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WebWhacked? Three Ways to Avoid Being Overwhelmed by the InternetBranding Web Strategy Mistakes - Brand Identity Guru Theres no reason to feel intimidated by the Web. There is so1. Lack of overall strategy and clear definition of success: Most people realize the need ..... much hype surrounding this new medium that its easy to believe that youre falling behind. Its just not true yet. The truth is: Youre not that far behind Youve already got what it takes You cant do any worse than youre doing right now. Here are three ways you can avoid getting paralyzed into inactivity by the hype: 1. The Web is not all Interactive and E-Commerce Web Sites There are lots of sites some people call it brochure-ware that give a company a Web presence for very little money. These sites are easy and inexpensive to put up and can attract lots of business for your company. The truth is: only 20% of all Web sites currently offer real-time transactions. And that numbers only slated to reach 33% by the end of 2000. You keep hearing about e-commerce only because the media keeps focusing on and hyping e-commerce sites. So dont let e-commerce throw you. If you find out you need e-commerce technology because you plan to sell in real-time on your site there are a number of Web hosts out there that, for a Market Your Website Online AND Offline fee, will allow you to perform real-time transactions (providingLike it or not, if you own a website (and you want visitors), you own a business. It may be ..... you qualify with a bank for a merchant account). Bigstep (http://www.bigstep.com/), Yahoo store (http://store.yahoo.com/), GoBizGo (formerly Sitematic) Do You Own Your Web Site Design? (http://www.gobizgo.com/) are just three of them.Your web site has been up for a few months and you are making money hand over foot. While ..... Youve probably also heard a lot about the interactivity of the Web. There are two things you should know. First, its all true. The Web holds the promise of being the first truly interactive mass medium. Secondly, nobody but the very well funded Amazon-sized Web sites are even beginning to scratch the surface of interactive technologies. Most of the technology behind the interactive Web sites to-date has been around for years databases, chat, forums, e-mail. There are millions of Web sites out there. Very few offer the cutting edge e-commerce and interactive tools that the press loves to write about. Dont let these stories scare you Plugging The Dreaded World Wide Web Black Hole Is Just The First Step theres still plenty of room for you on the Web at whateverYou have created your custom error page so now all of that traffic that use to go into ..... price point you want to pay. 2. What You Already Know About Business Applies to the Web It seems like everything about the Web is new, but its not. Sure there are some fine points of technology to be learned, but business is still business. What you know about promoting your products or services offline applies to promoting your products and services online. The same copy will find its way to the Web, the same target marketing, the same accounting skills, and the same product fulfillment practices. Take the time to find an online community that speaks the same language you do. Youre likely to find that getting on the Web is the same as entering any new media. Think of it as if youre buying your first newspaper ad or radio spot: WebWhacked? Three Ways To Avoid Being Overwhelmed By The Internet First find somebody else whos already doing it Call them upTheres no reason to feel intimidated by the Web. There is so much hype surrounding this new ..... and ask them how theyre doing it Do it the same way theyre doing it Pad your budget for a few mistakes but, if youve been successful in other media, theres no reason to think the Web will change your success record. 3. The Web Is Very Forgiving There are few mistakes you can make on the Web that will really hurt you. The only two that come to mind immediately will bite you anywhere: bad planning and bad manners. Bad planning can cost you time and money time to redo what should have been done right in the first place and money paid for useless work. Like any media, the Web can eat up your budget on pretty graphical treatments that at the end of the day cost you money but do little to gain more business. Be careful with your Web budget and shop around. Nobody really knows what to charge, so you can find great talent for very little money. Remember, nobody knows your customers the way you do, so dont let a Web designer blind-side you with a Thats not how it works on the Web line. Your customers are still your customers, and you know how they think about your product or service better than anyone else. Bad manners can get you spurned pretty quickly on the Web. If found guilty of spamming sending out e-mail to people who havent specifically requested it you can get blacklisted and bad-mouthed across the whole Web. In some states you can get sued. So make sure you follow the rules of netiquette (http://www.workz.com /manage/CSEmailRes.asp/) (Internet etiquette). Its not too hard to find out what the rules are theyre posted all over the Web (use any search engine to find them). As long as you keep your head about you, theres no reason you should be wary of the Web. In fact theres only one big mistake you can make missing the opportunity. 10 Proven Ways To Breakthrough Web Traffic! The Web has become a new marketing channel. Its easy to learnHere are 10 great ways to boost your web traffic: 1.Consider trading links with other websites. Make sure the website ..... and easy to get started today. But that might not be the story two, three, or four years down the road. So you might as well get used to it now get a site, start small, and see what happens. Dont listen to the hype you havent missed the boat just do your homework, plan ahead, and keep your eyes open. Itll all work out. About the author: David Johnson is the founder, president and director of workz.com. He is a lifelong entrepreneur, small-business expert, and Internet pioneer. Frustrated by the lack of small-business resources available to help him launch and promote his own Web site he decided to create a trusted resource of objective how-to information to help other small businesses. |
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