Cautionary Tales for Cyber-Biz Newbies

Putting a business online isn’t nearly as easy as a lot of people think. Knowing a few HTML tags and having a cool background isn’t exactly the stuff from which an Amazon.com is born.

So, even if you think you have the right stuff, you might want to head to your nearest bookstore first.

The best books, unfortunately, are going to tell you things you don’t want to hear: It’s probably going to cost more, take more time and require more people than you thought. Which isn’t, they’ll tell you, a reason not to do it. But going online with a business is a huge undertaking--and you need to go into it with your eyes open.

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BUILDING SUCCESSFUL INTERNET BUSINESSES by David Elderbrock and Nitin Borwankar (IDG Books Worldwide, $39.99; CD-ROM for Windows).

The best thing about “Building Successful Internet Businesses” is that you can learn from others’ mistakes. The book is essentially one case study after another. From CNet to Salon magazine and Discovery Channel Online to Smokin’ Joes cigar store and Lombard Institutional Brokerage, all kinds of online businesses are represented.

“Building Successful Internet Businesses” teaches by example and organizes different kinds of Web businesses by chapter so you can find what applies specifically to your type of business, whether it’s a retail site, an e-zine or a news service. There’s something to be learned, however, from all the models.

Each spotlight has both an in-depth and an at-a-glance section, so you can get quick hits of information but read more if you think it might apply to your company. Each Web site has lessons learned, suggestions from the owners, a business model and the technology backbone.

The book also includes information on addresses, chats, bulletin boards, servers, maintenance and security. There’s even a chapter on building a corporate intranet.

“Building Successful Internet Businesses” is easy to understand and intelligently written. Not glib or chatty or condescending, a trap many technology books fall into. The chapters are well-organized, sections are clearly marked and information is easy to find.

Most important, the book lets you know that building a Web business is not easy and may not be worth it. “Building Successful Internet Businesses” is realistic and will give you something to think about before jumping onto the Web.

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BUILDING CYBERSTORES by Martin Nemzow (McGraw-Hill, $39.95; CD-ROM for Windows).

Although “Building Cyberstores” is the most practical of the bunch, it’s for advanced Web users and not for the faint of heart. Be forewarned, you will need a significant understanding of how the Web works to really take advantage of this book.

But if you’re up to the challenge, “Building Cyberstores” is a comprehensive guide that you shouldn’t do without. The book emphasizes that you’re launching a business, not just a personal Web site with pictures of your vacation. It’s going to cost money (they tell you how much), it’s going to take a lot of work (they tell you how much) and it’s going to take a lot of talent and skill (yes, they tell you about how much there too).

“Building Cyberstores” underscores the value of simplicity and content and encourages business owners to weigh the importance of certain features with how much those features are going to cost. There is in-depth information about CGI, design, organization, ambience, video streaming and conferencing, security, platform choice and servers. There are also sections on planning, legal limitations, password protection and reasons for poor Web performance.

Best of all, “Building Cyberstores” tells you in no uncertain terms what it takes to make it online. See for yourself, the subject of demographics: “So you think your cyberstore will do a booming business on the Internet. Get real. Get some numbers. Look at the demographics. Figure out who the average Internet user is and if that person is at all interested in your site.”

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CUSTOMER SERVICE ON THE INTERNET by Jim Sterne (Wiley Computer Publishing, $24.95).

I have to admit to being a little leery about “Customer Service on the Internet” after reading a preface, then a forward and then an introduction. Seemed like overkill. Fortunately, the book pulled itself together and got down to business. And quite well, at that.

“Customer Service on the Internet” deals with a lot of considerations that “Building Cyberstores” and “Building Successful Internet Businesses” don’t. It’s best suited as a companion to either of those books or a guide for businesses that are already online.

Not surprisingly, the customer is the thing here. You are encouraged to remember that in e-mail there’s no inflection so it’s important to take language and emphasis into consideration.

Although “Customer Service on the Internet” doesn’t have many detailed case studies, it does pull examples from real life. In the case of Volvo Cars of America, customers were sending the company e-mail about problems with their cars, until Volvo’s lawyers pointed out that this could constitute legal notification under some states’ so-called lemon laws.

Volvo doesn’t accept e-mail at its site anymore . . .

Other topics “Customer Service on the Internet” addresses are: how much corporate information to post on your site; legal issues and defamation; getting to know your customers and encouraging conversation, even complaints; and setting goals.

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GUERRILLA MARKETING ONLINE WEAPONS by Jay Conrad Levinson and Charles Rubin (Houghton Mifflin, $12.95).

“Guerrilla Marketing Online Weapons” is one in a series of “Guerrilla” books with such warlike titles as “Guerrilla Marketing Attack” and “Guerrilla Marketing Excellence.” And if “Online Weapons” is any example, it’s probably safe to say that the whole series could be condensed into one really good book.

Which is to say that, separately, it’s not one really good book.

It’s not so much that the book is bad--the organization is fine--it’s just that Levinson and Rubin so oversell basic ideas and principles that it seems they think their readers are awfully stupid. We’re talking about putting a business online--not using the start button. Having a neato signature isn’t going to leave competitors shaking in their virtual boots.

There are some good tips about getting the word out on your firm’s Web site, as well as some important considerations in letting others know you’re open for business. But the aforementioned books say it in a way that’s easier to stomach.

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GETTING HITS by Don Sellers (Peachpit Press, $19.95).

Let’s just start with Chapter 1. It’s called “A Million Ways to Get Hits.” Then it goes on to name eight. Not 8 million, mind you. Just eight.

So the title’s a bit overstated. Who among us isn’t prone to a little exaggeration? But “Getting Hits” doesn’t get any better.

There are typos and grammatical and spelling errors. And it actually goes on at some length about what search engines, hits, newsgroups and other basic Web components are. C’mon. In all likelihood, if you are at the point in your Web business that you need this book, you already know these things.

Most of the tips for getting hits are a matter of common sense or are said so many times you want to knock your head against a wall. Just as the book spends 196 pages reiterating what was said earlier in the book, each chapter spends most of its pages reiterating what was said earlier in the chapter. And any useful information is so padded with blather that you wouldn’t care by the time you got to something you didn’t know.

See for yourself: “As you’re trolling the Web for sites to link to, it’s best to begin in areas with which you’re already familiar. Sites that share similar subject matter or interests with your site should be your first stop, because your target audience is already there and waiting to hear about you.”

Listen, if you already have a business online and you can’t figure this out, you don’t deserve hits. Though you do deserve “Getting Hits.”

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Krissy Harris can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]