My Stupid Website...

[agamemnus]

PS: if anyone needs a nice site in the future, ring me up... I can make it slightly sub-par too, and not communicate with you, if that's your thing.

[Bitter Jeweler]

That's good, doesn't it make you wish you had this tenacity when you were younger to venture out and start your own ring shop? Sweet, that your shop is doing well. I hope you find ways to get more direct customers, so you can cut back your retail side sales. It'd be sweet if you could negotiate a way to make those retailers attribute you as the maker of the ring/give your website out. Even a nice little nameplate below where the ring is being displayed is nice, that has your website on it. Or if you can convince them to hand out a business card with every ring sale of your rings. Maybe you can provide "free ring boxes" for these businesses, and in it will be one of your business cards (or maybe your info will be inscribed on the inside of the box somewhere). Somewhere on the business card it says your website, and the fact that Wilkinson does custom rings. Or maybe you can engrave your website into the inside circle of the ring, I'm not sure how that would effect consumer valuing of the piece (even if lower in short-term, may pay off in long run, sell a few rings cheaper to the retailers that have that engraving, hope it helps draw people to you).

Now why would a retail store send their customers to somebody else? They make money off me.

Maybe on youtube do a video on "How to make rings" Maybe hire someone to video tape it for you/do editing.. if you do a good job, it may become popular, and you can also have your website/where you craft the rings be advertised in it.

Like this one with 16k hits?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDiLpLgBOC4

Or like this?: http://www.dwilkinsondesign.com/slideshow/process1.htm

[Lebanese Dragon]

Glad you're a few steps ahead of me! Where's your website linked on it though? Maybe add your company name, state, and your name to the list of tags for the video.

On the retailer part, I realized they wouldn't want to direct customers your way that's why I was recommending trying to be crafy with adding the "free box" with your name or website inscribed on the inside. Or put Wilkinson Design on the inlay of a few rings you're selling to retailers.