Sword Wolf Forge was started as a hobby by owner Andy Burcham. Andy learned over time that he had something more. He received favorable feedback from family, friends, and customers consistently. Andy’s confidence and ambitions led him to start thinking about the future of Sword Wolf Forge. The time has come to convert a hobby into a business. To do so, Andy searched for someone with digital marketing expertise.
Frustrations
My first conversation with Andy started with his frustrations with finding reliable service. Friends and agencies in digital marketing let him down time and time again. Either no one took charge or they vanished. I was told that this happened many times. Andy took matters into his own hands.
A website builder is a tool offered by many businesses. Every business that has a website builder has its own set of tools. Website builders can be okay for a small project but if you want to have a successful business, you need an expert in the industry. Website builders can be overwhelming for those who are not experts and hurt a business profile because of misunderstood practices and standards. Andy became frustrated with this approach.
Sword Wolf Forge and JoCo Joe
Andy found me through my wife. During our first conversation, I soaked up all of Andy’s frustrations. Further into our conversation, I detailed why website builders are bad and empathized with his frustrations regarding unreliable digital marketing service providers. I have over 20 years of professional customer service experience. I’ve learned that exceptional customer service leads to a better experience for everyone.
I explained to Andy what I could do for him and Sword Wolf Forge. He wanted a website and I had no problem building Andy a website but I told him that I could do much more than that. I told him a website can be more than just an online business card. He can use the website to advertise his business 24/7 every day of the year and reach just about anyone he wants to around the globe. I advised him to start slow but the option to grow to a global reach was there.
We talked some more and after some time, we realized that JoCo Joe would be a good fit for Andy’s business. We agreed that JoCo Joe would build Andy a website and grow digital marketing efforts over time.
The Project
- Migrate Hosting Services
- Domain Email Addresses
- Build a Website
- Contact Form
- Blog Functionality
- Image Gallery
- Newsletter Signup
- Optimize Content
- Search Engine Optimization
- Optimize Website
- Secure Website
- Training
The Sword Wolf Forge project started from scratch. These are my favorite projects because I don’t have to fix issues left behind by unreliable digital marketing agencies. I took full charge of this project and got right to work.
I used several tools to keep Andy updated on the project. Communication is key to optimizing success. Sword Wolf Forge and JoCo Joe worked very well in communication and when either of us made a request, we responded quickly to one another. This led to an extremely successful building process with very little time waiting for the next part of the project.
Sword Wolf Forge provided the content and I optimized the content. Optimizing the content helps search engines find a website. This is where website builders can be problematic. A business may lose potential leads if someone does not know the best practices for optimizing content. There are several steps to optimizing content and every mishandled step is a missed opportunity.
End Results
The project with Sword Wolf Forge took about a month to complete. I am also in charge of maintaining the website such as backups, optimization, and more. We have also made plans for future implementations so our journey hasn’t ended. We are just beginning.
About Sword Wolf Forge
Andy Burcham is a Marine Corps and Gulf War veteran. While in the Marines, he quickly learned the value of a good knife.
In 2016, Andy started blacksmith classes in Logan, Ohio where he learned the basic skills of forging with a hammer and an anvil. After a few years of blacksmithing and watching Forged in Fire, he switched focus to knife-making.
Since then, Andy has taken every opportunity to learn bladesmithing and continued to refine his skills. He joined the American Bladesmith Society (ABS) and studied under ABS Mastersmith Burt Foster and ABS Journeyman John Summerhill. Both gentlemen are Forged in Fire winners and are inspirations to Andy.
Andy truly enjoys making knives and adopts many techniques originating from our ancestors. He believes a knife is an expression of art and each piece can be handed down for generations to love and share.
