Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi all,

I was referred here by a friend and spent most of last night reading these boards.  I wasn`t 100% sure where to post this question. Since I do most of my business online, I thought here would be appropriate.

 

I have a very niche market, which I have begun to tap into.  I have my target market narrowed down...actually it`s kind of a borad base, but I`m marketing kids and parents of horse loving girls.  I`ve had mediocre success.  I have ads all over the place, have written content, use Ebay with some success, etc.  I will be passing my one year anniversary of being in business soon, and I had really thought I`d be a little farther ahead in terms of sales by now.

I`ve been only marketing online.  Ebay has really been my bread and butter with my sales, but even there I feel like I am hitting a brick wall. I have many repeat customers, and in Sept I made more money in that month that I have ever on Ebay.  My sales have drastically dropped from site and Ebay since then.

Do you think a trade show is the way to go for a niche market?  I thought my ads in horse related areas would help, but nothing. I have contacted tack and horse related, and gift shops both in person and online with no contracts yet.  My major goal was to be carried in 2 B&M stores by 2008 and I haven`t acheived that yet. I`m all lined up to have a couple people start sewing for me, but with out much growth in recent months here, I can`t do it yet.

Any ideas for getting into that niche market a little better?  I was going to hold off on tradeshows, but I`m wondering if I need to consider it sooner?

Thanks for any thoughts. 

Lisa

www.horse-itz.com

I think you need something closer to the top that explains your site  instead of pictures and a product list; a title, tagline, intro, something to let me know right up front what you offer and why its beneficial to me. As is, I have to go down the page quite a ways to get any real textual information.

I think you need to let people know upfront about secure shopping, that you have some type of SSL type features in place for their protection, regardless of the purchase method they choose. Without registering and going through the whole checkout process, how do I know my information is safe beforehand?

I like the simple graphics and general layout. You have some inbound links, but seem to be coming mostly from forums, possible in a signature? What are your traffic numbers like? Remember, you are in a niche market, which could limit your traffic. Focus on getting inbound links from related sites, i.e., horse related, kids clothing, etc. The more inbound links, the more potential traffic, and the higher your potential income.

Your SEO could use a bit of work, as far as meta tags, link titles, image alt`s, etc.




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M Hall
Website Critique Community
International Society of Curmudgeons

Hey Lisa,

If your clothes are hand made somewhat-consider craft shows, festivals, tradeshows.  Choose them wisely because some can be very pricey.  Here in Cali-we have farmers market that includes crafters. That might be something to look into.

LT


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