Seven Basic Steps To Start Your Online Business

by: Maria Estarellas

1. What to look for first?...A Niche Market

Some people think that they should look for a product first and then look for customers but in reality, it's the other way around.

Make a list of keywords (use the Overture Suggestion Tool) and check the supply ratio for each keyword in Google.

Supply divided by Demand = Supply/Demand Ratio

In other words: Google Results divided by Overture Count = Supply/Demand Ratio

The lower the Supply/Demand Ratio number is, the better because it tells you that there is more demand than supply and you will make more money with this niche market.

2. Looking for a Product

Once you identify your niche market, it's time to look for a product.

Look for companies that once you sell the product, they ship it to the customer.

Nowadays, people are looking for information on various topics. Most of internet sales are on info products that the customer can download immediately, once they pay for it with a credit card. It doesn't involve any shipping charge and the customer doesn't have to wait 2-3 weeks to receive it.

3. Building a Web Site

Once you have your niche market and products, you need to build a web site. There are companies that would allow you to build your own web site. You don't need to know any HTML because they include some type of HTML program so all you have to do is type the information and the system will convert it to HTML.

Your web site should be simple. Make sure the navigation is easy for your customers and don't use too many pictures. Less is more. The background should be white with black letters to make it easier to read.

Have a "subscribe form" built in your web site. It's very important that you collect as many email addresses as you can because those will be your customers. Provide a free newsletter every month with useful information to your customers.

4. Writing your Sales Letter

You don't have to be a good writer. All you have to do is write as if you were writing to a friend of yours.

Be honest, write the pro's and con's of your products. That way you establish credibility and your customers will be more inclined to buy from you.

5. Choosing a Web Hosting Company

Look for a company that gives you enough bandwidth, email accounts, and support.

Look for their reliability because you don't want to choose one that have frequent problems with their system.

6. Autoresponder

You need to set up an autoresponder because if you're going to send information to your costumers, you don't want to spend time writing every month and sending it to them. With an autoresponder, you can type or even copy and paste articles in advance that will be automatically sent to your customers every week or every month. This may take you 1-2 hours to do but once you do it, you can forget about it for a whole year.

7. Promote Your Web Site

You can start by advertising in Google Adwords. These are based on a "pay-per-click" basis. You have to make sure that if your are going to use this method of advertising, that you set up the parameters. Establish the amount of money you will spend on a daily basis so you don't spend more than you can afford to.

Another way is to write and publish articles. This is a very efficient way to let yourself be known without the cost of advertising.

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