|
|
|||||
|
|
Five Internet Business Mistakes You Don't Want to Make! Congratulations! You've made the plunge into Internet Business, and now you have to show everyone what you're made of. Use your new technology-enhanced marketing powers to reach more customer channels and grow your business. You're on the bandwagon already, so here are a few basics you need to be conscious of to succeed in this Web Business game. CHECK AND ANSWER YOUR EMAIL There's nothing like sending someone an email only to find that they never check it. Email is probably THE most important internet tool you could have. Learn how to use it! I can't say that enough. LEARN HOW TO USE IT! After checking your email, take the next step and actually answer the person who emailed you. You'd be suprised how easy it is. For those of you out there who get so much email that you'd probably need an assistant to read it all, try segmenting your email based on priority or by sender so that you can at address the ones that are really important to you. Advanced email users can add keyword filters to their mailboxes to help keep things organized. CHANGE YOUR SITE A web site that never changes, is simply boring. If you have content that doesn't change at all, or doesn't change often - at least update the home page every now and again so it appears that you have an active interest in your business. On the flip side, major navigation changes and adding irrelevant sound or graphics that don't mount to a hill of beans for your audience isn't worth your time either. You'll only frustrate people and ultimately end up doing alot of work with little gain. Less is more, but too little is not enough! SPY ON YOUR COMPETITORS Yep. You have to do it. Many businesses on the Internet today fail because they neglect to provide services or functions that are considered 'normal' for the audience they serve. For example, if you're a mortgage broker, it might be a good idea to have some of those cool mortgage calculator scripts on your site. If you're a tax accountant, then maybe putting a copy of this years' tax forms - or independent links to them - would be a good idea. You can't know these things unless you check out other sites that have similar businesses to yours. Find out what they're doing and what they're not doing. Design or rebuild your site based on the research you've done and rest easy knowing that you're at least on par with your competition! ADVERTISE If you build it, they will NOT come. They won't know you're there! You pay a sum of hard-earned money to a designer and a web host, then you sit back and just wait for the phone to ring or the emails to pour in. NOT! Low cost and no cost advertising opportunites exist everywhere for just about every line of business - find some and get the word out! FOLLOW THE RULES When building and publicizing your site, make sure you are following the rules and regulations for your industry. Never accept credit card numbers without having an SSL Certificate on your site (try www.rapidssl.com), and don't send SPAM emails. Your web designer or developer should be able to able to give you a basic idea of what will be necessary for some things, however, its not their business and ultimately YOU will be held responsible for any errors, omissions, and acts of non-compliance. Research, research, research! An internet business, although having no walls or physical location, is much like having a normal business. Make a commitment to learning all you can about running your business and to understand the technologies that are available to help you succeed. Like my article, or want to share your experience? Email me at curtis@idylhands.com
This article was posted on February 08, 2006
|
||||
