CREATING A PRESENCE

An Internet presence has a major advantage ... the audience you have available to you is world wide. You aren't limited to the amount of business you can do. Your Web Site is your store front. Think of it in terms of a mobile store. When potential customers enter your web site, they are walking in the front door of your establishment and like any business ... first impressions are lasting impressions.

The very FIRST step in creating an on-line presence is to research, choose and register your domain name. Your Domain name is your website identity or your permanent street address on the internet. It is also the greatest benefit to advertising your website through your e-mail addresses. For example, E MERCHANT - DIRECT is known on the web as WWW.EMERCHANT-DIRECT.COM . When we send any e-mail out, that e-mail address bears our web extension such as

SALES@EMERCHANT-DIRECT.COM

The dot com's are of course the most popular. Today, there are the .net's, .biz, .cc, .tv and others. Below is a list of all domain extensions and their meaning. When choosing your extension, make sure your business falls into that category.

• .com represents the word "commercial," and is the most widely used extension in the world. Most businesses prefer a .com domain name because it is a highly recognized symbol for having a business presence on the Internet.

• .net represents the word "network," and is most commonly used by Internet service providers, Web-hosting companies or other businesses that are directly involved in the infrastructure of the Internet. Additionally, some businesses choose domain names with a .net extension for their intranet Websites.
   

• .org represents the word "organization," and is primarily used by non-profits groups or trade associations.
   

• .biz is used for small business Web sites.
   

• .info is for credible resource Web sites and signifies a "resource" web site. It's the most popular extension beyond .com, .net and .org.
   

• .us is for American Web sites and is the newest extension. It has the largest amount of available names in inventory.
   

• .cc was originally the country code for Coco's Keeling Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
   

• .bz was originally designated as the country code for Belize, but is now commonly used by small business who can't get the name they want using the .biz extension. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
   

• .tv is for rich content/multi-media Web sites, commonly used within the entertainment or media industry.

Once your name is chosen, you must register it. Standard registration is 1 or 2 years, however, longer term registration is available at substantial savings. Be well aware of the fact that whatever time frame your use, you MUST register it again before it expires.

CHOOSING YOUR LOOK

• A great rule of thumb in choosing a web site template is to FIRST think of yourself in terms of your customer. How much pomp and circumstance can you handle when you visit a website? Is a FLASH presentation really necessary? Your website needs to load quickly ... in other words, the more photos, flash, swish and splash you have on your opening page will cause your website to take a good deal of time to load up and be seen. Keep in mind...not everyone surfing the web has DSL or Cable modem connectivity...there are still an inordinate number of your potential clients using dial up connections which can respond like cold molasses!

• Secondly, the "THEME" should be representative of the message you want to convey. This would be any "inherent" graphics ( graphics that are a (unchangeable) part of the web page and inherent to the template properties). The background color which will either spotlight or swallow your product presentation and the visual aspect of the font and color ... how "eye friendly" will it be.

• K.I.S.S .... that's the ole "Keep It Short & Simple" principle. You are selling either a product or a service. Keep the message simple ... THIS is what I'm selling NOT the fluff and stuff that dresses up the website!

THE WEBSITE DESIGN

I have always found that the quickest way to get through creating a website is to first sit down and think about what I am wanting to convey. I generally begin with writing a "Table of Contents" listing all the things I want to include on the site. A standard website will have, of course, your WELCOME or HOME page. This is your front door and the first impression people will have of your company. Also, most businesses will include an "About US" page which is the more personal aspect of your business. This is your opportunity to tell your visitors about the people and the company and eliminate that "impersonal" feel that many internet sites have. The following is a basic list of pages to consider:

• Welcome or Home

• About Us

• Product(s) or Service(s) offered (usually one page per service and products should be grouped relative to one another on multiple pages.)

• Contact US

• Feedback or Customer Comments

• FAQ's or Frequently Asked Questions

When creating your HOME PAGE, it is important to remember

• KEEP IT ATTRACTIVE, UNCLUTTERED AND EASILY NAVIGABLE.

Do a little research first. Go to Your favorite search engine and look for businesses similar to yours. Consider yourself a potential customer. Peruse a multitude of websites and find those that meet your comfort level, that are appealing to your senses and cater to your desire to stay a while and spend your money there or especially those features that would make you go elsewhere. Make notes on those features you find user friendly and especially remember those features you found unattractive, distasteful and a turn off. You want to incorporate the best and steer clear of the worst!

• MAINTAIN THE "WINDOW" PERSPECTIVE.

Computer technology has come far in the past 5 years, however, not every person surfing the web has a 17" monitor. In fact, statistics show that a 15" monitor is still the number one seller in the market. No doubt, this will change in time, however, given the monitor size, you have to maintain that the "window" your potential customer is peering through is that 15" window, therefore, your primary message that will reach out and entice them to come on in, look around and stay awhile, should be within that visual frame. Choose a template that is adjustable to fit all monitor sizes, is generally crated in the 800 x 600 mode and is browser compatible to both Internet Explorer and Netscape. Remember, this "window" perspective doesn't end at the HOME page. This same visual perspective should be reflected in ALL pages throughout your website. MAKE IT INTERESTING ENOUGH AND YOUR VISITOR WILL MOVE DOWN THE PAGE TO SEE THE REST OF THE STORY.

• MAKE THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE EASY, USER FRIENDLY AND HITCH FREE.

I know the one thing I am turned off most by is the difficulty I have more times than not getting an order placed on a website. It seems that there is more paperwork to wade through than there is in applying for a home loan! Shopping just doesn't have to be difficult and with the right tools, implemented in the right manner, your clients check out experience should be a joy.

YOU DON'T NEED TO SPEND A FORTUNE

TO MAKE A FORTUNE!

• YOU NOW HAVE A WEBSITE SO IT'S TIME TO REACH THOSE POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS.

This is the one area that seems to be a mystery to many and so easy for others. There is no single key to promoting your web site but in fact there are four significant pieces that will promise success and continued success. They are:

• A Visually appealing, informative and user friendly site

• Optimizing a website through keyword, phrase and meta tags coupled with a solid search engine submission plan. See our section on this VERY IMPORTANT area of creating your website. Optimization gets the most out of your efforts, enhances any advertising or promotional efforts and keeps you visible to the world. If ALL you do is optimize and submit your website for search engine identification, you have at least increased the chances of being found by prospective clients.

• Submit your site. Search engine submission is one of the very inexpensive things to do that puts your out to a world of potential clients. Submitting your website to search engines is an invitation to check you out, define your areas of business and place you in categories conducive to bringing interested traffic to your site.

• A target specific creative advertising campaign planned and promoted responsibly.

You would think advertising on the web would be a simplistic thing to do. Well...think again. Direct mail ...or in the case of the www, e-mail, is still the number 1 way to reach your audience, however, with the onslaught of FCC regulations and the clampdown on SPAMMING, you run extremely high risks of being shut down and / or black balled from search engines. Buying e-mail lists advertised as "clean" or "opt-in" is still risky. I have watched hundreds of companies spend countless of thousands of dollars buying $99 lists, then a e-mail blaster program to mail the ads, then tracking software to find out how responsive the ads are ... and on and on until they finally are down to the dregs of the advertising budget and the results have been minimal ... at horrific expense. Taking unnecessary risks or learning expensive lessons in order to draw traffic into your store is tantamount to gambling with your future.

Work with a Professionals that have been dealing with advertising on the world wide web for many years and that get results! Using a professional company takes the unnecessary risk out of the picture, gives you reliable service, provides you with a quality potential client base and experience with what really works on the web.  Plan a program, see it through and reap the rewards. You are working with a professional to obtain your merchant services ... do the same with your advertising plan. If you just want premium targeted leads, they can do that do. For pennies a lead, they can provide you with quality potential clients that have already requested information from companies just like yours. Your advertising is something you can't afford to take chances with.

ORGANIZE ... ORGANIZE ... AND DID I MENTION ... ORGANIZE!

OK ... your website is built, optimized, submitted to search engines, you have a guest book in place,  advertising is going out the door and visitors are starting to click through to your website .... how to you maximize your investment from this point on .... EASY! Get organized with a first rate e-mail manager.

E-Blast and E-Scribe will take the PAIN out of maintaining and growing a data base. There will always be a bit of man handling on your part but E-Scribe will deal with managing your customer list while E-Blaster gives you a user friendly way to send your daily, weekly or monthly mailings to your managed list of potential clients. These programs are inexpensive, user friendly and will pay for themselves the first time you use them.

 

Your e-mail program and enhanced advertising campaign gives you more opportunities than drawing traffic to your site or generating immediate sales. It will in fact give you the ability to create a lucrative database that gives you future marketing potential. Here are three simple suggestions that will enhance your marketable client base.

• A Guestbook is one way of creating this list but a "future offers" mailing is another.

• Entry or Exit pop up windows are a great way to give your visitor another opportunity to look again ... now or in the future. This one simple feature added to your website can increase your database by hundreds a day giving you a client base to which you will be able to market those special opportunities and sales.

• Gathering these leads and maintaining a weekly or monthly mailing to them takes a very little bit of organizational skills and a very small amount of time each week. Here is where a mailing program comes in handy. Eventually this lead list will grow to enormous proportions and will quickly become unmanageable without the proper tools with which to work.