Are you thinking about starting an on-line business? Maybe
you have a vague idea of what’s required – maybe
you haven’t a clue. This article outlines three basic,
non-negotiable things that you will need.
1. Premium web hosting
I suppose it is possible to make a modest income on-line
without your own website. But, it is practically impossible
to make serious income without your own site. This applies
whether you’re selling on eBay, marketing affiliate
programs, or selling your own product or service.
A web host provides you with your space on the internet.
You want to make sure you get a host who can provide you
with plenty of space to grow and excellent data transfer
rates. The last thing you want to do is fall for one of the
free services that only gives you a small amount of space
or can only handle a very limited amount of traffic. You
don’t want to be forced to move your site to a different
web host after quickly outgrowing your free space.
2. Sequential auto responders
As may be evident from the name, an auto responder can automatically
reply to emails. A “sequential” auto-responder
can be set up to send multiple, sequential emails at designated
time intervals. For instance, if you invite your web site
visitors to sign-up for a free e-zine (i.e., electronic magazine),
your web page would be programmed to send an email to your
auto responder e-mail address. The auto responder would then
send one, two, or more messages, at programmed intervals
(perhaps a week apart) to your visitor. This builds your “brand
name” in the minds of your visitors and increases the
chances that they will buy your product. And, guess what?
You’re building your “brand” with little
effort on your part! Imagine the time this would take to
manually send these emails to each web visitor?
3. Advice from a trusted source
So, what are the key steps in marketing your product or
service? The internet is a virtual sea of information. Navigating
through it is best done with the help of someone who has
already learned through the “school of hard knocks”.
Perhaps you personally know someone who has this knowledge,
but if you’re like most people, you really don’t
know whom to trust. My advice is to find a product or service
which offers this type of “how-to” advice. The
available options range from fluff to very valuable. Let
the buyer beware! There are several ways to verify the claims
being made by the sellers of these services. First, check
the traffic numbers for the service’s web site on alexa.com.
The lower the web site ranking, the better. Next, ask for
advice on the internet marketing forums. Many of the participants
in these forums know their way around the internet and can
help you evaluate the quality of a particular product or
service.
Dave Keegan works full-time as a systems analyst for a large
corporation and has quality ideas for helping people get
started in internet marketing. For more information, visit:
http://www.dkeeganonline.com
