Home Business Online: Part 1
The internet is enticing to the home business seeker. It is new and exciting and thousands of people are sharing in the multi-million dollar profits that are being generated online. But, putting your business online does not guarantee success. Starting an online business will take hours of hard work to be successful, just like any other business.
The first step is to determine what business you would like to start. Sound familiar? Of course, it is the first step to starting any business. Just about anything will sell online, if it is presented properly and to the correct audience. What do you want to sell--a product or a service?
Determine how you will present your business to the online community. You will need to design your website to attract the people who will buy your product. A couple of possibilities are to:
1. Build an informative website
Your definitive website will be the end-all resource of information about your area of business. Include plenty of free information and some interactive features to keep people returning to your site. Your website should be a living thing. Allow it to grow and evolve.
2. Create an online brochure
This is a small site with information about your business, presented much like a printed brochure. You will need to advertise this site heavily to develop the traffic you will need because there is nothing there to bring people back.
One mistake made by beginning web designers is to crowd every neat trick there is onto the main page of their site. I visited a site recently which took so long to download that I gave up and moved on. I did not rush off, either. It was after a full three minutes, when the thing was still loading, that I left. This site owner lost the chance to sell to me, just because of some very avoidable mistakes.
There are some good resources about web site design at: Creating Your Page.
With any type of site, make sure it is easy for your site visitors to order from you. If you do not have online ordering set up, have a printable order form for your customers to use and provide as many payment choices that you can. I have viewed sites that restricted the ordering process so much that it is unlikely that they will ever sell anything. One site, in particular, had such a long list of "don'ts" (don't send a personal check, don't use a credit card, don't expect shipment for 4-6 weeks or more, etc.) that most visitors would be turned away, even if they wanted to order. Another site required visitors to email for ordering instructions. This is an unnecessary inconvenience to the customer. You only have a couple minutes, or less, to convince your visitor to order from you, so make it as agreeable as possible.
Marketing your website is an ongoing commitment. You will need to do something everyday. Start with the free resources for promoting your site:
Search engines and directories
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of search engines and directories. Go
to each site and submit your page to them. Sometimes you will be listed right
away and sometimes it will take a few weeks. For a list of search engines
and directories go to:
Newsgroups and message boards
Post informative articles to newsgroups and message boards. One of the mistakes
beginning online marketers make is posting ads to the message boards.
Advertisements are not well accepted and may violate the posting guidelines
of some groups. Besides, if you establish yourself as an expert in your field
by posting informative messages, you will realize much more traffic from
newsgroups.
Publishing articles in e-zines
Write an informative article about your area of expertise and submit it to online publications. Most e-zines and newsletters welcome contributions and will gladly include a link to your site at the end of your article. Some of these have circulation in the thousands, so it is an excellent way to gain exposure for your site.
Find appropriate e-zines at :
Linking to other sites
Visit sites that are similar to yours and ask to exchange links with them. Be sure to study the site's content to determine if the visitors to that site would also be interested in your site.
Home Business - Online Part II
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