to see info regarding 13 yr olds at a mitzvah or corporate events. Surprised you actually have a page dedicated to just Mitzvahs but not weddings. It's why on my site I have dedicated wedding and sweet 16 pages. Despite them being very similar... the two clients have experiences soley focused on their type of event and never see the others stuff (outside of the home page). I'd focus on getting more Wedding DJ content showing throughout your site. Even on your home page, the picture under the dj banner is of 13 yr old kids... not very attractive to a 28yr old bride. Also there are many portions on your site that are a bit outdated such as your testimonials or your monogram photo.

 

[rickryan.com]

This was told to me by the girls who made my website... if you're trying to attract weddings, your wedding page shouldn't have info on any other type of event. You should have a dedicated wedding dj page on your site, with info for JUST weddings. They don't want to see info regarding 13 yr olds at a mitzvah or corporate events. Surprised you actually have a page dedicated to just Mitzvahs but not weddings. It's why on my site I have dedicated wedding and sweet 16 pages. Despite them being very similar... the two clients have experiences soley focused on their type of event and never see the others stuff (outside of the home page). I'd focus on getting more Wedding DJ content showing throughout your site. Even on your home page, the picture under the dj banner is of 13 yr old kids... not very attractive to a 28yr old bride. Also there are many portions on your site that are a bit outdated such as your testimonials or your monogram photo.

Thanks for the comments. I just changed the site template and would like your (and others') comments. I'm going to a single photo on the home page, which bleeds to the edge. I'm having to re-work my photography portfolio page, then I'll get started on breaking out individual DJ types (weddings, mitzvah, corporate) as well. You make some very good points above. Thanks.

www.RickRyan.com

 

[rickryan.com]

Would you guys mind taking another look at my website? Feel free to make comments or suggest fixes. I tried to take Taso's suggestions to modernize things. I changed up the template and have a full bleed photo on the front page. I've also changed up the photography page and broke out DJ services by the type (instead of combining them). I've also added a bunch of buttons to try and lead the user into contacting me. Would appreciate any ideas you have. Thanks.

www.RickRyan.com

 

[steve149]

Would you guys mind taking another look at my website? Feel free to make comments or suggest fixes. I tried to take Taso's suggestions to modernize things. I changed up the template and have a full bleed photo on the front page. I've also changed up the photography page and broke out DJ services by the type (instead of combining them). I've also added a bunch of buttons to try and lead the user into contacting me. Would appreciate any ideas you have. Thanks.

www.RickRyan.com

Off the bat, 2 changes on the landing page I would make ... take out the background photo column tilt/keystoning (if possible) in Photoshop and then move the 3 menu picks away from the couples head.

 

[BlueLineDJ]

I went to the pricing page and looked at the uplighting amounts. A potential client might be confused as to what the number of guests have to do with the number of lights. I think from their point of view it all depends on the size of the room right? They might wonder well if I have more than 250 guests can I not use more than 20 lights or do I have to use more than 20 no matter what number of guests I have over 250. Just a thought.

 

[tunes4046]

I went to the pricing page and looked at the uplighting amounts. A potential client might be confused as to what the number of guests have to do with the number of lights. I think from their point of view it all depends on the size of the room right? They might wonder well if I have more than 250 guests can I not use more than 20 lights or do I have to use more than 20 no matter what number of guests I have over 250. Just a thought.

I would sell uplights as packages, how does the client know how many lights they need to make the room look right, maybe it takes 10 maybe it takes 40

 

[rickryan.com]

Thanks guys. Good comments. I changed the description on the lighting. Not sure I want to change my method of packaging as this has been working for a number of years. The number of guests generally dictates the size of the venue. Most clients will go $900. The $500 price point gives a way to still have lighting, just less of it. I do maybe 1-2 weddings per year that are over 200 in guest count.

I made change on the front page, to get the buttons off the B&G's faces. SquareSpace doesn't give you much control over placement or font styles on a banner. I'd have to change to a different template to get different results and not sure it's worth it at this point.

 

[rickryan.com]

By the way, an update on site numbers.

July, 158 unique visitors
August, 928 unique visitors, 1,048 visits, 1,807 page views

Contrary to what I told Ricky earlier, I do feel my conversion rate is lacking. It's a never-ending task.

 

[djtaso]

So while there is a huge and drastic difference from where you started and where you're at now there's always room for improvement. Here's a couple of fine tuning that I think perhaps can be done:

- Provide something more on your home page. A demo video if one exists, social media info, reviews or weddingwire widget (those reviews shouldnt be hidden under more...they should be showcased), or simply a little more about you and your passion for what you do and how you do it (condensed version of your full about me).
- If I click dj then weddings, and then click pricing... I shouldn't see photography. I should see dj pricing as that's what I am intrigued about. It makes me feel like your dj business is completely secondary.... and whether or not it actually is... the client who is looking at you as a dj should feel you're primarily a dj. Put your dj pricing first, and then on the bottom of the pricing, put bundled pricing. At least I see what I want to see first, and then also know you do more in case I want to go down that route. Notice how your wife's photog page has Photogrpahy pricing... your dj page should look similar (and sure put photo/bundled prices below).
- Uplighting pricing... they have a point. It shouldn't matter about guest size... but can see how you're making the relation. I would write "for smaller venues that typically hold 100 or less" and then for 20 write "for larger scaled venues, or those looking to create a visually stunning experience"... that way even small events may consider adding 20 and u make more money, and they get better results.
- Are there any pics of your setup that you could incorporate. You know... dj stuff that clients may potentially care about (setup presentation, cleanliness, variations, different colors, etc.). Carolyn's site is just so much better at translating what she does and offers than your dj side of things.

In terms of conversion rate, while I am not too understanding of those numbers and what they mean (I only get 220 visitors a month w/ an avg of 3 minutes per visiter) I had my fiance take a look at your site and just give a brief feedback. Overall, she just didn't find anything exciting. She liked the layout in general, but there was nothing there for her to be excited about or click on to make her feel like she should inquire.

Suggestions she made:
- for the uplighting... maybe have a gallery of uplighting jobs you've done under the uplighting section. Maybe she's interested in uplighting but is more into fuschia's or blush pinks... if she doesnt see that on yours, but see's it on someone else's she'd be more inclined to contact them. Also your venue is dark, perhaps a variety of venues would be appealing as well.

- Same thing for monograms. Different styles to click around.

- She clicked your instagram... nothing dj related she said. Apparantly instagram is bigger than a website for many people, as shes getting all her ideas on instagram for the wedding.

Personal suggestion... pick 1 or 2 weddings this fall that you know are gonna be awesome. Bring extras at no charge... tell the client you're doing it as a courtesy to get some marketing material and double check to make sure they're cool with it. Hire a Videographer that you trust and know is awesome and pay to get a promo video. 60-90 seconds max. He shouldn't charge much... maybe $500 max... my demo videos were $300 when i had others make em in the past.

 

[rickryan.com]

Wow, Taso, thanks for going to so much trouble. It's going to take a while to digest it but what you're saying is on the money. I've already gone in and replaced the standard pricing page with a customized one for each service type. I also put the bundled packages to the right of each of those pages and added an inquiry form for every page. On the instagram, I must have the links wrong as I've been posting pics like crazy this week. I'll check into it. Please tell her I say "thank you".

 

[Proformance]

By the way, an update on site numbers.

July, 158 unique visitors
August, 928 unique visitors, 1,048 visits, 1,807 page views

Contrary to what I told Ricky earlier, I do feel my conversion rate is lacking. It's a never-ending task.

There's something else going on with those numbers. If you really had 1,000 unique and relevant prospects visiting your site - your phone or email box would be very busy.

Lots of things may be happening including bots and robots updating your links EVERY TIME you change something. Are you subscribed to a variety of SEO services? Is your ISP using a dynamic IP address and making you look like a unique visitor each new day you browse your own site? Is your chat room response generating far more looks from DJs than from actual prospects?

Then there's the content - is it generating false responses to search queries? Are you showing up in results that have nothing to do with what people are searching for? This is one of the reasons to have dedicated pages with very specific anchors. The word "wedding" relates to so many things that have nothing to do with DJs, photography, or lighting. It is possible to design pages that show up in the wrong search results. That blows up your numbers but gains you no qualified contact.

 

[rickryan.com]

Been making some more changes and would appreciate another look-see, if you guys don't mind. I've gone back and created multiple photography and DJ/MC pages; weddings, bridals, engagement, DJ wedding, DJ mitzvah, etc. and have added tons more pics and made the gallery a single column wide. It scrolls forever (or so it seems) but I'm wondering if I wasn't presenting too few images before. I've also re-worked the pricing pages and have a specific pricing page on each service offering. I've also made the landing page a full-bleed slideshow. Seems that's what everyone is doing these days. Would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions in regards.

www.rickryan.com

 

[djtaso]

- Take the line fewer contracts, less stress, and bigger savings and put that towards the end. The purpose of booking u shouldn't be that... yes a benefit... but not the primary reason. (edit... did you just change this? cause its no longer like that)
- When I click the dj/mc tab, I should get more of a wow factor, such as a full screen picture of people partying, or your setup, or you djing... or just some eye candy before choosing a more specific dj preference. Perhaps you can eliminate that page altogether and make it a drop down from the tab menu up to to save a step. So hovering over dj/mc drops down the menu of wedding, corporate, mitzvah, prom. Saves a step, and gets the client right where they want.
- Organize the photos better on wedding page. Perhaps a rotating set of photos so they don't have to scroll down, and makes reading the paragraph easier.
- On the wedding pricing page... put the lighting underneath the standard dj options. That way lighting is as equal a thought as the dj, not an afterthought that has to be searched for on the sie (I almost missed it).
- The photos on the lighting page are a lot better. Perhaps you can create a gallery with the selected photo appearing larger and creating a cleaner more organized look for the pics.

 

[rickryan.com]

- Take the line fewer contracts, less stress, and bigger savings and put that towards the end. The purpose of booking u shouldn't be that... yes a benefit... but not the primary reason. (edit... did you just change this? cause its no longer like that)
- When I click the dj/mc tab, I should get more of a wow factor, such as a full screen picture of people partying, or your setup, or you djing... or just some eye candy before choosing a more specific dj preference. Perhaps you can eliminate that page altogether and make it a drop down from the tab menu up to to save a step. So hovering over dj/mc drops down the menu of wedding, corporate, mitzvah, prom. Saves a step, and gets the client right where they want.
- Organize the photos better on wedding page. Perhaps a rotating set of photos so they don't have to scroll down, and makes reading the paragraph easier.
- On the wedding pricing page... put the lighting underneath the standard dj options. That way lighting is as equal a thought as the dj, not an afterthought that has to be searched for on the sie (I almost missed it).
- The photos on the lighting page are a lot better. Perhaps you can create a gallery with the selected photo appearing larger and creating a cleaner more organized look for the pics.

Thanks Tas, I really appreciate the input. I see what you meant on the DJ landing page, and have added some photos. Not sure I'm done with it yet. On the photo pages, I'm starting to think that I've been lacking in the number of photos presented, so I've added a bazillion more. I'm also a bit torn on the display style. I understand what you're saying about using a slideshow to prevent scrolling but pretty much all the other photog pages (at least the players I want to emulate) are using long scrolling styles. I think it lets the girls flip thru lots and lots of photos without having to wait on the slideshow program. My main question now is, is it better to have a multi-column display with smaller pics or is it better to have larger previews with a single column? I think for now I'm going to go for a single column display, lots of pics, and see what the response is. I'm going to keep working on the rest of your suggestions. Oh, I'm also really giving some consideration to starting to use totems. Looks like I can get a pair of 6ft with Chauvet 355 movers for $2.2k. That might be a good starting point but I've got to make sure I can haul it first.