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It is vital if you want to suceed in your online business that you get yourself a newsletter. This is a list of people who are interested enough in your site that they want to receive information by email.

When I set up a new site the Newsletter is the first thing that I put up, so that interested people can sign up.

Make sure that you have the option to sign up for a newsletter on your site. You can then send out monthly information and reports that will interest your readers.

Remember: The list must be double opt in - this means that when someone signs up you then send them an email asking them to click through to finalise their subscription. This stops spam signups and prevents someoone signing up someone elses email.

Sure people will say that RSS will replace email, but it won’t happen for a long time. People are happier with emails than with RSS - and anyway, why not have RSS as well?!

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So what do you do? You are setting up a new online business in the United Kingdom - do you buy a dot com or a dot co dot uk?

Even if you follow traditional advice - buy both - which one do you develop?

Although the web is international, the way that it had been divided down into country level domains means that it has de facto become possible to look at the ending of domains and see what part of the world they cover.  To this extent it means that if your target market is the UK then it will help you to have a dotcodotuk.

Why?

Search engines will immediately be able to tell that you are targetting the UK. Web users will see the ending and know that if they want delivery in the Uk it is a site for them.

Advantages of dotcom

Dotcom conveys an illusion of international presence, but search engines will still attempt to discover which country the site is aimed at.  Aesthetically dotcom is shorter and easier to use in advertising and marketing.

You have your domain name, now you need hosting for your site. This can be changed in the future - with hassle, it has to be said - but it can be changed. So don’t worry too much. To begin with it can make sense to buy your hosting from the same place as you get the domain name - for example 123-reg sell hosting packages as well as domain names and I would recommend buying hosting at the same time as you get your domain name. This obviates the need for changing DNS and such-like - not that it is complicated, but it is an extra stage that can cause problems.

What should I look for in my hosting?

Your hosting is where your website lives. Search engines take into account the physical location of your webspace, so that the cheapest hosting (usually in USA) is not necessarily best for UK companies (because you will find it harder to show up in UK search engine results)

Relax and take your time over this first decision - don’t rush, it might be the first of many decisions, but it is also one of the most important. You can change it in the future, but you won’t want to, not when you have spent time, money and effort bringing whatever you have chosen to prominence.

What is a domain name?

First things first, your domain name is what people typr in to find you on the net.  It is the bit that follows www. So the domain name here is concepttshirts.co.uk.
So what to choose as a domain name?

The whole business name does not need to go in the domain name. There is no need to have limited, ltd or anything extraneous in the domain name. This what people type in - you want to keep it as short or memorable as possible.  Does the customer care if you are ltd or not? Think from their point of view.

Of course most simple names have long been bought, so you need to be inventive. Remember too that the domain name is the first thing that search engines see of your site.  If widgets are in the name they will assume you sell widgets. This works for and against you - If you chose an obscure domain name you are handicapping yourself from the start in the search engines.  But this can be fought against, and if you have a more generic name it is harder to be unique.

Where should I buy a domain name?

In the UK one of the places that we have used for domain names is 123-reg . if you chose to buy somewhere else make sure that you have full DNS control. The price should be around £8 for two years.

You can easily type in your name and see if it is available on the 123 sire or any of the other sites that sell domain names

So you’ve downloaded the Be the next dotcom success book and read it and know a little of how we started.  Now I will talk you through setting up your own business online. I will hold your hand and help you go from an idea in your head to a website and online business that actually makes you money!

We will cover topics from first choosing your webname and naming your pages right through to search engine optimisation and online customer services.

This will be an exciting ride, so if you are interested in getting a business online, or starting a completely new one from scratch then follow this series and learn, learn, learn!

Before we go any further, please download the book > Be the next dotcom success < to learn the basics of how we started up online.

It is completely free and you will pick up a lot of information on how to get going.  Once everyone has read this primer then we can delve deeper into getting your business working online