Since starting my Internet business back in 1997, I have
learned many lessons along the way. These lessons have
played a major role in my success, and I’d like to share
them with you.
Lesson #1
Collecting your visitors’ email addresses should be one of
your top priorities.
Start collecting email addresses the moment you put your
site up. Developing a list of targeted potential customers
is an absolute must.
Although publishing an ezine is usually the best route to
go, it is not a necessity. You can use your list to send out
web site updates, product updates, or whatever you’d like.
Lesson #2
Your web site can either make or break you.
A professional looking web site will play a major role in
your success. If you aren’t secure in your abilities to
design a professional looking site, you will be much better
off hiring a professional.
Lesson # 3
If you want to make a lot of money, you must create a niche.
A niche fills a specific customer need.
People want products and services that fulfill a specific
personal need. If you are the first to fulfill the need,
you’ll reap the rewards.
Lesson # 4
Generating web site traffic takes a lot of time and effort.
The key to generating a lot of traffic to your site is
getting your link on as many sites as possible. Sure,
listing your site with the Search Engines is your first
step; however, you must not solely rely on Search Engines to
bring you traffic.
My two biggest traffic generators are as follows:
Affiliate Program – Having your own affiliate program is one
of the best ways to get hundreds, even thousands of links to
your web site.
Providing a Free Product or Service – Providing your
visitors with a free product or service is a great way to
drive traffic to your site.
For example, I offer a free article syndication service.
This service provides free content for web sites branded
with a link to my site.
Lesson # 5
Selling your own products and services is much more
profitable than marketing affiliate programs.
Some of the top Internet sellers include:
Software
Information
Private sites
Internet services
Lesson # 6
People do not like to be sold. You will be far more
successful if you have a sincere desire to assist your
potential customers. This can be accomplished by writing
informative articles, courses, tutorials, or even providing
advice within discussion forums in your area of expertise.
Trust plays a major role on the Internet. You must build
your credibility with your target audience.
Lesson # 7
Automation can save you hours of valuable time. Although
there are certain areas of business that must be personally
dealt with, there are many areas that can be completely
automated:
List management
Customer follow-up
Welcome messages
Thank you messages
Order processing
Order fulfillment
Order confirmation
This can be accomplished using autoresponders, scripts and
software programs.
Lesson # 8
Organization is an essential part of developing a successful
business:
Create a daily work schedule for an organized approach
to each day.
Use an email program that will filter your messages
into specific folders.
Organize your computer folders and files for quick and
easy access.
Create a “Frequently Asked Questions” page to lessen
support requests.
Create templates for frequently used messages.
Create a page (residing on your computer) that contains
a list of affiliate programs you’re promoting. Include
your log-in information and hyperlinks for easy access.
Lesson # 9
Customer satisfaction and support should be your top
priority.
Lesson # 10
You have to spend money to make money. You must be willing
to invest in your Internet business including:
Computer
Internet Access
Software
Domain Name
Web Hosting
Education (books, courses, etc.)
Advertising
Lesson # 11(I know, there were only supposed to be ten, but
this one is important…)
SPAM is a four letter word and will be treated as such.
Although this list is far from complete, these lessons
should provide you with some basic guidelines to assist you
in developing a successful online business.
Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design
course, Web Design Mastery. http://www.webdesignmastery.com
An in-depth guide to professional web site design. Visit
Web-Source.net to sign up for a complimentary subscription
to Etips and receive a copy of the acclaimed ebook, “Killer
Internet Marketing Strategies.” http://www.web-source.net
