Using the Internet to Grow Your Business
and Make More Money While You Sleep
Gregory P. Smith
By developing an Internet strategy, businesses can reach more people,
make more money and better serve the needs of their customers than ever
before.
More and more people are surfing the Internet. You can purchase
everything from airline tickets to zebras and anything in between. People
read e-mail more than they read the daily newspaper. This is not just
young people, but a growing population of savvy senior citizens with time
on their hands. However, despite the rapid growth of computer literacy in
America, few businesses are taking advantage of the tools available to
them.
An Internet strategy should be just as important as any other aspect of
running a business. Your Internet strategy should include using e-mail and
websites. Imagine the time your staff could save by simply asking
individuals to go on-line and "download" a document instead of copying and
mailing budgets, minutes, and order forms etc. Just think of the money
saved when e-mailing a newsletter to your customers instead of sending it
through the Post Office.
Do not be scared off by the process. Developing websites and using
e-mail is far more easier and less expensive than you think. I have been
designing and managing my two websites for years, and have never taken a
class. Each month an average of 9,000 people visit my websites, and 5,000
have signed up for my electronic newsletter, the Navigator. You probably
have business members who would gladly volunteer to help you get started,
or even manage the entire process.
Do it yourself or hire an expert? Your budget and time will dictate
whether you keep it in-house or hire outside help. Before you hire
someone, make sure you know exactly what you want. Not knowing will always
cost you more money. Check out the reputation and reliability of outside
vendors. You do not want to hire an outside firm, have them design, host,
and maintain your website, only to find out they closed down and moved
away, taking your website with them.
If you want to do it yourself, consider purchasing an off-the-shelf web
design program such as Microsoft FrontPage or Dreamweaver. These programs
retail for approximately $150. Depending on your computer skills, expect
to spend three to five hours learning how to use these programs. Once you
are familiar with them, it will only require 10-15 minutes to update or
add new pages to your website.
In the beginning, my recommendation would be to pay a professional a
small fee to design your homepage, and then have them show you how to
update it. Take on the responsibility yourself, or have a staff member
update the site as needed. Expect to pay a professional designer anywhere
from $300 for a single-page template design, and upwards of $3,000 for a
fully developed, multi-page website including maintenance. As I said
earlier, "Let the buyer beware" when dealing with designers and other
vendors.
The advantage of updating it yourself is time and convenience.
Personally speaking, I find it easier and quicker to do it myself than
leaving voice mail messages with an outside agency, having to explain the
changes I want, then waiting days or even weeks before it is finally
updated on the website.
Go Here to See the Web Tools to Market
and Grow Your Internet Business
Gregory P. Smith is an organizational growth consultant. He shows
people how to build and grow organizations that attract, keep, and
motivate their members and employees. He is the author of four books
including The New Leader and Here Today, Here Tomorrow:
Transforming Your Workforce from High-Turnover to High-Retention. He
speaks at conferences, conducts management training, and is the President
of a management-consulting firm, Chart Your Course International, located
in the Atlanta, Georgia area. You may reach him at 770-860-9464. For a
complete list of available articles, see
http://www.chartcourse.com
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