5 Steps To Getting Started With An (email etiquette) Internet Business
No commentsBy Ben Needles
The following steps are those that Ive come up with based on my experience coaching a number of students. These are relatively generic, but have application for most businesses. Lets look a bit more in depth into each of these in this article.
1. Choosing a category.
Ive heard so much about how you should always select a product that you are passionate about or that you know a lot about. I agree with this for the most part, but if youre passionate about underwater basket weaving, you may have a tough time making any money on the internet.
So, I usually do a combination of things that Im interested in, but at the same time, things that have a good revenue potential. Im interested in making money and helping people, so within that category there are a lot of potential products and services I could offer through a website.
Start by making a list of things youre interested in. This may include your favorite TV shows, music, books, occupations, hobbies, or anything else that you find interesting or captivating. The reason that I would go for something from within a list of interests is because if Im interested in the topic, Im much more likely to stick with it. Im not as inclined to stick with something that bores me. In fact, for me, those types of boring projects become a chore that I dread.
2. Pick your product.
Once you have a list of categories that youre interested start putting together a list of possible products you could promote or services you could promote from within each of those categories. Physical products are easy to promote as an affiliate but may require some significant overhead if you have a minimum purchase as a reseller buying wholesale. You may consider dropshipping as well assuming you decide to do a physical product. Make sure youre competitive with your pricing.
I like the concept of services and for the most part, I go after services that typically involved working with individuals which I really enjoy. Youll need to evaluate what it is you want out of an internet business opportunity and then go from there. If you dont have a specific list of what you want out of a business, start with what you know for sure you absolutely dont want. If you dont have space or dont want to deal with shipping, dont be a reseller with a physical good youve purchased from a wholesaler. If you dont want to deal with credit card transactions or any customer service at all, go for affiliate marketing. There are any number of options for products or services.
3. Method of selling
Will you be selling from your own website? or will you be selling on a site like eBay or Amazon.com? You need to have a good idea of what type of method youll be using to sell your products. If the pricing is right for a physical good or even a service (through eBay), then you should consider eBay or Amazon as a very valid method of generating sales because there is already traffic visiting these websites. If you have a service or product that doesnt do as well on eBay or Amazon, go for your own website. For the long-term plan, you should have a website in addition to eBay or Amazon, but either of those two sources are great for getting started.
Your own website will have the distinct disadvantage of having to get traffic there. If nobody knows about or ever gets to your website, youll have an impossible time selling anything. I work with students that still think that having a website automatically means theyll make money… SURPRISE!!! it doesnt work that way.
4. Promotion
Will you be promoting via search engine optimization? What are your keywords that youll be going for? How much control do you have over the content of your website? Can you create a website from scratch or do you have a site builder of some type (wordpress)?
You may consider also pay-per-click as a great option for getting traffic to your site. It may have some serious costs associated with it, so be careful getting into something like pay-per-click. Even then, this is the most immediate method of testing a market and getting traffic.
Blogging, podcasting, web 2.0, social networking are also options for starting to get traffic back to your site.
5. Testing
Once you start getting traffic to your site, that traffic needs to convert into sales or else youre simply paying for bandwidth. Consider some of the tools available for testing that traffic including Googles split test option available within Adwords. (note: you dont have to pay for adwords to be able to use their split-tester, but you will need to have an adwords acct)
If youre running an information based website, you may consider any number of relevant offers from which youll find out the offers that work and those that dont. A typical standby for advertising is, sadly enough, weight loss. Youre not very specific on targeting assuming you have a website about your favorite Sci-Fi show, but considering over half of all Americans are overweight, youll have a pretty decent outcome with that type of ad. Just look at ads on sites like cnn.com or youtube.com or even within your gmail account. Often there will be a weight loss ad even though it has nothing to do with the content on the page.
Get started today and scale it up as you get more time and can start budgeting money as well towards things like marketing. Internet business is a great way for entrepreneurs to get projects started and can result in a massive change of lifestyle that can liberate you from your full time job. Take it one step at a time and use the internet to help you. The internet knows everything, you just have to know how to ask it!
About the Author (text)
Brian Armstrong is a full time internet business coach and actively promotes internet business opportunities on his site http://www.FirstOneThere.com where he provides additional expertise and insight for new internet entrepreneurs.
5 Tips To Networking Effectively
By Chris Simpson
If you own a business, or just want to expand the amount of contacts that you have, networking may be in your best interest. This is the practice of simply building the amount of contacts that you have. You can use networking practices for a number of purposes. You can use it to land the perfect job, expand the amount of potential prospects that you have for your business, build your social contacts, and many other purposes. Here, I will share with you 5 tips on networking effectively. By utilizing the steps listed here, you are sure to find that networking is a breeze.
1. It is important that you take every opportunity you can to communicate with those individuals that you know. Many may not believe that this is effective when it comes to social networking, but it actually is. Think about all the people you know. Now, consider the people that they know. Now, if you continue to consider all of these people and all the people they know and all the people that those people know, you will find that you have the potential to network in a major way.
2. Now, the next step to networking effectively is getting to know as many people as possible. This means that every single opportunity that you have to talk to people and get to know someone is an opportunity that you should take. You should ensure that you carry business cards so that you can provide these individuals with something tangible to hold on to so that they can contact you in the future. You will be amazed at the amount of people that DO contact you. Make sure that you include your phone number and the email address. Many prefer to contact by email rather than phone.
3. When networking, it is important to understand that people enjoy talking about themselves. You should encourage people to do this, and take a vested interest in what they are saying. If you do this, you will quickly discover that these individuals are attracted to you. This attraction is in the sense of you being a likable character, and eventually, they will also develop an interest in you. It is then that you can conduct the business that you have with them for networking.
4. When networking, it is important to ensure that you have good presentation. This means that you should come across as friendly, caring, and willing to assist. You should also come across as professional. This can go a long way when it comes to networking in the area of business and career related endeavors.
5. Once you start to network, it is important to ensure that you get the contact details of everyone that you meet and talk to. This will allow you the opportunity to contact and follow up with the individuals that you come in contact with. If you are networking for business, this can prove to be very effective.
As you can see, there are many effective ways that you can network for success. By following the simple steps listed here, you are sure to achieve success in your endeavors to connect to other people.
Chris Simpson is dedicated to helping people find honest and legitimate work at home and home based business opportunities. Find a legitimate work at home opportunity today and learn to make money online at: http://www.HomeNetPro.com
Marketing Your Home Based Business
By Chris Simpson
Marketing your home based business is an essential element when it comes to the overall success of that business. There are many different techniques and strategies that can prove to be especially helpful when it comes to getting the word out to the world that your business is in place and that you are ready to serve them.
Attracting new clients and maintaining your current clients are critical aspects to the overall operation of your business, and the ability to yield high profits. Throughout this article, you will be introduced to various types of strategies that can really prove to be beneficial to your production and success.
Prior to marketing your home based business, it is critical to have a sound business plan in place. This business plan is a detailed summary of the goals that you have for your home based business. These goals should include what you want to accomplish as far as sales. Is there a particular product and/or service that you want to sell the most of?
This should be included in your business plan. Once the goals that you have are in place when it comes to the actual business plan, you are ready to determine what areas of your business that you should focus on when it comes to your marketing endeavors.
The next thing that you should consider when it comes to marketing your home based business is your website. Believe it or not, the website that you have for your home based business is a marketing tool in itself. You should be certain that you have a completed website with a lot of valuable content that is related to the goods and services that you offer to your customers.
The website should reflect on you as a professional and an expert in your field. Delivering anything else can prove to be quite detrimental to your overall success. Seeing that you do not operate in a traditional “brick and mortar” setting, it is important to view your website as your “store front”. When you see it in this manner, you will understand the importance of keeping it fresh and attractive for your customers.
The next thing that must be approached when it comes to marketing your home based business is the amount of money that you have that you can budget towards your marketing expenses. It is important that a special fund is set aside for this particular endeavor.
You should never use this fund for other business expenses, and you should never exceed the amount of money that you have to dedicate to the marketing goals that you have. Remember to keep all of your receipts and to track your expenses appropriately. These costs can be deducted on your taxes when you own and operate a home based business.
Now, you should consider what type of marketing for your home based business you want to engage in. There are many different methods. Offline advertising includes cold calling, fliers, and direct mail marketing. Online advertising includes blogs, article marketing, email marketing, video marketing and more!
By taking special considerations to all of the items mentioned here, you are sure to succeed when it comes to marketing your home based business!
Chris Simpson is dedicated to helping people find honest and legitimate work at home and home based business opportunities. Find legitimate work at home opportunities today at: http://www.HomeNetPro.com
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Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 at 3:05 am and is filed under internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
