July 10th, 2008 PLEASE FORWARD
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News, Rants and Case Studies for Web Design Professionals
by Brendon Sinclair (tribune@sitepoint.com)
Read the HTML version of this newsletter, with graphics, at:
http://www.sitepoint.com/newsletter/viewissue.php?id=2&issue=404
IN THIS ISSUE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- Introduction
- Editor's Perspective: Reward Your Referrers
- New SitePoint.com Homepage
- From the Forums: Underselling Yourself?
- Marketplace Moments: Respond Now!
- What's New on SitePoint!
- Hot Forum Topics
- New Blog Entries
SPONSOR'S MESSAGE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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INTRODUCTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In this week's issue, we take a look at a missed opportunity --
sadly, one that's incredibly common. We'll see how
businesspeople often overlook a seemingly obvious chance to
generate and save a lot of money, and we'll discuss a simple
solution that will prevent you from making the same mistake.
Then we'll take in another quick solution, this time for
increasing your conversion rate on enquiries -- another simple
action that has doubled the sales of one of my clients.
We take a look at a few quick questions overheard from the
forums, and in so doing point you in the direction of a simple
tool that will help you ascertain how much you should be
charging -- it's yet another approach taken by successful
businesspeople.
While we're on the subject of simple tips, we finish off by
revealing the way in which you can potentially attract millions
more visitors to your site.
This week, it's all about quick, easy tips -- but they're used
by successful businesspeople people from every sector.
Happy Reading!
Brendon Sinclair
mailto:tribune@sitepoint.com
EDITOR'S PERSPECTIVE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ASK THE GOLDEN QUESTION AND REWARD YOUR REFERRERS
There's a mobile computer repair business owner who's based near
my office. He knows me, and he also knows that my business is
concerned with web development.
In fact, I've made it my business that he knows. Why? Well, it's
just that I love referrals.
I love referrals so much that I make a point of buying this
computer repair guy a Christmas gift every year. He's the
first person I mention when speaking with people about their
dysfunctional computers. And I regularly take him and his wife
out for dinner. (It helps that I also enjoy their company, of
course.)
It's not going to come as any great surprise to find out
we gain 20 referred customers a month from this computer repair
business -- yet our businesses are only distantly related.
The underlying point is simple. And now it's pointed out to you,
you probably first realized it in childhood. Rewarded behavior
gets repeated.
My taking the referrer out to dinner now and then isn't a
bribe.It's a sincere "thank you for helping to build my
business." Because when I sit down and calculate what those 20
referrals a month add up to over a year...well, it makes me feel
very grateful.
Yet most businesses fail to recognize, let alone acknowledge, a
referral when it comes their way. I've conducted a survey of my
customers and found that 95% of them never, ever receive a
thank-you when they refer a customer to another business.
So, what's the missing link? It comes back to one simple
question, asked at the outset of your first contact with a
brand-new client.
"Can you tell us how you first heard of us?"
If you're not asking every single one of your new clients that
question, you're passing up an opportunity to reward your
referrer. Rewarding them ensures the referrals keep coming
along.
Asking the question also ensures you know what's happening to
your valuable marketing money -- but that's a story for another
day!
SPONSOR'S MESSAGE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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SITEPOINT.COM HOMEPAGE RE-DESIGN
Today marks the launch of the new sitepoint.com homepage [1].
Freshly re-designed, the new homepage will feature updates
throughout the day - giving you a reason to check back daily,
for the latest commentary and insights on stories affecting Web
Professionals.
Check out the 7 Reasons Why The New Frontpage Rocks [2] and then
leave us your feedback [3] in the forums.
[1] <http://www.sitepoint.com>
[2] <http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/07/10/7-reasons-why-the-new-sitepoint-front-page-rocks/>
[3] <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=558728>
FROM THE FORUMS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
UNDERSELLING YOURSELF?
There are quite a few juicy topics on the forum well worth our
attention this week, so we'll take a quick look at each of
them.
JREAM [1] relates his despair at finding himself working, in
real terms, for three dollars an hour -- less than the McDonalds
payrate. Beley offers some great perspective on this common
freelancer's problem, which really resonates with my business
experience.
The best web designer I've ever known quit the industry after
discovering he was making something crazy like three dollars an
hour, simply because he didn't understand the value he provided
and what prices he could command.
Beyond understanding your value, understand your
costs.Sure, $50 an hour sounds okay -- until you take into
account the $45 an hour it costs you to run your business.
Get smart and figure your costs out here [2], at resource number
82.
Elsewhere on the forums, gomedia [3] has a competitor using her
.com.au business name as a .com, diverting business to a
competing site.
There are many ways that unscrupulous parties can harm your
business, and this is a prime example of just one of them.
A large part of running a business is about protecting it -- and
its name and address. So buy the variations on your domain where
possible. It's even worth being proactive and setting up
accounts on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and the like in your
business name. You have to protect your business as much
as possible.
There are idiots and scoundrels everywhere who will try and take
advantage of others to further their own ends. It's vital to
protect your business's interests. That way, you'll avoid
allowing such disputes to take your focus away from building
your business to be the success that you want it to be.
Finally, MSWD [4] asks the perennial question: "Do you ever get
a project that you just DON'T want?"
MSWD, we have a folder here in the office entitled "Clients we
got but didn't want." It's a very full folder. It's full of
clients who sucked the energy and profits out of my business.
Every business gets clients it doesn't want.
The trouble we all have when we start our business is that we
need the money coming in, and coming in now. We feel that we
can't pass up any opportunity. So we tend to ignore the red
flags, and so we take on the client with hope in our hearts.
The more our business experience grows, the better we get at
identifying those red flags that indicate to us that the client
might be very difficult to work with.
For newbies, this savvy is often hard-won. There's just nothing
like the feeling of working hard for little profit to give us a
much stronger resolve to refuse clients we suspect will be
trouble.
[1] <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=557877>
[2] <http://www.exinfm.com/free_spreadsheets.html>
[3] <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=557887>
[4] <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=557941>
MARKETPLACE MOMENTS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
RESPOND NOW!
I mentioned in last week's issue that my business approached
three suppliers advertising on SitePoint's Marketplace.
As I said last week, the first person got back to us and made
his pitch -- it was a rather negative pitch, which turned us off
him for a number of reasons.
The other two people we approached have turned out to be even
worse. You see, they didn't even respond.
It's difficult to make sense of this sort of behavior. Maybe
they're too busy? Perhaps they haven't seen the email yet.
That's giving them way too much benefit of the doubt,
realistically. It's most likely someone has seen it and decided
the work didn't suit them ... so they didn't bother to reply.
Replying quickly to emails is essential, as well as being common
business courtesy. I have one client whose web site has double
the conversion rate of others in the exact same industry -- all
because she answers her emails within minutes.Her
competitors take a day, or sometimes two!
Do what you have to do to get those email responses going out as
quickly as they arrive. Perhaps the volume of emails is too great
to respond to personally within a short time? Then set up systems
to deal with the inquiries as they come in.
Set it up so it's as little work as possible and so you don't
even have to think about it -- this might mean a simple email
autoresponder, or perhaps a telephone script.Systemize
whatever you can in your business to make it more efficient --
that's the key to bigger profits. And make sure the person who
sought you out with an email gets that response -- fast!
WHAT'S NEW ON SITEPOINT! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HTML or XHTML: Does It Really Matter?
by James Edwards
Eight years on, is HTML stuck in a rut? James looks at the
underlying causes of its eight-year sleep, dispels some myths,
and considers the XHTML options open to the standards-aware
developer in the meantime.
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1654
Mastering the UNIX Command Line: A Beginner's Guide
by Chris White
Do you ever wonder where your web creation went when it grew up
and moved out of home? In the first part of our series on UNIX
operating systems, Chris reveals some of the mysteries of how it
all works -- you owe it to your web site to know this stuff!
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1653
Mark Boulton's Freelance Design Secrets
by Andy Kowalik
Andy Kowalik catches up with Mark Boulton to discover the man
behind the successful web design studio, the route he took to
achieve this success, and what's crucial in keeping it that
way.
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1650
HOT FORUM TOPICS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The End of Internet Privacy? A Look at the Viacom-Google Order
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=558159>
Yahoo Almost Triples Cost of Domain Name Renewal
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=558081>
Do you ever get a project that you just DONT want
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=557941>
5 SEO Tips from Matt Cutts
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=557741>
Hosting as charitable contribution gone wrong
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=555492>
NEW BLOG ENTRIES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Web Tech Blog: TECHNICALLY SPEAKING
Beef Up Firebug in a Jiffy (2 comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/07/08/beef-up-firebug-in-a-jiffy/
Top 5 Tips for Staying Awake (42 comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/07/04/top-5-tips-for-staying-awake/
Web Design Blog: PIXEL PERFECT
Learn Design From The Masters—First Up: Mark Boulton)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/07/02/learn-design-from-the-masters-first-up-mark-boulton/
Web Pro Business Blog: STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
Why Multitasking is a Waste of Time (16 comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/07/01/multitasking-is-a-waste-of-time/
Get Out and Boogie on the Customer Service Dance Floor! (4
comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/06/26/get-out-and-boogie-on-the-customer-service-dance-floor/
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HELP YOUR FRIENDS OUT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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effectively using the information and resources available on the
Internet. Help them learn how - forward them a copy
of this week's SitePoint Tribune.
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