Tips on Marketing Your Own Site
Your First Year In Cyber Space
by Michael Southon
My first year as a Cyberpreneur was a steep learning-curve. I was an Anthropologist before starting an online business, so I had a lot to learn. But even if you were
in offline-business before going online, you may still have to learn some new skills - online business is a whole new ball-game. Here are some of the
things I learnt in my first year in Cyber Space:
Be careful who you register your domain with. Some domain name registrars make it very difficult to change your web host. I registered my first two
domains with a registrar that caused me more headaches than I care to think about. When I needed to transfer one of my domain names to a new web host,
my original e-mail address had changed. I was no longer able to send them an e-mail from that address and so I couldn't authenticate my request for
domain transfer. So I tried to update my personal record with my new e-mail address. I got a message saying that I could only change my e-mail address
by sending an e-mail from my original e-mail address (which no longer existed). So then I tried using my password. Again, I got a message saying that my
request for transfer of domain must come from my original e-mail address.
This bureaucratic nightmare went on for 4 weeks. To add to my frustration, I was communicating with a machine, not a human being. By the end of that
time I had no less than 35 computer-generated e-mails telling me that my domain could not be transferred.
Finally, I sent my request for domain transfer in a 5-page fax, including photocopy of my passport. They then sent me an e-mail saying my request
for domain transfer could not be processed because my request was not on company letterhead. So I designed a letterhead and re-submitted the 5-page
fax. Finally, 6 weeks after my first request, my domain was transferred.
To avoid this kind of experience I recommend you use DirectNic:
http://www.directnic.com
Using their online Domain Manager, it took me less than 2 minutes to transfer my domain! A slow-loading index page is still one of the main reasons that online businesses lose customers. Surveys show that the average surfer will wait
no more than 8 seconds for a web page to load before moving on to another website. So 'load-time' is a vital consideration when you choose a web host. Once you've designed your home page and uploaded it to your server space, check to see what it looks like to other people. What you're seeing may
not be what other people are seeing.
I once designed a home page I was very proud of - I had added a piece of JavaScript that gave the day and date. Then one day I checked my home
page at Anybrowser.com. I was horrified to see that my home page was invisible except for my company logo and the navigation bar. For 2 weeks my home
page had been virtually blank to most visitors! So take a minute and look at your website through the eyes of your visitors:
http://www.anybrowser.com/siteviewer.html If a customer asks you for a refund, give it to them immediately, even if you think it's unjustified. You'll be out of pocket by a few dollars,
but your name and your integrity will be intact. There are so many scams on the Internet that your most precious commodity is your good name. Remember
these words from Shakespeare:
"Who steals my purse steals trash;
'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed."
(Othello, Act III. Scene III.) Reply to e-mails quickly. Nothing impresses me more on the Internet than a rapid response to a business enquiry. Try and respond within 2 hours, or
at least within 24 hours. Never reply angrily to abusive e-mails. Remember: your reply could be passed on to other people and used against you. An abusive e-mail can be very disturbing
(I've had three in the last year-and-a-half), but the best thing to do is ignore it. Better still delete it - that way you remove it from your life
and you remove the temptation to reply. Lastly, never give up. Most successes are due - more than any other factor - to sheer persistence:
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men of talent. Genius will
not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan, 'press on' has solved, and always will
solve, the problems of the human race." (Calvin Coolidge)
Your First Year in Cyberspace is © 2002 by Michael Southon who is a respected writer in the field of ezine marketing. He is the publisher of The Free Directory
of Ezines and the popular e-Book 'Ezine Writer!' http://www.ezine-writer.com
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