In today’s business world, we all need to have a presence on the Internet. This means that we will need to have some kind of web hosting.

But web hosting is not cheap. Let me re-phrase that – GOOD web hosting is not cheap. What is “good”?

• A good web host is reliable (uptimes, maintenance, security…).
• A good web host is approachable (tech support, response time, different ways of contacting them…).
• A good web host is honest (statistics, tracking, clear records, no over-charging, clear policies…).

Frankly, there are many good hosts. Unfortunately, there are also many, if not more; bad web hosting companies. Worse, some are even scams. There are several ways to find a good host:

Friends recommend (on of the best ways IF you friend is knowledgeable)

• Check forums for comments and recommendations (also good if you know what to look for)
• Check with your local business bureau
• Get a consultant you can trust to handle your web project

For us, this blog is hosted on Hostgator. It has been a very reliable host for us and several blogs we run for some of our clients. Last week, they sent us a Discount Coupon and we would like to share it with you, so that you can enjoy a 20% discount if you sign up with them. We recommend that small businesses should start with the Baby plan instead of the cheaper Hatchling plan. The difference in price is small, but the difference in future expansion and flexibility is significant.

Anyway, use this code if you are looking for a web hosting plan for your new business (or old one): hgnews12.

We wish everyone a very successful and productive 2010!

I understood that the writer was highlighting the fact that we can find affordable rugs at this website. However,  to use “cheap rugs” on a company whose name is SuperiorRugs is a little weird to this marketer here. Cheap can be an attractive and  luring word but it can be derogatory as well. It is a word to be used carefully in all marketing message – verbal or written. In fact, I recently recommended a friend to amend his self-introduction elevator speech. He always called himself a freelance safety auditor. Freelance means you work independently but regrettably, a large part of the market sees freelancers as cheap labors offering services at average quality. You and I know that’s not true but a lot of people felt differently. We hired lots of freelance copywriters and designers to help us during peak hours but we don’t call them “freelancers”. We called them “independents” and we encouraged them to do so too. “Freelance” and “independent” – Which word instill more pride and more values? I would substitute the word “cheap rugs” to “clearance rugs” as it is used at the rug company’s website. The latter is by far a more positive word.

The cheap rug section is aptly called “Clearance Rugs”. In no way did Superior Rugs gave the impression that the rugs listed there are of less superior quality. They were just clearing off old rugs to make way for new ones.

Consumer like to pay cheap price but they don’t like to buy cheap goods. Next time, when you are going to hold a sale,  give a reason for the sale – clearance for new stock to come in, best price for early birds … whatever. You can offer a cheap price but never ever give the impression that your product/service are of cheap quality. Go see SuperiorRugs’ site, it did not use the word “cheap” but the prices are (at the clearance pages)!

1. Use SEO friendly key words

Online marketers depend on a killer sales letter to make sales. Online articles depend on keywords to get readers coming to their sites. So writing for online is different from the off-line copy in some ways. Online copy writing is associated with a form of article called a Search Engine Optimized (SEO) article. The copywriter will fit in a series of keywords or phrases that rank high in an internet search through such search engines as Google or Yahoo.

2. Have a Killer Headline

As another website is just a few clicks away, you must captivate your readers’ attention the moment he steps into your online space. Most people only skim through a webpage. If the headline of your article or advertisement does not grab a person’s attention, you can bet that the time and resources invested in writing the entire article will be a total waste. 90% of readers will decide after reading the headline if they should continue reading the rest of the article/ads and navigate further. Internet marketing gurus will always tell their students and supporters that headline can make as much as 80% difference to their sales.

3. Relevant Links

Of course, other than the headline, the sales letter or article got to offer real benefits. You must offer information and values by offering your opinions, citing examples, convincing via figures and charts, etc. The readers must acknowledge that you are the expert and that they can get almost all the information at your website. The remaining can be found through your links. If you are not an expert in related fields but such additional knowledge will enrich your readers, link to appropriate sites who offer such expert opinions.Such generosity will win you lots of readers, buyers and lots of online friends and joint venture partners.

Technorati Tags: online writing

Is it?

Check out this this short 2 minute interview with Sage Lewis of SageRock on this video. He likened Facebook to be a fusion of what MySpace and LinkedIn offered. He also said it is a great place to build applications and show off your strength.

He said he is not technically inclined so he listened obediently to what the guru said. He outsourced almost everything. His sales letter was written by a ghost writer hired from elance.com, his web page design was done up by websitepro.com and his logo was from sitepoint.com. He reckoned that if he had to spend money starting an off-line business, spending some for online business should be a given. He is one of those enlightened ones who did not think that online business can be started at no cost. I got too many people telling me that they believe they can start an online business all alone, without any external advice or assistance. Only the talented and the hard-working can achieve that. The ordinary Joes and Janes can only get onto the fast lane with some help. As far as I’m concern, no cost is near impossible but low cost is always manageable. Especially when there are so many companies who can help from domain registration, hosting to all the fancy works like lead generation, traffic generation and search engine optimization.

I asked my blogger-friend-turned-online-entrepreneur how he made his selection criteria. He pointed me to websitepro.com’s “About Us” page. He said he like websitepro’s promise that there is real-time reporting of website traffic and website marketing results. “Website Pros tracks and reports the activity generated from your website with an easy-to-use Internet Performance Scorecard.”

He is willing to let a full service website marketing company market his website while he concentrates on other important stuff. Some will think he is smart, while other will think that he is letting go the control of his business to an outsider. His parting shot was lifted from the late Deng Xiaoping, “No matters if it’s a black cat or white cat, it’s a good cat as long as it catches the mice.”

Technorati Tags: website marketing company, online business, internet marketing