Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Step-by-Step Guide to start an Online Business


Online Business
Online Business
Starting an online business is not as easy as many thought it would be. It is something that requires much research and certain amount of capital investment.

Firstly, you have to determine what item to sell. It could be a physical product, a digital product, a service or selling other people’s products known as affiliate marketing. This product or service should be something that is related to your interest or expertise such as your hobbies, talents or areas of knowledge.

Next, identify an existing niche market within your field of interest by checking on the search volume in Google Adwords. It is vital to ensure that there is sufficient demand for the product or service locally and globally.
Global Reach
Having a Global Reach

A good gauge will be to have at least 50,000-100,000 google searches for the identified product or service per month.
Number of Online Business searches
Number of Searches for Online Business

Number of Small Business Searches
Number of Searches for Small Business

Once the niche market has been decided, you must then identify a problem which has yet to be solved. One way is to join online groups to observe what people are discussing and to research on the competitors’ business strategy to ascertain that the problem is indeed real and that there is commercial value to provide a solution to the problem.

Now, you can then size up the profit potential by doing a simple mathematical calculation:
  • Calculate number of clicks based on a estimated Click through rate
  • Calculate number of sales : based on an estimated sales conversion rate
  • Calculate gross profit = Sales X gross profit per sale
  • Total pay-per-click (PPC) = Number of clicks X average PPC
  • Net profit = Gross profit – Total PPC

After determining the product or service, you can proceed to design your website and blog. It is important to register a distinct URL (an Internet address for search engine to find) that easy to remember and related to the product or service. It is also crucial to find a web host that has fast and secure servers with sufficient memory to allow many people to access your website at the same time.There are many ways to build your website. You can design your own website using HTML editor software or to buy a website template and modify yourself. Alternatively, you can engage a free-lance designer or to hire a professional web design company to design your website.

In your website, you should have a background description about yourself and a contact page to promote credibility. Your website should also have a clear navigation bar and supplemented with strong sales headlines and powerful graphics. Your sales copy should identify the problems that the potential buyers are facing before highlighting the benefits of your product or service and the solution that it brings. It is best that the solution of your product or service is supported by testimonies from previous satisfied clients to establish further credibility.

The next important thing to do is to drive traffic to your website. One method is to boost link popularity by linking to complimentary websites with high traffic or search for backlinks via Google blog alert. Another way is to advertise on free classified ad sites or to pay for traffic through search engines. Alternatively, you can join an affiliate programme to sell your product or service.

Finally, you need to build a relationship with the prospects by forwarding related and valuable information to them on a regular basis until they become your clients eventually.

Secrets of Self Made Millionaires
If you are interested to learn more about starting an online business, you may wish to obtain a copy of "Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires" by Adam Khoo. Personally, I think that it is a very insightful book that provides comprehensive information ranging from managing your cashflow (such as controlling your expenses) to massively increase your income via generating multiple streams of online income and doing smart investing to further build your finances.


You can find the book at all major local and online bookstores. Click here to download the book.

Highly effective DVD tutorials on how to start your online business.

Learn the 10 easy steps to start an online business.

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