This is the second of a series of guest blog posts by Don Baumgardt about taking his business from a mostly print-based business to a digital business.
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Six years ago I launched the first version of GeoBetty.com. The “plan” was to create a web site with outdoor hiking and biking info for El Paso and the surrounding region. Because I still had a full time job this effort never received enough attention. Goals, plans and resources were limited. Still, between the online version and a paper trail map that followed, I built a following of outdoor enthusiasts in the area.
Now it’s time to put nearly full time efforts in to building this business. One component of the new and improved GeoBetty is a completely new version of the GeoBetty.com web site with a contemporary design using today’s technology, not the ancient tools from just six years ago. So much has changed in just a few years. The site has to work well using present technology and for a high percentage of users on mobile devices.
With help from the team at Phidev I developed lists of what the various user groups of the site want to find. My job is to think about who to reach, what to say and and where we can build value. Only value will lead to long term success and revenue.
Locals need details on routes to hike and ride as well as info on upcoming events. To keep them coming back we need to create a site that attracts and repeatedly engages the local outdoor adventure community.
Visitors and potential visitors to the region need more than just the content locals want. These adventurers also require details on how to get to and around the region. It’s GeoBetty’s job to make them choose the El Paso Southwest as a destination and help them maximize the enjoyment of their trip. Travelers also need advice on other local activities along with where to stay, shop and dine.
Goals, Goals and more Goals
The goal is to have a site that has travel advice for El Paso and surrounding destinations in southern New Mexico and west Texas. This gives our audience more options on where to go. And, it gives us a larger list of potential advertising partners, including chambers of commerce, gear shops, lodgers, etc. in a bigger geographic area.
At our most recent meeting with Phidev we reviewed my outlines of what information needs to be at the site. Now I get to sit and relax (or go for a mountain bike ride or two) and wait for them to come back with a plan of how the site will look and function.
This is the first of a series of guest blog posts by Don Baumgardt about taking his business from a mostly print-based business to a digital business.
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I love mountain biking. I’d rather be out there in the wilderness, sweating and hoping not to fall into a cactus, than doing just about anything else. Six years ago I started using ever-simpler GPS technology to map El Paso area trails. It wasn’t long before I realized was compiling information that no one else had and that maybe I could make a little money from my hobby. Who wouldn’t like that?
Phidev built my first GeoBetty.com web site 5 years ago. Back then, it allowed me to share trail info with others and to see if I could get paid to ride. I didn’t have much of a plan for the site. I was really only worried about bringing in enough revenue to cover my costs (bike gear, camping gear and beer did become costs). I made a few dollars off of the site with little in the way of a long term plan. Plus, I had a lot of other work keeping me too busy to make this anymore than just a hobby.
Into a Journey
In 2015, I decided that I’d put enough years into my last career and it was time to spend more time doing what I wanted. I put my business casual clothes away and decided that hiking and mountain biking clothes were all I wanted to wear. I’m going to turn this obsession into a paying gig! This year, GeoBetty has gone through the steps necessary to obtain permits to lead guided hikes and/or mountain bike rides in Franklin Mountains State Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. We also have a map and (outdated) web site of El Paso trail info.
Now I need to decide who I’m trying to reach with this hope for a more grown-up venture. Where I can provide value for which people will give me real money?
Whenever I talked with Ares at Phidev about what I wanted to do, one of the firsts things he would ask was, “what are your goals, Don?”. To tell you the truth, I didn’t have a very good answer at first. He mentioned, that not having a clear goal is a reason why so many websites fail. So, I wrote a mission statement to help me visualize what I wanted GeoBetty to become:
GeoBetty Mission
To be the definitive source for outdoor adventure information, inspiration and experiences in far west Texas and southern New Mexico. Helping locals find and participate in seeing new sights and experiencing new challenges. Helping visitors make decisions to come to the region and maximizing the enjoyment of their trips. And, helping businesses who can assist these adventurers – destinations, gear retailers, fitness and nutrition companies, etc, – reach them.
Now I have a better idea who my target audiences are and what some of the possible revenue streams might be. To succeed we need to:
- Attract people willing to pay us to take them on tours in the area.
- Provide trail and related information to help locals and visitors explore on their own.
- Tell a larger audience what is so great about the outdoors in the El Paso Southwest.
- Build a community (on the trail and online) for outdoor enthusiasts.
- And, we need to do these things well enough that businesses are willing to be paid to affiliate with us.
One of my next tasks is to build the the team that will help me create this business and to come up with the procedures and guidelines to build a scalable outdoor adventure business. Another is to help build demand for such a business in a town where the great outdoors are not highly valued
Lastly, I need to market this business. This story will be about how we plan and implement that marketing effort. Especially the digital portion that involves the services of Phidev. I’m excepting a great adventure – outdoors and indoors in the coming years.