How To Profit From Putting Your Home Business on the Internet

Note: See the uSight Index at uSightIndex.htm

The information in this booklet relates to a subject that is rapidly changing, due to improving technology, uSight assumes no liability for the reader’s application of the information presented in this publication.

A Quick Introduction To The Internet

A few years ago if anyone had told you that a portion of your future success as a home-based entrepreneur may be tied into the Internet, you probably would have either laughed or said, "What in the world is the Internet?" Even today, a significant portion of our population has no clear concept as to what the Internet really is, how it works, or how it can benefit them.

Whether you already have a home-based business, or you are getting ready to take the leap into home-based entrepreneurship, this booklet has a very important message for you:

The Internet is here to stay and you can increase your level of success - now and in the future - if you learn how to tap into its tremendous power.

It doesn’t matter whether you are an "Internet-illiterate" or a seasoned Internet user. Taking the plunge into this exciting world of interconnected computer networks, switching equipment and communications lines is not as frightening or difficult as it might seem. In fact, it has become downright easy. You don’t have to be a computer geek. If you’re already using a personal computer, then you’ll have an easy time getting up and running on the Internet (if you’re not already). In fact, as long as you have a modem, it’s as easy as inserting your "Capture the Power of the Internet" CD-ROM, clicking on "Browse CD", finding the "Free Internet" link, choosing a Free ISP download, and following the simple instructions to set up your connection.

Knowing how to profit from using the Internet in your home business and how to take optimal advantage of it is a somewhat more complex question. This booklet is written to provide answers in this increasingly important area of opportunity.

If you’re not sure exactly what the Internet is or how it works, the following explanation by Internet expert, Dr. Ralph Wilson, provides a good primer. Please read this carefully. It identifies and defines many of the terms and concepts that will be used throughout this booklet. Answering some commonly asked questions, Dr. Wilson writes:

1. WHAT IS THE INTERNET? The Internet is a world-wide network of large computers. Individuals and businesses get on the Internet by obtaining an Internet account through an Internet Service Provider, offering access to e-mail and the World Wide Web (the graphical portion of the Internet). The "Web" allows potential customers to "visit" a company’s "Storefront" to the world, and view their online color brochure stored in "pages" or files which can be viewed in both text and pictures.

2. DOES MY COMPUTER NEED TO BE ON ALL THE TIME? No. You place your Web pages in your host computer’s storage banks. The host computer needs to run 24 hours a day, not yours. There is no danger of hackers getting into your business computer.

3. WHO PAYS FOR THE LONG DISTANCE CALLS? Your only telephone charge is the cost of a local call to your Internet Service Provider. Messages then are relayed to other large host computers via leased, high-speed phone lines and satellite systems. Their phone charges come out of your flat monthly fee.

4. HOW DO BUSINESSES USE THE INTERNET? This form of advertising is used to build a company’s image, provide customer support, make available technical and trouble-shooting information, develop a prospect list, conduct customer surveys, offer products, and take orders.

5. WHAT KINDS OF BUSINESSES BENEFIT FROM THE INTERNET? Regional and national businesses stand to gain the most, since 8 to 14 million people on the Internet now become potential customers, with that number growing by 10% each month. Mail order companies and import/export firms have special potential.

6. HOW DO WEB PAGES WORK? The World Wide Web provides you with a way to introduce your business to the world in a series of "pages" connected by "links". When customers see something that interest them, say a catalog of your product line, they "click" their computer mouse on a "link", the blue highlighted words "Acme Climate Control Product Line" (for example), and immediately they can view products in your online catalog. An organization might have several "pages" all linked to their "index page" or "home page". These pages typically include information about the company and its history, products or services, technical support information, and an order or feedback form. Potential customers can view as little or as much that interest them, and business owners can update prices and products at any time. However, keep in mind that the more graphics on a "page", the longer it takes to "view" the page. Therefore, you might want to keep your graphics and sound files to a minimum.

7. HOW DO PEOPLE FIND MY BUSINESS ON THE INTERNET? A dozen or so indexing systems are available on the Web called "search engines," known by strange names such as Yahoo (www.yahoo.com), Lycos (www.lycos.com), and Web Crawler (www.webcrawler.com). With the help of a Web page designer, you register your company’s pages with these indexes. Then, when someone searches for key words such as "electronics", "air conditioning", or "thermostat", they find Acme Climate Control listed with similar firms. They "click" on your company’s name and immediately begin to view your Web pages. You can also send an e-mail press release to services, which track "what’s new" on the Internet and make people aware of your company’s Web site by means of Internet mailing lists and newsgroups.

8. HOW DO PEOPLE PAY FOR GOODS OR SERVICES? A standard method to send secure credit card information over the Internet is available through a process called encryption. In addition, customers may also telephone, fax or mail in an order. However, an Internet merchant account is a much quicker and more effective way of doing business on the Internet. You can use online forms, however, to gather valuable information about potential customers to follow up by e-mail or through conventional means.

9. HOW DOES A BUSINESS GET STARTED ON THE INTERNET? Find a local Internet Service Provider (ISP) and sign up for a commercial Internet account. Some ISP’s charge set-up fees and up to $35/mo. Prices vary depending on the area. Also, contact a professional Web page designer to help you prepare your Web Pages which will display your goods and services to the world. Expect to pay between $40 and $100 per hour ($300-2500 total depending on the complexity of your pages).

Thousands of new people are gaining access to the Internet each week, and businesses are constantly opening new Web sites to market products and services to them. For the right type of business, the Internet opens up a vast market at a price unheard of even a year or two ago.

Much of the information offered by Dr. Wilson will be discussed in greater detail later in this booklet. It should also be noted that facts, figures, and statistics related to the Internet often differ dramatically from one source to the next. For example, some sources claim that about 80 million people are now using the Internet regularly, though most experts are currently settling in somewhere near the figure of 35 million people age 16 and over, which was recently reported by IntelliQuest. The broad range of difference in statistics is because there is no central authority or clearinghouse for the Internet-which is one of the main reasons why this worldwide mass of connections is so popular and useful.

A World Of Advantages for Home Business Owners

If you were to ask Cameron Gull, a computer graphics design coordinator for the American Home Business Association, why you should put your home-based business on the Internet, the conversation might go like this:

You:
Why should I put my home business on the Internet?

Cameron:
Well, how big is your town?

You:
About 200,000 people.

Cameron:
How many of the 200,000 people do you know?

You:
Maybe 300.

Cameron:
How many of those people are going to actually buy something from you?

You:
Maybe 20 would even need it.

Cameron:
Is 20 enough to keep you going?

You:
No.

Cameron:
There are potentially 35 million customers in the world that use the Internet and could see your company. And your "store" on the "Net" is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your site can be encrypted, which means you can accept credit card payments securely. You have your own personal e-mail address, plus the cutting edge image of having your own web site.

You:
So you’re telling me that this is a good way to market to a larger audience?

Cameron:
Definitely.

You:
What about the cost, relative to the other advertising mediums I could use?

Cameron:
If you could find a magazine with a circulation of 35 million people, you’d be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single day of advertising.

You:
So you’re saying that the Internet will not only help me expand my market, but will let me do it without spending a boatload of money.

Cameron:
Precisely. If you’ve got the right kind of business, the cost of an Internet site makes it the most cost-effective marketing method available today.

WHAT’S THE "RIGHT" KIND OF BUSINESS FOR THE INTERNET?

Cameron Gull raised an important issue when he said, "if you’ve got the right kind of business..." The fact is, not all businesses are right for the Internet at this point in time. Let’s take a quick look at what makes a business right for cyberspace marketing and what makes it wrong.

Geographical Scope of Demand For Products or Services.

If what you’re selling, whether it's products, or services or both, is only used only by a narrow geographically based market, forget the Internet. Remember that the Internet is a worldwide interchange. If your product or service isn’t going to be interesting to people in a larger region than your local area, an Internet site probably won’t pay off. But if it would appeal to people throughout a larger region, the nation, or even the world, the Internet could be the perfect marketing medium.

Nature Of Potential Buyers

Whenever you use any marketing medium, it’s critical to know the people you’ll reach through that medium-who they are and what they want. If you don’t have that information, you can easily find yourself in the uncomfortable position of selling ice cubes to Eskimos.

So, who are the people who use the Internet? What do they want? What do they buy? Will they be interested in the product or service you’re offering?

Currently, some experts say that the typical Internet user is a computer "geek." Others claim that the Net is infested with adolescent boys who have nothing better to do with their time. These opinions appear to be exaggerations, especially in light of the results of a recent survey conducted by the respected firm, Nielsen Media Research. The survey indicated that users of the World Wide Web are upscale. As stated earlier, the Web is the largest, most popular, and fastest growing portion of the Internet. Twenty-five percent have annual incomes over $80,000, 50 percent are in professional or managerial positions, 64 percent have college degrees.

Certainly, most Internet users today are computer literate. But to call the majority of them "geeks" seems to be stretching the truth.

In fact, as the Internet becomes a bigger part of daily life for more and more people, the demographical complexion of the "typical" Internet user will shift further and further away from the computer geek image. When the Internet is hooked up to every television set through fiber optic cable connections, and as accessible to every member of the family as regular television shows are today, the Internet will become the marketing medium because the typical Internet user will be everyone.

This expansion of the Internet market is already taking place. But it will take time before it becomes as much a part of our way of life as the evening news. The primary thing that is slowing this expansion down is the availability of the fiber optic cable connections. These connections can blast data into your computer at 100 megabytes per second, allowing you to download a full-length movie into your computer (or television) in 10 to 15 seconds. That kind of speed and power is far beyond the reach of typical connections today. In fact, you often have to wait ten times that long for one simple photo to scroll its way onto your screen.

Currently, it is estimated that there are somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 Internet users who are connected via fiber optic cable. Estimates say that this number will grow by about 400 percent each year. Even at that fast rate, it will take time to spread throughout the country. The limiting factor is physical: fiber optic cables must be physically laid to each location that wants to use it.

The bottom line regarding the kind of people who use the Internet is this: most users are quite savvy about computers, but they’re a relatively upscale group that is growing rapidly and becoming increasingly more representative of the overall population.

Nevertheless, be careful. If you’re using the Internet to sell seeds to farmers, or burial plots to the elderly, chances are very slim that you’ll succeed. But if you’re selling an exciting new computer product, you’ll find many prospective customers on the Net.

Many companies that have not been "right" for Internet marketing have ignored that common sense we just discussed, and have consequently wasted time and money with little or no return. Lured by the promise of "tens of millions of online users" that some Internet proponents tout, they establish a presence on the "Net", only to bail out later, wiser but poorer for the experience.

If your home business fits the description of a "right" company, go for it. If it’s marginal, or if you simply can’t decide, you might want to try it anyway.

According to Harold Carey, a top Internet consultant, "The best thing to do now is to get a low-cost Internet connection and practice marketing techniques. See what works and what doesn’t. That’s what I’d recommend now. If you wait too long, the people who are skilled at this process will be able to outsell you. Gain the skills now. Don’t expect to make a lot of money right off the bat. Of course, you can make money if you have a unique product or service and you know the techniques of marketing on the Internet." (Mr. Carey offers a comprehensive range of quality services for people who want to put their businesses on the Internet.)

If The Fit Is Right, The Advantages Are Compelling

You hear a lot of hype these days about the Internet. You see Internet site addresses (technically called Uniform Resource Locators, or URLs) for some very large and prestigious companies listed at the bottom of the screen on an increasing number of television commercials. You hear Internet addresses announced in more and more radio commercials.

But does the Internet really offer real-life advantages? And are those advantages compelling? The answer to the first question is "yes." The answer to the second question is "It depends on whether your business is right for the Internet, and on a myriad of other factors, including your own willingness to be creative in finding ways to harness the powers of the Internet to accomplish your business objectives.

Generally speaking, here are the primary advantages the Internet offers home-based business owners, as well as other business people and professionals:

Worldwide Exposure

The Internet and its high-image World Wide Web are international in scope. In fact, the Internet delivers its full power and diversity everywhere anyone with a computer and a modem taps into it, whether that is in an office tower in New York City or in the jungles of Borneo.

Those who speak English are especially lucky, because English is the standard language of the Internet, and so much of the world’s population is acquainted with English. But language need not be a barrier. If it makes sense, you can offer your Internet pages in more than one language.

"The Internet is such a vast technology for today, with so many million people online," states home business entrepreneur Deborah Key, "it’s a great market for advertising."

Deborah’s home-based business, Realty Net One, provides advertising for real estate properties, houses, and rental properties on the Internet. "If you want to advertise your home, you come to us" she explains, "It’s very simple. You tell us what you want to say and show. We put it up on the Web site for two weeks free. After that, it costs $9.95, $19.95, or $39.95, depending on which of our options you want to take."

Beyond giving her properties exposure to millions of people in local markets, as well as the national and even international marketplace, Deborah has found that the Internet breaks down geographical barriers in a number of other ways. "There are two of us who work in this business," she explains. "My partner is located in Peoria, Illinois. I work here in Conroe, Texas. It’s the wonder of the Internet. You can have partnerships and businesses all over the place and never meet each other face to face." But that’s not all. "We have individual reps that sell advertising for us, and work on a contract basis." Deborah adds, "They’re located all over the United States. Virtually, they have their own home businesses by working with our company."

Round-The-Clock "Store" Hours

The Internet is "open for business" 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year! This unique communication and marketing medium is unsurpassed in terms of its ability to be there all the time whenever someone wants to tap into it.

Ken Hildebrandt, of Phoenix, Arizona has discovered this first-hand. "I started my business, Information Unlimited, in 1980," he says. "I’m an information provider, specializing in providing ‘how -to’ materials on a broad range of subjects."

Recently, Ken decided to put his business on the Internet, through the American Home Business Association. He began by advertising a half dozen of his best selling information products online. One of these products, "How To Make Money With Your Computer At Home," a two-pound package that provides a wealth of tips and sources for setting up a home business- quickly began to draw an excellent response. He decided to drop the other products and redesign his Web site to focus solely on the one that was attracting so much interest.

Ken wanted to put his home-based business on the Internet to add another advertising medium to his existing marketing mix of newspaper classified and display ads, along with some direct mail pieces. He quickly discovered one of the Internet’s greatest advantages. He explains: "I found that this is an advertising medium that I can use that is virtually hassle free for me because I have hits on it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I get on the Internet at my leisure each day, pull up my orders, and process them. It’s another vehicle that allows me to advertise and bring in some additional dollars. "

"Another thing I like is that customers can place orders right there in the Web site, or they can order via e-mail. I’ve set it up so that I don’t have to be here all the time. I can process orders at two o’clock in the morning if I want. It’s pretty much an automatic system. My only inventory is paper. As an order comes add the label, stick it in an envelope, and drop it in the mail."

An AT&T Image For A One-Person Home Business

It’s no secret that image is important to business success. You can create a Web site for your home business that can put your company on equal footing with corporations that are hundreds of times bigger than you in terms of the image your current and potential customers or clients see. You can’t tell the difference between large and small companies on the Internet just from looking at their sites.

Another aspect of image is this: the very fact that you have an Internet site automatically gives you an image of being on the cutting edge of technology, of being forward-thinking and progressive. The people you serve don’t even have to visit your Internet site to get this impression. All they have to do is see your Internet address listed on your business cards, letterhead, flyers, ads, or other communications.

Effectiveness

For the right product and the right business, the Internet can be a highly effective marketing tool. Referring to how the Internet compares to the other sales media he uses, Information Unlimted’s Ken Hildebrandt says, "Generally, when you advertise something, you get a certain percentage of responses from the people who are exposed to that advertising. You then get a certain percentage of those responses that actually turn into orders. On the Internet, I consider the number of "hits" I get on my site to be the number of people exposed.

"Compared to the other advertising tools I use, I consider that to be outstanding."

Ken thinks that the relatively greater amount of information that can be included in even a small Web site is partially responsible for making it effective. "In a classified ad, you’re generally restricted to 25 words," he explains. "You can say a lot more with an Internet site."

Immediate Response

Communications via the Internet are instantaneous. You could, for example, list a certain product you are selling on your Web page, and immediately unlist that product when you’ve sold out of it. Let’s say you have 100 modems in stock that you want to get rid of. The moment you sell the last modem, you can update your page, delete the modem offer and replace it with another offer for some other product. Try doing that with a direct mail piece or newspaper ad!

The Price Is Right

Marketers often measure the relative value of a marketing medium by calculating the cost per thousand potential buyers reached. On this basis, having a site on the Internet qualifies as the best marketing value around because the cost is low and the exposure is worldwide to tens of millions of people. The ability to market your products or services at a relatively low cost on the internet, lets you do business with a national or even an international clientele from a small office in you home.

If you’re in the kind of home-based business that could benefit from having a catalog and sending it out to potential customers, you probably already know that the cost of producing such a catalog and mailing it is high and perhaps prohibitively expensive. An electronic catalog on the Internet offers a less expensive solution, and may bring good returns as long as enough of the people who compose your intended market spend time on the Internet.

Says Internet expert Harold Carey: "The cost is so low for the amount of exposure you get, the Internet is the best form of advertising you can get right now for the price." Ken Hildebrandt agrees: " According to some comparisons I did, I figure that the Internet runs about one-tenth the cost of newspaper advertising in terms of exposure per thousand people. And the cost differential is even greater than that when is comes to direct mail pieces."

WAYS TO USE THE INTERNET TO GET AHEAD

When it comes right down to the hard realities of dollars and cents, can the Internet really be used to increase a business’s bottom-line profitability?

Of course it can. If it couldn’t, do you think hundreds of thousands of businesses large and small around the world would still have their sites on the Internet? Here are some of the main ways they use the Internet to make money, either directly or indirectly:

SALES

Imagine this scenario: you find a product that you can manufacture inexpensively and quickly, a product that will appeal to the people who now use the Internet. You get a Web site to tell people about your product and to take orders via e-mail. By the end of the first day, you have a thousand orders, and as the days roll along, the number of orders per day increases. By the end of a month, you’ve made a million dollars.

Can this happen? Yes.

Will it happen to you? Probably not.

The fact is, despite hopes and earlier promises to the contrary, the Internet at this point in its evolution is more of an information medium than a sales medium.

True, hundreds of millions of dollars in sales are likely to be credited to the Internet this year alone, and that figure should rise dramatically with each passing year. But on a worldwide basis that isn’t a lot of money compared to the sales that can be attributed to traditional marketing channels.

Yes, this will change. And many experts predict that the Internet will eventually become one of the biggest and most profitable marketing tools around. But "eventually" is not now. It will likely be several years before this potential becomes a reality, after high-speed fiber optic cable connections are widely established.

That’s why, at least for now, the Internet remains first and foremost an information tool, and only secondarily as a sales tool. If you have the right product and the right market for Internet selling, go ahead and try it. It won’t cost much, and could pay off handsomely. But chances are, that the greatest benefits you’ll realize from having a Web site for the next few years will be related to disseminating and gathering information rather than taking orders.

Information

The number of ways that you can turn the Internet power to give and receive information into profit is limited only by your imagination.

For example, by offering valuable or interesting information that would interest the people who are likely to buy your products or use your services, you can generate inquiries (via e-mail, phone or letters) about your company and what you offer. By keeping track of those inquiries, you can build up a valuable list of potential customers or clients for mailing, e-mailing, or telephone callback purposes.

Similarly, your Internet site might include full information and details about your products or services. Information that is much more complete than what you could jam into a brochure or an advertisement. Potential buyers are now interested in what you offer and how to gain an in depth understanding of your products or services, which could impress them enough to contact you.

Through the Internet, you can also gather important marketing research information and feedback.

Customer Service and Support

Fast, low-cost customer service and support is being offered by an increasing number of companies, both large and small, via Internet sites. Online customer service pages can provide the people you serve updated information about orders and shipments, returns, instructions, and so on.

Marketing Strategy Tests

You can also use your Internet site to test different variations of ads, mailers, flyers, and other marketing pieces. This only works, however, if your target market for these pieces is similar in nature to the people who will see those pieces on the Internet.

Creating Your Own Internet Site

It’s one thing to surf the Internet, and to feel comfortable and confident in your ability to navigate your way through cyberspace. That’s relatively easy. But it’s quite another thing to establish your own Internet site on the World Wide Web.

How do you go about designing and Internet site? Can you do it yourself or do you need to hire an expert? What makes a site profitable and what makes it a bomb? Once it’s designed, how do you get it up and running on the Internet? And what cost is involved? In this section, we’ll answer these important questions.

CAN YOU DO IT YOURSELF?

Opinions vary on this subject. The first school of thought holds to the opinion that the new page design tools make it so easy to design a Web page, or for that matter, a complete, multi-page, interactive site with all the bells and whistles, and that virtually anyone can do it.

The uSight.com uBuilder

Recognizing the difficulty for most people of creating their own web site, uSight.com has implemented the uBuilder.

There are many HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) editors now available, some more user friendly than others. HTML is the language that your internet browser recognizes and what website designers use to create web pages. HTML editors have somewhat eliminated the need to learn this language in order to create a website. Nevertheless, they all take a significant amount of time to learn, even in the simplest aspects of programming a web page. Taking the time to go through this learning curve can be frustrating, particularly when all you want to do is get on the Internet and do business.

When you think about it, did you want to become an Internet entrepreneur so you could learn how to program HTML? Probably not. Most people want to get their web site up and going ASAP, without having to learn a special programming code or spend more money on software, right? If you are like most people, you want a relatively simple, straightforward way to create your site and begin doing business. That is what makes sense to us, and what we have found makes sense to most of our clients.

With that in mind, we have available to you the uBuilder. Creating a website with the uBuilder, is a quick and easy way to get your business up and going on the Internet, fully enabled to do e-commerce, without having to use HTML editors. You can write the content for your pages, upload your company logo, select a background for your main pages and your product pages, and more. Once you have completed your main pages (5-8 depending on your needs and preferences), you can begin uploading your product pictures and descriptions onto your product pages. As you upload your products, the uBuilder order form automatically creates your order form with your products on it. This order form will calculate the total of your visitor’s purchases, add in sales tax, and shipping and handling. With a few simple steps, you can connect your merchant account to your website and be ready for business, taking credit cards and debiting bank accounts. So, to the answer, can you do it yourself? Absolutely!

WHAT ABOUT THE COSTS?

The cost to use the uBuilder to build your website is included as part of your being a client of uSight.com. You can use the uBuilder as often and long as you want and there are no additional costs.

Start your site with a "home" page, add a few information pages along with a few product pages, connect your merchant account, and there you have it! A fully functioning, commerce enabled website.

(Please note: that while most of us want to put as many products on our web site as we can think of, the reality of the Internet is a little different. As a new site starting out, the most you should put on your site is about 10 products. We all know how fast people surf the net. Visitors click on a site, spend a few minutes and "click" are gone. Keeping that in mind, find your best products to capture the interest of your visitors. It is the best offers that will sell your visitors, not that you have a huge quantity of products.)

Your website will be hosted on the uSight server. Should you choose to have your own domain, that too is available through uSight.com.

WHAT’S GOOD AND WHAT’S BAD IN WEBSITE DESIGN?

Whether you decide to design your Internet site yourself, or have a professional do it, it pays to be aware of the characteristics of a successful Web site, and of the common pitfalls even experienced designers fall into. If you’re the do-it-yourself type, this information will be vital. If you decide to have it done for you, knowing what to look out for will help guide the designer in his or her efforts, and will enable you to catch any "mistakes" that even the best professionals are known to make.

Spelling/Grammatical Mistakes

The World Wide Web is a means of communications, and neatness does count. If you print a misspelled word in your online document, you can change it immediately, unlike a word in a newspaper that remains there forever. Proof reading your text will save you time as well as potential embarrassment.

Offer Useful Information

Because the Internet is still more of an information medium that a sales tool, you’ll attract more people to your site by offering the kind of information your target market wants to read. Once at your site, they might be persuaded to buy from you, or contact you for more information. But if you don’t lure them there with useful or at least interesting information in the first place, you won’t even get that far.

Don’t Overwhelm Them With Text

You can get a CD-ROM these days that has more books on it than you’ll read in your lifetime for the price of a hardback novel. But how much time do you (or anyone else, for that matter) spend on your computer reading for pleasure? Probably none. The fact is, people simply don’t find it comfortable to read lots of text on a computer screen. Nor do they like to have to wade through piles of text to get to the information they’re after. Take a hint and keep the text in your Web site short, concise, and snappy. If you have to include lengthy blocks of text, chop it up into small blocks with headlines and sub-headlines to help readers skim through it and zero in one what they want to know. Otherwise, you’ll chase them away.

Outdated Information

Most people would rather spend their time creating new content than on maintenance. In practice, maintenance is a cheap way of enhancing the content on your Web Site since many old pages keep their relevance and should be linked into the new pages. Of course, some pages are better off being removed completely rather than storing them "somewhere" in a back directory.

Don’t Skimp on Information

Space on the Internet is so inexpensive when compared to other forms of advertising that it doesn’t make sense to offer readers less information than you want to. A typical Web Site may have 2 megs of "space", which is roughly equal to a direct mail catalog filled with photographs and descriptions. You can, and should, get lots of information onto your site so you don’t leave your potential buyers wanting more.

At the same time, it’s important to resist the urge of cramming too much text and information into each page of your site. Instead, keep each segment short, snappy and easy to read with links to take them out to other segments of information they find interesting.

Follow Proper Graphic Design Rules

A Web Site is like a brochure, but in digital format. The same basic graphic design rules, which apply to creating a brochure that invites the eye and captures the reader’s attention, apply to Internet site design.

Your site will draw people in better and hold them longer if it has eye-catching graphics, an easy-to read layout, and exciting interactivity. Its design should be clean, simple, and easy to follow. Readers want to be able to navigate around and through your site intuitively, without having to stop and figure out how to do it. That’s a sure way to lose them.

Also, give each page in your site a consistent look using the same basic style and format conventions. This will tie your site together, giving it harmony and making it easier to use.

Don’t forget that your site’s design should faithfully reflect the nature of your home business, its products or services, and its customers or clients. The graphic image of a Web Site for a nursing home should be dramatically different than the graphic presentation for a suntan salon. Never forget who you are, what you offer, and whom you’re selling to.

Use the Bells and Whistles – If They Make Sense

When lots of weird and different fonts became available to the average computer use, simple word processing documents suddenly got very busy and messy as people attempted to get fancy with their use of fonts.

Also, sparingly include page elements that move incessantly (scrolling text and marquees). Moving images have an overpowering effect on the human peripheral vision. A Web Page should not emulate Time Square in New York City in its constant attack on the human senses; give your users some peace and quiet to actually read the text!

Some Internet sites show signs of the same syndrome. As cool tools have become available for use in constructing Web pages (video, audio, Java applets, images maps, and others) many page designers, both professional and amateur, have attempted to throw every ingredient indiscriminately into the pot to jazz up the soup. The result, more often than not, has been a blitz on the senses that detracts from the marketing purposes of the site.

The enhancements can also slow up the transfer of information from your site to the computer of your potential customer or client. If that transfer is slow, many Internet users won’t wait. And don’t forget that many people access the Internet through America Online or Prodigy, all of which can be somewhat slower than direct browsers.

So go ahead, use the cool tools, but only with restraint and only where appropriate.

Make It Flow

Your site should flow easily, allowing visitors to quickly and simply get from one point to another to find what they’re looking for. Use commonly accepted icons and navigation tools. You can’t expect the people who visit your site to learn a new navigation system just to read what you have to offer.

In addition, make sure all pages include a clear indication of what they belong to since users may access pages directly without coming in through your home page. For the same reason, every page should have a link up to your home page as well as some indication of where they fit within the structure of your information space.

Use Footers

You can’t be sure on which page of your site people will enter and leave. Consequently, it’s a good idea to include a complete "footer" on every page, a footer that includes the other links in your site, as well as your home business’s address, phone numbers, and e-mail address.

Make Your Site A Winner On Any Browser

If you’ve used the Internet much, you have seen many Web Sites that state, "This site is best viewed with Netscape". Netscape is currently the most popular Web browser, but it’s not the only one. Make sure that the site you design, or have designed for you, looks good on all the major browsers.

To do this, you can have the server provide varying versions of your site for the different browsers, or you can have your site created in such a way that it will look good on all Web browsers without modification. It’s also a good idea to have an alternate text rendition, so that readers can view the site in "text only" mode and still understand it. In the same vein, text buttons should accompany all image maps.

Solicit Comments and Feedback

The Internet gives you the opportunity to market your products and solicit feedback and comments at the same time. Soliciting comments from those that visit your site, and making it easy for them to do so, can give you valuable information that you can use to continually improve your Web pages.

Include a Simple, Clear Call to Action

What do you want visitors to your Web Site to do once they’ve seen your site? Let them know! Be clear and precise. If you want them to call a specific telephone number, tell them. If you want them to send you e-mail, tell them. Whatever you want them to do, don’t just tell them what to do, but also give them specific, precise instructions regarding how to do it. Make this call to action easy to find by using graphics to pop it out visually. And remember. Keep it simple!

How to Maximize the Profitability of Your Internet Site

Since your Internet site has been designed for maximum effectiveness and is fully functional on the World Wide Web, now what? Do you sit back and wait for the orders to start rolling in? If you do, you've wasted your money and effort. With so many million Web sites out there in cyberspace your site will be lost like a needle in a haystack unless you make it otherwise. But how can you do that? What concrete actions can you take to help your Web site get the result you want?

In this final section of the booklet, we're going to suggest several steps you can take to make you site really work for you. Be aware that these are not all the "tricks" and techniques you can use here too, your creativity is your only limitation.

Get Listed

As mentioned earlier in this booklet, there are several indexing systems on the Web called "search engines." (Alta Vista seems to be the most popular and comprehensive at this time.) These search engines allow people to search the Internet for words such as "calculators", or combinations of key words, like "home office supplies." The search engines quickly return a listing of all the sites containing the key words, and they simply "click" on the site to bring it onto their screen.

Announcement sites, such as Yahoo and Lycos, categorize Internet sites and generally include customized search engines.

It is imperative to register your home business's Web sites with the Internet's search engines and announcement sites. They may even place your site in a "What's New" listing, or give you a high rating, which will bring you more viewers.

If the company that creates your Web site, and puts you on the Internet doesn't get you listed with these sites, do it yourself by e-mailing notices or press releases describing your site and giving the address and other pertinent information. You can find these search engines and announcement sites and their e-mail addresses on the Internet.

"If you really want to be successful in getting the word out about your Internet Site," adds Harold Carey, "send a press release with color photos to all the Internet magazines. These magazines are looking for good new sites to tell their readers about. But remember, they don't want to tell their readers about sites that are merely advertisements."

Get Linked

Ask complementary companies to create "links" to your different Web Site pages, and offer to do the same for them. Let's say that you're a free-lance graphic artist. You could find Web sites for related services, such as photography, copyrighting, advertising services, etc., and work out a deal with to "refer" potential clients to each other through the use of links. That way, when someone needs a graphic artist to create a brochure, and is searching through the Web pages of a copywriter that you have on your page, the process will be reversed, and that person will be directed to your website through their link.

Place Ads At Other Internet Sites

Many popular Internet sites, including search engine sites and announcement sites, sell advertising. It may be that you don't want to pay the price to advertise to millions of visitors everyday; that it would be better to zero in on a more tightly defined segment of the market. Then why not find companies or individuals with popular sites that are visited by large numbers of people in that tightly defined segment of marketing, and offer to purchase an "advertisement" at their site? (Of course, you should first try to work out a swap, letting them have an ad, or at least link, at your site if you can have one on theirs.)

Participate In Banner Exchange Programs

Dozens of organizations such as "Link Exchange" or "SmartClick" allow you to participate in their free banner exchange program to bring additional customers to your site. Each program requires you to create a banner advertisement (at your cost) and place a reciprocal banner link on your page.

Become A Helpful Part Of An Internet Community

By an "Internet community," we mean a group of people who interact with each other via the Internet. There are tens of thousands of UseNet groups on the Internet. These are groups of individuals who share common interests and exchange information back and forth by posting messages to the group as a whole, or to an individual within the group. Find a UseNet group whose members would be likely to want your product or service, and then become a resource to those people. Participate in forums and online discussions. Answer questions. Supply information. Be helpful. Build relationships. Spend some time online every day to do this.

Don't use these groups for hard sell purposes, however. Most groups won't tolerate commercial postings. But you can soft sell your products or services by participating in a beneficial helpful way.

Harold Carey agrees: "Where you can really make money is by going to the UseNet discussion groups on the Internet that are in some way related to your product or service and interact with people in these discussions, answering questions, offering help, and so on. There are close to 33,000 different UseNet groups.

"Don't advertise your products or services in these discussions, however. When you post a message to the Internet, you have a signature block, usually with about four lines or more of text. What people are doing now is putting mini "soft" advertisements in their signature blocks. They include the names and telephone numbers of their companies and every time they post a message to a UseNet group, they're basically placing an advertisement. These messages are also indexed by the search engines, so people might read them when they're looking for information or products in that area in the future."

Don't Let Your Site Go Stale

Update you Internet site regularly, definitely any time the information changes significantly. Changes come quickly these days, and the Internet is a master quick-change artist. So don't let your site go stale with outdated information. Some sites are updated every day, or even several times a day (You likely won't have to update as frequently as they do). Updated or new information works to lure people back again and again to your sites.

Respond Quickly To Your E-Mail

People who frequently use the Internet are accustomed to speed. That's one of the beauties of cyberspace. It's fast. If you're serious about establishing a profitable presence on the Internet, get in the habit of checking your e-mail messages frequently, whether they are requests for information or actual orders. How frequently? That depends on your volume of messages. If you get a lot, twice or even three times a day may be appropriate. But even if you get only an occasional e-mail message, always check at least once a day, and respond right away.

Promote Your Web Site Outside The Internet

Make sure you announce and advertise the existence of your site every chance to get. You should include your Web site address (URL) and e-mail address on your business cards, letterhead and invoices. Those should also be announced in all your advertising efforts, including brochures, flyers, packaging, print ads, or media spots. You might also want to send out releases to magazines, newspapers, or other publications whose readers would be interested in the information your site offers.

Integrate Your Site Into A Complete Marketing Effort

Although the advantages of the Internet can be real and substantial for your home business, don't make the mistake of limiting your marketing program to the medium of the Internet alone. Few businesses could do this successfully at this stage of the Internet's evolution. Instead, make the Internet one component of an integrated marketing strategy that might include print advertising, direct mail pieces, brochures, flyers, and so on.

Take a synergistic approach to this integrated effort, using one marketing tool to build upon another. Here's an example: your newspaper ad mentions your Internet address, people hear the ad and visit your Internet site, your Internet site invites interested parties to e-mail you and request a brochure, which you send to clinch a sale. There are many ways to make your various advertising tools work together to make your business more profitable. Use your creativity to create a plan. Then follow it.

IT WON'T WORK UNTIL YOU TURN IT ON

You can sit and stare at a computer all day, but until you turn it on, it won't do you any good. Similarly, you can read this booklet over and over again, but until you take action, it won't do a thing to help your home-business generate more profits.

If you're like most people, you're somewhat intimidated, maybe extremely intimidated, by jumping into cyberspace on the Internet. But it's really not as confusing or frightening as you might think. The Internet is a different animal than it was years ago before the ascension of the extremely accessible and easy-to-use World Wide Web. Back then, being on the Internet was similar to being a member of a secret fraternity that was shrouded in mystery. Today, it's for everyone, young and old.

The point is, take the leap. The sooner you do, the better off you'll be. There are things you'll learn that can only be learned from first-hand exposure to the Internet, even if your home-based business isn't the kind that can directly profit from marketing itself on the Internet right now, all indications point to a time in the not-too-distance future when almost all businesses of all types will be doing so.

Become familiar with the Internet. At the very least, you'll be able to use this vast network to obtain useful information. Beyond that, who knows where it might take you?

Use the following "Action List" right now to jot down the steps you are going to take to put the full potential of the Internet to work for you.

Action List

By combining the growth power of the Internet with a little creativity, people throughout the world are using the Internet at this very moment to make their businesses more profitable. Could you do the same? It's time to find out!

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Note: See the uSight Index at uSightIndex.htm