Internet Business

Ready for a website?

May 7, 2009 By joyce Leave a Comment

There are a number of different ways, and levels of expense, to create a website. You can have someone build and maintain it for you. This is usually the most expensive but the least time consuming way. The drawback is that you have no control. And without some knowledge of what you need and what it should cost you, you could be taken advantage of.

You can have it built by someone else who will teach you how to make changes and maintain it. They will usually continue as a fee-based consultant for those times when you run into problems and need help. This can be less expensive over the long term, is more time consuming for you, and allows you to have some control depending on how much you wish to learn.

The third option is to build your own site. And once again, there are several options. When creating my first website, my business hadn’t grown enough to allow me to pay someone. But what was of greater concern for me was that I wanted total control. The trade-off was time. The first website was built on a “free” service and wasn’t beautiful but I learned the basics.

After a few months, I made the decision to move it from the free server to my own domain and to learn how to build it myself from the ground up. I purchased Front Page and several dummie type books and dug in. I joined a google group about Front Page where my questions could be answered, and the site began evolving.

Knowing how important search engines are for providing traffic, once again I learned how to do it myself. There are many companies out there begging for your business, guaranteeing they can put you on page one of google by optimizing your site. Some are legitimate. Many are not. But no one can guarantee you a position on page one of google unless they pay for a Pay Per Click ad and then you’re not in the organic search results–you’re in the ads.

I am the kind of person that doesn’t want to hire someone to do something for me when I have no idea of whether or not I’m being taken for a ride. Optimizing is not hard. It’s just knowing how to do it and taking the time to implement what you know. There are free classes online and books available if you are willing to invest the time.

Fast forward a few years and I can honestly say that doing it myself was the very best decision I could have made. I now own a number of different websites, all of which I’ve built and optimized myself. Believe me, it’s a wonderful feeling when those orders come rolling in and you know that you did it!

But my decision may not be the best one for you. Each has to weigh the pros and cons and decide what is best for themselves. For those of you who have the desire to step out into website building, here are several options that are currently available to make it easier for you.

Microsoft, the creator of FrontPage, now offers their newest website building program called ExpressionWeb. If you would like to try it with little cost, for a limited time Microsoft has a page listing web hosts that are offering a free copy of Expression Web v2 with 60 days of free hosting. For this offer, see http://www.microsoft.com/web/ jumpstart/ platinum- hosting/default. aspx for more information.

If you would like to have someone build a site for you and hold your hand as they teach you how to maintain it, I recommend Laura Wheeler of Firelight Web Creations. Located in Wyoming, she can be reached at webtech@firelightbusinessenterprises.com . She’s honest, patient, and has worked with several members of GiftBasketNetwork either building or rebuilding their sites.

If you want easy, you might take a look at ProStores. They say that ProStores has everything you need to start selling online today- shopping cart, domain hosting, merchandising, reporting, and more! I build my own sites so haven’t used it but it does appear to be everything it says it is. Check it out and decide for yourself.

Regardless of which option you go for, in today’s world, every business should have some form of internet presence.

Creating Trust For Your Business

May 3, 2009 By joyce Leave a Comment

“Four Star Restaurant and Coffee Shop”

These were the words in an ad in my local newspaper today for a coffee shop that has been open less than a year and has just begun adding dinner to their coffee shop menu. Perhaps I am alone (but I don’t think so), when my thoughts were, “Said who? You?”

Last week, I received an email newsletter from another local business. There was a glowing testimonial signed simply “Anonymous cosmotologist” .

Did either of these ads do what they intended — make me trust their business because it was recommended by others? No. And the reason is simple. You can create anything or anybody on the internet, on paper, or on the airwaves. But the creation is not what makes people trust you.

rock - creating trust Trust comes with knowing that real people or real organizations endorse you. And those real people and organizations have to have names. Even then, the endorsing person or organization should have credibility and be trusted by those you are marketing to.

Testimonials are valuable marketing tools. But, all too often, we dilute the value of them, by making them seem make up rather than real. Anybody can write a series of glowing testimonials but by using initials or anomymous as the writer, you’re wasting your time. They aren’t believable.

The same is true when you list a series of names as references or past customers. Most people will never take the time to contact these references nor will the list create credibility. I could sit down and write you a long list of refences for this blog, but think about it? How many of you will contact those references? How many of those references have ever even read this blog? How many of those references are going to be positive? How many will be negative or neutral? The same is true when you list a series of names in your brochure or on your website.

Testimonials are the most valuable marketing tools that you can use to create trust for your business IF THEY ARE REAL AND IF YOU USE THEM CORRECTLY. So, go to those people who have used your business more than once and ask them for a testimonial. Ask for permission to use their name. If they won’t let you use their name, the testimonial is worthless.

And, if you’re a new business or have been in business for a short period of time, don’t use testimonials or references. They simply aren’t believable and don’t create the trust that you are trying for. If you’re new in business, there are other ways to build trust and believability. Use those instead!

Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Gift Baskets, Marketing & Sales Tagged With: Add new tag, advertising, gift basket business, Independently owned business, Internet Business, marketing

Website Pirates

April 18, 2009 By joyce Leave a Comment

You suck in your breath! Your heart starts pounding! Your adrenaline skyrockets! You know your blood pressure is in trouble.

No, you’re not in love. You’ve just discovered that someone has copied your website and it appears under a domain name that you’ve never heard of. You click on the “about us” page and see your face smiling back at you and your name telling the world how great your business is. The blood pressure rises higher as you click on the “Contact us” page. There you find an address and phone number that definitely isn’t yours.

You pick up the phone and dial the number. The number doesn’t exist. You take a deep breath. What can you do now?

website-pirate This experience has happened to me twice–most recently last week. And it could happen to you. And it’s much more serious than someone who copies one of your photos. If you discover website pirates, this is what you need to do.

First check the whois for the domain. You can do this easily by going to any company that registers domain names and type in the domain name that you’ve found. I used godaddy.com. The registration for the domain shows who it is registerd to and what company is hosting the domain.

The first step is to contact the domain registrar and the hosting company. If you’re lucky as I was last week (I wasn’t so lucky the first time), they are both with the same company. Most hosting companies have a page on their website that explains exactly what you have to do to file a copyright complaint. In my case, I had to submit an email to godaddy that stated the following:

An electronic signature of the copyright owner, or a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive copyright that has allegedly been infringed.
Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works on that site.
Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit Go Daddy to locate the material.
Information reasonably sufficient to permit Go Daddy to contact the Complaining Party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the Complaining Party may be contacted.
A statement that the Complaining Party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the Complaining Party is the owner, or is authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Once I did this, godaddy’s copyright department removed the offending site and notified the offender that it had been removed.

Sounds fairly simple but it’s not always easy. If the hosting company is located in another country, it’s a whole different ball game.

How could someone copy a whole website consisting of hundreds of pages? It’s easy with software that now exists.
Who does this sort of piracy? It’s usually someone located in China or Russia who wants to use the copied website as a means of distributing a virus or worse.

How can you find out if your website has been copied? Since the website is copied exactly as is with the exception of contact information, the copied site is going to rank very similar to your own in the search engines. I know what keywords I’m ranking for and check them frequently. This is how I discovered the second offense. The copied site ranked two places below mine.

Another way to check is to pick out some text on your homepage that is unique to your site. Put that text in google search and you may be surprised to find another site showing the same text.

You can also file a complaint with google to have the listings removed from their search engine. But you will have to address each page that is copied. And with over 300 pages, that’s a big job. It’s much easier to get the site removed by the hosting company and then it will just gradually fade from google.

Filed Under: Internet Business Tagged With: gift basket business, Internet Business

Featured Business – Unique Marketing Tools

April 13, 2009 By joyce Leave a Comment

goodie-purse When I started this blog, I said that periodically I would be featuring other businesses whose owners are Creative Entrepreneurs. The first in this series is Creative Idea Shop, located in Southern California, and its owner Susan Placek.

Susan, a master pastry chef and artist, retired from cakes and pastries after 20 years in the business and started her own business. Combining her artistic talents with a love of vintage things, she has created a series of products that can be used for personal celebrations and for marketing your business.

popcorn-cover Beginning with a series of custom covers for packages of miscrowave popcorn covers (she now has over 200 designs to choose from and can create your own custom design) in 2006, she has added mouse pads, calendars, and a series that she calls “small treasures”. Her newest addition “goody purses” are truly unique and different and makes a marketing tool or addition to your gift basket that will be “oooed and ahhhed” over. If you do regional gift baskets or want something really different to market your local area, her state/regional themed vintage postcard popcorn covers are perfect.

Visit her website at http://www.popcorngreetings.com and check out all she has to offer. The pricing shown on the website is retail. If you are a business (and most of my readers are) wholesale pricing is available.

Susan Placek is another “Creative Gift Entrepreneur”!

Filed Under: Marketing & Sales Tagged With: advertising, gift basket business, Independently owned business, Internet Business, Products, Small Business

There’s no way around SEO

April 9, 2009 By joyce 2 Comments

You’ve built your website, added a shopping cart and gorgeous pictures, and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Where’s all the traffic. Why haven’t they found you?

Regardless of how beautiful or efficient website you may have, there’s simply no way around it. The internet is not a place where “if you build it, they will come!” Search engine optimization is one strategy that you can’t ignore.

It’s not all that difficult — rocket science and brain surgery are much more difficult and takes longer to learn. But you have to be careful who you learn from and what you learn. There are all sorts of “tips” and “tricks” that folks online guarantee will quickly take you to the top. But beware. If you use the wrong “tips” and “tricks”, you might get your listings listed on the back pages of that favorite search engine — or even nowhere to be found at all.

It doesn’t take “tips” and tricks.” It takes a bit of knowledge and time.

In some future posts, I’ll talk about some of the things you should do to increase your standings in the search engines. Equally important, however, are some of the things you SHOULDN”T do.

1. Forgetting the title tage for each page. The title tag appears at the top of the browser and tells the search engines what the page is about. Forgetting to include it is just like your forgetting to sign a letter you send out to your customers.

2. Using the name of your business or the url name as the title tage for each page.

3. Stuffing the title tag with a list of words such as: gift baskets, gourmet gift baskets, holiday gift baskets, gift baskets for kids, mother’s day gift baskets, and on and on.

4. Using the title tag to welcome your customers. It’s great to have a friendly website but the title tag is not the place to tell them how glad you are to have them there.

5. Keywords meta tags, that are well written and contains just one or two keywords, is the way to go but unfortunately most search engines ignore them. But a keyword meta tag that includes a long string of words or trademarked names of other businesses can get you penalized.

6. Typing your keywords over and over again at the very top or bottom of your page is an old trick that can hurt you. How many websites have you seen that have every state in the Union listed as places they deliver to?

7. Hiding words by using the webpage background color for the color of the text. This little “tip” can get you banned from Google.

8. Using keywords, that have nothing to do with your website, to trick the search engines into sending traffic to you.

These are just a few things that can create problems with the search engines. Seach engine optimization is very straight forward and doesn’t require tips and treats. We’ll be talking about this more later. In the meanwhile, make sure that you aren’t making some of these seach engine killing mistakes.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Internet Business

You Can Create A Whole New Person on the Internet

April 7, 2009 By joyce Leave a Comment

As more people lose jobs or income, more and more scams–or less than honest opportunities– are appearing on the internet. As a professional writer, who personally knows a lot of other writers, let me say that you should NEVER believe everything you read. As someone once said, “Don’t believe most of what you read, and only half of what you see!”

Talented writers, professional motivational speakers, and website entrepreneurs can be very creative. They can even create a whole new person and make you believe that they exist. Unfortunately, anyone can say anything on the internet as long as it doesn’t lible someone else.

What does this have to do with gift business owners who are Creative Gift Entrepreneurs? A lot!

How many times have you received emails telling you how wonderful a particular product or service is and how great the person behind it is? We all have at one time or another. Most of us regularly receive emails offering to put us on page one of the search engines if we only hire them to optimize our website. Or how about the minister wanting to buy large quantities of a particular gift if you’ll only let him know how to pay you? There are many scams– and the internet is a gold mine for scammers and those who are less than honest.

Innocence or Deceit — Which is it?

A person, that wants to impress potential customers, can even create a whole different personality and resume for themselves in order to lure you into their web of deceit. Sometimes it’s very innocent as in the example of the gift basket entrepreneur who has created a “twin” to handle the marketing aspect of his business or the business owner who has created an “assistant” to handle the customer service and email responses. There’s nothing wrong with either of these creations.

But othertimes, it’s not so innocent, particularly if the person is trying to take your money for a product or service that doesn’t exist. The statement “Buyer Beware” is very true of any internet website or email wanting to sell you something.

How to Protect Yourself?

How can you protect yourself? It can be difficult as folks, who do this, are truly creative entrepreneurs. Their background and experience and even testimonials can sound so convincing that any of us can be easily fooled. But, unless you are personally familar with a particular person, product, or service, ask someone that may be more familiar with what you are considering. Does their resume include speaking and writing experience? If so, ask for references and check them out. Do they include testimonials? If so, ask for names and phone numbers and check them to see if they actually exist. Even then, a reference may be a “friend in on the kill.”

If it is a website, check the domain name and see when it was first registered. You can do that easily at godaddy.com or any other website where you can buy domain names. If it is brand new, I would be a little suspicious. It could be legitimate or it could be someone out to make a fast buck before disappearing.

If it is an opportunity or product related to your own industry, it’s easy enough to ask others who are familiar with the industry what they know about a particular person, product, or service.

But, as I said, anyone can say anything or even create a whole new persona on the web. I could tell you that I’ve published ten books about the gift basket industry and they’ve each sold over a million copies. That would be a lie but you would have to do some research to discover that it is untrue. I could tell you that I’ve been a speaker at The Basket Connection Convention in Orlando and again in Atlanta and that I was a regular staff writer for our trade magazine, Rave Reviews, since it began. That would all be true and could be checked out with anyone who is familiar with our industry.

So, if you are considering spending money for a product or service that you are unfamiliar with, check it out. It could be the best thing since sliced bread or it could be someone anxious to take your money in exchange for little or nothing.

Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Gift Baskets, Internet Business, The World Around Us Tagged With: credit card fraud, gift basket business, Independently owned business, Internet Business, making money on the internet, scams, Small Business

Creating niches with your gift website

April 3, 2009 By joyce Leave a Comment

One of the best things that you can do with your website is to develop your content around keywords and phrases that are generic gifts such as “Flagstaff Gift Baskets“.

“But my competion is doing the very same thing”, you may say. That’s true, but that shouldn’t stop you. Just take it a step further and expand on those generic niches.

There are many niches you can create that people will actually be searching the web for. “But I don’t have any niches,” you say. “I sell gift baskets.” Yes, you do have niches. And, each of these is a niche that can provide opportunities to create very focused content, with key phrases your competition isn’t targeting. How about:

Flagstaff gourmet gift baskets
Flagstaff apartment gifts
Northern Arizona University care packages
Flagstaff Medical Center Get Well Gift Baskets

If you look at traffic statistics for a gift website that receives high traffic, you’ll be surprised at the search phrases that brings in that traffic. These phrases are called “the long tail” of seach.

There are a great many more search terms that you can use to create a niche. Then create content that is focused on these niche words and phrases and optimize the page for both visitors and search engines. There will be far less competition, and you’ll do much better in the search engines. You don’t need to write a novel on these topics. Three hundred words or so is usually adequate. The text, combined with photos of what you can create for these niches, can make a very effective search engine magnet.

Your site can develop several niches, each as a major page with sub-pages for each title and phrase. Why compete for the major words when you’re able to get first page search positions for the lesser-used key phrases?

If you have more information than you feel comfortable putting on one page, link to sub-pages that expand on even more focused niches.

By spending time on this one part of your website, you can beat your competition.

If you are receiving this post via email, you can click on the title and go directly to our blog to share your comments.

Filed Under: Internet Business Tagged With: gift basket business, Independently owned business, Internet Business, making money on the internet

Do you sell based on price?

March 26, 2009 By joyce Leave a Comment

In today’s economy price is important. But even more important is value.

If all you talk about when marketing your gifts and gift baskets is price (whether on the internet or in person), that’s what your customers will base their buying decisions on.

If what you feature is the needs and benefits to your customers, they will base their decisions on how well you meet those needs and desires with your product or service.

What do you talk about?

Filed Under: Marketing & Sales Tagged With: gift basket business, Independently owned business, Internet Business, making money on the internet, marketing, Small Business

The Face in the Mirror or What Did You Learn Today?

March 21, 2009 By joyce 2 Comments

three-bears Remember that girl called Goldilocks?
And how she broke into the house of the Three Bears?
And how she ate their porridge, sat in their chairs, and slept on their beds?
All while the three bears felt that their little home in the forest was safe and secure while they went into the woods for a picnic that day.

Well, that’s what has happened to many business owners.
Something has eaten your porridge, rocked in your chairs, and rustled those
sheets while it slept in your bed — all while you felt you were secure enough that you could relax and go into the woods for a picnic while your business took care of itself.

And suddenly you arrived home to find the doors unlocked, the bed unmade, and the porridge all gone. “Woe is me!” you moan, as you wring your hands. “What is a hard working business person to do?”

I’ve read posts on the gift basket bulletin boards both from people starting a business and from those who have been in business for years. They ask, “What can we do to rescue our businesses in this economy? What techniques are working for the rest of you. ” Tell me, Tell me quick so that I can do it do, they seem to say.

Businesses are closing daily while others are in dire need of resisutation. But you’re looking for the wrong Goldilocks.

It’s not the economy. People are still spending money on “feel good” gifts.
It’s not the lack of customers. They’re still there, waiting to buy.
It’s not the industry. As a whole, it is as strong as ever and will remain whole even if your business doesn’t.

The answer is easy. Take a few moments, step into your bathroom, and look into the mirror. You’ll see the answer staring you in the face. Ask that person that you see looking back at you, “Are you taking advantage of every resource out there to keep your business growing and thriving in today’s world?”

Then step back, think a few moments, and listen to the answer swirling around in your head.

I believe that the strength and the backbone of any industry, including the gift and gift basket industry, rests with the educational offerings, resources, and information shared with each other. The world is changing. The gift industry is changing. That’s not news. It has been changing from the time it first began. There are always new ways to attract customers, new technology to embrace, new ways to keep our customers coming back, and new ways to motivate employees. There are always new products, new techniques, and new resources.

So let me ask you the question: What did you learn today? What resource did you take advantage of? What new technique did you try? What idea did you put into practice?

And don’t say, “How can I do that? There aren’t any resources! I’m all alone.”

It’s not a question of a lack of resources. There are at least five gift basket related bulletin boards available for your use — all frequented by many experienced in past recessions that can help guide you through the maze. At least two of these are free. The others either require a subscription to our national trade magazine or a membership in a gift basket directory, or a membership fee to use the board. The advantage that the private boards have over the free open-to-the-public boards is that those with knowledge to share are more willing to share if they show what they are sharing isn’t going to show up in the search engines.

Are you taking advantage of the other resources? Rave Reviews, the only trade publication for our industry, isn’t free. GiftBasketNetwork is the leading directory, for the least cost and the most benefits, for driving traffic to your website. You can operate your business on a shoestring but you can’t grow it without spending some money on important resources.

Are you learning everything you can about changes in the industry and in technology? Some of you are while others are stretched out on the grass sleeping away the afternoon while Goldilocks trashes your house. In the forum, available on GiftRetailersNetwork, a few weeks ago, I offfered a FREE copy of an ebook about how to increase traffic to your website with search engine optimization. Out of over 100 members, six were awake enough to take advantage of this free resource. And, no, it is no longer available for free. Like many things, if you snooze, you lose.

So look in that mirror and place the responsibility, for making sure that your business continues to grow and thrive, where it belongs. Today, and at the end of each day, ask the face that is staring back at you, “What did you learn today?”

Filed Under: The World Around Us, Up Close and Personal Tagged With: gift basket business, Independently owned business, Internet Business, making money on the internet, Small Business

It All Goes Back Into The Box

March 14, 2009 By joyce Leave a Comment

Ken Blanchard, author of “The One Minute Manager and other business books” , told the story about the little boy who really wanted to beat his grandmother at Monopoly. He studied. He practiced. He learned. Until one day, he beat her at the game and told her, “Finally! I beat you.”

She smiled as she picked up the pieces and put them back into the monopoly box. She then told the child, “Yes, you did. But let me tell you another lesson that I’ve learned about playing the game of life. You can work hard, study, practice and become whatever kind of person you want to me. But when the game of life is over, it all goes back into the box. The only thing that’s left behind is what you’ve created or done for others.”

I’ve heard the phrase, “You have to give to get” and have also heard results of how people have been blessed as a direct result of what they have given to others. But I have a different philosophy. I don’t think you have to give to get. I think you give, not because of what you will receive in return, but because your giving is from the heart.

There’s a country-western song that tells the tale about a young man who stopped to help an elderly lady stopped on the highway with a problem with her car. The young man was broke but instead of taking payment for his help, he told the lady to “Pass it On!” The song goes on to tell of a waitress, who was pregnant, tired, and discouraged. An elderly lady left a $100 tip. That night the waitress laid in bed beside the young man who had helped the elderly woman with her car and told him about the woman who had left the $100 tip. And the song ends with the magical words of “Just Pass It On.”

I am a business coach for a County Business Empowerment Class in my community. Last week, a local entrepreneur, who has become very successful, spoke about how he started his business hoping to make lots of money. He said that he was in the business for the money–not just because it enables him to live well and do things he’s always wanted to do–but because he can use that money to help others as well. I remember the author of “Everything I needed to Know About Life I learned in Kindergarden” say basically the same thing.

Successful entrepreneurs have to be interested in money if they hope to be successful. You can’t just forget the financial parts of a business and operate it any way you feel like. How you treat your customers, your investors, and even your vendors go a long way towards determining how financially successful you will be.

There are, of course, those like Ken Lay of Enron fame and Mr Matoff of Ponzi scheme fame, who cheat others to make their millions and then use it to live like kings. Then there are those entrepreneurs who achieve their business goals while practicing the principal of “Pass It On!” When the game of life is all over, and it all goes back into the box, the Ken Lays and Matoffs of the world will leave behind people who have been hurt or destroyed. The “Pass It On” entrepreneurs will leave a legacy that may not even be known by most but will be appreciated and remembered by those they helped.

We are in the midst of changes in the world. Changes bring opportunities. What will you do with them? Share your comments!

Filed Under: Marketing & Sales, The World Around Us, Up Close and Personal Tagged With: Customer Service, Internet Business, making money on the internet, scams, Small Business