Volume 2

Volume 2, Number 2, Issue #00154
February 5, 2004

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* * * IN THIS ISSUE * * *

*** Smile for the day***

**** Article I****
If at First You Don't Succeed: Five Ways to Fix Slow Business and
Give Yourself a BIG Second Chance by Dr. Kevin Nunley

**** Article II****
Innovative Website's Free Advertising Benefits Organizations,
Tourists, Businesses by JC Smith

****Aritcle III****
How do I get my business on the internet? by Ivana Katz

****Smile For The Day****

A boy came home from Sunday school, ad at lunch asked his
Dad if Noah had a wife with him on the ark. “Of course, he
had a wife, “ the father replied. “Have you never heard of
Joan of Ark?”

**** Article I****

If at First You Don't Succeed: Five Ways to Fix Slow Business and
Give Yourself a BIG Second Chance
by Dr. Kevin Nunley

This would normally be a busy time of year for Margaret, but
business is slower than usual. She worries things will get ever
slower in the months ahead. Greg came up with a terrific idea for
building a second income from the Internet. Months later, his web
site and advertising have only brought in a few sales. He is
afraid all his time, money, and enthusiasm were wasted.

I hear similar experiences from dozens of people each week. Some
are start-ups, others are mature businesses. Most business ideas
flop on the first try. The key to success is knowing how to give
yourself a BIG second chance. Sometimes you will need to try a
third or fourth time before your new product or service brings
home the bacon.

Here are five simple ways to give your business new life.

1. Give your business a tighter focus. Many businesses are too
broad, trying to interest too many different kinds of prospects.
Being too general will leave you lost in a crowd. America has
more stores than at any time in history. Retailers are finding
their markets split into tiny fragments as shoppers have a
bewildering choice of places to spend their money. Meanwhile, the
Internet is exploding. Christmas spending in 1998 is 2.3 Billion
dollars, twice what it was in 1997. All that money is divided
among some 300 million web sites.

How do you compete when there are so many others? Tighten your
business focus to include a narrow, very well defined audience.
The man who sells John Denver memorabilia from the 1970s has a
very specific, almost peculiar business. But he is selling his
product like crazy on the Internet. He is filling a niche that
deeply interests a particular group of people.

2. Make your prices more competitive. For the past few years
consumers have told us they want quality and service with price
being much less important. The tightening of the economy has
changed that. Now consumers are ranking price as one of the most
important reasons they buy from one business and not from
another.

Think of ways you can tighten your belt or redefine your product
or service to offer it at a lower cost. Maybe you can limit your
service to fewer, but still important features. Perhaps your
prices are already lower than competitors. You just need to
emphasize your lower prices more in your marketing. Lower prices
are suddenly an important way to get people to buy.

3. Choose the product or service that sells best for you, then
expand it. Go wide and deep. Offer more versions of the same
product or service. If the green one is selling well, come out
with a red one and a blue one to offer along side your start
performer. Look for more related products or services you can
offer. I write press releases for people. I have also found those
same people want me to write articles for them. That is a related
service I can offer along with the popular press release service.

4. Sharpen your marketing materials. With all that competition in
the business world, you profit when your marketing and
advertising stands out and hits home with consumers. Give all
your marketing pieces a headline. Busy prospects need a way to
quickly find out "what's in this for me" before they will take
the time to read your sales letter, brochure, classified ad, or
web site.

Relate the features of your product or service to the benefits
the buyer will get. Your "Widget 900" has a clever lever. Tell
prospects how that lever will save them time, money, and make
their day more enjoyable. It is the benefits that your buyers
really care about.

Take a closer look at where you are putting your advertising
dollars. It is tempting to place all your cash into big media
that reach a lot of people, but are all those people your best
prospects?

Marketing is generally more effective when it can be closely
targeted to a well defined audience. If your audience is made up
of lots of your best customers, you get sales. Consider
advertising in trade publications, email newsletters, and
neighborhood papers. Postcards are cheap and prospects read them
without having to open an envelope.

5. Expand your promotional effort. It takes a LOT of advertising,
marketing, and promotion to get into the heads of your busy
prospects. People are constantly bombarded with ads and
commercials. You need to hit your best prospects over and over
again before your message sinks in.

Look for several ways you can CONSISTENTLY market your business.
Find affordable methods that reach your best customers and use
those methods over and over again. When marketing doesn't work,
it is almost always because the business ran out of money and
gave up too soon.

Give your business a big second chance. The children's story of
the "little engine that could" might as well be a $1,000 business
seminar. The best way to clobber competition and build your
business into a cash cow is to give your business a tight focus,
make prices more competitive, expand what works, improve
marketing materials, and promote big and consistently.

Kevin Nunley provides marketing advice and copy writing for
businesses and organizations. Read all his money-saving marketing
tips at http://DrNunley.com/. Reach him at kevin@drnunley.com or
603-249-9519.

**** Article II***

Innovative Website's Free Advertising Benefits Organizations,
Tourists, Businesses.
by JC Smith

The travel industry is still big in the U.S., but with threats of
terrorism and a growing sense of anti-American sentiment in some
foreign countries, many Americans are opting to travel in our own
country. After all, we have a rich heritage, a deep history, and
a myriad of family fun activities available right here on our own
soil. Cities and states just need a little help promoting their
places to visit.

Anyone who has ever booked a trip has seen the big travel sites
like Travelocity, CheapTickets, and Orbitz. We know they are all
very useful at helping us find and book flights, hotels, and car
rentals. That's all fine and good when you're looking for a good
deal on travel, but what are you going to do when you get there?

What the Net really needs is something slightly different--
something to fill in the gaps between booking travel and actually
taking the trip. There are many sites that help with the
arrangements, but precious few that guide us to our destination's
best--and often least advertised--attractions.

Tourists should be able to visit a site and browse through
their planned destination to find out what unique and affordable
to do when they get there. They need a list of national parks,
museums, lakes, beaches, and unique historic sites--not just bars
and restaurants.

There's a niche market here--one that should really be explored.
Tourism boards, Chambers of Commerce, and administrators over
historic sites and the like could probably use all the help they
can get with getting tourists to their often little-known
attractions. If tourists only had the details on tourist
attractions like these, we'd have a country full of richer
vacation experiences--and wealthier state economies.

Author JC Smith is creator of HotShotTravel.com. For more
information about the benefits of getting a free or $5/month
listing on HotShotTravel, visit http://www.HotShotTravel.com or
call JC Smith at 704-622-5041.

****ARTICLE III****

Innovative Website's Free Advertising Benefits Organizations,
Tourists, Businesses
by JC Smith

The travel industry is still big in the U.S., but with threats of
terrorism and a growing sense of anti-American sentiment in some
foreign countries, many Americans are opting to travel in our own
country. After all, we have a rich heritage, a deep history, and
a myriad of family fun activities available right here on our own
soil. Cities and states just need a little help promoting their
places to visit.

Anyone who has ever booked a trip has seen the big travel sites
like Travelocity, CheapTickets, and Orbitz. We know they are all
very useful at helping us find and book flights, hotels, and car
rentals. That's all fine and good when you're looking for a good
deal on travel, but what are you going to do when you get there?

What the Net really needs is something slightly different--
something to fill in the gaps between booking travel and actually
taking the trip. There are many sites that help with the
arrangements, but precious few that guide us to our destination's
best--and often least advertised--attractions.

Tourists should be able to visit a site and browse through
their planned destination to find out what unique and affordable
to do when they get there. They need a list of national parks,
museums, lakes, beaches, and unique historic sites--not just bars
and restaurants.

There's a niche market here--one that should really be explored.
Tourism boards, Chambers of Commerce, and administrators over
historic sites and the like could probably use all the help they
can get with getting tourists to their often little-known
attractions. If tourists only had the details on tourist
attractions like these, we'd have a country full of richer
vacation experiences--and wealthier state economies.

Author JC Smith is creator of HotShotTravel.com. For more
information about the benefits of getting a free or $5/month
listing on HotShotTravel, visit http://www.HotShotTravel.com

****ARTICLE IV****

How do I get my business on the internet?
by Ivana Katz

How do I get my business on the internet?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions by small
business owners. They are feeling the pressure from their
customers and competitors, yet for many business people it
is a daunting task, as they don't understand the whole
process.

In fact, many people are even asking the question whether
they should have a website. Whether you are a consultant,
florist, designer, builder, architect or a doctor, consider
the many advantages a website provides:

1. Make money Set up an on-line store or get paid for
advertising from other companies
2. Save money on advertising Instead of paying for large
ads, simply advertise your website
3. Be flexible in your message Change the content as your
business changes. No need to re-print expensive brochures.
4. Exposure to new customers You will reach more local
clients as well as interstate and global markets.
5. Having more professional image Keep up with the times
and your competitors
6. Save time. Don’t spend hours on the phone, direct
customers to your website
7. Keep your business open 24/7 Provide customers
information when THEY need it. If you don’t, someone else
will.

So what does it really take to get your website set up?

Step 1 - Register your domain name OR not.

The big question is whether you need to register a domain
name or not. The simple answer is NO, but a better answer
is YES it is a good idea.

What is a domain name?

The purpose of a domain name is similar to that of a street
address or telephone number. The domain name directs
customers to you on the Internet. The domain by itself is
not your email or web address. The domain does form the
base from which these addresses are derived.

For example:
Company Name: QikPhone
Domain Name: qikphone.com.au
Web Address: www.qikphone.com.au
Email Address: sales@qikphone.com

Do I need to register a domain name to have a website?

NO, you don't need to have your own domain name. Your
website can be created and hosted without it. Your website
address will look something like this:
www.web4business.com.au/JBCleaning
OR
www.ozemail.com.au/~JBCleaning

The only advantage of not registering a domain name is that
you will save yourself A$70 per year (it costs approx A$140
for 2 years to register a '.com.au' domain name).

The disadvantages of NOT having your domain name include:

1. If you decide to change your Web hosting company or if
that company goes out of business, you will lose your
website address. Your website can be transferred to a new
company, but your address will change. And that means
re-printing stationery and re-doing all your advertising,
notifying all your customers etc.

2. Website addresses that contain information other than
your company name are long and hard to remember and do not
appear as professional. Compare these two and see which
one you are more likely to remember:
www.ozemail.com.au/~JBCleaning OR www.JBCleaning.com.au

So it is a good idea to register a domain name, even if it
is just to protect yourself for the future. Say for
example, your business name is JB Cleaning and you decide
not to register your domain name for now.
Along comes Joe Bloggs who opens his own cleaning business
and registers JBCleaning.com.au domain name. After a year
you decide you want to have your own domain name, but since
Joe Bloggs already owns it, you won't be able to register
it. Not to mention your customers who know your business
as JB Cleaning may visit his website, thinking it's your
web address and instead hire Joe Bloggs Cleaning.

Step 2 - Plan your website.
Planning your website is a two part process:
(a) Decide on the website design (colour schemes, buttons,
special effects etc). This is your website designer's job.
However, you may have a preference for a certain colour or
look. To help you choose a design, you may wish to check
out other people's websites or work with your web
designer's pre-set templates.

(b) The content. There are many items you may wish to
include on your website. The most common ones include:

1 Product/Service Details
2. Contact Information
3. Pricing
4. Testimonials
5. Frequently Asked Questions
6. Response Form, such as "Join Mailing List"
7. On-line Magazine or Newsletter
8. Resources & Articles
9. Guarantee
10. Survey
11. Events Calendar
12. Search My Website Form
13. Refund Policy
14. Privacy Policy
15. About Us Information
16. Site Map
17. Copyright information
18. Useful Links
19. Media Information
20. On-line store
21. News
22. Directions to Your Bricks & Mortar Premises

Step 3 - Choose a Web Hosting Company.
What is a Web hosting Company?
A Web host is a company that provides server space for your
website. You can think of a web host as a commercial
building. The web host provides space for your website
just as a commercial building provides space for your shop
or office. You can build your own building and you can
host your own website, but because of the cost and
expertise required it is easier to rent the space.

Which Company Should I Choose?
Web hosting companies are not created equal so you need to
take a number of things into account when selecting one. A
proven track record, experience and reliability form the
foundation of any successful business partnership.

Some of the issues you should consider when choosing a
web hosting company include:

1. Support - Does it provide comprehensive Technical
Support - 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

2. Reliability - Does it have multiple large-scale links to
the internet to provide a fail-safe

3. Security - Does it have a robust security system that
minimises risk of web site intrusion?

4. State-of-the-art - Does the company utilizes leading
edge technology and is supported by a large-scale
uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system.

5. Scalability - Does the product range and services
offered allow your business to grow without impediment by
making it easy to upgrade and add components to existing
product levels.

Step 4 - Getting people to your site.
The marketing of your website is important if you want to
draw visitors to your site. If you don't promote your
website no-one will ever see it. There are a number of
different ways of advertising your website. The best
strategy is one, which integrates your existing promotion
methods with your website.

1. Office Stationery -Including your web address and email
address on your stationery is probably the easiest way to
draw attention to your site. It's cost effective and gets
your Internet presence out there in the market place.

2. Business Cards - When printing business cards you should
include the individual's email address and main address of
your website.

3. Radio Advertising
Radio Advertising should include your web address. Don't
include the http://, try "Visit us on the internet at
w-w-w-dot-qikphone-dot-com-dot-au". If your budget is
limited, you may wish to consider community radios.

4. Email and Mail-Outs
Let your current customers know the details of your
website. You can either send them an email or a
letter/postcard. Keep your website's content up-to-date
and they will keep coming back!

5. Print Media
Print advertising should include a generic email address
for the company and include your website address. Normally
positioned at the bottom right or bottom center of your
advertisement.

6. Search Engines & Directories
People looking for your website who don't know the URL are
most likely to use an on-line search engine to look for
your organization or the kind of products and services you
offer. There are over 300 major search engines and
directories, but you should concentrate on the larger, more
commonly used ones. These include: Google, Yahoo,
Altavista, Anzwers, Inktomi, Infoseek, Lycos, Excite,
HotBot, MSN, Dogpile, AllTheWeb etc.

7. Links from other websites
A good way to attract visitors to your site is through the
use of hyperlinks placed on other sites. If you know of
another site which has a list of links and you think your
website would be a good addition, let the website owner
know. You might also offer to provide a link from your
site back to the other site. This will encourage the
webmaster to include your site. You should also seek out
partners for trading links including vendors, suppliers and
providers of complimentary products.

8. Link Exchange
Another way to getting a link is through a system called
Link Exchange, a free public service designed to help
websites advertise each other. With Link Exchange, you
agree to display advertising banners for other Link
Exchange members and they agree to display banners for you.
The System is automatic; you simply add a piece of HTML
code to your web page and Link Exchange will display an
advertisement for another website. The disadvantage with
Link Exchange is that you don't get any control as to where
your banner ad appears or the type of banner ads that will
appear on your website. It is not possible to guarantee
that a competitor of yours may have their banner ad
displayed on your site.

9. Paid Banner Advertising/Affiliate Marketing Programs
Various sites give you the opportunity to purchase banner
advertising on their site. Some sites will charge you a
flat monthly fee while other sites will charge you based on
the number of people who see your ad.

Step 5 - Monitor your site's statistics
Your website's statistics should show who visits your
website, where in the world they come from, how they are
finding your site and what pages are being viewed. Knowing
your customers is the first step in effective marketing.
Most web hosting companies will provide access to this
information free of charge.

Step 6 - Maintaining your website

It is important to update your website regularly to keep
your customers interested. One of the great advantages of
having a website is that you can change its content
virtually overnight at minimal cost (unlike re-printing
brochures and flyers).

This is just a brief overview of the process involved in
getting your website up and running. In future articles we
will cover each step in more detail.
----------------------------------------------------
Ivana Katz is the owner of Websites 4 Small Business, a
company specializing in the design and promotion of small
and home-based business websites. She believes that every
business deserves to have a successful website, no matter
what its budget is. For more information visit
www.web4business.com.au