Website Pros and Woes

These days, a website is as important a selling tool as door-to-door and direct mail have been historically. Whenever a company representative is interviewed, one of the first questions is "What is your website?" (not "Do you have a website?" - since it is automatically assumed that you do). It is that important.

This is especially true with companies that sell information - like books and newspapers. It is hard to find information online that you have to pay for that isn't readily available elsewhere for free, or (in the case of copyrighted works) a free alternative. So a website for information companies must be designed with great care.

My ultimate goal for TouristTown.com is to provide free travel information online, but without losing book sales. I want customers to be able to view the site not just as an online store front, but also as a place to communicate with other users, find peer reviews for tourist attractions, and learn generally about the covered tourist destinations. These kinds of sites already exist, so the important thing is to make sure the site stands out - still, without detracting from book sales.

I just got around (this past weekend) to uploading the new cover designs to the Bookstore pages of the site, and I realized how far behind I was in keeping it updated. The site should be my next big important step since the books are already starting to show up on store shelves, and the website traffic is inevitably going to increase as more people become aware of the series.

Labels: marketing, website

posted by Dirk Vanderwilt @ 8:23 PM