Do You Really Need A Website?
|
|
Nope. You certainly don't need a website.
But you don't need many of the things you've come to rely on, such as your cell phone, e-mail, or faxes.
And there's no point in having an Internet presence if those you want to reach lack computers or online capabilities. Or, if you have nothing to say. But, if you do have something to say, and your audience is accessible on the Internet, then consider a website.
Years before the Internet, I prepared a brochure to give to people who wanted to know what I did. It was pocket size, so I always had a few on hand to give out. And it was more impressive, and more descriptive of my services than a business card. Think of a website as an electronic brochure with many advantages over a printed brochure, such as:
1. It's unlimited in quantity. You don't have to get a few thousand printed every time you run out.
2. It's easily updated and, if you do it yourself, cost-free.
3. You can link it to your newsletter and other sites to extend its usefulness to the reader.
4. It also gets much wider exposure than any printed brochure ever could.
Initially, the only cost will be the time you spend not watching TV commercials. Most of us can afford that.
The first thing to do is decide what you want your web site to tell people about you. To do that, you don't need a computer, just a pad and pencil. Put them by your TV chair so you can scribble stuff down during commercials. Write a phrase about what you do. Then scribble down your qualifications. And what you do for your clients. Plus what they do for you (i.e. how you get paid).
Don't worry about grammar, spelling, or even forming sentences at this stage. All that comes later.
Can't think of anything to say about yourself? Ask your significant other, a client, or a few of your clients. Find out what they think you do, and why they deal with you.
If after a week your pad is blank, forget it. You're not ready for a web site. Why? Because the most important thing about a web site is content, and if you've got nothing to say, you've got no content.
When you've filled a page or so about what you do, and the benefits of dealing with you, it's time to reshape it. Start by dividing all the stuff you've written into two parts, qualifications, and other. In the qualifications pile include all the phrases that describe why prospects should deal with you. Try to turn them into a paragraph or two of benefits, and call them your Professional Background.
The other pile consists of what's left over, maybe your age, family life, hobbies, etc. Rewrite all those phrases into a more readable form and call that your Personal Profile.
Now you can turn on your computer, and type it all into your word processor, edit it so it hangs together and makes sense, then save it as MySite so you can copy it into your web site.
You now have some content for your website. For clues on how create it, visit http://www.lifesites.org
-----------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2005, Donald F. Pooley, Inc.
Don Pooley has shared his marketing know-how with audiences in major Canadian cities, London, Australia, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and now in his free ezine, TIP. Subscribe at http://www.eTIP.ca/, or get free article downloads, and redistribution rights info at http://www.eTIP.ca/Downloads/Publish.html
|
|
|
Created & Maintained by Empower! CMS Web Sites
Host2Sell Web Hosting | Emarketing Workshops | Site SEO Review | FREE NewsletterChoosing A Color Scheme
When you begin the design of your Web site, one of the first things you need to do is decide on a color scheme. Although choosing colors seems like a relatively easy proposition, it's not easy at all. In fact, it's hard.One of the pluses we have as Web designers is that millions of colors are at our disposal. Unlike the print world, we do not have to pay for each color we use. If we want to use a specific hue of yellow, for example, all we need to know is the hexadecimal code for that particular color.One of the pi...(related: Web Design)
Looking For A Designer To Re-design Your Website?
If you were like me and you have just started an online business, you have a website that you have made or someone has made it for you, and this design does not match up to your expectations and the competition. Fear not, there is an inexpensive solution to your problem.Your budge...(related: Web Design)
Are You Driving Away Potential Customers?
When a prospect lands on your website will he or she understand what you are presenting? Do your ordering/sign up instructions make sense? Can prospects easily find the information they are searching for? If you don't know the answers to these questions you may be driving away potential customers.As a writer I put a lot of effort into making ideas clear. Therefore, I sometimes find it annoying when I can't figure out what a webmaster is trying to say. I admit I sometimes don't grasp a conce...(related: Web Design)
6 Reasons Why A Website Is Crucial To Your Business
Since I'm a web designer, I have a tendency to think everyone understands that having a website is important. Every once in a while, I have to remind myself that some people just haven't heard yet!Why is having a website such a big deal? Here are 6 ...(related: Web Design)
Content - The Key To Long Term Success
Every day internet marketers are inundated with the latest fad or must have program. But the one tried and true asset which is vitally important to the long term success of your online business is valuable CONTENT. In fact, content can do more to build your business and profits than just about any other resource or service available.Following is a list five ways that good content can instantly take your site from obscurity to a traffic generating, list b...(related: Web Design)
Give Your Web Site A Small Business Marketing Tune Up
Your web site is like your car. Both are significant investments that require the right features and regular and proper maintenance to ensure maximal satisfaction and performance.Your car is a finely tuned machine. You bought it not only to get you from point A to point B but also perhaps to have some fun and look good as you go. If you purchased your car new its engine had no wear. To keep it running li...(related: Web Design)
.htaccess To Mask Errors On Your Website
The .htaccess file is a control file located in your webservers directory. This file is a very powerful file that can control access to certain files, restrict access to files, forward people in the event of errors, and many mo...(related: Web Design)
How To Double Your Online Sales Without Spending Another Dime On Advertising
Learning how to convert visitors to your web site into buyers, is the single most important factor affecting the success of your online business. If you don't have paying customers, your business will fail.FACT: "50% of Visitors are LOST because visitors can'teasily find content" - Gartner GroupFACT: "40% of Repeat Visitors are LOST from negativeexperience" - Zona ResearchFACT: "85% of Visitors ABANDON a new site due topoor design" - cPulseFACT: 70% of people who are ready, willing and able tobuy online - don't complete the sale.Just imagine, if you can improve your web site's conversion rate, you have the potential to increase ...(related: Web Design)
Web Advertising: 10 Little Known Tricks To Help Convert Your Traffics To Buying Customers
You may not believe it, but people still judge thingsby their appearances.How does your website look?The appearance of your web site text can actuallyincrease or decrease your sales.The size, font, style and color of your text can easily affect your reader's buying decision.Below are web advertising ten points to consider when designing your web site.1. Easy To Read- You want to make it easy for yourvisitors to read your text. You don't want to use a lightcolored text like yellow on a white background andyou don't want to use dark blue text on a black ba...(related: Web Design)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 Empower! Web Design | All Rights Reserved. | Web Design