Building a network means we have to think beyond just a simple storefront for my specific business. In local terms, competing against my neighbor is the rule, because the market is limited to a physical location and local population. The online audience is based more on specific interest than location. Competition and isolation -- what we call a closed network, or a business just out for itself -- fails miserably because they lose the power of the Web -- being connected.

You need to offer more ways for the customer to spend, shop, and refer more people to your Web because there is so much going on, much more than any one business could do. The customer is driven by their own interest, not by us slapping them on the head with an image. We aren't even selling products to the audience, they are constantly selling themselves on what they need. As a network, we have to listen, learn, and create products and services in response.

What you need to identify for setting up an online network are a series of strategic partners. They should be non-competitive, perhaps in the same business. For instance, a dentist in San Francisco is not competing with one in New York; both will benefit from the local population and will not be hindered by competition. They will also benefit from being part of a national organization, possibly international, which a web site can become.

Strategic partners are not "partners" in the traditional sense; each business should operate independently and not tread on others' turf. This is Web partnering, which means that each business can benefit from other businesses being online with it.

Creating a Possible Network Scenario:

1. Identify a group of businesses that can work well together. Often small businesses don't need their own Web site but could work with other small businesses to share the expense. Sound strange? When you advertise in a magazine, many competitors' ads are right next to yours; the Web is no different, it's up to the customer to decide.

2. Invent a form of working together, like cross referencing businesses and commerce, ways to share clients that make sense to all involved. We all need to save money on promotion and make money on sales, so find a profitable path. We need to look for multiple ways of generating revenues; for instance, a fly fishing company might benefit from being together with a canoe company, a backpacking company, a travel company where people use these products, and a mountain biking company. Outdoor travel needs would all be handled by these strategic partners, who could easily cross reference traffic and add to their business because it is not a competitive model, but a collaborative partnership based on the specific interests of a segment of consumers.

3. Create a pricing scheme for each avenue; often one business will be a market builder, while others will create products to fulfill needs. Let everyone do what they do best. Make sure you optimize cross market capabilities; references should enhance the credibility and value of each business, drawing on different markets to generate new leads and orders.

4. Test out your approach on a specific group. Use different pricing schemes and give a few Web pages away (or even better, create a barter situation) at the beginning to create value. It's easier to sell something when it is already in existence than just making it up as you go. Sell value -- existing value -- and future value of your site by establishing goals. Or if you want to sell a business on setting up a network, explain what the value could be to them. Focus on overhead costs and long term investment; what other form of advertising can include promotion, market research, communication with consumers, and national exposure? Combine this with the reality of creating short term revenue through selling individual Web pages as advertising revenue and you have a coherent, conservative business model...on the cutting edge. That's power.

5. Develop your plan based on traditional avenues of advertising and/or promotion. Check out four color magazine ads and who advertises in them; compare the price of newsletter and trade journal advertising, as well as yellow pages and Chamber of Commerce participation. You need to structure the unit as having a benefit to the customer, just like traditional forms of media do. Use their model and adapt your own, then use their model to explain to new clients. That way you sell them on the Web by using a business model they understand (and can hold in their hands; bring magazines, yellow pages, etc. and show it to them, then compare it to the Web. The cost advantage alone will sell it.)

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