Here are services you will need and which we use and recommend.
Getting started can be intimidating, especially if all of this is new to you. I was once baffled by how to get a web address (URL), set up a website, get a store online, integrate a shopping cart with credit card processing, let the search engines know about my site and get them to index it, understand and find good keywords to describe my products, get effective Google Adwords and other online advertising working for me, analyze that advertising campaign... it was truly overwhelming, but no longer.
Looking back it all seems easy but in reality it took several years to learn how to do this. You can avoid that long time frame by following the advice in my DVDs and using the specific resources I have tried and which I am recommending here. I've tried and discarded other similar services, so you can believe me when I say that these are good services.
There is an old saying that the way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. Good advice, and the time to get started is now. Keep checking back as it is my goal to build a substantial resource center to help you succeed.
Click below to jump to the topic you are interested in.
1. Where to get a website.
2. Where to host your website
3. Get beautiful, inexpensive images for your website (and your videos, too!)
4. How to easily put videos on your website (PC)
5. Get a robust, secure, full featured shopping cart.
6. Promote your website with video, and get started even if you don't have your own videos yet.
7. "Spy" on you competition to learn what keywords they're using - and use them yourself!
8. Produce amazing slide shows for you website and videos.
9. Get a zillion sound effects for your videos and website for only $19.95
19. High quality yet inexpensive color printing.
First things first! You need a website to get started. So where can you get a website?
Do you need a website and don't know where to go or what to do first? You could go to a web designer. The advantage is that you have a pro designing your site. The disadvantages are that: a) it can be expensive, b)
it can often be a lengthy process, and getting small changes done can be both #a and #b; c) you really should learn to do some web changes yourself. I often want to change my copy or a price, or perhaps put up a "Special" for a special occasion. If you can do it yourself you are miles ahead.
We use a lot of "minisites" like this one. They are simple, uncomplicated sites designed to sell just a few products. We get dozens of high-quality templates fro ezminisites.com. They are easy to modify and they provide a wealth of online video tutorials and a really handy forum. We definitely recommend them as an inexpensive way to quickly get a website up and running smoothly.
We use
Adobe Dreamweaver to build and modify our websites. You can get a
free trial of Dreamweaver 8 by clicking here. We use Adobe Photoshop extensively to prepare graphics and photos for our website. Learning to use Photoshop is one of the essential tools of a web designer/entrepreneur. You can learn more and download a free trial by clicking here.
Web Hosting
We have over 40 different websites, all running on one "Reseller Hosting Account" at HostGator.com. This type of account gives me the capability to sell web hosting to others, just as if I were a big independent web hosting company. I could even brand it myself any way I wish. I don't promote that service to the general public, although I could (I just don't want to provide technical support to a lot of people at all hours), but I do sell enough hosting accounts to friends and business associates to cover my hosting costs and return a nice profit. That allows me to put up scores of my own sites at ZERO COST. Managing a hosting account is easy and for me - just plain fun. Whatever you do, I caution you not to choose a web host solely on cost. Some are unbelievably inexpensive. I've tried some of them myself and what can I tell you other than I no longer have accounts with them. Many have absolutely horrible technical support. Some, I swear, do not speak English at all and when I submitted a question, the answer seldom had anything to do with the question. So choose wisely. I very highly recommend HostGator.
Where to get beautiful, professional photographs for your website.
It is important that you have professional quality images on your website. We buy a lot of professional photos for our many websites. In the past these could cost a fortune but today you can get good photos for only a dollar or two. Here's where we buy ours:
How To Put VIdeos On Your Website
No matter what you are selling on the internet, video will help you sell it better. Whether that video is a trailer, samples, testimonials, demonstration or even the full length program, you have to prepare it for we delivery first. We have seen a big bump in both time on site and search engine ranking since we started adding videos to our sites. There are easy ways and complicated ways; inexpensive and expensive methods. Here is an inexpensive and simple way to make quality videos for your website.
Click Here!
Affordable and Powerful. Click Here to try the World's Smartest Shopping Cart system.
Before you can finish designing your website, you'll need to select shopping cart software. Shopping Cart Software is the magic genie that enables a customer to click the "Buy Now" button and quickly go through the checkout process online in a secure environment.
There are lots of choices out there. Many hosting account, HostGator.com included, offer free shopping cart software with your account. Many offer osCommerce, a program which I have used and that is quite popular. osCommerce is quite powerful, but the down side of that program is that it is open source software, meaning that there is no company or official organization to turn to for help. You basically have to install it, set it up and administer it yourself. It can get technical, and modifying the look can be challenging. Plus, it and many of the other free shopping carts are designed as a catalog. If you only have one or two products, they do not work well.
We use and very highly recommend 1ShoppingCart.com, also known as Marketer's Choice. It has a monthly fee, but we do not have to worry about supporting the software or our database. Plus, they offer top-of-the-line security. You'd pay more to get the SSL (secure sockets layer) certificates than we pay for the entire shopping cart. You get excellent tools like autoresponders, ad trackers, upsell capability, offer bundling and lots more. If you have an affiliate product, it will also support affiliates. We think it is a real deal.
I cannot over-emphasize the importance of having a secure, reliable shopping cart program to support your web sales. It is the lifeblood of your business. Seriously consider using 1ShoppingCart.com.
Promote Your Website
Video Marketing is huge and if you follow this step-by-step video series and put these traffic-building methods into action, you will see how easy it is to drive traffic to your website or blog in the next 24 hours. And hey, you're in the video business aren't you? You can make some great videos to promote you business.
If you're not using video in your marketing, then you need to start now, because every minute you wait could cost you thousands of potential visitors.
But if you don't know where to start and the technical stuff is holding you back, then How To Market Your Videos is just what the doctor ordered.
How Do You Find Keywords To Promote Your Website?
Keywords are how potential customers will find you in the search engines. You use them in your own advertising to target just the customers you want clicking on your ads. Here is a really cool tool that I'm using to spy on my Adwords competition, and come up with more keywords I can use for my campaigns. It's It installs right into your web browser and I can't even tell it's running when my browser's open. It is a great way to "spy" on your competition to see what keywords they are bidding on in Google Adwords. Visit PPC Web Spy to learn more.
Add Amazing Animated Slide ShowsTo Your Videos And Web Pages
Animoto is just the coolest thing! Turn a folder full of photos into a mind blowing slide show video that your clients will love. They will think you are a genius, so don't spoil that magic by telling them that you made it in minutes with Animoto. If you are asked to produce video slide shows for wedding receptions, anniversaries, birthdays... you will go crazy over Animoto. You just have to try it.
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Add Sound Effects to Your Productions
Sound effects add so much depth and interest to any production. Here is a great value in a sound effects library that only costs $19.95. Click here.
Print Place is our "go to" place for quality, inexpensive printing. Use use them regularly.
