Hi, Patrick: I put up my own website two and a half years ago. I have an online calendar service which customers can use to make appointments. I don't have to actually speak to them beforehand. I use my other advertising (yellow pages, etc.) to point to my website. I don't try to make piano tuners out of my customers, telling them everything I know about tuning. I advertise my services, and most importantly, I try to make them push that Appointments button. I don't care about anything else. I can say that it does help to have a website, as it helps to have a Yellow Page ad so people can find you. It tells (or should) who you are, and what expertise you have. You may put up some useful information about pianos there. But, don't forget that it should entice people who go there to hire you. If you forget that, your website won't be as useful as it could be. Don't forget, too, that you want people who do a search on Google (or whatever) to find you. You need to have traffic go to your website, and that means you need to have some experts optimize your website so that the search companies will list your website on the first page of the search results. Otherwise, nobody is going to find you online. It doesn't matter if you have the fanciest website, with great graphics or animations, or whatever. If nobody can find you, who cares? It depends on what your goal is. If you just want a website to up your ego, then it doesn't matter what's on there. But if you want people to go there, you need to be prominent in a web search for piano tuning and repair (or whatever else you want to advertise). You need to impress your target audience. If everybody owns a Lester spinet, and that's your target audience, you don't need to advertise that you do concert tunings. They won't care. If you service high end customers with concert grands mostly, you need to impress them that you are the best in town and give references and testimonials to prove your expertise. There are many ways to "DIY", free software to get something up and going yourself if that's your inclination. Or you can hire a professional to put together a state-of-the-art site for you. Just remember, you are making a "first impression" on your site, so consider what kind of image you want to project. I know that there is more than one professional web designer on this list, so maybe they'll weigh in on the subject. Best of luck. Paul McCloud San Diego > [Original Message] > From: Patrick C. Poulson <pcpoulson at sbcglobal.net> > To: <pianotech at ptg.org> > Date: 10/24/2009 11:30:01 AM > Subject: [pianotech] Web Site Usefullness > > Good day all: I am considering putting up a web site, but just wonder how > much of a result other PTG members have had with theirs. I offer the > standard tuning and repair services, no refinishing, sales, or moving, and > am in a semi-rural area with a smallish population 60 miles from the state > capitol, Sacramento. > Thanks, > Patrick C. Poulson > Registered Piano Technician > 530-265-1983. >
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