Basic lessons in HTML, CGI, SEO, domain registration, hosting - build an on line business! » Internet Marketing

7 End-of-Year Helpful Tips

AdminP — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:41:44 +0000

When I see the year coming to an end, there are two business-related thoughts that enter my mind: taxes and starting a new business. Can’t do anything about taxes other than pay them – but starting a new business is another story. For those that have existing Internet businesses or are looking to start a business online you may find my experience over the years helpful.

Existing Business

1. If you have an existing business that has a lot of traffic – or maybe you see the traffic steadily increasing, think about expanding your current business into new related areas. For example, in my case, we had an existing antique site – that over the years we’ve expanded to cover antique shows, trade days, flea markets, ‘how to’ articles on different antique related topics and now . . . we’ve created an online store.

2. Aside from expanding into niche related areas, look for ways to monetize your site if you’re not already doing so. The obvious being AdSense or some other PPC (pay-per-click) source, offer direct advertising on your site for a fee. This advertising might be banners, or maybe something similar to classified ads. You might even want to offer ‘rental’ space on your site for people who have something to sell. They send you the info and pictures, and you upload. This allows you to maintain control.

3. If you have enough useful information or can offer a useful service – useful being the operative word – and your market is broad, you might think of having a membership site where your members can get updated material on a set schedule or you offer a pre-determined, scheduled service, i.e, search engine optimization for example.

4. The main thing is to branch out and then link all your sites together.

New Business

Starting a new Internet business is an exciting experience – but for those who want to sell a product, it can be quite a challenge. Over the years we’ve found that one of the most difficult parts of selling on line is keeping track of the inventory. So we’ve developed the following methodology which we wanted to share with you.

5. We’ve found that assigning a category, inventory number and box number to each item works the best. Once you have the item listed on line, it goes into a box with each item labeled individually bearing the same category, inventory number and box number. We always list the box number, because if we have to return it to inventory for any reason, we know exactly where it goes.

Using this method would result in the following example. Say the next item you’re selling is the 109th book in inventory in your book (BK) category and it’s in box 5. The name for this item might look like BK-109-5.

6. We would also use this same name for the image file as it helps eliminate getting items confused. And, if you have more than one picture associated with the item, give each additional picture the same name but add on a letter to make it unique, i.e,., BK-109-5 being the primary picture with the following images being . . . K-109a-5; BK-109b-5, etc. This keeps all the pictures for each item grouped together but allows you to tell the difference.

7. For boxes containing inventory, put a large label on each end with the domain name, website, or category along with the box number. If you have more than one site or category selling products, you’ll find this box labeling method very helpful.

We’re all hoping that our economy stays healthy, but even it it’s not as strong as we’d like, getting an online business started now will mean that when things do turn around – you’ll be ready with your online businesses up and running.

Due Diligence: 9 Questions You Should Ask

AdminP — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:38:03 +0000

Regardless of what you’re doing, due diligence should be part of the equation. Like most of you, I’m always looking for the newest or easiest way – to market either a product, ebook, or such on the Internet. So, when I received an email from one of the Internet’s long-time gurus touting a program that would allow me to publish content in a manner similar to Click Bank, my interest was piqued. Seems I could upload my content, set my own price and share the link to start making sales right away – and for free – I was impressed. But I wanted to know more.

I visited the multiple links embedded in the email and found that each one went to the same page. No where could I find any information about the website and the process to make all this happen. No terms and conditions, no user agreement defined, and no privacy policy. All the stuff you need and want to know beforehand. Bottom line, I had a lot of questions… particularly since it would appear they are based out of the country.

In addition, there was also an affiliate program tied in with no clarification. All of this had me wondering….

Who are the owners running this system?
How long have they been in Internet Marketing?
Do I maintain ownership of my product once it’s on their site?
How are payments made when a sale is made?
Who gets the affiliate sales monies… and how is it paid?
If there is a problem, which country’s laws are used for resolution?
How are product returns handled?
Can I remove my product when I want with no penalty?
Will you at sometime charge for this program in the future? And if so, can I opt out at that time with no cost?

In all honesty, I have to say I did not go through the sign-up process… all this information may have been available there. But for me I like to know what I getting into before I have to sign up. And, while everyone is hoping to find the best money-making program out there, you have to know what you’re getting into before ‘signing’ on the dotted line” which means taking a deep breath and spending a little time to perform the necessary due diligence before making a decision and commitment.

On Line Shopping Carts

AdminP — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:47:13 +0000

We’ve talked in the past about how the best way to may money on line is to have a product. How you dispense that product is the next step.

The product will probably fall into one of the following categories:

Physical product that you sell and ship
Physical product you have drop-shipped
E-book that is down loaded
Software product that is down loaded

Open Cart

This post will deal with the methods of selling and shipping your own physical product(s). There are several ways you can do this, but the most efficient is to have a ‘shopping’ cart.

Much like Word Press a cart has a dashboard for total control. From the dashboard you can monitor orders and sales; create the categories; set prices; and much more. The shopping cart available from your Host Gator account is Open Cart and is easily down loaded and installed from your Host Gator account cPanel. Once installed you can configure the cart to fit your needs. The following are some of the modules you’ll want to set:

Categories and sub-categories
Shipping rates
Tax rate
Coupons or discounts
Highlight ‘Best Sellers’
and more!

Other Carts

While having your own cart is preferable, there are other ‘carts’ out there IF they meet your needs. Some of the things you want to look for are:

Inventory control – if you only have one item will the cart show that item ‘sold’ once it has been purchased; does it show items ‘out of stock’; need to pre-order

Item – is your description limited; can you upload pictures

Shipping – show shipping costs; free shipping; if there are countries you don’t want to ship to can you opt-out

Categories – can you offer sub-categories; are there limits to the number of categories you can have

Payment – are you limited to one method of payment

Email – automatic email responder to orders; email invoices

Cost – are there monthly fees associated with using their cart

If you plan on setting up a long term selling program, the best bet is to have your own domain, own hosting and own cart. But, for those that want to explore other options, you may want to check out the shopping carts below offered (some by way of a ‘storefront’) . . .

Conclusion

In today’s economy, easy is the name of the game, and making on line selling easy for your customer as well as yourself will hopefully result in happy customers and your being a non-frustrated seller.

I would offer a final word of warning, beware of those online ‘store fronts’ offering to set you up in an online store – sometimes within their own website. They may even offer to help you find a product. We’ve talked to many people that have signed up for such a service only to find not only do they now own their domain name but also have little or no control . . . and sadly, usually the monthly ‘rental’ payments are high with no return on their investment because there is no traffic.

5 Landing Page No-No’s

AdminP — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 23:15:35 +0000

If you have a website or blog, at some point, you’ll want to find a way to direct that traffic to a landing page. A landing page is defined as the ‘action’ place to send your traffic. This landing page might be:

the main sales page for your product or service
a video sales page for same
an email sign-up page for newsletters, reports, etc.
content page designed to increase overall ranking

Now while these actions are all pretty basic and should be easy to present, you will find that there are mistakes that even the professionals make – with the result being lost conversions. But, we’re going to cover those mistakes here and see just how to avoid making them.

1. Headline

Your headline – good or bad – gives you about 2 seconds to grab the readers attention before he decides to click away from your page. In today’s Internet world, there is so much information overload, and pie-in-the-sky promises being made – that your headline has to not only grab your web visitor’s attention but also has to sound real. We’ve all seen those headlines that promise $10,427 sales in one month!!! Really? I think not.

Having a believeable headline can sometimes even overcome some of the other mistakes below. However, you may find you’ll need to do some split testing to see which headline converts the best.

2. Site Design

While we put lots of information and images on our websites and blogs, when it comes to landing pages – you want the cleanest page possible. The less clutter you have on the page, the less likely the web visitor is to become distracted or confused – causing them to click away without performing the desired action.

3. Too Many Choices

A good landing page asks for 1 specific action – and that’s it. While some would think that having multiple choices would make people happier giving them more options – this is not true. It has been proven time and again that when presented with multiple choices – the overall decision is to make no decision and simply leave the page. Also, the action you are asking the visitor to make should be obvious and clearly marked. They should understand just what they will be getting when they ‘sign up’ and that their privacy will be protected. One final thing, don’t ask for any more information than absolutely necessary. The more information you ask for, i.e, last name, telephone number, address, zip code, etc. – the less likely you are to have people opt-in.

4. Pleasing Presentation

Your landing page should be aesthetically pleasing. When designing a landing page the target audience and action should be taken into consideration. Don’t let yourself be tempted to use weird fonts, garish colors and cheesy clip-art.

5. Above the Fold

With an average of 80% of web visitors spending their time above the fold (reading only what they can see on their screen once they have arrived at the page) – you should not take it for granted that they will scroll down the page and want to read everything else you have to say.

So what does this mean? It means that you should not be bashful about grabbing their attention first thing and holding it. Never assume everyone understands your offer and accepts your credibility. Be willing to look at your landing page and copy objectively. Does it explain in compelling language what you are offering? Does it make clear what they get when they sign up? Can they easily find the opt-in box? What’s in in for them?

Conclusion

It’s getting harder and harder to have an effective Internet business that makes money. However, if you can develop a dynamite landing page for a demand product or service, you’ll find yourself well on the way to making multiple conversions.

4 Reasons Internet Businesses Fail

AdminP — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:43:13 +0000

We’ve all heard many times what we should do to be successful as an Internet Marketer – but what about some of the things that we shouldn’t do. Things that can stall us in our tracks, overwhelm us, and keep us from moving forward realizing our goals.

Project Over-load

Many marketers think that if one website will make them x-number of dollars, then having multiple websites will make them multiple times the dollars. Not so. This is even more true for newbies. If you are just starting your online business, you should be focusing on getting that one website ranking in the search engines.

Unless you have unlimited time or someone helping you (at no cost), trying to get multiple websites ranking at the same time is difficult and time consuming. This is especially true due to recent changes made to search engines regarding ”what-is” and “what-isn’t” allowed, and what works and what doesn’t work . You don’t want to do anything that might get your new website sent to the ‘sandbox’. The best guide for optimizing your website and avoiding the techniques that can get your totally banned is Planet Ocean – Search Engine News.

Information Over-load

We all need to have a certain amount – and somewhat broad field – of knowledge to be an Internet marketer . . . especially if you’re building your own website or blog. But, when it comes to choosing your Internet business, i.e., affiliate marketing, selling products, blogging for profit, etc. – focus on only what you need to know to make that particular business choice successful. Ask yourself these questions:

Will it help if I have videos available on line?
Do I need an email list?
Do I need to purchase products and write reviews?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll be ready to move forward with purpose. And during the learning process, don’t try to learn everything about everything or you’ll never get anything done. Find the direction you want to go, decide what you need and then stick to a plan.

Reluctance to Outsource

If you are the type of person that likes to maintain control, do everything yourself and finds it difficult to delegate tasks – even to qualified people, you’ll need to rethink and adjust this attitude to become successful. Much like trying to learn everything about everything, you won’t be able to do everything necessary to have a successful Internet business. You’ll soon find you need to outsource some of the tasks such as content writing, submitting articles, or having an active ‘social’ network. Even if your monthly income is in the hundreds rather than thousands, only by outsourcing some tasks can you grow your business.

Think outsourcing is too expensive? Look at www.fiverr.com – this is an interesting website where people offer their services for only $5.00. Search for the service you want, and then review the results and make your decision based on the provider’s feedback. Not only do you want someone that gives the best bang for the buck, but also someone that’s going to do what they say they’ll do and do it in a professional manner.

Another excellent way is to outsource your to different providers around the world. One of the best ways to do this is by using Operation Outsourcing. In the “book”, you will learn how to evaluate, select, train and hire a team to work for you without paying a bomb! Best part – it comes with a 60 Day Money Back Guarantee – No Questions Asked - so you can see for yourself how to leverage others to work for you.

Lack of Dedication

This is probably the No. 1 reason most people never make any money online . . . they are not willing to dedicate time every day to making their dream come true . . . or at the very least stick to a strict, set schedule. After all, if you woke up on random mornings and simply decided not to go into work – do you think you’d get paid for those days or advance in the company? Not likely. Having an online business that is profitable and makes money is exactly the same. It requires dedication, focus and action.

While there are many reasons many Internet marketers fail – we think these are the top four. Conquere these and you’ll at the very least have the best opportunity you can for building the successful Internet business you want.