How to Succeed at Online Business

Having worked with 100′s of businesses across the country with the creation, growth, nurturing of their site, if you removed the “technology” aspects that makes all of their heads swim, the one issue that always seems to be missing in one form or another is the fact that having a Web site is having a business. A real business – if you want to succeed.

All too often entrepreneurs with little to no experience in the business world, or the basics of how to plan, run, and evolve a successful enterprise appear to be under the impression that these staples are not necessary in lieu of a good idea. Just as often, unfortunately, they choose technology partners that have little more experience and expertise in these areas then they do. Hence, they are doomed to fail.

You’ve heard of all those dot coms crashing? Poor business ideas, little or no planning, and greedy investors – all looking for that quick buck to millionairdom. The fact is they crashed because these concepts were not born of solid business methodology, little to no planning, lack of experienced direction moving forward.

I’ve even heard of deals being agreed to simply based on sketches on cocktail napkins! How could anyone be surprised when these “businesses” failed or as they say in the online world “crashed”?

Having an idea is not enough. Having the financial backing isn’t enough either (although that’s a huge plus). Then it should go without saying that having a Web site alone does not make a successful business, right? So why is it that so many potential Netrepreneurs (some who are actually successful off-line) jump online, and think that their Web site whether it be home-brewed or professionally developed, is all it takes to hit the jackpot? I can vouch for the fact that many think that to be the case. I hear it every day in e-mail and on the phone.
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The Web is Us/ing Us

I was talking with another developer today and we both agreed that the last 18 months, in regard to what is required to succeed online, has shifted 180 degrees. Dramatically.

Being I’ve now entered my 15 years in business, I can say that this gig has evolved pretty much the entire time. That unpredictability and new things around every corner was and is (even more so right here, right now) what I found exhilarating. The last year or two though has been at warp speed. Leaving many behind without even knowing that to be the case.

I heard about this presentation and when I watched it I just knew it would help those who are not up to speed understand the importance of catching up — the sooner the better. This video gives an easy to understand review of what the Web was, where it is now and where it is going.

It would behoove anyone who wants to do business online and succeed in those efforts, to be exposed to this reality. You really need to understand the “big picture” so you can make the important decisions moving forward when it comes to your online program.

Another issue that came up in the same conversation was how a healthy number of online business owners feel, even in light of having old static sites, that they can piecemeal technology based on what they are willing to do, learn or spend. Believe that at your own peril…

Enjoy!

Is Your Site More Than a Pretty Face?

For years I have been advising clients who wanted a “new look” to forget about static HTML Web sites and get on to WordPress. As a matter of fact, I no longer take on new clients who believe that have a handful of “web pages”, what I call brochureware, is all that is required.

Why make that stand? Because I’ve always believed that to take someone’s money knowing that they won’t get the results they desire (or incorrectly believe will happen anyway) is not ethical.

By going to WordPress when you want a new site or look, solves the three main concerns every client asks about:

• Wanting to be able to update their own sites.
• Having a search engine friendly site.
• Having a professional contemporary look without the high design fees.

By going this route we cover these core concerns while having the Web site on a platform that allows the owner to SEO further and participate in social media and networking opportunities.

How interesting that there seems to be a huge redesign wave in the works! Why? Because technology has evolved so far beyond what it was even a year or two ago that sites designed before then simply no longer cut it. They don’t have the features, functionality or even basic design staples required to compete in today’s online environment.

A recent survey finds retailers updating their Web sites, with 49.9% of merchants having rolled out a new design in the past year, including:

• 26.6% in the last six months
• 13.3% within 90 days

Improved site optimization is the top priority for 72.9% of merchants, followed by:

• Clearly organized home, category and product pages at 62.4%
• Better navigation at 49.4%
• Improved site search at 47.1%
• Faster checkout at 40%

While eStores are included above, the priorities mentioned apply and should apply to all Web sites. Something upgrading to WordPress as your content management system (CMS) can easily solve.

With a more business-oriented approach to Web site design, 81.7% of merchants also expect their latest redesign to attract a higher number of visitors and shoppers, while:

• 76.7% anticipate higher sales,
• 66.7% a higher sales conversion,
• 50% improved customer service and
• 48.3% better multi-channel sales.

Click Here To View the Entire Survey “More Than a Pretty Face”…

“More Than a Pretty Face” speak volumes. You can have a great looking site but if it doesn’t function and produce, and more importantly keep up with current technology, looks are moot.

Brand Me, Baby!

What is branding? The official definition:

1. To mark with or as if with a hot iron.
2. To mark to show ownership.
3. To provide with or publicize using a brand name.
4. To impress firmly; fix ineradicably: “Imagery of the war has branded itself into the national consciousness.”

How does this apply to your Web site or online business? By being aware of and working to brand your business, you are setting yourself apart from all the noise and competition out there going after your market.

I’ve been asked about my competition. To which I always respond “I don’t have any.” There may be perceived competitors but there are a rare few who have been doing this as long and as successfully.

Notice how I said “perceived” competitors. Your branding efforts depend on you doing all you can to ensure that your brand, your company name, your methodology when logically compared to others in your industry will not be perceived as competitors. Because your brand sets you apart and there is no comparison!

But there’s the rub… We live in a culture with the attention span of a gnat. Onliners don’t want to read, they don’t take the time to pay attention to details and unfortunately, they don’t have much of a desire for knowledge acquisition. So how do you tackle that?

Realize there is only so much you can do and that you can’t be everything to everyone — so brand yourself to cater to your target market. But brand you must!

Figure out what is unique about you, your company, your product or service and use that consistently in everything you do, in every marketing effort you make. You need to clearly be different than any other Web site or similar business — you want to stick out like a sore thumb and be remembered! That’s how you brand! Whether it be a slogan or a methodology that carries over to all actions and reactions that involve your business, sit down right now and determine what is going to represent your brand.

Being I am a one-woman-show, I am my brand and I do not hesitate to let my personality shine through. That in of itself sets me apart from most techies who lack in the personality department. Combined that with my particular set of skills and experience, there really is no other “me” out there to directly compete with me.

Some of the ways I brand myself is using the same handle on all forums and social media sites, my sign-off and the name of this site “At Your Service…” and by having the best and most responsive customer service out there (when that is a rare commodity on and off-line).

Once folks begin communicating with me, compared to most they’ve run into, I make an impression. I’ve made my “mark with or as if with a hot iron.” And, I deliberately reinforce that branding as our relationship grows and matures.

Check out this interesting report Trends in Branding, 2009. You might become inspired or at the very least learn a bit more about the importance of branding and how it can work for you!

Can You Get Rich Online?

That would depend on:

1. What your product or service is. Certainly if you had a legitimate recipe for the cure for cancer, you would have it easier than trying to get exposure in say real estate, online marketing, gift shops, etc. Try to find a niche that isn’t a saturated online market. Otherwise nothing less than a rabidly aggressive approach will be required to penetrate and compete.
2. How much the product or service is desired. People have to want what you have to offer. Something you may think is a good idea, may not be at all. That is why it is so important to do your due diligence when investigating your future online offerings. Search on Google for the keywords you think folks would use to find your new business so you have a realistic view of what you are up against.
3. If your price is right. Onliners shop around. If you are not competitive or do not have a unique value proposition justifying a higher price, potential customers will go elsewhere.
4. Effort put into running a tip-top shop and offering professional service and presentation. Your online presentation will speak volumes about the quality of your program and the seriousness in which you take your business. Cut corners on design, content, security, etc. and folks will wonder what else you felt was not important enough to do properly. Product quality? Customer service? Security?
5. Realize that time and/or money needs to be spent on marketing. Period. If you want to get found you have to market just as in the off-line world. You can throw hundreds, even thousands of dollars at online ad programs — but if you don’t have the above items covered you will just be throwing good money after bad. Beyond that, you simply have to be involved and participate in online communities, Blogs, forums and social media sites to hope to get exposure for your new enterprise. Don’t want to spend the time; rethink having an online business. No marketing plan or budget, no “getting rich.”

So there. You can get rich online! All you have to do is take the time to have a realistic plan, understand what is truly involved and run your business with ethics and integrity while not sacrificing quality for the easy/cheap/fast route.

Do it right and you’ll enjoy more ROI than you’ll know what to do with. But there’s the rub; “Return on Investment” requires you invest in the first place!

Why Blog? Why WordPress?

Instead of asking “Why Blog?” How about coming up with reasons not to? Then, I am sure you will find that the answers are not the reasons you would hear from successful competitive business owners.

Why WordPress? The two main reasons is clients can then update or add to their sites themselves. Something I’ve been asked for the ability to do since I started this business 15 years ago.

There a bunch of answers to both of the above questions! I’ll share those with you today that come to me off the top of my head…

Design, Maintenance and Feature Integration:

• Customizing a theme is as simple as integrating your logo or header graphic.
• Easy integration of Flash Slide Shows (that are very expensive to have developed and integrated into a static HTML site) without you having to learn Flash.
• Customizing the color scheme or fonts are simple too.
• Adding subscribe chicklets and feed links so visitors can easily add you to their list.
• Add the option for site visitors to be notified of new posts by e-mail.
• Create logical categories and subcategories to keep your site/Blog organized.
• Add or modify content by logging in and typing away — no code required!
• Easily add videos to your site/Blog.
• Include your promos or AdSense in the sidebar of every page.
• Reflect number of readers or sites linking to your site for site visitors to view.
• Add Captcha to minimize form and comment spam.
• Integrate Social Networking widget(s) so your post can be easily exposed to popular networks.
• Integrate Google Site Map creation.
• Integrate additional SEO tools to enhance your posts with search engines.
• The list goes on… There are literally hundreds of WordPress Plugins for us to integrate into your Blog!

Benefits of having a Blog?

• Post daily tips and information to your customers.
• Use your Blog as a product or service update center where customers know to check in for status.
• Share your expertise and become a hub for useful posts on your product/service/market.
• Search Engines love Blogs because the content is fresh and constantly updated!
• Bunches of directories catering to Blogs only! And, once you post, you can “Ping” the directories to reflect you just added new content!
• You can have a subscribe option so that interested visitors can get notified when you post.
• Use Revenue Ads to get residual income from PPC targeted advertisers.
• Offer RSS feeds and Podcast feeds of your postings.
• Easily add links to your Web site’s important information and other sites of value.
• Interactive nature allows visitors to post comments on each post. Great way to get feedback on what your next move should be!
• No coding knowledge required. If anything only simple HTML is all you will need. Get an HTML Cheat Sheet to have on hand!
• Themes are available to cater to your business personality and culture.

I have had and worked on Blogs on numerous platforms; Blogger, TypePad, and WordPress. By far the platform I have found the easiest, most intuitive, user friendly and most versatile for my clients is WordPress.

Check out my E-mail Etiquette and Business E-mail Etiquette Blogs using WordPress. As a matter of fact, I like WordPress so much that 3 years ago I converted this entire to WordPress!

So Why Blog? Why WordPress? Why Not!?

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