Last time we left you with the thought that you
should try to avoid picking too big of challenges...
especially at first. Today we are going to start you
out on the same theme.
21. Don't try to compete with major corporations.
Don't try to compete with multi-million dollar
corporations on the basis of price. You cannot
start a book business and out price Amazon. If
you want to compete as a small business, you must choose to market to a niche group of people.
22. Find your niche.
If you want to create a book selling site, then focus on a specific market such as dogs, pottery, business, etc.
If you run a search engine, focus on a niche. Don't compete with Yahoo.
23. Base your plan on reality.
It may be a good idea to offer a site that updates every single day like the big corporations. They
have hundreds of site designers and thousands of employees though. If you want a site that updates
constantly, create it to work with an automated updating program or with a support system such as a discussion
group where hundreds of people can be posting content for you.
24. Try offering seven links or less on your main page.
One of the primary goals of any business is to make sure you don't confuse your customers. By offering only seven
links or less on your main page, you will limit the likelihood your prospects will get confused about the purpose
of your site.
25. Make sure every page on your site links back to your main page.
Don't assume your prospects will just hit the "back" button to go back to your main page. Also don't
assume that they will remember where your main page is. Have every page on your site link back to the main page.
26. Include the "new" command when linking outside of your domain.
You will be able to keep the visitor at your site by using the new command on links that go outside of your domain.
The way to do this is by simply adding target="newpage" inside of the html section of your links. Below
is an example.
<A HREF="http://www.KillerGraffix.com" target="newpage">
27. Cut down on the graphics on your site.
Graphics take a long time to load. Keep the graphics to a minimum on most sites and always try to reduce the colors
down to 256 or even 16 for reduced sizes on all of graphics.
28. Don't always jump into new technologies.
Flash sites and Real Video are awesome technologies you can use on your site, but don't let your
whole marketing plan rely on them. Offer other means of obtaining the same information from your site for those
who don't want to wait for the site to download.
29. Spend the extra money you need to get your own domain.
Don't force your Internet business to rely on a free server. Getting your own domain name establishes credibility
in the minds of many of your prospects. It is worth the extra $35 per year for Network Solutions and the extra
$20 or so per month for a hosting service.
30. Look for a hosting service with full support, CGI access, and secure
ordering.
Too many people skimp in this area and find out they have to move their server later on. Look for a hosting service
that has what you need when you start instead of just looking for the cheapest prices.
31. Accept Credit Cards.
Your business must accept credit cards if you want to succeed in this next century online. Around 90% or more of
your customers will purchase by credit card, so you really aren't even in business yet if you aren't accepting
credit cards.
32. Offer several options for ordering.
The best way to receive the most orders in your business is to offer a secure order form, phone orders, fax orders,
and postal orders. One of the keys to success in any business is to make ordering as easy as possible.
33. Remember that freebies are the key to sales.
Offer freebies on your site. Offer free information, free CGI programs, free demos, or free samples
or your products or services. Freebies are the driving force in online marketing so make sure that everything you
do has some freebie involved.
34. Give something good and valuable away for free.
Don't offer something just to get visitors. Make sure that it is a good example of the kinds of
materials you can offer. If you are giving away junk, then people are going to have the same opinion of any product
or service you offer.
35. Make sure not to give everything away for free.
Some people give everything away for free and then find that neither they nor their prospects have been done a
service. If you give everything you have away up-front you will have nothing to sell. If you give everything away
to your prospects, they won't see the value in what you are offering them and usually won't even use it.
36. Create a sales funnel on your site.
Always keep your well defined goal in your mind while you are building your web site. If your goal is to receive
automated sales online, then make sure that all of your free stuff leads people closer to a buying decision.
37. Not all web sites are created with sales in mind.
Some companies may just want to collect leads for their company to follow up on by email, mail, or by telemarketing.
If you sell a high ticket item, you will find it is difficult to make sales directly online and may want to use
your site to collect leads.
38. One of the best things to do on any site is to collect the email address.
If you get your prospect's email address, you can follow-up. If you don't get their email address and you don't
get the sale on the prospect's first visit, then you will have lost the sale forever. Also note that a good web
site only converts .5% - 5% of their visitors.
39. The next web site is just a click away.
Part of the reason for your focus in site creation is that your competitor is only one click away. If you
lose your prospect's interest for one minute, you will miss out on the sale. Everything you do must grab their
attention and focus on your goal.
40. Give an opportunity for people to present feedback.
Your web sites should always have a feedback form so people can send you their questions or their
opinions. Not all of the opinions are always good, but you will begin to see what reasons people have for not buying
from you. Then, you may make changes if certain things keep coming up.
Some of the ideas we have listed above are pretty basic so consider them a refresher course in good marketing techniques.
If you don't have the basics down you will never profit from moving on to the more advanced techniques.
The key to wealth isn't always knowing everything. As a matter of fact, you could know every single trick in the
book and still not earn a dime online. It is the DOING that brings the profits in your business.
Are you doing what you read above?
Mick Moore,
The Internet Entrepreneur
http://www.quickstartexpert.com/
P.S. In the next section of tips you will be learning how to write write killer ad copy for the web...So whatever
you do, don't miss it!
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