SOHO - 7 STEP STRATEGY FOR WEB SUCCESS
| Category: Net Business Start ups | Date: 2001-07-02 |
This is a summary of the steps necessary to develop a successful on-line business.
Step 1. FIND A GOOD PRODUCT THAT WILL SELL
Are you going to sell 1 or 2 products to a niche market or numerous products that appeal to a world-wide audience? People have been successful doing both. If you are having difficulty coming up with a product, think about your own background and experience and how others may benefit from your knowledge. One of the best selling products on the Internet is "information". Perhaps you could start out by selling "How-To" Information reports on your field of expertise. Come up with a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that makes you stand out from the crowd.
If you produce and own your product, you should consider setting up an Affiliate program to help market it. (Affiliate programs are also called reseller or commission programs) Amazon.com was one of the pioneers in marketing this way and they now have 300,000+ associates around the world linked to their site.
Step 2: OBTAIN A DOMAIN NAME.
After you decide what you are going to sell, you need a place to operate your business on the Web - you need to have your own domain. (www.yourdomainname.com) You'll NEVER be taken seriously if you operate from a free site with an address like this: www.bigcompanyname.com/members/myfreespace. Once you get the name registered, no one else can have it. To check if a name is still available that you may want to register, go to http://www.networksolutions.com/ or http://e-gineer.com/e-gineer/domainator/
There are numerous companies which can help you register and host your domain. In addition to checking hosting prices, be sure and ask about customer service and also if they help you in bringing traffic to your site. Keep in mind that "hosting" and "dial-up" are separate issues. Some companies specialize in one or the other while some will do both.
Step 3: DESIGN AN EFFECTIVE WEB SITE.
You want your site to get people to take action, a site that sells! Make sure you keep your web site frequently updated, not overloaded with graphics that slow down the load time (or visitors will move on to another site), and easy for people to navigate. You should also make it easy for people to contact you by having your name, physical address location and e-mail address throughout the site. Don't expect to sell anything if you are hiding behind a web site that has no address or uses a PO Box.
Step 4: GENERATE TRAFFIC.
Many people think that once they post their site, the people will come. But it doesn't work that way and this is where most Internet businesses fail. You must put some effort into marketing and there are numerous on-line activities - both free and paid - you can do to develop consistent traffic. Some of these include banners, classified ads, FFA ads, e-zine ads, search engine key words, etc. One of the best actions may be for you to buy your own banner exchange which becomes your traffic generating machine 24 hours a day. More information is available at
http://www.information4success.com/wbx
Step 5: CAPTURE E-MAIL ADDRESSES.
You must get the e-mail addresses of everyone you can and build your own in-house list. The larger your list, the more valuable it becomes. Some of the ways you can entice people to subscribe are by offering a free newsletter, free ads, free give-a-ways, free monthly drawing for valuable prizes, a private place within your site for subscribers only, etc. Whatever it takes -- just get as many visitors to voluntarily (opt-in) sign up as possible.
Step 6: PUBLISH A NEWSLETTER.
Now that you are capturing e-mail addresses and building your own in-house list, you must regularly publish a newsletter (E-zine) to send to your list. Not only is it the best way to communicate with your customers, it is also the best way to SELL. Selling to your "house" list is essential to your success. The best way to do this is by using a listserver. You can purchase them for a small fee or even find some that are available for free.
Step 7: RESPOND QUICKLY AND FOLLOW-UP.
On the Internet, people expect timely communications so try to respond within a few minutes or few hours if at all possible. Keep touching base with the customers that have expressed an interest in your product/service. It may take several follow-ups to make that sale. Good customer service is important, whether on-line or off-line.
Follow these 7 steps and you will be well on your way to having a successful Internet business.
About the Author
Article was by Howard Jamison, He focuses on Internet marketing for small and home businesses at information4success.com
Visit the site and place a free perpetual ad that will be seen by thousands of people worldwide.
:To contact see details below.
webmaster@information4success.com
http://www.information4success.com
Step 1. FIND A GOOD PRODUCT THAT WILL SELL
Are you going to sell 1 or 2 products to a niche market or numerous products that appeal to a world-wide audience? People have been successful doing both. If you are having difficulty coming up with a product, think about your own background and experience and how others may benefit from your knowledge. One of the best selling products on the Internet is "information". Perhaps you could start out by selling "How-To" Information reports on your field of expertise. Come up with a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that makes you stand out from the crowd.
If you produce and own your product, you should consider setting up an Affiliate program to help market it. (Affiliate programs are also called reseller or commission programs) Amazon.com was one of the pioneers in marketing this way and they now have 300,000+ associates around the world linked to their site.
Step 2: OBTAIN A DOMAIN NAME.
After you decide what you are going to sell, you need a place to operate your business on the Web - you need to have your own domain. (www.yourdomainname.com) You'll NEVER be taken seriously if you operate from a free site with an address like this: www.bigcompanyname.com/members/myfreespace. Once you get the name registered, no one else can have it. To check if a name is still available that you may want to register, go to http://www.networksolutions.com/ or http://e-gineer.com/e-gineer/domainator/
There are numerous companies which can help you register and host your domain. In addition to checking hosting prices, be sure and ask about customer service and also if they help you in bringing traffic to your site. Keep in mind that "hosting" and "dial-up" are separate issues. Some companies specialize in one or the other while some will do both.
Step 3: DESIGN AN EFFECTIVE WEB SITE.
You want your site to get people to take action, a site that sells! Make sure you keep your web site frequently updated, not overloaded with graphics that slow down the load time (or visitors will move on to another site), and easy for people to navigate. You should also make it easy for people to contact you by having your name, physical address location and e-mail address throughout the site. Don't expect to sell anything if you are hiding behind a web site that has no address or uses a PO Box.
Step 4: GENERATE TRAFFIC.
Many people think that once they post their site, the people will come. But it doesn't work that way and this is where most Internet businesses fail. You must put some effort into marketing and there are numerous on-line activities - both free and paid - you can do to develop consistent traffic. Some of these include banners, classified ads, FFA ads, e-zine ads, search engine key words, etc. One of the best actions may be for you to buy your own banner exchange which becomes your traffic generating machine 24 hours a day. More information is available at
http://www.information4success.com/wbx
Step 5: CAPTURE E-MAIL ADDRESSES.
You must get the e-mail addresses of everyone you can and build your own in-house list. The larger your list, the more valuable it becomes. Some of the ways you can entice people to subscribe are by offering a free newsletter, free ads, free give-a-ways, free monthly drawing for valuable prizes, a private place within your site for subscribers only, etc. Whatever it takes -- just get as many visitors to voluntarily (opt-in) sign up as possible.
Step 6: PUBLISH A NEWSLETTER.
Now that you are capturing e-mail addresses and building your own in-house list, you must regularly publish a newsletter (E-zine) to send to your list. Not only is it the best way to communicate with your customers, it is also the best way to SELL. Selling to your "house" list is essential to your success. The best way to do this is by using a listserver. You can purchase them for a small fee or even find some that are available for free.
Step 7: RESPOND QUICKLY AND FOLLOW-UP.
On the Internet, people expect timely communications so try to respond within a few minutes or few hours if at all possible. Keep touching base with the customers that have expressed an interest in your product/service. It may take several follow-ups to make that sale. Good customer service is important, whether on-line or off-line.
Follow these 7 steps and you will be well on your way to having a successful Internet business.
About the Author
Article was by Howard Jamison, He focuses on Internet marketing for small and home businesses at information4success.com
Visit the site and place a free perpetual ad that will be seen by thousands of people worldwide.
:To contact see details below.
webmaster@information4success.com
http://www.information4success.com
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