Starting an online business to get extra cash or to replace a
full-time job is easy. However, there are specific things that you would
need in order to get started. Those things are revealed in this
article.
The first thing that you need to do to start a business online is to find a market that you can serve, find out what their needs are and prepare to offer a solution. Spend some time online researching how others are filling the needs in your targeted market. Do keyword research and find out what your prospects are looking for that other companies are not competing for.
The second thing that you will need to do is to build a website. You can get website hosting for as low as $3.96 a month and perhaps even lower. Don't make your website look like it's been put together by an amateur because you are using many different fonts and colors. Use a white background and maybe only two simple fonts. Don't forget to include an opt-in offer so that prospects can become a part of your email list. Make this offer something that your prospect will stay up nights over if they don't opt in and get it. Make your website easy to navigate. Do your keyword research and make sure that you use the best phrases possible on your website. Do this and the traffic will come to you organically. Make sure that your website is compelling. It has been shown that if you don't get your reader's attention in five seconds you have lost them.
The third thing that you need to do is to write a sales letter that will sell. This letter will need to have the following things.
1. It needs to have a winning headline that urges the reader to want to read more.
2. It needs to state how it can solve a problem of the targeted market.
3. It needs to establish you as someone who is qualified enough to solve the problem.
4. It needs to include proof. Proof would include testimonials from people who have used your product.
5. It needs to include bullet points of how the product will benefit the user.
6. It needs to include an offer. The offer is not the product it is the benefits of using the product. For example, if you are selling turkey dinners, the offer would not be the turkey. The offer would be "A great home cooked meal at a low price."
7. It needs to offer a guarantee. Remember that people feel vulnerable when they are making a purchase. Especially if they are purchasing something online. So you want to give them a guarantee that will make them feel more comfortable about using their credit card.
8. It needs to create urgency and/or fear. To make your prospect feel more urgent you would give a limit on how many units of the product you are willing to sell or you would give a date that the product will increase in price. To create fear you would state something like the following: "Can you really afford not to buy this today?"
9. The final thing that the letter will need is the call to action. This is where you ask for the sale.
The fourth thing that you will need to do is to add a blog to your website. Here is where you will take the opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in the industry. Write blog posts that will be helpful to your target market and that will cause them to trust you. Once you have gotten them to know you, like you, and trust you through your blog you will have an easier task getting them to buy from you.
After you have established your online presence and have begun getting customers, show your customers a little appreciation by sending electronic coupons to your email list. Customers like to feel appreciated. If you show them that you appreciate them they will reward you with their business.
Hopefully this article has been helpful to those of you who are contemplating on opening an online business. If you already have an established business online then go through the points in this article to make sure that you have not missed anything.
The first thing that you need to do to start a business online is to find a market that you can serve, find out what their needs are and prepare to offer a solution. Spend some time online researching how others are filling the needs in your targeted market. Do keyword research and find out what your prospects are looking for that other companies are not competing for.
The second thing that you will need to do is to build a website. You can get website hosting for as low as $3.96 a month and perhaps even lower. Don't make your website look like it's been put together by an amateur because you are using many different fonts and colors. Use a white background and maybe only two simple fonts. Don't forget to include an opt-in offer so that prospects can become a part of your email list. Make this offer something that your prospect will stay up nights over if they don't opt in and get it. Make your website easy to navigate. Do your keyword research and make sure that you use the best phrases possible on your website. Do this and the traffic will come to you organically. Make sure that your website is compelling. It has been shown that if you don't get your reader's attention in five seconds you have lost them.
The third thing that you need to do is to write a sales letter that will sell. This letter will need to have the following things.
1. It needs to have a winning headline that urges the reader to want to read more.
2. It needs to state how it can solve a problem of the targeted market.
3. It needs to establish you as someone who is qualified enough to solve the problem.
4. It needs to include proof. Proof would include testimonials from people who have used your product.
5. It needs to include bullet points of how the product will benefit the user.
6. It needs to include an offer. The offer is not the product it is the benefits of using the product. For example, if you are selling turkey dinners, the offer would not be the turkey. The offer would be "A great home cooked meal at a low price."
7. It needs to offer a guarantee. Remember that people feel vulnerable when they are making a purchase. Especially if they are purchasing something online. So you want to give them a guarantee that will make them feel more comfortable about using their credit card.
8. It needs to create urgency and/or fear. To make your prospect feel more urgent you would give a limit on how many units of the product you are willing to sell or you would give a date that the product will increase in price. To create fear you would state something like the following: "Can you really afford not to buy this today?"
9. The final thing that the letter will need is the call to action. This is where you ask for the sale.
The fourth thing that you will need to do is to add a blog to your website. Here is where you will take the opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in the industry. Write blog posts that will be helpful to your target market and that will cause them to trust you. Once you have gotten them to know you, like you, and trust you through your blog you will have an easier task getting them to buy from you.
After you have established your online presence and have begun getting customers, show your customers a little appreciation by sending electronic coupons to your email list. Customers like to feel appreciated. If you show them that you appreciate them they will reward you with their business.
Hopefully this article has been helpful to those of you who are contemplating on opening an online business. If you already have an established business online then go through the points in this article to make sure that you have not missed anything.
