Marketing to knife makers, what do you look for?

Pictures confuse me sometimes. They open for me when I click the link so I am lost as a fix lol. I will try and send them to your email

edit; Sent pics to your email, let me know if you didnt get them
 
here is what I look for Ben . I only make full tang blades , so I look for a block that is thick enough to get 4 scales out of if I can . Now looking at your site at the buckeye I see $ 32.00 for a block that is 1" thick , I may get 3 scales out of that 1 and 1/2 knives , so I would need to buy 2 blocks to get 2 knives out of it . $ 64.00 + shipping . For me that is tuff.

A lot of times I will look for blocks that are 2" + wide , then on smaller knives I can get 1 knife from 1 cut .

This is just me .
 
ONeill said:
here is what I look for Ben . I only make full tang blades , so I look for a block that is thick enough to get 4 scales out of if I can . Now looking at your site at the buckeye I see $ 32.00 for a block that is 1" thick , I may get 3 scales out of that 1 and 1/2 knives , so I would need to buy 2 blocks to get 2 knives out of it . $ 64.00 + shipping . For me that is tuff.

A lot of times I will look for blocks that are 2" + wide , then on smaller knives I can get 1 knife from 1 cut .

This is just me .
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For the people who make smaller knives, are you after small blocks or really large ones you can get multiple knives out of? I can cut 1.5-1-4 blocks easily. I can cut pretty much any size.

I also have several 2.5-1 1/8-6 blocks that im sure you could get multiple scales out of. What is it you guys are after, as im hearing a lot of different things.
 
I would use the home page to disclose a Mission Statement along with the value you and your products deliver. Also, a call to action. Something that moves a person to a new page ie. About, Products, Examples of the wood used on prior purchasers' products, or a Purchase. Perhaps a bulk deal.

Alot of (almost all) people are Mobile so you want to also optimize these changes into a natural movement for the mobile user.

I see you have a Blog tab, but no posts. I'm assuming you're using a Word Press platform? You can learn some basic seo writing and transcend that through meaningful blog posts. A blog provides extra value to your website for your visitors. You can discuss your woods in deeper detail, talk about various uses, posts that exemplify finished products etc. Topics that relate to your product and your potential customers.

Use social media only if you can be consistent with it. Social is an engine used to route potential customers back to your website where most will not look past your Home page if it doesnt communicate enough value and a call to action to stay.

Online marketing is a neverending experiment. Only time and different techniques will eventually expose what is successful and what isn't.

Hope some of this helps!



Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
Greenberg Woods said:
For the people who make smaller knives, are you after small blocks or really large ones you can get multiple knives out of? I can cut 1.5-1-4 blocks easily. I can cut pretty much any size.

I also have several 2.5-1 1/8-6 blocks that im sure you could get multiple scales out of. What is it you guys are after, as im hearing a lot of different things.
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We are all different Ben , some need this and some need that . Do a little of both . I will start watching your site .
 
ONeill said:
We are all different Ben , some need this and some need that . Do a little of both . I will start watching your site .
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i saw Travis Wuertz at the Pasadena show earlier in March,
so I walk up to his grinder booth, and ask him when he's going to build a wet grinder?
He says with a smile - "Everyone wants something different"

"...or really large ones you can get multiple knives out of? "
Myself, I've tried to get multiple slabs or save the ends for a bolster.
It all depends and I'm not certain any of us as a constant routine for this.

We are trying to reduce material costs and watching for different solutions.

I think back to your OP - " I still average only about 30 site visits a day and a frankly pathetic percentage of those who purchase "
I dont have any website and no visits :-)

Ben you want the magical answers and return on your investment right away.
Most of us have to pay our dues for a few years.

You will see over time what sells and what doesn't
We are all trying to find out., at least I am
 
Greenberg Woods said:
For the people who make smaller knives, are you after small blocks or really large ones you can get multiple knives out of? I can cut 1.5-1-4 blocks easily. I can cut pretty much any size.

I also have several 2.5-1 1/8-6 blocks that im sure you could get multiple scales out of. What is it you guys are after, as im hearing a lot of different things.
Click to expand...

I personally like bigger blocks that I can get multiple handles out of. I look for about 1 x 1.5 for a single knife, then I can use it for a hidden tang, cut scales out of it, whatever I need. So to get at least 2 from 1 block, I look for either 1.5 x 2 or 1 x 3, then around 4.5-5" long. Others may have a different size they look for, but that's how I've been looking to buy wood lately.
 
I like 2"x6" scales for most of my EDC and micro sized knives because I can often get one of each model out of one piece.
 
You have a lot of great suggestions here Ben. Plenty to think about and put into motion if they make sense.
For me, I think it would be useful to have a grading system.
Put your wood and knife knowledge into it. You know some blocks are just not that great, while you will certainly pull one or two stellar blocks out of a piece.
Grade them and price accordingly. I think your prices reflect this to some extent, but grading would let folks know why you are so proud of a particularly good piece.
If it were me, I would even talk a little bit about a particularly nice piece.
When I get a lot I look them over and grade them in the box. A, B, or C. I might take that a step further if I were selling them.
 
Price was the biggest reason I hadn't ordered from you yet. I just placed an order. I think offering to cut scales at no charge is a good idea, because leaving it as a block until scales are requested allows the most use from a piece of wood. I only have scales on hand and needed a block, so another reason for my order.

I think your website is great. The only change I would suggest is the ability to see both photos of the block in the quickview pop up when you hover. But it's a small thing.
 
Ill add just a little tidbit. Ive bought waay too much nice handle materials over the last 4 years. I still buy some stuff here and there and I enjoy letting my internet savvy customers look over different online vendors inventory so that they may choose their own material if they wish. This has actually become the norm for me. So a clear and well organized website is a huge bonus. I keep tabs on a half dozen vendors and have learned to hold out until there is a sale or clearance. There is nothing more annoying than paying 80$ for a block of nice ironwood, only to see the rest of the stock get reduced by 20% two weeks later. Basically now I only purchase from those vendors when prices get cut. Increasingly my business is going to the one or two online vendors that have the most consistent quality and stable prices. My advice is to get your pricing down to what works for you and just stick to it.

edit to add: Forgot to mention how nice the newsletters can be. If I am on the hunt for some fast moving rosewood for example Ill make sure to pay special attention to my email so that I can get to the website first even if it is 5 in the morning...
 
I did a search for "wood for knife handles" and your site didn't show up in the first ten pages of a google search. That's not good.

If you created some static content you would see a huge increase in traffic. Write some articles based on the type of conversations you have with customers using the words they use, That will give you an indication on what internet customers want to know and how they ask it.

Put content on your landing page greenbergwoods(dot)com and then link to products.

Also fill in your meta tags https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/79812?hl=en


Doing these two things will put you on the first page eventually. It takes time but you'll see way more traffic.
 
Hello Ben,
When my wife walks by me at the computer and sees me looking at woods for sale, She say's,

Looking at your wood Porn my love? That's whats it is! A form of a Pornography :D SO treat it like one. No man wants to see a lady with chipped & missing teeth or out of focus. Well some we may want it out of focus, :barf:but we aren't going to buy those.

You want to appeal to the senses with clean, square, well figured blocks for the top buyer. Also you want to focus on your markets pricing.

High end stuff and a bargain Cove? $40-60.00 plus doesn't scare me or others full time makers off if the senses are aroused!

Adding 5-10 for the having the blocks sanded perfectly won't scare off the buyers of that grade.

Remember that that you are in the Porn industry with your wood!;) LOL
 
Showing figure on one face of the wood should be pretty quick. On my 6x48 for wood I go straight from 60 grit to 180 no problem, a quick splash of mineral spirits shows a decent amount of the figure without the issues of wetting the wood. Best of luck, I appreciate your clean website and especially your consistent help in answering questions and being active on the forums. That alone is likely to drive me to your website first should I want to purchase wood for handles.
 
Thanks guys. I'm trying to put these changes in place as fast as I can. I'm also milling up a variety of wood sizes and figures.

I've got about 100 pounds of material on its way from K&G, so I may disappear for a few days to work on that. I appreciate the advice from you guys.

Ben Greenberg
Greenberg Woods
 
Greenberg Woods said:
Hey Guys, so I took your advice.

Along with lowering all the prices on my site, I busted out my old light box and got it set up. I also photographed some smaller hunter blocks in the size range of 1.5-1-5. I also will be expanding the bargain section, I already added wenge blocks for only 5 dollars, so I hope that is something well within the reach on any knife maker who is just starting out.

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Like stated before. People don't want checks, voids or out of square wood. It still looks like these pieces are out of square, have chipped edges and some voids. Not trying to knock your work, but if you want more sales, those need to improve.
 
First of all I think it is pretty cool that people would chip in to give all this feedback. Hard to beat that in terms of ways to improve.

My suggestions:

- Remove the definition of burl and all that text at the top. Its cool information, but just give me the meat. I am there to buy wood, not read a wikipedia article.

- Make the preview pictures bigger. I have 20/20 vision and its hard to show off how beautiful the wood is with those tiny preview pics. Clicking on each piece just isnt going to be worth most peoples time so catch their eye right off the bat with the preview pic. Scrolling is easier than clicking.

- Edit your pics. I am not saying go overboard and make these things something they are not, but sometimes cameras can wash out a picture. Make sure you are doing your product justice and take a good picture that represents the piece properly. Better photography all around could help you big time.

Thanks for asking! I will keep you in mind for my next purchase.
 
Ben,
Another thing to remember is that almost every day, Some college age kid thinks he can he can sell this or that and wonders why folks aren't flocking in droves to his site and buying everything! Oppps! Did I just describe you?;)

I don't think its even been a year yet, since we had that discussion at the Farmer's Market about how you could make some money while you went to College by selling blocks & Scales to the knife making community.

Any business takes refinement, adjustments and its good to see you asking your market.
Have you checked out any other interest sites like wood turners for Bottle stoppers & openers just to name a couple?

You could also cut bookmatched pieces big enough for a maker to get a handle & Saya out of the same grained piece of wood?

Keep working at it! Also the summer generally sucks for knife & supply sales. It picks up in the fall into the holidays!
 
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