Contact Us

Related Topics

Go To Work On Your Web Site With The Right Tools

By John Jantsch

Recently I was in the middle of completely overhauling the DuctTapeMarketing Web site. It was time to freshen things up a bit so I kind of overdid it.

On top of changing the overall look and feel, I added tons of new resources, audio, and a weblog.

I am really excited about the Weblog (or Blog). If you are not familiar with blogs and blogging, I suspect you will be someday soon. A blog is many things, but it started out as a way for people to easily publish their sometimes random thoughts on any topic they desired.

As blogs grew in popularity and acceptance, software makers jumped in and created product to make blogging even easier.

So how does that apply to you? I have taken several years of small business advice and plowed it into my blog. What that means is that very soon you will be able to visit DuctTape Marketing.com, visit the weblog section, and have access to an entire library of small business marketing strategies, advice, ranting and resources fully sortable by topic and searchable by keyword.

In addition, you and anyone else who visits that weblog will be able to add comments. Found a better way to do something?, add it to the site. Don't like some advice?...keep it to yourself. Just kidding, but over time the site will become a growing and thriving community of small business marketers. I am really excited about the possibilities for this.

Want to learn more about the software I am using for my Blog or anything else about blog go here: PMachine now called Ellis Lab

One of the lessons I retaught myself through all of this is the value of having and using the right tools. First and foremost I have been spending a ton of time with my old favorite. Make Your Site Sell by Ken Evoy.

This classic and mammoth book is the bible for anyone who wants to have anything to do with selling - on the Internet or not. If you read nothing else this quarter...read this book. You will be floored.

I have also had the opportunity to reconfirm the value of a great web host. Web hosting is one of those things many people take for granted until they have a problem. I have worked with many web hosts, either for my own sites or on behalf of clients and I can tell you I will never use any host besides Host4Profit. The basic charge for more services than any host I have found is $24.95/month. There may be cheaper services out there but the thing Host4Profit does is help me whenever I answer.

For this website project I coded some pages in PHP and use a mySQL database. Now while this was way over my head, I learned that my site already was equipped with the latest tools to run this program and they even walked me through installing it. Their help is well worth the price...plus they have a referral program...refer 3 folks and your hosting is free.

Finally, I have spent thousands on finding the perfect list hosting/autoresponder service. As my list has grown in size I wanted a server based company to send emails like this one and automate the entire subscribe and unsubscribe functions. I love ProAutoresponder for this function.

As a side bar here...if you are not using email to communicate with your clients and offer information, discounts, new product upgrades, etc...you are missing the boat. An autoresponder is an essential tool for making this work.

Again I love ProAutoresponder. The tools work, they even generate the forms you need for your website...anyone who has tried to create forms knows they offer some challenges.

~~~~~

John Jantsch is the owner of Jantsch Communications, a marketing consulting firm located in Kansas City, Mo. He is the creator of Duct Tape Marketing, a fully-customizable turn-key marketing system. You can reach him at 816-561-3931 or john@ducttapemarketing.com

You may reprint and distribute this article freely as long as you print it in its entirety including the author's bio.