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Thursday, April 26, 2007

6 Crucial Steps For Building A Solid, Bullet Proof Business Online


by Charann Miller

It's not uncommon on the internet to hear of someone who just started out online one day and makes a mountain of money the next. It's not unusual for the people who have been online for awhile who spend their time learning and testing which methods work, they create a brand new site, do everything correctly and make a tonne of money online in just a matter of weeks. Crazy but true.
So, what's the magic success formula for building your own solid, bullet proof business?
1) The first port of call is your own web site, I cannot stress this enough, it is absolutely vital that you have your own web site where you have full control over all content, the last thing you want is a "free" site riddled with distracting ads and pop ups promoting other businesses and companies. There must be a built in feature that allows you to view your web traffic statistics to know what is working when and how. If you do not know how to program, most people starting out don't, there are plenty of good site builder type programs out there that allow you to point and click when creating your first web site. Shop around for these types of sites, most webhosting providers should offer this feature when you join up with them, do your research and enquire.
2) You must have a way of collecting leads on your web site. The best way is through use of an auto responder. This enables you to send these leads a welcome message and a series of messages in the days following for the purpose of getting to know your subscriber better. Always treat these leads the way you would like to be treated, don't push offers for the sake of making a quick buck, it's the best surefire way to slim your list numbers overnight if they sense your peddling products just for the sake of a dollar. This is a give and take area, your aim is to develop a good standing relationship with your subscribers, teaching them what you know about your field, sending them useful, relevant information, and they in return, will purchase your products. Your list is definitely an asset worth nurturing and protecting, never underestimate its value.
3) Once your lead collection system is in place, you must drive traffic to your site. Without it your business is like an Old Western deserted ghost town.
Some people prefer PPC, (pay per click) campaigns like Overture, MSN and of course the widely known Google Ads. If you're not familiar with this particular mode of advertising, you pay a specified amount each time someone clicks on your site, this amount was decided when you first created your campaign and should be aligned with your budget and marketing needs.
Others try "guaranteed traffic" where you purchase to have a set quota of people sent to visit your site, I personally dislike this form of advertising as in my experience I've found that the traffic was either incentivized, this means "paid" a certain amount of money by the company to visit my site, this lead to very low conversion to sales rates as the type of traffic is generally not interested in my offer but rather motivated but the money they were being paid to visit. With that in mind if the visitor's main purpose is to make money visiting sites, they're going to be whirlwinding through your site to get to the next, let alone checking out what you have to offer.
Another feature of guaranteed visitors I'm wary of is that (some not all) vendors who sell the guaranteed visitor packs use automated clicks. What this means is that you're not getting actual visitors but a robot to click through to your site giving the illusion you're getting traffic. Be very careful as lots of people have had their Adsense accounts terminated due to this form of advertising as Google's system detects it as "click" fraud with clicks being identified as coming from the same source.
Final note: if you are going to explore the guaranteed traffic route, at least find out where the traffic is coming from and how it is generated. If it's incentivized, seriously think twice about it.
A great promotional method I recommend is something I'm doing right this second as I'm talking to you, article writing. Writing and submitting articles to directories is a great way to get your name out there, and best of all, it's free, it costs nothing more than your time and is extremely targeted. Readers who visit my site are already pre-qualified, they know what they are going to get based upon reading my article.
I prefer it to any PPC campaign as you can get your point across better in a 500 word article in comparison to a 70 character ad.
4) When developing a list you must develop a relationship with the people on that list. Send them valuable, useful information. Resist sending sales letters. If they like your information and genuine recommendations they will pay for your products. If you don't send them useful information then they are less likely to buy from you. The universal rule of "you only get out what you put in", truly applies here.
5) If you don't for the time being have your own product to promote then affiliate marketing is a good way to get started, but always aim, in the long run to develop your own products based upon your own interests and strengths.
6) Last but not least, none of this information matters if you don't kick start it into action and apply it, so get started! If you haven't started developing your own business online, start somewhere. Start with the information you already have. Subscribe to my ecourse and learn more about marketing online.
Learn and apply new techniques as you go, but the main take away lesson here is to just start. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, it's all part of the learning process and nobody aces it the first time round, but I assure you, you'll be light years ahead if you start now than if you were to be continue learning without applying the knowledge, you see, nothing can substitute real world knowledge and experience.
So, what are you waiting for?, there's a successful, flourishing business out there with your name on it, go get it!
About the Author
Charann Miller's seen it all, the good, the bad and the ugly of the internet marketing world and after being burned countless times by "gurus" promising the earth but delivering only handfuls of dust, she went on a quest to discover the true secret ingredients needed for a thriving online business.
Receive my free 8 part ecourse to get your business on track today!

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