Name of your website?Library Online Letter Writing Templates
Your name?
Emilie Johnston
Your Location (city, etc)
Calgary
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Library provides a huge selection of professionally written customizable letter writing templates for business, career, love, personal. With these templates, you can write a perfect letter for every occasion. Writing letters has never been easier.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
In my previous career, I was involved with restructuring companies and/or building new divisions for corporations. Often, I was shocked at the poor quality of the outgoing correspondence which was authored by the company's employees. Before I finished each project, I would frequently leave behind a set of templates that I designed for that company to use. The staff were always grateful to have the templates because they saved them so much time and effort while at the same time projecting a professional image of the company.
My experience and research has shown me that letter writing templates are in demand all over the world. And with English being the #1 global language the English business letter templates are in hot demand.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
My website, http://wwwlibraryonline.com, was launched in 2001 and now serves thousands of customers worldwide.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
I chose a name that was easy to remember and reflected what the company does, which is to provide a library of letter writing templates online.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
Library Online differs from its competitors in that the database of letter templates continually grows. Customers sign up as members to gain access to the letter templates. Once they are a paid member, if they cannot find the template they are looking for relative to their membership category, Library Online will design and post a new template for them, all inclusive of the membership fee they have already paid.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
My goal is to keep this company and keep growing it. The rewards to me are incredible, not only financially, but also because I really enjoy writing and helping people with their letter writing needs. Some of these letter templates have literally changed people’s lives. They are grateful and I am thrilled to have been able to help them.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
The automated functions of Library Online's web application offers much flexibility and freedom with my time. Though the investment in automation was very significant at one time, the financial rewards have now come through. This business is a huge success.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
Firstly, I would overhaul the site with a good esthetic facelift and then I would expand the product line of templates to include: Will Kits, Contracts, Business Plans, Eulogies, Speeches. I would also introduce E-books as a new product.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Yes, I believe that we could grow big quickly without too much change to our existing structure. In fact, we designed our platform anticipating that an overnight significant growth burst could be a reality. Our server bandwidth capacity far exceeds what we currently use and our web application code can withstand a huge traffic volumes. Our contract writers are standing by to be called upon in the event the writing requirements increase significantly.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
The learning curve of online marketing was really the biggest obstacle I had to overcome. The internet was still fairly new when I launched this site. There were many professed "marketing gurus" out there, but only a handful of them really knew what they were doing. The old adage, "buyer beware" applied. Regrettably, I paid thousands of dollars towards marketing strategies that didn't result in even one sale. I know what mistakes not to make again in that regard!
What has been your biggest challenge?
The technical part of our website is outsourced. Many years we worked with the original web developer of Library Online’s website. I always maintained that he was a genius with his work. Not only was he a great web designer , but he also had great business foresight, anticipating and solving problems before they even occurred. Unfortunately, he is no longer available and the toughest challenge I’ve been faced with yet with this business is trying to find a replacement who possesses similar qualities.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Most of our natural listings are now indexed fairly high in the search engines - the search term, “letter writing templates” puts Library Online at the top of the list with Goolge.com. So the SEO expenses have paid off. Prior to that, I found that “pay per click” was the most effective marketing strategy in promoting the site and, in fact, we still use “pay per click.”
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
I honestly did not think that our templates would be in such high demand as they are in countries where English is not the first language. This has proven to be a pleasant surprise!
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
The website has been running for seven years now and is very successful. I see this business continuing to grow long into the future.
What is your website address?
Library Online Letter Writing Templates
