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what is a reasonable time for a show's web site to be up before

updated thu 9 nov 06

 

Wayne Seidl on tue 7 nov 06

the show?

Gayle:
I'm sure you'll hear from the Net gurus on this one. You should definitely
have an issue with the person regarding that statement. You should be
hopping up and down screaming at them. Or just borrow the Mayor's 2X4 and
open up a can of "whoop-ass" on them. I'll bail you out. (Hmmmm, where did I
put my tar and feathers...)

For my money, a website had better serve as a whole lot more than a frigging
map showing how to get where you are. Mapquest can do that! Your website is
for your work. It's ADVERTISING. It's MARKETING!

I don't think advertising a month or two in advance of an event is a bad
thing. Take a look around you. It wasn't even Halloween and the department
stores were already selling the heck out of Christmas...TWO months in
advance. Does anyone apologize for it? Hell no, they take the money and
RUN to the BANK smiling!
Your site should also have a form visitors can fill out requesting an e-mail
"reminder" a week before the event. Then, you simply compile e-mail
addresses into a list and send one mail to all of them (it expands your
mailing list too. Sneaky, but effective.)

Fire the person doing the site. They are not doing their job, and it is
transparently obvious that they don't give a damn about YOU or YOUR SALES.
Just my opinion. YMMV, BNI, NVWAOO. (Your mileage may vary, batteries not
included, not valid with any other offer)

A decent WORKING website will cost you about $1,000-1500 per year, maybe
more if you want all the latest and greatest bells and whistles. For $400,
you can buy a brand-spanking-new Okidata color laser printer and do your own
flyers. (I bought one last month; it's a sweet machine and is holding up
very well to all of our abuse.)

Best,
Wayne Seidl

PS: I know she's super busy at the moment, but e-mail Gail Phillips
(figglywig@att.net). She's a wealth of information, and does decent
websites, like Ingeborg's, Alisa's etc. The lady knows her stuff.

-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of claybair
Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:59 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: What is a reasonable time for a show's Web site to be up before the
show?

So we have a studio tour that is has been established for 22 years.
The last few years I have had several issues with the web site.
The biggest being that the site doesn't get completed and
updated artist info. until about 2 weeks before the show.... and then some
links don't work etc.
Upon questioning, the person doing the site says that customers
don't go to the site for the map until the week before the show. I don't
have an issue with
that statement but do with the site not being updated regarding overall look
and
artists new work.
This has been a bone of contention for me for 4 years. An offer by 2 of us
to do the web site for free
was ignored and instead they paid this joker $3000 a year for 2 years...
granted he did the flyer also but that was
just cut and paste & I do know what it take to do graphics especially with
these new fangled computers!
I know what it was to really cut and paste.... nothing like the smell of
rubber cement in the morning!
So my question is what is a reasonable time to expect a web site for a show
to be complete
prior to a show. All the other show web sites I have perused are up months
and months before the show.
BTW new artists pay an extra $25 for the site where previous artists pay if
they switch out 3 or more images.
Smells fishy to me!
Gayle Bair
Bainbridge Island, WA
Tucson, AZ
http://claybair.com
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Chris Leake on tue 7 nov 06

the show?

So we have a studio tour.......

Business is business. When you hire a professional to do work it should be done by your deadlines, not theirs. Wayne, can I borrow that 2X4? I would like to wack this twit myself! (You did say something about bail......right Wayne?) My youngest son is a programmer. He works hard long hours to deliver quality work on schedule. It burns me when people like this give hard workers like my son a bad name!

Chris Leake



http://www.leakeart.com

Timothy Joko-Veltman on wed 8 nov 06

the show?

On 11/8/06, Wayne Seidl wrote:

> Your site should also have a form visitors can fill out requesting an e-mail
> "reminder" a week before the event. Then, you simply compile e-mail
> addresses into a list and send one mail to all of them (it expands your
> mailing list too. Sneaky, but effective.)

As a former wed designer, I couldn't let this go. Creating a list of
people who want a reminder is a great idea. But don't add them to
your normal mailing list without first telling them and getting their
permission. Doing so is a good way to show what you really think of
your customers (not much), and makes you look like a spammer. I
strong counter-recommend this. If you say leave an option the form
saying "Add me to the normal mailing list", as well as a "privacy
policy" telling them what you'll do with their information - I'll
agree, but otherwise, respect your customer and let it show - the
time, money and effort it takes will show, and you'll gain respect in
return.

> A decent WORKING website will cost you about $1,000-1500 per year, maybe
> more if you want all the latest and greatest bells and whistles. For $400,
> you can buy a brand-spanking-new Okidata color laser printer and do your own
> flyers. (I bought one last month; it's a sweet machine and is holding up
> very well to all of our abuse.)

Sounds like your designer is a bit of an ignoramus. Anyway ... I
think that even $1000 per year is overpriced. Certainly, there is the
matter of expertise, but if they had any, then they'd have given you
control of the website by building or installing a "CMS" (content
management system). And if there are lots of them out there - many
are open source, and not taking advantage of them is somewhat foolish,
though occasionally they are a bit hard to find.

I don't make websites anymore (well, maybe my own), but I'll be happy
to answer questions about site related stuff (design, usability,
hosting, coding, search engines, CMS's, blogs ... you name it). And
I'm more than a bit of an open source software geek, so any questions
about that are welcome, too.

Cheers,

Tim

Russel Fouts on wed 8 nov 06

the Show

Gayle,

All advertising (flyers, articles, radio spots, invitations, posters AND
websites) should be "in the hands of the public" two weeks before the
show, at the latest.

Three weeks is acceptable but no earlier.

People forget if it's too early and are already booked if it's too late.

Russel