Business Already From New Website!!

Business By midialjoje Updated 15 Aug 2006 , 9:13pm by chocomama

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midialjoje Posted 10 Aug 2006 , 5:34am
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Just finished my website on freewebs.com a week or two ago. So far, I have 2 bridal consultations/taste tests scheduled and a bday party. Thanks for all the great advise I've gotten here. Most of my business has been friends/word of mouth, but those are the ones I have trouble charging full price. With referrals from my website--people I don't know, hopefully I'll be more comfortable w/ real prices!

24 replies
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nicksmom Posted 10 Aug 2006 , 5:46am
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oh my gosh,good for you way to go icon_smile.gificon_smile.gificon_smile.gif I wish I were that lucky.......I've had my website done (on freewebs.com) since may and haven't got 1 order at all icon_cry.gificon_cry.gificon_cry.gif how did you manage that???my buisness is family/friends/coworkers/word of mouth/friends of friends etc...I've had great orders since may and been pretty steady but now I have no orders except nephew and my son bdays!!!!!!! how do you attract buisness to your website??????please I would love some hints. congrats and good luck

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Eliza Posted 10 Aug 2006 , 6:12am
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CONGRATS!!! party.gifparty.gifparty.gif

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indydebi Posted 10 Aug 2006 , 10:10am
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I have an ad on "the Knot dot com" and on "respond dot com". The knot is $85 a month and has more than paid for itself. Respond dot com is phenomenal! It costs me $15 a month. Brides go in and enter "100 guests, budget of $13 a person, date of wedding" and other info. When they hit the 'send' button, it goes out to all caterers / cake decorators in the area who are listed on Respond. Based on the preliminary info, I can decide if I want to reply or not. If I do, it's $4 for me to respond. I signed up on January 1.....by Jan 19th (my birthday, that's how I remember), I had paid $60 in monthly and response fees, but I'd booked over $6700 in weddings! The info I send them is all via email (I've scanned my menus and other info into a pdf) so I've no mailing or paper costs. I get anywhere from 2 to 4 inquiries a DAY!

These are my only avenues of advertising. I got on Respond on Jan 1st and my business exploded......a few weddings in the spring, but starting in mid-May I had every weekend filled thru the end of Sept.

The best part to me is that I get to choose which ones I respond to. I refuse to pay for "per click" advertising type of sites. I'm not going to pay for people to window shop my website....I will pay for people who actually call me. If I'm already booked for that date, I can reply with "already booked" at no charge to me. There have even been a few that I could tell might turn into a Bridezilla and I can choose not to respond to that inquiry.

Respond has MORE than paid for itself! If you are super serious about booking weddings, I recommend this to everyone!

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midialjoje Posted 10 Aug 2006 , 11:49am
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I had to upgrade on Freewebs.com--but only up one level, I think. then, you have to make sure you put your site on search engines, or no one can see it. It cost about 6 a month, I think. freewebs had a link to a site that gets you to about 10 of the "favorite" search engines. I was leary at first, because they weren't any I had heard of. The place my business has come from mostly was Onewed.com, but have had birthday as well just from the general search engine entry. Hope that helps. I don't remember all the details of the signups, but found them all on freewebs.

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coolmom Posted 10 Aug 2006 , 7:52pm
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I have advertised on craigslist.com and have gotten 2 orders in the one week that my add has been on there. They have an events services section that you can place an add in for free. If you already have a website, you could advertise your website in your posting. Just an idea!

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melodyscakes Posted 10 Aug 2006 , 10:11pm
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would you tell me what the actual address are? like how do i put it in, "the knot dot com"????

thanks!!

melody

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melodyscakes Posted 10 Aug 2006 , 10:12pm
post #8 of 25

would you tell me what the actual address are? like how do i put it in, "the knot dot com"????

thanks!!

melody

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indydebi Posted 10 Aug 2006 , 10:22pm
post #9 of 25

www.theknot.com

Oops! Sorry about that! A bad habit I got into some time ago and I've yet to break it.

Scroll to the bottom and click"advertise with us". You will send an email and their sales rep will call you.

True Story: I'm a "The Apprentice" addict and the year they did the bridal shop project was my turning point. One of the apprentices was a bridal shop owner. They had about 24 hours to set up a bridal shop and get more sales than the other team. This bridal shop owner turned to one girl and said, "Contact the knot and get an email ad sent out." In 24 hours, that email had brides lined around the block! I looked at my husband ... I didn't say a word but he said, "Go for it!" I contacted the Knot the next day. They told me later that The Knot had no idea that was going to be on that show. Their emails and voicemails were jammed with inquiries! The ad started generating inquiries and sales for me immediately! Wow! I told my Knot sales rep, "I hope someone from your organization sent that little bridal shop apprentice the biggest bouquet of flowers ever!"

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Zmama Posted 10 Aug 2006 , 11:09pm
post #10 of 25

I just wanted to say that your site is SOOO helpful to brides! I called my fiance in to look at it. Too bad we're 4 hours away!

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southernbelle Posted 11 Aug 2006 , 2:24am
post #11 of 25

Question??

Do you have to be licensed to advertise on the knot or respond? I am a home baker in TN...they are not as strict as most states but I wouldn't want to rock the boat.

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nicksmom Posted 11 Aug 2006 , 2:52am
post #12 of 25

I also would like to know what southernbelle is asking.......bump

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AgentCakeBaker Posted 11 Aug 2006 , 2:56am
post #13 of 25

Congratulations! How did you get your photos to scroll across the bottom? That is sooo cool. I guess there is more about freewebs.com that I need to learn.

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indydebi Posted 11 Aug 2006 , 3:04am
post #14 of 25

ZMama....thanks so much for the compliment! I always tell my brides to contact me anytime 'coz I just LUVVVVVV talking weddings! If you picked up something that saves you money, then the website did it's job! Thanks!

southernbelle: I'm not currently licensed (give me 8 weeks....I picked up the plans yesterday from my kitchen designer .... woooo whoooo!) and neither website even asked about it when I signed up with them.

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nicksmom Posted 11 Aug 2006 , 4:05am
post #15 of 25

indydebi... I tryed the website.RESPOND.COM and there was like 5 pages of respond.coms!!!!!!! I clicked on the weddings one at the top of the first page of search and found the place where the bride types how many and how much etc...but there was nothing I found for me to click on to try to advertise or sign up icon_cry.gif could you please please tell me what to click on and what to look for,I want top try this SOOOOOOOOOO badly icon_sad.gif I would so appreciate any help

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indydebi Posted 11 Aug 2006 , 10:00am
post #16 of 25

www.respond.com / then click "weddings". At the bottom of the page is a link of "advertise with us". That's the sign up page. $14.95 a month to be listed. When a bride enters her info and hits the send key, her info goes to the caterers who are listed with Respond. You get all the info except their name and contact email/phone. If you select to answer this bride, it costs you $4.

I have my info (which is basically the same info that's on my website, like menus and pricing, etc) in PDF formats. I have a response-email already made and saved in Word, so when I reply to a bride, it's just a cut-n-paste of the email, attach the documents, minor adjustments to the email to personalize it and it's done. It takes me about 2 minutes to answer an inquiry.

Let me know if you'd like to see a sample of the format that comes in and I'll be happy to PM it to you.

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southernbelle Posted 12 Aug 2006 , 1:42am
post #17 of 25

How do you decide which ones to respond to? Do you seem to be making up for the expense that the monthly fee and answering costs you? Sorry to ask so many questions....

If you wouldn't mind pm-ing me the response you send that would be great!

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nicksmom Posted 12 Aug 2006 , 3:32am
post #18 of 25

i would love if you could pm me that as well,you are being sooooooo kind and helpful icon_smile.gif

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indydebi Posted 12 Aug 2006 , 11:25am
post #19 of 25

I keep a spreadsheet of the inquiries I get. One tab for 2006 and one for 2007 and I've even got one for 2008 already. Inquiries are logged by date, bride name and an approx value of the inquiry (if she says 100 people with a budget of $13-18, then I take the average - $15 - x 100 people for a potential value of a $1500 booking. That's how I am able to tell my bank that I have over $100,000 in quotes for 2007 right now.

Some examples of inquiries that I've rejected are: 25-50 people, foods that I don't really do (like Jamaican), I'm already booked for that date, the request is unreasonable ("I want 3 or 4 meat dishes and I only want to spend $4 a person!"), the distance is too far for my delivery policy, and sometimes you just get a feel that it's going to be a headache. The initial inquiry really has soon good info. Here's a cut-n-paste of the inquiry I get:

Request Information:
Category: Wedding Caterers

Where do you need this product or service? Indianapolis, IN 46227
What type(s) of cuisine would you like? Barbecue
What type(s) of cuisine would you like? Vegetarian
Wedding time of day: Afternoon
What is your budget per person for Catering: $13 - $18
What is the date of your wedding? 09/23/2006
How many guests will be attending? 100-150
Additional Details: we would like to have wedding and reception at the same outdoor site.



If I choose to respond, the I click on "Get info" and $4 is automatically deducted from my account.

Oh....that's another good part. I control how much money I spend. I've allocated $50 to be applied to my account every 28th of the month. That allows me to response to 12 or so inquiries, minimum. If start to run low, I get a warning that my balance is low. I can choose to replenish the account -OR- I can decide that "well, you spent all your advertising budget this month. You're done!" There have been months that I've spent $200 in advertising, but I've also booked $50,000 in business so far this year, with $100,000 in outstanding quotes for 2007.

There is no way I would stop using Respond. It is phenomenal.

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indydebi Posted 12 Aug 2006 , 11:29am
post #20 of 25

One more thing on the subject of expense allocation. I allocate $50 to replenish my account every 28th of the month. If, by the 28th of the month, I still have money available in my account, let's say I still have $25 left..... then Respond will only move enough money to get me to my desired level of $50. So instead of moving $50, only $25 will be moved.....just enough to get me to the $50 level. I think that's a great benefit!

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nicksmom Posted 13 Aug 2006 , 3:09am
post #21 of 25

thanks thats very helpful.when I sign up for advertising on respond.com,do I select the catering aspect becuase there is no wedding cake selection????I do not have a caroring buisness,just wedding cakes.so would this still work for me????

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VACakelady Posted 13 Aug 2006 , 9:37am
post #22 of 25

I was thinking the same thing about cakes. Perhaps we could all submit a request for them to add a wedding cake section strictly for bakers! I think I would sign up then.

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indydebi Posted 13 Aug 2006 , 2:15pm
post #23 of 25

great idea! you might contact their customer service dept to see about adding that. Not everyone needs a caterer, but everyone needs a wedding cake! (that's why my ad on The Knot is under "wedding cakes" even tho' I do catering also.)

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VACakelady Posted 14 Aug 2006 , 11:22pm
post #24 of 25

I sent an email to respond.com to suggest adding a Wedding Cake category on there. Perhaps some others can do the same and we can convince them to add it.

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chocomama Posted 15 Aug 2006 , 9:13pm
post #25 of 25

I just sent them an email, too! icon_smile.gif

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