Do You Really Need A Website?

Nope. You really don't need a website!

But you don't need many of the things you've come to rely
on, such as your cell phone, e-mail, or faxes.

And there's no point in having an Internet presence if
those you want to reach lack computers or online
capabilities. Or, if you have nothing to say. But, if you
do have something to say, and your audience is accessible
on the Internet, then consider a website.

Years before the Internet, I prepared a brochure to give
to people who wanted to know what I did. It was pocket
size, so I always had a few on hand to give out. And it
was more impressive, and more descriptive of my services
than a business card. Think of a website as an electronic
brochure with many advantages over a printed brochure, such
as:

1. It's unlimited in quantity. You don't have to get a few
thousand printed every time you run out.

2. It's easily updated and, if you do it yourself, cost-
free.

3. You can link it to your newsletter and other sites to
extend its usefulness to the reader.

4. It also gets much wider exposure than any printed
brochure ever could.

Initially, the only cost will be the time you spend not
watching TV commercials. Most of us can afford that.

The first thing to do is decide what you want your website
to tell people about you. To do that, you don't need a
computer, just a pad and pencil. Put them by your TV
chair so you can scribble stuff down during commercials.
Write a phrase about what you do. Then scribble down your
qualifications. And what you do for your clients. Plus
what they do for you (i.e. how you get paid).

Don't worry about grammar, spelling, or even forming
sentences at this stage. All that comes later.

Can't think of anything to say about yourself? Ask your
significant other, a client, or a few of your clients. Find
out what they think you do, and why they deal with
you.

If after a week your pad is blank, forget it. You're not
ready for a web site. Why? Because the most important
thing about a web site is content, and if you've got
nothing to say, you've got no content.

When you've filled a page or so about what you do, and the
benefits of dealing with you, it's time to reshape it.
Start by dividing all the stuff you've written into two
parts, qualifications, and other. In the qualifications
pile include all the phrases that describe why prospects
should deal with you. Try to turn them into a paragraph or
two of benefits, and call them your Professional
Background.

The other pile consists of what's left over, maybe your
age, family life, hobbies, etc. Rewrite all those phrases
into a more readable form and call that your Personal
Profile.

Now you can turn on your computer, and type it all into
your word processor, edit it so it hangs together and makes
sense, then save it as MySite so you can copy it into your
web site.