Originally Posted by J. Sullivan

It's been about a year and half since I last wrote here, and many many things have changed. I'm no longer in Syracuse, baby on the way, new F150, all that fun stuff. Came back cleaning out my bookmarks, I'm sorry I forgot about you fellas. Let's hope the goodwill is still strong!

But enough about me, on to the money makin'!

There are two types of websites - Catching sites, and throwing sites.

Catching sites: 98% of sites
(did you know that 87% of stats are made up on the spot?)

Put up some pictures, write an article or two, clearly displayed phone number. The majority of your site is written about you. Not the customer.

How do you get customers from the site?

Why you sit and hope that someone sees it and likes what you do, and gives you a call. You catch the leads that come in. If they come in.


Throwing sites: 2% of sites

Same standard features as above, except you write AND MAINTAIN a weekly blog, and respond to comments. You have written a mini ebook titled The 10 most important things to know about "your roof/ your kitchen remodel/ the joys of central air/ how to make a fat maxx stand out over 14ft". Your design is clean, with generous amounts of space. Everything you have written pertains to the visitor. It's about them, not you baby. They have the check book.

How do you get customers from the site?

Most importantly, you have a means of contacting them! Whether you get them to register their name and email before they can comment, or it's the terms of downloading the report, or you need their information to send a personalized brochure, you have a way to capture their contact info.

That is the essence of throwing.


Why catching sucks compared to throwing

Catching sucks compared to throwing because you are at the visitors mercy. You have to wait until they call you.

How many of your visitors are going to be motivated enough by your site to call you that second?

How many are going to be looking at your site, and your site alone?

How many of them are going to remember you over your competitors?

What about your site says "Hey, I'm a cool guy, a pro at what I do, a joy to work with, and I won't rape and pillage you at any stage of the project?"

You need to have a component on your site that is WOW!, tailored to their needs, teaches them something or positions you as an expert in their minds, and most importantly captures their contact info. So you can call them when you want, so the marketing is on your terms.



Quick Case Study, semi related to you fellas.

I was looking to have a timber frame home built when I left Syracuse. Always wanted one, got the baby news, time for a home. So like anyone else, I went online and searched timber frame home builders.

I'm looking for something pretty specific, and I want to get the best deal for my money. I also want a pro. I probably went as deep as page three, clicking every single site, spending roughly equal amounts of time on each.

Pretty big purchase, you want to know what you're getting into.

Anyways, most of the sites were catch, a couple were throw. I filled out all the forms for the throws, and kept carrying on my search.

I get immediate confirmation emails from all of the throws. A couple days go by and I have recieved packages from less than half the throws. Two of them are really standout. One is incredibly thorough, one is amazingly well designed. I call them both up, had a conversation with each, and made my choice.

A year and a half later I couldn't be happier. I could tell you the names of all the companies that sent me info. I still have the information kicking around to use as case studies and marketing models for my line of work.

I have no idea who the rest were, and have no inclination to visit again or recommend them to anyone.


Wrap up

Get a throw site. Right now.

You guys are in a crazy referral based field, and a throw system is only going to help you out. Getting on the phone with a customer is a lot easier when you can call them when you are prepared to blow them away and make the sale.


Thanks for reading, I'll be back with some more ideas for you gents.