Chief Learning Officer

by Lela Bryan
(Alameda, CA USA)

Build it and they will come......NOT!

I have spent thousands of dollars paying people to design, write copy, paying people to write code and waiting and waiting and waiting for "experts" to work on my website and don't even get me started about my meltdown about just looking at Dreamweaver to try to learn it.

I have taught people how to quit smoking since 1978. I know everything about teaching in-person classes but going online is a whole different world.

What I wish I had known:

EVERONE has their own little expertise. Designers design. Writers write and coders code. Don't try to have one person do everything. One person does not know how to do everything.

Get people or systems that are integrated. If you don't know how to do something make sure that whatever service you have is integrated or they have really good tech support.

I wish someone would have told me about elance.com. You can have people bid on web projects or logos or lots of things and see their work ahead of time.

Start to do marketing and testing before you totally finish your website or start blogging. Blogging is much quicker and simpler.

I wish I would looked over my copywriter's work and not paid her by the hour. She wasn't that good of a writer and I am still paying her and using very little of her work.

http://www.wordtracker.com a free service that you can try to see what search words people are searching for in my field.

I would have joint ventured with more people or hired them on commission rather than pay them by the hour.

I would have started to promote myself with the free sites like myspace and craigslist. There is an inexpensive program called "Make myspace Yourspace" that really tells you how to market on Myspace. All kinds of people are on myspace (not just for teens anymore many best selling authors) and craiglist and facebook.
Microsoft just bought facebook....

There are other networking sites like ning and linkin. Just look up social networking.

I would start a blog on blogger or do one on wordpress.

That's what my mother didn't tell me that I wish I would have known! www.nicotinesolutions.com