There is a proven sequence of steps you can follow to guarantee your success when you're starting a small business online. I've seen thousands of people start and grow successful businesses by doing the following:
1.Find a need and fill it.
2.Write copy that sells.
3.Design and build an easy-to-use website.
4.Use search engines to drive traffic to your site.
5.Establish an expert reputation for yourself.
6.Follow up with your customers and subscribers with e-mail.
7.Increase your income through back-end sales and upselling.
Anyone, from newbie to seasoned online entrepreneur, can benefit from this process in learning how to start a business online.
Step 1: Find a need and fill it
Most people who are just starting out make the mistake of looking for a product first, and a market second.
To boost your chances of success, start with a market. The trick is to find a group of people who are searching for a solution to a problem, but not finding many results. The internet makes this kind of market research easy:
•Visit online forums to see what questions people ask and what problems they're trying to solve.
•Do keyword research to find keywords that a lot of people are searching, but for which not many sites are competing.
•Check out your potential competitors by visiting their sites and taking note of what they're doing to fill the demand. Then you can use what you've learned and create a product for a market that already exists--and do it better than the competition.
Step 2: Write copy that sells
There's a proven sales copy formula that takes visitors through the selling process from the moment they arrive to the moment they make a purchase:
1.Arouse interest with a compelling headline.
2.Describe the problem your product solves.
3.Establish your credibility as a solver of this problem.
4.Add testimonials from people who have used your product.
5.Talk about the product and how it benefits the user.
6.Make an offer.
7.Make a strong...