Online Business
You have a product to sell or a service to offer, and you want to put your information on the Internet and get your business up and running in a week. Impossible? Not if you know the way to do it. We’re going to show you the way to get your business on the Internet and running in a week’s time.
1. Start off with a website that draws visitors
Photo by Saxoji
Let’s face it – if people don’t visit your website, they won’t know what you have to offer them. The problem is that very few people who visit websites do anything about it. They take a quick look at the website and then they are gone again without taking any action. The sad fact is that less than one percent of visitors to websites do anything about it. They don’t bookmark the websites, they don’t contact you, they don’t make a purchase, and they don’t subscribe to your newsletter. Chances are, once they leave they won’t be coming back again. So your website has to have something that really catches their eye and makes them stand up and take notice.
When you go to a website that is offering either a service or a product, what makes you keep going back there? Well, one thing that people like to know when they are paying for a product or a service is that the person that they are buying it from knows what they are talking about. After all, if you are advertising your babysitting services, you want to show parents that you know what to do in case of an emergency.
For example, let’s take a person who makes jewelry. It’s true that they may offer beautiful jewelry, but it’s always a good idea to tell something about jewelry that the average person might not know. Customers may know that ruby is the birthstone for July, but they may not be aware that the ruby is also the stone for the fortieth wedding anniversary.
By showing that you know what you are talking about, it makes people want to read more and possibly buy things from you.
2. Getting visitors to your site
Okay, now that you have an eye catching website that shows that you know what you are talking about, the next step is getting potential customers there. One good way to see how many people are coming to your website is to put a counter on your website.
Another way to get visitors to your website is to do a link exchange with other small business owners. There are plenty of message boards out there and chances are good that someone will be willing to do a link exchange with you.
Most search engines today will allow you to put your website into their circulation, but don’t waste your time putting it out on search engines that no one uses. Instead add your address to places such as Google and yahoo.
Some people say that banners are only good for large companies, but they are always worth a try if you know someone who can make them, or if you can make one yourself.
3. Keep them coming back
Now that you have visitors coming to your site, hopefully they are staying long enough to browse and see what you have to offer them. If they contact you or leave a message on your board and ask a question, follow up. If they purchase something, thank them for their purchase.
One thing that customers love is freebies. Offer them incentives for signing up for your newsletter, such as a 10% off a purchase of $15 or more. For repeat customers, you might offer them a coupon without any strings or minimum purchase requirements.
The point is to keep your customers coming back, and if you have to give them a special deal in order to have them come back, it will be worth it in the long run. After all, those are sales you may not have had without the incentives that you offered.
Building a business on the Internet in a week is completely possible, if you know what to do. Hopefully this article has given you some hope, as well as some tips, and you are now ready to go out and get your business started.
Aditya Kumar Singh
September 15th, 2007Excellent Post . Loved the Articles