Posted by Joan Bergstrom on 5/18/07 1:26am
Msg #190752

Do you need a website?

Yes you do!
I don't know if having a website will get you business but the lack of a website positions you as someone who is not a professional business person! Its like sending back a hand written invoice to a title company.

This is 2007 and everyone is expected to have a website in our industry and ever other industry/business in the United States.

If you have a large clientele and have been a loan signer for years, then perhaps you don't need a website; but everyone else does.

You just need one page and Yahoo has a free way to get your website on the Internet. I am sure many people will respond with other Internet options.

An email address just doesn't cut it anymore on your profile!

Reply by Ernest__CT on 5/18/07 6:34am
Msg #190757

Joan: Thanks for your opinion! That brings questions, ...

... of course. Since you brought up the topic, may we please pick your brain?

At the moment, my Site is designed to load super-quickly, even over low-speed dialup. It has zero graphics. It is user-friendly, compliant with all the handicapped access standards, and is complient with the WWW.W3.Org HTML standards. It is intended to be consumer oriented, with lots of Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQs). It also lists the cities, towns, villages, etc., with their respective ZIP Codes for the countoes I serve. The Site's current objective is to obtain more general Notary Public work, in addition to the Notary Signing Agent signing that I receive from people who find me through Notary Rotary (and maybe another Site or two).

In your opinion, should we (NSAs and general Notaries Public) have dual-function Sites? That is, one set of Pages for consumers and another set of Pages for title companies and other firms that would contract to have us do signings?

Your advice is always appreciated! Thank you!

Reply by MelissaCT on 5/18/07 10:54am
Msg #190797

Ernest, great question...I think it depends on

whether the notary offers general notarization services. Although we are notaries first, and should not deny any legal request for service, we don't "have to" travel to offer service.

Personally, I do have a different section for lenders to check out, as it contains specific information geared toward that audience. People requesting general services don't necessarily need the same informaiton as the lending industry.

I think there is certainly some information that is universal, such as your FAQ section and how you can be reached or a link to a state's SOS. However, the average general requestor is probably not interested in what loan programs you're familiar with signing or that you need docs within a certain timeframe.

When creating a website, you should really sit down & map out the sections/pages, who your end-user is and figure out what information they need to choose your services over the competition. Then, meet and exceed their needs. That should be your goal.

Reply by Ernest__CT on 5/18/07 12:04pm
Msg #190819

MelissaCT offers great insights.

Maybe we should have a Thread regarding Web Sites.

Having (in a previous life) been a software designer/developer, the most important thing to do (as Melissa points out) is consider your audience. In my case, I expect(ed) that title companies and others interested in loan signings would find me via Notary Rotary. My prime goal for my Site was generating general Notary work.

Now I guess it's time to break out loan signings (Notary Signing Agent work) and have two sections, with a little crossover.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 5/19/07 1:16am
Msg #190913

Re: Do you need a website? I hope so. Just built one

and paid for the stuff. I'm Nationwide. (turn up ZZ Top) And Local too, I hope. Through godaddy.com; superior customer service. (Not an advertisement.)

Still a work in progress, and would love comments and suggestions. http://www.orcoastnotary.com

I really liked Jersey Boy's. Clean and easy.

I live in a destination area, and with lots of local wifi access, being visible on the Web seems good advertising $ spent to me. There are a ton of options, so if you don't have a site, take a google with a cuppa. Just another cost-effective marketing tool to explore.

Great post, Joan.