Is your small or home-based business advertised on the Internet? If not, you are losing business no matter how great your present business is doing In the past I have suggested small businesses wait till the Internet became more ‘sales friendly’. Well, it’s there now! The slow but steady increase in Internet sales tells me now is the time we should add Internet advertising and marketing to our small business toolbox.

Survey Results
As an example of the Internet movement, I direct your attention to a survey by www.VerizonSuperpages.com that says 96% of small businesses surveyed plan to maintain or increase their Internet expenditures this year. The survey also points out that businesses that use the web to market products and services outperform those that don’t. In fact, 41% of businesses launching a website experience an increase in sales volume! I have included two surveys performed by The Gallup Organization, Inc. for Verizon to back-up these statements. Go to http://www.tulenko.com, click on the two “Menu Select” items: 1) “How Small Businesses Really Use The Internet” and 2) “Facts About Women In Small Businesses!” Mull over the results then take action!

Web Cost
It doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to build a selling website! The odds are about 55-45 that you will pay for your website the first year. Translated, that says: “Profit the second year!” Before you jump into purchasing a site from the first developer in the phone book, look at the sites they developed, check the cost of development, ask how you enter new data on new products or services and what all that would cost, then weigh the values. Call the firms they worked for and ask if the site made money, but remember, you are not looking for the be-all end-all site, you just need to market your business.

Not Sold There
If everything you do, make, or sell is only sold in your town, you still need a website. Why? You want as many people as possible to know what you do and how to contact you. Every piece of paper that leaves your hands should not just tell what you can do for the reader; it should also include your website address. That means brochures, samples, business cards, (phonebook next year), give-aways, newspaper ads, billboards (if you can afford them), and any signage you have. All should have your website address clearly visible. The reason? A catchy website name is remembered a lot easier than a company name address or phone number. Besides this, people outside your community just may be interested in what you offer, and who are you to turn-down business?

The Bright Future
Make your website work! You do NOT want a passive site that just sits there and grins at you. New selling tools are coming forward all the time, and a website is an excellent place to use them to generate more business. For example, VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), video and audio enhancements, and other techniques are ready to be used. For internationalists, second-language sites work, so build one! Auto-respond email programs can download information without your intervention, but with your advertisements. It’s almost simple to develop short how-to programs (formally called distance learning), pictures, mini-books, publicity tools, and literally hundreds of similar items to increase business.

Sell Expertise
You know something I don’t know, that, if I knew, would help me to make more money, fix the sink, groom my dog, or accomplish a task that needs doing. Why not build an on-line e-mail workshop using auto respond email that website visitors could use to solve a problem? Charge a small fee! The program should be self-directed, self-administered, self-graded, and a diploma should be sent at the end of the program along with a discount coupon for your products and services. It’s MARKETING!

The Woman Factor
Face it. Women are better at some tasks than men, just as men are better at some tasks than women. Women are proving their acumen by bridging the gender divide concerning the Internet, and they are achieving success. Women are at the comparable level of understanding the value of web based marketing, and are discovering that the web works! Go Gals!