e-Business For Dummies

A business is a business is a business. Here the
bottom line is if you don’t sell anything, you
don’t make any money.

Whatever you sell does not really matter, but how you
sell it does. Such cliches as selling `snow to the
Eskimo` or `sand to the Arab nomad` are very true. You
can sell absolutely anything if you do it the right
way. The trick is to create a value in your customers
mind and... Do it in the right way.

There are only 4 steps you need to follow:

1. Get the right tools - you must have the right tools
and you must use them innovatively.

Every trade has its tools... you cannot cook in the
kitchen without the right pots, pans and spoons. You
need an oven to bake, stove to cook, grill to...

The rest is all a recipe. You need the right tools to
make it work.

Similarly to operate Successfully on the internet
you need the following tools. Here it pays not to cut
corners.

- You need your own domain name and web-hosting for
whatever you are selling... Whatever your product,
company websites are simply no go as any successful
e-preneur will tell you. Be sure your web-hosting
service enables sufficient bandwidth and raw
statistics.

- You need a mailing list solution - this is an
absolute necessity to develop your business.

- You need an ad tracking solution... hey don’t be
turned off, some days I get up to a 1000 visitors to
my site with not one sale, at other times I get 5 or
6 sales with just 100 visitors. Then because I am
tracking my ads I know where to continue advertising.
Believe me it pays for itself.

- You need a credit card payment option...

- And most important of all you need a multi-series
auto-responder system. Without it you may not be
able to compete in the survival of the fittest.

2. Get A product – Though it is best to have your
own product but until this happens, you can get
products with resell rights, or any of those amazing
affiliate programs out there.

I am sure you have heard that in the gold rush era,
it was not the gold miners who made a bundle, it was
the spade (service) providers. So find a need and
fill it. You can always ride high on the waves of
change.

[One very innovative example I came across recently:
You may be aware that eBay recently acquired PayPal,
so all those eBay merchants need to reflect this
change on their inventory payments – so almost
immediately I came across a site offering these
integration services. Now that’s one smart surfer!].

So use those little gray cells in your head and read
a few of those annoying newsletters in your mail box
to stay abreast of latest issues. You could come up
with your killer product much sooner than later.

3. Set it up to sell – This is a little tricky, but
you can do it quite well if you have access to the
right tools. Often the right tools can make all the
difference between success and failure. So I will
say it again: Do not cut corners here. You basically
need to:

- Set up a direct sales page.

- Set up an autoresponder (5 or 7 days) course
describing the beneficial uses of your product.

- Set up a regular newsletter or mailing list.

- Set up a free info-booklet about your product as a
viral give away.

- Set up a high paying affiliate program.

4. Promote, Promote, Promote. You can have the best
of everything, but it will not sell if you do not
promote. So here again, do not cut corners. Go for
solo ezine ads; Go for guaranteed visitors; Go for
site blasts; Go for power linking strategies; Go for
Pay-per-click advertising; Go for press release; Go
for search engine submission... Go for it. Give it
your all . Create a ‘buzz’, ‘Halo’ or ‘aura’
about your business. Best time to give a power
boost is in the winter months.

Now here don’t get discouraged. I know most of us
are working on very tight budgets. If you are just a
little smart you can always grab ‘the best bang for
your bucks’... Look carefully through your email.

It all basically boils down to where you want to
see yourself in the future – Working to death making
other people rich, or getting rich yourself and
living the life style you desire.

Believe me if you follow through, you will be able
to achieve the financial freedom you want. It`s your
choice.