My web is up and running

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Hi everybody.

I just released my web page,http://www.toniciuraneta.com on it you'll see some projects that you've seen here already and some others that you don't, so please check and let me know your thoughts.

Comments, critics and sugesstions welcome as always.

Regards


Toni
 
Wowza, Toni!

In the English version with the coffee table, you will want to fix the spelling. Coffee has two 'e's and the end. Other than that, just Wowza! You are a very talented man that I am very proud to know.
 
Wowza, Toni!

In the English version with the coffee table, you will want to fix the spelling. Coffee has two 'e's and the end. Other than that, just Wowza! You are a very talented man that I am very proud to know.

Thanks a lot Carol, having to check three languages is tiresome, and despite having done it several times I'm sure some other mistakes will appear. Thanks for pointing it out.


Toni, the site is very appeasing and easy to navigate, I think you did well. :thumb:

Thanks a lot Darren. I appreciate your comment

Amazing job on the site, almost as amazing as the objects displayed there.

Well Brent, coming from an IT professional that comment is worth double, thanks a lot!
 
Your web site is classy, and your work is amazing (but we knew that). And your support in three languages is far beyond anything I have attempted.

Unfortunately your web site is what I call a "grandmother's" web site... one that your grandmother will look at with pride. But it is not likely to have a lot of visitors nor sell anything. My first web site was like that, and only had a couple hundred visitors over the first 6 months, until I rebuilt it.

Think about what people might be looking for (via Google). Your grandmother and other friends will search for your name, but someone looking for a coffee table doesn't know your name. Make a web page with your coffee table (and information about coffee tables, etc.) so Google will send people to your site who are searching for coffee tables. That is called the landing page, and you need to respond to the visitor with information to catch their interest in under 2 seconds, preferably under 1 second. Someone else may be searching for a dresser, need a different landing page. Searching for a relief carving or wood art or display stand or .... think of all the things you could offer, and have a landing page for each.

I decided to put prices (I could reproduce something exactly like this for $xxx) on my web site - to keep people who are looking for a $20 coffee table from bothering me, and to reassure customers that my coffee tables are not $10,000 museum pieces. When I first started, I wanted to talk to everyone, but soon I realized that 90% of the contacts were wasted effort.

Web experts say to sell your product on the landing page, but I don't have a product - I have a service. Therefore each page has links to other pages, and practically every customer has told me, I found a coffee table (or whatever I was looking for) and then browsed your web site, [which convinced me that] you do good work.

After I rebuilt my furniture web site with lots of landing pages, I average 8,000 to 12,000 visitors per month, and have gotten practically all my work from the site (or from repeat business that started on the web site).
 
Both the site and your work are very sophisticated and classy. I agree with Bob's museum quality assessment. Beyond ETSY, I know nothing about internet marketing. Charlie has the experience of having been through the process, so if you want to develop and grow a business his comments make sense.
 
Your web site is classy, and your work is amazing (but we knew that). And your support in three languages is far beyond anything I have attempted.

Unfortunately your web site is what I call a "grandmother's" web site... one that your grandmother will look at with pride. But it is not likely to have a lot of visitors nor sell anything. My first web site was like that, and only had a couple hundred visitors over the first 6 months, until I rebuilt it.

Think about what people might be looking for (via Google). Your grandmother and other friends will search for your name, but someone looking for a coffee table doesn't know your name. Make a web page with your coffee table (and information about coffee tables, etc.) so Google will send people to your site who are searching for coffee tables. That is called the landing page, and you need to respond to the visitor with information to catch their interest in under 2 seconds, preferably under 1 second. Someone else may be searching for a dresser, need a different landing page. Searching for a relief carving or wood art or display stand or .... think of all the things you could offer, and have a landing page for each.

I decided to put prices (I could reproduce something exactly like this for $xxx) on my web site - to keep people who are looking for a $20 coffee table from bothering me, and to reassure customers that my coffee tables are not $10,000 museum pieces. When I first started, I wanted to talk to everyone, but soon I realized that 90% of the contacts were wasted effort.

Web experts say to sell your product on the landing page, but I don't have a product - I have a service. Therefore each page has links to other pages, and practically every customer has told me, I found a coffee table (or whatever I was looking for) and then browsed your web site, [which convinced me that] you do good work.

After I rebuilt my furniture web site with lots of landing pages, I average 8,000 to 12,000 visitors per month, and have gotten practically all my work from the site (or from repeat business that started on the web site).

Thanks a lot for your comments and suggestions Charlie. I'm sure that I will rebuild my web soon taking them into account, my goal was to get it up and running as fast as I could as well as getting some feedback. I will PM you for more hints if you don't mind.
 
Toni,

Your carving really impressed me. These other items just knocked my sox off...I mean "WOW!!!" is just totally inadequate. I hope you are getting one heck of a price for them; they deserve it!

Did you do the photos or hire a professional. The quality of the photos to show off your products is better than most professionals can produce. If you hired a professional, tell him I said he is great. Of course he won't know me or give a dang---but do it anyway. I really like high quality photos, especially when they are art or when they are sending a specific message (art and quality in your case).

Enjoy,
JimB
 
Hi Toni,

I wrote a reply to your thread. I got interrupted by a PM. When I went back, the message was gone. That's OK though; I will do double work to send you a message any time. I said something like:

I have admired your carving. I had no idea that you did other things. The furniture, etc. is not good, it is fabulous. I hope you got a very large fee for each piece, they deserve it. Your choice of woods, your artistic eye, the craftsmanship are superb.

Did you do the photography? I really like excellent photography when it is art and/or when it really gets a message across. For showing or selling the items your pics have great appeal, art wise and showing the item in a way that creates, "I want that dear." If it was a professional photographer, compliment him/her for me. He/she won't know me from a cigar store Indian but he/she will like the compliment anyway.

Critique: I wanted to know the size of the items, the woods (sell the romance of the woods and the exotic places it came from), prices, shipping costs, how to order, etc. I want to know if it will fit in the corner between the grand piano and the window. I want to know if it is something cheap and pretty or if it is museum quality and I will have to give up purchasing a "Bob" to obtain it. Your pictures caught my eye and made me want it. Sell the sizzle and pull me in.

I think it was Barnam that said, "Sell the sizzle." Or, to put it another way, a diamond ring is probably expensive, you hope the gal will like it. vs It is from Tiffany's, the diamond is of the blue white shade that reacts best to the lighting, giving the most dazzle of any of the diamonds...a light that will light the heart of any damsel. It is from a mine 1,000 feet deep showing that it was subjected to even higher pressures than most diamonds. That is what created this rare shade of blue-white. Etc. (The preceding is pure BS but I think it gives you an idea of the way I was thinking.)

Don't sell the eye exam. Sell the wonderful vision you will have.
Don't sell the glasses. Look in the mirror. See how wonderful you look in them
Don't sell the surgery. Sell the fun you will have doing the 40 yard dash with your grandchildren.
Don't sell the dress. Sell the designer. Sell the exotic fabrics. Sell the ballroom dancing in the dress.
Etc.

Enjoy,
JimB
 
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I will look more later but, right off the bat . . . less obvious watermark ;-) It is so distinct that it interferes with the view of the image. Photography looks really good. Wish I could get pics like that and your work is wonderful ;-)
 
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Gorgeous work, Toni! :clap: Your furniture designs are phenomenal. (And I've known for a long time that your carving was world-class.) I agree with Glenn about the watermark on the photos. It is so prominent that it obscures the subject of the photo.
 
Hi Toni,


Critique: I wanted to know the size of the items, the woods (sell the romance of the woods and the exotic places it came from), prices, shipping costs, how to order, etc.

JimB

Hi Jim, you can see the sizes of the items on each pic. There are a few like the dresser, chair and the stool than don't show the size as I thought that it should be quite obvious. (Maybe not the dresser though). As per the pics, yes they are made by a pro photographer, my pocket camera and my extremely poor ability in taking pics advised me to do so.

I will look more later but, right off the bat . . . less obvious watermark ;-) It is so distinct that it interferes with the view of the image. Photography looks really good. Wish I could get pics like that and your work is wonderful ;-)
Thanks Glenn, the watermak is something that I will change soon, I also do find it too distracting from the main point of interest, but I didn't want my pics circulating easyly around the globe

Gorgeous work, Toni! :clap: Your furniture designs are phenomenal. (And I've known for a long time that your carving was world-class.) I agree with Glenn about the watermark on the photos. It is so prominent that it obscures the subject of the photo.

Thanks Vaughn, as I said that will have to re-worked, I want to redo them with the web logo. BTW do you know any free photo editor that allow to do so? I mean inserting a png bitmap on top of another and giving it transparency? I did these with the help of a friend who has photoshop but I do not want to have to depend always on him.


Thanks a lot for your comments Tom, your ability doesn't fall back either. I had the chance of seeing its results during last gathering.

Roy, Johnn, Allen, thanks a lot for your comments, they motivate me to work harder and give my best each time.
 
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