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One of the important aspects of running an online business, or advertising online for a brick-and-mortar business, is being able to automate as much of the work that you have to do as possible.
The more parts of your business that you can automate, the more time you can spend taking care of other parts of your company business such as developing new products, developing new and better Web sites, and focusing on the goals of your company.
There are many work tasks that you can automate, including:
- The way that you take payment for orders.
- The way that you process those orders.
- Your e-mail list and database.
- The way you deliver your products or services.
- Your invoicing.
- The "help" section of your Web site.
- E-zines.
- Web forms.
There are many areas of your Web site that you can automate to make your job as easy as possible and so that you don't let any important tasks fall between the cracks. Some of these important tasks, which need to taken care of each day, can make the difference between the success or failure of your business.
Auto-Responders
An e-mail auto-responder is a software program that sends a prewritten reply to anyone sending a message to the auto-responder's e-mail address, typically an e-mail address that is accessible from your Web site. If someone sends an e-mail to an auto-responder's e-mail address, it automatically and immediately e-mails this person the reply; for example, "Thank you for contacting the XY Group ..."
The auto-responder is one of the most popular ways to automate your Web site and allows you to take care of many of the messages that you need to communicate effectively with your customers. You'll have the ability to set up the response messages to your customers that will most benefit your company. You'll also be able to send out reminders to those customers who haven't visited your Web site in a certain amount of time, perhaps offering an incentive to return to your Web site and purchase items.
Methods of Payment
When you have an automated system that lets you accept credit card payments, you'll not only be simplifying your business, but you'll also be making sure that you have all bases covered when it comes to your payment plan. In most cases, there are fees for using online credit card authorization services; however, you reap the benefit of instant credit card approval or denial.
One no-cost option for businesses with a limited number of products (typically fewer than 100) is to utilize the free PayPal system to accept credit card transactions. Even if you don't use PayPal as your payment processing system, you should ensure that your shopping cart is capable of accepting PayPal payments as the use of PayPal as a payment method has increased dramatically in recent years.
E-Mail Database
When your business is first starting out, you'll have time to manage your mailing list, which will most likely be very small as you begin your online venture. However, as your business grows, so will your mailing list, and you'll find that management of the database and e-mail list is time consuming and is a process ripe for automated management. You should incorporate an automated method to collect your e-mail addresses.
The use of Web forms soliciting customers to "join our mailing list" on the Web site is the best place to start. Instead of having customers e-mail you with their contact information, why not connect the form to a Microsoft Access database on the Web server and allow the database to automatically capture that data for you?
Then, when you need the data, you can simply export it out of the database. Microsoft FrontPage simplifies this tedious task for you by actually creating the database, the database fields, and the connection between your newly created Web form and the database.
E-Zines
The use of an online e-zine is one of the best promotional tools available to market and distribute product news, corporate information, discount promotions, new product announcements, and any other information that you feel may be of benefit to your customers and potential customers. This process can be almost entirely automated at little or no cost to you.
There are several options that may be available to you, depending on the type of Web hosting service you use for your Web site, including:
- You can install scripts on your server to process bulk e-mails (Note: most Web hosting companies do not allow bulk e-mail service).
- You can buy third-party software to develop and process the mailing.
- You can outsource to a mailer service that does all the work for you.
- You can utilize an online service which processes your e-mail e-zines and provides you with all the tools and help needed to develop your own quality e-zines.
We highly recommend you choose the last option, which affords you the lowest possible price, highest degree of control and management, and superior results.
System for Ad Tracking
Whether you're selling your product and services online or advertising for a traditional brick-and-mortar business, you'll want to have processes in place that allow you to track the results of your advertising. An ad tracking system will not only let you track the number of hits that you get to your Web site, but you'll also be able to keep track of where those hits came from. All reputable Web site hosting companies should provide you with a feature-rich package for Web site statistics.
Software
There are many different types of software that you can use to automate your Web site. Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver, for example, have a wealth of built-in tools designed to automate your Web site processes and forms.
Just do a search on any search engine, and you'll find a multitude of results that you can choose from. When you use software to automate your Web site, you're the one who will be in charge of maintaining and updating your system, rather than giving the control to an outsourced company.
Most Web site automation applications are script based, and therefore you must ensure that they are compatible and allowed on your Web hosting server. Web automation software/scripts may include calendars, news publishers, shopping carts, search engines, classifieds, statistics, content managers, site search engines, brochure providers, document managers, photo albums, refer-a-friend, and mailing list management.
Action Steps To Automate Your Website
1. Even if you don't use PayPal as your payment processing system, you should ensure that your shopping cart is capable of accepting PayPal payments.
2.. You should incorporate an automated method to collect your e-mail addresses
Important Points to Automate Your Website
- There are many work tasks that you can automate.
- The auto-responder is one of the most popular ways to automate your website.
- The use of an online e-zine is one of the best promotional tools available to market.
- There are many different types of software that you can use to automate your Web site.
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