BECOME THE REAL DEAL

There are several reasons to become a real player in the world of the
Internet. Most importantly, in order to be considered a credible
business you have to have a presence on the Internet.
Every day more people are utilizing the power of the Internet to
research companies, determine level of credibility of a company based
on their web presence and making purchases via the Net. If you do not
have a good system in place to take advantage of this, you will soon
be left behind.
So what does an Internet presence really mean?
Having an Internet presence is a bit ambiguous in that it can mean
many different things depending on whom you are asking. For a point
of reference, to have an Internet presence means that other people
can easily find you on the Internet. There are countless ways you can
be found which will be outlined and discussed in great detail in the
following pages and chapters.
Several methods are very simple and elementary, while others are
much more elaborate and complex. The reason I have included various
types of information is because some people reading this will have a
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20
good working knowledge of how the Internet works, while others will
just be starting out and not sure where to start.
Regardless of how much, or how little experience you have you will
benefit greatly from what you are about to read. Of course, as with
anything the knowledge you obtain is only as good as the application.
If you read this and do nothing with the information, you likely won’t
go beyond where you currently are. If, however, you take the
information to heart and utilize it, the results can be nothing short of
incredible. This I promise.
Do You Need An Internet Presence?
Although some companies and individuals can do quite well in business
without the Internet, the fact is nowadays most companies do need a
good Internet presence. Depending on your business you may need a
full-blown website with lots of bells and whistles or there may be a
lower priced alternative that can work very nicely for you.
In the world of Internet marketing, I work primarily with speakers,
trainers, authors, consultants and small businesses. Rarely do I find it
possible for people in these industries to NOT have great visibility and
be able to succeed. Keep in mind; it is not necessarily about becoming
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21
world-renowned. Rather, it is about becoming visible within your
market.
The reasons to become visible in your market can vary but usually
include increased credibility, market reach, lead generation, and lower
overall marketing costs. When done right, all of this equates to higher
revenues and increased profit margins.
It just makes sense to look at a variety of options and what those
choices can do for your revenue stream and profit margin.
The working definition for an Internet presence is the totality of an
individual or company's existence on the Internet; be it via websites,
links, advertisements, email, forums, social networking groups, or any
number of avenues you can use. Many of those avenues are outlined
and discussed in this book.
Other reasons you need a good presence include:
To increase your reach and visibility
Lower the costs of traditional marketing
Increase ROI (Return on Investment) for every marketing dollar
Develop and maintain credibility
Attract visitors to your site and/or physical business location
Increase profit margins
Increase speed of response time
Imagine how much untold revenue is lost by not fully utilizing the
power of the Internet. To not only survive but thrive, you must have a
proper foundation and effective systems in place for attracting visitors,
providing information, selling products and services and following up.
Regardless of whether your market reach is local, regional, national or
international, a strong Internet presence can make the difference
between success and failure for countless types of businesses.
Many people are under the mistaken notion that if they sell only in
their local market they don’t need a strong Internet presence. It is this
type of thinking that leaves many businesses in the dust.
Think of your own buying habits. How often do you search the Internet
for local resources? Years ago, a potential customer automatically
picked up a phonebook to find something. Now most people go
straight to the Internet.
Without a strong Internet presence you can miss a great deal of
business as well as waste countless marketing dollars. Dollars that
could be saved through the correct use of technology.
You will achieve the following with a good Internet presence.
Considered more credible
Increase reach and visibility
Lower the costs of traditional marketing
Increase ROI (Return on investment for every marketing dollar)
Develop and maintain credibility
Attract visitors to your site who are potential buyers
Increase profit margins
Decrease response time

How to Develop an Unbelievable Internet Presence
The first place to begin is with your mindset. You must view this as a
long-term business proposition. Gaining outstanding presence is not
something that you dabble at every so often. It is something you need
to put your attention on consistently.
You also need to be willing to invest time, money and energy to
gaining your position. Think of people in your industry who are
everywhere on the Internet. Do you think that happened by chance? I
can assure you it didn’t. Likely there was a very systematic approach
to how they have obtained their position. The same kind of approach
you will need to take to get incredible presence.

To Have a Website or Not? The Never-ending Question!
Although not absolutely necessary and you can actually make money
online without a website, in most cases a website is an expected
aspect of doing business. There are many advantages to a having a
professional looking and operating site.
With the right use of a site, even if you are not selling products online,
you can give incredible benefit to your customers and prospects. Your
site can be set up to provide information that is of interest to your
market.
For example, if you are someone the media is interested in, with a
optimized site you can have a media room set up that saves time for a
journalist, publisher or show host who is interested in learning more
about you.
If you have a store that has traditionally sent out a catalog to
interested buyers, a properly designed site can lower your cost of
doing business by the site being the catalog. Beyond being a catalog itcan be set up to be a valuable resource center.The possibilities of what you can do with a site are endless. However,
with the availability of blogs some people are foregoing a website in
favor of a blog. My preference is to have both.
Again, what you do will depend on your business, market and industry.
In many cases the combination of a blog and a website may be just
the ticket you are looking for.


Where to Begin?
If you want to succeed as a business you have to treat what you do
like a business. Simple as that.
Far too many startup business owners bypass this important step. You
have to get clear on what you want to accomplish and have some idea
of how you will get there.
Determine your goals for your business. Once you have established
what you want to accomplish develop a plan. If your plan does include
a website, write out a plan for how you intend to use your site within
your overall marketing plan.Determine what the purpose(s) is for your site(s):
Increase visibility
Build credibility
Increase marketing effectiveness
Decrease marketing costs
To be used as an electronic brochure
Tool for selling products & services
Build an opt-in subscriber list
Distribute valuable information
Position yourself as an expert
Promote a service, product or event
Enhance your sales process and effectiveness


Plan what you want and need for your site
Load time
Design
Images and pictures
Before and after images can work well in cases of weight loss,
home design, building.
Colors – use colors that appeal to your market
Site Map
Articles
Product Descriptions
Pressroom
Biographical information
Contact information
Services offered
Free offerings
Shopping cart
Testimonials
Link page
Opt-in opportunities

What Actions Will People Take?
In the world of making money with the Internet, there are usually two
primary actions you want people to take; buy something and/or leave
their contact information.
A third action people will take is to leave your site never to return.
Because of poor planning, an amateurish layout, lack of ease of use, or
no obvious benefit, most visitors take the third action.
Short-term thinkers are those who go for the sale before establishing
credibility. More times than not they never make the sale.
What you are selling, and the price point, will determine how long it
can take for someone to buy from you, if at all. Additionally, factors
such as the look of your site, ease of use, sales copy and overall feel
play into a buyers decision.
Another factor in the sales process is how fresh you are in the
consumer’s mind. Top of the mind awareness can be accomplished
with some very effective strategies, many of which are described in
this book. Several cost little, if anything, to implement.
Anyone who plans to be around for a long time to come should seek to
establish credibility, trust, name recognition and partnerships. You
must also constantly look for ways to keep your name in front of your
market and create incredible value to potential and existing customers.
The goal should not be to merely sell one thing, but rather to sell
people on the idea of you being a valuable resource for years to come.


Lay the Groundwork Before You Begin an Aggressive Campaign
Internet marketing works! Unfortunately, many people either don’t
know how to drive qualified traffic to their site or once they get them
there they are not prepared to optimize the visit.
Getting people to your site does you no good if you don’t have a plan
in place for what people will experience once they get to your site.
The idea is to attract attention for your site; get people to take a
specific action; build trust, credibility and name recognition; provide
incredibly valuable information; and at some point encourage people
to buy your products or services. The size of the purchase often
determines how fast the sale is made.

To Get People To Your Site:
Be clear on who your market is
Know where to find them
Determine what motivates them
Have specific and consistent strategies for your market to find
your site
Be prepared

Do You Need a Local Web Presence?
Many people are under the mistaken belief that if they are marketing
to local buyers they don’t need a strong web presence. This believe
could be a huge mistake that is costly a company untold amounts of
lost revenue.
When I moved from just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah to a small
town in Oregon in the summer of 2006, I had the opportunity to
experience Internet marketing from a powerful perspective: a
consumer in need of numerous products and services.
As I have settled in, I realized what an incredible opportunity there is
for countless businesses to increase revenues by tapping into the
relocation market. Sadly, not many companies take full advantage of
what could literally be a goldmine to their business.
Depending on the location of the move consumer needs may include:
an attorney, accountant, carpenter, dentist, doctor, electrician,
financial planner, gym, hair and nail salon, health food store,
insurance agent, landscaper and plumber just to name a few. You can
literally have the potential for dozens, an in some cases thousands, of
new leads every month. It all depends on your business type and the
needs of the consumers.
Ask yourself this question: “Is it a wise business decision to tap into
the ever increasing mobility of consumers or is it better to let this
segment of the buying public pass me by?”
I was intrigued by my own process of selecting potential vendors and
my decision to either do business with them or not during my move.
Admittedly, I chose to initially call various vendors based on the
different marketing strategies they used. This reinforced the
understanding that there is not one particular way to market. Some
businesses will benefit from a strong Internet presence, while others
will benefit from a combination of Internet, coupons, yellow page ads,
newspaper ads, television and/or direct mail. Still others will greatly
benefit from building a strong referral network.
Once I put an offer in on my new home, I needed to find an insurance
agent. The process was made simple by doing a web search for
someone within the same insurance company we have been with for
decades. While still in Utah I found the name and number of an agent
in Eugene, called her and immediately realized this might be someone
I would be happy to do business with.
Besides answering all my insurance questions, my soon-to-be
insurance agent inquired as to other needs I had in moving to a
completely unfamiliar area. Within a few hours she emailed me a lot of
great information. The names and numbers of these companies and
individuals definitely made the transition easier.
I found that her level of service is far superior to just about any
vendor I have done business with. Not only did she help us before we
made our move, she also made arrangements for a welcome gift basket to be waiting for us upon arrival at our new location. That
completely surprised me and made me realize I made a great choice in
selecting her.
Had our agent not had a good Internet presence, I may not have
found her. Not that her web presence is what sealed the deal, but it
was what started the dialogue.
She combined her Internet presence with superior customer care.
Unfortunately, many business professionals are missing this one
important ingredient. Customer care includes quick response time,
genuine interest in the needs of the client, and meeting and exceeding
customer expectations. Lots of people who want to make money with
the Internet seem to think this need not be part of the equation. If
anything, it is even more important today than ever before.
I am by no means the only person who seeks out initial information
about a vendor through the Internet. With as mobile as people are you
must make it easy for them to find you. Once they do, you must have
a site that is optimized to encourage them to contact you. If you don’t,
you could be leaving untold amounts of money on the table.

Choose Your Domain Name
Chances are many people reading this book already have domain
names. Others will be selecting one. Still others will have one or two
with plans to get more in the future.
If you are someone who has ideas for future sites, but are not yet
ready to roll the site out you may want to invest in the domain name
anyway. If you delay, there is always the chance someone else might
snatch it up.
I have several active domain names and equally as many that are
parked for future site development. A parked domain is a domain that
doesn't have a hosting account associated to it. Others can have URL
forwarding capabilities, so that they point to an existing website.
Sometimes you simply park the URL without it pointing to an existing
site.
You can search for domain names at Whois.net http://www.whois.net/
or GoDaddy.com https://www.godaddy.com.
Either of these sites are excellent choices and allow for searching and
registering a domain name. Cost to register is very low.

Keys to selecting a good domain name
Short
Memorable
Your name or company name
Use .com when available.
If your own name is a part of your overall branding try to get a
URL with your name in it.
Selecting a Domain Name
It's best if your domain name can easily identify what your business is.
However, it is getting near impossible to get exactly what you want.
Don't give up if you can't find the domain for your first choice. Rather,
find functional names that describe what you do as best you can.