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Blueprint for Internet Success, Howard Jamison This is a summary of the steps necessary to develop a successful on-line business. Step 1: PRODUCTS First you need to decide what you are going to sell. Some people have been very successful selling a niche product to a specific audience. Others have a wide variety of products and services to sell with world-wide appeal. If you don't have a product--or want to supplement what you do have--you may want to consider selling products from other people who have an affiliate program (also called reseller or commission programs). Amazon.com was one of the pioneers in marketing this way. These affiliate programs are becoming very popular and if you own and produce your own product, you should look into setting up your own program. Step 2: DOMAIN NAME After you decide what you are going to sell, you need a place to operate your business on the Web. Once you get the name registered, no one else can have it. There are numerous companies that can help you register and host your domain. I recommend you check various prices and also ask a potential host: what will it do for you to help develop traffic? Most companies just give you space, but what good is space if no one knows you are there? Step 3: WEBSITE DESIGN Once you have your domain registered, you need to develop this cyber-property. Not only do you need to make your site a "must visit" location for people interested in your product, you want to make it a site that sells! You want to keep your website updated with text copy that invites people to take action, not overloaded with graphics that slow down the load time (visitors will move on to another site if it takes to long). Your site should also make it easy for people to contact you. Step 4: TRAFFIC Many people think, "Once I post it, the people will come." But it doesn't work that way and this is where most Internet businesses fail. There are numerous activities--both free and paid--you can do, including banners, classified ads, e-zine ads, card decks, search engines, etc., to develop consistent traffic. You will need to test a variety of ways to see what works best for you and your product. More information is available at http://www.information4success.com/traffic.htm Step 5: E-MAIL ADDRESSES You must get the E-MAIL ADDRESSES of your visitors and build your own in-house list. If you don't get these, your efforts are likely to fail. How do you do it? Look at our home page and you will see that we are offering a free newsletter, free ad, free monthly drawing for valuable prizes and a private place within our site for subscribers only. Whatever it takes-- just get as many visitors to voluntarily sign up (opt-in) as possible. Step 6: NEWSLETTER Now that you have their e-mail addresses, you must regularly publish a newsletter (E-zine). It's the best way to communicate with your customers and it's "free." It's also the best way to SELL. Selling to your "house" list is essential to your success. The best way to do this is by using a listserver. You can purchase them for a small fee or even find some that are available for free. If you would like to know where to get them, contact me directly: webmaster@information4success.com Step 7: QUICK FOLLOW-UP With e-mail, people expect to
have a quick response so respond within a few minutes or hours if at
all possible. Always have excellent customer service and keep touching
base with the customers that have expressed an interest in your product/service.
Follow these 7 steps and you will be well on your way to a successful
Internet business.
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