There is a proven sequence
of steps you can follow to guarantee your success when you’re starting a
small on-line business.
- Design and build an
easy-to-use website
- Use search engines to drive
traffic to your site
- Establish an expert
reputation for yourself
- Follow up with your
customers and subscribers with email
- Increase your
income through back-end sales and upselling
- Anyone, from newbie to
seasoned online entrepreneur, can benefit from this process in learning how
to start a business online.
Step 1: Find a need and fill it.
Most people who are just
starting out make the mistake of looking for a product first, and a market
second.
To boost your chances of
success, start with a market. The trick is to find a group of people who are
searching for a solution to a problem, but not finding many results.
The internet makes this kind
of market research easy:
- Visit online forums to see
what questions people ask and what problems they’re trying to solve
- Do keyword research to find
keywords that a lot of people are searching, but for which not many sites are
competing
- Check out your potential
competitors by visiting their sites and taking note of what they’re doing to
fill the demand. Then you can use what you’ve learned and create a product for
a market that already exists–and do it better than the competition
There’s a proven sales copy
formula that takes visitors through the selling process from the moment they
arrive to the moment they make a purchase:
- Arouse interest with a
compelling headline
- Describe the problem your
product solves
- Establish your credibility
as a solver of this problem
- Add testimonials from people
who have used your product
- Talk about the product and how it benefits the user
- Throughout your copy,you need to focus
on how your product or service is uniquely able solve people’s problems or make
their lives better. Think like a customer and ask “What’s in it for me?”
Step 3: Design and build your website.
Once you’ve got your market
and product, and you’ve nailed down your selling process, now you’re ready for
your small-business web design.
Remember to keep it simple.
You have fewer than five seconds to grab someone’s attention–otherwise they’re
gone, never to be seen again.
Some important tips to keep
in mind:
- Choose one or two plain
fonts on a white background
- Make your navigation clear
and simple, and the same on every page
- Only use graphics, audio or
video if they enhance your message
- Include an opt-in offer so
you can collect e-mail addresses
- Make it easy to buy–no more
than two clicks between potential customer and checkout
- Your website is your online
storefront, so make it customer-friendly
Step 4: Use search engines to drive targeted buyers to your site.
Pay-per-click advertising is
the easiest way to get traffic to a brand-new site. It has two advantages over
waiting for the traffic to come to you organically.
First, PPC ads show up on
the search pages immediately, and second, PPC ads allow you to test different
keywords, as well as headlines, prices and selling
approaches.
Not only do you get
immediate traffic, but you can also use PPC ads to discover your best,
highest-converting keywords.
Then you can distribute the
keywords throughout your site in your copy and code, which will help your
rankings in the organic search results.
Step 5: Establish an expert reputation for yourself.
People use the internet to
find information. Provide that information for free to other sites, and you’ll
see more traffic and better search engine rankings.
The secret is to always
include a link to your site with each tidbit of information.
Give away free, expert
content. Create articles, videos or any other content that people will find
useful.
Distribute that content
through online article directories or social media sites.
Include “send to a friend” links on valuable content on your website.
Become an active expert in
industry forums and social networking sites where your target market hangs out.
You’ll reach new readers.
But even better, every site that posts your content will link back to yours.
Search engines love
links from relevant sites and will reward you in the rankings.
Step 6: Use the power of email marketing to turn visitors into
buyers.
When you build an opt-in
list, you’re creating one of the most valuable assets of your online business.
Your customers and
subscribers have given you permission to send them email. That means:
- You’re giving them something
they’ve asked for.
- You’re developing lifetime
relationships with them.
- The response is 100 percent
measurable.
- Email marketing is cheaper
and more effective than print, TV or radio because it’s highly targeted.
Anyone who visits your site
and opts in to your list is a very hot lead. And there’s no better tool than
email for following up with those leads.
Step 7: Increase your income through back-end sales and upselling.
One of the most important
internet marketing strategies is to develop every customer’s lifetime value.
At least 36 percent of
people who have purchased from you once will buy from you again if you follow
up with them.
Closing that first sale is
by far the most difficult part–not to mention the most expensive. So use
back-end selling and upselling to get them to buy again:
- Offer products that
complement their original purchase.
- Send out electronic loyalty
coupons they can redeem on their next visit.
- Offer related products on
your “Thank You” page after they purchase.
Reward your customers for
their loyalty and they’ll become even more loyal.
The internet changes so fast
that one year online equals about five years in the real world.
But the principles of how to
start and grow a successful online business haven’t changed at all.
If you’re just starting a
small business online, stick to this sequence.
If you’ve been online
awhile, do a quick review and see if there’s a step you’re neglecting, or never
got around to doing in the first place. You can’t go wrong with the basics.
