If You’re Under 30, You Don’t Have To Read This.

Your age will determine how you feel about this article. Chances are, if you are under 30 years old, you already understand the importance of having a website to market your business. If you are above 40 or 50 years of age, you may not feel that a website is critical to the success of your business. It has a lot to do with your point of reference. My parents used to tell me about the days of radio and growing up without a TV. I grew up with not only color TV but eventually cable with 500 channels as well. It was hard for me to understand their point of view because TV already existed in my life. That’s why it’s easier for people under 30 (certainly under 20) to get it. The Internet is like a utility and they never knew what it was like to be without it.

When you look at the Internet as a utility it’s easy to connect-the-dots and see how your business website fits into the overall picture. That means your business needs a great website. Websites are replacing traditional marketing and advertising methods such as direct mail or advertising in your local newspaper. And website marketing is easier, faster and less expensive than traditional marketing methods. Recently, when I was looking for a new employee, I submitted an ad in my local newspaper over the phone and I submitted an ad online with Craig’s List. Placing the ad in my local paper took about 20 minutes to complete at a cost of $200.00. The online ad took about 5 minutes to submit. The result was that I received a couple of resumes from the newspaper while the online ad drew over two-dozen qualified responses. And did I mention that the ad on Craig’s List was free?

NY Times Article on Publication Websites

NY Times article ‘Publications on Fitness and Health Head to Web’ describes the trend of publications to increase their website efforts.  Hearst Corporation is seeking to improve the branding of their publications. The NY Times article covers the financial side of the business very well. It would be helpful to the reader if the article spoke towards publication website design as well.  Good website design allow users to dig deeper into relevant information quickly and build a strong relationships.  Strong relationships mean repeat visitors to the website.