Posted by sandi/WA on 9/20/06 11:37am
Msg #147224

Is a Website essential

to my business? I have been in this business 3 years and have not as yet felt a need for one. But I realize many of you have them. Thanks for your input and ideas....

Reply by LkArrowhd/CA on 9/20/06 11:46am
Msg #147226

Re: Sandi I don't have one but only think it could help. I

continue to try a variety of tecniques to get business. I just recently ran a spot on a website in my area, I will clink on your link and attempt sending it to you, it cost me $159.00 to run this for 30 days. I wasn't certain how much non related loan notary work I would get, I did get enough to cover the cost of the ad and interesting enough I got loan business from borrowers looking for their own notary to notarize their docs......so one never really knows. There is notary that posts on NR, she does no loan work but private notarizations and she swears by yellow book......

Reply by Sandra Krugman on 9/20/06 12:09pm
Msg #147230

Re: Sandi I don't have one but only think it could help. I

LK, thank you for your help. It is sooo appreciated. I did do a search "after"(oops) I posted and found some great advice on the subject.

Reply by Debbietax_CA on 9/20/06 12:12pm
Msg #147234

Yes, Yellow Book is inexpensive

and I have found that it pays for itself in private notary work. I also get calls from clients who have their own loan docs in hand and are told to "just get it notarized and return it". They go right to the phone book and find my ad. My ad has been in Yellow Book for over two years, and it has been worth it from day one.
I also have a free website, provided by my tax software, so pretty basic. I get virtually no business from that, I currently see no need to try to spend the money on a fancy website. I run ads in other phone books as well, and I do get calls on those, but not usually enough to pay for the much higher cost of those phone book ads. I also run ads in two different sections, bookkeeping and taxes. The calls I get are for notary work, not very much for the others.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 9/20/06 12:17pm
Msg #147237

Debbie, your system lends itself to excellent promotion via

a website. You have the basics of an integrated marketing program and if you listed your website on your Yellow Pages ad you would probably find that people would log on to learn more about the services you provide and then if you have a hook on your webiste the people logging on would call. That call is what marketing is all about.

Reply by LkArrowhd/CA on 9/20/06 12:25pm
Msg #147240

Re: Yes, Yellow Book is inexpensive-Hey Deb I never clicked

on your website until Charles just mentioned it, I love the look, professional very business like, short sweet easy read and to the point........

Reply by Charles_Ca on 9/20/06 12:38pm
Msg #147242

See, Debbie can use her site to cross-sell her services

With a yelow page ad in Tax Services and one in Notaries she can sell Notary services to people interested in he Tax Services and sell her Tax services to people needing her notary services. That's an excellent use of resources.

Reply by Debbietax_CA on 9/20/06 12:49pm
Msg #147247

Re: See, Debbie can use her site to cross-sell her services

Thanks for the compliment Susan! I'm afraid it is a "cookie-cutter" site though, not much I can do to change it except some wording. It's free and took just a few minutes to set up, so I can't complain too much.

Yes Charles, I can definitely see your point. I do find that people mention my website occasionally, but they do not initially find me through the website, even though it can be found on Google and a few others, and it is listed in my phone book ads and business cards. I can see a website adding credibility and professionalism to your business. The way people initially find me though is usually through other sources, then they might be led to check out my website. I only get a few people who say they did a search on the net and found my business. I do try to closely track how each client reports they found me.

If I spent some effort on the site, and changed it to where I could really track the number of hits on it, as well as providing some useful links (such as the IRS website and other notary links), it would probably add some positive results, but not sure if they would be enough to justify the expense. I have not been ready to spend the time and effort on it though, have concentrated on other, more local and non-technolological marketing efforts.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 9/20/06 1:02pm
Msg #147250

I always find that it is best to apply the most effort to

the areas that produce the most income. You are right, the site has to be ordered a priority based on its value. Sounds to me like you have an excellent grasp of business principles. Tracking your income soures gives you a good perspective on where your income is derived and where to direct future effort. Nice chatting with you.TTFN

Reply by sandi/WA on 9/20/06 1:13pm
Msg #147251

Re: See, Debbie can use her site to cross-sell her services

Deb,
I think I agree with your technique. I'm not sure I am willing to put the time & expense into an advertising format thet might not compensate. But I do see the "professional" aspect of of it being an advantage. And it would take $'s to do it right and be able to design it the way I wanted instead of the restrictions of most free sites.
A lot of food for thought here. But I think the yellow pages are definately a great avenue.
Thanks

Reply by Debbietax_CA on 9/20/06 1:33pm
Msg #147257

Re: See, Debbie can use her site to cross-sell her services

Sandi,

Another important aspect would be to decide what your most important market is. I do not work as a loan signing agent, and when I do get calls for that, I try to steer the caller to other notaries that I personally know in my area that do the work. (they usually call me from this site, Notary Rotary will always be a fantastic marketing tool) If that is your primary market, yellow page ads may not get you what you want. I market for private notarization services, and there is usually a fair amount of that. Some notaries do not want to do that type of work, so it would be a waste of their hard earned money to market the same way I do.

Reply by MistarellaFL on 9/20/06 12:06pm
Msg #147228

I don't think it's essential, but I know it is helpful.
Mine was down for a short while, under construction.
Calls were reduced, I'm not sure if it was due to a slow-down in the
industry, but the day it went back up, the calls started rolling in again.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 9/20/06 12:11pm
Msg #147232

Planning is essentialbefore you do anything...

There are several questions that need to be answered before one sets up a website. What do hope to accomplish wtit the website. How are people going to find the website. How will you promote yourseof once the personfinds the website. I see a lot of websites and especially notary websites that say exactly the same thing so how do you polan on differeintiating your self from all the others. The primary goals of your public entities should be to maximize capture rates. It's kind of like fishing in that you have to find the fish and then attractt it to bite your hook. There are ways of driving people to your site and some of them are expensive and some are free. Once you have driven people to your site (use a hitmeter to see the quantity hidden or not) and then you have to be able to get them to buy your services. Most notary sites I've seen don't accomplish either of those things. There are one or two that do it very well.

Reply by Baddad on 9/20/06 12:18pm
Msg #147238

This is a marketing decision. Several of the Notarial sites I have seen are very "Cutsie". If you plan on a website, keep in mind that it will represent "You". Companies looking to hire you through your website will use the structure and presentation of your site in their decision making process.

D

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 9/20/06 1:18pm
Msg #147255

I have a simple one page sight were clients can see what I do and how much it costs. It gets a couple of hundred hits a month. I don't know if it actually increases business as when you are called from one of the sites where you have a profile, the caller probably does not make it past that, so it is important to have a complete profile on this and other sites where you advertise...

Reply by Julie/MI on 9/20/06 1:41pm
Msg #147262

Re: Is a Website essential NO

Not one closing came from my website. I just keep it for the write off.

Reply by MichiganAl on 9/20/06 4:19pm
Msg #147290

Yes, as a secondary tool

A lot of people don't get much direct business from their website. I do because I know how to get my site ranked high in search engines. But I believe it is a good secondary tool. Someone finds you here or on another listing site, they like what they see but want more info. They click on your link, go to your site, and get a better idea of your experience and professionalism. When they call you, they say they found you on the listing site, but I guarantee that a professional looking website seals the deal.

Anything positive that distinguishes you from the glutton of signing agents is a good thing.

Reply by Ndwa on 9/20/06 6:11pm
Msg #147321

Good job, Al

I've seen your work and places your site showed up.