april 2009 newsletter

WELCOME TO THE APRIL 2009 NEWSLETTER

Welcome to the first biannual instalment of the Flatout Newsletter.
Well it is certainly interesting times that we are in - some of our clients are having extremely good results in their businesses and others are finding the going tough!

PLEASE BE CAREFUL

If you are thinking about upgrading the look of your website or wanting to add more features etc, please give us a ring so we can give you our professional opinion on what you are proposing. Sometimes we may have a better option, a cheaper option, or you may be looking at an option that is not really necessary and could be a waste of hard earned money.
We pride ourselves in giving clear, concise answers to peoples questions about the internet and websites without any obligation or cost.
Please also be aware that in the current economic environment many of our clients are being approached by other website developers, locally and internationally, with offers to improve or update their websites, add features etc. - some of these are legitimate and some are not - please ring us if you are thinking of changing service providers or wish to be provided with a comparison cost. A client contacted us last week and said they were leaving because they had been offered a deal to upgrade their website that was too good to turn down, unfortunately by the end of the phone call they were kicking themselves hard because they realised they had had the wool pulled over their eyes and had forked out several thousand dollars more than they had needed to.
The moral of the story is that we may or may not be able to match the deals others are offering but unless you ring us you will never know.

MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING YOUR WEBSITE EFFECTIVELY

Many of you have ‘brochure' websites that show who you are and what you do - and that is great, however, your website can be used for much more. We would recommend that you are doing at least some of the following with your website to drive traffic to it, to convert visitors into customers and to make yourself the ‘go-to' place on the web for information about your areas of expertise.

Blogs

Make sure that you are constantly keeping your website up to date and providing new information regularly. One of the best ways of doing this is through a Blog - regularly updated, a blog can increase your Google ranking, drive people to your website for information and tips etc, and that in turn can be converted into sales.

Please drop us a line if you are interested in this.

Online Stores

Selling your products online or providing offers online has never been easier than with our new store and payment options including PayPal.

If you're not sure where to start, drop me a line and we can discuss the options available for selling online.

Search Engine Optimisation

Are people finding your website? Make sure that all advertising you do includes your website address, put it on your business cards and make it easy for people to recognise and remember your website address. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an important part of increasing your rankings in the likes of Google. Our SEO packages can certainly make a difference to people being able to find you on the Internet when searching for you key words.

So in short most people don't utilise their websites as well as they can and there are a number of things that can improve conversion rates and therefore profit for very little additional cost, if any. If you would like to run through the options available for your website drop me a line and we can have a chat.

SPECIALS

This month we are offering a "13 for 12" deal. If you currently pay your hosting/licence fees on a monthly basis and are prepared to pay for a year in advance we will give you the 13th month free. Ring me or send me an email if you would like to take up this offer.
Also if you have a new idea for a website or a friend who is thinking of starting one let us know as we would be more than happy to help and if they sign up for a website you may be entitled to a prize.