We all must be having our personal account on Facebook where we update our status, share information, videos, links, and pictures with friends but when it comes to promote a product or service on Facebook, how are you going to do that????

That’s where Facebook has given us a facility where we can create an identity for our brand on Facebook and promote it on Facebook through ads, word of mouth and the good part is that we can add as many fans on Facebook page as we want whereas in personal account we cannot add more than 5000 friends apart from it, Facebook pages are search engine friendly if the page becomes popular then it can be seen on search engine results as well.

After creating the page for your brand you can link it to your blog by taking the following steps –

Go to your Facebook fan page, click on edit button below your profile picture.

After clicking on edit page you will get the below page

Go to Notes – click on edit, there you will get an option Subscribe to these Notes, put your blog address or RSS and your done. Now whenever you post something on your blog it will get updated on your Facebook fan page and can reach to your millions of fans.

If you are interested in knowing more about social media promotion or you want to promote your brands through social media you can contact us on

http://www.seogoblin.com

http://www.miracleworx.com

A startup is on a tight budget with very limited resources. The future is uncertain and scary. So when the question comes to spending on a website most startup owners face a dilemma.

It goes something like this… “If I spend on a professional cool website it’ll eat significantly into my funds but on the other hand if I compromise on the quality of the website it will impact sales and hence the business.”

Here are a few strategies startups can use to save a buck but not compromise on the quality of the website

• Hunt Hard & Long for a bargain web designer: There are a gems out there in the web design universe who are superbly talented but don’t yet charge a lot. They might be starting off themselves or might not have high overheads so their prices would be reasonable. They might not be listed in the most obvious places or might not come in the top 20 of search results but they are out there and can be found. How do I know they exist? Cause we were once there ourselves. When we started we gave away fantastic designs at peanuts.
• Use ready to use templates: There are literally thousands of templates beautifully designed out there categorized and listed out there. You can simply purchase one and get a low cost local web designer to customize them. The templates come complete with a photoshop file (PSD) which can be used to create your site as you like it. The cost of these templates are a fraction of what a professional web design firm would charge.

• Curb Your Online Ambitions: Sometimes its better to startoff with a simple small website and grow over time as your business grows. Avoid all the bells and whistles, start with the basics like about the company, yourself and the team, services/ products and how to contact you. The idea is for the website to grow in parallel with your business. If you are doing this don’t forget to choose a design which is scalable i.e. one which will allow additional links and pages to be added to it over time.

• Forget a website, start a blog: A blog can be just as useful and powerful as a website if used well. And websites like blogger.com or wordpress.com are literally giving them away free. Blogs come with hundreds of plugins which allow you to change the design and features and also a lot of apps which you can plugin.

But once your business is on sure ground, go in for a professional website cause when you need to grow you need to sell and if you want to sell online you need your website.

Cheers,
Ron

We’ve got a lot of great online services, c’mon in and take a look at http://www.miracleworx.com

Every week i am approached by youngsters (and sometimes not so young-sters) asking to evaluate their dotcom idea for development and promotion costs. Being in the business I dutifully provide the cost estimates and whatever advice I can throw in. Without exception all of them have one thing in common – they all think their idea is Unique, Innovative and Sure to Work – “all it needs is a good website and little bit of marketing sprinkle and of we go.”

As someone who has seen tons of dotcoms come and go I thought I would quickly outline some of the most common pitfalls I’ve seen. Mind you I do not intend to discourage anyone, I just want them to be aware

Pitfall #1 – Believing that a ‘twist’ in a old concept equals new concept.

It goes like this – “There are many so-and-so in the market but my idea is to do it differently. They are doing it this way but we shall do it another way.”  The pitfall in this approach is that your ‘twist’ or ‘differentiating factor’ might not be enough of a long term competitive advatage especially against embedded competitors with tried and tested processes.

Pitfall #2 – Starting a dotcom with none or negligible real world infrastructure.

A good idea is just that – a good idea, an ethereal thing. It needs to be translated into reality, both virtual and actual. Most people who come to me with dotcom ideas grossly understimate the on-the-ground requirements that thier little (or not so little) venture will require. A good website is a must but so is a back office, staff, accounts, customer support, legal and all the other requirements for a good business. A dotcom business gives the illusion of being self contained in the website but the reality is that it takes more, a lot more.

Pitfall #3 – Dotcoms eat money for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Do you have enough to feed it.

A very common and deadly misconception is that a dotcom can be started on a shoestring and is much less expensive than a real world business. Thats complete nonsense. When asked how they intend to fund the venture, most people are quite fuzzy with the source of funding. Its either their own money or friends and family, or even a rich uncle. But when the dotcom eats through the money they are quickly in trouble and run from pillar to post trying to raise money. Sadly due to their haphazard financial planning at the beggining its very difficult to get funded at a later stage.

Pitfall #4 – A dotcom business is still a business. Normal business rules apply.

It amazes me how many people who would never be able to run a real world business think they can run an online one. Its as if in thier minds the rules for running a dotcom are somehow different or suspended. In an online business cashflow, sales, receivables, human resources, capital and business processes are just as important as in a normal business. Maybe even more so.

Pitfall #5 – Trying to create something from nothing.

What has an office executive got in common with a florist? Nothing. Yet it does not stop the executive from starting an online florist shop or a sales person from trying to sell chocolates online. Lines which could never be crossed in the real world are easily stepped over in the online one. But industry experience does count and sooner or later the executive or office employee will not be able to handle the rigors of specific business they chose. Each professsion has certain tricks, idiosyncrasies and challenges. In my experience the dotcoms that succeed the best are usually extensions of a brick and mortar business with some years running it in the real world.

Overall, before starting a dotcom or online business you need to get a ‘Serious Reality Check.’  Throw out airy-fairy assumptions. Crunch the numbers. Account for real world costs and issues.

In future posts we shall look at the different aspects to starting and running an online business.

Cheers,
Ron

To view our work portfolio do visit http://www.miracleworx.com

Our new SEO arm is at http://www.seogoblins.com

Do your homework, browse the web and shortlist benchmark sites.

You can save a lot of time breifing your designer if you can simply point out a few websites to benchmark (note the operative word here is ‘benchmark’ not copy!!!). This will give the designer an idea of your tastes. Point out features you liked such as menu styles, font types etc which you liked. Point out things which you did not like and want to avoid.

Share the vision…use feeling words

Use feeling words to describe what you want the visitor to experience when he comes to your site. I want the visitor to be excited and energized. I want the visitor to be suitably impressed with the content and style. I want the visitor to feel sleepy when he comes to our site (a site for insomniacs perhaps!!). I want the visitor to laugh and get in a good mood when he visits my site. You get the drift.

Now share the nitty gritty… be specific.

I want to use blues and greens. I hate yellows and blacks. I want my logo to be prominent. Avoid verdana. Give your preferences but make sure you don’t tie the designers hands completely. Don’t tell them not to use any color of the rainbow for example or use only black. Outline your preferences but leave plenty of room for options.

Play Socrates…ask the designer questions

There have been many projects where the client has simply micromanaged the whole job without bothering to ask our opinion even once. Our opinion and experience did not matter. Don’t make that mistake. Take advantage of your designers experience. Ask questions about design, style, message, technology and any other topic which widens both your understanding of the subject.

Let the designer interview you and give honest answers

Most web design firms generally have a standard set of questions they ask you. Answer them honestly. If you have not formed an opinion about something then say so. Be detailed in replies which you know what you want. Clear doubts about specific questions. Make sure you do justice to the questions or questionaire.

Last but not least Trust Your Designer

You’ve liked their work. You’ve chosen them on merit. Now let them do the job. Don’t micro manage. Respect their opinions. Design is highly subjective, so acknowledge that your view point might not be the only one or the right one.

Last but not least don’t take any crap as well. Demand the best and get the best.

I do not know how successful this young man was in selling these books but it sure seems like a waste of time to me. Nowadays information changes so fast. Facts that were true yesterday now change almost overnight.

Knowledge has become an dynamic almost living evolving creature. Its like a giant ameoba with no fixed boundaries, shifting shape and size, assimilating more and more and ejecting some. Its self regulated, mass contributed, the wisdom of crowds.

I also had a dream of owning a library of my own which would stock the kinds of books I liked and used the internet to subscribe to them. But like all great ideas if you do not take action, someone else will. Librarywala.com did and I could’nt be happier.

The idea is very simple. To take our standard library online where people can browse, search and select the books on the site.

Which brings me to the point of this post…. A Dotcom Must Execute Well.

• Librarywala’s books are dropped and collected on schedule.
• Librarywala’s website always works, zero glitches.
• Librarywala’s collection is good and always increaseing.

In a nutshell Librarywala delivers what it promises.  The rules of business don’t change just because you are a dotcom. You still have to deliver and execute. Fancy websites, cool graphics and wow concept don’t mean anything unless you deliver on your value proposition. In Librarywala’s case it was a library at your doorstep.

Kudos to them. I’m a fan. do visit www.librarywala.com

Of all the factors Price/Cost is the most important to consider.

Higher Upfront fees and lower per transaction percentage or vice versa?

 Most providers have an upfront component on signup which might include a deposit amount (like ICICI bank) and a percentage per each transaction cost. Eg. Rs.25,000/- Upfront cost and 5% of each transaction. 
Some gateways like Paypal don’t charge any upfront cost and their percentage is also low but they do charge an amount for withdrawal of money.

Should you go for a higher upfront payment and lower percentage or a lower upfront payment and higher percentage?
If your transaction volume is going to be very high then a lower percentage might save you a lot of money in the long term although upfront payment would be higher.

The following table gives you an idea of the various payment structures of various gateways Indian and Overseas.

Of course there are other gateways  but the above are the ones which we have had experience with.

Lets take a look at some of the Payment Gateway Providers for India based websites:

CCAVENUES (www.ccavenue.com)

They are the grand daddy of credit card gateway providers in India. With one of the largest subscriber base they are the front runners in India.

• Easy to install. You can be up and running in a few hours.
• Lenghty paperwork before  approval though and risk management is stringent.
• Huge choice in payment options – credit card, debit card (select banks), bank transfer, EZcash etc.
• Site is sometimes slow and we have experienced service drops many times. Although lately they have upgraded their servers.
• The are secured with Verisign
• They have 3 schemes for Indian Rupee payments, 3% at Rs.40,000/-, 5% at Rs.25,000/- and 7% at Rs.7,500/- .
• They are always adding new payment options and are now offering mobile payment as well.
• Money is credited to your account at the end of every week either directly into your account or via cheque.
• They did have some trouble processing Mastercard payments, so check on that before signing up.
• Biggest advantage is that it supports American Express which is very important for the US market.

ICICI Bank Payment Gateway (www.payseal.com)

Another one of the older payment gateways. Its fast and its reliable.

• Supports only Visa and Mastercard.
• Will require extensive support for integration from your hosting provider. Some providers charge yearly for this so check on that too.
• Very high upfront payment and deposit (over 1 lakh) required.
• Vigorous documentation and risk analysis process.
• Payment credited the next day so quicker turnaround.

Times Of Money DirecPay (www.direcpay.com)

A recent entrant into the field. Very similiar to CCAvenue.

• Supports only Visa & Mastercard and a few bank transfers.
• Easy to install and get going.
• Standard documentation and risk analysis process
• Money is credited on a weekly basis.
• Subscription plans are very simliar to CCAvenues.

Paypal (www.paypal.com)

Recently paypal started remitting money to India via credit card, bank transfer or cheque. This has opened up a huge opportunity for Indian Merchants catering to the west. Its fast and relatively hassle free.

• Simplest possible registration process.
• Integration also very simple.
• Payments accepted in dollars or euros. Rupees not accepted.
• Payments are credited to your account which can then be withdrawn whenever convenient.
• Lower percentage fees but withdrawals in some cases do attract fees.
• You could loose money in the exchange rate transfer to Rupees.
• Is widely used so the money accrued in dollars can be used for purchasing other services in dollars without remitting to India.

HDFC Bank – Avoid, service is terrible. Integration can take months. Does not support Linux  server based sites well.  Problematic.

The above are the ones I have had direct experience with but there are others like Axis Bank, ABC Payment etc. Cannot comment on these as I have not had direct experience with them.

Caution: Since the gateways are always upgrading some of the above mentioned facts might not stand true forever. Do visit their sites and get the latest directly from them.

If you have any comments on the above do mail me at ron@miracleworx.com. Would love to hear your experiences with these gateways.

Will keep posting interesting gateway related issues as we experience them.

Cheers,
Ron

Do visit us at http://www.miracleworx.com or check out our portfolio at http://www.miracleworx.com/portfolio.htm

A big Thank You to my brilliant team – Sonali, Sachin, Smit, Leena & Aakanksha for thier fantastic efforts and hard work. You can never know how much I appreciate you guys.

Thank you to our amazing clients who are always pushing us to deliver better and better results. Their blessings and support  makes us who we are. We are indeed privileged to serve you.

Thank you to Indialinks, our web hosting partner for thier rock solid support and superb service. Bhavin, you have built a cool organization. Our association continues now for the 9th year.

Thank you to my family and friends among whom we have a few fresh entries (welcome Dvij). Thank you Sopan & Priya Prabhu for your help in upgrading our office and off course the fantastic timepass we do with you guys. Thanks Dad for your inspiration and postive attitude.

A very special thanks to Dr.Malpani for his guidance and wisdom. He’s a true inspiration.

Thank you to  our chai wallah, the courier boys, our  bai and the countless others who have an unseen hand in our success. Good bless you all.

Thank you to the wonderful people at In Defence Of Animals for thier brilliant work in animal welfare, Sudnya, Fizzah, Naina, Goodisha, Vivienne, Vishruti, Anand and other including the excellent center and ambulance staff. Do visit http://www.idaindia.org and donate.

If I have missed anyone please don’t mind..you’re also important to us.

Wow, I feel like I just won an Oscar or something.

Anyways see you all in 2010.

Cheers,
Ron

Personally I will always remember 2009 as the year we took on holistic web design concept and really applied it. This change has made all the difference to our clients and to our revenues as well. Now we never look at an engagement just through the narrow view of the current deliverables but on what we can deliver over the long term across length and breath of online services.

Looking back at this year there were some memorable projects.

www.Turtleandhare.co.in – Where we animated an entire website using hand drawn illustrations.

www.yeva.in – A unique concept for a pharma website

www.uva24×7.com – A quiz portal for the young and not so young.

www.drmalpani.com – The brilliant InFertility Expert’s award winning site. This was our 3rd avatar of the site.

and many more which although not mentioned above are close to my heart. Check them out on our web design Portfolio.

What’s to look forward to in the year 2010?

For MiracleworX 2010 is looking like the busiest year ever!! With a large Q of projects lined up along with several in house initiatives in SEO, Social Marketing and website on mobile arenas.

Here’s to a kickass 2010!!!