Computers & Internet

Many people have their own product, a book, a CD, a craft, or other product that they would like to sell with their own Web site, but they can’t find simple instructions on how to get started. In this article, I’m going to explain how to sell your product with your own Web site. It boils down to four steps.

1. Find a Web server

You need to put your Web site on a computer that is running a Web server program and is connected to the Internet. There are three choices:

Your own server. This requires you to be, or to hire, a system administrator responsible for system maintenance, software updates, backups, and security. This also requires a high-speed communications link to the Internet. This is practical only for large organizations.
Your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Along with a broadband or dial-up connection to the Internet, many ISPs also provide you with a small amount of personal Web space. There are several problems with using this Web space, even for a small business Web site. The storage space and monthly transfer allowance is too small, and if you decide to change ISP, you lose your email address and you need to move your Web site.
A Web host provider. There are many companies that sell Web site space on their servers. These companies offer three grades of service:

Free hosting. The hosting service makes money from banner ads that they display on your Web site. Sometimes the storage space is too small and the monthly transfer allowance is usually limited.
Shared hosting. Your Web site shares a server with many other Web sites. Some hosting providers put too many Web sites on each server, or someone else’s Web site monopolizes the servers processor or bandwidth. This slows down your Web site.
Dedicated hosting. The hosting provider sets up a separate server for your Web site alone. Whereas shared hosting can be acquired for as little as $5 per month, dedicated hosting cost hundreds of dollars per month. Read more »

Getting visitors to your web site is not one of the easiest
things to do especially if you’ve only just set up your web
site. The trick here is to find as many ways as possible to
get the visitors, that do visit your site, to come back
again and again.

Here are 8 ways you can achieve this:

1. Start a blog

Yes, everyone else, including my grandmother, has a blog.
You should start one too. A blog is a great way to get your
visitors to return to your web site. Especially if you
frequently update it with entries that are relevant to your
visitors’ needs. And also that occasional odd entry on
what’s happening in your personal life. A blog can greatly
increase the personal touch of your web site. And your
visitors are more likely to come back.

2. Start a forum

An active discussion forum may be all that you need to
attract repeat visitors to your web site. You’ll generally
get two types of visitors to your active forum. a) One who
seeks help and b) one who provides help. If your forum is
active with these two types of visitors, you can almost
guarantee repeat (as well as new) visits for many times to
come. Read more »

Have you ever been ripped off in relation to web site promotion?

I have.

It hurts. Big time. makes you want to quit on the Internet altogether.

Let Me Tell You Why You Should Never Quit

Website promotion in Australia has really taken off in the last few years.

It is as if the Australian business community have woken from some kind of collective slumber and realized that:

1. The Internet is here to stay.

2. They cannot afford to ignore it anymore.

3. They need to start advertising their business online.

Sadly, the state of Website promotion in Australia is oftentimes a bit like the days of the old wild-west with a few too many cyber-snake-oil salespeople.

These people seem to thrive on others peoples lack of knowledge and continue to peddle scams like:

Submitting your website to thousands of search engines’(A TOTAL waste of time and money and a complete scam – pray tell where are these ‘thousands’ of the worlds top search engines?)
Charging a small fortune ($250) just to register a domain name. (You can do it yourself in 2 minutes for less than $10)
Selling software-generated site visitors (Not real visitors at all just robot-generated clicks)
For a staggering fee of $1,250 + a $150 ‘set up fee’ what irony in those words! one company is even offering the following: ’5000 emails sent to your opt-in list’ (Something you can do yourself in 5 minutes for less than $20 a month)
Another Guarantees to get your site listed on the top 2% of the WORLD’s most popular web sites!’ (A blatant con!)

In the early days of my own online career, I personally hired a so called ‘search engine expert’ in Western Australia who wasted a staggering $50,000 of my hard earned dollars on website designs that were about as effective as screen doors on a submarine. Read more »