Got What It Takes To Own A Web Site?

Should You Own A Web Biz? Here's How to Tell.

You read about the success stories and figure if those two teenagers can make a million on the web, so can you. Sorry, ain’t necessarily so – even if you’ve been in brick-and-mortar retail for a decade or two, the rules are different, the dynamics are different, marketing is different. It’s like comparing apples and applesauce. Sort of the same but not really.

So, here are a few questions to ask yourself before you decide to launch the next Amazon or YouTube. BTW, honesty counts. Don’t fool yourself as you answer, and no, this will not appear on your permanent record.

1. Are you ready to learn a new technology?
Actually a lot of new technologies. For instance, are you wiling to learn how to send out an auto-responder series and what that’s going to cost? Do you know what an auto-responder is??

The commercial web is a vicious, dog-eat-dog marketplace and if you’re going to compete, you’ll have to learn everything from keyword density to content management systems. Are you ready? If so, move on to question number two.

2. Do you have the time to run an online business?
A lot of new site owners picture a site with affiliate links and Google AdWords that magically draws traffic and returns pretty much a nice passive income each month. Ah, if only it worked like that.

But how are you going to get people to your site? They won’t find you on Google or Yahoo. You’ll be listed on page 121 of the search engine results pages so before you see some of that “passive” click-through cash, you have to get traffic to visit your site.

Think you can devote the time to run an online business? You can if you’re retired or a stay-at-home parent, but what if you put in long days at the office? Will you be eager to get to work on your real business – your online business? If your answer is yes, please move on to the next question.

3. Do you have the financial resources to grow an e-business to profitability?
The web is the last bastion for the do-it-yourself entrepreneur. However, there are expenses involved in launching and overseeing a cyberstore. There are web hosting costs, marketing costs (marketing should account for 60% of your initial capital outlay), the cost of inventory, shipping and so on.

You can get started on a shoestring and maintain a website for less than $7.00 a month – and that’s with a web host that offers a full bag of tools and a lot of other freebies (like free domain registration). But once you’ve launched, you have to market and, if you want traction quickly, you’re going to have to spend money to make money, just as you would in any start-up business.

4. Do you have access to support?
‘Cause you’re going to need it, unless you’re already a “behind-the-curtain” online commerce veteran. Sources for support?

Your kid probably knows more about computer security than you do. Your spouse may have a penchant for writing great sales copy. Your neighbor is a techno-whiz. There’s also tons (yes, tons) of information on the web – all free. Hey, reading this isn’t costing you a penny.

If you try to go it alone you may be overwhelmed by the learning curve. While you’re learning about keyword generators you’ll also be learning about content architecture, site navigation, product placement, affiliate programs and on and on.

The point is, you can learn all this stuff quickly – it’s not rocket science – but, at least in the start up phase, put together a list of sources that can support the effort. And don’t forget tech support.

You want access to U.S.-based tech support from your web host (when your server is down you’re out of business), the manufacturers of your business system, whether a single computer in the spare room or an ever-expanding network of work stations, and, of course, you want access to tech support or vendor support from the companies that produce the products you sell.

5. Do you like working with others?
You may be working alone at home but as an e-biz owner you are anything but alone. If you do it right you’ll be contacting wholesalers, drop shippers, customers, tech support personal and on and on.

An online business quickly becomes a part of your social network. You’ll make lots of e-friends and you’ll never be alone – even when you’re alone taking care of baby #2. Scared yet? No? Good for you. We’re almost to the finish line.

6. Do you have patience?
No matter how good you are, no matter how much of an SEO/SEM expert you are, success is almost always an evolutionary process with each new generation or iteration producing better and better results.

That means that you spend a lot of time on webmaster sites and designer blogs learning the minutia that’s now become such an important aspect of your site’s success. If you expect to turn a profit within the first week or two, it’s not going to happen. However, if
you can hang in there and overcome setbacks (all part of the game), your chances for success increase significantly.

7. Are you self-motivated?
When the alarm clock goes off and you’re faced with commuter traffic, you’re motivated – motivated to get to your desk at work on time. Working for someone else provides external motivation. You show up at work on time every day because you have to.

Not so when you run your own business. Sleep ‘til noon. Go see a movie or watch your stories on TV. If you aren’t motivated to get up, grab some coffee and log on in your PJs, you may have trouble getting down to business everyday.

The successful web entrepreneur can’t sleep. Her mind is racing and she’s at the computer at 3:00 AM – and loving it. You’re going to need that level of commitment, that drive and motivation to be one of the web success stories. No matter how many “How to Make a Million Bucks on the Web” books you read, you still need “the right stuff” to pull it off.

You have to be motivated to work long hours, to study new trends in web design (more interactivity, please) and to sit there over another cup of highly caffeinated coffee analyzing your site’s metrics.

And you know what? You’re going to love every second of it. Go for it and may success greet you on Digital Boulevard.

Need some help getting started? It doesn’t cost a ton of cash to start an on-line business. Drop me a line or give me a call. I’ll get you off on the right foot and follow through to site profitability. Let me teach you how to market your site yourself and save a lot of $$$>

How To Hire A Search Engine Marketer

The Right SE Marketer WILL Boost Sales

If you’ve seen a modicum and encouraging amount of commercial site success, you might consider hiring an SEO or SEM professional to take your site to the next level. (You can finally quit your day job!!)

But here’s the thing. Your Aunt Tilly could call herself an SEM or SEO professional. There are no credentials, no certifications or letters after the name, i.e., Dr. Jon Smith, PhD in SEM. So how do you know which of the thousands of SEO/SEM gurus is for real? Here are six things to look for.

1. On first contact, does the expert take the time to bring up your site on his or her screen and discuss it, maybe even providing a few free tips and suggestions? S/he should. As you describe your site and its perceived limitations, you want a potential expert to “be on the same page” as you are.

Conversely, if the “so-called” expert starts to bombard you with insider jargon “Well, Bob, I’ve developed interesting analytics that show your hit ratio increases when we spice up your meta data and add an opt-in.” Huh?

2. Find an SEM who walks the walk but doesn’t necessarily talk the talk.
Forget the jargon. Who cares? The fact is, experts in any field use jargon as a code language to exclude outsiders and SEM pros love to toss around terms like “keyword stuffing,” and content architecture.

Speak English! Search engine marketing is an on-going process but it’s, by no means, a difficult subject to master. It ain’t brain surgery. So, if your prospective SEM starts throwing insider gibberish in your direction, ask to have the information put in terms you can understand, whether you’re a first time e-vendor or own a hundred sites.

It’s like doctors. They tell you stuff only they understand. But, if you pin them down and ask for an explanation you understand (even if you have to resort to Crayola crayons), you finally understand options and consequences. Same with an SEO. You want to make the decisions.

That means you have to understand proposals, marketing campaigns and other SEM deliverables in terms that allow you to (1) turn the information into action and (2) contest the information if you think the SEM has missed a key demographic or some other oversight.

Otherwise, it’s all just a pile of numbers.

3. Can the SEM guru provide references you will contact?
A reference based on experience is the best reference you can get so, is there an SEM client willing to discuss the services provided by your prospect?

Now, don’t be surprised if the answer is ‘no.’ There’s a unspoken (okay spoken, here) understanding that client information is privileged and must be protected. However, many site owners give their SEMs permission to send visitors to the site to use as an example of the pro’s proficiency, Which gets us to:

4. Does the SEM provide reference sites?
This shouldn’t be a problem for any web pro with any kind of track record. Ask the SEO to provide sites that s/he has worked on. Then, go Alexa on each site’s assets.

Alexa.com delivers stats and graphs to show how the performance of a site has improved or deteriorated over time. Look for an increase in site traffic and lots of links. (See Connectivity in the post below). Look for improvements in page views and, by all means, employ Alexa’s Time Machine, a feature that enables you to see the evolution of the site and, especially how the site looked before and after the re-do by the SEM.

If you don’t see significant increases in the SEM’s reference sites, you are talking to the wrong SEM! Take your time, here. You’re about to sign a big check (SEM pros are pricey because of their highly-specialized knowledge) and you want to see quantifiable results that occur after the SEO/SEM optimizes the site.

5. Please don’t try this at home.
If your sites are performing well, you might think you can take yourself to the next level without the expense of a web marketing pro. Not recommended in the bang/buck equation.

You might pay $200 for a once-over lightly site review, or $20K on a tear-down and website rebuild, and still actually lose ground. Fewer site visitors, lower Alexa ranking, lower links popularity and so on. It happens thousands of times a day. The gnomes who inhabit Castle Google tweak the search algo and all of a sudden, a site that was on page one of Google’s SERPs has slipped to page 106.

So, if this is your money-maker, don’t shake it. Hire an SEM with a track record and see what s/he can do to boost your bottom line.

6. If you don’t like the results, jettison the web guru.
Do NOT sign a contract with an SEO/SEM agency. You don’t have to in the competitive consultation market, so go with a company that let’s you pay as you go or pay for play. You want results and you’re willing to pay for them. No positive results. “You are so outta here.”

It’s reasonable to ask a prospective guru to develop a plan for site growth. It doesn’t have to be long, but it must be informative, and once again, written in terms that make the gibberish understandable to you – the guy or gal with the checkbook. Hey, that makes you the boss even if you don’ t know an HTML title tag from a dog tag!

It isn’t recommended that you make major changes to your site – including migrating to another web host – without expert opinion and technical know-how behind you. Major changes can produce voodoo numbers in your site’s performance.

Evolution in site design makes it easier for search engines and clients, visitors or other site stakeholders, to access content and, in the case of customers or clients, place an order.

That’s why you built the site. You run the show. But let a good SEM help you grow to real profitability. If you find a professional who isn’t blowing smoke and provides a few dozen sites you can check out, you’ll see improvement in rankings and, more importantly, in site traffic.

Conversely, if you hire the first snake oil salesperson you come across in a webmaster chat room, you may be out a few grand as you watch site performance deteriorate right before your eyes.

Spend time finding the right fit and pay for quality consultation and services rendered. Consider it an investment. Just make sure you’re investing in a blue chip SEM not a penny stock loser.

Need to drive some traffic to your digital turf. Drop me aline or give me a call. It ain’t rocket science.

Webwordslinger.

Customer Relationship Software (CRM): Who, What, Where and When?

Each Client Or Customer Is Unique

As a webmaster, you know what’s involved in designing, constructing and administrating an online business – everything from paying the bills to syndicating content, a well-run e-biz is a multi-faceted operation. And you run the show.

However, if you try this, then re-do that, test such-and such and hire people who don’t “get it,” your online business won’t be the dream come true you’ve been planning. The key is to integrate all of your business activities into a single strategy called CRM – customer relationship management. CRM is at the heart of any growing business. The principles are simple, you don’t need an MBA and it doesn’t cost a lot of money (much of CRM doesn’t cost any money).

CRM is an important consideration for corporations, NFPs, NGOs and public sites, all of which seek to implement the basics to manage relationships with customers, clients and stakeholders (upper management, shareholders, etc.).

It’s all about the acquisition and analysis of customer data, vendor information and the in-house procedures you design to connect satisfied customer to eager vendor. Think of your website as the intermediary between buyer and seller – your customers and your wholesalers.

What Purpose Does CRM Serve?
Customer relationship management weaves together a variety of business functions to deliver the best product and retain the customer or client. Client retention is the ultimate purpose of CRM but, in the process of developing a CRM strategy, you’ll be required to consider all facets of your business including: professional development (for you and any staff you have, paid or otherwise), customer service (this specifically includes training customer service representatives, if you outsource this task), sales, marketing and promotion and, finally, compensation – who gets what.

If you’re the only participant, this won’t be a difficult decision to make. Any compensation comes back to you as either salary or operating capital to expand the business further.

The Building Blocks of a Solid CRM Strategy
In addition to your learning curve (assuming you’re a sole proprietor), which takes time and costs money in lowered productivity, you’ll need several tools to develop a workable and effective CRM strategy.

Your Database
Your business database contains all customer/client information along with inventory data, shipping dates and other order processing and marketing data. It is the focus of any CRM. In fact, without this information, there is no CRM.

This means, when designing your first website, you install a reliable, simple, automated database (MySQL, for example) to track all business activities. These activities fall into four distinct categories: (1) analytical CRM, (2) operational CRM, (3) interactive CRM (interactive with site visitors) and finally, (4) integrated client support and customer service throughout the business itself.

Analytical CRM
To undertake these CRM-based activities you’ll need some tools and some time. Analytic CRM requires software that can deliver useable stats. If the software delivers reams of indecipherable numbers, the data won’t be as useful to other members of the business team. The CFO may understand what that 250-page financial report shows, but the CEO may not.

Employ analytical software that delivers data in graphic formats – heat maps, pie charts and other visual representations. This equips your whole team (even if you’re the only player) to understand, assimilate and use site metrics with greater effectiveness.

Operational CRM
Where’s what?

The daily administration of your site is greatly simplified through the use of CRM tracking software. Using this software, you’re able to automate many routine functions such as auto-responder emails when orders are placed and news updates sent during an email blast to those customers and opt-ins stored in your database.

However, operational CRM also enables you to make the best use of the data you maintain in the system. If the bank account number of a key vendor in Korea is written on the back of a scrap of paper, you’ll spend more time looking for that information than if you were able to bring up all of that vendor’s information on a single screen via the CRM software loaded on your work station.

Tracking data – sales data, order data, site metrics, order status and other critical information – becomes much simpler when (1) it’s easily accessible in one place and (2) you’re able to automate routine functions, giving you more time to focus on more “human-oriented” tasks like developing your next marketing campaign.

Interactive CRM
A relatively new digital phenomenon but one web users have quickly adopted and now expect from sites selling goods or services.

Interactive CRM enables the visitor to customize a product search using a site search feature that delivers the desired content whether the visitor enters a product name, brand or even part number. Fast. The visitor is in and out – and hopefully you’ve made a sale and a new customer.

Forms are another use of CRM interactivity. More and more sites collect data on their visitors who don’t seem to mind providing it, especially if they’re tempted with a free eBook download.

This information provides opt-ins (pure gold) and marketing data to better define your demographic and its needs. And again, the automation of the data acquisition and generation of the download key code integrates operational and interactive CRM, creating a business synergy.

Interactive CRM also delivers the ability to the client to ask a question via email. The “Contact Us” page of a site is where you’ll usually find this feature. It’s another channel to keep your clientele happy and to collect opt-in email addresses for future messages and updates.

Integrated CRM
CRM should be the focus of all your site design, marketing, ordering and management of customer objections. Instead of dealing with sales as a separate aspect of your operation, it’s built into the master plan employing operational, interactive and analytic CRM data drawn from an up-to-date data base.

When a CRM program is designed, it should look like a flow chart with automated decision points, QC statements, data collation and other business activities functioning as a unified whole. This is the ultimate goal of developing your site’s plan for customer relationship management.

In a cosmically competitive marketplace like the web, every advantage you gain over a competitor makes your business stronger. If you can deliver an order a day faster than the competition, you win. The relationship with those happy buyers is strong and they will be back to buy again.

Using CRM software to chart the course your online business may take a day or two to figure out, if marketing and customer care aren’t a part of your professional background. But that learning curve will pay off many times over by providing data that drives solutions to online retail problems.

Looking for synergies between marketing and order taking? Trying to figure out your percentage of repeat buyers over the past 12 months? Trying to resolve a customer complaint? You want (no you need) CRM tools just to keep up.

Need some helpt tracking your clients? Drop me aline or give me a call. I’ll show you how to treat a customer right. Webwordslinger.

Accessibility: It’s What A Web Site Is All About

KEEP IT SIMPLE TO GET THE MDA

Accessibility, when discussing web sites, includes a number of factors: easy navigation, understandable site text, no dead ends requiring a browser back click to escape (lots of users don’t even know browsers HAVE a back click).

Let’s start with the bottom line- yours: the easier it is for a site visitor to perform the most desired action (MDA), the more times that MDA will be performed.

Let’s Start With Navigation
Whether you go with a navigation bar at the top of the screen or a menu list in the first column far left, your navigation must be:

• simple
• unambiguous
• truthful
• always available
• always in the same location

Avoid numerous tabs, drop-down or flyout menus. Keep it simple. If visitors are faced with too many choices too soon on arriving at the site, chances are they’ll bounce.

Keep the navigation unambiguous. It’s routine to have a “Contact Us” page on a web site. If you label the contact link “Company Authority,” visitors are going to be totally confused. And again, bounce.

Truthful is just what it says. If the link says “Product Descriptions,” don’t make the visitor read through another landing page of sell copy. Deliver what the link says and go directly to the products.

Always available is an aspect of keeping visitors on site longer, and the longer they stick around, the more likely they are to perform the MDA. So, the navigation bar or menu should be available from every page so the visitor can surf at will, unencumbered by what YOU think the visitor wants to know.

Finally, keep the nav tabs in the same place. Don’t move them from bar to menu and back to bar. The last thing you want is a visitor trying to figure out how to return to the contact page to make contact.

Keep it simple. The fewer clicks required to get the visitor to perform the MDA, the better. So, go through the process and eliminate every unnecessary side road, dead end and yet another landing page.

Accessible Content
If your client site is for a professional medical dispenser, you can assume that the visitors have some knowledge of the subject, i.e. you don’t have to start from square one. But you still have to stay on target pointing out the benefits of buying the client’s medical products.

On the other hand, if you’re writing text for a hearing aid retail outlet, accessible text is understandable by the reader. So first, toss the thesaurus. Find the simplest, shortest way to say what needs to be said about products and services.

Be helpful and supportive to the new visitor. Make things simple to find, simple to learn and simple to bookmark. Returning visitors are gold. Eventually they buy something so earning a bookmark is a very good thing.

Skip the hype. Educate the visitor using simple terms, no jargon and listing benefits rather than features. This is the stuff site visitors want to know.

Finally, lay out the text so it can be scanned rather than read. No big, long paragraphs. Visitors scan from upper left to lower right so put your most important info upper left on the screen.

The easier it is to buy something, opt-in for a newsletter, or to complete a form, the more often those MDAs are performed. So make it as simple as possible (why do you think Amazon offers a one-click checkout? How easy can it be?).

Accessibility benefits both site owner and site visitor – a win-win. Also a no brainer.

Need to make your site more accessible? Dropme a line and give me a call. Let’s have a look at what ya got. Webwordslinger

The Death of Search Engine Optimization:10 SEM Hot Tips

 

R.I.P. SEO

This is going to come as a shock to the ever-expanding commerce industry, but SEO is dead. It’s at least circling the drain. Yes, it’s heresy, I know, but so much of this sector of the economy is based on out-dated methodologies and myths. The reason? This whole world wide web thing is less than a generation old and a lot of great minds are finding new ways to use this resource.

Distance learning, great use of the web. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) – ideal and a real money-saver. And yes, search engines that provide the road map and address of the sites we’re looking for. No, search engines won’t go away though they are in a state of flux, transitioning from directories to owners and developers of content (YouTube-Google, Yahoo-Microsoft, etc.) They’ll still be useful in directing users to relevant sites – the prime objective of a search engine – increasingly intuitive, more relevant SERPs.

But here’s the ‘but.’ You can max the optimization of your site, you can optimize for conversion ratio, page rank, links popularity, site monetization – lots of different ways to optimize a web site. However, the usual outcome of this SEO and SEM optimization is that the site moves up a few million places on the Google ladder, so now, instead of appearing on page 126 of the SERPs, the site is now parked on page 15. Do you drill down to page 15 when Googling?

No one does. If you aren’t on page one or two, your site’s a digital corpse. You aren’t going to get organic SERPs traffic because, even with all the optimization, your site is still buried. And you’re out an obscene amount of money optimizing your site for spiders. You want to know how picky these spiders are and how, the smallest thing can harm your site?

Webmaster blogs have been seeing threads from site owners concerned about keyword stuffing in headers. And this is a major subject! “Do I lose Google points if all the words in my headers are keywords?” This is the discussion. Don’t believe it? Here’s the thread:
http://blog.ezinearticles.com/2008/02/keyword-and-keyphrase-abuse-guidelines.html.

And there are lots more like it. Now, this isn’t an indictment of blogmaster Chris Knight, who runs one of the best webmaster blogs online. Instead, it’s an indication of the level of arcane gobble-de-gook SEO aficionados use to improve site performance. Keyword stuffing in headers? Why aren’t we focusing on more important matters like links popularity, PPC ads, syndicated content, directory submission, site map submission and other topics that, in this day and age, are more critical to site success than the keyword density of your site’s headers and here’s why: (Shocker alert)

If you’re a small site, a visitor is much more likely to find you through a link from another site or a directory or a blog post than through SERPs.

Nota bene: This does NOT apply to sites that appear at the top of the search engine heap organically. If you’re number three below the sponsored links, don’t fix it if it ain’t broke, but treat it like a house of cards. You could be “riding high in April, shot down in May,” with creds to Frank Sinatra. And not change one thing about your site. Nothing.

The algorithm geeks at Google, Yahoo and Inktomi are constantly tweaking their formulae to deliver better results to users. (Google is also a content provider now, as well as “just” a search engine – the search engine.)

So what’s the point again: you can optimize ‘til the cows come home and still not see organic search results. That means the importance of site connectivity, authority, stickiness and other SEM factors increase significantly in value as SEO decreases in value. If your site doesn’t deliver organic results, what else are you going to do but market the heck out of your site?

The Ascension of SEM
There’s a lot of confusion between SEO and search engine marketing, or SEM. The simplest and most important distinction is that SEO strategies are designed to appeal to search engine bots. SEM is designed to draw in visitors and convert them to buyers and, ultimately, repeat buyers – your road to commercial success.

SEO = mindless, letter string gobbling spiders

SEM = motivated human beings interested in making a purchase regardless of how they found your site.

Search engine marketing has become more significant as the importance of SEO has declined. And the trend is bound to continue. There are like a gazillion sites and more competition coming at you every day.

SEM Suggestions
Okay, so how do you do this? Here’s a good starting point. Actually, 10 starting points.

1. Blog other sites with intelligent, insightful, thought-provoking posts. Be sure to sign you name in full (no chipnerd521) and a link to your web site. This is a pretty potent synergy because it places your site within reach of someone you just impressed with your insightful post. Note of warning: DO NOT SPAM BLOGS. Blogmasters don’t like it. Keep your post on target and don’t use the post to promote your services. Your post will be deleted ipso facto.

2. Do NOT use PPC. At least when you first start out. You don’t want to worry about click fraud, keywords, bids and tracking all those costs. Use PPC as a last resort, a one-last-throw-of-the-dice-thing, or when you’ve achieved some success and are looking for ways to expand site promotion.

3. Exchange content with other site owners whose sites are similar in topicality. This provides fresh, green content and a link. Gotta love those links.

4. Submit your URL to general and industry- or topic-specific directories. All are free except Yahoo which nicks you $299 a year for a listing in their directory, still well worth the price.

5. Syndicate content to build an expansive web of in-bound links. (There’s plenty of information in previous blog posts on content syndication.)

6. Establish the authority of your site. This takes time and is usually determined by the number of site owners who point their visitors to your site. That means good content, good advice, good prices and so forth.

7. Use social sites like FaceBook and MySpace. More and more businesses are using these social networking sites. Another word of caution: those who frequent these sites aren’t keen on commercials so keep your social space interesting.

8. Sign up to become an expert on Yahoo Answers. (BTW, Google Answers has been retired – a missed opportunity if you haven’t already sign up.

9. Volunteer to become an editor for the Open Directory Project, assuming you know something about your topic. If you aren’t an expert, or you’re new to the subject, track the posts at www.dmoz.org until you understand what’s going on.

10. Finally, post good, informational content on your site. You can use a blog to keep things simple and encourage visitors to contribute comments (free content, site owners). Blogs also build repeat traffic – repeat traffic that often turns in to sales.

So, today we mourn the passing of SEO as a key to site success. Indeed, we are all thankful for the guidance search engines provide in bringing us the most obscure information in under a second.

But as a tool you can rely on to grow your small, online business to success, SEO is dead. Spend your time and money getting hooked into the web community through links, links and more links.

That’s SEM in its purest form.

How To Hire A Search Engine Marketeer

Ready to Take Your Web Biz to the Next Level? Hire a Marketeer!

Search engine marketing is NOT for the faint of heart or the newbie. In fact, if you don;t know how to market a website – even the best website in the world – you’re out of business before you even open your digital doors.

Expect to set aside at least half of your start-up stash on marketing. Without good marketing, a good site is invisible on the W3.

If you’ve seen a modicum and encouraging amount of commercial site success, you might consider hiring an SEO or SEM professional to take your site to the next level. (You can finally quit your day job!!)

But here’s the thing. Your Aunt Tilly could call herself an SEM or SEO professional. There are no credentials, no certifications or letters after the name, i.e., Dr. Jon Smith, PhD in SEM. So how do you know which of the thousands of SEO/SEM gurus is for real? Here are six things to look for.

1. On first contact, does the expert take the time to bring up your site on his or her screen and discuss it, maybe even providing a few free tips and suggestions? S/he should. As you describe your site and its perceived limitations, you want a potential expert to “be on the same page” as you are.

Conversely, if the “so-called” expert starts to bombard you with insider jargon “Well, Bob, I’ve developed interesting analytics that show your hit ratio increases when we spice up your meta data and add an opt-in.” Huh?

2. Find an SEM who walks the walk but doesn’t necessarily talk the talk.
Forget the jargon. Who cares? The fact is, experts in any field use jargon as a code language to exclude outsiders and SEM pros love to toss around terms like “keyword stuffing,” and content architecture.

Speak English! Search engine marketing is an on-going process but it’s, by no means, a difficult subject to master. It ain’t brain surgery. So, if your prospective SEM starts throwing insider gibberish in your direction, ask to have the information put in terms you can understand, whether you’re a first time e-vendor or own a hundred sites.

It’s like doctors. They tell you stuff only they understand. But, if you pin them down and ask for an explanation you understand (even if you have to resort to Crayola crayons), you finally understand options and consequences. Same with an SEO. You want to make the decisions.

That means you have to understand proposals, marketing campaigns and other SEM deliverables in terms that allow you to (1) turn the information into action and (2) contest the information if you think the SEM has missed a key demographic or some other oversight.

Otherwise, it’s all just a pile of numbers.

3. Can the SEM guru provide references you will contact?
A reference based on experience is the best reference you can get so, is there an SEM client willing to discuss the services provided by your prospect?

Now, don’t be surprised if the answer is ‘no.’ There’s a unspoken (okay spoken, here) understanding that client information is privileged and must be protected. However, many site owners give their SEMs permission to send visitors to the site to use as an example of the pro’s proficiency, Which gets us to:

4. Does the SEM provide reference sites?
This shouldn’t be a problem for any web pro with any kind of track record. Ask the SEO to provide sites that s/he has worked on. Then, go Alexa on each site’s assets.

Alexa.com delivers stats and graphs to show how the performance of a site has improved or deteriorated over time. Look for an increase in site traffic and lots of links. (See Connectivity in the post below). Look for improvements in page views and, by all means, employ Alexa’s Time Machine, a feature that enables you to see the evolution of the site and, especially how the site looked before and after the re-do by the SEM.

If you don’t see significant increases in the SEM’s reference sites, you are talking to the wrong SEM! Take your time, here. You’re about to sign a big check (SEM pros are pricey because of their highly-specialized knowledge) and you want to see quantifiable results that occur after the SEO/SEM optimizes the site.

5. Please don’t try this at home.
If your sites are performing well, you might think you can take yourself to the next level without the expense of a web marketing pro. Not recommended in the bang/buck equation.

You might pay $200 for a once-over lightly site review, or $20K on a tear-down and website rebuild, and still actually lose ground. Fewer site visitors, lower Alexa ranking, lower links popularity and so on. It happens thousands of times a day. The gnomes who inhabit Castle Google tweak the search algo and all of a sudden, a site that was on page one of Google’s SERPs has slipped to page 106.

So, if this is your money-maker, don’t shake it. Hire an SEM with a track record and see what s/he can do to boost your bottom line.

6. If you don’t like the results, jettison the web guru.
Do NOT sign a contract with an SEO/SEM agency. You don’t have to in the competitive consultation market, so go with a company that let’s you pay as you go or pay for play. You want results and you’re willing to pay for them. No positive results. “You are so outta here.”

It’s reasonable to ask a prospective guru to develop a plan for site growth. It doesn’t have to be long, but it must be informative, and once again, written in terms that make the gibberish understandable to you – the guy or gal with the checkbook. Hey, that makes you the boss even if you don’ t know an HTML title tag from a dog tag!

It isn’t recommended that you make major changes to your site – including migrating to another web host – without expert opinion and technical know-how behind you. Major changes can produce voodoo numbers in your site’s performance.

Evolution in site design makes it easier for search engines and clients, visitors or other site stakeholders, to access content and, in the case of customers or clients, place an order.

That’s why you built the site. You run the show. But let a good SEM help you grow to real profitability. If you find a professional who isn’t blowing smoke and provides a few dozen sites you can check out, you’ll see improvement in rankings and, more importantly, in site traffic.

Conversely, if you hire the first snake oil salesperson you come across in a webmaster chat room, you may be out a few grand as you watch site performance deteriorate right before your eyes.

Spend time finding the right fit and pay for quality consultation and services rendered. Consider it an investment. Just make sure you’re investing in a blue chip SEM not a penny stock loser.

Managing Customer Objections

 

Keepin' The Customer Satisfied: Success At Work

If you’ve built a career in sales you know all about customer objections. Objections are the reasons prospective customers give for NOT buying a product or service. It’s too expensive. It’s too complicated. I don’t really need it. These are common customer objections whether we’re talking about buying a new car or whatever it is you sell on your web site.

 

 Even if you sell the best products or provide A-1 services, and even if you have the lowest prices on the entire web, you’ll encounter objections. Problem is, you won’t encounter them face to face in the world of e-commerce, which means you won’t have the opportunity to address objections face to face. Therefore, controlling objections must take place in the content of your website.

Additionally, in the real world, managing objections is reactive. The customer objects. The salesperson reacts with a counter to the objection. In the impersonal marketplace of the W3, managing customer objections must be proactive. Assume you will encounter objections and address them before the visitor clicks off to another site.

What Objections Will You Get?

Depending on what you’re selling, objections will differ. For example, most customers won’t be concerned with a long-term warranty on a $15 calculator. If it dies, buy a new one. On the other hand, if you’re selling $2,000 laptops, your customers are going to be looking at your warranties, guaranties, return policies – anything and everything that protects them from being ripped off.

And as a good citizen of the web community, you should have no problem posting warranties and return policies where they can be easily found and easily read! (Wouldn’t you like to get your hands on the guy who invented fine print?)

So what objections are you likely to encounter?

It costs too much money.

I saw it for a lower price.

I don’t have the money right now.

My old one is good enough.

It looks confusing.

I don’t understand how it works.

I don’t understand the guaranty.

I don’t (really) need it.

My (insert relation’s name here) would kill me.

Maybe another time.

There are plenty more. I’ve already got one; I want something with more features or fewer features (usually not the same consumer, btw); I don’t like the color, shape, size, design, feng shui or some other aspect of the product. The list is as varied as the customers who visit your web site.

And you better know what objections visitors will raise and proactively address them in your site’s content.

How To Address A Customer Objection?

Once you’ve determined which objections you’ll most likely encounter from site visitors you develop a strategy to address the objection before it even becomes an objection.

 Example #1: It’s too complicated.

 Okay, take a look at this 3-minute Flash demo that’ll show you how to assemble the (whatever it is you sell). You’re not addressing the objection with a long body of text explaining how to assemble your gizmo. You’re providing a clip that actually shows each step of assembly with text burns identifying key steps and just where Tab A is.

 Example #2: It’s too expensive.

How will the product improve productivity or quality of life? Let’s say you’re selling hot tubs. You point out the benefits to the consumer. Forget product features. The “too-expensive” buyer must see personal benefit(s) in order for you to manage the objection.

 “You come home from a stressful day, hop into the heated, soothing water, turn on the relaxing massage jets and feel the cares of the day melt away.” The buyer who believes “it’s” too expensive doesn’t care about the 15hp motor, the 18 water jets and the automated chlor-tab release. S/he needs to see personal benefit. Once that’s established, move on to features in you sales copy.

 Example #3: I saw it for less at www.thecheapestsiteintheworld.com.

If you can’t beat the competition on price – and many times you won’t be able to compete with big box store prices – time to highlight the quality of your service, your easy return policy and the fact that there’s no re-stocking fee. (Wouldn’t you like to get your hands on the guy who invented the restocking fee?)

 Some sites offer a “Beat any legitimate price” guarantee. You can, too. Even if your price is a bit higher, most visitors won’t take the time to find the lowest of the low and if they do, you’ve lost a few bucks but have a happy customer – one who’ll be back to buy the accessories.

 Example #4: I don’t want to buy a (fill in the blank) on the web.

Would you buy a $4,000 diamond engagement ring online? From a site you never heard of? Not many people would. Too many risks. For all the buyer knows, you’re selling “diamacroids” as real diamonds. And if you’re half way around the world, the buyer has no recourse.

 Establish trust be establishing verifiable credentials. Member of the online BBB, certified by the Diamond Sellers Association of the World, graduate of the School of Gemology, 140 years in business, etc. You’d buy a diamond online from Tiffany’s because the trust factor is built in. Not so for www.billscutratediamondbazaar.com – no matter how low Bill’s prices.

 You get the idea. To successfully convert a visitor into a buyer requires that all objections be addressed in site content using a variety of media to get the job done. A Flash demo,  an audio clip and picture of you, a picture of your factory, a virtual 360° tour, a step-by-step, idiot-proof assembly guide, 24-hour tech support – whatever works best to counter the objection.

 All kinds of people will stop by your web site and each will come with his or her own expectations and objections. Meet those expectations and counter those objections right from the start. It’ll do wonders for your conversion ratio.

 It’ll also keep your repeat buyer list growing. Why? No objections. 

How to Stage a Webinar: Ah, Show Biz

 

If you can go on-line, you can stage a webinar

Webinars have grown increasingly popular in the era of Web 2.0. They’re interactive, easy to set up and deliver a lot of advantages to the webinar host. And a lot of revenue if you’re good at it.

 

Webinars versus Webcasts
Webcasts are one-way communication. You, the site owner, post a digital video (DV) on your web site or upload it to YouTube and other social sites. You talk. The viewer listens. And unless you have a compelling way about you, watching a webcast is like watching grass grow.

Today, people don’t want online passivity. They don’t want to sit there. They want to interact. Interact with each other via facebook.com, myspace.com and other sites that rely on the user-generated content of those laying claim to a few pixels, and interact with experts who actually have something worthwhile to say.

Webinars are totally interactive. They’re scheduled to start at a specific time, they’re hosted by an expert and “attendees” from around the world interact with the webinar host and with each other.

Webinars are interesting because of this interactivity. As a participant, you’re free to ask the expert questions, ask for clarifications or expansion on a specific topic. You can learn a lot from these on-line classes.

Selling CEUs
They’re called continuing education units or CEUs, and lots of professions require their members to obtain a certain number of CEUs each year – every profession from private investigators in Texas to hearing aid dispensers in Maine. Hundreds of thousands of pros need CEUs. They can get them by attending classes at the local community college or professional association, by writing papers and they can earn CEUs by attending online webinars.

Starting to see the potential here? If you’re an expert in a field that requires members to continue their educations, you have a captive audience. And attending an online seminar is a lot easier than attending classes every Monday night for 16 weeks.

Certain standards have to be met to qualify for CEU recognition. The teacher has to be a professional, the course subject has to be (in some way) relevant to the professionals’ work and the seminars must actually teach, i.e. have an established syllabus or course of study. The standards are high, as they should be, so to qualify for a CEU accredited webinar, you better know what you’re talking about or zippo CEU-seekers are going to sign up.

How To Stage a Webinar Technically
There are two ways to do this thing.

First, if you’re planning on doing a webinar a week and adding to the list of classes and topics available, you’re best off buying webinar software. Here’s a link to some Q & A on what to look for in this system-based software.

However, before you fly off to the Software Shack to pick up a webinar program, try one of the hundreds of online services that specialize in the staging of webinars. These companies provide the software and some hand holding. They aren’t too pricey, either, given the competitive nature of the market. Heck, even Big Blue (IBM) offers on-line conferencing services and that’s all a webinar is – an online conference with nice pictures.

Marketing Your Webinars
If you’re CEU accredited, use Google AdWords to promote your upcoming event. Allow a six-week time window from the date you start promotion until the actual date of the webinar itself. Then, do a little viral marketing.

Respond to blog posts relevant to your upcoming event and mention date, time, URL and cost, if any. Let’s talk about that for a minute.

When you first start staging webinars, no one knows you from Adam. You’re an unknown quantity, yet to prove you’re worth $29.95 to sign up to hear your words of wisdom. So, to start building an audience and establishing credentials as a quality educational or instructional site, offer your first few webinars free. Hey, you can become a star pretty quick if you aren’t a cold fish. And people will pay for righteous information presented in a professional manner.

The exception, here, is CEU-accredited webinars. These demand a certain production standard, knowledge standard and broadcast standard. These webinars may require a cash outlay to the conferencing company, a graphic designer and techie if you think a USB port is where U.S Boats dock. So, you can charge by the CEU. Some webinars are worth 1 CEU. Another can be worth 3 CEUs depending on the credibility of the webinar producer, length and scope of the content.

If the budget can stand it, pay for links from related sites. If there’s an industry association, send its PR department a press release announcing time and place for the webinar, and be sure to include your professional biography and credentials for hosting this gab fest.

Also, if you’re doing webinars regularly, get listed in webinar directories (Google it. There are lots of them.) If you know your stuff and you’re not a stiff – you can have fun interacting with others – then you’ll quickly see the popularity of and attendance at your webinars increase.

Putting Together a Webinar
The software comes from the conference provider. On screen, you’ll have the webinar administrator’s console showing activity of participants, handling emails from participants and tracking levels of participation.

Now, the easiest way to put together one of these online lessons is to buy a decent web cam, write out your key points and interact with participants via the email option. Or, to make connections even easier and quicker, provide a telephone contact that attendees can use to ask questions, make a point or contest a point.

As the webinar administrator, you move things along. Whatever you do, don’t write a paper and read it for an hour. I’m bored just typing about it. You need some sizzle, some visuals, some eye candy to create a professional and engaging webinar.

The easiest tool to develop webinar visuals is Microsoft PowerPoint. If you don’t have it on your system, you can download it from the Microsoft site. This is a totally screen-driven program that’s almost idiot-proof. (Prove me wrong, kids. Prove me wrong.) You type text where prompted to do so.

Add a dash of color or a photograph to give a boring bullet list a little pizzazz. Especially if we’re going to be parked on it for a while. Or, instead, reveal text in the bullet list on cue simply by going to the next Power Point slide in the deck. Without too much of a learning curve, you can put together a Power Point presentation.

Using your webinar administrator’s console, you can cut back and forth between the graphics in your Power Point deck and your talking head via a hi-res webcam. By switching between the two you accomplish a couple of important tasks: (1) you put a face to the voice and the knowledge and the humor and professionalism (at least wear a nice sweater); and (2) it maintains visual interest. An hour-long Power Point presentation is almost as bad as an hour-long talking head. Switch to create interest, especially when answering questions from the crowd.

During the Webinar
You should have a list of talking points and sub-points, not a speech. You should have an agenda. “Today I’m going to talk to you about liability insurance and the private investigator. Let’s begin with blah, blah, blah…”

Encourage discussion and stop often to ask for questions. In some cases, it may take a few minutes for a question to reach the moderator’s console if the email is routed via Zambia so go with the flow. “Oops, okay, we have an email from a dental associate in California regarding that last point.” Stay flexible and nimble. As the moderator you’ll be juggling a lot of balls.

You’ll be teaching, reading emailed questions, moderating group discussions, tracking viewer activities and trying to work in a little humor all at the same time.

You should know, throughout the webinar, where you are on your agenda list and expand or contract your discussion as necessary.

Encourage debate by posing provocative questions. Part of the appeal of these events is the ability to interact with one’s peers so provide that opportunity. Then, sit back and moderate, keeping the discourse on topic.

Testing
CEU webinars require that attendees take and pass a test so if your’s is a CEU-accredited webinar, you need to develop an online post-test administered after the webinar. To earn the CEU credits, each attendee must achieve a certain grade. Hey, for all you know they were watching TV as you were explaining the latest in forensic science so those meeting professional requirements should be tested, and they should pass.

If your webinar isn’t CEU-based, testing is up to you. Frankly, the people who have signed up already know their stuff so testing seems a bit inappropriate. However, to maintain interest, ask the “Question of the Second” or “Insurance Trivia” throughout the lesson. Using Power Point makes creating “test pages” easy and the conferencing software captures attendees scores and even delivers them individually to avoid embarrassment.

Amortize Production Costs
It could cost a few bucks to put together a professional webinar that has high production values, accurate, current information and a dash of entertainment value on the web (sorely missing, btw). And if you only host the webinar once (a spot webinar), those costs are all associated with the one-shot spot. Instead, schedule webinars daily or weekly. Each time you’re able to conduct a revenue-producing webinar, the initial production costs are further amortized. So, that one time production expense pays for itself over and over.

It’s not hard to do, and if you don’t have the time, talent or inclination there are plenty of freelancers who do this stuff every day so outsource all the heavy lifting and save yourself for Saturday mornings when you become the congenial host of “Process Server Weekly, the ONLY weekly webinar for professional process servers.”

Ahh, show biz.

User Reviews: Let Buyers Sell Your Goods and Services

 

User testimonials keep it real

Mom always said don’t accept candy from strangers, but what about advice? How reliable is it? Well, when it comes to product reviews, advice from previous buyers helps a lot – assuming the product (and services you provide) live up to expectations.

 

Amazon has been encouraging reviews from buyers for years and it’s apparently been working fine for them – even if the product is trashed, which it often is. But, consider what Amazon gets. Happier buyers (even if they grumble, they aren’t grumbling about Amazon, they’re trashing the product), fewer returns from buyers warned off one product over another, invaluable marketing data straight from buyers who bought the product and, the cherry on top – it’s user generated content, meaning it doesn’t cost anything to produce. That’s a big plus.

Stats and Facts
Site owners eat stats and facts for breakfast. We want that empirical proof that numbers provide so here are a few to catch your attention from the nice folks over at emarketer.com

Question: Do you use customer reviews before making a purchase?

Always: 22%
Most of the time: 43%
Some of the time: 24%
Occasionally: 9%
Never: 2%

Get that? 65% of online buyers use consumer-generated reviews in making a buying decision. That should get you to sit up and take notice. It’s some pretty powerful evidence that consumer reviews are useful in (1) making the right sale and (2) identifying products the buyer doesn’t want. Either way, as a site owner, you’re ahead – ahead on sales motivated by user reviews and ahead with fewer returns from dissatisfied consumers who bought a different product or brand based on customer reviews. Either way, you win.

How many reviews do you read before making a purchase?
Just 1% relied on a single review. It took two or three reviews for 28% of buyers to make a decision, four to seven reviews for 46% of buyers to make a buying decisions and eight to 15 reviews to convince exceedingly cautious buyers to make a purchase.

The number of reviews required to make a purchase is correlated to the price of the item. A buyer will purchase a $49 off-brand MP3 player after reading a single review but it’ll probably take five to 10 positive reviews to convince that same buyer to purchase his or her next car. The cost factor plays a big role.

Now, how do user reviews stack up against other promotional efforts. Quite well, according to emarketer. In fact, user reviews influence the buying decisions of a whopping 64% of online shoppers. That’s two-thirds of all buyers – all buying based on the reviews of previous buyers.

Compare that to other promos:

• Special offers and coupons: 61%

• Product and price comparison tools: 59%

• Consumer testimonials: 49% (these testimonials have lost any credibility since many are fabrications of some copywriter’s not-so-vivid imagination)

• Product videos: 44% (usually demonstrating the benefits of the product)

• RSS alerts: 39%

• Blogs and forums: 39%

• Questionnaires: 29%

Web Research
More and more web users turn to product reviews to find the perfect fit – but not all reviews are given equal credence. User reviews are believed by 55% of comparison shoppers. And, when skimming through consumer reviews, it’s easy to tell the psychopathic malcontent from the thoughtful reviewer who’s actually trying to help.

Comparison charts are another useful sales tool. 21% of online window shoppers use these list-formatted tools to compare apples to apples, features to features. This format is a terrific means of delivering a lot of useful information in a simple-to-evaluate format.

Expert reviews – the kind you often see in specialty periodicals – carry less weight than reviews written by actual buyers of a product. Why? The consumer-reviewer doesn’t have an axe to grind, making the opinion more reliable. A review by a professional may have an ulterior motive behind it – like the product manufacturer is a big advertiser, or the review is a cut-and-paste job from the manufacturer’s promotional literature.

The reason customer reviews work is they have validity. “I bought it and I love it,” when unsolicited, is as good as a recommendation from a friend. Same with “I bought it and it blew out every circuit in my house.” Now that’s a product you shy away from.

The Ethics of User Reviews
As a site owner, you have god-like powers. Post anything. It’s your site. But what about the ethicacy of user reviews? How do you handle this kind of input?

Consider the site owner who writes his or her own buyer reviews to move more junk out the door. After a while, this tactic is going to come back and bite you in your assets as more and more dissatisfied buyers return products, taking up more of your time and costing money.

And how do you handle the disgruntled buyer who slams one of your best selling products? Is it unethical to remove negative product posts? You bet it is. An occasional slam increases the credibility of all of those positive reviews. If every review sings the praises of the product, well, the reviews become less credible.

Also, if you receive numerous slams on a product or brand, consider dropping the item. Let the buyers tell you what they want – then give it to them.

The tools you use to promote products are often expensive and time consuming to create. A Google AdWords campaign can bust the bank in six months – and you have to write the little blocks of text.

User-generated product reviews have credibility and the nut jobs are easy to spot and ignore. So, give your buyers a place to tell you and other site visitors what they think about their purchases.

Then, watch sales increase as “friend” recommends to “friend.” It’s powerful promotion and, even better, it’s free.

Who Handles Order Fulfillment? Not You!

 

Is this how you want to spend your time?

Order fulfillment is an industry unto itself. It’s complex, time-consuming and, for the start up web-based business, a budget buster. So what does the newb entrepreneur do?

 

What’s a better use of your time? Packing up 25 orders and schlepping to the PO or finding your next client or customer. Using a fulfillment house may cost you, but it saves time – something in short supply during the early stages of biz development.

In your business planning, add to the expenses column “order fulfillment.” This is one job you outsource – at least intially. Surprised? Read on.

Hey, this is expensive!

Many soon-to-be, on-line entrepreneurs create business plans that assume that these fledging, commercial sites will handle order fulfillment in-house. That means the Chairman of the Board and CEO will not only empty the waste baskets, she’ll also pack up orders and make a daily trip to the post office.

With any start up, “cash is king.” You need it for everything from hosting fees to site development to postage stamps. Oh, then there’s inventory – 2000 basketballs stored in the spare room. Most start-ups handle every chore, and for some that’s fine. For others, that daily trip to the post office is the least productive chore of the day.

Drop Shippers
These companies are in the business of order fulfillment and there are two kinds in this broad category. The first ships only products it manufactures or distributes. You’ll often see these companies in affiliate programs wherein your site captures the order, it’s sent automatically to the company warehouse from where the product is shipped. You receive a commission and/or flat rate on each affiliate sale you make. That’s drop shipper type one.

The second is the drop shipper for hire. They’ll store your inventory in their warehouse (usually for a fee) then pack and ship as orders are received from you. Some of these businesses are also called fulfillment houses. In addition, most fulfillment houses will assemble, pack and ship items so if “some assembly is required,” look for an active fulfillment house. By the way, it doesn’t have to be close by as long as they have an email address so, if cost is a factor, consider outsourcing assembly and shipping overseas.

In any case, shop around and do some comparison shopping for your shipping. This is a highly-competitive niche sector so you can find good value for your money. And haggling is allowed most times so engage in some negotiation before accepting the drop shippers “standard” S&H fees.

Do I Need One?
Well, obviously if your product is information (data) then no, you don’t need one. But, if you plan to sell a product, or lots of products, consider hiring a drop shipper. Here’s why.

Let’s say you sell aquarium supplies on line and on a typical day you receive 30 new orders. (Good going, btw). Okay, first you need the room to store your inventory. It must be dry and secure. The garage may not be the best place to store aquarium supplies.

Then, you have to pull the 30 orders. Some will include multiple items. Once pulled, you must review the paperwork to determine which customer receives which item(s). Then, there’s the actual packing with bubble wrap or popcorn, taping and securing. An address label must be affixed. The package must be weighed and proper postage glued in place.

Next, load the packages (some are heavy), drive to the post office, wait in line, off-load 30 packages, go back to the office and finally get to work. You can see how much of each day is taken up with shipping and handling. And even if you put the kids to work handling orders, how long do you think that’s going to last?

Lots of start-ups begin as part-time jobs. Come home each day from your 9-to-5 job and start working on your digital dream. In this case, you could find yourself wrapping orders at midnight when that dream starts to look more like a nightmare.

There’s no doubt that drop shipping should be included in many on-line business plans. If you’ve got the time and patience to do it yourself, great. Save the money. But remember, you’re giving up business-building time to handle administrative chores.

How much?
Of course, it depends on how long it takes the drop shipper to wrap an order, its weight, postal zone and other unpredictable factors – another good reason to shop around. The lowest per unit price may not be the lowest total cost if the package is being shipped from half-way around the world.

With affiliate programs, all shipping and handling is managed by the mother company so you don’t have to worry about it. It’s already figured into your commission or fee.

Automation?
Yes, you can automate the order fulfillment process using a number of software packages that track shipping activity. When an order is placed, you receive a copy and the drop shipper also receives a duplicate copy. The order is also entered into your tracking software, so you can monitor the progress of each order.

It simplifies the whole process. The trade-off is that you don’t net as much on each order because some of it goes to the drop shipper.

When searching for a good web host, look for one with a toolbox full of applications, tools and services available to you free. For order processing and shipping and handling, there are several popular software programs designed for on-line business owners looking for simple solutions. Look for: phpCoin for on-line billing; vTiger for better customer care; CubeCart for simple shopping for visitors and osCommerce for everything from site building, shopping cart and an easy-to-use checkout.

With these tools, you can streamline order fulfillment until you’ve grown big enough to require and can afford a drop shipper.

And wouldn’t that be a wonderful problem to have?