Giving your current website a new, improved "Look and Feel"
| Maybe you have an existing site that just needs a little help. You may be happy with the basic content, but want a different style or a more user-friendly layout that is easier for visitors to get around in and find what they’re looking for. Perhaps your site suited your needs a year ago, but now you’d like to expand it, improve it, give it a "facelift" so to speak? I can help! |
Keeping your site current and fresh for your visitors
| Perhaps you have a great website already, but it is getting stale and outdated. If you just need some basic updates to the current content, and don’t know how to do it yourself (or lost your prior webmaster), I can help with that too. |
A picture is worth 1000 words; make sure your photos look GREAT
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Do you have photos you need to put on a website? Just email your digitals or scanned photos to me (or mail me your 35mm photos to scan), and I’ll take it from there. I can do basic photo edits to crop, resize, color-correct, add borders, create collages, or otherwise "jazz up" your pictures.
What if your pictures aren’t quite up to par? I love photographing horses, and can come to your location for an on-site photo shoot if desired. I am not a professional photographer, but I have taken nearly all of the photos of my horses you’ll find on my website (plus many for my clients), and I pride myself on capturing a number of flattering still and action shots to show “all sides” of a horse. I hope to expand my photo services beyond just horses as I expand my website business itself, now that my horses are moving on. I strongly believe that the quality of your pictures can make or break your marketing efforts, and your website! Good photos are critical in successfully selling just about anything, or catching your visitor's eye, among the sea of fierce competition you face in today’s market. Make sure to WOW your visitors with the best photos possible! |
Sometimes it's not what you say, it's how you say it, that counts
| Some people tell me they don’t know where to start, or what to say, when it comes to marketing their animals or services. For those who get writer’s block or feel “stuck” when they try to write an ad, I can often help tie together the pertinent information and create professional-sounding marketing verbiage for their websites or ads. |
Bloodlines mean a lot to many buyers/clients - talk about them!
| Many discriminating customers want to see winning bloodlines in a horse, dog, cat, or other animal they’re considering buying or breeding to. I highly suggest including at least the pedigree, and wherever possible, also some additional information about anything mentionable in your animal's pedigree, within your website. If needed, I can help you research the ancestors in your animal’s pedigree, and point out those with show records that may impress your market. Priced from $35 per stock horse pedigree writeup. (Please visit this client's individual Mare and Stallion pages for examples of the kind of pedigree writeups I can provide.) |
Your target market is often not just within your local community anymore
| It used to be that the local newspaper or magazine/classified publication was your best affordable resource for your marketing efforts. But the internet has changed all that! Online advertising can be extremely successful, and can literally open up a whole new world of interest in your product or service! I can help you get online ads placed that will bring interested parties to your website. |
Why should you consider using my services?
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Many people these days call themselves Webmasters and offer their website services to others for a fee. Sometimes, unfortunately, clients learn the hard way: “You get what you pay for.”
I am a programmer by trade; I graduated from Arizona State University Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree, in the College of Business, with a Computer Information Systems Major. I worked in computer consulting for a while after college, until I got married and started a family. I began doing independent contract work, and eventually started my horse business as well. I am very fortunate to be able to work from home and manage my home-based businesses while my kids are in school, or asleep at night. I truly enjoy the work and the challenges! And I've also done considerable research into equine coat color genetics, and can lend valuable assistance to my clients in that regard as well. |
Of course, you want to know "So what would all this cost me?"
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There are "free" website hosting companies - but they support those sites by putting annoying advertisements on your web page. Nobody enjoys going to a site with popup or blinking/flashing ads distracting them from the website they are trying to visit. There are good domain/hosting packages averaging under $10/mo. which give the client their own URL (website address, such as www.risingmoonranch.com), unlimited pages, custom email accounts and forwarding, plenty of storage space, and enough bandwidth to handle more traffic than most small businesses would ever generate, with no ads on the site. They can be prepaid annually or set up to autobill the client's credit card monthly, and these types of packages have worked out well for all the clients I've put on them so far. Of course, there are many other options too!
As for my charges, I log all time spent working for a client with detailed explanations of what I'm working on, dates and start/finish times, then I just bill a flat $35/hour and provide the detailed backup with my periodic invoices. I stay in frequent contact with the client regarding the work they desire and the direction we are going, requesting their input and providing regular updates on my progress. Nearly everything I do can be done via phone and/or email (except photo shoots, of course) so out-of-pocket expenses can remain minimal. This method of hourly billing allows you to pay for only, and exactly, the work I’m doing for you, regardless of what it is you need help with. And when you compare the cost of my services, to perhaps even one 10% sales commission you might pay someone for helping you sell an animal otherwise, you can see that the hourly billing method can be greatly to your advantage! (Just ask my client whose $30,000 stallion was sold from the new website I was building at the time, before we even placed a single advertisement for him anywhere!!) I understand that most folks will want a general idea of what a new website (or other consulting project) would cost them, all said and done. Of course, that varies greatly based on what the client wants, how simple or elaborate the layout and graphics, how many pages/how much info on each page, extras like forms that can be submitted or downloaded/printed from the site, how much the client can provide me (in the way of content/photos) and how much I need to come up with from scratch or put time into researching or getting into its final format for the site, etc. So, the more you can tell me about your specific needs, ideas, and situation, the better I will be able to estimate what the project may cost. A general rule which may help, is that a “basic” website of about 5 pages of content may average around $450-$550 to build and get “live”, start to finish. Once the basics and templates are in place, adding additional pages or content goes much quicker, so a 15 page website may only run $1000-$1200. I’d be happy to give you a customized estimate once you’ve told me just what you’re looking for! Also, if you have a particular budget in mind to spend, or timeframe you'd like it completed by, please point this out and I can always design your site accordingly to be sure I meet your immediate needs (we can always add on later as desired.) A small deposit will reserve your project's spot "in line" (I am often booked out 2-4 weeks in advance) and then I apply that amount as a credit to your first invoice, once your project is underway. I strongly encourage you to contact any of my clients to ask if they feel satisfied with the services and turnaround time I've provided them (existing clients enjoy a one week maximum turnaround time for updates.) I believe you'll find them all to be happy customers! :) |