phone-support-ebook

The internet is great, isn't it? Millions of people, just like you and me, surf every day. Perhaps they are surfing for a website just like yours? People are spending millions daily on websites around the world. Whether it's via online auctions, eCommerce stores, web hosting...they are spending, and people with their own websites are making money. The problem? Unless you have a completely unique website selling something completely different, the chances are you have a lot of competition. Take website hosts for instance...there are literally thousands and thousands of hosts, with new ones popping up daily. A lot of people setting up their own websites are newbies and will probably need a lot of support. Helpdesks, forums, eMail...these are classic and well-tested means of support, and are invaluable.

However, imagine this scenario: You are new to the internet and would love to set up your own website, but the whole idea is just a little daunting. You know you need a host, but Google has just thrown up so many from your search that you feel overwhelmed. You trawl through them, eventually selecting half-a-dozen to choose from. They all look good, they all promise a high quality of support...but hang on...here's one offering free telephone support! That's right...if you get into difficulties, you can request a free call-back on your home telephone! Wow! I think you've just made your decision, don't you? Or how about this: You're looking for a certain item, and have found several eCommerce stores offering it at around the same price. Oh, look! One of those offers free telephone support in case there is a problem with the purchase process, delivery, the item itself etc...need I say more? I'm sure there are plenty of scenarios you can imagine, and no matter what you are offering, you can't go wrong by giving your visitors an extra support option...you then become a real person to them; an actual voice on the end of a telephone. This creates security for them, knowing that problems and queries can be handled by talking to someone who cares about them enough to talk to them in real time. Ok, but you live in the UK and one of the visitors requesting a call-back lives in the US, or Austrailia...this is going to cost a fortune, isn't it? No! For a small, set fee each month using Skype, you can call tons of international destinations at no extra cost! I've been using their UK national unlimited call package for months, and I'm wondering how I ever managed without it! I can call anyone from my laptop, using either my cheap headset from my local pound store, or my internet phone which just plugs into my USB port. Here's how you can offer free phone support to your website visitors: Visit Skype and sign up for the unlimited world calling package. You will receive your own telephone number which you can then add to your website as your business number. This means you don't need to give out your own home or mobile/cell phone number, but you are still reachable. Once you have added your number to your website, you then add a form to your site. This form allows your visitors to add their details to request a free call-back from you. Here's how to do that: For the purpose of this tutorial, we'll be using a contact script called NateMail. You can download that for free here. Decide which version you want to download, either the Dreamweaver version, if you use it, or the GoLive, or the basic HTML version. Install the script as per the instructions inside of it, then add something like the following to your website: