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Ten Lessons Learned in Internet Business
By Shelley Lowery
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.
Copyright
© Shelley Lowery 2003. All Rights
Reserved
About
the Author:
Shelley
Lowery is the author of Web Design Mastery
- An in- depth guide to professional web
design. And, Ebook Starter - A complete
ebook design kit. Subscribe to Etips and
receive a free copy of the highly acclaimed
ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing
Strategies."
http://www.web-source.net
