Whether you already own a successful business or are a novice entrepreneur venturing out for the first time, STI has a wide range of affordable services to help you create a global presence on the Internet. If you are interested in using online advertising and e-commerce (electronic commerce) solutions to introduce your business to new customers and generate sales, please read on!

Step One: Creating an Internet Presence
First things first... Is your business on the 'net yet? According to NUA Internet Surveys, more than 180 million adults in the United States and Canada make use of the Internet. If your business does not take advantage of this valuable marketplace, you are missing out on your slice of a trillion-dollar pie (predicted 2002 online sales).

Here at STI, we encourage business people new to the Internet to start small. You can always increase your commitment to Internet advertising and sales as you begin to see results. Your initial Internet presence can be a simple, one-page website displaying your business name, logo, products, services, and contact information. The sole purpose of this Internet "business card" is to let people know your company exists. STI's web designers can create a business card website for you for a flat $100 fee. Please see http://www.sti.net/b-yourbizpage.html for more information.

Once you have a web page, you need to call it something (the domain name) and put it somewhere (the hosting company). The domain name is a unique address that identifies your business on the Internet. It usually takes the format: www.mydomain.com.

To see if your desired domain name is available, go to http://www.netsol.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois. Once you've found the domain name you want, we would be happy to register it for you ($15 annual fee). Please call (559) 683-7600 or email services@sti.net, or for more information about domains in general, visit http://www.sti.net/w-domains.asp.

STI's website hosting packages start at $9.95 per month with a one-time $20 set-up fee. For a complete list of package features and prices, please see http://www.sti.net/i-pricing.html#WebHostingPackages.

Step Two: Advertise Your Business
Would you refuse to advertise your business in the telephone directory? Of course not! Having a website and not advertising it on the Internet is just as counter-productive. It is important that you find ways to drive traffic to your website. STI offers two ways to advertise your business with us.

1. STI Business Directory
   

   STI hosts a business directory at http://www.sti.net/b-directory.html. For additional visual impact, we can create and list a graphic entry resembling your business card for the nominal fee of $2 per month. Your text or a graphic listing may be linked to your company website.

2. Classified Ads
   

   Any STI subscriber may post an advertisement on our free classified ad page. Classified ads run for two weeks from the time of submission. Businesses are limited to posting one ad at a time. For more information or to submit an ad, please see http://www.sti.net/members/m-classified.asp.

Step Three: E-Commerce Solutions
If you have a business, odds are that you're selling products or services. Why not sell them on the Internet? STI offers two secure methods to make sales or obtain information that will assure potential customers you value and protect their privacy.So why is "secure" better? When an Internet shopper fills out and submits a standard web form, the data is sent to an email client. This type of submission is not encrypted and is therefore subject to interception by hackers. When you make your site secure, all submitted data is encrypted before, during, and after transmission. Your product orders and/or form submissions are stored on a secure server (either STI's or that of your shopping cart host). You are automatically notified by email when new information comes in. Then, at your convenience, use a standard web browser to access to your password-protected directory to view and administer your business transactions.

1. Secure Forms
   

   Even if you do not sell products, you can take advantage of secure encryption by using STI's Secure Forms solution. For only $5 per month (plus a variable set-up fee based on design time), you can assure your customers that their privacy is protected before, during, and after they click on your form's submit button. Secure forms are perfect for lodgings that require a credit card number to guarantee a reservation. We also recommend them when you request social security or driver's license numbers, addresses, or other private information. Visit http://www.sti.net/b-secureform.html for details.

2. Online Stores

   If you sell on EBay or are familiar with PayPal, you may want to take the next step by creating a secure shopping cart linked to your website. STI's web design team can help you choose from several options geared toward the small- to medium-size business. Please call (559) 683-7600 or email marketing@sti.net for more information.

Step Four: Market Your Website
Online marketing is not actually the final step, though it may well be the most important step to online commercial success. You should begin to actively market your business just as soon as you have a website. STI does not offer this service because we feel very strongly that marketing a website is a personal thing. Only you as the business owner can do it justice because no one else knows your products and services better than you. However, to help get you started, we've provided a marketing strategy action list at http://www.sti.net/b-marketing.html.

Web Design Services
An STI web designer is part graphic artist, part HTML programmer, and part Internet specialist. When you sum up these parts, you get a 100% professional web designer dedicated to creating a custom-designed website that is viewable on the World Wide Web through all major Internet browsers. Our basic web design fee is $60 per hour. We offer:

• Free initial half-hour consultation and job estimate in advance.
• Free domain registration service (not including $15 annual registration fee).
• General web page authoring and maintenance including HTML scripting, page lay-out and design, graphics (logos, buttons, backgrounds, etc.), photo scanning, and FTP file transfer.
• E-commerce websites featuring online credit card ordering and secure shopping carts.
• Response forms, secure forms, audio/video features, and other special design.
• Sierra Telephone customers are conveniently billed on the telephone bill.
• Advanced programming, including databases and ASP/CGI scripting, is available at $85 per hour.
• Please go to http://www.sti.net/webdesign.html, email webmaster@sti.net, or call (559) 683-7600 for more information about web design services.

We hope this email has provided you with valuable information regarding our business-related services.

Sincerely,

STI Marketing and Web Design Staff
Telephone: (559) 683-7600
email: marketing@sti.net