In this edition of Web Enlightenment we'll be talking about being a trailing provider, and how that can be an incredibly profitable path.

This newsletter focuses on giving you practical, interesting insights into how to successfully use technology as a tool to improve the way you do business. Bridging the gap between knowledge and understanding that all entrepreneurs have will help you make money online.

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All the best,

Be a Trailing Provider

Last week I was traveling in my truck listening to a podcast summary from my buddy Michael Katz (aka The Penguin) of Blue Penguin Development - he was doing the audio version of an issue of his E-Newsletter called Tie-Shy Guy.

In addition to the usual good tips and fun content he made mention of folks who call themselves "leading providers". The Penguin was talking about ways to differentiate yourself and stand out from the crowd (not by calling yourself "leading", everyone does that) but he said something that really stuck with me:

"I don't know about you, but just once I'd like to meet someone who claims to be a trailing provider of something. "

Well - I am here to tell you that I have met lots and lots of trailing providers - folks like that tend to be very successful Internet Entrepreneurs.

As any web professional can tell you lots of Entrepreneurs seek web sites with an idea stuck in their head - they want to lead.

They want the latest and greatest social media right now.
They want the most innovative shopping cart the world has ever seen.
They want ground breaking animation on their home page.
They want to create a new paradigm for communication.

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong.

What these poor budding entrepreneurs don't realize is that they are about to totally gum up the works by trying to do something fancy or new.

The single biggest problem with being a "leading" provider of anything online?
For some reason it creates a bulletproof excuse to do basic stuff quite badly.

It's like saying "Welcome to our restaurant , just wait until you see our fancy dessert tray."
And the customer says "Ok, sounds great but - ummm - the lettuce on this salad is brown."
And the restaurant owner says "We don't worry about salads, we have the most amazing dessert tray."

Sound familiar ? You may have found yourself saying something very much like this when talking about your own web site.

So how do you focus on being a trailing provider ?

Look carefully at the basics and make sure that they are all in wonderful shape. Don't take your eye off the ball and be aware that a review of your basics is a constant activity, it should never stop.

As many of you know I believe that all web sites contain 6 parts and the strength of the weakest part ends up being the strength of the whole web site - a classic "weakest link" scenario.

Planning - do you have specific web goals identified and written down ?
Design - is your site reasonably attractive and usable ?
Content - are common basic customer questions well answered ?
Functionality - do your contact forms and shopping systems work ? (go ahead, place an order yourself)
Marketing - are you making ongoing efforts to get people to visit your site ?
Analysis - do you know how many people visited your site, where they came from, and what they did when they got there ? Is there a connection between this information and your web to do list ?

I'd recommend doing a simple review like this on a regular basis - for folks that have lots of online activity this should happen once a month, quarterly for most people, and it can be done on an annual basis if you have a small amount of activity.

When you identify the basic things that need to be fixed, stay focused on them and don't try to get fancy with your solutions. In the land of the web you should be focused on maximum gain - things that will improve your business results the most with the least amount of effort. Some folks call this "low hanging fruit" - on the web tree the low hanging fruit is reliably in a basket labeled "Trailing Provider".

I moved to Augusta

As several of you have noticed from my updated email signature, I have moved to Augusta. I am now located on 35 acres of open fields and I have a ridiculous amount of home and farm improvement to do. I was very glad that a chicken coop was already here, but that building is going to need some work before it is ready for laying hens.

My new farm is called Sunshine Acres. I'm not too sure how this first summer will go but I have big plans for next year. I am very excited about my new office - it is much bigger than my old one.

Amy has remained in Freeman Township and continues to run Spruce Nubble Farm with gusto, I wish her all the best with her newly expanded pork efforts, they make a mighty good sausage over there.

I know I am still in a rural area because my mailing address and physical address are not the same. Sunshine Acres is located in Augusta, ME but if you want to send me snail mail it goes to Manchester.

As Sunshine Acres is developed and gets rolling you can expect updates here on an ongoing basis.