My Website Success Story

© by Rena Klingenberg; all rights reserved

Home Jewelry Business Success Tips, this website I started in 2003, has become more successful than I ever could have imagined.

Success can be measured in many ways, and this site has succeeded on three levels that are especially meaningful to me:

My First Level of Success

On a personal level, Home Jewelry Business Success Tips has enabled me to be a work-at-home mom with a flexible schedule, so I can be the kind of parent I want to be.

As a single mom with a son who has serious asthma and allergies, it would be extremely hard for me to find an employer who would put up with all the work time I'd have to miss when my son is ill.

That was one of the reasons why I started selling my handmade jewelry - so I could make a living in a flexible way.

And although I've done well with my handmade jewelry business, reliable childcare is expensive and sometimes difficult to secure when I do jewelry shows and parties.

Once I even had to miss the final day of a very profitable three-day art show when, at the last minute, my babysitter made other plans for that day.

I Needed a "Plan B"

I realized I needed to develop a second income, one that would enable me to scale back a bit on my jewelry business commitments until my son was a little older.

I started tossing around different ideas for something I could do completely at home - working smarter instead of harder. That part was very important to me.

In researching ways to earn money at home using my skills and knowledge, I came across the concept of "info publishing".

I learned that people were choosing a niche topic in an area of their own interest or expertise, and building a website filled with helpful articles focused on that topic.

Then, while making their useful information available for free online, they were earning money from a small amount of relevant advertising placed on their sites.

This sounded like an interesting win-win situation.

And a great solution for parents like me who need to be home for our families.

It definitely sounded like working smarter instead of harder.

The Birth of a Website!

I decided to give it a try . . . and I already knew what topic I was passionate about! :o)

After a lot of research, I chose a suite of website building tools called Site Build It (SBI), because it was easy to use and had a track record of helping its users build websites with a high level of success.

And I began to build the information resource I would have loved to find when I first started selling my jewelry.

Home Jewelry Business Success Tips was born at the end of October 2003.

Now I have four informational websites, and altogether I spend about 20 to 30 hours per week on them.

Being able to rely on a steady income from my sites, even when I totally ignore them for a while, gives me the freedom to live life on my own terms, spending my time the way I choose.

Every summer we go on vacation for two weeks, and I come home to find that my websites have kept on earning money each day I was gone, like clockwork - with no decrease in income.

The Gift of Freedom

I work on my sites while my son's at school during the day, or with his friends, or in the evening after he goes to bed.

I don't have set hours for working, and I love having the freedom to arrange each day to suit the other things going on in my life.

I have the time to volunteer at school and elsewhere, meet a group of friends for a walk one morning a week, and grocery shop during the less crowded morning hours.

I love having the freedom to decide what I do (and don't) want in my life, and the lifestyle of working for myself at home.

I'm still making and selling my jewelry, but on a smaller scale for now. Thanks to my info publishing business, I've had the freedom to scale down my jewelry business obligations till my son was older.

I can start my work day by sitting on the porch swing in the morning, with a cup of coffee and a notebook, brainstorming new content for my sites.

And the best office I've ever had is the cozy desk in my bedroom. It comes with a beautiful view of the oak trees in our yard, any music I feel like listening to, and a uniform of comfortable clothes and bare feet. :o)

I'm so thankful I have the time to savor life and its unexpected precious moments - the kind of moments that you miss when you're spending your time and energy working for someone else.

I feel so fortunate that I get to be there for important milestones like the first lost tooth!

That's one type of success that's hard to measure.

My Second Level of Success

It's deeply rewarding to know that the information I publish here in Home Jewelry Business Success Tips helps my fellow jewelry artists succeed in achieving their own dreams!

I receive incredible emails every day, from visitors thanking me for making my jewelry marketing tips and info available to them for free.

I get to hear success stories like this one:

"I had no idea about how to do my first show. I never thought about packaging or displaying my jewelry. I learned a lot from your site, it has everything I needed to know. First show was a success and I'm on my way!"

And here is the email that has meant the most to me, because it was the very first time I learned how much my website has helped someone:

"Thanks to information you provided on your website, I had a very successful home jewelry show last month. I was very anxious at first, but the tips you offered helped me to relax. Would you consider $2,800 a successful home show?"

Ask any jewelry artist - $2,800 is a phenomenal home jewelry show!!!

Being able to help people make a positive difference in their lives makes publishing this website far more rewarding than any "real" job I've ever had!

This type of success, too, is immeasurable.

My Third Level of Success

This is a success that actually can be measured. And it's an achievement I never imagined was possible with a jewelry business information site:

Home Jewelry Business Success Tips has risen to join the top 1% of all sites on the web.

Want to see the proof? Here's a list of SBI sites that are in the top 1% of the web (after clicking on that link, scroll about two-thirds of the way down the page to the "Misc Business" section to find Home Jewelry Business Success Tips).

It's still hard for me to believe, but fewer than 1% of the tens of millions of websites online receive more traffic than this site right here.

Home Jewelry Business Success Tips has a higher traffic ranking than the websites of some of the biggest companies in the world.

How Did I Do It?

How is it possible for a website that's operated by mom who works from a desk in her bedroom to achieve that kind of success?

I have to give much of the credit to the set of website tools I use.

SBI includes everything from website hosting to keyword brainstorming to search engine optimization and submission.

And its simple newsletter publishing tool and site syndication feed put my articles right in front of the people who are interested in reading them.

Having a comprehensive suite of tools all in one service means I don't to have to spend time (and money) pulling together a collection of software and services from different providers and fiddling with getting them to work together.

Instead, I just concentrate on writing useful content and getting visitors to my site. I still have to do the work, but I can leave all the technical stuff to SBI - and work smarter, not harder.

And concentrating on the content is the key to success! Less than two months after I first put Home Jewelry Business Success Tips online, about half of its pages began showing up in the top 10 search engine results for their keywords.

This brings thousands of visitors per day who are searching for the exact information Home Jewelry Business Success Tips provides.

That may even be how you first found this site. :o)

How About Your Specialized Knowledge?

Do you have knowledge or experience that others would be interested in?

Everyone has a passion or area of expertise that would make a good informational website.

See some of the sites that have grown out of other people's interests.

If you're inspired but can't decide how (or if) you can proceed, I highly recommend contacting an experienced SBI user. They are friendly, reassuring, and extremely good at helping you find your way.

That's what I did.

Before taking the plunge and starting Home Jewelry Business Success Tips, I had an email conversation with a gentleman named Jim Nelson (whose information niche website, "Juggle Now", focuses on one of his passions).

Jim very kindly put me at ease, answered all my questions, and gave me some helpful pointers.

Live the Life You Choose

Whatever endeavors you decide to pursue, I wish you every success of your own.

And the freedom and fulfillment that come from working smarter, not harder, on something you love.