Sid - Blogging for Newbie Webmasters’

If you are really serious about setting up your own website design and development business, here are an abstract of the discussions recently took place in WPW forum; I liked the great ideas shared exclusive by the men who know their business and are successful in this industry. So, I like to share it with you all.

To start a website design and development business, apart from having good technical knowledge and infrastructures, you need customer – who will entrust you with the job. To penetrate the world market as a web developer is not that easy with any prior work experience or without bearing a great portfolio; so, the option may be to poke into the local market. A market that you know like your own palm, the customers can trust you for they can meet you direct and can explain their projects. Getting people interested in publishing their own website is not that difficult in these days when a website is an essential means of communication, whether the person is a professional – like a Doctor, or an Architect, or an Artisan – or it is a commercial establishment like a local beauty parlor or a message center or even a store; Website is a must of all of us today. So there is ample number of clients and that fact should not require any more illustration. But, how to dig the soil is the matter of great concern for all of us, and in that discussion of WPW, it has been revealed without keeping anything secret. Since it is a, rather, long citation, so, I would present here the brief abstract.

• Rent an office place in an easily accessible location, location is the key where your potential customers can get to meet with you. It is rather difficult to monitor such business from home unless you have a separate suitable space.
• Create a profile in MySpace and let the world know what services you can offer!

Create a content rich, resourceful website optimized for local search, offer some local discounts. Design banners and make them available on a link to us page on your website as well. As potential clients like to chat a bit before making a decision, so, put up your IM in the Contact Us page, or, in MySpace profile.

• Talk to the business owners
• Cold Calling (in Person) will work the best.
• Approach local cities, towns, scout troops, churches, sports teams and offer your FREE service to building and maintaining a website for them.
• Take part in local Chamber of Commerce
• Print and Distribute nice Brochure
• Utilize Social Networking Sites like Ryze, linkedin, BNI (Business Networking International), meetup.com
• Post ads on Craigslist.org
• Contact local ISPs in your area for exchanging clients.
• Contact local people who are in the related industry, like, Web Hosting Company, SEO Workers, and People Working in Website Marketing; negotiate with them.
• Let the word of mouth spread in your locality.
• Build up a newsletter mailing list.
• For Website Design and Development business non-internet ways of marketing works best.
• Skip the yellow pages, and might be Post Cards - its worthless for web design
• There are no bad customers. If you take the time to learn the customers’ needs, his business and his potential customers you will succeed. Answer the phone when people call with questions. Always be nice no matter how rude and arrogant people are
• Be prepared to hire in help once things get rolling and be prepared for taxes.
• The key is to deliver quality - delivering something that’s fit for purpose.

you can read the full discussion at WPW!

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Website Promotion | Off-line Marketing | Website Design Services

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 at 12:52 pm and is filed under Web Site Promotion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.