Ok you have built your website, and may be asking yourself what's next.



Most websites are just like an informational brochure. You open it up and all you do is read the information that is inside. You may see some contact information like a telephone number or even a submission form. Many people feel that as long as their website is neatly designed with great graphics and proper content, then it is perfect. This is similar to a situation where you may have bought a brand new Ferrari, but from the day it entered your garage, you have never taken it for a ride. You have never even cranked that baby up and heard that smooth engine run. Friends and family only come by every now and then to look at it and admire its beauty.

Your website can provide the type of leverage that will propel your business to heights beyond your imagination. Have you ever heard about amazon.com or even myspace.com? Sure you have. These businesses have become so popular purely because of the effective use of the internet and their websites. These are not just some regular websites with nice graphics. They are more like well-oiled machines at work for the owners.

Here's what you need to do to make your website work for you. Note that what I'm about to tell you is so valuable that you really need to study it in more detail.

The Database

When someone visits your website, assuming that they did not get there by accident, it usually is because something of interest drew them there. When they exit from the site, will they be gone forever? Will they end up on someone else's website? Who knows?

Your objection should be to capture the contact information of everyone who shows interest in your product or service by visiting your website. This will allow you to get back in contact with them at anytime you wish. You want to have control of your own database of prospects, that way you can constantly remind them about your business. You can gather as much information as you like, but in many cases a name and e-mail address is sufficient. What you are trying to do here is build relationships. Nothing beats that in business.

You might be wondering how you legally capture people's information. Easy, there are many ways to do this. You will offer them something valuable which will require them to fill out a form before you can deliver. This is called an Op-In Offer. In the disclaimer for your website you will include something saying that members who signed up will be contacted from time to time. Here are some common things that you could offer:

?A Free News Letter

?Discounts on product or service

?A Free Gift

?An e-book

?Allow them to submit a free article

You could offer them anything that's valuable, as long as they leave their contact information. I offer my visitors free samples of my work. The exact link is at http://www.designsnprint.com/catalogrequest.php

After you capture their information you will want to store it in a format where you can utilize it effectively. The best way to go is to build your own database; you will need a programmer to help you with this of course. Before I set up my database, I used a simple contact form that was redirected to my e-mail address. I would then manually copy the information into outlook express, since this program allowed me to send many emails at once. Note that I'm not advocating spamming. DO NOT SPAM. This will bring you more harm than good in the long run. There are many email programs out there where you pay a monthly fee and you can send 1000s of emails. Constant Contact is one such program.

Before long you will have your own army of prospects and guess who will be the general. Yep, you got it. You will be in charge. The bottom line here is that you will be building those invaluable relationships to skyrocket your business to the next level. So the question is, now that you have your prospects in your database, how do you make this work to your advantage? Here are some ideas

1.E-mail your prospects monthly specials

2.Start a Newsletter ? you will be seen as a professional in your field.

3.Introduce New Products or Services

4.Make Announcements

5.Gather feedback

6.Distribute articles and build link popularity to your website (great search engine optimization tatic).

These are just a few things that you could do, but you get the picture. When you send mass emails always give the recipients a way to unsubscribe from your email list. You should also include an address for your business. These are the little things that will keep you out of trouble for sending mass emails.

The idea of owning a database can seem intimidating, but the reality is without one your website is not working at its full potential. If you only knew the power that a database brings to your website and your business, you would make it a top priority to get one.

I would like to conclude by saying most people will read this article and never take action. That's just the reality of life. There is no greater way to utilize your website but to capture contacts and keep in contact. If you don't have a database yet, get one. Fire that baby up and put it to work for you.