On Line or Left Behind

By Aleta Pippin
Posted Thursday, August 26, 2004

Ninety million people use the Internet worldwide. What a marketing opportunity! You're certain that at least 500,000 of them will want to purchase your new book - Bathing Your Cat Can be a Spiritual Experience. You can hardly wait to get online.

I'm with you. I could hardly wait. As a result I made lots of mistakes and learned a lot, too. Here are some helpful questions to ask yourself.

1. Am I going to bother with Internet marketing? If your intention is to put up a web site consider:

a)the site's focal point,
b)your market; and
c)the size of your product inventory?

2. Do I hire a web designer or do I spend 80++ hours to learn about the Internet and web design, then do it myself?"

If you decide to hire a web designer, it's important to hire the right one. Your site must come up quickly and be extremely user friendly. An easy-to-navigate site encourages the viewer to browse through all the pages. I've been on sites that were so poorly designed I couldn't get back to the home page!

Forget the cutesy graphics and moving images. They slow the download time and most people won't wait. Even though faster modems are coming out every day, the average viewer's modem speed is 28,800.

3. What ISP (Internet Service Provider) am I going to use or will I use a host site that also provides a web page with their service?

Either way, there will be monthly fees and additional charges for updating the site. Just as you are a dynamic and growing person, your web site is an organic entity and will undergo numerous redesigns over its lifetime.

4. Do I have more than one product?

In order to make money on the web it's important to have more than one product or book and, unless you're using your web site as a marketing tool, you want it to make money for you. That means it must be easy to purchase your products. Therefor, having a shopping cart and secure server is key. If you don't know what I mean, go to (www.amazon.com) and place an order.

5. How do I drive traffic to my site on an ongoing basis?

If your site is static, people won't return once they've visited. Figure out a way to keep people interested. Offer newsletters, daily/weekly quotes, gifts, contests, assessment testing, or fun. You want people visiting time and time again. Your goal is to have such a great site that your viewers bookmark it.

6. How will I market my web site?

At the very least, your web site should be registered with the top 10 search engines at least once every six months - some people advise doing it monthly. Will you do it yourself or hire it done? Do you plan on purchasing banner or other e-commerce advertising? What about email lists? Will you hire a marketing person to design a campaign exclusive to the Internet? Have you considered the cost of new stationery and sales literature with your web site address?

Of course, there's much more. But...bottom line...YES!! Go for it. You must be on the Internet. Where else can you reach so many qualified clients using just one marketing vehicle?

About the Author
(c)'00 by Aleta Pippin, founder Authentic Entrepreneuring, coaching for individuals and small business owners who want to unleash your inner power to create true success from the inside out. Take your life and your business to the next level. Visit (http://www.aentrepreneur.com) for more information and to sign up for your free newsletter.