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(including how to build a
fantastic website, all the elements you need to consider
and how to make it work with little or notechnical
abilities).
It can be done.
I’m almost certain that
many people reading this Ecourse have no technical skills
at all? I’m not embarrassed to let you know that I
don’t have great technical skills… I’ve learned how
to build really basic websites, but nothing fancy (I
don’t think the Profit Puppy site is going to win any
design awards in the near future!).
The fact is you don’t
need to have great technical skills to make a good
website. In some ways having limited web design abilities
gives you an advantage because you won’t get caught up
in, what can sometimes be, confusing details. As a novice
you’ll be able to focus on what counts … That is;
making money, marketing your site and getting visitors.
If you have no money, then
you will need to learn how to do all of these things
yourself which will slow you down considerably. If you can
afford to pay someone else to design your site, then you
can get a great site designed at a tiny fraction of the
cost (compared with what it would cost to start a
“real” bricks and mortar business in the offline
world).
Web design can be a be a
bit overwhelming when you are starting out, especially if
you haven’t done it before - it’s hard to know what
you should do and where to start. However, once you’ve
been through the initial process it gets easier and
easier.
To start with, let’s look
at all the “technical” elements that you need to
include for consideration
on your new site. We will be covering several of these
aspects in more depth in later issues, but for now, I’ll
provide an overview of the things you will need to get
started:
Domain name – you need a
domain name for your site (E.g. www.yoursite.com)
Web hosting – you need to
get your site hosted somewhere so other people can see it.
An auto-responder email
service – you probably want to have some kind of email
auto-responder set up. This is can help communicate
effectively with your audience by send them a series of
emails from you automatically.
Copy (i.e. words).
Design – you need to get
a template designed for your site.
Audio - audio has proven to
generate more sales and interest to visitors.
A shopping cart service –
if you are planning an ecommerce site and want to be able
to accept online payments, you will need a shopping cart
service where you can accept credit cards via a secure
server.
A merchant account – to
accept credit cards you need to have your own, or a third
party merchant account.
An affiliate program - you
may want to have your own affiliate program. We’ll talk
about this in future issues of the Ecourse.
If you can combine the
above elements and put them together effectively, you’ll
have the essence of a great website. Keep in mind that you
may not need the shopping cart service, the merchant
account, or the affiliate program if you are not actually
selling your own product.
Below, I’ve provided
valuable information about how to build the 9 most
important elements of a successful website:
The Domain name and Web
hosting
I will be examining domain
names in more detail in a later issue of the Ecourse, but
for now, I’ll assume that you need a new domain name for
your site. A goodplace to start is somewhere like http://www.mydomainfriend.com/
- this is a great keyword combination tool that I built
for researching and finding new domain names. My Domain
Friend helps to simplify, what can be, a quite often
lengthy and tiresome process. When you find a suitable
domain, there are number of cheap services where you can
register it for under $10. For more info on domain names
and web hosting check out http://www.profitpuppy.com/hosting.htm
An Auto-responder service
If you want to build a
profitable site you should definitely consider an
auto-responder service. If you get someone to your
website, there’s a good chance they may never come back.
By using an auto-responder you can build a valuable
relationship with you your visitors and increase the
likelihood that that they will visit your site again
(unless they unsubscribe!).
There are many different
ways you can use auto-responders. For example, you might
start an Ecourse, or remind your visitors of upcoming
events or product developments in a newsletter.
Auto-responders are crucial if you want to maximize the
profits from website. In a later issue of the Ecourse,
I’ll be showing you how to put together great sounding
newsletters to help you get more bang for your buck.
So, how do you set up an
auto-responder? The best (and easiest) option is to go
with one of the many third party services that are
available on the web. For more information and a list of
the best auto-responder services visit: http://www.profitpuppy.com/compare-autoresponder.htm
Writing copy for your site
Words are the MOST
important element of your site: Effective copy is the one
factor that will ensure that visitors react in a way that
you want them to (whether it’s to buy something or
simply to browse the information available on your site).
Of course, the way you
write for your site depends on what type of site you are
building and what you want to achieve. If you are building
a site with sales in mind, you’re going to need a
copywriter to carefully draft a great sales pitch.
If you’re not a confident
writer, you’re going to have to find someone to do it
for you. The bad news is, a good copywriter is hard to
find. However, if you fancy yourself as writer, you should
start out by trying to develop the content yourself (other
sites are always a good reference point!).
If you are building an
affiliate marketing site you should concentrate on well
worded copy to highlight the programs and products that
you are promoting. General writing tasks, like this, are a
much easier undertaking as there is usually a wealth of
available existing information about your products or
programs (sometime affiliate programs will even provide
you with useful copy for you site). “General” (as
opposed to specialist) writers are usually much easier to
find.
In my experience, you can
provide much more powerful content if you can afford to
outsource your writing tasks to an experienced copy writer
with a great understanding of your product or service. By
taking this approach, you will have more free time to
spend researching new opportunities and managing the other
elements of your site which could be making you money.
To find a good copywriter,
have a look at the services on:
http://www.profitpuppy.com/freelance-sites.htm
In general, you can expect
to pay around $15-30 per page (around 400 words). It’s
possible employ writers for around $5 per page, but
don’t expect polished copy for that price. For a
reasonable copywriter you will be looking at a minimum of
$50 per page. Not surprisingly, great copywriters charge
hundreds or even thousands of dollars per page.
Designing the site
As with the other elements
of your site, there are a few options here; you can learn
how to do design a site yourself (if you don’t already
have the skills). The disadvantage of this method is that
designing a nice looking site can be quite a lengthy
process. Again, if you have the budget for it, I would
recommend outsourcing the work, especially if you are just
getting started.
Freelance web designers
(unlike good copy writers) are everywhere. Contracting
your web design tasks to a freelancer is usually an
inexpensive and sound option. For more information about
hiring a freelance web designer, check out the list of
resources at: http://www.profitpuppy.com/freelance-sites.htm
Another (and less appealing
option) is to get a local firm to design a site for you.
If you reside in the USA or UK this is likely to be an
expensive proposition (sometimes up to 500% on what you
can pay for a freelancer) – I wouldn’t recommend this
option unless you have money falling out of your pockets :
)
If you would prefer to talk
to the person that is designing the site, think about
alternatives like hiring a university student or someway
studying graphic design. You can often find someone who
has great web design skills and is relatively inexpensive.
Also, don’t be afraid to
ask for some examples of work before employing someone.
It’s important to know that they can create site design
that you are going to be happy with. The last option for
designing a site is to use an application like Site Build
It. (Go to http://www.profitpuppy.com/designingwebsite.htm
for more information on this package). There are some
distinct advantages to using software like this - it does
everything for you, including the domain name and hosting,
auto-responders. The best thing about using Site Build It
is that will also help you to get listed in the search
engines. Audio, shopping, merchant accounts and more…
For an easy way to place
audio on your site: http://www.profitpuppy.com/instantaudio.
For a comparison of
shopping cart services: http://www.profitpuppy.com/shopping-cart.htm
For information on setting
up a merchant account (so that you can accept
onlinepayments) have a look at http://www.profitpuppy.com/accepting-payment.htm
Profitpuppy.com
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About
The Author
Rob
Rawson
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