An Interview with Ray Beaufait, Owner of Beau Productions LLC - Golf Swings Web Site
By Sean Proske, thewebhostcompany.com
Recently I had an opportunity to discuss
the elements of what makes a successful website with Ray Beaufait, Owner - Webmaster of Beau Productions LLC.
Just like any other webmaster, Ray
faced a number of challenges when getting the website http://beauproductions.com
for Beau Productions LLC to the point it's now at.
Hopefully the experiences shared in this discussion will help
other webmasters to overcome their own obstacles. Beau Productions LLC
is involved in the Internet Sales industry.
"Developing Website and program content
that is entertaining and educational.""
Here is what Ray had to say during
our interview...
thewebhostcompany.com
Can you tell us a little bit about your personal background?
Ray
Born 1943 - Some College - US Army 1961-1964 - Banking-Finance 1965-1998 - Retired 1998 - present
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How would you describe your business, what sorts of products or services do you provide and what is your target market?
Ray
Golf Swings Web Site receives over 1500 visits daily. I believe the reason this site is popular is because we continue to add to the site and our content is what other golfers are looking for. I also write programs in html, flash, java and convert to ebook exe files that I give away free or sell from our website. I believe that most of our traffic comes to us by word of mouth. Sales helps to maintain some of the expenses and content of our web site. Profit is not the intent of our web site but it helps when visitors realize the value we provide them and purchase a download or make a donation to Golf Swings site.. Our site's main intent is to provide entertainment and education to those mainly interested in golf. Our downloads that we sell barely pay my costs of providing this site to golfers around the world.
thewebhostcompany.com
How large would you say your business is in comparison to other firms in your industry?
Ray
This is a hobby with me and sales only help pay for some of my Internet and computer expenses. I do not compete with others as the programs I developed and sell are about subject items I enjoy and think others may enjoy also.
thewebhostcompany.com
What would you say your biggest advantage is over your competitors?
Ray
My programs are unique and entertaining to those that are interested in the subject matter.
thewebhostcompany.com
How long has your company had a presence on the Internet?
Ray
Started 1998
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How and why did you decide to go online, and what obstacles if any did you encounter during the process, how did you overcome these obstacles?
Ray
I became bored with retirement. I have always enjoyed computers and what they can do. The Internet was new and exciting to me and I decided I would start my own web site based on my hobby interests and just build from there. I taught myself HTML, Java scripting, flash, multimedia and other basic languages and took it from there to where it is today. Again, this is a hobby. I enjoy providing content for those interested in golf and other subject matters that I am interested in and others might enjoy also. I did not expect this site to make me a lot of money and of course it hasn't. I really enjoy creating content that others may enjoy also. If I could make a little money to help pay for my hobby expenses while providing entertainment and education to others that would be great also.
thewebhostcompany.com
What is the main function or purpose of your website?
Ray
To entertain visitors interested in golf and other subjects that interest me.
thewebhostcompany.com
What sorts of things did you consider in deciding how to structure your site in terms of both organization and design?
Ray
Multimedia design that loads fast and was easy to follow. An interface that would be easy enough for a novice computer user to find the subject matter that interested them. Multimedia content is slow to load on some systems so I tried to compact the multimedia files as small as possible. Visitors are impatient and will not wait for more than a few seconds for a site to load.
thewebhostcompany.com
How long after launching your site did you begin to see results, and were the results what you expected to see?
Ray
It took a long time before my site became popular. I did nothing to promote the site other than register with search engines and exchange links with others. Most were golf or sporting sites that exchanged links.
thewebhostcompany.com
Has your business benefited from being online, if so then how much business do you attribute to your website?
Ray
Yes, although I am not getting rich the site pays for my Internet expense and gives me a little extra income to support my retirement. 100% of what I sell is off the Internet.
thewebhostcompany.com
How often do you update your website, and what sorts of things do you take into consideration with each update?
Ray
Daily or monthly or whenever I feel the need to start another program. I continue to add new golfers to the site.
thewebhostcompany.com
What methods do you use in order to drive traffic to your site? Which would you say are the most and least effective ways to generate traffic?
Ray
Search Engines and having content others are interested in.
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Have you employed any search engine optimization techniques? If so, what specifically have you done, and has it been successful?
Ray
None
thewebhostcompany.com
Can you give us an idea of how much traffic you receive at your website?
Ray
30,000 plus per month
thewebhostcompany.com
What role if any do you have in the design and maintenance of your site?
Ray
100% is from my own effort.
thewebhostcompany.com
How much time and money would you say has gone into your website?
Ray
A lot of time and effort has been put into the site over the years. I do not spend as much time as in the past. Most of my time is spent on a product or ebook I want to develope. Also remember this is a hobby I enjoy doing. I feel like I am creating something I and others might enjoy. Such as an artist might feel. Most of the money spent was on computer equiptment, software, and Internet charges.
thewebhostcompany.com
Was there much of a learning curve for you as far as the internet and web sites were concerned?
Ray
Yes, It took a long time to understand and learn the programing. I taught myself through reading and a lot of trial and error. Today I do not spend as much time learning all the new techniques. As you know what is new today is obsolete tomorrow. Once I learned the programing basics I found that I could create most anything I wanted. It sometimes takes me a little longer as I have not stayed updated with all the new techniques for developing web sites or programs. Remember, this is a hobby I enjoy doing and I enjoy the challenge of developing sites and programs. I am a believer of KISS theory.
thewebhostcompany.com
Were there any mistakes you made along the way with the site that you learned from?
Ray
Yes, many but I also learned from a lot of the mistakes. A lot of trial and error.
thewebhostcompany.com
How soon after launching did your site become profitable for you?
Ray
It still is not what I might consider profitable. It basically pays for my hobby and gives me a lot of enjoyment.
thewebhostcompany.com
Is there any advice you would give to others who are trying to make their websites more successful?
Ray
Yes, keep your material interesting and try to look at yourself or your site from your visitors points of view. Ask yourself why you would visit your site or purchase your product or program. Also keep to the same theme and don't try and please everyone, just the majority. Accept criticism and learn from it but also understand not eveyone is going to like your work. The Internet is a lot of fun and it will always be a challenge.
thewebhostcompany.com
Thank you for your time, Ray.
I'm sure this will be very useful information for many of our
readers.
