Know-How Exchange : E-Marketing

Hey Hollie,

Congrats. To figure out sales tax you want to research your states rules. Generally, you'll collect sales tax in a state where you have physical assets, but that can be a broad definition so do a google search.

I'm working of figuring out shipping myself. I plan to contact either the USPS or one of shipping companies for their 'get started packages' I'll learn the lingo and get more ideas about shipping. You might also try the internet retailers association.

As for advertising, why not jump on the social networking bandwagon? MySpace, Etsy and Facebook would all be great places for you to gain exposure and clients.

Best of luck,

Dina
Charmed Life Cards

Hollie,

A few recognitions.

Get rid of the flash intro page. It will really hurt you in terms of getting recognized by search engines. Search Engines pretty much ignore flash. Also most people do not take well to having audio show up on a webpage unless they knew they were going to get it. It can really get you in trouble with the boss :-).

In regards to sales tax, you really only need to charge it for sales made in your state. Sales outside of the state do not need it, unless you have a business in another state that is related. Think about all the times you have purchased out of state, you usually paid no sales tax. This can be one of the little hidden gems of e-commerce, although the government is trying to figure out how to change that.

In regards to shipping there are tools that allow you to add onsite shipping calculators to your site. The person puts in their zip code and all of the fees are calculated. Here is a php version: https://www.marksanborn.net/php/calculating-ups-shipping-rate-with-php/. There are others available if you search for shipping calculator.

If you just need to know shipping costs for clients and not have it calculated on the website you can use ups.com or fedex.com and it will give you an accurate cost if you know the destination zip.

One more tip. Put your contact info in the footer of every page. Make it very easy to get a hold of you. It took me a while to figure out your were in AZ. Since most people look for a local photographer it is important for people to know where you are located. People in Germany might stumble across you site and be wondering how to set up a photo shoot, but not know you are in AZ.

Mike

You will do yourself a favor if you start smaller and grow as you learn about all this stuff. Maybe just market in a dozen Western states. Then you can expand to another dozen Southern states. Etc.

That will give you a chance to learn about taxes, shipping and advertising on a much more limited scale. You'll find out which are important and which aren't. Also it will allow you to be much more targeted in your marketing. It's always better to do a great job among a small audience than a lousy job with a big one. (It costs less, too!)

Good luck. Hope this helps.