Developing Your Website On A Shoestring

December 19, 2009 musicoflove
Tags: budgets, cost, funding, technology, web, web 2.0, website

I spoke to some colleagues the other day who were concerned about the costs associated with migrating their organization’s e-marketing efforts to today’s Web 2.0 standards. They work for a large national non-profit organization which is now doing 90 percent of its client transactions on the web. However, funding levels for this organization have fallen dramatically during the past year, so they were mostly concerned with whether or not they could afford to upgrade their technology to keep moving forward.

For some organizations – nonprofits, especially — the ailing economy has brought on-line advances to a screeching halt or at least to a snail’s pace. Personally, I don’t think an organization’s commitment to the future and staying competitive should ever stop.

Here are some ways an organization could keep developing its web technology and e-marketing tools while its budget is constrained:

1. First and foremost, make your organization’s presence and effectiveness on the web an organizational priority regardless of limited funds. Everyone, especially your senior team, should feel compelled to contribute to the success of the organization’s web and e-marketing initiatives. Avoid putting all the responsibility for this success one person’s shoulders. Unless you believe your organization’s future does not rely on the web, an integrated web strategy should be priority number-one because it drives so many aspects of a successful business: market development, building brand loyalty, customer transactions, product/service promotion, information distribution, etc.

2. Make certain you have someone leading the charge who truly understands the strategic aspects of advanced web technology and digital marketing. These are people who don’t only write code and hang content, but they are well-versed in the latest trends and applications of web technology. If nobody on your team has the skill — or the ability to acquire the skill – it may be time to hire someone else. You don’t probably don’t need a traditional webmaster, but you do require a web strategist – someone who knows how to shape your organization’s web site and e-marketing efforts into effective business tools.

3. Find the people within your organization who may not be directly responsible for your web technology, but who have an interest and skill level which may help to move things along. More and more people have their own personal and professional web sites and so they have learned, from first-hand experience, to “do their own thing” on the web. Find these employees, determine their specific area of expertise and put them to work. You may have to compensate them in some way, however, but not necessarily by increasing their salaries. Many times, just giving them recognition on the web is all they require. Some people do it because they want to learn more. I provided one of my staff members with a day off every once in a while so they would monitor our involvement in social networks during the evenings. They were doing it, anyway.

4 Shop around for cheap labor. For example, I recently compared prices of companies offering SEO services and was astonished at the broad range of price quotes I received. Apparently, there are some starving consultants out there who want our business – at any price. Obviously, cheap isn’t necessarily good, but with the right references and testimonials it may be good enough.

6. Join an association of like-minded professionals, such as the e-Marketing Association Network, and tap into one of their many discussion threads. There are lots of so-called authorities who have blogged, written articles and discussed their knowledge with the world. Some of them are trying to position themselves as authorities, but so what. If you take the time to become involved in these discussions, you may not only learn something, but you may also get free tech support, 24/7.

7. For resourceful marketers, there are lots of free web sites offering a variety of services which don’t cost a thing. For example, the vast majority of social networking sites and many of the associated applications are free. In addition, there are numerous on-line tools to measure, evaluate and recommend ways to improve your web site’s effectiveness. Some on-line technical associations and support groups also provide support to non-members.

A number of companies and nonprofit organizations do realize the importance of keeping their momentum moving forward within the virtual marketplace. And I feel sorry for those who have gone to the sidelines and are now waiting for the economic storm to pass. In this game, however, there’s no rain delay and the winners shouldn’t mind getting a little wet.

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