Lets start with this one cold hard fact: creating a successful Internet
home business is not an easy task. It takes hard work and a whole lot
of strategic planning. Anyone who tells you therwise is probably trying
to sell you something!
Building any solid business takes hard work and planning. Why should
creating a successful business on the Internet be any different? Just
because you're dealing with computers and a
world wide marketplace doesn't mean it will be easy to construct and
build a successful enterprise. It will take some work and effort on
your part.
However, knowing what tools to use and some vital marketing knowledge
will make your task much easier and much quicker. The Internet does
have its own unique tools and methods which you should be familiar with
before you start any web business. Complete knowledge of these
marketing tools and information will greatly increase your chances of
creating a successful Internet business.
1. Domain Name/Website
You must start with a Domain Name - most marketers either make their
domain something catchy and short that visitors will quickly remember
such as Digg.com, BestBuy.com, Yahoo!.com or they will directly tie in
their main product or service in the domain such as Hotels.com,
YouTube.com, Carloans.com and so on.
Your domain must be attached to a well designed and easy to navigate
website. Preferably one that is professionally designed and equipped
with all the commercial tools you need like a shopping cart and payment
system. Like any business,
you must try to accept all the major credit cards and display all the
proper trust building icons such as 'Better Business Bureau'...
Most professional online marketers keep graphics to a minimum and
highlight their main benefit or product in a headline at the top of
your webpage. You only have a few seconds to impress your prospective
customer so summarize your whole site in one short benefit-loaded
phrase or slogan. Be precise and direct in your presentation.
2. Keywords/SEO Strategy
Keywords, what surfers type into search engines to find what they're
seeking on the web, are the real cornerstones of any online website or
business. You must find out the exact phrases and words people are
using to find your product or service and target these keywords with
your
online site. Create pages and content on your site to draw in this
targeted traffic. As a general rule, the more targeted your
traffic/visitors are, the greater your conversion rate, i.e. the more
sales you will make.
Professional online marketers do keyword research and a whole lot of
testing to find the right high converting keywords that virtually
guarantees sales. These marketers find the buyers at the right stage in
the buying process, where customers already have their minds made up
and are ready to buy. For example, someone searching for 'cars' is not
as targeted as someone
searching for '2007 Ford Mustang with Shelby GT exterior design'.
Savvy marketers use professional keyword research software such as
Keyword Elite or use such sites as GoodKeywords or Overture (Yahoo!
Search Marketing) to find the number of monthly
searches for the keyword phrases they target with their sites. Many
online businesses outsource their keyword/link building to SEO
specialists who do this job for them. These firms develop
a long term SEO strategy of building links to targeted keyword phrases, thus building a successful business in the process.
3. AutoResponder/Opt-in Lists
The AR or AutoResponder is one of the most essential tools to building
a successful online business. You must set up an Opt-in system on your
site to capture the contact information
of your visitors, this will increase your traffic and dramatically
improve your sales. It has been proven that it takes 5 to 6 follow-up
emails before a customer buys your product or service.
It just makes good business sense. You must build a list of potential
customers for your business. The AutoResponder makes this possible and
is unique to the online world. You simply place
a form on all your webpages to capture the name and email address of
your visitors for further follow-up and contact. Instead of a surfer
visiting your site just once, you draw them back again and again with
special offers, deals or a daily/weekly newsletter.
The key element that makes the AutoResponder such a powerful marketing
tool is trust! The Internet is still a very distrustful place. You
simply use the AutoResponder and your follow-up system to build trust
and a sense of loyalty from your potential customers. Once this
trustful relationship is built, running a profitable business online
will be easy.
4. RSS/Blogs
Blogs and RSS feeds are essential online business tools. As we saw
above, building a trustful relationship is very important to doing
business online. Keeping an online Blog or daily journal
is another way of building trust and keeping in contact with your
customers or clients. Everyone likes to be a part of a group, a member
of the club - having a company blog will help keep everyone a member of
your business.
Blog and RSS feeds are a way to instantly connect with your visitors or
customers. Podcasting and broadcatching (video casting) are excellent
ways to more personally connect with your clients.
Videos are all the rage right now and savvy marketers are using them in
their advertising and marketing. Why should Google and YouTube had all
the fun?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication, original acronym stood for Rich Site
Summary) will get your sales message out to your customers quickly.
With the upcoming release of the RSS powered Windows
Vista expect RSS to play an even greater role in your whole Internet
experience. Make sure you have at least one RSS feed on your online
business site.
5. Articles/Syndication Software
People want information first, products second. Regardless of what
you're selling or the type of online business you want to create,
always keep in mind potential customers want information
first and then the sales pitch. Give people good solid information and
they will more likely buy from you. You must pre-sell your online
business or product.
One of the best ways to pre-sell is by using articles. Simple
informative, how-to, 500-700 word articles on all aspects of your
online business. Place these articles on your own site and syndicate
them around the web by using article distribution software or by
submitting to such online article directories as Ezinearticles.com,
Goarticles.com, Ideamarketers.com and Articleally.com - make sure
you place a link back to your online business within the resource box at the end of each article.
Articles are an effective way of drawing very targeted customers to
your site or business. Each article is a marketing tool in its own
right. Create a whole army of these articles and you will see a marked
increase in online visitors and customers.
As mentioned before building a successful online business is not an
easy task. It does take some strategic planning and a whole lot of
marketing tools with the knowledge to use them properly. But anyone can
create a successful home business with the right equipment and the
right attitude. You now have some excellent starting points,
the next step is really up to you.
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com
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