Start an Internet Business in 5 Easy Steps!

Written by Derek Vaughan


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* Upgrade Path - If you see your business growing, and you might want more products/services inrepparttar future, then you will need an upgrade path. It is a real hassle changing hosting companies. Just getting lots of bandwidth and storage is notrepparttar 138511 answer. Many customers don't use nearrepparttar 138512 amount of bandwidth and storage that many hosting companies are offering. This is really just a marketing technique for a lot of hosting companies. Look for extra products that they offer. What about ecommerce? Do they offerrepparttar 138513 best ecommerce products, SPAM/Virus filtering, marketing tools etc. Remember that these days hosting is not just about storage and bandwidth. It's about a whole lot more. Don't settle for just space on a box.

You can easily compare web hosting options by looking through web hosting directory sites as well. These sites offer information about multiple hosting providers, and special offers and product information. Several ofrepparttar 138514 more useful directories are: www.websitehostdirectory.com, www.cheaphostingdirectory.com, and www.tophosts.com.

4. Set Up Your Email - It may seem like a no-brainer to some, but you simply cannot adequately conduct business onrepparttar 138515 Internet without an email address. Your email address will let your customers and potential customers communicate with you, and give you valuable feedback on your web site, products, services, and ordering processes.

You’ll also need a way for you to communicate with vendors and others who can help you market your web site. Each hosting provider has different protocols for setting up your email account, so you’ll have to look to your provider for help with your specific account. One other important note: be sure to include a signature line atrepparttar 138516 bottom of every email that includes your business name, URL, and a brief description of your products and services. This idea alone can increase your business.

5. Promote Your Site - There are so many ways to get traffic to your web site that it would require several separate articles to coverrepparttar 138517 topic. Here are a couple of basic ideas. Try to educate yourself about, and get listed on search engines. A few basic steps can go a long way towards traffic driving in this way. A great step-by-step manual is at www.searchenginewatch.com.

If you have a budget to advertise, you may want to try Google AdWords as a method of reachingrepparttar 138518 search engine keyword market. Information is available at: www.google.com/ads. Alternatively, if you simply want to pay someone else to manage your online search engine advertising campaign for a flat monthly fee, you could check out ValueWeb’s ValueTraffic program. ValueTraffic costs $100 per month, and guarantees traffic and impressions to your website. You can see further details at: www.valueweb.com/online-marketing.htm.

Of course, you should print your web address on all of your existing marketing materials such as: business cards, stationary, brochures, newsletters, product sheets, etc. You may find that driving qualified traffic to your website is as easy as releasing information on where to find it in your company promotional materials. Customers are always eager to utilize faster and more convenient forms of communications with companies.

Good luck with your new site, and remember - it takes a while for any great project to get real traction -repparttar 138519 same holds true for your website.

Derek Vaughan has been actively marketing on the Internet since 1995. His extensive online marketing experience includes serving at the Walt Disney Company as the online marketing manager for ecommerce at ESPN.com. In web hosting, Mr. Vaughan served for over 4 years as Senior Director of Marketing for Affinity Internet, Inc. and Vice President of Marketing for Aplus.Net. He now consults for www.cheaphostingdirectory.com, and runs www.webmastersales.com.


The Six Sigma Method and Design of Experiments

Written by By Peter Peterka (www.6sigma.us)


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companies have invented roadmaps for DFSS like IDOV (Identify, Design, Optimize and Validate) and DMADV (Design, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify). Six Sigma and Design of Experiments Once an organization has decided onrepparttar method andrepparttar 138510 project y’s, Belts are marched off to training “waves” bringing management-approved projects to class. DMAIC Green Belt training is normally two one-week sessions separated by one month. Black Belt training waves are extended by two additional months with two more weeks of training. The emphasis duringrepparttar 138511 extended two weeks of Black Belt training is often on learning more details about advanced tools such as Design of Experiments (DOE). So where does Design of Experiments fit into Six Sigma? Six Sigma is about understanding and controllingrepparttar 138512 variation of key process variables known as inputs or x’s in order to obtain improved results on project outputs or y’s. In Design of Experiment terms these inputs or x’s are often referred to as factors andrepparttar 138513 outputs are referred to as responses. In nearly all Six Sigma projectsrepparttar 138514 relationship ofrepparttar 138515 project y’s takes onrepparttar 138516 form of y=f(x1,x2,...xn). Wait a minute, isn’t this what Design of Experiments is all about? Of course, for almost 100 years Design of Experiments has been proven to be one ofrepparttar 138517 best known methods for validating and discovering relationships between responses and factors. In Six Sigma terms it is discoveringrepparttar 138518 relationship between outputs called y’s and inputs called x’s. Today’s Six Sigma Belts are primarily taught to focus their use of Design of Experiments in repparttar 138519 Improve phase of DMAIC andrepparttar 138520 Optimize phase of IDOV. For DMAIC Six Sigma trainingrepparttar 138521 most common experimental designs taught are factorial and fractional factorial designs. Some curriculums introduce response surface designs and optimization designs at a high level. DFSS includesrepparttar 138522 experimental designs taught in all levels of DMAIC training and often expands to includerepparttar 138523 concept of robust designs. As an alternative torepparttar 138524 classical approach, there are also a number of consulting companies teaching Taguchi designs asrepparttar 138525 preferred method for robust design. Final Remarks Six Sigma looks as though it is here to stay and even in today’s slow economy one ofrepparttar 138526 few areas where there still are a number of new positions. The Six Sigma process is a great step toward creating learning organizations with its well-defined roadmaps and management structure. As with most new methodologies Six Sigma will mature and grow as it expands into new areas such as DFSS. As Six Sigma professionals learn more aboutrepparttar 138527 power of properly planned experiments, Design of Experiments will be integrated into most phases of repparttar 138528 Six Sigma roadmap and not just considered an advanced tool forrepparttar 138529 improvement and optimization phases. Experienced practitioners of statistical methods like Design of Experiments should learnrepparttar 138530 language of Six Sigma and help integrate new methods into repparttar 138531 Six Sigma process to improve its effectiveness.

Peter Peterka is the leading consultant for www.6sigma.us. Peter has eleven years of experience performing as a Master Black Belt, working with numerous companies, including 3M, Dell, Dow, GE, HP, Intel, Motorola, Seagate, and Xerox. You can signup for Peter's Six Sigma Certification at www.6sigma.us.


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