Newbie Guide 2
In Part I, we examined categories of various online business models that a newbie should consider when starting an eBiz. In Part II we look at several overlapping concepts that apply to all business models in varying degrees. This article is not intended to be a complete reference for all these concepts but merely a summary for the eBiz newbie.
We will examine the following:
Deciding on a Niche can be one of the hardest things you will do in an online business. Unless you are clairvoyant or you have a mentor you will need to rely on keyword research to decide on our niche. Keyword research involves various techniques for understanding:
Finding products can also be a challenge - Depending on what type of business model you start, there a plenty of central clearing houses with distributor, wholesaler, and affiliate lists. Examples include Commission Junction, 1LWDropship, and WholesaleCentral. Some require you to pay to access their lists and others don't. If you know someone locally that manufactures or supplies some original products then consider yourself lucky. Part of the exercise for the newbie to ebiz is finding these suppliers.
Technology - Now you've got your business basics, decided what niche your going into and identified some suppliers, what's next? Well if you are a newbie interested in eBiz, then there are a few things you will need namely access to a computer and the Internet. That may seem obvious but you would be surprised how many schemes out there claim “no technical skills required”. We are here to totally debunk that notion. While you don't need to be a Commander Data, you do need to be proficient with computers and internet browsing. If you aren't, then we advise a paid training program unless you are incredibly resourceful and tenacious.
Technology provides many powerful automation capabilities for the eBiz newbie. Software programs like autoresponders, content management systems, robot article submitters, and eliminates the need for employees or a physical storefront. that make eBiz such an attractive business to get into. Technology makes automation and duplication much easier. If you haven't already you will hear the expression “wash, rinse, repeat” as a metaphor for reusing and repeating a working business model.
The primary technology you need to know and understand is how to build and maintain a website. Webservers provide an inexpensive way to present your material to millions of people at any time makine eBiz truly a 24 x 7 operation.
Traffic and Marketing – Now that you have your website, how do you get visitors to come to your site? The number of visitors coming to your website is known as “traffic”. Traffic is the key to your eBiz success and the way to get it is through marketing and advertising. Marketing is the life blood of your business. It is an extremely important piece of the puzzle, and without it your business is doomed to failure.
Another advantage of eBiz is the ability to advertise and get traffic without a large budget. Of course you have an advantage if you do have advertising money but fortunately for the eBiz newbie there are other options that require only your time and imagination.
Search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and others are the primary means that the web surfer uses to find what they are looking for. Using a technique called search engine optimization (SEO) you create your website content in such a way that the search engines will present your page ahead of your competition. SEO is very complex with varied opinions on what works best, but it is something that once mastered doesn't add cost to your campaigns.
There are other marketing techniques like blogging, article publishing, news releases, word of mouth, social networking and others that present little or no cost. The disadvantage to all these techniques is the amount of time it takes to produce results. The search engines must “find” your site and index the content before returning it on a search result.
On the paid advertising front, adwords or pay per click (PPC) is the primary technique for quick results. PPC programs are offered by all the big search engines and basically allows you to create short text ads that you bid on to have placed at the top of the search results. These are also referred to as 'sponsored results' and appear at the top and in the right column on a search results page. A word of caution - you can spend lots of money on PPC campaigns especially with popular keywords.
There are other paid advertising mechanisms including purchasing banner space on popular sites, purchasing email lists as well as conventional advertising in newspapers, radio and television. Paid advertising can produce quick results but the eBiz newbie should consider long and hard spending money on advertising until you are sure your niche, product, website is capable of converting the sale.
Another key concept to your eBiz success is known as list building. Each customer or contact can generate repeat business so its important to capture their contact info. This is where an autoresponder comes in. Autoresponders allow you to capture the email and contact information of customers for future advertising via email.
In Part III of the Newbie Guide to eBiz we will examine the pros and cons of the various business models and the importance of the business concepts in part II.
We will examine the following:
- General Business practices
- Deciding on a Niche - keywords
- Products - what to sell and where to get it
- Technology
- Traffic & Marketing - getting visitors to your site
- List building
Deciding on a Niche can be one of the hardest things you will do in an online business. Unless you are clairvoyant or you have a mentor you will need to rely on keyword research to decide on our niche. Keyword research involves various techniques for understanding:
- How many people are looking for a product or service
- How much competition exists.
Finding products can also be a challenge - Depending on what type of business model you start, there a plenty of central clearing houses with distributor, wholesaler, and affiliate lists. Examples include Commission Junction, 1LWDropship, and WholesaleCentral. Some require you to pay to access their lists and others don't. If you know someone locally that manufactures or supplies some original products then consider yourself lucky. Part of the exercise for the newbie to ebiz is finding these suppliers.
Technology - Now you've got your business basics, decided what niche your going into and identified some suppliers, what's next? Well if you are a newbie interested in eBiz, then there are a few things you will need namely access to a computer and the Internet. That may seem obvious but you would be surprised how many schemes out there claim “no technical skills required”. We are here to totally debunk that notion. While you don't need to be a Commander Data, you do need to be proficient with computers and internet browsing. If you aren't, then we advise a paid training program unless you are incredibly resourceful and tenacious.
Technology provides many powerful automation capabilities for the eBiz newbie. Software programs like autoresponders, content management systems, robot article submitters, and eliminates the need for employees or a physical storefront. that make eBiz such an attractive business to get into. Technology makes automation and duplication much easier. If you haven't already you will hear the expression “wash, rinse, repeat” as a metaphor for reusing and repeating a working business model.
The primary technology you need to know and understand is how to build and maintain a website. Webservers provide an inexpensive way to present your material to millions of people at any time makine eBiz truly a 24 x 7 operation.
Traffic and Marketing – Now that you have your website, how do you get visitors to come to your site? The number of visitors coming to your website is known as “traffic”. Traffic is the key to your eBiz success and the way to get it is through marketing and advertising. Marketing is the life blood of your business. It is an extremely important piece of the puzzle, and without it your business is doomed to failure.
Another advantage of eBiz is the ability to advertise and get traffic without a large budget. Of course you have an advantage if you do have advertising money but fortunately for the eBiz newbie there are other options that require only your time and imagination.
Search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and others are the primary means that the web surfer uses to find what they are looking for. Using a technique called search engine optimization (SEO) you create your website content in such a way that the search engines will present your page ahead of your competition. SEO is very complex with varied opinions on what works best, but it is something that once mastered doesn't add cost to your campaigns.
There are other marketing techniques like blogging, article publishing, news releases, word of mouth, social networking and others that present little or no cost. The disadvantage to all these techniques is the amount of time it takes to produce results. The search engines must “find” your site and index the content before returning it on a search result.
On the paid advertising front, adwords or pay per click (PPC) is the primary technique for quick results. PPC programs are offered by all the big search engines and basically allows you to create short text ads that you bid on to have placed at the top of the search results. These are also referred to as 'sponsored results' and appear at the top and in the right column on a search results page. A word of caution - you can spend lots of money on PPC campaigns especially with popular keywords.
There are other paid advertising mechanisms including purchasing banner space on popular sites, purchasing email lists as well as conventional advertising in newspapers, radio and television. Paid advertising can produce quick results but the eBiz newbie should consider long and hard spending money on advertising until you are sure your niche, product, website is capable of converting the sale.
Another key concept to your eBiz success is known as list building. Each customer or contact can generate repeat business so its important to capture their contact info. This is where an autoresponder comes in. Autoresponders allow you to capture the email and contact information of customers for future advertising via email.
In Part III of the Newbie Guide to eBiz we will examine the pros and cons of the various business models and the importance of the business concepts in part II.
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