5 Reasons To Start A Website For Your Woodworking Business
Whether it’s your first day of being a woodworker and you don’t even have tools yet, or you’re an established woodworking looking to expand, it’s time to create a website…and here’s why.
Portfolio
A website is your digital storefront and can act as a portfolio for all of your projects. By creating a website you give visitors a place to see the work you have done and the quality of work you perform. Not only does your website give potential customers a portfolio to view, it also can act as your personal portfolio. When you upload pictures of your projects to your website, you can reassure that your pictures are stored and all in one place. If you delete photos from your camera or lose photos from your phone, you still have them on your website! These pictures can be helpful when working on future projects if you need to go back and reference a certain type of joinery or finish you previously used.
Brand Awareness
By having a woodworking business website, you now have a central location that you can drive traffic to. When someone asks where they can find you, you can give them your website name. Also, when optimized correctly, a good website can be found through online search, further advertising your brand and woodworking business. You can include links to your social media profiles or build videos. This will eventually get your name out to others and you will grow into being “known” online. Being found online is imperative in driving visitors and traffic, which could ultimately lead to generating sales and income from your woodworking projects.
Lead Generation
Lead generation is crucial to seeking and securing customers. You can generate leads within your website in a number of ways. Email lists and social media links are the two that I found to be the most successful. A simple email signup form on your website is a way to capture email addresses and add them to your email list. Then, you can send out email blasts with upcoming projects, in-progress photos, tips & tricks you learned from your recent project, and more. Sending an email on a regular basis will engage potential buyers and keep your brand at the forefront of their mind. However, never spam anyone. Don’t over-send emails too often where the value of the email is reduced. Find the groove and routine that works for you and your brand, and get started with email marketing to your followers and potential customers. I personally use Mailchimp for sending emails and building lists, but Constant Contact is another great option. If you’re new to building well-designed emails, you can find someone to do it for you and at very affordable rates. Check out a site like Fiverr for help.
Connect With Other Craftsmen
Even though your website’s primary purpose may be to showcase your work to potential and future buyers, it is also a great place to connect with other craftsmen and other woodworkers. Woodworkers are constantly online searching for inspiration for their next project, or trying to figure out how someone else made a specific type of joinery. If you are in front of them with an awesome website, they may want to reach out to you in search of advice, or paid gigs to collaborate with them on a project. Never turn down the opportunity to connect with a like-minded individual who is interested in the same niche as you.
Pride
If you’re like every other woodworker I know, you enjoy seeing the final result of a project you just spend countless hours and investment in. You’re good at what you do, you create amazing projects, so show them off! We already discussed the importance of a portfolio, but the sense of pride in finishing and posting a project to your website will inspire you and motivate you to keep going. Knowing that you can go back to your website at anytime in the future and admire the work you have finished will give you a sense of pride that will live inside your woodworking heart forever.
So, if you haven’t started a website yet, why?! You may be scared to start a site or hesitant because you don’t know how big it will grow. That’s fine, just start. Your site will continue to develop over time and eventually become as important to your woodworking business as any other asset you own. If you need help in getting started with your website, checkout Fiverr, where hundreds of people are able to help you design and launch your site.