My web team just e-mailed me, and apparently I haven’t been working them hard enough, because they’ve just told me they want to do some more sites. So we put our heads together and here’s what we’re offering, but these are special prices, only available until 2/19/10. AND, they’re only extending this pricing to FIVE small business owners.

OFFER #1: $1349

• Initial consult with our web manager
• 2-3 initial customized web layouts to choose from within 1 week and up to 5 rounds of revisions.
• Full WordPress integration (optional)
• Integration of your e-mail newsletter or e-zine subscription form.

OFFER #2: $1649

• Initial consult with our web manager
• 60 minute consult with me, Susan Baroncini-Moe, to develop your web strategy
• Brand-new logo for your company
• 2-3 initial customized web layouts to choose from and up to 5 rounds of revisions.
• Full WordPress integration (optional)
• Integration of your e-mail newsletter or e-zine subscription form.

OFFER #3: $2199

• Initial consult with our web manager
• 60 minute consult with me, Susan Baroncini-Moe, to develop your web strategy
• Brand-new logo for your company
• 2-3 initial high-end, customized web layouts to choose from and unlimited revisions.
• Integration of your e-mail newsletter or e-zine subscription form.
• Integration of up to two videos.
• Full WordPress integration with extra programming to add dynamic content to your home page.

If you’d like to be one of the FIVE business owners who get this pricing, and if you want a high-quality (but affordable) web site for your small business, one that you can easily manage yourself, e-mail leo@denimdreamteam.com and set up a time to talk about your project.

Remember, this offer is only good until 2/19/10,  and they’re only offering it to FIVE small business owners, so make sure you e-mail asap!

The other day, I was watching an Eban Pagan video from the Engage Today event in 2009. In the video, Eban said something really interesting that caught my attention. He asked, “Are you living “at cause” or are you still “at effect?” It’s a great way to put something that I’ve been saying for years!

What does it all mean? First, what does “at effect” mean? “At effect” means you’re waiting for something. You’re waiting for the silver bullet — that one thing that will make everything okay, the thing that will solve all your problems. Maybe you’re a workshop junkie. Maybe you know all the “big names” and you’ve already given them thousands of dollars to solve your problems for you and give you the answers to bring you great success. Problem is, that’s not what many of them are there for (but that’s a topic for another day).

So let’s look at the flip side. What does “at cause” mean? It means to take charge, take action, be in the driver’s seat. Those are all good, general “catch” phrases, but what does that look like in your small business? It looks like putting all those great ideas that we know work into action. Ideas like choosing a target market, creating a memorable brand, positioning yourself as an expert, being credible and authentic, marketing your business with integrity, offering solid, useful content, overdelivering on what you promise, and giving everything you’ve got to the clients and customers who choose to trust you with their business.

“At cause” also means investing in your business and making sure you’ve got enough capital to fund your business, so you can take decisive action when it’s needed. I don’t mean you necessarily need a fortune, but you want enough to cover essentials like having a professional web site designed, marketing copywriting done, and getting the right team in place, one that includes a mentor, virtual assistants, and other pros who will help you get your business off the ground without overwhelming you.

If you want your business to grow and if you want to see benefits in your personal life as well, try living “at cause” every day. Wake up each morning knowing that you’re taking decisive action. Know that you’re ready for true business (and life) mastery, and you’re in charge of your own life. Live “at cause” and your life and your business will change.

Last time, I talked about why a strong web site is crucial to your business. Today I’m going to talk about five components your web site needs and why you need them. Bear in mind, however, that these five aren’t the only components you need. At the end of the article, I’ll mention a couple of other things you may want to include.

Now, you can’t just slap these components on a web site and have something great. You’ll still need some solid graphic design, good usability and ease of navigation, plus you definitely want to make sure your design, copy, and code are developed using principles of search engine optimization. With those cautionary notes aside, let’s dive in to the five components you need for a successful web site.

1. Opt-In Box
If you’re not capturing your visitor’s details with an opt-in box, you’re missing one of the greatest marketing tools available online today. An opt-in box is a place where people enter their name and e-mail address (or just their e-mail address, but I’ve found it’s useful to have more information), and then they subscribe to your e-mail newsletter or e-zine (pronounced “EE-zeen”). You can start building a relationship with your subscribers with regular, useful contact (defining “regular, useful contact” is a separate article in and of itself).

2. Who you are
Generally speaking, if you’re selling either a product or a service, you’ll want your customers or clients to trust you. Part of building trust is sharing a bit about you and how your company got started.

3. What you do
Obviously, if you want to sell your products or services, you’ll need to talk about them. This is where good marketing copywriting comes in handy. If you’re not good at writing marketing copy that converts visitors into buyers, hire someone who knows how to do it well. Investing in good copywriting can make all the difference.

4. Sticky content
Sticky content refers to any content on your web site that attracts people and keeps them there, kind of like flypaper. Consider your blog, articles, audio and videos, and other resources, to be the flypaper that keeps visitors “stuck” to your site. The longer they stay at your site, the more likely they are to convert into buyers. There is, however, a point where your content will hit critical mass and can be too sticky. If you give too much away, your potential buyers won’t need to buy. They’ll settle for the freebies and never convert into sales.

5. Contact Information
Potential clients and customers will want to know how to contact you for several reasons. If they can contact you, they can buy from you with the assurance that if they experience any troubles with the product, they’ll be able to ask questions or process returns easily. Also, they can ask you questions before they buy. There’s a long list of other reasons customers and clients may want to contact you, and they’ll feel safer buying if they can contact you easily. So provide at least phone and e-mail, and if you can, provide a physical address as well. If you work from home, don’t post your home address. Instead, get a P.O. box or a box at the UPS Store and post that instead.

Bonus: RSS Feed
If you have a blog on your site, set up an RSS feed, which will make it possible for people to follow your blog using an automatic feed of your blog, that goes into their RSS reader. This means people can read your blog, even without coming to your web site, which is a great convenience to your readers.

If you’re selling products or services online, in addition to these five components, you’ll do well to invest in a shopping cart system and a payment processing system. Forcing potential buyers to contact you to get purchasing information ensures that those buyers will go elsewhere most of the time. We live in a high-demand, instant gratification world. If someone is shopping in the middle of the night or on a Sunday and they want what you have to offer but they can’t get it when they want it, they’ll buy it from someone else who can deliver instantaneously. Don’t give your potential buyers a reason not to buy from you.

So how do you implement all this stuff? How do you get a web site with these components, plus good design, good usability, and strong SEO? Next week, I’ll talk about how to hire a web firm to design your site. I’ll tell you how to educate yourself so you know enough to ask the right questions and know when you’re getting the right answers, how to balance value and price, and what red flags to watch out for.

For most businesses, a web site is one of the most important investments you can make. Entrepreneurs are either overspending or underspending on their web sites, and many have no idea what they’re doing or why. So today I’m going to talk about why a good, solid web site really matters to your business, and in the next three weeks, I’ll follow up with articles on the core components your web site needs to work well for you, and how to hire a solid web firm to build your site affordably.

1. Your web site reflects you as a business owner and professional.

If your web site looks professional, your potential clients will think you’re a professional who has enough clients and enough income to have a site built for you. If potential clients visit your web site and it looks half-assed and home-built that’s how they’ll perceive you.

If you’re a web developer, by all means, build your own site, as that will reflect your capabilities. Everyone else, hire a solid company that can do a good job, not just in building your web site, but in getting it seen and in building it wisely to maximize the traffic you’ll get.

2. Your web site can mean extra local business.

Even if you’re primarily brick and mortar, having a solid web site can mean extra business. Local clientele often perform seaches online and find your web site, encouraging them to walk into your store. If they find your competitors and they look more reputable or solid than you (or if they have a web site and you don’t), you’ll lose business, just because of your web site. And, when you’re mentioned in the media or on review sites like Angie’s List, you’ll need a web site to help people find you.

3. Your web site can mean global business.

Did you ever think about getting orders from Australia or Malaysia? Launching a fantastic web site means you’ll instantly become a global business, allowing you to expand your clientele to a much larger audience. Your web site is visible in almost every country around the globe, and that means you expand your potential client base by millions. You’ll still want to keep your target market in mind, but an international audience may still find you appealing.

4. Your web site can generate media interest.

If a journalist is looking for an expert in your field to quote for an article, s/he is more likely to choose the business owner whose web site looks professional and clean than someone who looks like they don’t really know what they’re doing. And as most of you know, a mention in the media can be powerful for your business!

Don’t do your business a disservice by putting up a shoddy web site. Take care and invest wisely in your business web site by hiring someone who knows what they’re doing. Next week I’ll talk about what components you need in your web, then, I’ll cover how to hire a web company, and finally, I’ll talk about how you can help your web design team as a savvy consumer.

The Business in Blue Jeans web site launched today and I am SO EXCITED!  I’m already getting some incredible, positive feedback from folks and that makes me enormously happy. I am deeply, profoundly passionate about empowering people to discover the business that resides within them- something that is already there that is waiting to be discovered, something that you can be truly passionate about. And Business in Blue Jeans is all about that.

I’m so excited about what’s in store for 2009. I have so many wonderful things that I’ll be bringing to you. And I just can’t wait to reveal each of them as the year goes on!!!