Do I really need a website?

I guess that would depend on to whom you are wanting to market your services.  Are you trying to grab the attention of consumers who are looking for a mobile notary? Are you wanting to be easily found by Title, Escrow, or Lenders who are looking to find a Notary Signing Agent in your area? If you answered yes to either of those questions then you just answered the question of whether or not you need a website.

The vast majority of people are online every day.  I know when I am looking for anything, I first search the internet. Don't you? Of course you do, you are a smart and intelligent person.

There are ways to have a web presence, which is actually a one page website, without a full fledge multi page website.   Some of the notary directories offer you a free website when signing up.  With some directories your profile page becomes your website, others offer you 1 to 4 pages that you can personalize.  For expample my profile here on Active Rain is www.activerain.com/abovesigning. 

Here are a couple of other profile pages I have with other directories; www.gogetnotary.com/get/laura_underwood and www.unitednotaries.org/abovesigning. If I wanted to list these as my website I certainly could do that. These are the two directories that have helped me the most with questions, writing my profile, etc.  I would recommend you check into them.  http://www.gogetnotary.com/ and http://www.unitednotaries.org/. Of course there are others out there as well.

One of the best things about using these profiles is that they are generally included in your membership fee.  A traditional website can be expensive, especially if you don't want to create it yourself.

Don't be afraid to enter your profile page as your website if you don't have a traditional website. 

So now the answer to the question you might be wondering "Does she have a "real" website?" Yes, I do:)  And yes, I have actually received work from companies and individuals who have found my site during an internet search.  If you want to take a look visit http://www.abovesigning.com/  

I will write more next time on how I set my website up and hopefully eliminate some of the fear of developing a website.  Because believe me, if I can do it anyone can!