[This is the second article in a series on the most commonly used tools to build the infrastructure of your online business.]

The cornerstone of most online businesses is their website. You’ll need a good domain name, and then we’ll talk about how to create a simple, effective website without a computer engineering degree, and without spending thousands of dollars.

DOMAIN NAME

First, you need a domain name.  Choosing a domain name can be quite complex and there are many things to think about, but for our purposes we’re sticking with the basics.  The marketers that I respect the most recommend that you either find a clear,  descriptive name such as billthebarber.com  or find something that is totally nondescript so you can use it for anything — like razoo.com.  But of course you can use anything you like, if it’s available.  Just don’t use any symbols or numbers like  me2you.com.  People get confused by that when they go to find you on the web.

Many web host providers now include a free domain name registration with a hosting account, so it’s not necessary to register your domain name with a separate company.  To search for a domain name, you can use GoDaddy.com, or any other domain name service.  Just don’t pay more than about $10/year for a .com name .  Search for coupons for GoDaddy, as they frequently have discounts available.  Don’t get carried away buying .net and .org and .tv domain names unless you understand what they’re for and how to use them.  Do yourself a big favor;  if the name you want isn’t available, don’t give up and buy a .net name — no one will remember that it’s yourcompany.net and you’ll be sending traffic to the person who owns yourcompany.com.   Oh!  And don’t forget to buy common misspellings of your domain name if you think people might accidentally use alternate names.  If your name is Gillian, register gillian.com and jillian.com if you can get them. It’s cheap insurance that will keep someone from putting up a porn site under jillian.com and embarrassing you to death.

WEBSITE HOST PROVIDER

Once you have your domain, it’s time to choose a home for your new website.  That would be the host provider. In a nutshell, that’s a big bank of computers with lots of computer geeks watching over them 24 hours a day.  This topic deserves a rant all by itself.  What you want is a large provider that has the people power and computer power to provide you with dependable computers to store your files, excellent free domestic customer service 24 hours a day.  (I love other cultures, but not at 2am when I just blew up my website — sorry, but I want to speak to a native English speaker.)  And the price for 90% of the people who are putting up their first website should NOT be more than $10/month.  But don’t use GoDaddy because it’s the same place you registered your domain name.  Use someone like Host Monster (this is an affiliate link because I am a big fan) where you should pay a fair price, get exceptionally good customer service, and always have your website functional.

how you will build your new website.  There are gazillions of solutions.  Some are free and  others cost thousands of dollars.  Trust me — you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars.  Unless you plan to become Amazon.com within a few months, a simple WordPress site will give you more capabilities than you will ever need.

WEBSITE PLATFORM – CUSTOM OR PREBUILT CODE

Why Wordpress?
Wordpress (Wordpress.org, not Wordpress.com) has evolved from a free blogging platform to a full-fledged, albeit relatively simple, Content Management System (CMS). What that means for you, as a business owner, is that if you have the time and are willing to roll up your sleeves, you can save significant money by setting up your own website. Yep, I said website. Wordpress has evolved to the point that you can use it to create a more traditional looking website, or you can use it for a blogsite. Even better, it’s free.

Why a blog platform instead of conventional HTML /  PHP, etc.?

Lots ‘o reasons.

1. Free.  Download Wordpress and install it as many times as you want — no charge.
2. Easy.  You can easily create or change pages in your site without having a webmaster.  No more waiting for someone else to have the time to help you. You feel like changing your website at 2am?  Go for it.
3. Search Engines LOVE blogs.  Search engines love content. Not pretty pictures, not how much money you throw at them — just content. So if you’re always updating your content, and you make the content relevant (if it’s a soccer site, are you talking about soccer?) then blogs have an instant advantage — IF you write regularly (don’t look at me, I’ve been busy).  This is the trickiest part for every business owner – write regularly and you’ll be well on your way.
4. No additional software needed.  By that I mean that you don’t have to buy tools like website building software like Dreamweaver, or use a free HTML tool, or an FTP program or anything like that.  But more importantly you don’t have to spend the time to learn them.
5. WordPress has a gargantuan (is that a word?) user community, so you may not have a telephone number for support, but you can usually find help online with almost anything WordPress related.
6. WordPress has a huge  (gargantuan?) developer community — which is a very big deal for those of us who want to try something different from time to time.  Want to put video on your site?  There’s a plugin for that. Want to have a membership site?  There’s a plugin for that.  For almost anything you can imagine, someone has built a tool that plugs right in to WordPress and you’re off to the races.  Most of those plugins are free or very low cost.
7. There are lots of “themes” available for WordPress so you can probably find a look that you like, upload your own photo (or a stock photo that you choose — try Fotolia or  iStock ) and you have a custom-looking site without having to hire a designer.  Think of a theme as a skin.  It’s an overlay that makes WordPress look pretty.  And if you’re really savvy you may even want to buy Thesis, which is a wildly popular theme that is highly customizable and has great built in editing tools that make your life really easy.
8. And if you don’t want to do it yourself, there are plenty of good WordPress developers out there.  Just don’t let them build a custom theme — that can be a sink hole of frustration when you want to upgrade or they no longer work with you.  Stick with the basics for now. You can get fancy when you’re a gazillionaire.

Stay Tuned for Installment 3….

Hmmm… I bet that got your attention, huh?  Well, don’t worry, I’m not really going to tell you how to fail in online business. I’m going to show you just the opposite — the specific tools that you need to succeed in online business — how to create a business that is fun and that won’t drive you to drink (Ok, as a wine lover I have to take that one back — go ahead and have a glass of wine. Or two.)

New online business owners often fall into the money (and time) pit of too many choices; which web platform should I use, what email marketing software, which ecommerce solution, and on and on til you just want to curl up in the corner and cry.

It’s overwhelming – so much so that the verb “overwhelm” has been morphed into a noun.  If you do a search on “business overwhelm” (but don’t – you don’t need more distractions) you’ll find dozens of entries.   Do you really want to focus on the negative?  You want to use a new word designed to scare you?  I wonder if there’s a pill for that?  Sorry, I digress.  Anyway,  at the risk of over-simplifying,  let’s over-simplify.  I’ll walk you through the specific tools that you need to build an online business, and then show you how to put them together. This will take more than one article, so stick with me.

Fun Monger Disclaimer:  The tools and setup I’m about to share with you have provided the foundation for thousands of online businesses. But we’re not talking about a business that has enormous inventory, like Amazon, or brick and mortar stores (although it certainly has been used for smaller stores). Let me be clear – there are TONS of options for building your online business, but we’re going to cut to the chase — you need answers, not more options. 

First, the big picture:

• If you are going to do this yourself, that’s great – you can do it! But don’t kid yourself, it will take time and patience, but shouldn’t take very much money.
• If you have the resources and don’t want to do it yourself, that’s great too – just read the next sentence carefully: Would you hire a plumber to fix your car? I hope not.  So don’t hire just any web developer to build your online business. Find a technical person who has specific experience in building an online business;  all aspects of it, and someone who uses tools that are widely used.  A programmer is NOT a programer is NOT a programmer.  Trust me on this one. I’ve worked with literally hundreds of programmers and you need someone that understands this unique world.  You need someone who knows that simple is best, and who understands that you want, and need, to maintain control.

Standard tools

1. Website –  WordPress blogging platform is being widely used as a Content Management System.  What that means is that you have the best of both worlds — you can have a “regular” website, and you can have a blog, and they are all part of the same system.  I’ll go into detail about this in an upcoming article.  It’s free and easy to install.  You can download it at Wordpress.org  Don’t mix this up with Wordpress.com – they are the same company, but you want the self-installed version, Wordpress.org.
2. Email Marketing — The three most widely used systems are aWeber, Constant Contact, and 1 Shopping Cart.  There is also Mail Chimp which is becoming more popular, but as of this writing I’m not a fan, as it simply doesn’t have the tools and ease of use of the other options, but don’t listen to me – check it out for yourself.  Important considerations when you are choosing:
   • Do you plan to sell services or products via your website?  If you are, then 1 Shopping Cart should be at the top of your list.  No, it’s not perfect, and there are other options out there, but 1SC is widely used and there is a large pool of experienced people who can help you. 1SC can provide your email marketing and ecommerce in one solution, and most significantly, it means that you have one database, that can be separated into multiple groups.  That’s BIG.  Just try managing 2 or 3 different databases and trying to keep everything in synch. Then imagine trying to send out an email campaign only to realize that the list you really want to send to is in a different place.  Been there, done that, no fun.
   • If you have no intention of processing sales through your website, and all you need to do is send emails, then go for aWeber or Constant Contact.  But if sales are only a few months away, go for the lower priced 1SC option.  It will save you time and money in the long run.
3. Project Management — This one is easily overlooked and is really important.  With the right tool you can keep projects organized, have a task list that can be checked off to show progress, store important files online so that you (or your team) can access them easily, provide a calendar, keep an Operations Manual, create databases, etc.  I wish I’d gotten one sooner.  The two that I see people use regularly are Basecamp and Central Desktop.  My strong preference is for Central Desktop, which has a free version and is very powerful.  You can use all the bells and whistles, or just keep it simple.  Basecamp is more, well, basic, and although I have worked with it, I find it rather limited.
4. Free Telephone Conference Service — This is a bit of a muddy area, because different services have different gotchas.  FreeConference.com is widely used because they seem to work better with cell phones and VoIP (Voice over internet – like Skype and Vonage).  The gotcha is that when you record calls they only keep the recording for 30 days.  No exceptions, no backups, no grace period.  So you hiccup once and you’ve lost a valuable recording.   Oh, and to record a call you must schedule it in advance, which can be a little annoying.  Another service that is widely used is FreeConferencing.com .  It has nice web interface controls, allows you to do things like see who is on the call, let people “raise their hand” to ask questions, etc.  But it doesn’t play well with cell phones or VoIP phones.  A killer in my book because many of my friends and clients don’t even have a land line anymore.  There is a guide here that provides more information.
5. Metrics — This one is so easy to overlook, and it is so important.  Setup a free account on Google Analytics and go through the simple tutorials, then put the tracking code on your new website.  But don’t forget about it.  Create a simple spreadsheet and check your numbers in Google Analytics and in your email marketing service about once a month.  Check the Learning Center for a template.  1SC provides shopping cart and email metrics as well.  Don’t get too crazy with this, it’s just good to keep an eye on things and see what works and what doesn’t.  Never forget that numbers are a tool, not a substitute for creating a memorable customer experience.
6. Backup – Way too many new business owners learn this one the hard way.  I recommend 2 backup systems at all times — one online, something like Carbonite (their stellar reputation has been a little tarnished lately, so do your homework before contracting with them) and then a physical, external hard drive that uses a good backup software like Acronis.  Don’t forget to backup your email files!

These are the tools that are the big players in online business.  Yes, of course there are other options, but a significant advantage of these tools is that there is a big pool of people who understand the tools and the processes that work together to create a strong online business.  When you’re new, or trying to get re-organized, having the tools that a lot of people know means you can easily get help when you need it.  Take some time to visit the various websites for the different systems, and feel free to post questions here.

I  got a call from a potential client today;  “Can you tell me how to do a teleseminar?”  I had to stop for a second and think.  It is sooooooo easy to forget that nobody is born with the knowledge of how to do these things.  So it’s as good ‘a time as any to write this stuff down and share it.  Don’t forget the disclaimer — there are always multiple ways to do things — this is just a basic setup.

How to Setup Your First Teleseminar

What you need first:

1. De Plan.  What are you going to share with people?  Who is your audience? How will you get them to come to your teleseminar?  Free? Not? If it’s free, what is the purpose? Are you just giving something away, or is this a tickler for selling another product?  If so, is the product ready? How much does it cost?  Will you give some special offer?  Make it a good offer, and make it limited (first 10 people, until midnight Friday, etc.)
2. Website (or blogsite where you can add pages) and the ability to create your signup page (you or someone you hire).
3. Email marketing service where you can store user email addresses  (Mail Chimp is free, aWeber, Constant Contact, and 1Shoppingcart are some other popular options).
4. Good content for the class and for your signup page — write it yourself or get help.
5. A teleconferencing account set up with a service that will allow you to record (there are tons — check out freeconferencing.com, freeconference.com, etc.) If you intend to turn the recording into a product later, or if the recording is especially important for some other purpose, I recommend that you get an additional service, such as Audio Acrobat to record the call.  So you’ll have 2 recordings, just in case.

OK, tools in place?  Now here’s the flow:

1. Setup a list in your email marketing service, with a unique name for just this teleseminar.  Include the date in the name.  I like to start with the date, so that things sort out nicely and they’re easy to find.  Example:  020910_FreeCall_SnowShoveling    Topic: How to Shovel Snow Without Getting All Wet
2. Create the web page.  There are volumes of sites where you can find information on how to create your web copy.  My advice — find one that you like, and be a copycat.  Don’t copy word for word, but copy the method.
3. Go back to your email marketing program and generate the HTML code that will be the form on your website where people can signup for this fabulous call.  Then put the code into your new web page.  The mail service that you use should have a tutorial for how to generate the HTML code and then just copy and paste it into your web page.
4. If your teleconference service requires that you schedule the calls in advance, go do that.  Make a note of the call-in number and access code.
5. Now back to your email marketing program  (can I call that the EMP?  just kidding….)  and create an autoresponder message.  This is the note that people will receive via email when they signup.  It should contain some thank-you language, a little bit about the content of the teleseminar, and the call-in instructions.  *IMPORTANT!  Some teleconference services don’t play well with Voice Over Internet (VoIP ) services (like Skype or Vonage) or cell phones.  If this is the case, let people know, in this email, that it’s best if they call in with a land line.
6. Create a custom thank-you page.  After someone signs up where will they be directed?  Will they get an ugly default thank you note from the email marketing program? Or will you take the time and effort to make a pretty one for them?  After you create it, be sure to make a note of the complete path name where that file is, and then go into your email marketing program and in the setup for your autoresponder list, there should be a place where you can replace that default (ugly)  thank-you page link with your beautiful thank-you page link.
7. Prepare for the call:

• Test, test, test, and practice, practice, practice!  Be sure everything works as planned, and that you know exactly how to start the call, how to mute / unmute, record, etc.
• Be on the line early and be ready! Understand how the conference controls work, and don’t forget to start the recording!  Have a plan for muting all callers if you run into noise issues.  Have a plan for allowing questions.  Practice before you leap!
• If you plan to make a special offer of a product, be sure the product is set up in your shopping cart system, and be sure that you have created a sales page for that product.  At the end of the call you’ll give people the link for this sales page.  You want to be sure they can buy what you’re selling!

That’s an overview.  Check out the document under the Helpful Stuff page to get a picture of it.   Sometimes a picture is way more helpful than long explanations.  Got any additional tips to share?  We’re all ears!