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Teaching sustainable organic gardening practices, organic pest control, backyard organic gardening techniques, community gardening information,
and good ways to feed ourselves and our children healthfully.
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| Site Owner: | Jodi Reichenberger | | Contact Email: | jodi@gardensimply.com | | Website Home Page: | http://www.gardensimply.com | | Location: | United States | | Month/Year Website Launched: | September, 1998 | | Initial Start Up Costs: | $2000.00 | | Time Invested Before Launch: | Over a year | | Programming and Technical Work Done By Owner or Hired Out: | By Owner | | Time Invested Each Week Running Website: | 25 hours | | Niche Market Target: | Gardeners | | Products And Services Offered: | Complete Plant Nursery
Gardening Supplies
Live Plants
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Interview By: Jeremy Gislason
Interview Date: 21-Jul-05
Q. Please tell us a little about your background.
I am a single mother of three teenage children. I am currently working on my Masters degree in Biology.
Q. What made you decide to start a website in the field?
I've been a gardener all my life. After three children, fifteen years of marriage and a divorce, I had to make a decision about the rest of my life. I taught myself to design websites. I've been REALLY happy doing that. But the WYSIWYG editors have all but put me out of business. I got tired of chasing down business. So I joined what I love and what I love more together. Garden Simply had been around for my friends and family as an AOL 'homepage' forever. I bought a name and went into business.
Q. What kind of research went into this niche area before building your website?
Keyword and Marketing most importantly usability. I also researched the all the content. (and since I am not a write by trade, I guess then I did a lot of research on writing itself!)
Q. How did you design and build your website?
I write raw code myself. I am a big advocate of usability, if I can't maneuver around in a website, I leave pretty quick, so I've paid close attention to navigation. I wanted the color to be 'green' yet easy to read. So I used a white background. I built it one page at a time, one day at a time and it grows daily.
Q. What software do you use to run your business?
I use 1st Page and notepad to write my pages. My hosting package gives me all the free software I could ever want for the site. But I also use Dada mail and Eggs (Email Go Getter System)for subscription management and autoresponder; they're both free. I use eZine Announcer and now, Article Announcer (the BEST financial/marketing investment I've made for the site).
Q. How does your website generate income?
Strictly affiliate retail sales.
Q. How do you collect payments for your products or services?
My programs have their own service, I just direct readers to their product page.
Q. What promotion methods do you use?
eMail and eZine/Newsletter. I list in every eZine directory I can find and link, link, link! I also use recommendation scripts on the site and people USE them.
Q. Which method has proven to give you the best sales results?
By faaaar, the newsletter, Garden Notes.
Q. Which method of traffic generation has proven to be the best for you?
eZine directories
Q. What is your biggest challenge each month?
Research for new articles and the newsletter. Answering personal email from my feedback page. Sometimes I don't know the answer and I have to do the research to send an answer.
Q. What's the biggest mistake you've made since starting your business?
NOT creating my own product.... YET!
Q. How has your lifestyle changed since you started your online business?
I'm fatter... Ha ha ha! Sitting behind a computer 24/7 takes a toll... but seriously.... I have flexibility beyond compare. I work in my pajamas and I am proud of what I do. My garden looks better than it has in forever as I take pictures of it and call it GardenSimply's 'Test' garden, so it provides aLOT of motivation.
Q. How has your SureFireWealth.com membership helped you with your online business?
I only joined tonight, so I don't know yet!
Q. What would you say to someone looking to start a website in the same niche as you?
Personalize EVERYTHING you do, people respond to a person and not a machine.
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Thanks Jodi!
Warm Regards,
Jeremy Gislason
Webmaster
SureFireWealth.com
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