Please, forgive me, but today I am going to sound harsh. Just got
a note from one of the customers in my town. John owns a
landscaping business and 3 months ago decided to take his company
cyber. Well, guess what his today's note said: "Haven't got any
feedback from the web site so, please, close my account".
John has invested a total of $60 ($20 a month) into his web site,
and 5 minutes of his time to fill out the form. The web site was
automatically generated based on the information he put in, so
there is no extra work involved.
Then John just got back to his business, waiting to see what
happens. As many of you already realize - NOTHING HAPPENED.
No freebie was offered, no e-mail addresses were collected for
future contact, no special offers were posted... What exactly did
John expect to happen? Thousands of visitors to pour to his web
site? But he didn't submit his URL to any of the Search Engines
either. Nor did he promote his web site on any of the places
where his potential customers might hang out.
Or may be John was hoping to increase his bottom line through an
idle web site? Nope, not happening either.
You will be surprised how many people give up after 3-4 months of
having a web site, complaining that it's not bringing the results
they were hoping for. Some even go as far as spending the time
and money building the site, but then leave it alone and wait for
the sales to pour in.
I think I know what the problem is.
Many business owners think of a web site as just another ad. "I
have a web site, so now more people will know about my company".
But there is no magic in the air - to make a penny from your web
site you must not only build it but let the world know it's
there. Search Engines, directories, forums, newsletters,
articles, and freebies are only a few ways to do that.
Subscribe to a couple of online marketing e-zines and you will
have plenty ideas of how to reach your target customer. Sign
up for a free teleclass (teleclass.com) and get a chance to
hear how experts and other business owners market their web
sites.
Remember: there is no magic wand that will take your web site
and market it for you. Be pro-active. Do something every day
to promote your web site, and you will see the results from
your web site. Do nothing - and you will be the next "John"
asking to cancel his web site.
About the Author
Milana Nastetskaya is a full time web and the author of
two books: "Create Your First Busines Web Site in 10
days" and "65 Instant Web Design Answers".
http://www.firstbusinesswebsite.com
http://www.instantwebanswers.com