Six Tips to help you start an online business

Jun 25
08:29

2012

Jon Allo

Jon Allo

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Successful online business entrepreneurs and affiliates make a good living by promoting products and services of other vendors in order to make that commission. But how do you start?

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Whatever your reasons for starting your own online business,Six Tips to help you start an online business Articles there are a few considerations that you have to make.

When it comes to going into business online, one of the easiest methods is through Affiliate Marketing. Affiliate Marketing is basically selling products online to a targeted audience. There are many of different opportunities, niches, and markets to choose from. You can become an affiliate for just about anything from information products to health supplements and everything in between. Every time you sell something, you get paid a commission by the product owner.

There is a key six point plan to help start a successful online business:

1. Create a website

While some affiliate marketers can work without setting up a website, there are many benefits of having your own website. Setting up a website is not that difficult nor is it very expensive any more and there are many programmes on the internet where you can easily build your own website - some are even free.

The key consideration is to focus your website on one particular market or niche. If your website sells, for example, golf accessories and spare parts for cars and wedding stationery, your potential client will be confused as to what you are offering. You have to set up yourself as an 'authority' in your particular market so that people have the confidence to buy from you.

2. Drive traffic to your website

Creating web site traffic can be tough however there are several effective methods which will help drive the traffic to your website - some are free and some cost money.

3. Offer visitors something for free

You must give quality information, free offers or discounts so that visitors to your website will find something of value and something that will benefit them. To receive anything from them in the future, you must give first.

4.Get them to provide their email in return for the information

As previously mentioned, if a visitor comes to your website because he saw your advertisements for golf accessories and the first thing he sees is a product about weight loss, he will think that he is in the wrong place and go away, never to come back. However, if he comes to your website and finds that he can get a free report with, say, 10 proven tips to improve his golf swing, he will be inclined to provide his email address so that he can get access to that information. That person is then on your list of prospects.

5. Use emails to build a relationship with your list

To make your email marketing work effectively and efficiently, you will need an autoresponder. Autoresponders send out e-mail messages automatically to a pre-generated series that you have created. Your autoresponder is like your silent 24/7 salesman and it is a known fact that people need multiple exposures to a product to convert prospects into sales.

6. Make recommendations about the products you are selling to the people on your list for them to buy from you.

When your visitors have provided their email address they have confirmed that they are interested in your products or services and they have agreed to allow you to contact them in the future. If you give valuable and relevant information over time they will start to trust you and then they are far more likely to buy from you.

It does take time to build an online business and it does take time to build a list of prospects to enable you to generate an income. But you don't need hundreds of thousands of people on your list. On average between 2000 and 5000 qualified subscribers can provide you with a reasonable income overtime.