There
is no one book or course that will answer all of your questions. Our
sites have been built and updated as we have continued to learn over
the last few years. It will take time to learn all the nuances of successful
web design and marketing but success will come to those who never stop
learning and growing. We do use many more books and tools than are listed
here and these are the most important ones we have found.
There
are many great books on writing business proposals, we have reviewed
many of them and you will find what you learn from any of them will
be applicable when using our Proposal Pack materials.
Business Resources:
Web Site Revenue Maximizer Kit - If you are a web site owner or web site developer this toolkit will help you make your web sites more profitable.
Search Engine College - A job in the search industry can be unbelievably lucrative. Staff trained in the latest SEO and PCC techniques are in high demand all over the world. Some command salaries up to $200K and work from home. Gain the skills you need to get started by taking a fast-track course at Search Engine College. First lesson download is free.
BuzGate.org - BUZGate is the leading resource portal for start-up, small and medium-sized businesses.
ELance Online - 100,000+ potential buyers visit Elance Online - the Web's #1 consulting site and top 1,000 most visited website.
Awarded Best of the Web by Forbes (2003) & Reliability Certified by the Better Business Bureau. ELance Online connects buyers and sellers in a global services marketplace.
Document Management Software Tools:
deskPDF - Docudesk’s deskPDF family of products provide a simple yet elegant solution for creating PDF documents. In a single click, users can produce high quality PDF’s from almost any application. deskPDF provides all the features of more costly products and more, plus the industry’s best customer support, making deskPDF the best value on the market.
Adobe Acrobat - Adobe Acrobat PDF files are the standard for documents on the web. Use Acrobat in conjunction with your word processor to create PDF files you can post on your web site.
Microsoft Word and Excel - Microsoft Office and related products are a full featured suite of business development tools which will meet the needs of any business.
OpenOffice.org - The OpenOffice.org is a free office suite of business development tools including a word processor and spreadsheet. OpenOffice.org can be used with our Proposal Kits and related products and supports all of the platforms our products were developed for, such as Windows, Mac and Linux.
Proposal
Writing Books:
Handbook
for Writing Proposals - This
is a great primer on the fundamentals of writing a proposal. You will
find many of the Proposal Kit and Proposal Pack templates fit very
well with the material in this book. This a good reference on how
to go about managing the process of writing a proposal, when to and
not to pass on a proposal, making client presentations and more.
The
Consultant's Guide to Proposal Writing - This book is designed
for the consultant and has been revised to incorporate Internet marketing.
Much of the structure of the proposal guidelines can also be used
with the Proposal Kit and Proposal Pack templates.
Writing
Winning Business Proposals : Your Guide to Landing the Client, Making
the Sale, Persuading the Boss - This is a not a proposal book
for the beginner. It is a very technical discussion on creating proposals
best suited for complex and large projects. If you are just getting
started stick to the books above. If the books above are to basic
for your needs and you have the bases covered, check this one out
to fine tune your approach.
Proposal Packaging:
Lockhart
Industries - World Class quality firm identity and presentation
materials. Lockhart is a supplier of quality binding solutions, cover
sets and stationary products for your proposals.
Diagramming Software
Tools:
Visio
- We use Visio tools to create our web site storyboard diagrams. Their
tools make it easy to create and change web site layouts. We currently
use Visio 2000 Professional. Available only for Windows.
ConceptDraw
- The midrange diagramming tool that runs on both Windows and Mac
(supports Mac OS X). They also have a Visio conversion service.
RFFlow
- A lower cost alternative diagramming tool is RFFlow. Their package
also supports creating web site diagrams. Available only for Windows.
Government Resources
US
Copyright Office
- If you do not register your intellectual property all the copyright
notices you stamp on your site and documents will not do you much
good. It generally is not worth pursuing copyright infringement when
your work is not protected. You works must be registered with the
US Copyright Office prior to an infringement to get the most protection
and ability to recover damages (consult a copyright attorney or other
legal resources for details). All Cyber Sea, Inc. documents, computer
programs, scripts and web sites are registered prior to being released
to the public. Protect your rights as well by filling out the Form
TX and submit it with the $30.00 payment and 1 or 2 copies of your
work as required.
Appendix of Resources
