EvoBloggito

Having a website? Meaningless. Using a website? Priceless.

Author: Ray Gulick; Published: May 12, 2010; Category: Business, Communication, Marketing, Zeitgeist; Tags: Blogging for Business, Entrepreneurs, Zeitgeist; 3 Comments

Most people think having a website has value. They’re wrong.

Lots of people and businesses and organizations have websites (although as recently as a year ago, only 37% of US small businesses had one).

But having a website is sort of like having a hammer. Just because you own one doesn’t mean you’re building a house, or even putting up a shelf. If the hammer sits unused in the toolbox, you might might as well not have a hammer, for all the good it’s doing you.

Websites are like that. They’re tools. Used properly, they can help you build a business or start a movement. Left un-utilized on your webhost account (never updated, no interaction with readers, etc.—you know the type), they accomplish nothing.

Primarily, websites are comunication/connection tools. Once you’re good at using your website for communicating and connecting (as with most tools, some practice is required for you to use it effectively: expect an occasional sore thumb), your website can also shoulder some of the burden of sales and delivery of goods and services. But first, you have to successfully use your website for communicating and connecting. (FYI, websites make very poor “look-how-impressive-we-are” tools, though that’s primarily how businesses use them.)

Most of us are reasonably good at dreaming and talking about what we would do if we had the means. We’re not nearly as good at following through when the means is right in front of us. “If I had a hammer,” the old folk song used to say.

Websites, particularly those on platforms like WordPress, are tools that provide us with the means to pursue our goals. But they have to be used. Ladies and gentlemen, pick up your hammers and let’s “hit it.”

Business in 2010: Still Evolving After All These Years*

Author: Ray Gulick; Published: Jan 2, 2010; Category: Blogging, Business, Communication, Marketing, Zeitgeist; Tags: Blogging for Business, Business, Change, Economy, Entrepreneurs, Future; One Comment

New Year’s resolutions aren’t part of my tradition. They’re too easily forgotten or ignored, and they seem to focus primarily on end results rather than on underlying issues that create the need for improvement.

However, because the end-of-year holidays include more days off than I’m used to in a 2-week period, I usually do end up thinking about how things have gone over the previous year and where I’m going in the next. While I don’t exclusively think about business at such times, I’ll restrict this post to my reflections about Evo’s business (believe me, it’s better for both of us ).

My business has changed fairly dramatically in the past year, and blogging and blogs have played a big role. Evo has been in business since May, 2000—nearly 10 years. In terms of business activity, 2009 was not awful, but not great (until the last couple of months). My long-time business partner left the company in August and, while that has limited Evo’s ability to do some things, it’s also created profitable opportunities for collaboration with other companies.

I originally selected "Evolution" as part of the business name because I knew we’d have to evolve to be effective, as well as to stay in business. Back in 2000, I thought of websites primarily as online brochures. A lot of people still want static, set-it-and-forget-it websites that somehow bring them tons of business. It doesn’t work that way in 2010, and it really never did. I’m excited that websites can play an active role in marketing for a price that is well within the reach of most small businesses and organizations. My focus is now primarily on helping businesses and organizations incorporate blogging and blog-based websites into their marketing mix. In September, I developed and released a highly-customizable WordPress theme, Evo4 CMS, specifically for creating blog-based websites, and it’s greatly increased both my flexibility and efficiency in the implementation phase.

The challenge is that blogging, engaging online with customers, and keeping your website updated requires some time and effort. Definitely not a set-it-and-forget-it scenario. In 2010, I have to do a better job of communicating the benefits that kind of time and effort can bring about. Depending on how well I’m able to do that, next year should be a great year for Evo. And, I will have put some real tools in the hands of people to help them manage their business, which is a good feeling.

So, I’m focusing on two things in 2010:

1. collaboration with other developers, marketers, and consultants
2. helping businesses and organizations acquire the web-based tools and knowledge that allows them to manage their own marketing

I’m looking forward to it. Still evolving (and maybe still a little bit crazy) after all these years.

*apologies to Paul Simon

62% of Small Businesses Do Not Have a Website: the Glass is 38% Full

Author: Ray Gulick; Published: Jun 5, 2009; Category: Business, Marketing, Zeitgeist; Tags: Business, Entrepreneurs, Website; 10 Comments

I stumbled onto an article on Entrepreneur’s website (Turn Web Traffic Into Foot Traffic; Justin Kitch) that changed one of my basic assumptions, which was that "most" businesses have a website. Note the imprecision in the word "most," which is a hallmark of bad assumptions; I should have known. The survey from which the numbers were taken is recent: April 2009.

Clearly, the benefits of online marketing are not as well known to the general public as "most" of us in the online industry believe. Or maybe people have some idea of the benefits, but aren’t sure how to get started and follow through. Maybe it’s just easier to let their local Yellow Pages provider sell them an overpriced and under-performing print ad. (BTW, I called Dex to inquire about pricing for Yellow Pages advertising, and they took my information and told me they would have a "marketing consultant" contact me in 5-7 business days. I promise to share the results in a future post.) Or maybe it’s all of the above.

The business and marketing landscape is changing: advertising does not yield the same results it did even a decade ago (I looked hard for data, but was confronted with words like "colinearity" and other words I’ve never read before. My personal belief is that the difficulty of determining ROI on advertising has resulted in a great deal of obfuscation). People’s behavior when they are preparing to buy is changing: a Performics survey indicated 75% of baby boomers use search engines when looking for information to assist in the purchase of automobiles, appliances and electronics. But so far, only 38% of small businesses even have an online channel with which to speak to their customers and prospects. In 2009, that’s almost unbelievable.

As I mentioned, I had hoped to do a comparison between online marketing and Yellow Pages advertising. Sort of a "Marketing Media Smackdown." That will have to wait until the lumbering Yellow Pages mechanism fires up enough neurons to contact me. Watch this space.

August 2009 update: I had reason to go look up the study referenced in Justin’s post. It turns out that 38% of small businesses surveyed did NOT have a website. The figure was 37%. What about the other 1%? They "weren’t sure."

Seth Godin Clip: No One Cares About You

Author: Ray Gulick; Published: May 19, 2009; Category: Blogging, Business, Communication, Marketing, Video; Tags: Entrepreneurs, Marketing, Seth Godin; No Comments

Time for another (nearly) regular Seth Godin feature video. This one is short and simple, and addresses a really important concept for bloggers (and really, all business owners) to understand: people are looking for solutions to their problems and answers to their questions. Provide them and you will have an audience (or customers). Provide them often enough and you will have fans, who then will care about you…as long as you keep delivering answers and solutions to their problems.

That’s the difference between online relationships and personal relationships. Online relationships are much simpler. They’re based on a real or perceived value exchange: "You give me useful or interesting information, I’ll give you my attention. If you become tedious (such as devoting a lot of attention to stuff that’s about you), I’m gone." Come to think of it, there’s a bit of that in personal relationships, too. Hopefully, to a much lesser degree.

From Laid Off to Entrepreneur

Author: Ray Gulick; Published: Mar 19, 2009; Category: Business, Zeitgeist; Tags: Economy, Entrepreneurs; No Comments

Business Week’s SmallBiz Insider offers this look at Rebounders, people who were laid off recently who are now taking matters into their own hands with their own businesses. Just wanted to pass it along in case you need a little inspiration in the face of economic woes.