Name of your website?My Health Insurance Guy
Your name?
Mark Glen-Walker
Your Location (city, etc)
Dallas
Please give us a short summary of your website?
You can receive online health insurance quotes and get help choosing a health insurance policy in Texas. I used to work for a large health insurance company, and now I'm using what I learned to help others make smart health insurance choices.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
An increasing percentage of health insurance business is now done over the internet.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
It was an amazon.com affiliate site called "All Things Argentina". I created it after returning from Argentina.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
I wanted something catchy that others could remember. I was on the phone with a lady the other day and she received another call. She told her friend: "Hold on. I'm on the phone with MY HEALTH INSURANCE GUY."
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
I've put relavent content comparing the different policies offered in Texas. I compare the guidelines and benefits of the different health insurance companies offering plans in Texas.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
I will keep the site for income as I hope it generates leads for health insurance sales. Currently, I am not able to devote 100% of my time to health insurance due to my low generation of leads. I'm hoping this is a good solution.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
I look at all the hours I spend designing the site and making it user-friendly as an investment in my future. I've spent months putting this information together, and believe it will pay off over the next five years. I'm convinced the content on my website is unique to any other health insurance information about plans in Texas.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I'd pay someone to do SEO for me. I'm not a computer-whiz by any means, and struggle just to keep up with basic technology. I'd do paid advertisements and better SEO to get the word out about the site. To update the site, I'd probably contract with a professional to help me identify even more relevant information and give me tips on how to design the site in the most user-friendly way.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
I could possibly keep up with the demand. I may have to hire an assistant to help me.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
I've made several mistakes while building my site and this business. I paid $50 a month for a web conferencing tool I never used. I purchased online leads that went flat. I did paid advertising that never returned the investment.
What has been your biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge is trying to make this site work on a shoe-string budget.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Brokersweb.com brought some unique targeted traffic to my site.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
I think I knew sort of what I was getting into. The only difference is how tedious everything is... it doesn't help that I'm a perfectionist.
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?
I've had the site up for about 3 or 4 months, and intend to keep the site running for the next 5 years.
How do you quickly respond to your clients?
I've got a blackberry that has e-mail on it. I'm accessible anywhere.
What is your website address?
My Health Insurance Guy
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