by Derek Gehl
Drive and enthusiasm is mandatory to start your own online business… but you also need to know what you’re doing… All the excitement you feel can make you want to jump in headfirst without testing the water.
Don’t jump!
Take a breath and look where you’re going… you’ll get there a lot faster.
Before you find a web designer… or create a product… or waste any time and money on complicated software… start with the fundamentals.
1. Starting an Internet business means BUILDING it from the ground up and that takes some elbow grease
When you put in the effort, you can earn more money, have more free time, and spend your days doing something you love (and getting paid for it!).
However, don’t let your positive attitude get you roped into a business that has no chance of success, and don’t think you can just put up an “instant” website that someone sells you and instantly make a fortune.
Nobody’s going to give you free money.
But if you’re willing to learn and you know where to look for information, you’re already ahead of the crowd.
The truth is, there are more Internet business opportunities out there than any one person could possibly find, and some of them are perfect for YOU! You’ve got to be the one to find them!
2. Start an online business by giving the people what they want
I’ll let you in on the number one secret of Internet business: know what your customers want BEFORE you build your website.
This one simple tip will save you more time and money than any other piece of advice I can give you.
Search engines have made it possible to find anything online… if it’s there.
Your job is to find out what people are looking for - and not finding - that you can then sell them. If people are searching for left-handed bowling balls, then give them left-handed bowling balls.
Your goal is to find an underserved niche market and become the go-to guy before someone else does. And when you do that, you’ve got yourself a genuine Internet business!
3. Get expert help and do it right the first time
Experience is the best teacher, and that’s the way I learned the business. My company, The Internet Marketing Center, is built on the idea of trying something, learning from mistakes, and doing things better each time.
Butt you probably don’t have the time to try, try again… and failure is expensive! That’s why so much of what I do is trying to get people to learn from my mistakes instead of making their own.
It’s essential to arm yourself with information and knowledge. You can read articles and blogs, join a discussion forum where experts share information, or get your hands on online marketing courses, videos, and guides that teach you what you need to know.
You’re going to need to know the basics of website building, writing salescopy, and search engine optimization. Without a structured plan and a little help, that could take a while.
But there’s good news: if you’re willing to learn, you can find teaching tools and resources in every shape, size, and learning style. Whether you want everything you need in a book so you can learn at your own pace, or you’d prefer having a mentor looking over your shoulder every step of the way, it’s up to you to choose the method that suits you best.
It can be a fun and rewarding experience. And when those rewards are sales, you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank!
July 31st, 2008
Posted by
Derek Gehl |
Business |
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by Derek gehl
20% of your customers are responsible for 80% of your sales. It’s a well know fact.
20% of those who purchased from you once will buy from you again… if you follow up with them.
One-fifth of your customer base is waiting for you to offer them something new!
If you don’t follow up with your customers, you are losing a lot of profit.
Your existing customer base is four or five times more likely to buy from you than to purchase somewhere new.
You can’t afford not to target your customers with regular emails, called autoresponders… and automate the process.
Autoresponders are prewritten emails automatically sent out to anyone who requests information from you.
Once you have your autoresponder set up, there are any number of emails you can send out on a regular basis, including:
Ten great ideas for autoresponders…
1. A confirmation email after a subscription request or purchase
2. A simple thank-you message after a purchase with your contact details
3. Asking if they’re happy with the product after they’ve had it for a little while
4. Follow up on a purchase anniversary - 30 days, 3 months, 6 months and one year.
5. Remind customers if they have an appointment with you if you’re running a service-based website
6. Survey asking your customer’s opinion about shipping times and any improvements you can make to your product
7. Send a follow-up offer on your customer’s birthday
8. Offer a customer loyalty voucher after they have made several purchases
9. Remind customers to bookmark your site, and offer to email them when new information has been added
10. Remind them of what you can do for them during holidays and specific shopping seasons
Sending follow-up promotions is an excellent way for your business to generate extra income without sucking up your time.
In fact, if you do it right, you should expect to immediately increase your revenues by an extra 30% to 50% just by sending follow-up promotions.
How much extra money would that be for YOUR business?
July 30th, 2008
Posted by
Derek Gehl |
Business |
no comments
by Derek Gehl
Most entrepreneurs fail when they start an internet home business because they make one simple — but avoidable — mistake.
They don’t find out if there are potential customers for their product before deciding on what to sell.
Successful entrepreneurs start home businesses by finding under-served niche markets — BEFORE they decide what product or service to sell.
Once they think they have a profitable business idea for their niche market, market research must be done to ensure this is really the case.
To avoid this fatal mistake follow these three simple steps.
Step #1: Brainstorm your own passions and interests
Internet home business entrepreneurs are more likely to succeed if they base their business on something they have experience on or expertise in.
After all, if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, you simply won’t find it as enjoyable — and you’ll be less motivated to stick with your business and do the work necessary to grow and improve it. So before you even begin to find an untapped niche of hungry customers, you should brainstorm your interests and passions… and let them guide you!
Unique skills and interests can come in a surprising variety of forms. For example, knowing how to pass the exam required to become a firefighter is a skill on which you could base a business. So is quilting, or collecting model trains, or kicking a bad habit like smoking or biting your nails. But a lot of people find it difficult to think of their own unique expertise.
A list is a great place to get started - write down all of your unique experiences, careers, passions, interests and any life challenge you have overcome.
Then go through the list and pinpoint where your particular areas of skills and interest lie. When you’ve got a few different topics, you’ll be ready to do some research into potential businesses.
Step #3: Find your niche
Think small if you want to find big profit when starting your internet home business.
A small, untapped and specialized niche market can be the source of big revenie online.
On the Internet, a niche market is a group of people who are searching to solve a common problem but not finding many (or any) relevant results.
People do not usually go online to buy (at least right away), but to find answers to a problem.
The basis for your successful internet home business will be when you find the group of people who are looking to solve the same problem without much luck. This will be your “hidden treasure”.
But you’ve got to think small. If you start with a large, general market, you’ll likely find it saturated with competition.
To be successful you need to drill down and down further and be patient. Also, don’t overlook any possible avenues!
How will you this kind of market?
Use a keyword research tool like BeBiz.com and you kind find out exactly what people are searching for online - are people looking for your potential product? If so, you now need to think of a way to sell the niche what they are looking for.
By starting your internet home business this way you will know there is a pocket of eager customers who need your product…even before you spend any time or money creating the actual product! You next need to validate your market before rushing off to create the next hot product.
Step #3: Validate your market
You need to confirm your market has profit potential in it at this stage. Can you actually make revenue from it?
To validate your market, ask these 4 questions:
1. Can you easily reach and define the market you are validating? Most potential market groups will have a place they congregate on the internet. Use places such as forums, discussions boards, club sites and online groups to analyze exactly who your potential customer is.
Find out who your potential customer is and you will have a better idea of whether or not they will buy from you.
2. Is the market big enough to be profitable, but small enough that there aren’t many competitors?
The market needs to have enough people in it to make it worth your while, but small enough so that not a lot of competitors have already moved in. If you find a lot of competition who are well supplied, well established and well funded - this is not a good market! Keep drilling down looking for a smaller, more defined niche.
3. Are your customers willing to spend their money with you?
You need to find out if your market actually buys online…it is a good sign if there is some competition already selling products to your market. It is much easier to sell to people in a market where there are few free products or free sites available.
4. Is your market passionate enough about their shared problem to solve it by spending money on your product?
A motivated niche market will eat, sleep and breather their interest . You want a potential market who are so passionate that they will do anything to get all the information they can related to the subject.
People who are obsessive about their passions, such as video gamers or stamp collectors make a profitable market!
Final thoughts
When starting your internet home business it is essential you follow these three steps. If you find a niche market based on your passions you will be able to create a business you are motivated to make work. If you validate your market before you create a product, you can be confident you internet business will be profitable.
It’s a simple, but effective, formula and it will set you on the road to internet business success.
About the Author:
Derek Gehl , CEO of Internet Marketing Center, helps Internet business
owners on how to create incomes online. Now you can discover the proven Internet Marketing strategies
to quickly
July 29th, 2008
Posted by
Derek Gehl |
Home & Garden |
no comments
by Derek Gehl
Drive and enthusiasm is mandatory to start your own online business… but you also need to know what you’re doing… All the excitement you feel can make you want to jump in headfirst without testing the water.
Don’t jump!
Take a breath and look where you’re going… you’ll get there a lot faster.
Before you pay a web designer thousands of dollars… or create a product nobody wants… or waste any time and money on complicated software you don’t need… let’s start with the fundamentals.
1. Starting an Internet business means BUILDING it from the ground up
Starting an Internet business takes time, motivation, and know-how. But when you put in the effort, the rewards can be everything you’ve ever dreamed of. Everything you’ve heard about starting your own business online is true: you can earn more money, have more free time, and spend your days doing something you love (and getting paid for it!).
However, don’t let your positive attitude get you roped into a business that has no chance of success, and don’t think you can just put up an “instant” website that someone sells you and instantly make a fortune.
Nobody’s going to give you free money.
But if you’re willing to learn and you know where to look for information, you’re already ahead of the crowd.
The truth is, there are more Internet business opportunities out there than any one person could possibly find, and some of them are perfect for YOU! It’s up to you to find one.
2. Start your online business by giving the people what they want
Here’s the number one secret of Internet business: know what your customers want BEFORE you build your website.
I mean it! That one simple tip will save you more time and money than any other piece of advice. Don’t think of the Internet as another place for you to sell widgets - it’s so much more than that. (And it’s already crowded with widget shops!)
Search engines have made it possible for almost anyone, anywhere, to find what they’re looking for online… if it’s there.
Your job is to find out what people are looking for - and not finding - that you can then sell them. If people are searching for left-handed bowling balls, then give them left-handed bowling balls.
Your goal is to find your own underserved niche market and become their go-to guy before someone else does. And when you do that, you’ve got yourself a real business opportunity!
3. Do it right the first time — with expert help
Experience is the best teacher, and that’s the way I learned. IMC is built on the idea of trying something, learning from mistakes, and doing things better after every failure.
Butt you probably don’t have the time to try, try again… and failure is expensive! That’s why so much of what I do is trying to get people to learn from my mistakes instead of making your own.
Its absolutely essential to arm yourself with information and knowledge. You can read articles and blogs, join a discussion forum where experts share information, or get your hands on online marketing courses, videos, and guides that teach you what you need to know.
You’ll need to know the basics of website building, writing salescopy, and search engine optimization. Without a plan and a little help, that could take a while.
But there’s good news: if you’re willing to learn, you can find teaching tools and resources in every shape, size, and learning style. Whether you want everything you need in a book so you can learn at your own pace, or you’d prefer having a mentor looking over your shoulder every step of the way, it’s up to you to choose the method that suits you best.
It can be a fun and rewarding experience. And when those rewards are sales, you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank!
July 29th, 2008
Posted by
Derek Gehl |
Business |
no comments