Customer Reviews

How to Grow Your Business on the Internet, 3rd Edition

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We all are living now in a global village with a common marketplace. And I think, today everyone knows that business on the Internet is booming. This way there are many fine books available on the market that will assist readers to open up own on-line shop and conduct your home business on the Internet.

Privies edition of the "How to Grow Your Business on the Internet" was one of very the first books about online entrepreneurship I've read. Ant it was really great! But this 3rd edition is much better. It explains the ins and outs of the online business world in plain English -- especially good for beginners.

This is not a computer book, though: if you want to learn about PC's operating systems you'll need additional literature. This excellent book by Vince Emery supplies you with tips on how to market, publicize, and advertise your business online as well as how to generate strategic information using the Internet. A particularly useful chapter uses examples from actual businesses to explain why Internet projects fail and how to make sure yours doesn't.

This is a great place to start! If considering an Internet/Home based business, this is a must read. This is a book for people who take their first steps in the world of Internet entrepreneurship. And I have to say the book does get you thinking and acting. Highly recommend.

     It is certainly no joke that business on the Internet is booming! One needs only to surf the Internet to find companies, large and small, offering their products and services to the Internet community. Why not you? There are many fine books available on the market that will assist readers to "open up shop" and conduct business on the Internet. I Know. I've got many of them in my own library. One book that stands out as perhaps the most comprehensive on the subject is How to Grow Your Business on the Internet, authord by Vince Emery. This 3rd edition packs plenty of additional material well worth the cost of buying it.

     Emery, a seasoned business pro, sees the Internet as a terrific means to conduct business. He guides his readers along with sound advice and wisdom on obtaining the right computer equipment, the right software, and the right Internet Service Provider. Emery covers a broad range of topics, providing information about Internet business law, financial transactions, intranets, marketing, Web page design and construction, and the caring for customers.

     Strengths of the book are found in areas of advertising and promoting one's Website on the Internet. According to Emery, there is more to advertising and promoting than simply dishing out Web pages for the world to see! Emery will help readers determine who their customers are and how to advertise and promote to obtain maximum results Throughout this book, Emery offers his guidance in a concise, straight, forward manner, such as Ten Steps to Internet Success, The Ten Commandments of E-mail, Eleven Steps to Marketing on the Net, and Five Steps to Customer Service and Support, that hit hard to the core of conducting business on the Internet. Emery offers sound business strategies and principles, that if followed, will result in outstanding business success.

     Of special interest to readers, Emery includes helpful "danger flags" throughout the book that provide insightful warnings of potential problems that readers may encounter while conducting business on the Internet. Emery offers a number of helpful examples, the actual experiences of himself and others, so that readers may avoid the same problems others have experienced. These are important matters considering the amount of abuse that has transpired on the Internet in the name commerce in recent years!

     Of further interest to readers are the recommended reading resources provided for the benefit of the reader. Emery selects many of the finest Internet business books, magazines, newsletters, and online resources available today, saving the reader from the laborious task of having to wade through the vast amount of material around. I suspect that Mr. Emery sneaked into my home and had a look at my library! Emery is a business pro and the guidance he offers is top-notch. Don't conduct business on the Internet without this book! Highly recommended!

It has become obvious to business people everywhere that the advantages of doing business on the Internet can no longer be ignored. Even a one person operation must look into the possibilities. This book is probably the one best way of learning the pros and cons. It is a big book, 692 pages, a full 2-inches thick. It is not a manual for understanding computers, but rather a business guide to utilizing the Internet to sell products and services, to secure instant customer feedback, conduct competitive intelligence, and to satisfy many other business needs.

The author immediately cautions that 70% of the businesses using the Internet today lose money. Some of this loss may be due to the lack of the use of common sense, but in a great many cases it is the failure to understand the unique nature of doing business on the Internet. Vince Emery uses a "Mr. Doom" (skull and cross bones) icon throughout the book to highlight messages warning you of common mistakes.

The book is divided into 25 chapters; starting from "Business at the Speed of Light" and ending with "118 Cheap or Free Business Resources on the Net." Throughout the book information sources on the Web are given in bold type. (Want to know about doing business in Japan? Try www.gwjapan.com. Much of it is in English and it is updated weekly. See page 656.)

This book is clearly written and is in the practical, nuts and bolts, hand-on style of writing. He stresses "do a little homework first." An incredible amount of useful and free information is available if you use the search engines and directories listed in the book. He gives one to five star ratings for items in this listing and in other listings. The author gives the current cost figures for the equipment and software required. The range is enormous, from free software to over $100,000.

Know what you need before you leap. In his chapter, "Email: Quickest Bang for Your Buck," he enumerates the cost savings and the communication benefits that the use of email can give your business. At the same time, he notes pitfalls. Email use can overwhelm. Suggestions for controlling this are given. He warns email can be read by others (including competition), altered, and faked (known as spoofing). Encryption and adding digital signatures can be used to secure your email.

Establishing a Web site has been a boom to certain industries, but a flop for others. Lists of both are given. Costs for setting up a Web site can vary greatly. Yet again, do your homework first. Be especially aware that some services that are offered are just plain con operations. He gives a 12 step sequence for building your Web site.

The author stresses the importance of effective writing in order that your Web site succeeds. He notes, for example, Kentucky Fried Chicken sells "finger-lickin' good" and not "dead chicken parts." Also stressed is that the top of a Web page is crucial. This is called "above the fold" and is an expression derived from the newspaper field. When you look at a newspaper vending rack you buy the whole paper based on what you see "above the fold."

There are many seeming small things that can trip up a newcomer to the Internet. For example, writing something in all capital letters is considered shouting. It is wise to reread your messages for possible misinterpretations. We often fail to realize that much of our daily conversation is colored by the tone of our voice and that this is often lost in written communications.

Another area where newcomers may come to grief is "spamming," that is, sending advertising email to people who did not ask for it. This is like a "collect phone call sales pitch." It can result in serious reactions. Your fax machine may be jammed with hate faxes and you might even end up being terminated by your access provider.

Just about everyone in the business world can benefit by reading this book. The Internet has opened the world market to even a one person operation and if you are with a large corporation, your boss, some Friday, may suddenly say "Jones, we need to be on the Internet. Find out how by Monday." Jones, grab this book and read fast.

How to Grow Your Business on the Internet is perhaps the ONLY practical BUSINESS book for the general business manager. It takes a critical look at the business rationale behind using e-mail , newsgroups, web sites, online catalogs. Vince Emery does an excellent job of providing the small business owner or general business manager sound business reasons for using the Internet (in its many different forms), rather than using the old excuse "I have to be on the net - whatever that means - because everyone else is on the net." In addition, there is an Excellent chapter on publicizing your web site. It includes such techniques - which may be familiar to the more experienced, but would be very relevant to the novice - net lurking on newsgroups, e-mail lists/newsletters, extensive use of meta tags, properly coding alt tags, using page titles effectively. I firmly believe that before any business spends a single dollar on e-mail or a web-site, that the manager in charge should read this book. One thing is clear, this book has saved me from making mistakes... mistakes that would have easily cost more than the $20-30 bucks for the book