How To Determine What Kind of Online Business Suits You

Starting an online business is simultaneously simple and challenging. Working on the internet eliminates many of the problems that sink businesses, like overhead costs, employee insurance and location selection. But at the same time, it provides its own set of obstacles.

Enjoy this guest post from Mike Seddon

It’s a fact that many businesses are loosing money through a leaky web purchase process. Most of these businesses choose to ignore the problem and will prefer to look at increasing traffic as the way to grow sales.

The analogy I like to give is to imagine you had a bucket with holes in it that you needed to fill with water. What would you do first? Fix the holes or just try to fill the bucket with water faster than it is leaking? Believe me; many businesses go for the faster filling leaky bucket solution!

What I want to do is show you five ways you can fix those holes and just by doing that you will boost your sales because you’ll close all the sales that were originally escaping you. In other words, you make more money from the buying traffic your website is already getting.

Step 1 – Stop Hiding that Buy Button!

You’ll be amazed how many businesses seem to hide the buy button. They make it blend in with the colour theme of their website or they put it below the fold (ie: you have to scroll down the website to find it).

Just making your buy buttons stand out and putting them in a prominent place will boost sales. Trust me. Try it.

Step 2 – Don’t ask for stuff you don’t need

Why is it that some websites ask for my inside leg measurements when all I’m trying to buy is an ebook! Why do they need that information?

Okay so I am exaggerating but you know what I mean. We’ve all been to sites where we have to fill out screens of questions before we can just get our credit card out and buy the darn thing.

So take a good long look at your payment screens and make sure you are only asking for information that you need to make the sale. Keep it short. Keep it brief and get the money!

Step 3 – Reinforce the Benefits

When most website owners install their shopping cart software they tend to only concentrate on setting up the pages so that they can collect the data they need to process the sale. They miss an opportunity here to help ensure the sale. If they were to add benefits of the products onto their payment screens they would find that less people abandon the shopping cart. Seeing benefits of your purchase as you go through the sales screens reinforces your desire to own the product and keeps you in the process.

Step 4 – Use Testimonials

This is the same approach I just outlined with benefits. Make sure your sales screens have testimonials. It helps reassure your purchaser that they are making the right decision in buying from you.

Step 5 – Guarantees

Do you offer a guarantee with your product? If you do make sure you repeat them on the purchase screens, especially the one that asks for the credit card details! What’s the point of having a guarantee if you don’t shout about it and use it to make sure you close as many sales as possible?

If you don’t have a guarantee then shame on you! Offer one.

The better your guarantee, the more chance you will have to make the sale. So make sure you offer a compelling guarantee. You may worry about the cost of honoring your guarantee but let me assure you that the increase in sales will more than cover any slight increase in costs due to covering a guarantee.

So there you have five easy ways you can quickly fix the holes in your purchase process and boost your sales as a result.

Once you’ve done those then you’ll be ready to increase the traffic to your website safe in the knowledge that you will maximize the sales from that extra traffic. You’ll find lots of free advice on increasing your web traffic using website promotion at the KKSmarts website.

What’s that have to do with growing your business?  Well quite a bit after you hear my little story.

I was in need of an extra key for our house, so I went to the local hardware in my little town.  Now let me paint you a picture, I live in a “mayberry” town without Floyd the Barber.    It’s just a small little place, but we love it here and most folks are either related or go to church with you.  So it’s one big family.  But back to the story…

I walked into the hardware and spoke to the sales person at the counter whom I have chatted with many times.  I said, “I need a key made.”  She told me that the owner was the only person that could make keys and he wouldn’t be in until the afternoon, but to try down at the drug store.

So I got back into my car and drove less than a quarter of a mile to the drug store, where I was greeted by a cute little blond girl and I said to her, “I would like to get a key made please.”  She smiled sweetly and said, “The lady that makes the keys is on vacation for the summer.”  The Summer!!!

So I just started laughing and got back in my car and went to the local Wal-mart to have the key made.

This is a very funny story, but not so funny if it is happening to your business.  When you are away, who is making the keys?  Do you have an assistant that can take care of “anything” that comes along?  Or are you the type of business owner that must do everything themselves?  Do you realize how much business you are loosing when you are away and nobody else is trained to make the keys?

Whether you are a brick and mortar business or an online business owner, you must build a team of trusted and trained individuals that will be there when you can’t be to keep the company going.  You can use a virtual assistant, an online business manager or a social media manager to help run your business.  Or you can use part-time interns from the local college to make sure all the keys are made in your shop and not at the nearest big giant shopping center.

Isn’t it time to evaluate your business and focus on its growth instead of keeping all the trade secrets to yourself?  But without a trained key-maker, you will be just another stop on the way to getting a key made.

In years gone by, direct mailers were the premier form of business to business and business to consumer advertising. Direct mail consists of flyers, newsletters featuring advertisements, and coupons mailed directly to the consumer’s home. This required businesses to investigate all kinds of shipping services, gather quotes, and compare shipping companies. While this is still a valuable resource for targeted markets, people seem far more interested in exploring online technology and viral marketing and advertising options.

With the advancement of technology, the Internet has given small and large businesses alike a nearly equal playing field. Though not completely dead and forgotten, direct mailers as advertisement has taken a backseat to the more popular and effective advertisement forms the Internet has made available.

Businesses today all have the opportunity to use the web and social media to promote their services. High tech or ecommerce businesses, for example, would benefit more from using the Internet opposed to using direct mail due to its global potential of customers. Blog articles, appealing websites offering online discounts, Internet printable coupons, and savings offered on social media sites have allowed businesses to reach out to a broader base of consumers.

Due to the rapid advertising the Internet provides, businesses no longer have to wait for consumers to receive direct mailers and then wait for them to respond. The Internet has given businesses a prime opportunity to reach out to customers through social media sites and email advertisements the same day the company is having a special sale or savings offer.

Business owners additionally have a chance to email, share, or tweet to thousands of potential customers and essentially recruit new customers or encourage them to look at and contact your company.

Long term success for any business in today’s world generally means participating in some sort of Internet advertisement and campaigning. Inexpensive advertisement can be readily had through the Internet and creative and optimized websites. A company that is diligent about advertising on the Internet as well as knowing when to use direct mailers will have far more success than a company who relies on only one method for their primary form of marketing and advertising to the public.

There is so much to learn when you decide to build an online business.  Like, how do I build a website on a shoestring, where will I find clients, what should I charge, where is my target audience hanging out?  Today, I have been working all day on a Joint Venture (JV) project that I hope will raise a lot of money for some very sick kids and also help me build my list as well!  And the good news is, if you are needing to build joint venture partnerships, you can join me!

What is a joint venture? My definition is where you form a partnership with another person or company to help drive traffic and sales, build awareness, and fill your marketing funnel.  Most of the joint ventures I have been involved in require you to offer a free gift in exchange for email addresses of the recipients.  So I threw together a little free guide on getting your business online in less than 2 hours and for under $100.  I think people will be interested in receiving that for free, don’t you?

But anyway, back to how you can get involved in the joint venture with me.  If you’ve been online for any time at all as an information marketer or student of online marketing, you’ve probably heard of Dr. Mani or purchased some of his products. He’s one of the most successful and respected information marketers, coaches and sought-after instructors working today. But did you know that he is a practicing pediatric surgeon in Chennai, India?

And did you know that he has raised more than $137,200 from donors and portions of his profits to sponsor heart operations for more than 70 children with congenital heart defects?

And did you know that the Niche Affiliate Marketing Workshop (the fastest growing internet marketing workshop in the U.S. today) has adopted Dr. Mani’s foundation as the focus of a listbuilding and joint venture workshop during the week of NAMS4.

From Aug. 20 to Aug. 27, 2010, we plan to raise at least $10,000 that will go to the foundation to directly fund open heart surgery on at least 7 children?  You can help drive traffic to this monster giveaway to encourage folks to donate to the Dr. Mani Children Heart Foundation with just a couple of emails.

Here’s what super-fundraiser Beth Kanter says about Dr. Mani:

“Dr. Mani is simply amazing in his passion and dedication to his cause. His knowledge and ideas about personal fund raising have also helped and inspired many other people – like me.”

We’re expecting more than a million emails to go out that week to promote this event. You can step in front of that stream of traffic by joining us today. Contribute a product to the event to drive traffic to your website and build your list.

Don’t have an expertise in internet marketing? No  problem? We’ll have software, reports and books from all walks of life, especially in self help, education, self improvement and building business online.

I was invited to be part of this great JV and now, I’m inviting you too. We’re shooting for 1000 contributors and 100,000 members during that week.

To get the “by Invite Only” private JV details, just go here.

http://nams4kids.com/go/219/jv

See ya around…partner!

PS and here is the link to pick up that free guide I mentioned above.   Get Your Business Online in Less than 2 Hours and for Under $100!

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if you are like me and many other online business owners, you are always looking for ways to get your business noticed. We build profiles on social media sites, join forums, write blog posts and articles, and many other things to get noticed online.

I just recently stumbled on another way to get my brand noticed and drive traffic back to my website. It’s called follr.com and it is an online social media business card platform.

I actually found it through a link at Ezine Articles. I was pleasantly surprised by what you can accomplish through the free account. Of course, there is a paid premium version if you want more features. But for me the free version is just fine for now.

Take a look at my online social media bussiness card at Terri’s Online Business Card

Go make one for yourself and share the link with us in the comment section below.

I can’t wait to take a look at yours and then share it with my online friends!

I am always looking for places to promote my business or to get backlinks to my site.  Listing your business on social media sites is a great (free) way to promote your business and build a loyal following.  And there are many online directories and resources to find just about anything you want.

But my friend and wonderful VA (virtual assistant) Cyndi Papia of Office To-Go Virtual Assistance has developed an online business directory where you can promote your business and make a difference for a charitable organization!  Cyndi has just launched Business Directory Listings (http://businessdirectorylistings.net/) for any business to purchase ad space while making a difference for a nonprofit organization.

I asked Cyndi what prompted her to set up this site, and here’s what she said,

“I honestly want to help small biz in any way I can because that’s the only way this economy will get better and it truly is my way of helping.  I figure they get to take a tax-deduction for advertising expenses, I donate the money to charity because I have “enough.”  I’m not rich but I also know donations go down when money is tight, so it gets put to good use.  The 10% covers website hosting and a tiny bit of my maintenance time having to check out and approve each listing.  I put my name out there on the site to be transparent as a lot of directories are “anonymous” business people.   I’m going to post the cancelled checks as proof of the donations so people know it’s legitimate.”

Cyndi already has several businesses that have jumped on board with her.  How about you?  Want to make a difference for a nonprofit organization and get your business listed in this new directory?  Hop on over to Business Directory Listings and get signed up today!

Please share this blog post, “New Online Business Directory” with your online friends, so they can take advantage of the new directory for their business!

I’m sure you have been on Craigslist for one reason or another.  Whether you are looking for a great deal on a piece of furniture or looking for a job, Craigslist has become a “go-to place” for most online deal hunters.  However, Craigslist can prove to be an excellent avenue for business promotion. Whether you have a small business that you operate on a part time basis or a thriving business which has become a time consuming lion, Craigslist can help to increase in profits and popularity.

The two main components to successfully promoting a business on Craigslist include reaching the target audience and running a marketing campaign to attract your target audience.  Let’s dig a little deeper in these two areas to see how we can best benefit from both.

Reaching Your Target Audience

Promoting a business on Craigslist isn’t a difficult process. It has some similarities to the process of promoting your business offline. The main similarity is that you must determine your target audience and where they are hanging out.

Even the most well thought out and innovative marketing campaign will fail if it isn’t reaching the intended audience. So be sure to categorize your ads correctly to ensure they reach your audience. The majority of posts on Craigslist are available free of charge with the exception of job listings in certain major cities. Therefore, small business owners can take advantage of a free posting on Craigslist to reach their target audience in a number of different locations.

Here’s an example of a company offering moving services in Nashville, TN. A small moving company that is relatively new might want to take advantage of the free advertising available on Craigslist. To have the best opportunity to reach the target audience this company should place a services offered posting under the labor and moving category for the counties in which the services are offered. By placing the post this way it will be more likely to reach an audience of those who are planning a move in the desired county than it would if the same exact advertisement was placed as a job advertisement under the category of labor or transport.

Besides being free for most postings, Craigslist offers additional benefits. The most significant benefit is a large audience. Craigslist receives over 20 billion page views per month.(at the time of this post) With such a large audience, who wouldn’t want to promote your business on Craigslist. However, be careful to categorize the ad correctly to ensure your reaching your target audience.

Effectively Marketing on Craigslist

Marketing effectively on Craigslist is not very different from other forms of media. One of the most important elements of an effective marketing campaign on Craigslist is dynamite copy that appeals directly to the target audience. Hiring a freelance writer skilled in writing sales copy is an excellent idea. As the business owner you might be quite knowledgeable about your business but do you have the skills to convey the purpose of the business while effectively convincing those who read the posting to perform a specific action or “call-to-action?” That call-to-action may include visiting a website and making a purchase, requesting additional information about the products or services or performing some other desired action such as visiting a traditional store or place of business.

The other component to marketing effectively, as previously mentioned, is placing your advertisement in the correct section of Craigslist. Categorizing correctly is important, but it’s also important to place the advertisement in the right physical location. Products and services which are only offered in a limited area such as a particular city or county should be advertised only in these exact locations. However, if you offer products through your website you might consider placing an ad in all of the locations to where you are willing to ship to.

If you haven’t used Craigslist to reach your target audience, give it a try.  And if you have other tips on using Craigslist for promoting your business, please share them in the comments section below.

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Perhaps you’re stuck in a nine-to-five job you hate, or are a homemaker bored at home, but you’ve probably thought of turning a beloved hobby into a business which will make some money. Many people have done it before, and have done it successfully, though there are those that fail as well. If you’re thinking of going into business for yourself, here are some things you should think about before taking the plunge:

If it becomes work, will you still love it?

If you enjoy knitting sweaters for your loved ones, will you enjoy doing it for money? Sometimes when something becomes actual work, you may find yourself not wanting to do it anymore. But if you’re enthusiastic about something, then you may find yourself loving it even more, despite the long hours of hard work.

Is it worthy of being a business?

You may love your hobby, have a passion for it, but that doesn’t mean you can make money from it. You may be good at making animals from pipe cleaners, but that doesn’t mean you should go out and open up a pipe cleaner shop. You must be practical as well, and do the necessary legwork to find out if your idea is feasible.

Remember, it is a business!

Being an employee has its pros – you just show up at the office, do your work and you get a paycheck two weeks later. Being a business owner or being self-employed is different. You have to deal with day to day operations, payroll, taxes, clients, receivables and payables – things which are not fun and can be boring. Hopefully, you’ll be able to handle such challenges.

What will happen in the long run?

You’ll be investing a large amount of your time and resources into starting your own business – so you have to think of what will happen in 5, 10 or even 20 years. Although no one wants to think of failure, many new businesses shut down within the first year (restaurants, for example, experience a failure rate of about 59%.) Your goals and plans should include future strategies, as well as back-up plans.

Consider alternatives

Okay, so you tell yourself, if you spend another day at your desk, you might do something drastic, but you don’t have the resources or time to pursue your hobby. There can be other alternatives – perhaps all you need is to change career paths into an industry that’s closer to what you love. So you really love to cook, but can’t leave your accounting job to open up your restaurant. Perhaps you should work for a food company. Also, you may be able to teach what you love. You may never sell your landscape paintings, but perhaps you can apply for teaching positions or give art lessons – at least you’ll still spend your time doing what you love.  And of course, you can teach through online teleseminar, webinars, blogging, video streaming – the sky’s the limit!

Whatever you decide to do, just remember: If you follow your heart and passion, and you are truly on the path that was designed for you -  the money will follow. This is the simplest of all concepts, and really where everything should begin. If you’re passionate about baking, then you should consider doing it full-time. If you’re not sure what your passion is, make an list of all the things you love to do and what you’re good at. Then start to narrow it down until you get a couple that just excites you and you have a burning desire to do.  Then do your research and see if there is a market for your business or services.  If there is, the rest is up to you.

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Whether you have an Internet-based or a brick and mortar business, we all want more traffic or customers coming through our doors, right?   There is an online tool that can make a major impact on your marketing effort to bring those customers in.  It’s called Google Local Business.  It’s quick, easy and best of all – Free!

Here is a short video that explains everything about Google Local Business.

Isn’t that great?  Get your business set up on Google Local Business now and get ahead of your competitors!

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