The Ultimate Website Builder For Designers

Working from the comfort of your own home and generating a steady income for many is a but a dream. Whether it’s full or part-time work, more and more people are finding the joys and advantages of working from home.

The Bookmark Design Agency Program lets you do just that. Its software allows you to create your very own website design agency from the confines of your home.

Now, working from home doesn’t require you to be a graphic designer or coder. Simply, use the power of Bookmark, a cutting edge website builder with the power of artificial intelligence, to create websites automatically for clients. In as little as one hour per day, you can have a full-fledged design agency business.

Can anyone do it?

Yes. It’s that simple. Here’s why: the old way of creating websites required a lot of skill and time on the part of a developer. It’s for these reasons customers needing a website were willing to pay thousands of dollars for them.

That’s now changed forever with Bookmark.com. Using the power of AiDA (Artificial Intelligence Design Assistant), all you need to do is answer 7 simple questions and AiDA creates a website for you based on your answers.

Sit back and watch as your clients’ websites are built in real-time. That’s not even the best part: the total time it takes AiDA to create a website from start to completion is around two minutes.  This is powerful stuff!

How can I make money using Bookmark Agency Program?

The Bookmark Design Agency Program gives you, as a single person, the ability to instantly become a complete website design agency. With this software, you are able to manage unlimited clients, earning you unlimited income from anywhere in the world. The best part is it’s incredibly easy to do.

All you need to do is follow an easily replicable process and rinse and repeat. With one hour a day of canvassing for clients, you can have between five to 10 warm leads who are willing to pay for a website.

Further down this article we will give you our most successful method to find your first clients using classified ads. If you apply one hour a day, this method is guaranteed to work. Before you know it, you’ll have secured a steady income for yourself.

Ready for more details?

For only $99 a year, you will have full access to Bookmark’s agency program back-end. Bookmark handles everything for you including website hosting and website design – using AIDA. Each website created is mobile responsive, meaning websites function properly on all mobile phones.

As a part of your $99 fee, you even get your own agency website you can customize further to showcase your price points and service packages. Here is a sample design agency website, showcasing the default starting point you can further customize on your own.

Once you have your own agency website ready, it’s time to learn how to bill your clients. Bookmark provides two billing options.

Option 1

Bookmark handles all the payments for your customers. These payments are for services and websites you provide for your clients. Option one is the easiest method for payments, as you will never have to request payments from clients and worry about unpaid invoices. Once your clients’ websites are complete, you simply click the “REQUEST PAYMENT” button within your client dashboard to receive payment.

This process sends an email to your clients with information about their website details. Your clients will, then, complete the registration process and add their credit cards for payment. In this option, Bookmark takes 40 per cent of total payments while you receive 60 per cent for the lifetime of your customer.

Bookmark, then, sends you a either a check, PayPal payment or wire transfer for your earnings every two weeks. A typical website customer will stay a member for an average of 24 months. If they ever stop paying, their website will become inactive immediately. This is a good deterrent for your customers to keep paying.

Option 2

This option is for more advanced users who want to handle all client payments themselves. With this option, Bookmark does not handle the billing; instead, we will charge agents’ credit cards a flat fee for each client. This flat rate starts at $12 per month for each of your clients.

This option allows you to charge your clients whatever price you want. Perhaps, you provide additional service options like managing their e-commerce store, SEO, or SEM services and, instead, charge $199 per month. Bookmark will only charge you $12 per month for each client website under this payment option.

Ready to get your first customer?

Here’s our proven method that works:

Use online classifieds; they’re a very powerful tool that can generate steady clients.

Ebay owns 10 online classifieds brands spanning across 1000 different cities worldwide. We’ve developed a method for you to follow that will get you warm leads from customers that want to pay for your services. 

Step 1: Finding classifieds

Find classifieds that are popular in your country. In the US, Craigslist is the most popular classified service, followed by Ebay. Here is a full list of additional popular classified sites across the US. In Canada, Kijiji is the most popular.

Step 2: General canvassing

Once you have identified the most popular classifieds sites in your country, it’s time to start canvassing for clients. Within each classifieds site, there are two different types of postings.

One type of posting is someone who is offering a service or product for sale. The other type of posting is someone who is requesting a product or service. Identify each section and get a customized email template ready, so you can copy and paste to each type of potential client.

Here is an email template we found effective:

—

Hello [Name],

I came across your posting and was curious if you would be interested in help with your website. I took the liberty to make a quick sample design for you:

https://new-website.bookmark.com (Replace this with the website AiDA creates for you).

Here, you can see an idea of what direction I can take you guys in. This website is only a mock-up and can be further customized to your exact specifications. The website I build will be attractive on all devices. Your website will be indexed correctly for Google Search to improve your search ranking.

If you are interested in speaking about a new website, please feel free to reach out!

Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear back from you!

[Your Name and Phone Number]

—

Step 3: Canvassing companies offering a service

Bookmark’s AiDA creates websites across 750 different business types. This means you can create a website for any type of business easily. Let’s begin by searching the classifieds site for services offered by a company. Many of these companies are small business who do not have a website at all.

Their listing provides a phone number only. If they had a website, they would post it within the ad but many do not. Simply, contact each service provider with your template email and sample website you created inside your account.

It’s very quick to use AiDA, immediately improving your sales pitch by easily creating a custom mock-up for each business type.

Step 4: Canvassing customers requesting a service or product

Every single day, across every city, there are customers requesting website builds. They post ads in classifieds asking for designers or design companies to pitch them. Monitor these ads across different cities and have your email template ready to send to any customer requesting web design services.

Remember, you have a big advantage over any designer with your design agency. You can instantly send website mock-up examples for them to see.

In fact, you can send 3 different examples in 5 minutes using AiDA. Simply, create the first website using Bookmark by answering 7 simple questions; you will, then, see that AiDA asks you if you would like to have a new website created. Say yes. Create 2 additional websites for a total of 3.

Each of these websites will be stored in your dashboard for future use. And voila, you have 3 different samples to show a potential client needing a website.

This will instantly give you leverage when negotiating a potential sale. The other advantage of Bookmark is you’re able to design fully functional websites in only a matter of minutes. This allows you to keep your costs down, further adding to the appeal of using Bookmark.

Before the next steps…

I’m sure you have some additional questions, which we are happy to answer for you. For $99 you have an entire year to use our agency program and find what works for you. There are so many ways to promote your design agency business. The sample above we showed you is proven and works. Give it a try and start to your design agency today!

Introduction to Setting Up Your Design Agency

You’ve made it!   

Congratulations on becoming the latest agent. We’ve designed the Bookmark agency program to allow you to create and run a full fledged business from anywhere. Whether it’s full or part-time, you’ll have all the tools and resources needed to generate steady income for years to come.  

We’ve created a step by step walk-through, which will get you started and on the right path. You don’t need to be a graphic designer or have coding experience. Bookmark is a simple to use AI-powered website builder designing websites for you.   

Inside the 7 step walk-through, we’ll teach you exactly how to setup your agency website, create your first client, and show you exact methods used to find clients that need websites. These methods are proven and are being used by thousands of agents across the world right now to create successful businesses.

You can do it too. We’ll show you how, and are here to support you. Let’s move on to the 2nd step, which will give you information on setting up your design agency website.

Creating Your Design Agency Website

Every quality design agency needs to have their own website to showcase prices and services offered. We’ve got your back. As part of your membership, we’ve created a starting point for your very own design agency website below:

Go to the menu “YOUR WEBSITES.”

Here you will find a website titled “AGENCY.” This is a template which you can use to customize your specific business information.

Your Agency Website Sections

Start editing your agency website to customize it to your business. You will be able to use this website similar to a brochure to explain to potential clients what you can do for them, how much it will cost, and why they should trust you to get the job done right.

Let’s get started with editing your agency website from the top down.

Pick Your Brand Name

“Emily Smith” is a made up name.  Enter your name or logo here.

Call-To-Action (header)

What are the first words you want potential clients to know you for? Add this to your header and be memorable.

Also, there is a call-to-action button inside the header which needs your attention. Some options would be to link the button to your email or add an anchor down the page to the contact us section to have a potential client get a hold of you.

Update Bio

Emily Smith is a made up person. Potential clients want to know who they will be working with.  Add an image or company logo here with information about yourself.

Add Services

We’ve created a section for you to showcase 3 services that you want to offer clients. Here, you can write a short outline of what your expertise is and how you can help potential clients.

Call-To-Action (mid page)

Potential clients are learning about your agency. They’ve scrolled through your website and now it’s time to once again give them a reason to contact you to start a discussion. Make this area short and to the point with a direct call to action within the button.

Pricing

Typical pricing has 2 or 3 options for your services. Give potential clients options by offering more or less services depending on what their requirements are. You could differ each of these prices by number of website pages, the total support you offer a client, or more complex websites like e-Commerce stores.   

Portfolio (My Work)

Before a potential client is ready to commit to working with you as a designer, seeing a few examples of work you’ve done is important. This section is where you can showcase your best websites.

Testimonials

Trust is important. Before a potential client is ready to commit to working with you, they would like to know they are in good hands with someone who’s reliable and won’t disappear after their website is complete. Add some testimonials here from past clients who are happy. This will go a long way.

Contact Us

Give potential clients a way to reach you. Add as many options as possible: email, phone, social media, and, of course, the contact form.  

Remember, this design agency website is a representation of who you are as a business. Look professional, give potential clients a sense of trust. It will go a long way.

You don’t have to use all the suggestion sections that are present in the website. Feel free to customize the website anyway you want.

Connect your own domain name to this website.  

Now you have your own design agency website. You’re all set to move to step 3, in which we’ll go over creating your first client.

How to Set-up Clients

Ready to set-up your first client?

Setting up your first client is easy. You have two different options for this.  

1. Bookmark Bills Client
2. Agency Bills Client

Let’s go over both of these options to explain the differences, so you can choose which option is best for you.

Option 1: Bookmark Bills Clients

This option gives you the most convenience when it comes to collecting payment for the website you’re designing for your clients. Bookmark will handle the entire payment process from start to finish. You do what you do best, and let Bookmark handle the payment collection for each client. 

Let’s go through exactly how this works:

Option 1 is selected by default, the first question to ask yourself is, am I creating a website that will need an online e-Commerce store for my client. If the answer is yes, you select e-Commerce from the pull down menu.

If you do not need e-Commerce, then the Professional plan is the one for your client. In this example, we’ll stick with the Professional Plan.  

The next step is to select the price for which the client will be billed each month. Remember, you will automatically earn 60 per cent of whatever price you select each month for the lifetime of your customer. You can change this later if you decide a price is too low or too high.

Now, enter the client’s first and last name, email address, and press “CREATE CLIENT.”

Your first client has been created.  Now, click the “LOGIN” button to start designing this client’s website.  

If you need to change any client details, you can easily do this by clicking the “CLIENT DETAILS” button. In this section, you can also delete this client and request payment.

When you’re ready to ask the client for payment, click the “REQUEST PAYMENT” button. This will send the client an email asking them to complete their registration process by creating a password for their account.

Next, they are tasked to login and go directly to the payment page where they will see the price you selected when you created their client account. Each time you click the “REQUEST PAYMENT” button, another email will be sent to your client. Try not to press it too often, as it may upset your client.

Option 2:  Agency Bills Clients

Option 2 is for agents who wish to collect money from clients on their own. This option give agents the flexibility to handle payment collection using their own methods and prices.   

The way this works is Bookmark will bill the agent’s credit card on file, which was used to upgrade to the agency program. Once you upgrade your client to a premium membership, the billing will begin on your credit card.

We’ll charge you $10 per month for the professional package and $20 per month for Bookmark’s business package (e-Commerce). There is also a sliding scale based on the volume of sites published:

1 – 49 websites published: $10

50 – 249 websites published: $9

250+ websites published: $8

1000+ websites published: Contact Us

If your client stops paying, you can simply downgrade their account to basic (free).  We’ll stop billing your credit card for this specific client. Clients will then be downgraded back to the basic (free) plan which removes the clients custom domain name and adds Bookmark branding into the footer.   

This option is excellent for larger agencies who have multiple services they offer clients. Agents who have collected payments from clients and have this system setup efficiently can easily continue this method.  

A few additional notes about creating clients:

• You do not need to add a password. The client will select their own custom password later in the process when you request payment from client.

• Once you have created any type of client, you will have remote access from your agency account into each of your clients accounts.   Simply, press “LOGIN” for the specific client account you need access to.

• When logging into a client account, you are automatically logged out of your agency account. When you are complete with client accounts, be sure to log out.

• Once your client has access to their account, they may decide to remove agency login from their account. They can initially restrict access from agents; however, they can later revert access to agents, allowing you to enter their account once again. This can be done inside “CLIENT ACCOUNT” settings.

How To Get Clients Using Directories

You’ve heard of online classifieds. If not, they’re a very powerful tool that can generate steady clients for your design agency. Ebay owns 10 online classifieds brands which span across 1000 different cities worldwide.  

We’ve developed a method to acquire clients from classifieds websites in your area. If you follow this method, there will be a ton of warm customer leads waiting for you everyday that want to pay for your services. 

I’ll now explain exactly how to get steady clients

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Find popular online classifieds

Find the classifieds service that is popular in your country. In the United States, Craigslist is the most popular, followed by Ebay Classifieds. Here is a full list of additional popular classified sites across the US.  

In Canada, Kijiji is the most popular.

To find popular classifieds websites in your country, go to your preferred search engine and search for “best classifieds sites.”

Step 2: Canvassing potential clients

Once you have identified the most popular classifieds website in your area, it’s time to start canvassing for clients. Within each classifieds site, there are two different types of postings.

One type of posting is someone who is offering a service or product for sale. The other type of posting is someone who is requesting a specific product or service to buy.

Identify each of these two sections in the classifieds website in your area. Then, create a customized email template to use, so you can copy and paste it to each potential client.

We’ve got you covered. Below, you’ll find an email template we have successfully used on classifieds websites to get clients.

—

Hello [Name],

I came across your posting and was curious if you would be interested in help with your website. I took the liberty to make a quick sample design for you:

https://new-website.bookmark.com (Replace this with the website AiDA creates for you). 

Here, you can see an idea of what direction I can take you guys in. This website is only a mock-up and can be further customized to your exact specifications. The website I build will be attractive on all devices. Your website will be indexed correctly for Google Search to improve your search ranking.

If you are interested in speaking about a new website, please feel free to reach out!

Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear back from you!

[Your Name and Phone Number]

—

Step 3: Canvassing companies that offer a service

Bookmark’s AiDA creates websites across 750 different business types. This means you can create a website for any type of business easily. Let’s begin by searching the classifieds site for services offered by a company.

When viewing the listings you will notice that many of the companies are small businesses who do not have a website at all.  Their listing only provides a phone number. If they had a website, they would post it within the ad.

What you need to do is simply contact each service provider with your template email and, if possible, create a sample website using AiDA for their business type. It’s very quick and improves your sales pitch a lot by showing an example website which is custom to their business type.

Step 4: Monitoring classifieds for customers requesting a service or product  

Every single day, across every city, there are customers requesting website builds. They post ads in classifieds asking for designers or design companies to pitch them. Monitor these ads across different cities and have your email template ready to send to any customer requesting web design services.

Remember, you have a big advantage over any designer with your design agency. You can instantly send website mock-up examples for them to see.

In fact, you can send 3 different examples in 5 minutes using AiDA. Simply, create the first website using Bookmark by answering 7 simple questions; you will, then, see that AiDA asks you if you would like to have a new website created. Say yes. Create 2 additional websites for a total of 3.

Each of these websites will be stored in your dashboard for future use. And voila, you have 3 different samples to show a potential client needing a website. This will instantly give you leverage when negotiating a potential sale.

The other advantage of Bookmark is you’re able to design fully functional websites in only a matter of minutes. This allows you to keep your costs down, further adding to the appeal of using Bookmark.

Before the next steps…

I’m sure you have some additional questions, which we are happy to answer for you. For $99 you have an entire year to use our agency program and find what works for you.

There are so many ways to promote your design agency business. The sample above we showed you is proven and works. Give it a try and start to your design agency today!

How to Get Clients Through Facebook

Facebook is a tremendous source of quality leads for your web design business. Did you know there are over 70 milion Facebook business pages? Many of these Facebook pages are businesses’ only web presence.

There is a big opportunity that lies here to convert Facebook business pages into websites into your clients and begin earning recurring revenue.

Before we begin, leaf through these business categories to find one to begin with you are most familiar. There are many to choose from. You might as well start with your favourite.   

Let me now show you how easy it is to get new customers with these 3 steps:

Step 1: Finding businesses through Places

Search for a business in the Facebook search bar and go to the tab “PLACES.” 

Once you are on the “PLACES” tab of a specific business, you are ready to canvas through these businesses to see which one do not have a website and could use your services.  

Let’s select the first business.

Each Facebook page has a spot where each business can add their website address. As you can see, this specific business, which was first in the list, has a website already. However, just because a specific company may have a website, there can still be a potential sale here.

Many business owners are ready to upgrade their website to an AI-powered, responsive website builder.

It’s important to remain up-to-date on all Bookmark Features.

If the business owner does not have a website, there’s a great opportunity to create a warm lead. Use one of the agency email templates that are provided to reach out to this potential customer offering your services. 

This is the biggest opportunity on Facebook to really get direct contacts into millions of businesses who may need a website. The possibilities are endless, especially when you consider all the business categories there are to search for in Facebook.

Step 2: Finding Businesses through Groups

Go into business specific Facebook Groups.

Let’s continue with the same business example “PAINTERS.”   

Go to the painters groups area by clicking the tab “GROUPS.”

Now inside this list, you will find a huge amount of groups that have thousands of business owners specific to the business category you picked.

You need to request access to a group. When approved, which could take several days, sometimes you don’t want to come in guns blazing right away and promoting yourself. First, we need to participate in the group by adding several comments over a specific time period – you can determine that.

Also, make a few interesting posts of your own and slowly slip in the fact you are a website design agency, who can make a website for anyone.  

Remember, many of the people you meet have no website at all. If you come across as a trustworthy and capable web designer, you will surely get interested people.   

Step 3: Finding businesses through Pages

Go into business specific Facebook Pages.

Let’s continue with the same business example “PAINTERS.”   

Go to the painters groups area by clicking the tab “PAGES.”

This is similar to groups in the previous step: however, the main difference is there is no need to request to join each group.   

Pages welcome all to immediately participate.

Search through all the pages to find the best group where you will post your advertisement about your website design services.

Pages are more like a classifieds board for a specific business category.

Before the next steps…

Don’t forget there are more than one hundred different business categories for you to search through on Facebook to apply the prospecting techniques mentioned above.

Here is a great list of business categories for you to choose from at HomeStars.

Tips and Tricks for Design Agencies

Bookmark Agency Program is set-up to make your life easier and make you more money!  

We’ve got a great trick that will save you even more time when creating client websites:

Inside your websites menu, create 3 new websites. It doesn’t matter which type of business it’s for, as long as the style is different. For example, create one website with a left menu, one website with a top menu and one website that is a single page menu.

Now that you have 3 websites, we’re going to use these as your templates, which you can later duplicate and transfer into future client accounts.   

Do you see where we are heading with this?

If you perfect 3 websites of slightly different styles, you can easily change the text, images, and add new client content.

Here is how it’s exactly done:

1 – Create 3 different websites inside “YOUR WEBSITE” menu. Perfect these websites as if they will be used for a paying client.

2 – When you have a new client, use one of the websites you’ve created, click “DUPLICATE.” Now that you have an exact copy of the original website, add the new content for your client. 

3 – Create your client profile inside “YOUR CLIENTS.”

4 – Once you have a client, plus a duplicated new website completed, click the “TRANSFER” website button to move the website to a client of your choice.

Voila! You have used an existing template, changed the content for your new client and transferred the completed website into the clients account.

How to Handle Rejections From Potential Clients

Owning your own business requires some form of sales. As an entrepreneur, we’re all sales people in some format. Below is a list of common rejections that you may come across when searching for clients. 

Here is a saying that I really like, “sales is a numbers game…. some will, some won’t, so what, NEXT.”   

Basically, just keep reaching out and finding those who are willing to become your clients. The website design industry is massive. There are plenty of fish in the sea.

Common Rejections and How to Handle Them

Rejection: “No money.”

Answer: “I completely understand that money may be an issue, but you are running a professional business and a website is the foundation on any business these days (talk about some expenses he already has that refer to the business).

I can keep the website simple and just showcase some of your recent work and a contact form for potential clients to get a hold of you. I’ll make it simple for you, the website will cost you $40 a month, that’s just over $1 a day to have your whole company’s information in front of clients at the click of a button.”

—

Rejection: “No time.”

Answer: “I believe you don’t have time. That must mean your busy taking care of clients, which also means your company is successful. Every successful business must have a website, even if it’s simple and to the point. Just something to show credibility and that your not just some fly-by-night company.”

—

Rejection: “Can you send me an email with some information.”

Answer: “Sure, I can, but I’ll do one better. I will send you a few design examples of what I can do for you. You can reply back which website design you like the best, and we can go from there on your perfect website.”

—

Rejection: “I had one before it didn’t get me any business.”

Answer: “I’ve heard this many times. When you’re investing $40 a month on a website, you can’t expect the website to go out and find customers. It’s not always about generating revenue with a website. It will keep potential clients interacting with your company and allows them to see some work you have done in the past. They’ll be able to see you’re a true business when they look you up online.”

or

“A website is so much more than a tool that closes sales. There is potential a client is making a decision between company ‘A’ and your company. If company ‘A’ has a professional website that is attractive, this gives confidence to the potential client. If you do not have a website and you are neck and neck with company ‘A,’ there is a good chance you’ll lose that business.”

—

Rejection: “Don’t have time to manage it.”

Answer: “Not a problem at all. Once your website is complete and we have all your information on it, you won’t have to do anything. Just add the domain name on your business cards and maybe even put it on your vehicle and social media platforms.”

—

Rejection: “Word of mouth works great for me.”

Answer: “Word of mouth is a great tool. Nine out of 10 people will, then, go look up the business online. If there is no website to showcase your company, chances are the potential client will go to a business with a website. So, you could potentially lose a word of mouth client from not having a website.”

—

Rejection: “I don’t even have a computer.”

Answer: “No need for a computer. All our websites are mobile friendly, so you can see your site right from your phone. I am also here for you to upload any pictures or videos to your website at anytime. I’m only a call, text or email away.”

—

Rejection: “I’m retiring this year.”

Answer: “Are you selling the business? If so, a website is going to be a key selling feature for the company’s success to the next business owner.”

—

Rejection: “I have to ask my business partner.”

Answer: “Okay, I can respect that. How about I send you a few examples to show your business partner what you have been up to today. I can assure you that any business partner will be excited to see a few examples of what your business can look like online. Then, you both can make a proper business decision together on what website fits both of your needs.”

—

Rejection: “I don’t see the value in a website.”

Answer: “Having a professional foot print online is vital. If you don’t showcase your work, clients won’t see the value in your services or products. Consumers these days go online to research businesses to make the right decision. Showcasing your beautiful, professional website is a must to win clients.”

—

Rejection: “I wouldn’t even know what to put on it, i have no pictures.”

Answer: “That’s okay. I can create you a website with some stock images geared to your specific business type. As time goes by, you can start taking pictures of your work and send them to me via email or text. I will then upload them to your site when the time comes.”

—

Rejection: “Too expensive.”

Answer: “I haven’t even told you the price yet. The best part about a website is they can be a custom fit solution for budgets of all sizes for clients. How does $40 a month with no contract (able to cancel anytime) sound to have a fully optimized, mobile, SEO friendly website? I will even send you some examples of what I had in mind before you have to commit to anything.”

Close the Sale

As soon as you feel there is some interest, go for the close.

“Okay. Great! Mr. customer, do you happen to have a credit card that gives you cash back or reward points?”

“Yes, actually. I do!”

“Okay. Perfect! Lets go ahead with that one. is it a Visa, Mastercard or AMEX?”

“Great. I’m ready when you are.”

Get the card number and start getting paid!

In conclusion…

If you have any questions or need any clarification on the information provided within this blog, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time. You can visit our Help Center which is filled with great tips and advice, and you can also message us anytime via our website’s Live Chat.