WebWhacked,amp,#63,Three,Ways, DIY WebWhacked? Three Ways to Avoid Being Overwhelmed by

When starting a new work at home business it is very easy to become consumed by it. We spend so much time trying to get the business up and running that we may end up becoming burned out and lose our motivation. There is so much to learn and Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in

There’s no reason to feel intimidated by the Web. There is so much hypesurrounding this new medium that it’s easy to believe that you’re fallingbehind. It’s just not true… yet.The truth is:· You’re not that far behind· You’ve already got what it takes· You can’t do any worse than you’re doing right now.Here are three ways you can avoid getting paralyzed into inactivity by thehype:1. The Web is not all Interactive and E-Commerce Web SitesThere are lots of sites — some people call it brochure-ware – that give acompany a Web presence for very little money. These sites are easy andinexpensive to put up and can attract lots of business for your company.The truth is: only 20% of all Web sites currently offer real-timetransactions. And that number’s only slated to reach 33% by the end of 2000.You keep hearing about e-commerce only because the media keeps focusing onand hyping e-commerce sites.So don’t let “e-commerce” throw you. If you find out you need e-commercetechnology — because you plan to sell in real-time on your site —there are anumber of Web hosts out there that, for a fee, will allow you to performreal-time transactions (providing you qualify with a bank for a merchantaccount). Bigstep (http://www.bigstep.com/), Yahoo store(http://store.yahoo.com/), GoBizGo (formerly Sitematic)(http://www.gobizgo.com/) are just three of them.You’ve probably also heard a lot about the interactivity of the Web. Thereare two things you should know. First, it’s all true. The Web holds thepromise of being the first truly interactive mass medium. Secondly, nobodybut the very well funded Amazon-sized Web sites are even beginning toscratch the surface of interactive technologies. Most of the technologybehind the interactive Web sites to-date has been around for years —databases, chat, forums, e-mail.There are millions of Web sites out there. Very few offer the cutting edgee-commerce and interactive tools that the press loves to write about. Don’tlet these stories scare you — there’s still plenty of room for you on theWeb at whatever price point you want to pay.2. What You Already Know About Business Applies to the WebIt seems like everything about the Web is new, but it’s not. Sure there aresome fine points of technology to be learned, but business is stillbusiness. What you know about promoting your products or services offlineapplies to promoting your products and services online. The same copy willfind its way to the Web, the same target marketing, the same accountingskills, and the same product fulfillment practices.Take the time to find an online community that speaks the same language youdo. You’re likely to find that getting on the Web is the same as enteringany new media. Think of it as if you’re buying your first newspaper ad orradio spot:· First find somebody else who’s already doing it· Call them up and ask them how they’re doing it· Do it the same way they’re doing itPad your budget for a few mistakes but, if you’ve been successful in othermedia, there’s no reason to think the Web will change your success record.3. The Web Is Very ForgivingThere are few mistakes you can make on the Web that will really hurt you.The only two that come to mind immediately will bite you anywhere: badplanning and bad manners.Bad planning can cost you time and money — time to redo what should havebeen done right in the first place and money paid for useless work. Like anymedia, the Web can eat up your budget on pretty graphical treatments that —at the end of the day — cost you money but do little to gain more business.Be careful with your Web budget and shop around. Nobody really knows what tocharge, so you can find great talent for very little money. Remember, nobodyknows your customers the way you do, so don’t let a Web designer blind-sideyou with a “That’s not how it works on the Web” line. Your customers arestill your customers, and you know how they think about your product orservice better than anyone else.Bad manners can get you spurned pretty quickly on the Web. If found guiltyof spamming — sending out e-mail to people who haven’t specificallyrequested it — you can get blacklisted and bad-mouthed across the whole Web.In some states you can get sued. So make sure you follow the rules ofnetiquette (http://www.workz.com /manage/CSEmailRes.asp/) (Internetetiquette). It’s not too hard to find out what the rules are — they’reposted all over the Web (use any search engine to find them).As long as you keep your head about you, there’s no reason you should bewary of the Web. In fact there’s only one big mistake you can make — missingthe opportunity.The Web has become a new marketing channel. It’s easy to learn and easy toget started today. But that might not be the story two, three, or four yearsdown the road. So you might as well get used to it now — get a site, startsmall, and see what happens. Don’t listen to the hype — you haven’t missedthe boat — just do your homework, plan ahead, and keep your eyes open. It’llall work out.