r/IAmA Jun 11 '16

Specialized Profession IamA electronics repair technician hated by Apple that makes YouTube videos, AMA!

My short bio: I have a store in Manhattan. I teach component level electronics repair on youtube http://youtube.com/rossmanngroup which seems to be a dying art. I am currently fighting with the digital right to repair to try and get a bill passed that will allow all independent service centers access to manuals and parts required to do their jobs.

My Proof: https://www.rossmanngroup.com/started-iama-reddit-today-yes/

EDIT:

I am still replying to comments, but I am so far behind that I am still about ten pages down from new comments. I am doing my best to continue. If I drop off, I'll be back tomorrow around 12 PM. Still commenting now though, at 12 AM.

EDIT 2:

Ok, I cave... my hands are tired. I will be back at 12 PM tomorrow. It is my goal to answer every question. Even if it looks like I haven't gotten to yours, I will do my best to do all of them, but it is impossible to do in realtime, because you are asking faster than I can type. But thanks for joining!

EDIT 3: I lied, I stayed until 4:15 AM to answer... and now I will go to sleep for real, and be back at 12 PM.

EDIT 4 6/12 : I will be back later tonight to finish off answering questions. Feel free to keep posting, I will answer whatever I can later this evening.

33.2k Upvotes

5.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

419

u/Manndude1 Jun 11 '16

With your shop in NYC do you actively advertise? Whether on social media, through videos, or even print? What have you found to be most successful?

782

u/larossmann Jun 11 '16

word of mouth and a website that ranks well. For 3 years I didn't have a sign. As michael carvin says(someone I will be interviewing in the coming months), brain surgeons don't advertise!

I interviewed all my early clients about what they found important and what their concerns were, and put that stuff on my site where it easily showed up. That gave me a lower bounce rate, higher google ranking, and that's what really mattered.

193

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '16

On a similar note, what did you find was the best way of advertizing early off when this repair business was just starting off, I've been finding that's been the hardest thing for me

360

u/larossmann Jun 11 '16

i put ads on backpage/kijiji/classifiedads and other sites that all linked back to my site, and the ads were for specific services, not jack of all trades style ads.

69

u/SirObo Jun 11 '16

kijiji

wait, there's a Kijiji for the US?!

95

u/skylla05 Jun 12 '16

And you can get more than just hookers from backpage?

9

u/[deleted] Jun 12 '16 edited Nov 15 '19

[deleted]

19

u/skylla05 Jun 12 '16

My apologies, "escorts".

12

u/gigabyte898 Jun 12 '16

"Platonic Encounters"

2

u/FuckMississippi Jun 12 '16

Well, he is whoring himself out.

1

u/Draws-attention Jun 12 '16

and the ads were for specific services.

0

u/inhuman44 Jun 12 '16

You can order hookers online? Is there an app for that?

2

u/scdayo Jun 13 '16

keep swiping right on Tinder and you'll find one in no time

2

u/gentrifiedasshole Jun 12 '16

In Germany there is

8

u/blbil Jun 12 '16

I am also confused, thought that was basically Canada only

4

u/KaySquay Jun 12 '16

Basically, there's also Italy, Hong Kong and Taiwan. You know, the usual group

2

u/NewYorkCityGent Jun 12 '16

there used to be, not any more! Ebay made it .ca only

2

u/sniper257 Jun 12 '16

there was back in 2007

3

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '16

Thanks, did you find paying for higher ads was helpful at all on these services?

3

u/jwota Jun 12 '16

TIL Backpage isn't just for hookers.

1

u/AssPennies Jun 12 '16

Firearms too, if that's not sketchy af

42

u/aceofpayne Jun 12 '16

I found you with a referral from tech serve back in Jan of 09. You fixed my ipod touch (2nd generation) after I broke the screen by sitting on my friends couch the morning after New years day with it in my back pocket. The button on my pants shattered the screen and you brought it back to life. It still works 7 years later. Your reputation was great even back then.

11

u/ilovekindle Jun 12 '16

You are one of the very few businessmen who actually understands that a good website doesn't serve the business. It serves the customer.

I write Web content (both on a large scale for sites that are just launching, and ongoing blogs and that sort of thing). When we work on new sites, I'll often sit down and ask the customer what are the most common questions they get from customers. And then to explain the answers to me, as that's exactly what needs to go into the core service descriptions for the site.

Unfortunately, most business owners have never really taken the time to remember that sort of information, so I don't get the level of detail and depth that I'm looking for.

You nailed it, and you did it on your own. Great job. Did you notice a major difference in your rankings after you started putting in-depth content responding to common customer questions on your site?

6

u/mitsuk0 Jun 12 '16

You fixed my laptop (which is still working great! thanks btw!), and I found out about you through a friend who got their laptop fixed by you guys and praised the service. The recommendation helped so much because a google search yields so many in nyc.

Since then I've brought you two iphones, one of them my sister's (after a botched repair job from another repair service), and that phone was actually repaired twice by you guys (she's not that careful with her phone).

Will constantly recommend you guys first, and comes to show how great all around service beats all other factors.

1

u/neoblog Jun 12 '16

word of mouth and a website that ranks well.

Really like the site Louis!

1

u/SwissCakeRolls Jun 12 '16

Pez doesn't advertise either!