WebGem Network Blog

Choosing a domain name is an extremely important part of designing your web site, as that becomes the name of your web site. Your domain name is the first part of the Uniform Resource Locator, or “URL.” There are many things to keep in mind while choosing a suitable domain name.

If you haven’t already done so, give some thought as to what your domain name is going to be. For those who are new to the internet, the domain name, also known as a website address, is a word or phrase that a website visitor has to type in to visit your site. It’s preceded by http://www, although for modern-day browsers typing this portion in is optional. It ends with .com, .net, .biz, or a host of other extensions that you’ll be exposed to when you’re ready to sign up for your domain name.

These deceptively simple questions will get you started on the right track for planning your site and the criteria by which you’ll measure its success for years to come.

1. Who am I trying to attract?
Your site is your most important marketing asset and as such it has one primary audience: your prospects. Whether you realize it or not, every audience consists of many subgroups. Each subgroup can be defined by its “persona.” To fully understand your audience, you’ll want to undertake an exercise to identify and understand each persona. For now- so we can answer the next two questions-let’s just agree that your site exists to serve those who might eventually hire you.

2. What do they (those who might eventually hire me) want from my website?
They want answers. The better job your site does of answering the questions that prospective customers have about how they can solve their marketing problems, the more leads your site will generate. Once buyers realize how thoroughly your site answers their questions, they will begin to see it as a valuable educational resource and will become willing and even eager to sign up to receive your input on a regular basis in the forms of newsletters, blogs, web seminars, white papers, e-books, podcasts, videos, etc.

That’s assuming buyers can find your site. To lure in prospects that desire your expertise but don’t yet know you exist, you must diligently add content to your site that describes your expertise in detail so that Google can direct the right sort of prospects your way. Your prospects find your site essentially by asking Google about the marketing questions they are struggling to answer.

3. What do I want from them?
You want two things: their information and their attention. Both of these things are acquired via “calls to action”- copy on your website that tells people to do something very specific. Working off the example above, the prospect that found your site through a Google search, and then identified it as being an educational resource should be presented with a clear, concise, and a compelling offer to receive your content for free on a regular basis. If they landed on a page from one of your newsletters, for example, they should see a call to action in the right hand sidebar, above the fold, that invites them to sign up to receive your newsletter via email. They should be asked to give you their name and email (and that’s about it) in exchange for a promise to send them an email alert every time you add a newsletter to your site- along with a solemn vow never to sell their information to anyone else.

However, if they haven’t identified your site as a valuable educational resource, there is not a thing you can do to entice them to sign up for anything-iPad giveaways be damned. So work on making sure your website is a good resource, first.

Getting prospects’ information is valuable but actually it’s the getting of their attention that is invaluable. Even if subscribers only read a portion of one out of every ten newsletters, they will be reminded of your firm and your expertise every single time. At the very least (if they do not unsubscribe) they will see your name at least once monthly. This regular, subtle and helpful reminder will help keep your firm at the top of their mind when the need to hire a firm like yours arises and confirm the value of your website as a powerful marketing asset.

For more information on how to plan and optimize your website for your business, feel free to contact me directly today!

-Dennis Jaconi

Contact Me:

Email: denny@webgemnet.com

If you are considering the prospect of becoming involved in Affiliate Marketing on the Internet then I seriously suggest you approach with extreme caution. You will be bombarded from all angles with various software which will offer promises of untold fortune within a matter of hours, days, weeks, months and years. Should you purchase these software tools and begin to explore, then you will be offered more and more and more so that at the start of your venture you are faced with mountains of information to plough through when at the end of the day all you wanted to do was make some money, pay off your debts and live a comfortable life. Also, beware, when you give your e-mail on sign-up the likelihood is that it will be linked to other companies / individual’s lists who will begin to send you their offers. Again, approach with caution. If it sounds too good to be true then it generally is.
When you read through the offers you will begin to see patterns emerging in price, pitch and advert styles. They will all value their packages between $4000 and $12000 yet be willing to sell for a very common $97. How bizarre !!
You will need to be computer literate to a level higher than you believe you are even though they say that you “don’t need experience.” You will need a “squeeze” page to drive your customers to and set up “autoresponder” e-mail campaigns to continually capture data so that you can send them more offers. You will set up campaigns in Google Adwords to aid the traffic to visit your squeeze page which if you are not careful will cost you more money than you ever imagined. You will not be able to compete with the large companies with “endless” budgets just to get an advert viewed, so beware before you choose this path.

Dennis Jaconi
webGem Network

Consumer sentiment levels took an unexpected jump higher as of the middle of April.

The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index for April came in at 61.9, after standing at 57.3 in March. It had been expected to come in at 57.5. The increase was likely tied to robust gains in stock markets and increasing evidence that the worst of the economy’s slide into recession may be over.

Wachovia chief economist John Silvia said the report suggests “better times ahead.”

In the report, the preliminary consumer conditions index was 66.6, versus 63.3 the prior month, while the expectations index was 58.9, from March’s 53.5.

The one-year outlook for inflation deteriorated to 3%, from 2% in March, while the five year inflation outlook stood at 2.7%, from 2.6% the month before.

“With all the doom and gloom news about the economy, there’s never been a better time to make an extra paycheck online with a minimal amount of time and effort.
If you have an internet connection, you can get started on the road to having the internet pay for your mortgage, car payment, kids’ college tuition, or even that special vacation you’ve wanted. Now, don’t worry that you have to be a tech whiz to start a business online.
A perfect part-time business would have to be very easy to start, require little time and money and no technical expertise, be easy to maintain with just a few hours a week and have a proven track record with a high probability of success.” -Yanik Silver, entrepreneur.com

This article defines the concept and philosophy behind WebGem.  We want to offer a business opportunity to every woman and man, regardless of their background in technology, marketing, sales, and operations.  Its imperative that our customers have every chance and all the support possible to begin a business online and see that it becomes a profitable venture!
Visit our website and check out our easy-to-use eCommerce packages, and open your business today!

I know that a business’s website is one of the most powerful sales tools a small business can have, but I’ve never thought of a website as a salesperson until now. Do it yourself and you might start looking at websites differently.
If you think of your website as a salesperson, you’ll begin to think of it as more than just a glorified brochure.  You’ll even want it to be better designed, since you probably want your sales reps to look good.
If you are selling a line of woman’s handbags and scarves in person, for example, it would make sense to describe the fabric and the show the bags from all angles, detailing which scarves are machine washable and which scarves are not. The same sales routine applies to your website.
Sales representatives also educate themselves about their clients, so they spend a lot of time listening to the customer’s needs and concerns before selling a product or service. The same applies to your website.
While building your website, keep in mind an overall profile of your customers. Be prepared to update your website as your customer base evolves. For example, if you are selling to an older audience, it wouldn’t be a great idea to have text with very small characters and a confusing layout.
Remember your website is probably one of your best–if not the best–sales assets you have. If nurtured and taken care of, it will boost your sales and grow your business, just like a human salesperson.