Online Success

I came across a poster of a well known webmaster recently wherein it states that he is on-track to reach seven figures in revenues this year. That means a million dollar in revenues from a website that is not even a year old. According to the poster the revenues that he receives are mostly from a combination of contextual advertising, affiliate programs and banner advertising. He is receiving online success without even selling anything.

Regardless if this poster is true or not the web has changed a lot in the recent years and online success became possible. The internet’s growth is probably the most dramatic phenomenon to happen in years and because of this it opened doors for entrepreneurs who are looking for online success. By creating websites, many have realized their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs. Online success is what every entrepreneur dreams of because the rewards are very attractive.

The internet has brought online success to some however; there are many more people who cannot seem to make the internet work for them hence failure for online success. They sign-up with various programs, buy every possible business opportunities they can find all of which promises online success. All they earn is a couple of hundred a month, if at all.

So what does it take to achieve online success? Here are some tips for you guys to achieve online success we all want:

1. Value your customers. Despite the fact that the internet is the “new economy” this rule still applies: the most successful businesses are those able to create value for their customers. Meaning online success is still dependent on your customers. The reason why you put up a website is because you want to fulfill your customers needs be it information, product or service. Online success is possible if your give your customers what they are looking for.

The value you give your customers is important to your online success. The more your site is able to make your consumers lives easier or help them save money, the more your company will be valuable to them. It means not just creating an online brochure but guiding visitors, how using your website can actually assist them.

One major hindrance to online success is by creating a website that is primarily designed to pull off the fast money. Instead of creating a site where users could actually get value, they construct useless spam pages in the hope of tricking users and search engines alike. I assure you that you are so far off online success if you do this.

2. Focus on consumer service. One challenge that you might face on your road to online success is how to keep customer service alive and well in a medium where personal interaction is inherently limited.

One way of assuring online success is by keeping your website functional but at the same time personal. The design and content of your website should be based upon your prospects; you need to have a deep understanding of what your customers are, what they expect and why they need your product.

3. Go beyond what you have promised. We all know that customers love it when they get more value for their money. One way of assuring online success is to go beyond what you have promised, basically exceed customer expectations. There is a lot of hype on the internet, particularly among small online businesses (ever seen one of those websites with ridiculously lengthy sales letters that are full of promises?) These sites may yes attract customers the thing is many customers are left unsatisfied. However, if you under-promise to customers but over-deliver customers will be pleasantly surprised and love your site all the more for it!

4. Design the website for your consumers. Although a well-written, well-designed site which includes great content can make a positive impression on your prospects, the design should focus mainly around getting the visitor to take the action you want them to make.

Online success is gained if you focus more on what your customers want, and in designing your website these people are your best source of information. Seek the feedback of your customers and verify if your site works for them. If they think it’s not that great, what are the things that should be changed in order for them to be satisfied with your website? Listen carefully to their suggestions, and adjust your site accordingly. See what works, and what stuff does not.

5. Team up with the right people. In as much as you want to, you cannot provide everything your customers want and need. You want your site to be the destination of all web users when it comes to your topic, however achieving online success might be tough if your resources are limited. You won't be able to achieve what you want if you have limited manpower, technical capabilities, etc. Because of this you may want to team up with complementary websites to boost your content, provide more resources, and offer more tools for your prospects. Teaming up with the right groups or people can help increase the exposure of your website; build its reputation in your industry, and hence gain online success for you.

6. Center your efforts on creating a brand. The most accomplished businesses have established strong brands for their merchandise, some of these companies are Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Disney, McDonald’s, Mercedes, and others. On the internet we have Google, eBay and Amazon who have also built strong businesses based in part on great branding. These big businesses understand that an essential part of success is building strong brands – yet many small or home-based online business owners feel that creating a good brand is way out of their reach. Effective online branding does not require big budgets, just an understanding of what brand attributes you are trying to build which will eventually lead to online success. By making every transaction brand-relevant and providing your customers with brand-based value, you will increase the depth and stickiness of your customer relationships and assure online success for your business.