The SitePoint TRIBUNE #307 Copyright (c) 2004 November 18th, 2004 PLEASE FORWARD - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - News, Rants and Case Studies for Web Design Professionals by Matt Mickiewicz ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Note: This newsletter is supported solely by advertisers like the one below. We stand 100% behind every ad that we run. If you ever have a problem with a company that advertises here please contact us and we will try to get it resolved. -- Matt Mickiewicz IN THIS ISSUE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Introduction: Make the Most of the Silly Season - Editor's Perspective: New Tactics, New Tools... - What's New on SitePoint! - Hot Forum Topics - New Blog Entries SPONSOR'S MESSAGE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks * Brand new this November, The CSS Anthology by Rachel Andrew will save you hours of time with: - Answers to 22 questions about text styling & other basics - 9 Tips for using CSS for navigation elements - 11 Ways to use CSS for Forms and User Interfaces - 19 Solutions to Cross-Browser Compatability issues - 14 Essential Tricks to using CSS to replace tables for layout - 12 Experimental or Browser-Specific CSS Hacks - and dozens more! Buy the Book Today for Only $39.95 USD - We ship worldwide: http://sitepoint.com/books/cssant1/ Plus, get a free CSS Quick Reference Poster for your wall valued at $9.95 for ordering directly through us! INTRODUCTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Like many Web developers, when I first started out in this business, I charged an hourly rate. It was a recipe for disaster. In this issue of the Tribune, I'll explain how I learned to charge clients appropriately (and why I would have been crazy to do it any other way!). With the holidays rapidly approaching, we'll also take a look at how all our businesses can benefit from more buyers (consumer sales are on the way up ... and up and up!), more closely targeted products (eBay has just launched a great new free service), and the law of reciprocity (give and you shall receive). Microsoft has launched the beta of its new search engine -- and has made some pretty bold statements to back it up. Can Microsoft knock off the top dog, or will it just be chasing its tail? Sure, Bill has done okay so far, but Google has a significant advantage in this marketplace... Happy Reading! Brendon Sinclair mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] EDITOR'S PERSPECTIVE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - UNDERSTANDING VALUE -- THE BEST WAY TO CHARGE When I started out as Web developer, I charged my time out at an hourly rate. And it was a pretty low hourly rate. Pricing can be a very difficult issue for new businesspeople -- especially those with limited experience. Limited experience makes pricing more difficult because of one critical factor: You have to understand the value you provide. My charges started increasing as soon as I found a concrete way to measure how valuable my time was. One of my own ecommerce businesses had just gone crazy, with sales off the charts, and I was working hard to keep it going. As I did that work, I noticed one very striking truth. If I spent an entire 8-hour day on the business, the return might be, for example, $1,000. I could also see very clearly that as soon as I stopped working on the site, the sales dropped. It didn't make sense for me to do Web development or consulting work for others at $50 an hour, when I could have been working on my own stuff and earning $125 an hour. As soon as I figured that out, I understood value. And I charged accordingly. If you can understand the value you bring a client (and better still, you can quantify it) then you'll know exactly what you should charge. MICROSOFT LAUNCH SEARCH Microsoft launched its new search engine [1] on Thursday 11 of November, 2004. On the Tuesday prior, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer told shareholders that Microsoft would beat Google's technology and double its advertising revenue in the next five years. "We will catch up, we will surpass," he said. Earlier this year, after Google launched its desktop search tool for finding information buried in emails, documents and other files on hard drives, Microsoft announced that it will launch its own desktop search engine by the end of the year. Good on Ballmer for raising the bar and talking with confidence of the impact of Microsoft's newest search engine. But, from where I'm standing, the company seems to be playing follow the leader in terms of search products and innovation. That said, a strong and aggressive Microsoft can only benefit search results in the long term. The added competition will also give hope to many ebusinesses that are currently unable to get a decent listing within Google's search results. [1] <http://beta.search.msn.com/> SPONSOR'S MESSAGE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * Do you want to own a more profitable Web Design Business? * The Web Design Business Kit will give you everything you need to start or grow a Web Design or Freelancing business, including how-to sales and marketing information, sample proposals, business plans, advertising ideas, contracts and more. "We are one of the oldest web development companies in Sydney and thought we had everything sorted. After reading just part of The Web Design Business Kit it's obvious that we have plenty of room for improvement. We have implemented some of the book's recommendations and have already noticed a big jump in the customer conversions and customer satisfaction." - Nick Forde, www.aussiecom.com "The kit is awesome. Very practical, very useful. I just won a large contract using some things I learned from the kit, I was definitely the underdog but I walked away with the bone." - Phil Thornton, www.raephillips.com "I highly recommend this kit to anyone starting or currently running a web consulting business. It's well worth the money." - Jamie Hatch, www.jamiehatch.com Get 4 sample chapters from The Web Design Business Kit at: http://www.sitepoint.com/launch/9891a1/ * Order in the next 24 hours (by September 30th) and save US$50.00 * * Plus we'll send you a FREE US$29 Case Study Report from MarketingSherpa * Order now for $197 USD at https://sitepoint.com/bookstore/go/4/9891a1/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - HO, HO, HO! HOLIDAY SALES ON THE RISE comScore Networks [1] predict that online consumer spending for November and December with hit $15.5 billion -- an increase of 26% on the figures for 2003. Looking at a different set of criteria for the prediction of online consumer spending, Jupiter Research predicts $21.6 billion in consumer sales. Whichever figures you look at, the holiday season is the time for most business to ramp up and take full benefit of consumers' eagerness to buy. TAKE THE PURCHASER'S PULSE AT EBAY If you want to start an ebusiness and are wondering what's selling well right now, there are various ways to find out. One is to review the market activity on eBay. eBay have just launched "eBay Pulse [2]," which offers a "daily snapshot" of online activity at the auction giant. eBay Pulse shows what's selling, what's popular, what's being watched and much more. It gives valuable information about marketplace activity and is well worth a look. SHOW YOU CARE! The most common reason people stop dealing with a business is because they think the business doesn't care about them. The most cost-effective (in terms of customer acquisition and profitability) customers to win are new customers referred by happy 'old' customers. The festive season provides a fantastic opportunity to let your client know you care. Send your clients a card saying, "All the very best for Christmas and the New Year. I really appreciate your business and the opportunity to be of assistance over the past year, and look forward to working with you in 2005." The client knows you care. They can see that you appreciate their business, and that you want to continue to build your relationship with them. With the festive season coming up, take these 3 easy steps to keeping and creating more business: 1. Organize your database of clients and prospects. 1. Send them a "Happy Christmas and thanks for your business" or "Enjoy the festive season, hope we can help in the New Year" card. 1. Aside from the card, do something remarkable for your clients -- would a gift or dinner be appropriate? Do something remarkable and you'll achieve 2 results: You'll increase referrals to your business -- your clients are sure to tell their friends about what you've done. You'll also increase your chances of winning future work. People are far more likely to do business with those who have done something nice for them. It's human nature: we try to repay a kindness that was provided without the expectation of repayment. Most people see business as a one-off transaction -- value given (a product or service) for value received (the payment). That's all well and good, but it doesn't generate the fantastic goodwill, generosity, and success that the power of reciprocity can provide. Give and you shall receive! [1] <http://www.comscore.com/> [2] <http://pulse.ebay.com/> WHAT'S NEW ON SITEPOINT! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Secret Benefits of Search Engine Optimisation: Increased Usability by Trenton Moss A better search ranking - and improved usability - are not mutually exclusive tasks. In fact, optimise your site for search engines and you can automatically enhance your usability. Here, Trenton identifies the tips, and explains how and why they work. http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1423 Build a WebDav-Enabled Intranet With eZ publish by B�rd Farstad Every organization needs to communicate internally, and an intranet is a great tool for the job. In this hands-on tute, Bard shows how easy it is to install, configure, and build an intranet - including the administration system and user interface - using the latest release of eZ publish. http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1427 The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks and Hacks, Chapter 1 - Getting Started with CSS by Rachel Andrew In this, the first chapter from The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks and Hacks, Rachel provides a fast primer for those who want to brush up their CSS skills before they embark on the finer points of text styling, image manipulation, navigation and more. http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1424 How To Code HTML Email Newsletters by Tim Slavin Browser idiosyncracies, spam registers, and various mail clients are just some of the pitfalls that must be faced by email marketers. Make sure your HTML email gets through with Tim's essential how-to. http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1422 Build A Simple Style Switcher in CSS by Laurence Veale Allow users to see your site the way they want! With CSS and your favourite server-side language, you can build a functional, cross-browser compatible style switcher that improves accessibility and the user experience overall. Laurence shows how it's done. http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1420 HOT FORUM TOPICS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - What�s the deal about web standards ? <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=204194> beta.search.msn.com <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=210191> mod_rewrite to create SitePoint-like urls <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=209281> What Browsers do you design for? <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=208155> Who should I pay to optimize my website? <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=207467> How much does college matter? <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=112566> NEW BLOG ENTRIES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Open Source Blog: OPEN SOURCERY Developing for Mobile Devices (Open and Proprietary) (1 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=210978> Web Log Software Matrix (13 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=210101> DHTML & CSS Blog: STYLISH SCRIPTING Presentations with s5 (1 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=210968> Selling Web Design Services Blog: DOWN TO BUSINESS How to set your services apart: Two dimensional positioning (10 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=210610> How to set your web services apart (and answer to case of inland seafood restaurant) (9 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=209684> What is the way to set your Web Design/Development firm apart? (14 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=209174> Java/J2EE Blog: THE DAILY GRIND Eyein' Orion (6 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=209361> ADVERTISING INFORMATION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Find out what thousands of savvy Internet marketers already know: email newsletter advertising works! (You're reading an email ad now, aren't you?) Find out how to get YOUR sponsorship ad in this newsletter and reach 78,000+ opt-in subscribers! Check out http://www.sitepoint.com/mediakit/ for details, or email us at mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] HELP YOUR FRIENDS OUT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - People you care about can take charge of their Website by effectively using the information and resources available on the Internet. Help them learn how - forward them a copy of this week's SitePoint Tribune. 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