------- Clearing Up the Confusion E-Zine ------- Vol 1, Issue 10 Wow! I made it to issue 10! Who'd'a thunk it? Of course, as with most things in life, success isn't about hitting the occasional home run, but rather it's the consistent, boring base hits that often win the game. I didn't sit down and write ten issues in one swell foop. That was just a matter of sitting down every two weeks (OK there was that little slip-up around issue 3) and plugging away. Similarly, having a great web presence is more than just paying to have a beautiful site built for you. Beyond than that you've got to give your visitors a reason to return. Check out this issue's article for some ideas. ---------------------------------------------------------------- In This Issue... ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Article: 8 Ways to Build a Stronger Web Presence 2. Blog Posts 3. Shameless Self-Promotion 4. The Fine Print ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Article: 8 Ways to Build a Stronger Web Presence ---------------------------------------------------------------- By now most of us know that "if you aren't on the Web, you don't exist". It's true. If they can't find you on the Web, your clients will look elsewhere for the help they need. The problem is, most folks assume that all they need is a website in order to say they are on the Web. While that might have been true five years ago, today your prospects are expecting something more -- a web *presence*. What does that mean? It means you've set yourself up as the expert on what you do and for all intents and appearances, you are going to be around for the duration. What follows are some ideas to help you develop your Web presence: 1. Keep it up to date -- Nothing says you are yesterday's news more than, well, yesterday's news. Take a look at your website, especially the all-important home page. Do you have any signs of obsolescence? Are your news briefs more than a few months old? How about the "Upcoming Events" calendar? Do you have new testimonials and new case studies of projects you've worked on? When you are discussing your next website upgrade with your webmaster, one of the top things on your list had better be "How do I keep this site up to date?". 2. Write a blog -- Writing a blog helps with the three most important things on the Web: Content, Content, Content. How is your blog doing? When was the last time you wrote in it? Uh, you *do* have a blog, don't you? Whether you use WordPress (wordpress.org), Blogger (blogger.com), TypePad (typepad.com), or one of a plethora of other systems out there, you really do need a blog. Write consistently, at least once a week. Write about your business. Write about *being* in business. Write about your triumphs. Write about your challenges. Be sure that you have a link from your blog to your company website. In my case, up to 25% of the visitors to the Cyber Data Solutions website came to me from my blog. 3. Write an E-Zine -- In the same way that the blog can draw in potential clients, an e-zine can help *keep* you in contact. Before I hear your complaint about how difficult it would be to write an e-zine, just stop right there. An e-zine is just an email message that you send to a bunch of people which talks about some aspect of your business (or some other topic about which you are an expert). No matter what you do, you should be able to describe some aspect of your expertise in an email. To maintain the list, most hosting services offer simple mailing list managers, like MailMan. Ask your webmaster about this. She can probably help. There are also several commercial systems which can help you support an e-zine and help you make it look much nicer than this effort of mine. Constant Contact (constantcontact.com) is one of the more popular of these beasts. 4. Give it away -- Look at all that great content that you wrote in 2 and 3. With a little bit of tweaking, you've got some great articles that you can make available to the world. Contribute them to ezinearticles.com or similar article sites. Make them available on your website. The more you can give away your knowledge, the more you appear to be the expert. Also, the more of your content that is available on the web, the more likely it is that you are going to be on page one in any given Google search about topics in your area of expertise. 5. Contribute to others -- Read other people's blogs, especially those in the same industry as you. Where you can, contribute by commenting on their articles. Let other people see your name and hear your voice. Let them know you are part of the community. 6. Contribute to the community -- No matter what your expertise, there is probably a discussion forum somewhere which focuses on it. Go there, read the messages, add to the conversations. Who knows? You might even learn something! 7. Be consistent. Be patient -- It *is* hard work, but the more you do the more it pays off. If you do these things for only a day, no one will notice. After a week, you *might* get a hit or two. Do it for a month or a year, though, and you will be surprised how much more you begin to appear as the top of mind -- the expert. 8. Be sincere -- This is probably the most important step of all. If you attempt to use the above suggestions *only* to try to drum up business, you are better off not doing anything at all. Your audience knows the difference between valuable information and a sales letter. Your authentic story of success will draw them in. Your advertisement will push them away. Provide them with the content they want and need and the sales will take care of themselves. I know this sounds like a lot of work. I won't lie to you. It is. Heck, I'm not using some of these techniques myself yet. Add them to your schedule slowly, however, and, before you know it, they will become a part of who you are and what you do. When that happens *you* will be top of mind for your customers and colleagues. Copyright 2007, Greg Peters ---------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Blog Posts ---------------------------------------------------------------- Links to posts on the "Clearing Up the Confusion" Blog from the last year: Monday, June 18, 2007 -- Tying it All Together: Photos http://clearing-confusion.blogspot.com/2007/06/tying-it-all-together-photos.html Monday, October 23, 2006 -- Hey, I Know "That Guy"! http://clearing-confusion.blogspot.com/2006/10/hey-i-know-that-guy.html ---------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Shameless Self-Promotion ---------------------------------------------------------------- The "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-Zine is a production of Greg Peters, owner, chief cook, and bottlewasher of Cyber Data Solutions. CDS has been helping nonprofit and charitable organizations develop their web presence for more than a decade. Visit us on the Web at www.cyberdatasolns.com to see how we can help your organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 4. The Fine Print ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: You can subscribe to the "Clearing Up The Confusion" E-zine at: http://www.cyberdatasolns.com/ezine Questions: If you have any questions, concerns or comments regarding the Clearing Up the Confusion E-zine, please email Greg Peters at: gpeters@cyberdatasolns.com This content may be forwarded in full, with copyright and contact information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Greg Peters is required, with notification to the original author. 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