What's the bare minimum of web design?
When you can get things for free, what should you expect? You get what you pay for.
Yet a lot of business owners love the template driven sites that are becoming well known online, including Google, MSN, Yahoo, and Microsoft Live.
Is having a site - even if it's free - better than nothing at all? In some cases, yes. At least if you have some type of information online, something you can send clients to, you have a chance at making a connection.
The problem arises when you try to market your site. With free, template driven sites, you don't have the options that will ultimately drive traffic to your site.
Creating an online presence is important to build relationships with prospects and clients. It helps you stand out in your marketplace, and create a lead generation system that has the possiblity of brining in contacts 24/7.
At a minimum, spend money on a quality, professional website that has the ability to grow with you over the course of your business. Spend money on quality hosting and email systems. Invest in marketing tools, such as a blog, that will allow you to easily communicate with your customers. And invest in a Internet marketing strategy that will allow your business to grow online, for years to come.
Lori
How To Bring The Dollar Store Idea Into Your Business
Here in Denver (and I'm sure every other major city as well) has had quite a few dollar stores pop up in malls and strip centers. Seems everyone likes to get something for a buck. Even Target has dollar bins when you first enter the store.
It's easy for discount stores to offer bargains at a dollar. But what about other stores and online locations?
I just found an interesting "dollar store" idea. Head over to IStockPhoto.com They have a
Dollar Bin in which they place photos that don't make the cut, and only offer them for a limited time before they purge them from the system.
It's a way to make a little money on everything you can.
What Does A Template Do For You?
Let's face it, people like taking the easy way. Whether it's marketing, production, or just day-to-day living, if there's a way to take a short cut to doing something, people will jump at the possibility.
Which is one reason the idea of template marketing has become so popular.
I recently came across
StockLayouts.com They take the idea of template marketing to the next level. You can purchase templates by the product, such as a brochure or postcard; by the application, such as QuarkXPress or CorelDRAW; or by industry, such as construction of retail. What's nice about this system is you are given the template to provide you with a starting point, and have the flexibility to make the changes to brand your marketing piece to look like the rest of your marketing materials.
What a great shortcut.
Promoting your business online doesn't necessarily mean you do all of your promoting online. In fact, some of the best ways to get people to visit your site is to market your site in more traditional methods.
Consider postcard marketing. Instead of sending out a postcard hoping they visit your store, direct them to your website. Offer a free coupon, a discount, or other type of promotion if they visit your site and supply their email.
Want to learn more? Visit my
article online.
If you haven't had a chance to read some of my articles, visit my website and see what you've been missing -
ArticlesLori
Meme - ing about marketing
Have you ever created a meme in your marketing?
A meme is an idea which spreads. In marketing, its a campaign that takes on a life of its own, and spreads virally through the marketplace at a rapid speed.
Think slogans - "Got Milk?"
You can also meme in different ways.
The Daily Meme provides lists of questions from other sites, and replicates them. You choose the questions you wish to answer, put them on your site and answer them.
So, my question for the day - What is your favorite book and why?
What is your favorite book and why?
I read all the time, and could choose a hundred books for this answer. But when I really thought about it, one book clearly popped into my mind. Oh The Places You'll Go by Dr Seuss. I've loved this book since the moment I bought it for my daughter. In very simple rhyming language, it tells you how to succeed at life. It tells you you'll succeed - and that occasionally you'll run into hang-ups. I love its message, and continue reading it several times a year.
Lori
www.VisionOfSuccess.comwww.VisionBusinessConcepts.com
