[private_Member]

Building Your Website or Web Platform

 

To gain a presence on the Internet, you could build a website or use one of the many Internet platforms designed to simplify your ability to generate an income through the Internet.

Building your own website may provide greater flexibility of design and functionality. However, if a web platform is available for your type of business, using a pre-established platform could greatly simplify your ability to get your online business up-and-running quickly while providing functionality you may not have considered, that could further enhance your business.

Let’s explore both the Web Platforms and building your own website.

 

Using a Web Platform for Rapid Startup and Easy Payment Processing

Web platforms generally include simplified marketing and purchasing. The most popular web platforms include:

 

• Marketplaces: eBay, Amazon
  (usually dealing with physical products, where you can display and market your products to their database and/or to people you find online and off – with easy payment processing);
• Fast Setup Platforms (to Sell Products): Shopify, BigCommerce, Volusion, Yahoo Business, GoDaddy
  (somewhat turnkey service, usually dealing with physical products, where you can quickly post your products into an online store or catalog for displaying and marketing to people you find online and off – with somewhat easy payment processing);
• Digital Marketplaces (to Sell Digital Products): Clickbank and JVZoo
  (for digital ebooks, courses and apps, where you can create a page or storefront and market to their database and/or people you find online and off – with easy payment processing);
• Training/Coaching Platforms (to Sell Training Programs, Coaching, etc):  JigsawBox
  (for training and coaching products and services – set up by coaches for coaches to quickly upload video and training, schedule and conduct coaching and training with online questionnaires – with easy payment processing);
• Crafts Platforms: Etsy, Cafe Press
  (for crafts, tee-shirts etc where you could create and/or sell your items to their database and/or to people you find online and off – with easy payment processing);
• Admin/Tech Platforms (to Sell Services): eLance, Odesk, Fiverr
  (for tech and administrative people looking for paying projects – with easy payment processing);
• Appointment Platforms: Bookfresh.com, TimeTrade.com, AcuityScheduling.com
  (for scheduling appointments online – with easy payment processing);
• Musician Platforms: Topspin, Bandcamp, Nimbit and ReverbNation
  (for musicians to sell their music and related merchandise, to promote their concerts and to build their fan base – with easy payment processing);
• Specialty Marketplaces:
  • iStockphoto, 123rf.com and GraphicStock
    (for photographers, graphic artists, illustrators and videographers – with easy payment processing);
  • VideoBlocks, Shutterstock and Pond5
    (for videographers and musicians – with easy payment processing);
  • fiverr.com
    (for low-price high-volume tech and graphic services – with easy payment processing);
  • 99Designs
    (for graphic services – with easy payment processing).

If you find an appropriate web platform, it could accelerate your ability to get your business up-and-running quickly.

 

How She Went from Web Platform to Massive Success

EBAY SUCCESS STORY… Sofia Amorusa began selling vintage women’s clothing on eBay, that she bought from used clothing stores. She learned how to sell effectively on the eBay platform by watching free videos and web articles.

She called her online store Nasty Gal, stealing the name from one of her favorite funk music albums, and eventually began migrating her fans off eBay and onto her own website that she built.

Between eBay and her own website, her income exploded.

As a result, she was able to negotiate exclusive online rights to an Australian line of outlandish footwear for young women.

With hundreds of thousands of young girls becoming rabid customers, she was eventually approached by an investor, whose daughter was one of those fans.

With his help, today Nasty Gal’s online store generates over $100 million in sales, and Sofia is pinching herself about how she rose so fast, from eBay retailer to mega-success in just a few years.

So, whether you want to generate a reasonable income or become a mega-success, using a web platform could be valuable in getting you moving in the right direction quickly.

 

Building Your Own Website

If you are going to build your own website, here are the three pieces you will need:

• URL/Domain Name: the actual “www” web address for your business, which can typically be purchased through hundreds of sources for around $10, including GoDaddy, Register.com, Network Solutions, etc
• A Hosting Service: the place that will hold your website, for about $2-10 per-month, including GoDaddy, HostGator, BlueHost, JustHost, etc
• The Website Itself: the actual layout and functionality of your website, including its video, audio, text and image content, whether it be done by you or outsourced to someone else.

The alternatives you have for getting your website built are:

• Do It Yourself: through simplified website building from GoDaddy, Web.com, 1and1, Homestead, Squarespace, Weebly, BuildYourSite, FatCow, iPage, Yola, SiteSell;
• Build It Yourself: by learning how through Lynda.com, WordPressCrashCourse or a local school or program; or
• Hire Someone: through 99Designs, eLance, oDesk, Craigslist, Google, or a referral.

Although many website-building formats are available, WordPress has become the most popular because it’s free, the search engines like how it’s structured, it offers a wide range of free and low-cost templates for the look, feel and color schemes, and thousands of free and low-cost plugins are available that expand the functionality of virtually any WordPress website.

With WordPress, you choose from the thousands of free and low-cost templates available (see below), then put your own headlines, pictures, text, videos, colors, etc – plus you can later change just about anything with the click of a button or two.

So if you get tired of one theme, simply install another one and like magic, your site has a different look.

WordPress training programs are available, where you could learn how to build your own WordPress website in about two hours, from:

• www.WordPressCrashCourse.com (about $47 for a complete 2-hour program – everything you need… and you own it forever) and
• www.Lynda.com (about $25/month for access to all their programs, including WordPress training).

Although more advanced website building programs, such as Dreamweaver, are available, if you want to learn how to build a website quickly without learning HTML or being a graphic artist, WordPress is definitely worth considering.

 

What Should an Effective Website include

The first question you need to answer is, what action do you want your website visitor to take once they come to your website?

Of course, they’re going to want to evaluate your product and you before they make a decision. So you need to make sure they have access to enough information up-front to make a decision to go forward.

Once they are ready to go forward, what do you want them to do? And are you making it easy for them to take that action?

If you want them to call, is your phone number prominent on your home page, and is it on every page of your website?

If you want them to buy, is the purchase process easy?

If you want them to give you their email address so you could continue to interact with them over time, is your opt-in (email capture box) attractive and prominent on your website?

If you have several types of people coming to your website, is there a way for each of them to get to pages specifically for them?

Dell Computer does it by having tabs at the top with drop-down menus. One tab is for home-based businesses, one for education, government and healthcare, one for large enterprises, and so forth. In this way, someone could quickly get to the info and products that are relevant to them without wasting their precious time mulling through generic info and products.

JVzoo, a place where digital product-creators and sellers can find each other, does it with big buttons in the middle of their page. Again, each person can quickly go to a page designed specifically for them.

Beyond having specialized pages for different types of customers, people with Service businesses will generally include the following to ensure their website is effective:

• Name and clear description of their business;
• List of situations (services) they handle;
• Photo of the owner (if appropriate);
• Photos of what’s offered;
• Credibility: number of years in business, testimonial(s), accreditations and awards, list of some prominent clients, link to publicity from a noteworthy source;
• Regions served;
• Phone number prominently positioned on the page (usually mid-right of the page);
• A reason for the visitor to call.
• (Optional) Opt-in (email capture box); and
• (Optional) Inclusion of the words, “Text us your questions…” followed by a phone number.

 

Here’s a one-page website with most of these elements:

Here’s a more conventional multi-page website with most of these elements:

Here’s a page with these elements compactly included “above the fold” so the visitor gets all this information without needing to scroll down:

People who sell products on their website have a somewhat different set of elements they need to present, including:

• Name and clear description of what’s offered;
• List of products with photos and brief descriptions;
• Featured products so the visitor is not overwhelmed with a massive list;
• Credibility: number of years in business, testimonial(s), accreditations and awards, list of clients, links to publicity from noteworthy sources (radio, TV, major publications);
• Easy search (tabs, links and search box);
• Shipping and payment options;
• Answers to Common Questions: delivery options, warranty and return options;
• Reason to buy now; and
• Opt-in (Email capture box).

 

Here’s an example of a site that does just about all of this with an easy-to-use layout for website visitors:

Although every website can look dramatically different, visitors expect key elements to be on your website in certain places.

The right side, especially the top and middle, should have your opt-in (email capture box) if you have one. Your navigation across the top and to the left should contain links to key parts of your site. Following these simple guidelines can help you get the results you want from your website.

 

Adding Video to Your Website

Today, iPhones and SmartPhones make it easier than ever to create and add video to your website. Lenses and audio are high-enough quality that almost professional quality could be created by even the novices among us.

Try it. Create a free YouTube account and post a video to your website.

Once you realize how easy it is, you’ll start to understand how valuable it can be to have your product, location and yourself introduced on your website by a 1-2 minute video.

Not having a video will soon be a competitive disadvantage.

Here’s how to post video to your website:

1. After you’ve uploaded your video to YouTube, beneath the video, click the SHARE button;
2. Then, click the EMBED button;
3. Uncheck the box that says, “Show suggested videos when the video ends.” (otherwise, competitor videos will play after yours is finished);
4. Select the size of the video (which is easy to change later);
5. Copy the computer code (<iframe width…) and paste it into the code on your website.

Once you have video on your website, people will meet you and learn about your product or location, making it easier for them to buy from you.

You can also create videos from your Powerpoint or Keynote slides, adding voice or music. Newer versions of these programs let you create these presentations and post them directly to YouTube. Otherwise, free programs that let you create or adapt professional-looking slide shows, are available from:

• BrainShark.com and
• Animoto.com

 

A more sophisticated screen capture program, which records your presentations and can add effects and more advanced visuals and audio, is available from:

• Camtasia (for about $299).

 

You can also hire a professional videographer who will film, edit and produce professional video, through local videographers or national networks of videographers, such as:

• SmartShoot (previously TurnHere) for a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, depending on what you want – www.smartshoot.com/.

 

Although video is not essential, having a video on your website that introduces your product, your message or you could greatly simplify the buying process for your website visitors, and therefore, potentially boost your revenues to significantly higher levels.

 

SEE ALSO

See the Videos at the top of this page (under the book)

and…

The Website chapter — Page 119 of — Media and Methods

and…

Website Magnets – The 17  Ways to Bring Large Numbers of Targeted Prospects to Your Website
[/private_Member]