Start with a website

By nature, I am a planner, but because going "online" with my business was such a big endeavor and there were too many choices and methods, I chose just to dive right in.  I will probably tweak it later but for right now, I'm pretty happy.

I am familiar with cruising the Internet, so searching for information on websites was not hard.  But it is arduous. And time-consuming.  If you want a website of your own (and you do), you will have to purchase a web DOMAIN (approximately $25-$40 a year, depending on where you register and how many years you commit to).  That's your identifying website name.  That is something to think long and hard about.  If you own "Joe's Donuts", you probably won't find a web domain available for the name www.joesdonuts.com.  You may find instead "www.bestdonutsintown.com" or "dunkit.com".  Think about what promotions and fabulous logos you already have or what motto you may want to express. To find out if the domain name is available for your website, there are many sites online where you can search. One I found was at www.register.com, but there are more. I searched for "register domain" in Google to find that one.


There ARE web hosts out there that will host your website free, using their software to maintain your site yourself. My website is hosted at Weebly.com and I use their free platform.  I set up an account there and registered my domain name with them (karenstonestudio.com). Then I can set up my website right on there, without knowing any HTML code.  My experience with their site and customer service has been excellent. To clarify, I am not getting paid for reviewing my experiences with them here. You can search for "websites" on Google and get even more companies where you can set up a web site. If you want to go with Weebly, you can click on their logo in the right column above.  If you know of any other easy or free sites out there, let's hear it in the comments section below.

When you have your website up and running (which could be just a matter of an hour or so), fill it with some great stuff.  Add some products.  Set up a blog.  Takes lots of photos and post them.
Make it yours!

Have a great week!




ps. If you click on the "Weebly.com" link above, and choose to open an account with Weebly, I could possibly receive a tiny little compensation just for putting the link on this blog. My mention and review of Weebly.com is in no way altered by any compensation (however teeny tiny) I may receive from them.  It is strictly an unbiased review.  And I also have no connection to Joe's Donuts, although I would be open to the possibility if there is a "Joe's Donuts" anywhere in the world.  I do like donuts....just sayin'.....

The Competition is Online

If there is no other reason to have a website and begin marketing your goods and services online, the one that should drive you to that keyboard is the fact that your competition IS online.  Even if you are not an Internet guru, if your customers are online (computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone), you need to have a significant presence there.
For instance, picture yourself as the owner of a garden center in Augusta, GA.  Your business is named "Joe's Garden Center".  If your customer does a Google search for "Joe's garden center augusta, ga", they will encounter some interesting results, the first three of which are:

1. Good Earth Produce & Garden Center - Augusta, GA - Food ...

   https://www.facebook.com/pages/...Garden-Center/140571559344045‎
   

   
   

   Good Earth Produce & Garden Center, Augusta, GA. 3149 likes · 7 talking about this · 166 were here. Open from March 10 - December 24th! We proudly carry ...
2. 
   

   Garden Centers in Augusta, Georgia with Reviews & Ratings - YP.com

   www.yellowpages.com › Augusta, GA‎
   

   
   

   Yellowpages.com

   Results 1 - 30 of 39 - 39 listings of Garden Centers in Augusta on YP.com.
   

   1

   Broome's Farm & Home Center.

   (706) 793-9475.

   2

   Good Earth Produce And Garden Center.

   (706) 550-0227.
3. 
   

   nurseries plants trees in Augusta GA - Yellowpages.com

   www.yellowpages.com › Augusta, GA‎
   

   
   

   Yellowpages.com

   Results 1 - 30 of 31 - 31 listings of Nurseries-Plants & Trees in Augusta on ...
   

   1

   Green Thumb West Garden Center

   110 Davis Rd ...

   (706) 863-0212.

   2

   Rainbow Nursery Landscaping.

   1915 Tobacco Rd ...

   (706) 798-6552

Now, if I am a customer and I'm searching online for your garden center so I can get your hours of operation, I won't be able to find you.  I can find Broome's, Good Earth, and Green Thumb West.  I'll easily be able to find theirs.  For this reason alone, Internet marketing is important.  And content marketing (talking about your business online) will help you get your message across.  On top of your competitors.  Go ahead and do a search of your business.

Have a great week!

We are a world of neighbors

Selling Art online is difficult, for obvious reasons.  I have a website in which I sell artisan jewelry, so I have had some experience in that attempt.  The past two years that I have been developing my website has been a very steep learning experience for me.  I've also figured out that I think with both sides of my brain.  You know, that right side that supposedly is responsible for my artistic leanings and, unfortunately emotions.  I have also had to engage that left side these past two years; the numbers and critical thinking side.  
While delving into the left side of my brain, I have come across a field in which I have had a lot of FUN, if not wholesale success.  Content Marketing.  People who know me would respond with "What?"  See, I am painfully shy.  So painfully shy, in fact, that my attempt to counteract my shyness is to have an arsenal of research, experience, information, or expertise on the subject so that my shyness would be overlooked. (On a side note, that approach also leads to being well read on miscellaneous useless information on other subjects, to the annoyance of friends and family.) 
To that end, I am researching and learning what it takes to be very good at Content Marketing;  The best, in fact, for what I call "local to global" promotion" .  I am slowly, but methodically moving in the right direction.  One of the very first things I have come to realize is that we are a world of neighbors. When you look out your window, you can obviously see your neighbor right next door, but in this wonderful internet world of ours, when you look into the window of your computer or your smartphone, you are also communicating with your global neighbors. In my case, I can more easily contact a supplier on Aliexpress than I can find my next door neighbor at home.  And it takes no more effort for me to sell and ship a piece of work from me in Aiken, SC to someone in The Northwest Territories as it takes to sell it to my cousin in Dumphries, VA (Okay, it was a little harder to sell to my cousin, but I digress....).
I envision this blog to be a guide for those who prefer to handle their own Content Marketing.  I hope it will prove to be somewhat entertaining while keeping current and informative.  It will also be a jumping off point where clients can contact me, express opinions, and even start the process of having their Content Marketing done in a thoughtful and involved way.  
Come visit with me as I strategize my way  global.