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Separate the Wheat from the Chaff - 12 Lessons in Online Business
Copyright (c) 2004-2023 Bill Platt
As newcomers to the Internet, many people are hot to tap into the internet riches that so many other people are enjoying. But, there is a learning curve that must be negotiated to get from desire to dollars.
LESSON ONE
Newbies often start their online endeavors using free promotional tools. Here is the first lesson in the learning curve. Freebies will suck up all of your energy and provide little or no gain. "Money cannot be earned by a business person who is unwilling to spend money."
LESSON TWO
The second lesson needs to be learned before the first dollar is ever spent. "The secret to success with any business is to earn more money than what you spend." Don't go rushing out with a fool's plan and just start blowing money. Spending money does not always equal making money.
The things you definitely will need to spend money on is a domain name, a webhost to support your site, and a method for accepting online payments.
UNDERSTANDING PAYMENT SYSTEMS
Merchant Accounts are the banking method of using credit cards for secured payment processing. They expensive to set up and maintain.
An alternative to setting up a merchant account is to use Paypal ( http://thephantomwriters.com/recommendpp ) as a payment processor. To use Paypal as a payment processor you must either register a bank account or register a credit card with Paypal. Then you need to set up your actual payment page so that your customers can make their purchase online from your website.
Merchant account users should also seriously consider using Paypal as an secondary payment method. This enables the seller to reach buyers who do not own credit cards.
Having the ability to collect payment via credit card, through a merchant account service or Paypal, is "absolutely essential" to any person who desires to do business online. If your customers cannot pay with their credit card, you can rest assured that you will have few if any customers to service.
LESSON THREE
Spend conservatively. "Don't spend money unless you know the value of what you will receive in return."
To be successful online, you must:
- have a product or service to sell. - have a website designed to sell your product or service. - have a payment method in place. - develop successful advertising.
LESSON FOUR
"Choose a business model you will enjoy." You don't want to invest several years into developing a business you cannot stand to work.
If you are seeking products to sell, then check out the Drop-Shippers Wholesale Directory ( http://thePhantomWriters.com/dsd ). Drop Shippers enable you to sell their products at whatever profit margin you desire, and they handle the shipping to your customers.
LESSON FIVE
"Target your offerings to a specific niche." Do not make the mistake of trying to be another Wal-Mart. Trust me, you cannot beat their prices. And, online businesses who attempt to supply everything to everyone usually fail.
Define your business to a very targeted niche, then become the top resource destination for that niche to gain repeat visitors.
LESSON SIX
"Most businesses survive and succeed based on repeat business from repeat customers." Repeat customers are cheaper to acquire and keep. And, if people really like your business, they will refer their friends to you.
LESSON SEVEN
"Customers are more interested in receiving the best value than getting the absolute lowest cost." The extra few dollars they will pay you can deliver them more value than the value delivered by the site offering the same products and services for less money.
LESSON EIGHT
"A good website designer cannot and should not be expected to be a great copywriter, and vice versa."
Website designers specialize in creating the visual presentation of a program and how to put those visual elements into the HTML coding. A good website designer will also make certain that the site offers a very easy to navigate format.
Copywriters specialize in the written word. Your copywriter is the person whose skill will actually sell your products and services.
Don't be afraid to spend money to have a professional designer build your visual presentation. And more importantly, don't be afraid to spend your money to hire a professional copywriter with a solid track record to build your sales presentation for you.
For copywriting, I recommend Dan Lok at Quick Turn Marketing, Inc. ( http://www.quickturnmarketing.com/help_me_out.html )
LESSON NINE
"Find effective ways to advertise your business by running small campaigns and tracking your results." When you find advertising resources that continually produce profitable results, keep going back to that well until the well goes dry.
LESSON TEN
"Never underestimate the value of good customer service."
Fast service and quick fulfillment will go a long way to help build a good reputation for you with your customers. Use your post-payment page to educate your customers about all of the aspects of their purchase they will be interested in knowing. Tell your customers exactly when and how they can expect to receive their product or service.
Additionally, create a special email account that only your customers will use. Otherwise you run the risk of losing important communications. When your customers contact you, strive to reply to all messages within 24 hours.
LESSON ELEVEN
"Keep learning, but beware of false prophets."
Before spending a dime on any program, search of your favorite search engine to see what others think of the program you are considering. Discount the advice of people who are profiting from their recommendations. Then measure the positive comments against the negative comments on a program. This analysis is important for determining the real value of any program.
LESSON TWELVE
"Good information serves no real value to you if you never use it."
If you buy a program, make certain that you read the information and use what you have purchased to your benefit. The ball is in your court. We can provide you the most valuable information available for you to use, but if you don't use it, then you might as well have spent your time doing something else that would have provided you with Real Value.
IN CONCLUSION
By understanding and implementing these twelve lessons in your online business model, your overall chances of business success are greatly improved. There are a lot of us out here who have turned our online businesses into real profit generators, and you can do it too. Read this article again if you need to do so. And remember our bonus lesson thirteen that can be summed up in seven words, "Follow through in all that you do."
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You can become a better writer, with the right training. If you are looking to improve your writing skills or learn how to better market your writing projects, visit Bill Platt's website to see how he can help you: http://PlattPublishing.com/ If you are looking to buy or sell writing services, check out Bill's Freelance Writer Marketplace at: http://FreelanceWritersReview.com/
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Top-Level Category: Articles
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Distributed: 2006-05-11 |
Word Count: 840 |
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| Votes: 17 |
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worthy of any mortgage that may interest you.
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Written by: Wesley Berry, AAF |
Distributed: 2008-02-20 |
Word Count: 486 |
Page Views: 5926
| Votes: 17 |
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of her mother.
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Word Count: 0 |
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| Votes: 9 |
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Written by: Kamau Austin |
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Word Count: 563 |
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| Votes: 11 |
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Word Count: 595 |
Page Views: 4757
| Votes: 8 |
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Distributed: 2006-02-10 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 3511
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.60
In a nut shell, I went onto cover each of these common marketing
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Written by: Will Brink |
Distributed: 2006-02-24 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 2323
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.60
Regardless of the topic, a unified theory, seeks to explain
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nutrients.
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