Feng Shui practitioners, teachers and other businesses that sell Feng Shui related products and services can definitely benefit by having an Internet presence.  Most will agree this is so, but most will also agree that they have no idea where to start.  The purpose of this article is to help demystify getting on the Internet and making it work for you.

First, you need to have a computer.  The recommended requirements are a Pentium based PC with at least  32 Megs of RAM and a 56K modem or the equivalently equipped MAC computer.
Secondly, you need to select an ISP or Internet Service Provider.  AOL (American Online), AT&T and IBM are national Internet Service Providers, however every city has local ISPs and can be found in your local phone directory under "Internet."  The cost can vary from $15 to $30 per month.  If you plan on accessing and using the Internet for sales and marketing purposes, it is important to consider: the accessibility, ease of operation and the e-mail options of your ISP.

Your ISP will provide you with one or more e-mail addresses.  By having an e-mail address, which you should promote on every piece of marketing material you use, business cards, letterhead, brochures, etc., you will be able to communicate anywhere in the world to anyone else who has an e-mail address. You will be able to market yourself, your products and services through e-mail, much quicker and more cost effectively than by any other means.  There are specific e-mail programs that you can purchase that are designed specifically for mass, e-mail marketing.  Eudora Pro are World Merge are two such software programs.  The beauty of these programs is that you can send e-mail, newsletters and product information flyers to a specific, targeted group of individuals, but the E-Mails are sent individually, no massive list, showing all the other recipients of the e-mail.  This is a much more professional approach.

The next step to having  an effective Internet presence, in addition to having e-mail, is by having what is called a Home Page on someone else's Web Site.  This is not as beneficial as having your own personal Web Site. However, if the primary Web Site has a great deal of traffic driven to it, it would enable people to find your Home Page on the site.  A typical address would look like http://www.fengshuiservices.com/yournamehere.  The cost is usually for the design of the page and a yearly fee for being hosted on the primary Web Site.  You should expect to pay from $50 to $250 a year for this type of Internet presence.

The best way to maximize your sales and marketing potential on the Internet, in addition to having e-mail, is by having your own personal Web Site.  This is the most expensive, but also the most effective means of having an Internet presence.  The first thing you need to do in order to have your own Web Site is to secure a URL or Domain Name.  This can be done through InterNIC.    InterNIC is the organization which is used to secure Domain Names, in order to prevent more than two people or organizations from having the same Domain Name.  You may access this Online at www.networksolutions.com.  In most cases your ISP can arrange to register your Domain Name. You can also purchase unique Feng Shui oriented Domain Names from resellers Online.  The minimum cost for securing a Domain Name from InterNIC is $70 for two years use; you do not own the name, you have the right to use the name.  Whichever method you use to secure a Domain Name, be absolutely certain that the Domain Name is registered in your name and that you are also the registered Administrative Contact and the registered Billing Contact.

After securing the Domain Name, you will need to hire someone to assist you in designing and developing your Web Site.  It would be a very good idea to go Online and view other Feng Shui related Web Sites, in order to get ideas. Keep in mind, most Web Sites on the Internet are copyrighted and can not be copied in whole or in part without the owner's written permission.  The cost of designing and developing a Web site can run between $1,000 to $5,000 (and up), depending upon how many pages, how many graphics are used, whether it contains interactive pages and whether it affords the ability to shop online.

Once the Web Site is fully developed, it will need to be hosted on a Server.  A server is a big computer that holds your Web Site.  When someone looks for your site on the Internet it will be found by your URL or your Domain Name (www.yourname.com).  It will be found on the Server that hosts your site.  Hosting fees are usually charged on a yearly basis and can range from $300 to $500.

If you opt to have a full Web Site with your own Domain Name (URL), it is critically important that you "own" the Web Site content and that you have the login code and password necessary to update and change your Web Site.  This is one of the problems that can be encountered by having a Home Page on someone else's Web Site, you may not have access to make changes to your Home Page.

Once your Web Site is developed, it is important that your designer encodes metatags into your Web Site in such a way as to enable your Web Site to be found when people search for Feng Shui services and products using Search Engines.

 Search Engines are the means by which Web Sites are found.  When you have a Web Site fully designed and uploaded to a Server, it then needs to be submitted (this is usually done by the Web Master/designer) to a number of Search Engines, such as Yahoo, AltaVista, NetScape, Snap, Google, etc.  When someone is looking for information about a particular subject, searches are done by key words or phrases, assuming that the inquirer doesn't know a specific Web Site address.  This is where having metatags encoded in your Web Site and by having the name Feng Shui in you actual Web address will enable your Web Site to come closer to  the top of a search.  This is very important, because there are thousands, if not millions, of sites that will come up on a key word or phrase search.

The next step to having an effective  Internet presence for minimal cost is through Strategic Linking.  As you look at Feng Shui Web Sites, you will notice most of them will Link to other Web Sites by simply clicking onto an icon or a word that is typically in blue and underlined, such as "Other Sites."  Some Web Site that receive a lot of Internet traffic will charge you for a Link in order to promote your Web Site.  Two such Feng Shui related sites are The Feng Shui Warehouse at: www.FengShuiWarehouse.com and The Feng Shui Directory at: www.FengShuiDirectory.com.

Another way to obtain a Link from other Feng Shui related Web Sites is  through Reciprocal Linking.  This is usually initiated through e-mail.  You basically request to have your Web Site linked from their Web Site and you agree to Link their Web Site from your Web Site.  Since both of you are reciprocating, their should not be any charge to either party.

There are a number of Feng Shui related Web Sites that will allow you to give a great deal of information regarding yourself and your Feng Shui business, whether you have a personal Web Site or not, at no charge.  I encourage you to look into these sites in order to promote your business:
 www.worldoffengshui.com
 www.spiritweb.org
 www.selfgrowth.com
 www.3dglobe.com/fs/members.htm
 www.edepot.com/taojoin.html/
 www.members.tripod.com-FengShuiInteractiveConsultants

Now is the time to take your Feng Shui business to the next level, whether it be as simple as getting Online and  using e-mail to market your business effectively or by having a Home Page presence or by having your own Web Site on the Internet.  The future is NOW on the Internet to increase awareness of Feng Shui and to promote your Feng Shui services and products.

Sheila Wright is a professional Feng Shui Consultant who practices traditional feng shui.  Her company sells exclusive Feng Shui related Domain Names.  Her husband's company, Best Internet Consulting (BestInternetConsulting.com) designs and hosts Web Sites.

Sheila can be reached at: www.FengShuiServices.com   - (604) 913-2370.