All Posts Tagged With: "website"

A recent study by Rasmussen Reports on behalf of credit card company Discover Financial Services turned up a shocking statistic: 46 percent of the small business owners surveyed said it’s a myth that every business needs a website.

Huh?

The report goes on to say that while the number of small businesses with a website has grown 36 percent in the past two years, only 45 percent of the owners polled currently have one. Of course, that means that 55 percent of small businesses do not have a website. The most common reason given (41 percent) for not having a website was that it is not needed. The second-most common reason (19 percent) was that is costs too much.

I understand the cost objection – it is expensive to put a quality website online. But it has should be viewed viewed as a capital investment, just like a new roof, a delivery truck or an upgraded computer system. It’s part of the cost of doing business.

But not needed? I guess there might be some small businesses out there that don’t need to attract new customers, don’t need to keep their old customers happy, has no need to even make their phone number and address available to the public.

A website, no matter how simple, should function as the hub of your inbound marketing activities. All roads lead back to your website, where you have an opportunity to take prospects into clients or customers.

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Another interesting week of Stumbling, including a stop at a site devoted to Kurt Vonnegut’s tips on writing. There’s was something surreal about him being online. But then again, most of his writing is surreal. I haven’t read Vonnegut in 30 years…may just have to dig out my paperback copy of “Cat’s Cradle.”

1. You spend a great amount of time thinking about how your website should function and you pay programmers of thousands of dollars to make it happen. You get plenty of traffic but not enough sales or subscribers. What’s the problem? Over at Conversion Rates Experts, there are 14 free tools that might help explain why people leave your website. Warning: these seem highly technical. Use at your own risk.
2. As loyal readers know, social media remains a fascination, if not an actual marketing tool, for me. I’ve seen various arguments for and against Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and sundry other sites. But the folks at Traffika offer a compelling argument on the overall importance of using social media marketing.
   
3. One of my all-time favorite authors is Kurt Vonnegut. I used to while away the boring hours working in a medical school mailroom back in the 70’s by reading his novels. I would have no idea what the hell he was talking about, yet I couldn’t stop reading. When I finally finished a book, I still wasn’t sure of the point, but I knew it was a damn good read. I never dreamed that 35 years later, I’d be sharing his tips about writing with style with the world via a blog.
4. I’m always looking for definitive answers to my writing questions. Spelling, grammar, meanings, quotes, historical references…there’s always something that comes up in the midst of a writing session. Internet-Resources.com has compiled an exhaustive library of resources for writers. Even if you’re not looking for a specific answer, this site can be a fun place to browse when you have a few minuters. I guarantee you’ll learn something you didn’t know.
5. If you listen to most “experts” there’s a fortune to be made by writing for online sources. I’m not sure it’s all that, and separating the legitimate sites from the scam artists can be a time-consuming, frustrating and expensive process. Sydney Hazlerton runs down nine legitimate writing sites that pay at Writinghood.
6. Bonus Stumble: for anyone who has trouble waking up in the morning.

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