To FREE or Not to FREE
| Category: Home Based Business - Getting Started | Date: 2003-06-19 |
For most of us, establishing a business on the internet presents us all with the same initial problem:
Finding a way to build a business with no money to spend until the business starts making money!!! See the futility in that??
The answer to that problem lies in your skill in making use of all the FREE stuff available, AND your ability to know when it is time to move OUT of the FREE and what exactly to invest in as you are able.
Lets take a look at the basics that you need to get your business established, and how you can make the most of FREE!
1. A WebSite. In order to put up a website, you need two basic resources - something to build it with, and a web hosting company to make it accessible. There are MANY free hosting resources. Check your ISP. Most offer free hosting, AND a program to build your site with. This is not a bad way to get started. It will allow you to sharpen your understanding of site-building, and to fine tune the focus of your site. But you dont want to stay with the free too long. To really build your credibility, and professional image, you MUST own your own domain name, and get away from the free hosting. (All free hosting services impose their ads on your site in one way or another) So , as soon as you are to a point that you can make the investment, do it. This should be your first priority for spending money on your business. I started out at Homestead, which was fine for a time. But as I started getting more traffic, I also started getting more emails from people telling me they could not navigate my site - mostly due to the way Homestead was set up with "frames". I did a LOT of shopping. Which brought me to the host I am with now (from YMTC). It really WAS the best value I found. (Check it out for yourself. Mike has the option of choosing his profit margin. His choice was to make it as low as they allow. He makes very little off of the hosting - as a service to his customers.)
As for a site building program, we have found WebExpress to be the absolute best on the market, as many others have. It also has a free trial download that allows you to use it to see if it suits your needs. You can find the details of this program at:
http://coyote-art.com/ourprod.htm
2. A Newsletter. This is another essential ingredient to building a profitable business. And youll also find MANY free resources available. And most of them work exceptionally well. Listbot, Egroups, Topica. There are others. I publish 3 newsletters, and have used Listbot free service for nearly a year. You have to forfeit space where they impose an ad into each issue of your newsletter. But it is well worth it as you are getting established. I am at the point now, though, that my subscriber base is getting large enough that I need that space for myself, and want more control over my newsletters. We are in the process of moving them to a program with a cost. (Even THIS program has a free segment that lets you use it to mail to 100 people at a time.) It would also be well worth your time to check out if you are just getting started. It is:
Group Mail
http://www.SellShareware.comProgramInfo.asp?
AfID=2911&PrID=34362
3. EBooks. You are probably aware of the booming Ebook industry. Ebooks are becoming another essential ingredient to success on the internet. There are so many ways to use them, no matter what type of business you are involved in. Many of the Ebook Compilers also have free portions that allow you to get your feet wet in the ebook business. Active Ebook Compiler, for example, gives you enough use of the program for free to publish a 10-page ebook.
Active Ebook Compiler
http://hop.clickbank.net/?coyotemkt/wildcom2
So, dont let lack of money stop you from getting busy on your internet business!! Use the available free resources to establish yourself. Start building some income to invest carefully and strategically. The old saying is true - you have to spend money to make money, but the Internet is one place you can start out for free!!!
About the Author
Gail Hornback is a stay at home mom of 5, editor of WebWorksAtHome Weekly Update, and author of the WebWorks Website at webworksathome.com . You may subscribe to her weekly ezine at http://www.listbot.com/subscribe/ webworksathome
gail@webworksathome.com
http://www.webworksathome.com
Finding a way to build a business with no money to spend until the business starts making money!!! See the futility in that??
The answer to that problem lies in your skill in making use of all the FREE stuff available, AND your ability to know when it is time to move OUT of the FREE and what exactly to invest in as you are able.
Lets take a look at the basics that you need to get your business established, and how you can make the most of FREE!
1. A WebSite. In order to put up a website, you need two basic resources - something to build it with, and a web hosting company to make it accessible. There are MANY free hosting resources. Check your ISP. Most offer free hosting, AND a program to build your site with. This is not a bad way to get started. It will allow you to sharpen your understanding of site-building, and to fine tune the focus of your site. But you dont want to stay with the free too long. To really build your credibility, and professional image, you MUST own your own domain name, and get away from the free hosting. (All free hosting services impose their ads on your site in one way or another) So , as soon as you are to a point that you can make the investment, do it. This should be your first priority for spending money on your business. I started out at Homestead, which was fine for a time. But as I started getting more traffic, I also started getting more emails from people telling me they could not navigate my site - mostly due to the way Homestead was set up with "frames". I did a LOT of shopping. Which brought me to the host I am with now (from YMTC). It really WAS the best value I found. (Check it out for yourself. Mike has the option of choosing his profit margin. His choice was to make it as low as they allow. He makes very little off of the hosting - as a service to his customers.)
As for a site building program, we have found WebExpress to be the absolute best on the market, as many others have. It also has a free trial download that allows you to use it to see if it suits your needs. You can find the details of this program at:
http://coyote-art.com/ourprod.htm
2. A Newsletter. This is another essential ingredient to building a profitable business. And youll also find MANY free resources available. And most of them work exceptionally well. Listbot, Egroups, Topica. There are others. I publish 3 newsletters, and have used Listbot free service for nearly a year. You have to forfeit space where they impose an ad into each issue of your newsletter. But it is well worth it as you are getting established. I am at the point now, though, that my subscriber base is getting large enough that I need that space for myself, and want more control over my newsletters. We are in the process of moving them to a program with a cost. (Even THIS program has a free segment that lets you use it to mail to 100 people at a time.) It would also be well worth your time to check out if you are just getting started. It is:
Group Mail
http://www.SellShareware.comProgramInfo.asp?
AfID=2911&PrID=34362
3. EBooks. You are probably aware of the booming Ebook industry. Ebooks are becoming another essential ingredient to success on the internet. There are so many ways to use them, no matter what type of business you are involved in. Many of the Ebook Compilers also have free portions that allow you to get your feet wet in the ebook business. Active Ebook Compiler, for example, gives you enough use of the program for free to publish a 10-page ebook.
Active Ebook Compiler
http://hop.clickbank.net/?coyotemkt/wildcom2
So, dont let lack of money stop you from getting busy on your internet business!! Use the available free resources to establish yourself. Start building some income to invest carefully and strategically. The old saying is true - you have to spend money to make money, but the Internet is one place you can start out for free!!!
About the Author
Gail Hornback is a stay at home mom of 5, editor of WebWorksAtHome Weekly Update, and author of the WebWorks Website at webworksathome.com . You may subscribe to her weekly ezine at http://www.listbot.com/subscribe/ webworksathome
gail@webworksathome.com
http://www.webworksathome.com
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