Characteristics Of An Effective Sales Letter

Imagine yourself applying for a job, and imagine that you are up against fifty other applicants, how will you catch the attention of the interviewer? How can you possibly stand out among a sea of other applicants? You have to consider plenty of factors to achieve your goal. You should dress impeccably, present a breath-taking resume, and most importantly have the right attitude.

In my opinion, the same thing applies to online businesses. You have to dress up your website to make it attractive, which will grab your visitor’s attention. Always remember that there are several key factors to a successful online business. One of the most important that one should consider is the sales letter. For your site to stand out among the rest you have to write an effective sales letter. An effective sales letter can be the only weapon you need to win the war in online marketing, provided that you have a product/service that is in demand by the public.

Here are the characteristics of an effective sales letter:

1. Attention grabber. When we read a sales letter the first thing that we notice will be the big bold headline on the top most portion of the page. The headline usually comes in three colors red, blue, and black. These colors are said to be an effective attention grabber. If your sales letter fails to grab the attention of your visitors, then it is unlikely that they will read the rest of the letter. The main purpose of the letter should be described in the headline. Your readers should be able to get the gist just my reading the headline.

2. A sales letter should be convincing. One of the most important factors of a good sales letter is that it should be able to convince people. If your sales letter is not that convincing then chances are, they will navigate away from it within a few seconds. A good sales letter should be able to explain the benefits consumers will get if they avail of your product/service. Convince readers that what you offer will solve whatever problems they currently have. Convince readers of the value they will get from your product/service.

3. Reassure the reader. Reassure your reader that what they are about to buy will work wonder for them. Potential consumers want the assurance that they will get their money’s worth if they choose to purchase your product. A money back guarantee is also a good way of assuring customers that they are in no financial risk. Knowing how to take all the risk away from prospective customers can make or break your online business.

These are important factors that you should consider in you sales letter. Merge these characteristics into the sales letter you will formulate and no doubt sales will increase.

Selling During Recession

So we have talked about how good it would be to start a business with the current economic situation. I mean as compared to not doing anything at all having your own online business will be better. So after you have established your business let us focus our attention on the consumers.

Not only is it a gamble to start a business during an economic slump it is also tough to close sales. Even the most seasoned sales person will tell you that it is not as easy as it used to be. So how can we close those sales and increase profit? Her are some ways that can help us achieve that goal:

1. Do Not Devalue Your Product. It will be pretty normal that you slash off prices or offer special discounts on your products. Discounts actually work as a double edged sword, there are times that it is favorable and times that it is not. When you offer a huge discount on your items, customers might think that they were overpaying at the regular price. Also they might assume that the product is so cheap because there’s something wrong with it. Instead of slashing prices, you should contemplate on offering additional services — such as longer guarantees or additional technical support. Through this buyers will feel that they are truly getting their money’s worth.

2. Stay calm and focus. One of the biggest mistakes an entrepreneur might do during a recession is to panic. Being too aggressive or too hungry to make that sale might result to customers getting scared or worse turn-off. Instead of hysteria, offer calm, focused solutions, keep your cool. As an online entrepreneur, you have to invest your time on research. You need to find out your customer’s biggest challenges and threats potential these people face. From thereon shape your headline to assure them this product / service that you are offering will minimize those threats they feel.

3. Do not forget your existing customers. It is important that you acquire new customers however; you should also look after your existing consumers. Make sure your existing customers know their business is valued and appreciated, and spend as much effort reaching out to them as you do contacting potential clients. Your existing customers will get you through an economic downturn that is how important these people are.

A thing such as the recession is indeed and real pain if you ask me. However, it is up to us how we view it, it may be some blessing in disguise. Let us be positive and keep our fingers crossed eventually everything will get better. If you are one of those people who took advantage of the recession and started an online business, I sure hope these strategies can help you somehow.

Hurdles That Keep You Away From Success

Building an Internet Business has its good and bad days. Of course if it were that easy everyone would have dove into it right? Online and offline business will always have their share of ups and downs. However, there are three things that will without a doubt kill your chance of building a profitable online business.

In this article, I will discuss three things that will eventually end your online empire.

1. Lack of goals. Solid goals are the foundation of a successful business. You cannot gauge how far you have come unless you have specified your goals. As an entrepreneur, you will not be able to hit a mark that you do not have. However, it is usual that many new Internet entrepreneurs will attempt to start a business without taking the time to set goals for their business. As a newbie, you do not have to be one of those people, take the time to set your goals, long and short-term goals should be specified.

2. No plan of action. Once you have set your goals, how are you going to attain those goals? Specify how you will achieve the goals you have set. Things will not happen on themselves, you actually have to do something from your end to make things work. There has to be action taken in order for progress to occur.

3. Watch out for surfing. Yes you have indeed came up with attainable goals and a great plan action for you internet business but then you are caught up with surfing. Believe me I am one of those people who wasted countless hours surfing the internet for stuff that are no use to me. I have a feeling every internet entrepreneur have experienced this one time or another. Time passes by quickly so do not waste it on things that will not bring in profit to the business.

Now that we have pointed out the three mistake entrepreneurs make let us try to avoid these. The success of any business, online or offline depends on the person running it. Once you know the things that should be avoided, steering your business to success will be pretty easy.

9 to 5 Job versus Online Business

At 9.4 percent and climbing, the unemployment rate is higher than it’s been in a quarter century. This follows the unusual period from 1997 to 2007, when the annual rate averaged 4.9 percent. The new normal will be much higher. “We’d better get used to 7 to 8 percent unemployment for years to come,” Gross said recently. “We are just not going to be able to put all these real estate workers, investment managers, and Wall Street types back to productive work.”
One could debate whether those investment managers were actually doing productive work, but what is not debatable is the link between growth and unemployment. Slower GDP growth means slower employment growth. And, importantly, financial workers account for less than 10 percent of total job losses. The people who have been really hammered in this downturn are lower on the economic food chain — factory workers, retail clerks, and young job seekers. From: Moneywatch

What are views on this article? I honestly do not know whether to feel happy or sad about it, I mean it is a good thing that things are starting to settle down a bit. However, the aftermath of the recession is still felt all throughout the world. Indeed the impact was massive. So what option does it leave us especially the unemployed? From my point of view, I see two options here: (1) search of any jobs available, it really does not matter what it is and (2) start you own online business and gain independence from capitalists.

Both options I have mentioned sound good right. So let us weigh the pros and cons of each.

Having a regular job. Since the choices are quite limited, there is a chance that you will land a job you do not like, or a job that is not within the spectrum of your specialty. If you are hired to do a job not of your liking, take it from me that within months or after a year, you will be handing in your resignation letter. I know this because I have experienced this countless of times already.

It’s not all disadvantage of course having a stable job also has its advantages. You have a regular source of income. You are sure that you will be paid, also as mandated by the government you will also receive benefits fitting an employee. Not only that, when you have a job that you really like there is every possibility that you will excel on it. Hence, there is room for career growth. It also gives you a feeling of self-fulfillment.

Starting your online business. During the first few months after you have put up your business, do not expect profits to rain, not yet. According to some online entrepreneurs, visible results are usually seen after a year. If you are unemployed and you do not have any other source of funds then that is a disadvantage for you. It will require a lot of patience and hard work for your online business to grow.

One significant advantage of having your online business is that you can be your own boss and keep what you earn: As an owner of an online business, you choose what to sell and when to work. Take time off when you want to. You do not have to answer to anyone, all this while your online business continues to work for you. With the great reach that an online business has, you will earn more than you ever thought possible as opposed to what you would get as a salaried employee.

Another thing to consider is that all of the components of your business are virtual and therefore controlled directly from your computer. Convenience is a big reason why some people are able to succeed in online business.

With that being said, which would you choose? It is entirely up to you, you know that. A friendly advice from someone who has been employed I actually would prefer having my own business. Forget about the start-up cost because it really does not take that much to put-up your online business. Like what I’ve said countless of times before, plan and work towards it. The online industry is huge enough and I am sure anyone will find his right place on it.

An Online Business for $5,000 (or less)

Yesterday, I talked about lay-offs and some tips to start your online business. Since we are on the subject of starting a business, let us consider one important factor and that is the CAPITAL.

Let us face it that given the current economic situation there will be a few people who would consider starting a business. But what if you did not have a choice? I mean what if you got laid-off and no one is currently hiring. What would happen to you then? You can’t just sit around the house and wait for companies to start hiring again right? That might take forever. So the best way to get through this situation is to start your own business.

Some people who lost their jobs actually started to set-up their own businesses online. The capital that you need to start an online business is minimal as compared to a brick and mortar set-up. After all, an internet-based business grows our marketplace to a global one. Customers will flock from all sides of the world that is how the online business works. For as little as $5,000 (or less) you can actually start that business online.

What can $5,000 do for your online business? First and foremost, I have to tell you this DO NOT SKIMP ON DESIGN. As what I have said in my previous blogs, design is what captures your visitor’s attention even before they actually see what you are selling. Work with a seasoned designer who understands the following:

• Site design
• Site architecture
• Internet-marketing techniques (SEO, PPC landing pages, blogging, and social media)

Shy away from excessive advertising or anything that detracts consumers from the actual content of your website.

Customers also like the idea of being able to leave a feedback on your products/services. This is their way of communicating with other site visitors / consumers. For this aspect of your website you can either choose Joomla or WordPress. Both programs are modular and allow you to add plug-in components to make your site consumer-driven.

One important thing that some online entrepreneurs forget is that they have to MAKE IT EASY. It is important that a shopping cart is easy to use. An ideal shopping cart should contain everything, which a general user demands or desires. In addition, it needs to be fast and simple to operate; saving users' time and meet their needs and demands.

To save on start-up cost, your site can accept PayPal payments, which takes up 3 percent of your sales fees. Make your customers feel secured by integrating SSL certificate into your system.

“When customers visit a website to make an online purchase, they want to know who they'll be paying and that the personal information they submit to the site cannot be intercepted. This is the purpose of an SSL digital certificate.

Use of SSL (Secure Socket Layer) and a digital certificate enable a web browser (your customer) to communicate securely with your website, assuring the customer of 3 things:

1. That the website really is who it claims to be.
2. That credit card numbers, etc are encrypted and cannot be intercepted.
3. That the data sent and received cannot be tampered with or forged.”
From: Modwest

The price of SSL certificate ranges from $20 to $1000. This is not a bad investment if you want to protect your customers’ information.

With that being said, $5,000 (or less) can actually go a long way. Let me just remind you that the return of investment will be entirely up to you as the entrepreneur. There are different strategies you can follow to increase your online sales. Truly, being unemployed is a blessing in disguise because it gives us the independence that we always wanted. All it takes is the right attitude to make things happen!

From Unemployed to Entrepreneur

Job cuts, corporate restructuring, head count reduction, and layoffs they all mean the same thing. It means people losing jobs. This is truly life changing and such a dramatic event for some. Being one of those unemployed is difficult; it offers very few opportunities even for the most talented individual.

The road to entrepreneurship is not that easy even in a stable economy. As an online entrepreneur, you have to be cautious and alert with the changes around you. Here are some tips that you have to know to transition from unemployed to business owner:

Take time. The day that you are laid-off is day to start anew. Of course, it is human nature to feel anger and despair when faced with this particular situation, this is normal. Take a few weeks to adjust to your current situation. Assess personal skills. Now more than ever is the best time to assess your skills, experience, and passion to see if your business idea will go well with your situation. If plan to plunge into a venture that is all too new to you, the learning curve and expense will be more. However, if you are going to choose a field wherein you already have an experience in, it will be much easier for you. Through this, you will also save start-up cash that your business needs.

Check your account. You need to set-up a business and personal budget to see if you can cope with a six to twelve month loss of income. It will be convenient for an entrepreneur to rely on personal funds coming from severance and savings. Online businesses can be started with limited capital.

Set-up a timeline. It is helpful to set a realistic timeline to start the company. There are two types of starters in my opinion. Some people tend to be planners; they only start something once they have every information possible. For the take action types, do not run and start but spend more time in the planning phase. Both are fine, the important thing is you have a clear timeline for everything.

Remember losing your job can often be a blessing in disguise. If you feel strongly motivated, take this as an opportunity to set your own independence and do what you always wanted to do. The work may be longer and the pay fluctuating, but in the end, the new-found freedom will be all worth it!

Ways to Strengthen your Online Business: Strategy 3

Having an army of people advertising your product is the best way to boost sales. That is what an affiliate program does. This is wherein you have a network of people marketing your product/ service. Now, this is not your regular promo people that you have to pay on a monthly basis. These are people whom you pay a commission with every sale that they make. Basically you only pay when there are results, no results means no pay.

Here are some reasons why you should consider an affiliate program strategy for your business:

1. Automated advertising campaign

Affiliate tracking software is the perfect marketing gadget because you use an automated advertising campaign that will market your product or service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Everything will be done automatically!

2. No sale, no pay

The best part of using an Affiliate Program to market your product / service is that you do not have to pay anyone unless a sale is made. Imagine that hordes of people are advertising your product and they work on straight commission, and the beauty of it: NO HIRING PROCESS INVOLVED!

3. Fringe benefits

This is one benefit of Affiliate marketing that is not really noticed by many people. Even if a customer does not purchase your product / service there is always a chance that they will subscribe to your e-zine or better yet they will bookmark your site. Remember that you only pay affiliates for every sale, so without spending money you get traffic for free.

It is true that affiliate marketing is one of the most powerful ways to market your business. If you want to have a successful online business then be sure to think of starting an affiliate program. Starting an affiliate program is really easy all you have to do is place a page on your site that invites people to apply and by approaching websites you have the same target market as you. You can easily manage the program yourself; there are several affiliate softwares to choose from and one of them is AssocTRAC. This software will handle the entire process from tracking affiliate sales right through paying commissions.

An affiliate program is very effective strategy for generating massive new traffic and multiplying your sales with little effort on your part. This has been proven successful time and again by different online businesses.

Ways to Strengthen your Online Business: Strategy 2

Coffee and creme complement each other

Strategy 2: Offer back-end products to your customers

First, what are “back-end” products? Back-end products are the products that you would like sell to existing customers. According to statistics, 30% of your existing customers will most likely purchase from you again. Why? Because they had a wonderful experience shopping at your site, the product that they got from you served its purpose and most importantly you are a credible entrepreneur.

So offering these existing customers a complementary product is a great way to increase your profit. These products serve as escalators for your business.

Here are some important points that you have to consider when you are selling back-end products:

1. Introduce
It is easy enough to introduce a back-end product and it can be done in various ways. You can include a picture, the new features, etc. of your back-end product when you send a “Thank you” email to your customer. Tell them that the product that they have purchased works great, and they would be able to maximize it if they purchase this back-end product you offer.

2. Special offers
If you are going to have special offer promos, including your back-end product would just be the thing. You can offer them a discount on this product (back-end) if they buy it together with the main product.

3. Freebies
Giving away freebies is a great way of getting a customer’s attention. It is human nature that we, as consumers are always looking to get something for free when we purchase stuff. Example, when you buy a television, you expect to get a table with that right? Giving out freebies is great for customer satisfaction; also you can use this to your advantage. You can include ads / flyers of your back-end product and inform customers how they can avail of this product.

Take time to brainstorm then formulate a list of products related to your existing lineup. The key to discovering new products these people would be interested in is to identify problems that they want to be solved. From their problems come up with a solution, so these people will come to you and purchase whatever it is you offer.

Customer survey is also a great way of finding out what customers want and need. After you come up with a merchandise that fits their needs you can simply send out emails informing them of your new product. It is important that you highlight the problem they have and explain how your new product can solve it. If these customers are dead serious about finding a solution then no doubt they will purchase the product / service you offer.

Ways to Strengthen your Online Business: Strategy 1

Before we start our online business, we have to come up with a good business plan. A good business plan contains the company’s goals and how can the company achieve those goals. A business plan can never be stagnant. It is constantly reviewed and examined with the site’s traffic stats and sales figures. With the aid of these things, an entrepreneur is able to spot new opportunities for the business, identify and resolve problems, and incorporate new goals and strategies into the business.

A wise entrepreneur is always on the lookout for different ways to improve success and get more profits. That is the reason why coming up with a business plan is important. In this, series we will look at three strategies that will help your business get the profit it needs.

Strategy 1: Improve the sales process and convert relevant traffic into sales

Let us try to answer these questions:

• Do you get regular traffic on your site?
• How long do visitors stay on your site?
• How many of your visitors purchase?

The best way to improve your sales is to look into your website statistics. Statistics that we are talking about would be the traffic your site is getting, how many people travel through your site, which pages are the most popular, and where your visitors are coming from.

If we are to analyze these things, together with sales and your online promotion you would be able to figure out the portion of traffic that is actually converted into sales, and which promotions is working for your business. In short, you will get an overall picture of what needs to be changed, and what needs to be improved.

Say for example your site is getting massive amounts of traffic but your sales are low, the sales process needs to be modified. Try revising your website’s sales letter and order form.

Sales letter. If visitors are leaving your page without even going to your order form then your sales letter is not at all good. We have to change this part of your website and make it more compelling to visitors. The headline of your sales letter should persuade your target market and should contain the benefits of your product.

Order form. Make your customers life simple. Do not give them a hard time when they are placing their orders. Make sure that the ordering process is easy enough to understand and that you provide a systematic guide that will help the customers through the entire order process.

In the succeeding articles, we will discuss the other strategies that will help your business gain those profits.

Website Turn-off

Marketing your products online is a sure way of increasing company sales. However why is it that many entrepreneurs do not succeed? Part of this blunder can be blamed on the website. Although it is not written in black and white, there are some things that you need to avoid when you publish your website.

Here are some things that should not be done in your website:

1. Re-type galore! Don’t we just hate it when we type in our email addresses over and over? It is just too tedious if you will ask your customer to type it in for more than two times. Some people really, DO NOT HAVE THE PATIENCE. So let us make the shopping experience easier and forego with this redundancy.

2. Add-this / bookmark option. Some of your visitors would want to get back to your site, but how can they do that if there is no option to do so? It is important that you give them this option. You can place ADD-THIS .

3. Up front registration. Requiring visitors to register is not bad at all, however this should be done after they have read what the site is about. If they would like to browse through the site’s other pages I think that is the time that you ask for a registration.

4. Lack of search option. If your site contains a lot of pages it would be much easier for visitors to browse if there is a search box. Not every one has the luxury of clicking through every page until they find what they are looking for. Make life easier for your visitors and place a search option.

5. Usernames versus emails. Let us admit it, how many times have we forgotten our usernames for various websites? Me personally I do not remember exactly how many times but I know it has been a lot. However if you are going to ask for my email address, that one I know really well. So it would be best if you ask for the customer’s email rather than a username.

6. Unreadable captcha. The captcha works by issuing a challenge to the person or entity attempting to gain access. Captchas should not be too hard, or too difficult to understand, it is just a SIMPLE VISUAL TEST to prove that the user is humnan. Say for example I am trying to access my account with your site, I mistyped the captcha 3 times, personally I will not do it again and just let it go. If I am a potential customer then you would have lost me already because of that.

Maybe you can think of more errors other than what I have pointed out. But these 6 are like the most common I see when I go to a website. Really, if you do this it would be a major turn-off to visitors and potential customers.

So let us avoid these things and increase those online sales now!

4Ps of Inbound Marketing

Back when I was in college, we were taught the 4 Ps of Marketing. These are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. These are the basics so naturally, it is still important and we cannot work a business without these things.

The 4 Ps evolved as time went on, this is to better suit the demand of inbound marketing. Inbound marketing is anything that you do as an entrepreneur to get in touch with potential customers. Inbound marketing can be done through social networking, search engine optimization, or article marketing. The beauty of inbound marketing is that it is an efficient way to generate sales leads through associations produced by social media through inbound links, and through search engine rankings. The 4Ps of inbound marketing are:

• Personas
• Participation
• Publishing
• PageRank

Persona – Buyer personas are the basis of highly effective inbound marketing campaigns. Persona is not just limited to the profile of your target market. It also includes bloggers who write about your market niche, media outlets and current customers. As an entrepreneur, you should consider your potential customers’ goals, what sort of media to they turn to solve their problems, and what kind of multimedia attracts them.

The more thought you put into your persona, the more efficiently you will be able to connect with potential consumers, and others (bloggers) who have the power to get your name and message in front of those who need to know about you and what you offer.

Participation – The face of internet marketing has been forever changed by Social Networks. Marketing these days is all about making connections, building relationships and sharing information. It is not just about influencing potential customers by placing your marketing message across. As a marketer, you need to know that relationships are important in the process of inbound marketing.

“Once every hundred years media changes. The last hundred years have been defined buy the mass media. In the next hundred years information won’t just be pushed out to people: It will be shared among the millions of connection people have.” -- Mark Zuckerberg Facebook founder

Participate in the social web by monitoring your favorite blogs, write comments on blogs whenever your comments are appropriate, rating and reviewing products that are relevant to your market niche, posting to forum discussions that are relevant to your products or services. Set-up accounts with MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. and make sure that you maximize these networks.

Publishing – Traditional marketing involves using print media, broadcast media, etc. most of these methods require a lot of monetary investment. On the other hand, inbound marketing uses blogs, case studies, eBooks, and articles. Let us compare the two types or marketing mentioned, it is obvious that inbound marketing is less expensive than traditional marketing.

Marketers rarely have to pay for advertising space given the wide variety of free content distribution opportunities available. Make sure that your content is constantly updated and always relevant.

PageRank – This is Google’s method of measuring a site’s popularity. You can increase your inbound links quickly by publishing first-rate, relevant content, and by natural search engine optimization. And the higher your PageRank, the more your site will be sought out by potential customers, competitors, and those with whom you can build important relationships.

All these 4 elements that I have mentioned is important to a company’s marketing plan. Once you have mastered each and every element developing an effective marketing plan will be really easy.

Referrals for Business

A steady stream of customers keeps the business afloat. This is what every online entrepreneur wants for their business. They hope to build a concrete and consistent stream of referred leads.

Continuous flow of referred leads can only happen if you offer an amazing product or extraordinary service. However, given the number of entrepreneurs starting their online business the competition gets tough. To get the referral tap flowing, you also need to create compelling ways to stay top of mind with your referral sources and convince them to sing your praises. Here are referral tactics I've seen start-ups use successfully:

1. Getting back on them. Among the referral techniques I have read about, this is by far the easiest. After your customers avail of your product you can say. “We expect that you are going to be thrilled with this product that you have purchased. To make sure that you have everything you need, we would also like to ask for three others who would like to get the same amazing product you have.”

2. Free gift certificate. Send gift certificates for your products to your customers and referral sources. These gift certificate can be sent quarterly, and the recipients are free to pass this on to anyone if they want. Most customers would really want to refer your product to friends and family and getting your gift certificate is the best way to get started.

3. Refund all the way. This is a fun and easy way of gaining new customers. This is how it works:

• A customer purchases from you. Send them a referral code through the mail.
• If they refer your product to one friend, and this friend buys one of your products the previous customer gets 20% back (referred customer provides the code so you can keep track of who gets the 20%).
• The person who referred her friend can get up to 100% refund of the product they got from you. So that means you gain 5 new customers in the process.

If you really want a steady flow of referrals doing the tips above would help you. These tips have been tried and tested by both offline and online businesses, and I must say it does work.

So give it a shot and see which one works best for your business.

Plan, design and then launch

In the world of internet marketing both small and medium sized business are on equal footing with huge enterprises. The internet enables them to compete against these giants. How? Through inbound marketing. All of these entrepreneurs have unlimited use of various inbound marketing techniques. These inbound marketing techniques are used to attract visitors and convert them into customers.

However, some businesses are doing it the wrong way. They build their website first THEN think of ways to generate leads. You will not be able to maximize inbound marketing if you follow this path.

If you are an aspiring internet entrepreneur developing your own website is what you will think of first. You think that since we are dealing with internet, having a website is more important than coming up with an internet-marketing plan this is a fatal mistake that must be avoided.

Even before you develop your website, make sure you already have an online marketing plan. An online marketing plan (website aspect) should include:

• Site design
• Site architecture
• Site capability requirements

I know you are thinking, “I’LL JUST HIRE A WEB DEVELOPER/DESIGNER FOR THOSE.” You can always hire a web designer and developer for those that is for sure. However, the average web design firm does not understand the connection between site design/site architecture and internet-marketing techniques such as SEO, PPC landing pages, blogging, and social media. Most of these firms are just there to develop websites and move on to the next client. They do not provide help when it comes to driving traffic and lead generation.

Always remember that your website should be able to attract traffic and capture leads. There are businesses out there who are experts when it comes to web design, development, and online marketing. These companies build websites as well as provide assistance with online marketing.

So to conclude this article, I would have to say that even before you publish your website make sure you have a plan / strategy already. This is to get better results and to be able to maximize inbound marketing. Write down the necessary stuff that you want your website to achieve. Hire a competent web designer and web developer. The firm that you'll be hiring should know the following: (1) web design, (2) development, and (3) online marketing. When everything has been put to order, then that is the best time to launch your website.

Tips for your online business

There are many reasons why people sell online. Some of them want to earn something extra and for some this is their main source of income. Selling online seems easy from a buyer’s point of view, but there is more to it than just posting stuff online.

As an online entrepreneur you have to think of ways to make your product stand out from the rest. Time and again online businesses have failed simply because the product that they offer is not unique enough. Some online websites sell something you can easily get from your local Target or Wal-Mart store.

If you are an entrepreneur and you are going to sell simple things or you are not offering something unique for sure, it will not be good for your business. Here are some things you can do to AVOID FAILING:

1. Be DIFFERENT.

It is always important that you set yourself apart from other sellers out there. I mean okay you are selling a shirt. How will you convince people to buy the shirt you are selling? Offer free shipping if they buy more than five shirts or you can also offer customers some discounts. If they get 2 shirts the 3rd one will be discounted, something like that. The important thing is that you give them something they cannot get anywhere else.

2. Do not sell TIME SENSITIVE PRODUCTS.

Avoid selling things that people need right away. There are products that consumers need to use right away; an example of this will be medicines.

Most people search for an, “immediate relief from sore throat.”Let us say you offer this product online, and you guarantee customers that it is truly effective. However, do you really think they will wait for 3 days before they get your product? It would be much more convenient for them if they get their remedy elsewhere.

If your product cannot be delivered through a download, then I do not think it would work.

3. Avoid huge competitors.

An example of a competitor is Amazon.com. This site sells books, music, DVDs, etc. It would be difficult to compete with as establishment such as Amazon.Do not compete with an industry giant unless you can think of a way to LOWER DOWN you price. If this cannot be done then I do not think your business will grow.

I would strongly suggest that you follow these tips. These tips will be a huge help for your internet business. To be a successful entrepreneur you need to know the things that you should avoid and things that you should be doing. The tips I have mentioned will be useful for an online entrepreneur.

Selling Experience

Selling items online is one of the best ways to earn extra income. The first thing you need to know is what sells and what stuff to avoid. One of the keys to success in selling on eBay or even on your website is to create a great item description and make it attractive to potential customers.

Websites are flocked by people every day, people have plenty of websites to choose and purchase from. It is imperative that you make your items stand out. So how can we make your items stand out? Here are some things you can do to ensure a very productive selling experience:

1. Detailed description. It would really help your prospective customers if they can read a detailed description of the items you are selling.

Use Google to research on the specifications of the product you are selling. However if you are selling your own product, make sure to include things like available colors, sizes, weight, dimensions, etc.
Your item description is your sales pitch, so give your visitors every reason to become customers.

2. Use Dreamweaver to create your listings. This helps your posts look professional and attractive to customers.

3. Pictures. Make sure to include pictures of the product that you are selling. Mind you, these are not just any pictures we are talking about, it should be of good quality, and it should be clear. Close up pictures of products are important. Since your prospective customer cannot see the product personally until it is shipped to them having a good look at it from your website will help them decide. Just a tip, try to avoid using camera phones when taking your pictures as it does not have a stabilizer, it tends to be blurry.

4. Flexibility. Offer your customers different payment methods. You can accept payment from Paypal, personal check or money order and other means at your disposal.

These are just a few tips that will help you sell your items online. There are plenty of things you can do but these are the basics that any online entrepreneur should know of.

Online Shopping and Moms

Take care of the baby, drive the kids to school, do the laundry, prepare meals, etc. These are some of the things that a regular mom does. Mind you there’s more to it than what I have mentioned. Being a mom is a huge responsibility.

Since they have, a lot of stuff going on they barely have the time to shop in a traditional mall. Therefore, moms these days just shop online, where it is more convenient. They pick out stuff, place it on their shopping cart and viola! It will be delivered to their doorstep in a day or two. Talk about easy and convenient!

Studies show that more and more moms opt to shop online these days.


Mothers are the family “treasurer.” They get to budget and buy stuff for the family members. In the United States alone, there are 75 million mothers who shop for their families. The cash conversion of that would be around $2.1 trillion a year according to Marketing to Moms Coalition. If you are an online entrepreneur and your market is made up of women with children under 18 at home, then the newest information and trends on their shopping and purchasing decisions are critical to your success.

How to market your products to moms? Send out the right message. This is the best way to market your product to moms. They are constantly researching on what is the best product for their family, and giving them the right message is the key to catching their attention. Here are some tips that can help your marketing:

1. Help them find you. Just like with any other customer that you deal with you need to make it easier to find you. Make sure that you are visible to everyone most especially to your target market. We all know that moms like to do research on a product / service before they purchase it so they rely heavily on search engines. Optimize your website to rank higher in organic searches and if possible try to invest on paid advertising on major search engines.

2. Deeper content. Consumers nowadays are much meticulous. They go through plenty of websites before they actually purchase something; they want to get the best deals available to them. Now moms are a little different, in my opinion. Not only do they want good deals they also want to hear something positive about the product they are buying. It is like an assurance that this product / service will not fail them.

“Testimonials and customer reviews are powerful when it comes to advertising. They are effective in building credibility and offer a sense of security to new customers. It is sometimes challenging to get your customers to provide you the positive review or testimonial you’re hoping for. “ from: Clipper Magazine

3. Mommy ambassadors. Create an advisory group of mothers to review the goods you sell. They can give their comments and suggestions. It would be helpful if these moms are your customers since they have a firsthand experience of the stuff you sell.

We all know moms like to receive free stuff. Offer them free trials whenever you have a new product / service. In return for the free stuff you have given them they will post comments and suggestions on your blog / site. Now it is natural to receive good and bad comments, use the negative comments to your advantage.

4. Use social media to your advantage. Viral campaigns through social media are still trying to make its mark. Soon enough many marketers out there that is for sure will use it. Most mothers rely on recommendations from other customers. Participate in social networks moms use, an example of this is Twitter. We have talked about Twitter and its advantages before, try to use those and apply it to your “Mommy market.”

Think about it, the Mommy market is getting bigger every day. As an entrepreneur think of what these mom can do for your business. I have a feeling with the right combination these moms will give your business huge profits that you can never imagine.

The Advantages of eBay

There are various ways and means of making money online. There are plenty of programs online that can assist you in starting your business online. Start Internet Business, is a program that can help you start and grow your online business.

Since we have started our discussion of STARTING ONLINE BUSINESS, we have cited plenty of avenues wherein you can make money. Have you considered using eBay to make money online?

eBay is one of the easiest way to make money online. Each day more and more people sign up on eBay to either buy or sell goods / services. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur here are some advantages eBay can bring to you:

1. Easy as pie! Once you create your account, you can start posting the goods / services that you want to sell. Now do not worry about listing your items because it is going to be a systematic process. eBay will provide you with the necessary guidelines to make posting easier.

In addition to the guide they have, there is also a program that will help you compile your auctions, with pictures and appropriate descriptions, even if you are not connected to the internet. As soon as you have internet access, you can start uploading your listings.

2. It does not take an expert. Sure huge enterprises market their stuff on eBay, but do not worry; even a novice can do this too! Your products do not have to be fancy, you can actually start with the stuff that you do not need at home.

3. There is room for everyone. eBay is a huge marketplace. It does not matter if you are a small time online entrepreneur or a multi-million dollar business. Each seller on eBay starts on an even footing. All of those people selling on eBay have a chance at one of the biggest markets in the world.


4. Marketing. As an online entrepreneur, marketing is one thing that you need to think of. Competition is stiff, and getting potential customers to even know about your online store requires hard work. No matter how good your product is, how competitive your prices are, or how well your website is put together, no one will ever buy from you if they do not find your store.

With eBay this problem is avoided. eBay is the most recognized name in the world of online shopping; it's the first (and last) stop for literally millions of shoppers. If you create your eBay auction properly, potential customers will come straight to you, already looking for the product you are selling.

Now that I have mentioned the advantages of selling on eBay you have a better picture of what it can do for you. Selling on eBay can increase your sales without a huge investment of time and energy and without altering your web store's marketing strategy. It is up to you whether your seize the opportunity.

eBay Basics

What is eBay? Most of us have heard of this, but some people are still unaware what it does.

I admit that I was one of those people who thought eBay was just something people click on or something. I did not pay much attention to it because I have never heard of it. Then one day I overheard my female co-worker saying, “Oh I got this at eBay. I got it for a really good price…wonderful dress isn’t it?” I got curious about what she was talking about so I looked at it; lo and behold, it was indeed a nice dress. I’m like, “I should have something like that as well.” I went to my computer and typed in the website and whoosh I laid eyes on eBay.

Here are some facts about eBay:

eBay was founded in Pierre Omidyar's San Jose living room
back in September 1995. It was from the start meant to be a marketplace for the
sale of goods and services for individuals.

eBay has built an online person-to-person trading
community on the Internet, using the World Wide Web. Buyers and sellers are
brought together in a manner where sellers are permitted to list items for sale,
buyers to bid on items of interest and all eBay users to browse through listed
items in a fully automated way. The items are arranged by topics, where each
type of auction has its own category.From: Entrepreneur

To be honest shopping on eBay is just really nice and convenient. Most sellers in eBay offer everything that malls have (most of it). The only difference is that in eBay they offer it at a cheaper price. You do not have to think driving to the mall, perspiring due to the heat outside, and a lot more stuff that usually happens when you go outside. Gone are those days.

For an online entrepreneur eBay is just one avenue where you can sell your product. Every day the number of eBay members adds up. You have a huge chance of getting potential customers with EBay because it has plenty of members. The product / service that you sell have the capacity to be seen or purchased by a large number of people.

So if you are thinking of selling goods/services online think about this avenue. Give eBay a try, you won’t lose anything if you give it a shot.

Keep Your Business On Top

Most of you will agree when I tell you that starting an online business is much easier compared to the traditional type of business. However keeping your business up and running and for it to consistently earn revenues will require some work.

The internet market is packed with entrepreneurs, so basically the competition is pretty tough. Keeping your business on the top of its game is really important. Here are some tips to ensure that your business stays there and for it to continuously generate income.

1. Innovation. Microsoft Office started with Windows 3.1, after a few years it came up with Windows 95.If we are to compare these two products it’s almost the same, but it does have its differences. Basically what they did was they added a little something new to the software, changed the packaging and came up with a new marketing plan for their new product. This is what Microsoft did to make sure that their product stays on the market: INNOVATION.

2. Communication. Open communication lines wherein customers or visitors can discuss your product. Welcome both positive and negative comments about your product / service. Use these negative comments to your advantage to improve your product / service. Criticism is an evaluation of your product / service, and evaluation is important to improvement.

3. Database. Get as much client or prospects as possible. How? Secure the necessary information for you to be able to reach them in the future. Capture the necessary information like their name and their email address. This would be to your advantage if your website can do this.

A sale is usually made after the 7th contact with your prospective buyer. So how can you contact a future buyer if do not have his contact details? That is the reason why it is important that your website be able to capture important details about the customer. There is a lot that you can do with this information, and one of them is closing a sale.

4. Create good advertisements. Remember the expression, “The more the merrier?” This is so true for your website. The more people who visit your site the bigger chance you have of closing in on a sale.

These are just a few tips I can share with you guys. There are more tips out there than I can count, however you need not do each and everyone of them. These basic tips should be good enough if you want to maintain an income generating website.

Concepts for your Online Business

What makes an online business successful? It seems that this is a question everyone wants an answer to. There are various ways and means to be successful; it just takes the right combination.

For an online entrepreneur, the website is the heart of the business. This is what your prospective customers see. These are the same people who give you money. Just like in showbiz these are your fans. They are the people who click on those ads, hire your services, and purchase your product all the while helping you grow your online business.

How do people help you grow your business? One, they visit your site and purchase the products that you sell. Through their purchases you make revenues, which in the long run can be used for other investments.

Two, even if these people don’t actually buy stuff they provide your site publicity. These are the same people who would recommend you to their friends and family.

Even the most well thought of advertisement will have its limits. Advertisements run on a budget which is only possible if the company consistently makes money. Also advertisements can only reach a certain part of the population.

Where ads cannot penetrate for sure people can. If you are a loyal customer of a certain product it is natural for you to recommend it to others right? In other words you trust this brand / product and you want others to have the same experience you had when you used it.

When people talk about your product that is when you notice traffic streaming in from forums, blogs and social networking sites. Focus on attracting people and converting them into loyal supporters. The profitability of every online business depends on the amount of traffic you get and the conversion you make.


Having the support of loyal customers is the key to a profitable website. So how can we attract people who will eventually be our loyal customers?

1. Capture their attention. Create a commotion. Go with the latest topics in circulation. Develop your own style that will separate you from the rest. Your goal as an entrepreneur is to bring as much people to your site as possible.

2. Sell yourself. Give people a reason why they should choose you and not your competitor. You should stand out among the rest. Your website should be able to solve a specific problem or need. You must make yourself look as something essential or something that they cannot easily forgo.

3. Look after your supporters. Over time you will develop a group of people who believe in your product. They will see your product as a must-have. Once you have established that community loyal supporters look after them by sharing your ideas. They will feel they are part of the product development if they get to share their thoughts.

In my opinion these concepts are essential if you are trying to reach through your audience. Ponder on these points and try to make it work for you.

Benefits of Online Information

Hard goods have to be manufactured using raw materials and sophisticated machines. Not only that, you would also have to hire people to operate these machines and make sure that everything is working accordingly. Earlier we mentioned that raw materials are needed, so in short you need to keep an inventory of your supplies which are kept in a warehouse. After manufacturing you then have to ship the finished products to your customers.

That was a mouthful wasn’t it? I know that you are thinking about the long process a product goes through before reaching the end user. I must admit that I do find it quite tedious. So why settle for this, when you can do something much easier?
Selling hard goods is not the only way to earn money. You can also try selling INFORMATION on the internet. Here are some reasons why you should consider the business of SELLING INFORMATION.

1. Low start up cost. The start up that is required is really small. So if you are in a budget this business is definitely for you. With $1,000 you can have a website, pay your hosting fees, and also acquire the necessary tools that you need to start.

2. Minimal inventory costs. You keep little or no inventory. The information products that you will create will be compiled into an electronic format. As you can see, today’s information products are eBooks, manuals, as well as software.

Let us take a minute and compare this to the traditional printing business. In the traditional printing business you have to think of the paper you will use, the ink, binding it, and a whole lot more. See the difference? With Online Information, you do not have to think of those things especially the storage. Sophisticated softwares are available to do the job for you.

3. No shipping cost and no handling required. You do not have to think of your goods being lost in transit, gone are the days wherein you follow up on delivery status. One of the advantages of selling information online is that, your product is delivered automatically without any human intervention. The computer takes care of all chores and tracks the delivery of your product to your customers.

4. Payment is immediate. Payment is received right away unlike traditional businesses that have payment terms. Often times these payment terms are not followed, but with selling information online this is unlikely to happen.

This is not a GET RICH FAST kind of business. No one can promise you instant profits without work. You have to put your back into it. True that this type of business is way easier compared to the traditional type of business. The success of your Information Selling Business will be entirely up to you. You have to do your research on the Internet to identify the products you can sell and put together a plan of action. There are good Internet marketing companies that can guide you step by step.

So let's going and start researching!

Selling Information on the Internet

Selling information products can be one of the most productive businesses that a person can get involved with.

Information gets passed on through various channels everyday. Some information comes for free through web contents, or sometimes it gets passed on via emails from one person to another. But did you know that you can actually profit from selling information on the internet? Well, of course it is not just any information we are talking about, it has to be relevant and useful information.

If you want to profit from selling information you have to establish yourself as a “guru” in your niche and capitalize on the problems of others where you provide solution to their needs.

Plenty of people profit from selling information on the internet in the form of eBook. An eBook, for those who aren’t familiar with it is short for ELECTRONIC BOOK. An eBook is an electronic version of a previously published and printed book.,or you can simply come up with your own one! The good thing about an eBook is that is does not have to be printed for it to get sold. This is can be viewed using free programs like Adobe Reader.

In the past few years the business of selling information online has flourished. Some sell personalized consultations for a lot of money. People are always on the look out for quality and valuable information. The secret is for you to create an information product and come up with a strategy to promote it effectively.

Knowing and understanding SEO is important when it comes to making money online. SEO is necessary to ensuring your website ranks high in the search engines. Writing blogs is also an effective way of marketing a product. Blog entries may include different topics. Just remember that the blog you are writing about should be relevant to the product / service you are promoting.

If you want to be successful in the SELLING INFORMATION BUSINESS, you have to do your homework. You need to research and hunt for the best information about the product / service you are selling. It would be helpful if you can conduct a survey. This survey should be taken by prospective customers. In doing so you can get a better idea about what information they want and need.

The good thing about Selling Information on the Internet is that there is no overhead to worry about. Information products are cheap, easy, convenient and fast. The kind of thing you can create and sell all by yourself.