What's Going on With SWI .
Hi, Everybody!
Recently, several WA members have made contact to find out if I'm still alive. Too funny ... just on overload working on my business.
With this blog, I want to let you know what er're up to over here at SmithWorks Inc. (SWI) and more importantly, it would be awesome to hear how many of you are doing something just a little different with WA instead of affiliate marketing.
Why We Are Where We Are
For us, the decision was made for us when our (then) new governor changed the tax code in our state. All the Amazon associates who live here received a prompt email from Amazon telling us we were no longer a part of their program.
Well OK then ... :-)
Granted, there are plenty of affiliate opportunities with other companies, but we decided we wanted to have more control over our Internet presence and our long-term success.
So This Is What We Did ...
First, we wrote a continuing education course and submitted it to a national massage board. It is currently under review and we anticipate no issues with approval. This provides us a market of over 35,000 prospects within our niche. Every single one of these prospects is required to maintain 12 hours of CE each year in order to maintain licensure. It is indeed a very niche market. (BTW - ours is a 12-hour course.)
The research involved in creating the course led us to some interesting discoveries. After some intense market research involving direct contact with our niche market, we invested in the development of a plugin. This plugin will make things much easier for our niche market and the biggest news is that there is currently nothing else on the market like it but at the same time, bits and pieces of what our plugin does are offered by 3rd-party websites to our niche market.
Intro to What We Do
Basically, our target market can now have their clients and prospects schedule appointments directly at the business owners website (though out tool does much more than this) and it provides follow-up emails to all parties with confirmations, schedule changes, cancellations, etc.
Currently, this type of service is available, but when the site visitor clicks "schedule appointment," they are taken to the external vendor site to complete the transaction. The ability to stay on-site is what makes our tool so unique.
We shortly expect to do an alpha release on the product so if you or anyone you know is interested in participating, please let me know and you'll be placed on our prospect list.
Whew - we've been busy people. :-)
What about you?
Are you doing anything different with the expertise you've gained through WA? It would be great to hear other stories and find out where everybody is and what you've been up to.
I can't wait to hear what you've been up to!
Recent Comments
6
I love your line of thinking! I joined WA to learn WordPress and SEO. I'm building my 5th site for a paying client, it's turned into a nice side biz for me. I've made $100 from affiliate marketing but it's not my focus at all.
I see huge potential in the long term hosting fees for sites I build.
You're right about the hosting. And think about site maintenance and support. I've built websites for clients, too, but want to move away from that onto a monthly, recurring business model. It will take time and it may not work (there's never any guarantees in life). But the rewards are worth it. :-)
Nice to hear from you again and how you are doing:) I just have joint a blogging platform in the Netherlands where you can earn money with blogging
Awesome! And it sounds right up your alley, too. You're so great at writing ... sounds like a natural fit! Are you still operating your daycare or is my memory blurred?
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Great to be utilizing our expertise Cathy!