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| Just can't afford it | Views: 2614 |
| Jan 29, 2007 6:36 pm | | Just can't afford it | # |
Dana Neal | | Did I get your attention? As Monday Moderator :P I wanted to shock your system with a splash of cold water to you wonderful business persons:
If you, at the present time, couldn't afford a wonderful web design, domain name, etc etc for your business, would you settle for a site that offers a free web page? At least for a limited time; until you generate income?Private Reply to Dana Neal |
| Jan 30, 2007 4:04 am | | re: Just can't afford it | # |
Althea Garner | |
Dana,
Anyone who says that they can't afford it, is attracting POVERTY!
Thoughts become words - words become actions and actions govern what we get out of life!
Let's think positively!
:)
ALTHEA GARNER (Star Real Estate)
REALTOR
http://www.altheagarner.com
http://www.OCstaarz.com
Search over 38,000 homes at my web site: http://www.OCSTAARZ.COM
___________________________________________
Remember... I am NEVER too busy for your referrals!
Private Reply to Althea Garner |
| Jan 30, 2007 2:37 pm | | re: re: Just can't afford it | # |
Tracy Collins, Web Designer | | Dana,
I was in the same boat as you. I didn't think I could afford a domain name and a webpage but I found someplace that I could get a domain name for $12.99 for a year and a hosting site for $14.99 (which I know you can get a domain name cheaper than that but I did it the easy way and registered my domain and web hosting with the same company) so for approximately $28.00 per year you have a website. If interested, here is the link for those http://www.dayanahost.com and http://www.dayanadomains.com.
Now creating one, you can either buy a template on the dayanahost site or you could download a WYSIWYG program for free at http://www.nvu.com. That is if you would like to take the plunge and learn a little bit of html coding (which I did and it's quite easy for a basic site)
I'm not saying that my site is perfect or great but now that I have my own domain name and website, I have been taken a lot more seriously.
I use to get annoyed when people would say how you need to pay for your site etc because people just didn't understand my money situation but now that I spent the $28.00 per year it has really helped and I understand where they were coming from.
HTH,
Tracy Collins
http://www.collins-admin.com Private Reply to Tracy Collins, Web Designer |
| Jan 30, 2007 5:35 pm | | re: Just can't afford it | # |
DeAnna Troupe, Video Marketing Specialist | | I personally wouldn't "settle" for a free site because they place a lot of ads and banners on the site that you don't earn money for. I would just suck it up and cut something out of the budget so that I could afford the website.
DeAnna Spencer
DeAnna Spencer's Virtual Assistant Service
http://www.deannaspencer.comPrivate Reply to DeAnna Troupe, Video Marketing Specialist |
| Jan 30, 2007 5:51 pm | | re: re: re: Just can't afford it | # |
Dana Neal | | Tracy thank you for your response. I appreciate the time for the break down. I asked this question as a "shock" approach to get this kind of response.
My mother is a virtual assistant and works well with web design, hosting etc. I have referred people to her in the past and she is helping me with my own site now.
There are people that I have come across in the past few months that don't have a budget...they just don't have a dollar. (Can I say it as plainly as that??) ......and don't understand the "specifics" ~as I have had to learn over the years~ and want to just jump right into the business. The more I think on it...the purpose for my question is it worth as a start up business...and from the responses..doesn't look like it.
I refer people all over! Especially if I like them (their character) and what they have to offer ($$) everyone. Again, I thank you; with the info you have provided...(past the shock) I can forward what have learned to help another...
Private Reply to Dana Neal |
| Feb 16, 2007 12:23 pm | | re: re: re: re: Just can't afford it | # |
dina foglio crowell | | You mentioned your mother is a VA? i have been messaging VA's for quite some time with no response. I am trying to gain information on the training and or certifications involved in becoming one myself. I would love to talk to your mother about her job. Can I email her???
Thanks
Dina
Dina Foglio CrowellPrivate Reply to dina foglio crowell |
| Feb 16, 2007 4:29 pm | | re: re: re: re: re: Just can't afford it | # |
Neville Thomas | | There's always a solution to any challenge. Always! Having a decent web design is better than waiting until you can afford a wonderful web design. I think Tracey posts show that with a little searching, creativity and a willingness to learn you can get a pretty decent website up. $30 bucks a year plus some sweat equity can go a long way and Tracey's website proves that.
Other things to consider
1)How critical is having a website to the growth of your business? In some businesses it's not critical. You certainly should incorporating it in your plan but maybe you do not need one going in. So don't get stuck here.
2)Don't just build a website build a web business. Most people put up a website, pay thousands for wonderful designs and never make a penny off that investment. "If you build it they will come" is a blatant lie online. It's like nailing a flyer to a tree in the Amazon ... nobody will find it. Getting a domain name, design, and hosting is a tiny part of the process. Sadly most stop there. You really have to think of the site itself as a business. You have to work it and position it, to where it brings you business. And I don't mean you pointing someone to your site. I mean your site becoming credible enough that it ranks well in google, etc on searches pertaining to your niche. If you go in with that mindset whatever sacrifice or investment you make will pay off in the long term. So maybe it might make sense to sell your TV and get a good strategy together. I did say get creative right? How bad do you want this?
3) A misconception on how much really wonderfully design, and hosting costs. There are some business owners who can budget say $400 a year for website development/marketing. But think this is not sufficient to get going, because they went to some web designer who quoted something in the thousands. There are great web hosting commmunities online such as Site BuildIt!(http://buildit.sitesell.com/buildit29.html) that provide all the tools and support necessary that allows you to focus on your business while still building a website that works.
4) No excuse to not start a blog. Ok so let's say our new entrepreneur really cannot crap two dimes together it's that bad. And that it's critical to have a web presence in her kind of business. Then I will suggest starting a Blog. Why?Because it's free, it's easy - just like using a word processor, and the blogging platform does a lot to get your content out to the world (unlike a regular website). Check out wordpress(http://www.wordpress.com) or blogger (http://www.blogger.com). In fact even if you have a regular website you should start a blog to help drive traffic to your website.
Sorry for going beyond the original question of this post but I wanted to get across the importance of having a purpose/strategy behind your website. And using that purpose to drive your decisions. Great topic Dana.
Whatever you can do or dream you can do Begin It.
Boldness has Genius, Power and Magic in It. Begin it Now.
-GoethePrivate Reply to Neville Thomas |
| Feb 16, 2007 6:24 pm | | re: re: re: re: re: re: Just can't afford it | # |
dina foglio crowell | | how do you position your website on google to be reputible? I am new at online advertising and not sure what else to do once i can a domain name, host and website
Dina Foglio CrowellPrivate Reply to dina foglio crowell |
| Feb 16, 2007 11:20 pm | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Just can't afford it | # |
Neville Thomas | | Dina,
This is a big subject, in fact to big to do it justice here. But here are a few things that can help you get started.
Google's algorithm (the process) for ranking web pages is proprietary and secret of course. But there are many things that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) experts agree influence your ranking. Think two broad categories "On Page Criteria" and "Off Page Criteria".
On page criteria deals with the actual content of the web page itself. Things like the name of the html file for the page, the title of the page, the Headings and Sub Headings, keywords, and keyword count. Google looks at all these things to see how relevant this page is to a particular subject.
Off Page Criteria deals with things outside of your page. Things like how many other websites have links pointing in to your webpage. And also how reputable these other website are. For example if you have a page on your site that deals with the subject of "home based business" and MSN Money website links to your page. Google is going to consider your site to be more credible simply because it knows that MSN Money is a reputable site.
The frequency with which you update your website and add new content also affects your rankings at the search engines. Google likes sites that are fresh and always producing new content. That's one of the reasons Blogs do so well.
All those things above don't cost any money to do and they bring you very organic traffic - meaning traffic that is naturally generated as a result of your sites content.
There is another kind of traffic with comes from Pay Per Click (PPC) advertisement. You see these sites on the very top and side of Google search results page - called sponsored links. Those websites use something called "Adwords" (http://adwords.google.com). I will stay away from Adwords and focus on building organic traffic until I get the hang of things, if I were you. Especially since it cost money and you need to know what you are doing.
Here is a link to Ken Evoys "Make Your Site Sell" ebook. It used to be $30 bucks back when I got into this stuff now they offer it free. It of course promotes their system Site Build IT which I mentioned in earlier post, but that aside it's one of the best resources to give you a good understanding of how to build a site that will win at the search engines http://myss.sitesell.com/buildit29.html
Hope this helps. Take it one step at a time and it will all unfold to you. Start with the article.
Whatever you can do or dream you can do Begin It.
Boldness has Genius, Power and Magic in It. Begin it Now.
-GoethePrivate Reply to Neville Thomas |
| Feb 17, 2007 10:00 pm | | Looking for a VA | # |
Carol Deckert | | Hi Dina!
I am a Virtual Marketing Assistant. Can I help you in some way? Please feel free to email me at caroldeckert@comcast.net or call me at 717-394-6453. If you are going to call, please email me with a time to make sure I'm not on with another client.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Carol Deckert
Virtual Marketing Assistant
Networking Coach
caroldeckert@comcast.net
carol@runlancaster.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/caroldeckert Private Reply to Carol Deckert |
| Feb 17, 2007 10:09 pm | | re: re: re: re: re: Just can't afford it | # |
Carol Deckert | | Hi again Dina!
Here is a great resource for you!
http://www.The24HourSecretary.com
Good luck!
Carol Deckert
Virtual Marketing Assistant
Networking Coach
caroldeckert@comcast.net
carol@runlancaster.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/caroldeckert Private Reply to Carol Deckert |
| Feb 18, 2007 12:49 am | | re: re: re: Just can't afford it | # |
Sheri Johnson | | I can get you a domain name for $5.99 and you can point it to any website complete with meta tags. Private Reply to Sheri Johnson |
| Feb 28, 2007 2:44 pm | | re: re: re: re: re: re: Just can't afford it | # |
Dana Neal | | Neville...I'm sorry I'm just seeing this post. I really appreciate your in depth answer and your time for posting. This was the conversation I was looking for. It's better to have answers for all people in business (large or small) then to just say it's a bad idea.
**I am a strong Christian....and I believe that if it's for me according to the WORD than it will be..no matter how much money or how little money I put into it.**
I have started one blog; I hope to get another one going soon.
Again, thank you for your answer....
Blessings to you and yours!
Dana Neal
http://www.partylite.biz/sites/mrslightshining
http://www.ourgv.com/ckqgiftsPrivate Reply to Dana Neal |
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