You want to have your own online business but do not know where
to begin, what to market or what it entails.
Well, the following is a pretty good template to follow that has
proved to be successful for many an online entrepreneur and will
provide everything you need to get started.
A. The Groundwork
* Research a memorable Domain Name
Finding an appropriate domain name that is available is not
always that easy.
It is recommended that is simple, not spammy and not of the free
variety - your actual business name is always a good choice.
* Choosing a Web Host
With all the thousands of hosting choices available, choose the
one that is affordable, accommodates your requirements in terms
of space, data transfer, software and service.
A quick way to check for bad reports on a particular hosting
company is to do a search on Google for that host's name.
* Legal Issues
Depending on what industry you are in, ensure you are covered on
the legal front as well as ensuring that your website content
etc is protected.
B. Your Website
* Design
Bearing in mind that first impressions are everything, you will
need to decide whether you are equipped to design the site
yourself or whether you will need the services of a professional
web design organization
* Receive Payments
Your site should be geared to receive payments and this can be
achieved in a number of ways ie. By using Pay Pal, Storm Pay or
by setting it up to use credit cards which will be the most
costly.
* Stickyness
It is vital that your site has the type of content that will
have your visitors come back for me.
C. Website Marketing
* Search Engine Optimization
Getting ranked high in the search engines for your site's
popular keywords will only happen if your site is properly
optimized for search engines - even then it may not rank highly
as search engines place a high value on incoming links and other
factors
* Offline Site Promotion
Advertise your site in the print media, business cards, signage,
flyers, etc.
* Viral Marketing
A viral marketing campaign will help drive traffic to your site
* Pay Per Click Advertising
A surefire way of driving mega traffic to your site immediately
is to set up a proper Google Adwords campaign
C. E-Mail Marketing
* Creating an Opt In List
In a prominent position on your website you should be inviting
visitors to sign up for a free e-mail newsletter or suchlike.
From the requests you will build your opt in list to whom you
can send out your e-mail promotional literature
* No Spamming
Make sure that you only target those who have signed up for your
newsletter and never send (spam) to those who have not requested
it
If you follow the above guidelines to setting up your online
business you will have a solid foundation from which to grow
your business into a highly profitable and viable organization
About the author:
The author, Mark Bellinger is a successful businessman and
creator of the following websites:
http://www.income.za.net
http://www.internetbusiness.co.za
http://www.onlinesynergy.za.net
