Subscriber Metrics on CustomMade.com

Last January, we put together a survey of then current subscribers to CustomMade.com. Our results were a really good indication of our level of service, and the value that we add to each of our subscribers.

The highlights:

• 93% of our subscribers are satisfied or highly satisfied with the value of CustomMade.com
• The average subscriber is a 1 man (or woman) shop
• The average subscriber receives around $5,000 worth of business from their presence on CustomMade.com
• Most of our subscribers are custom table and chair makers
• Our analytics suggest that Custom cabinet makers and custom built in makers are the most searched.
• The average subscriber receives around 5,000 Page Views each month

These were very encouraging and exciting metrics. We are so happy to be providing great value to our subscribers and the woodworking community.

Your Potential Customers - When are visitors visiting?

Ever wonder how many people visit CustomMade.com by specific day of week, or weekdays vs. weekends, specific date in a month, location of visitors etc.?

I’ll explore various different metrics (i.e. locations, time of day etc.) each week.

Please do not hesitate to ask about any particular data point/s that you are interested in – we can certainly dig deeper – and look at your CustomMade data. Just post a comment here or email me at mary@custommade.com.

So back to CustomMade.com’s overall website usage… What do I know already? From reading through CustomMade.com, and from Google Analytics; I know the following (rather impressive metrics):

• Over 750,000 people visit a year
• That’s over 2,000 visits a day!
• Sites of similar size and industry receive 42,000 visits a year
• That’s just 115 a day!

Please see chart below…

But what about the aforementioned data such as visits by specific day of week, weekdays vs. weekends, or specific date in a month??

Today, I’ll focus on CustomMade.com’s visits; by specific day of week, weekdays vs. weekends and specific date in a month.

Please see charts below…

So it looks like Sundays through Wednesdays are the highly visited days with Mondays being the “visit” winner. So it makes sense then that weekdays tend to attract more visits then weekends; given just one of the heavy ‘hitters’ is a weekend day. It also is clear that mid month (15^th and 18^th) tend to attract custom woodwork potential buyers.

So why does this matter? Besides just providing data to hungry metric geeks like myself – it helps for such things as days to add more photos, since Mondays seem to attract the most visits – maybe updating pictures in your gallery – or add some new ‘catchy’ description content every mid month Sunday night makes sense.

For more info on upgrading your current subscription to do such updates please visit http://www.custommade.com/subscribe.php

Also – maybe your gallery is not open on Mondays or you are taking a vacation – even more reason to have a stronger online presence during that time frame – you never want to miss potential customers!

So what do you think? Did you expect that most folks are ‘noodling’ through your custom pieces on Mondays? Honestly – I would have guessed Fridays.

But then soon realized that Mondays make sense – the reason why these visits are ….well visiting…is ease of access and mind soothing. Perusing through fine custom woodwork, cabinetry, carvings etc., on a Monday back at work sounds right on, nothing like a cure for the Monday blues….

Thank you for reading….

You Built It – Will They Will Come?

You have built such magnificent custom made pieces, let’s make sure these works of fine art get found….and well… purchased!

Below – you will find Part I of a new weekly series called “You Built It”. Each post in this series will cover, items such as (please feel free to request additional topics):

• Keywords – What are people actually searching for?
• Tips – A few tips to get you going (and selling!!)
• For CustomMade Subscribers:
• Before and After Examples – If applicable - with data* Provide website user behavior on your pages on CustomMade.com – this will have to be by request though….so please ask….

And as we go; more will be “built”……I will learn from you and apply that here….

*I say “if applicable” because my hopes are that I can get you to submit descriptions of your custom work – to review and provide a “Keyword Themed Rich” version – aka be found by us humans easier; because Search Engines love to gobble up rich content.

I firmly believe with your woodwork expertise and my Search Engine Marketing experience – will get you building, creating, shipping & selling quicker than I can count how many drill bits I actually put back in their rightful spot.

PS – I grew up as a “Hardware Store” daughter – I can’t say I can build anything like the AWESOME pieces I see on CustomMade.com – but I can at least talk some wood shop – so to say.

Please feel free to submit your CustomMade description at anytime to be part of this ongoing series. Please just post a comment here or email mary@custommade.com. Or I am sure Mike, the president of CustomMade.com, would not mind an email….mike@custommade.com.

This week I will focus on Keywords.

Writing your custom pieces’ detailed descriptions – is vital, for us humans and Search Engines.

Just as Bungs need to be aligned with Grain – details make a HUGE difference!

Here are the top 20 “Custom” keywords to think about using in your descriptions…



















Source: Google

Over a 100, 000 people search for custom made furniture a month???!!!

And look what happens when I type custom made furniture into bing (Microsoft New Search Engine).














Build it – we’ll help you get found….

Til’ next time…..

Thank you for reading…..

Our First Press Release

A Press Release sent out in May! More releases to come!

CustomMade.com Launches Revamped Website; Largest Online Custom...

PRWeb

May 12, 2009

Established in 1997, CustomMade.com was purchased in January 2009 by Boston-based CustomMade Ventures, a privately funded corporation led by CEO Mike Salguero and Board Chairman Seth Rosen. The goal of the new owners was to rebuild the website to create a more interactive '24 hour-a-day, 365 day-a-year woodworkers' fair' for entrepreneurs and customers, as well as providing world-class customer service and support for subscribers.

'Over the past 12 years, CustomMade.com has become the trusted brand in the marketplace and has a loyal following among hundreds of custom woodworkers from across North America,' said Salguero. 'As we talk with our subscribers we continue to realize just how important CustomMade is to the success of hundreds of woodworkers across the country. The new site will build on the success of CustomMade by providing our subscribers with the latest technology and a growing customer base so they can better navigate these turbulent economic times.'

CustomMade.com's subscribers consistently report that the site is their most important business generation tool.

'CustomMade.com is an excellent source for leads and sales and has been a definite plus for my business,' said Michael Hauck, owner of Michael Hauck Design in Sutton, Massachusetts. 'As a one-man operation, marketing time and resources are scarce. CustomMade has allowed me to expand my reach at minimum cost. I'm located in Massachusetts, but through CustomMade.com I have cultivated clients in places I could never have reached on my own.'

'Simply put, CustomMade.com is an invaluable resource for my business and has allowed me to grow locally and nationwide,' said Mike Huber, owner of Chesapeake Cabinet and Woodwork in Bowie, Maryland. 'I consider CustomMade.com the absolute best place on the Internet for the average homeowner to find custom furniture makers, cabinet makers, and artisans. There is no better.'

CustomMade.com currently has 400 subscribers and attracts 850,000 unique annual visitors and 3.5 million annual page views. Salguero noted that the company is working to expand its subscriber base as well as draw more customers to its site.

'This year we will strive to bring in over one million customers for our subscribers. At these traffic levels, there is plenty of business for woodworker subscribers in all regions of the United States as well as internationally, said Salguero. 'Through a targeted sales and marketing strategy, we plan to grow the existing subscriber base to meet the significant expected demand increase for custom woodworking services over the next three years.'

Salguero noted that more important improvements to CustomMade.com will be integrated before the end of 2009.

'We are completely transforming the user experience for subscribers and consumers, empowering them with more new information and powerful online tools,' said Salguero.

Through the new site, visitors to CustomMade.com can now search for custom woodworkers that serve their area, and also can learn much more demographic information about the woodworker, including style, techniques, and their specialties. All of these new functions are designed to help consumers make decisions about entering a process of customization with a skilled artisan of their choice.



Media Contact:
CustomMade Ventures
Cort Boulanger
339-222-2442

see the article here: http://www.topix.com/content/prweb/2009/05/custommade-com-launches-revamped-website-largest-online-custom

My bubinga coffee table...

http://www.custommade.com/gallery/custom-MD/bubinga-coffee-table.html

This is in my living room, and it is AMAZING. Thanks to Michael Huber for making it for me :-)

Getting my bookcases CUSTOM!

Everyone who knows me knows that I won't shutup about the better value of getting something custom made. Like many of you following this blog, I've just gotten tired of buying things that need to be thrown away after a few years. I like to invest in quality and buy things only once - but FINDING something of quality seems to get more difficult with every passing year. As time passes, the quality of furniture and cabinetry just seems to get lower and lower, as big-ticket retailers put pressure on their suppliers to make things cheaper and faster. Put simply, they just don't make stuff like they used to.

For years, custom made was a synonym for "expensive." But those days are over. Today, it's a far better value to simply have someone make it for you. It will actually last, and you will be far happier with the purchase.

Here's an example of an email I sent to a CustomMade woodworker and a purchase I recently made as a result;

*****
Dear X,

I have somehow convinced Lisa (my girlfriend) to move in with me. She hasbeen shopping on-line non-stop and found the exact bookcases she wants for our front reading room.

She is going to order them, but I wanted to check with you first in case you wanted to build them for us instead! It seems to me that these do not look particularly difficult to build -perhaps they could be made of poplar and painted white. And it also seems to me that we could get something made for basically the same price and get FAR better quality.

What are your thoughts?

Seth

*********

The response I got was that they could be made for around $1,700 including delivery, using cabinet-grade plywood. No ordering, no assembly, hand-made quality. And of course, we added some "custom" features and got it made to a custom size.

It hasn't been delivered yet... that's next week. But I will post pictures when it's done and in our reading room!

Father's Day - Went Custom

Okay – I did it…I successfully said “Happy Father’s Day” on the right day….

So – did I buy the Double Rocker or Pool table? Well no……My dad got so hooked when I sent him the links to the CustomMade Pages in question. He wants more info…..and he decided to tell his friends….

Thanks Dad....

Why CustomMade.com is a good Value

Many people ask me about the pricing for CustomMade.com; at $180-$300 per year, we believe we are a very good value. Here is our competition:

YellowPages.com: $50-140 per Month
ServiceMagic.com: $20-50 per lead
Furniture Shows: $1000-$5000 for booth, materials, shipping, and labor
Website: the maintenance and serving of a website is $300-$1000+ per year.

For each of these other options, you will end up paying a lot more, and getting a lot less.
1) At CustomMade.com, you can post 9-15 photos of your Items
2) You will enjoy our premium search ranking, we are #1 in Google for many related search terms such as: custom furniture, custom made cabinets, and many others...
3) 750,000 visitors a year coming to buy what you are making... we are also working hard to increase these numbers.

Join CustomMade, spend some time on your profile, make money selling custom woodworking!

Some of my Favorite Pieces on CustomMade.com

I thought that I would share with you three of my favorite pieces that are on CustomMade.com these are in no particular order. I would invite you to visit the website and come up with your own list. If it can be made, it can be custommade!

1) Orchid Chair: Made by Frank Barr in Boca Raton Florida. You can see his profile on CustomMade.com here: http://www.custommade.com/gallery/bent-wood/Orchid_Chair.html

2) Asian Style Lamp: Made by Paul McMillan in California. You can see his lovely work on CustomMade.com here: http://www.custommade.com/gallery/natural-modern-CA/Asian-Style-Lamp.html

3) Tailored Sports Room: Made by Birdie Miller of New Jersey. You can see an extensive listing of his work here: http://www.custommade.com/gallery/Birdie_Miller_Designs/tailored_sports_room.html


Remember the most exciting part about CustomMade.com is that anything can be customized, and the value proposition is far better than buying retail furniture at retail rates.

Father's Day - Go Custom

So did you think Father’s day was last weekend? Well, I did, and I was so proud of “catching” the holiday and proceeded to hand my dad a card. Oops!

I have never been early – what shall we coin that ‘prelated’?

Anyway, now that I have had an extra week to do better than that card with 99CENTS (BOLDLY WRITTEN ON THE BACK).

I decided to look at the most obvious…CustomMade.com

I have been working with CustomMade.com for several months now – helping with search engine optimization; as the site grows from the solid 10 year veteran to a more solid 20+year veteran.

Boom - it hit me! My dad loves custommade stuff! Hmmm…I am thinking a ‘double rocker’ or maybe dad would like a custom pool table.

Anyway – point being check out CustomMade.com – Dad may appreciate it more that that darn 99Cent card.

CustomMade.com Launches our Blog to talk with more woodworkers

CustomMade.com has now launched a blog! We are excited to be updating this blog, and time permitting, will try to do so on a daily basis. We have seen a lot of exciting changes in the past few months. In January, a group of us purchased the existing www.CustomMade.com website from the former owner Ted. The site has been around for 10 years, but has not grown past 380 subscribers and 750,000 visitors. We aim to change this.

As a company, we believe that custom furniture is a far better value proposition than furniture from the store. Why buy something machine made and mass produced when you can buy something CustomMade? We hope to build the largest online marketplace for custom furniture, custom built ins, custom cabinets, and other custom wood items. But to do so, we need your help! If you know anyone who would be interested in posting their information on our website, please have them visit us. Likewise, if you know anyone who is interested in fine, handcrafted wood, have them visit CustomMade.com