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Clearing Up the Confusion E-Zine Vol 01 Issue 10
------- Clearing Up the Confusion E-Zine -------
Vol 1, Issue 10
Wow! I made it to issue 10! Who'd'a thunk it? Of course, as
with most things in life, success isn't about hitting the
occasional home run, but rather it's the consistent, boring base
hits that often win the game. I didn't sit down and write ten
issues in one swell foop. That was just a matter of sitting down
every two weeks (OK there was that little slip-up around issue 3)
and plugging away. Similarly, having a great web presence is
more than just paying to have a beautiful site built for you.
Beyond than that you've got to give your visitors a reason to
return. Check out this issue's article for some ideas.
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In This Issue...
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1. Article: 8 Ways to Build a Stronger Web Presence
2. Blog Posts
3. Shameless Self-Promotion
4. The Fine Print
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1. Article: 8 Ways to Build a Stronger Web Presence
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By now most of us know that "if you aren't on the Web, you don't
exist". It's true. If they can't find you on the Web, your
clients will look elsewhere for the help they need. The problem
is, most folks assume that all they need is a website in order to
say they are on the Web. While that might have been true five
years ago, today your prospects are expecting something more -- a
web *presence*. What does that mean? It means you've set
yourself up as the expert on what you do and for all intents and
appearances, you are going to be around for the duration.
What follows are some ideas to help you develop your Web presence:
1. Keep it up to date -- Nothing says you are yesterday's news
more than, well, yesterday's news. Take a look at your
website, especially the all-important home page. Do you have
any signs of obsolescence? Are your news briefs more than a
few months old? How about the "Upcoming Events" calendar? Do
you have new testimonials and new case studies of projects
you've worked on? When you are discussing your next website
upgrade with your webmaster, one of the top things on your
list had better be "How do I keep this site up to date?".
2. Write a blog -- Writing a blog helps with the three most
important things on the Web: Content, Content, Content. How
is your blog doing? When was the last time you wrote in it?
Uh, you *do* have a blog, don't you? Whether you use
WordPress (wordpress.org), Blogger (blogger.com), TypePad
(typepad.com), or one of a plethora of other systems out
there, you really do need a blog. Write consistently, at
least once a week. Write about your business. Write about
*being* in business. Write about your triumphs. Write about
your challenges. Be sure that you have a link from your blog
to your company website. In my case, up to 25% of the
visitors to the Cyber Data Solutions website came to me from
my blog.
3. Write an E-Zine -- In the same way that the blog can draw in
potential clients, an e-zine can help *keep* you in contact.
Before I hear your complaint about how difficult it would be
to write an e-zine, just stop right there. An e-zine is just
an email message that you send to a bunch of people which
talks about some aspect of your business (or some other topic
about which you are an expert). No matter what you do, you
should be able to describe some aspect of your expertise in an
email. To maintain the list, most hosting services offer
simple mailing list managers, like MailMan. Ask your
webmaster about this. She can probably help. There are also
several commercial systems which can help you support an
e-zine and help you make it look much nicer than this effort
of mine. Constant Contact (constantcontact.com) is one of the
more popular of these beasts.
4. Give it away -- Look at all that great content that you wrote
in 2 and 3. With a little bit of tweaking, you've got some
great articles that you can make available to the world.
Contribute them to ezinearticles.com or similar article sites.
Make them available on your website. The more you can give
away your knowledge, the more you appear to be the expert.
Also, the more of your content that is available on the web,
the more likely it is that you are going to be on page one in
any given Google search about topics in your area of
expertise.
5. Contribute to others -- Read other people's blogs, especially
those in the same industry as you. Where you can, contribute
by commenting on their articles. Let other people see your
name and hear your voice. Let them know you are part of the
community.
6. Contribute to the community -- No matter what your expertise,
there is probably a discussion forum somewhere which focuses
on it. Go there, read the messages, add to the conversations.
Who knows? You might even learn something!
7. Be consistent. Be patient -- It *is* hard work, but the more
you do the more it pays off. If you do these things for only
a day, no one will notice. After a week, you *might* get a
hit or two. Do it for a month or a year, though, and you will
be surprised how much more you begin to appear as the top of
mind -- the expert.
8. Be sincere -- This is probably the most important step of all.
If you attempt to use the above suggestions *only* to try to
drum up business, you are better off not doing anything at
all. Your audience knows the difference between valuable
information and a sales letter. Your authentic story of
success will draw them in. Your advertisement will push them
away. Provide them with the content they want and need and
the sales will take care of themselves.
I know this sounds like a lot of work. I won't lie to you. It
is. Heck, I'm not using some of these techniques myself yet.
Add them to your schedule slowly, however, and, before you know
it, they will become a part of who you are and what you do. When
that happens *you* will be top of mind for your customers and
colleagues.
Copyright 2007, Greg Peters
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2. Blog Posts
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Links to posts on the "Clearing Up the Confusion" Blog from the last year:
Monday, June 18, 2007 -- Tying it All Together: Photos
http://clearing-confusion.blogspot.com/2007/06/tying-it-all-together-photos.html
Monday, October 23, 2006 -- Hey, I Know "That Guy"!
http://clearing-confusion.blogspot.com/2006/10/hey-i-know-that-guy.html
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3. Shameless Self-Promotion
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The "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-Zine is a production of Greg Peters,
owner, chief cook, and bottlewasher of Cyber Data Solutions. CDS has
been helping nonprofit and charitable organizations develop their web
presence for more than a decade. Visit us on the Web at
www.cyberdatasolns.com to see how we can help your organization.
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4. The Fine Print
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Subscribe:
You can subscribe to the "Clearing Up The Confusion" E-zine at:
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Questions:
If you have any questions, concerns or comments regarding the Clearing
Up the Confusion E-zine, please email Greg Peters at:
gpeters@cyberdatasolns.com
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