How To Avoid The Three Most Common Budgeting Mistakes People Make When Planning a Web Initiative

Written by Frank Cowell, CeM


Continued from page 1

c) This process can happen concurrently withrepparttar design and development process. There's no reason to wait until those phases are complete, so start working with a copywriter as soon as you definerepparttar 141027 overall site map and strategies. This will help ensure that your project finishes on-schedule, which keeps things within budget.

3. Post-Launch Marketing or eMarketing

If there's anything that should never be left out of any web initiative budgeting process, it's post-launch marketing or eMarketing. This by far isrepparttar 141028 #1 mistake companies make when planning their web initiatives. This is also why companies will put up a website and say, "Our website is just a formality. We've never receive any leads from it."

It's important to understandrepparttar 141029 overall budgeting required for eMarketing. You must understandrepparttar 141030 goals of your website and put marketing plans into action that attract and engage your target audience on a regular basis. Not spending money every month on eMarketing isrepparttar 141031 same as buying a fancy sports car, never performing required maintenance on it, and then calling it a 'piece of junk,' because it doesn't run anymore.

In order to receive value from your website, you MUST nurturerepparttar 141032 related eMarketing activities on a regular basis. Remember,repparttar 141033 website is a tool that facilitates company objectives. Know your objectives and use your website as a tool accordingly.

Budgeting for eMarketing:

a) Be careful when selecting a web firm to help you design and launch your web initiatives. Web firms that boast very affordable website developments costs are so focused on getting your project business that they don't worry or care about what happens with your initiatives whenrepparttar 141034 project is complete. Most web firms don't offer eMarketing services, so be sure you investigate before making a decision.

Ideally, you should pick a firm based on its eMarketing focus, skills and experience and not byrepparttar 141035 'prettiness' ofrepparttar 141036 web projects they've done. Remember, anyone can produce a good-looking design, but only an eMarketing firm with a business and marketing focus can show you how to make your web initiatives pay-off.

b) Determine what your website is supposed to do for your company. Are you trying to make sales directly onrepparttar 141037 web? Do you want leads for your sales team? Once you know whatrepparttar 141038 website ultimate goal is, you can plan to develop tools that engage visitors and have them take your desired action.

Once you knowrepparttar 141039 goals and haverepparttar 141040 tools to make it happen, you need to determine how much you can afford to spend on each acquisition. You must know your acceptable acquisition cost before you can decide on which eMarketing tools to use. To figure this out, determinerepparttar 141041 acceptable acquisition cost your company can afford on each customer.

Let's say that at your company each customer is worth $10,000, and you can afford to spend $500 to get that customer. You then need to determinerepparttar 141042 acceptable cost per 'lead.' In this scenario let's say that your company's close rate is 10 percent that is 10 prospects out of 100 engaged becomes a customer. This means that you can spend approximately $50 per lead.

Now, if your yearly budget for eMarketing is $50,000, you can spread that out overrepparttar 141043 course ofrepparttar 141044 year and create an eMarketing plan to steadily bring-in leads every single month. In this scenario, we can plan to acquire approximately eight customers per month.

Knowing this information will help determine which eMarketing tools and channels to use. We can quickly determine if a particular channel has or doesn't haverepparttar 141045 right 'per lead costs' and make decisions accordingly.

By considering these three factors when developing a web initiative budget, you should be on your way to having a successful website that helps you meet your business objectives without breakingrepparttar 141046 bank.

About Cowell eMarketing Cowell eMarketing is a small and innovative eMarketing firm for businesses seeking new ways to attract customers. Cowell eMarketing provides web and eCommerce development as well as ongoing eMarketing services such as eMail marketing and search engine marketing. Visit www.cowellemarketing.com to learn more.

Frank Cowell is a Certified eMarketer (as certified by the International eMarketing Association) and CEO, Founder of Cowell eMarketing. Cowell eMarketing provides web and eCommerce solutions, eMail Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, eMarketing Analytics and eMarketing Consulting services.


Who is watching You?

Written by By Val .K.


Continued from page 1

Yes, get over it. Because in today's knowledge obsessed world, data is priced commodity. And any organization—or individual—who wants it will. Andrepparttar sad thing about this is that we most times give it away without knowing. Did you just ask how? Simple. You arerepparttar 141003 kind that likes to download lot of free stuff—music, games, softwares and what have you. But what you never knew that you are actually paying for those programs with data—your personal information. Surprised? Don't be. (There is no such thing as a free lunch.) And when this data is taken and used for marketing purposes it can also be sold to a third party, who may use it for whatever it pleases.

And if you're not tricked into giving your data away, there are always insidious programs like Cookies and Trojan horses. A Cookie is a program which you sometimes download forrepparttar 141004 better viewing of certain websites. (It is a security loophole and can be used by skilled hackers and crackers to infiltrate your system.) A Trojan horse—likerepparttar 141005 fabled wooden horse whichrepparttar 141006 Greeks used in infiltrating Troy—is a back door to your computer which a cracker can use whenever he or she desires to steal data. Or simply take over your computer to cause mayhem. (To discover a Trojan horse—it works invisibly—a good antivirus like Norton, MacAfee, or even Panda is required.)

They are a lot of compromised websites out there embedded with Spywares and Trojan Horses. Butrepparttar 141007 problem is—it's impossible to tell a normal website from a compromised one. So what do you do? The best bet is to browse without downloading anything you don't trust. I personally prefer this advice from Bob Kane's and Bill Fingers' Batman: "Trust nobody." Because your friends' computers or E-mails maybe compromised without them ever knowing it. (Never open an attachment you are not expecting, even from those you know.)

Withrepparttar 141008 Net andrepparttar 141009 Web came good things. Likerepparttar 141010 exchange of knowledge and ideas (a student studying micro electronics somewhere in Srilanka maybe readingrepparttar 141011 latest development in nanotechnology published by professors in MIT.) People interact today from far corners ofrepparttar 141012 globe who would not have met ten years ago (a boy from South Africa chatting with a girl fromrepparttar 141013 Philippines). We can downloadrepparttar 141014 latest music through Mp3s. We can send and receive pictures and home movie videos. But for all this freedom whichrepparttar 141015 web gives we pay a price—we forfeit our privacies. Because anyone, anywhere onrepparttar 141016 Web, who is interested, can trace us. (Our digital tracts are everywhere.)

So even if you choose to move unnoticed like a phantom by using an Anonymizer—software which masks your identity—it's all a means to make us feel better. Becauserepparttar 141017 fact is no matter what we do onrepparttar 141018 Net, no matter how we try to conceal our movements or even use softwares to protect our privacies—Big Brother is watching us!

Val .K. is a poet, and a nature lover. A collection of his poems "Without a Name" will soon be published by AuthorHouse, U.S.A. For personal contact, send mails to: leviathandepthsreturns@yahoo.com



Val .K. is a free lance writer, a book reviewer, a poet, and a nature lover.


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