In This Issue...

• Introduction
• Editor's Perspective: Marketing that Money Can't Buy
• For Sale: $995 for a 5-day-old Site?
• Form the Forums: The Outdated Site Dilemma
• Tips & Tricks: New Tool Roundup
• Your Clients Are Everywhere
• What's New on SitePoint!
• Hot Forum Topics
• New Blog Entries

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Introduction

We all know that keeping clients happy is important -- in fact, some of the latest research indicates that word of mouth is the most trusted source of marketing. No surprises there. Coming in at # 3 on the trust scale is "consumer opinions posted online". Below, I'll show you how you can use that information to boost your sales and your profits.

In this issue's For Sale section, we take a look at the merits of buying a site that's just a few days old. The site in question can be purchased now for $995 -- let's take a look and see why it might be a good deal.

Also, I'll review a question that popped up in the Forums recently about the merit of selling clients web sites that we just know they won't use to their fullest extent. Is that the web developer's problem, the client's problem, or an opportunity?

Finally, I've included a roundup of 3 new tools -- and a quick hint -- that you can implement this week to your business's advantage.

Happy Reading!

Brendon Sinclair
tribune@sitepoint.com

Editor's Perspective

Marketing that Money Can't Buy

My web development business has something like 32 projects on at the moment.

Now, I was just reading a Nielsen survey on eMarketer that says that "more than three-quarters of consumers worldwide trust consumer recommendations over any other type of ad. The advice of strangers can carry more weight than the best brand Web site."

That research is consistent with the way we generated our current clients -- exactly 50% of our current projects came from referrals from happy clients.

Christmas time is rapidly approaching and people are already searching for that perfect product online. If you have an ecommerce store, you'll be pleased to know that consumer opinions posted online come in as Internet users' third most trusted type of promotion.

So if you're looking at marketing a web development or ecommerce business, it makes perfect sense to get as many testimonials as you can about your service or product. Don't just settle for just a written testimonial. Why not try an audio, or even a video testimonial? Place those on your web site and the testimonials suddenly come alive -- they're a suddenly a much more powerful part of your marketing arsenal.

Testimonials -- written, or in audio or video format -- are similar to positive word of mouth about your business, and double up as representing consumer opinion about you -- very important aspects of your marketing mix!

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For Sale

$995 for a 5-day-old Site?

One of the sales I'm looking at right now in the SitePoint Marketplace is an auction for SEOCrunch.com. The Buy It Now price is $995, and the bidding is already up to $700.

What's interesting about this site is that it's only 5 days old. So why would anyone pay $995 for it?

Here are just a few reasons:

• It's got an excellent domain name.
• It has a lovely design.
• The site has been set up and implemented.

Those 3 aspects alone make a site like this -- a site you're buying for potential -- a solid buy. To get a good domain, design a site, set it up, and start the marketing, you're almost certainly going to spend more than $995 in time and effort.

Form the Forums

The Outdated Site Dilemma

In the SitePoint Forums, cereal_girl asks the question, "How do we get it through to clients that a web site requires a commitment of time?"

cereal_girl develops CMS sites for clients, hands them over ... and then wonders if they'll ever be updated.

She goes on to ask, "Do we care that most clients never really do update their easy-to-update sites? Is it right to just take their money and let their out-of-date sites chase clients away?"

I once had a client come to me with the stupidest idea ever. It was so stupid that I had to leave the meeting for a minute to compose myself! It was simply idiotic, and it still makes me laugh to this day (5 years later).

After much debate in the office about whether we should develop the site for this guy or not, we decided we had to. After all, what if this guy was a genius ahead of his time? What if he had amazing energy and skill to make it a huge success? What if the idea was brilliant but we just didn't "get it"?

We developed the site and did the best possible job for the client. It failed miserably.

We make numerous pitches to clients to develop sites they can update and manage themselves. Many clients insist on this. It's a huge selling point for us and many other web developers. But of all the sites we've built that can be updated by clients, I'd guess that just 1% are ever updated.

cereal_girl, we need to sell clients what they need. But we also need to sell clients what they want. The only thing a web developer can do is provide the best possible solution for a client based on a thorough assessment of their needs and wants.

If the client doesn't take full advantage of the asset we provide, that's not an issue for the web developer --though we need, as businesspeople, to be continually assessing how our solution fits the client's needs, and continue to make recommendations to improve their business.

Tips & Tricks

Google Rank Checker

Sick of checking your Google ranking across a range of international Google sites? Here's a simple tool that lets you check them all in one place. It's fast, easy, and accurate.

Standing Out In the Inbox

I sent out a newsletter last week with the subject header "Why Britney Really Lost The Kids" -- a reference to Britney Spears' custody battle. That silly little subject header led to the highest open rate I've ever had for that newsletter (it even beat "Fish Found With Human Face"!). With hundreds of newsletters hitting email boxes, it's critical to stand out from the crowd and grab attention. What are you doing to set your newsletter Subject lines apart?

Speaking of grabbing attention, Blabberize is just about the cutest little site going around at present. Have a look!

Potential Web Design Clients are everywhere.

Brendon once turned a $0.50 conference floor map at a Home Show into tens of thousands in revenue after he realized that each of the companies displaying at the show were spending up to $9000 for just two days of booth space.

He quickly organized a direct mail campaign to 30 of the exhibitors who didn't have websites, and snagged two clients.

The Web Design Business Kit, is full of ideas for finding, and reaching new prospects for your services, including your competitor's clients.

Watch Brendon Sinclair speak about The Web Design Business Kit -- now in it's 2nd Edition.

Help Your Friends Out

People you care about can benefit from the wealth of information on new and maturing technologies available on the Internet. Help them learn how to do it by forwarding them this issue of the Tribune!