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The Add Me! Newsletter *** ISSUE #70 ***
"Free tips for promoting your website and business"
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...TODAY'S ARTICLE...
>> Elements of a Successful Internet Presence <<
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October 19th, 1999 *** ISSUE #70 ***
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.....TODAY'S ARTICLE.....
Elements of a Successful Internet Presence
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by Chris Small
What are the elements of a successful Internet presence? And
how much will they cost me? These are the two most commonly
asked questions from people just starting out. Following is
a rough guide and some general prices.
1) Your own unique Domain name.
This means www.nameofyourchoice.com. Yes if at all possible,
shorter is better, but more importantly make sure that the
domain name that you choose is descriptive of your site
and/or easy to remember. Try to make it distinctive and easy
to remember.
Cost to register the name with InterNic: $70 for the first
two years - $35/ year thereafter.
Cost for Domain hosting: There are several options here
depending on what you want to achieve. It is possible to get
domain hosting for free (as long as you don't mind other ads
all over your site and no customer service) You could also
find yourself in the situation of paying out hundreds of
dollars per month for a major hosting package.
My recommendation is to go with an affordable full service
host. When you're starting out you will definitely discover
challenges and questions - having a customer service staff
at your beck and call can be a real life saver. Expect to
spend between $25 to $50 per month for a good host.
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2) A professional looking layout and design of your pages -
that is consistent throughout your site.
That critical first impression is accentuated on the Web. In
real life, you can present several facets of yourself. If
you're a little weak in one area you can often compensate in
another. A smile can overcome many inadequacies. On the click,
click web, you only get one crack at it so you had better be
good or your visitor is gone, and you can't phone them up for
a second interview.
It is not necessary (or even advisable) to display dazzling
graphics and special effects in a business web site. Would
you go to a job interview dressed in a bright orange bikini
shorts with a loud Hawaiian shirt, and a flashing neon light
on your head, humming a tune to a Madonna song? Of course not!
So don't do that with your web site either.
Keep it clean, polished and on a professional level. Be the
"Man from Glad".
The cost for a professional webmaster to design your site can
range $35 a page to as much as several hundred per page. A
complete site design can cost in the range of $2,000 to $6,000
depending on the features that you implement. You can also opt
to do some or all of it yourself.
3) Let the people know that you exist.
We all know about the millions of people that are out there
surfing the web. Many of them looking for a product or service
such as yours. The opportunity is incredible. BUT - They won't
come to your site, unless you call them.
Get the word out. Register with the Search Engines, Buy (or
swap) some banner space, invest in some ads in the ezines
(one of the most cost effective methods), do some off-line
promotion, offer the visitor something of value, etc..
Generally Search Engine submissions are free, but if you
wish to have a top 20 listing (there's not much point in
being listed at #1221) you will have to hire a professional
placement company. You should wait until you are firmly
established before spending the several hundred dollars that
these people will demand.
The cost for much of your promotions can be very low or even
FREE. However at some point you will probably find that it is
necessary to spend a few dollars to get exposed to your ideal
market. For example many low circulation ezine ad spots can be
bought for as little as five dollars each.
One word of caution though, DO NOT SPAM PEOPLE! The results
could be much worse than the list brokers will ever tell you.
4) Give people a reason to come back
Studies have shown that we usually need an average of seven
impressions before we decide to make the purchase. That does
not bode well for reaching the casual surfer who happens to
across your site as they are looking at scores of others.
You need to install Traffic Generators on your site. Some
examples are: Valuable information that is not available
elsewhere, Free opportunities, Free software, Free ads, Free
downloads, Free Post Cards, etc..
The MOST effective and useful way of staying in touch with
your visitors is by encouraging them to sign up for your ezine
or newsletter. This way they will see your words over and over
again. Please note that an ezine is a service that YOU provide
to your visitors. You need to give them a reason to start
subscribing and you must also keep giving them a reason to
stay subscribed.
The cost to implement many of the "Traffic Generators" is
quite low. In many cases you can invest some time and set
them up for free yourself. The ezine may require a list
server ($100 - $300). You should be able to recover the
initial cost very quickly by selling ads to other related
web sites.
These are admittedly very general suggestions. You will need
to do some detailed research before investing your hard earned
money. It is a very good idea to visit your favorite search
engine and investigate several companies who offer these
services before you jump in.
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Chris Small is a cyber entrepreneur and host of the very
successful 'World Deal Center'. His main website is
http://www.WorldDealCenter.com/ You are invited to sample
some of Chris's other articles by going to
http://www.worlddealcenter.com/reports.htm.
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