4 Tips For Starting An Online Business That Will Survive

In this article I am going to share 4 tips that you can use to make sure that you start your online business the right way. If you get it wrong then you are more likely to fail.

It's not easy starting an online business and more people fail than succeed. If you follow these tips then you will start on the right foot and increase your chances of success.

1. Staying On Target

It is so easy to drift along and get distracted. If you are working from home then it can be even more difficult to stay on track.

Here is a scenario:

You get up to make a cup of tea and you notice some mess on the carpet so you start tidying it up. You put the things away and while doing so you notice the clothes have finished their wash cycle and so you take them out and hang them up. While in the garden you see some weeds that you just have to pull up...

It can go on and on and you never get around to working on the task you needed to that day!

OK, so that is a bit of an exaggeration but you get the picture. There are distractions everywhere and especially so on the internet.

Facebook, email, pop ups, instant messaging, Skype - they all make noises to draw you in and demand your attention.

Solution

You need to have a target in mind and stick to it. A plan of action or goal. Decide what the most important thing is that you need to do each day that will have the biggest impact on your business and do it first.

2. Knowing Costs

Do you keep a record of everything you spend? Do you have a spreadsheet where you keep track of your expenditure and income?

You need to know these numbers or you can easily start losing money. For any business to survive it has to be profitable.

Solution

Keep a track of what you spend and the money you make. If you buy a training program then make sure that you generate income from implementing what you have learned.

If you haven't any income against a particular training program then ask yourself - did I actually implement it?

Don't go onto the next training until you have mastered and generated income from the first.

3. Learning The Skills

There are always new skills you have to learn for your new business. If you plan to learn them yourself then be prepared for it to take time.

If you don't learn the skill you need then you can't expect to see the results. If you have money available for someone else to perform a task, such as building your website, then it might be worth investing in and getting that done for you rather than learn the skill yourself.

Solution

Be realistic about what you can and can't do yourself. Don't be shy about asking for help or investing in help.

Never try something before you have learned how to or you may end up making a mess of things and having to start all over again.

4. Keep The Momentum Going

One of the key things about starting and running your online business is keeping the momentum going. The more results you see the more you are spurred on to taking action.

Remember that results isn't just about making money. You can see results from your efforts in many different ways such as content online, subscribers, products created, etc. These are necessary parts of your business and getting them done builds your foundation.

Solution

Don't obsess about money. See results as achievements you make and acknowledge them when you achieve them. This will keep you motivated and the momentum going.

It becomes far harder to start again after slowing down or stopping.

By the way do you want to a sustainable income online? If so then download my brand new free eBook on how to maximize your profits by creating your own high quality products quickly: Super Fast Product Creation

Or visit My Blog for more step by step help.

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Internet Marketing: How To Get Your Message Noticed?

So how do you get noticed online? I mean there are so many other people competing for attention! Do a search for a particular keyword and how many website come up? How can you possibly get noticed?

Building awareness of your business and getting visibility to what you offer is critical to your online success.

Here are 3 tips on how to make the most of the internet and getting noticed.

Unique Wow Factor

You need to stand out in some way. This might be in what you offer, the way you offer it or your particular style.

Have you ever noticed those videos that go viral? Someone has come up with a way that makes them stand out and they use it to get noticed. You can do the same with your business and message.

Perhaps you aren't artistic and so videos aren't your thing but there are other ways. Create some content that has the wow factor to it.

Perhaps write a press release or article. Get your message out there in as many different ways as you can.

Be Everywhere

Have you noticed how you can visit one site and then another and another and you keep seeing the same person mentioned or their photo on them all?

Content marketing makes this possible. Put your content everywhere.

If you are in a specific niche and people are looking for information to do with your niche then you will be seen in a whole load of places online if you have made the effort to put your content on lots of different platforms.

Get Recognised

I have heard some people say that they never use their photo on sites. If you have an online business then people need to see your face. You need to make sure that your prospects understand that you are a real person and they can recognise you by your photo.

Avatars have made this really easy to do. Create an avatar which is a photo of you and then wherever you go online use that avatar.

Eventually people will begin to recognise your photo and tie your photo up with your business message.

Some marketers use logos instead but if you are an information marketer and create your own training programs then ideally you should use your own photo as you are the person that people are dealing with and buying information from.

By the way do you want to a sustainable income online? If so then download my brand new free eBook on how to maximize your profits by creating your own high quality products quickly: Super Fast Product Creation

Or visit My Blog for more step by step help.

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Internet Marketing: Why SMART Planning Is Essential

In this article I am going to discuss why you need to check and make sure that any goals you set for yourself or your business or indeed others, need to be SMART goals. Without those 5 areas being met you will waste time and energy and ultimately become despondent.

When I was working offline there were times when I would be set a target and as an incentive my commission rate would increase if I hit it.

Incentives are great but if the target is beyond your control how can you achieve it? Powerless, that's how I felt. Frustrated too.

In many businesses, managers forget that any target needs to be reachable - it must be within that persons capability of achieving. If not, then something that is supposed to spur you on has the opposite effect - it turns you off and your output goes down.

So what are these 5 areas and how can you apply them?

Specific

Target a specific area for improvement. You must be able to define it. What area in your business needs improving? Can you describe it in detail? Can you pin point it?

Unless you know exactly what your goal is then you will easily become distracted and go off course.

Do you need more website visitors? If so, to what web page?

Do you need more subscribers? If so, then what traffic source(s) will you use?

Do you need more sales? If so, then what product and to whom?

Measurable

You need a way to measure whether you have achieved it or not. You need to be able to know whether or not you have achieved the goal in a way that you can measure so that you know you are on track.

So how many visitors? How many subscribers? How many blog posts?

Attainable

It must be possible! It must be within your ability to achieve. Do you have control of the situation or do you need to rely on someone else? If you are dependent on someone else then how will you make sure that they do what they are supposed to do?

It's hard. Sometimes you just have to do it yourself until you have found a reliable resource.

My advice is to set yourself goals that you have complete control over. Yes, the buck stops with you but at least you have a chance of attaining it.

Realistic

This is perhaps one of the hardest parts. We can get carried away with our dreams and set a goal that in reality we can't achieve. If you only have a few hours each day to work on your business then you must take that into account.

If you need to take time out for child care then take it into account. It is far better to set a smaller goal that is realistic than to set something too big and never get there. You'll become stressed out and feel like a failure.

Time-related

Set a time that you want the goal to be completed by. It's good to have a dead line as it motivates you to take action. Perhaps a monthly goal would work well for you.

By the way are you fed up promoting other peoples products? Do you want to have your own? If so then download my brand new free eBook on how to maximize your profits by creating your own high quality products quickly: Super Fast Product Creation

Or visit My Blog for more step by step help.

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When Is It Time To Quit Your Online Business?

Sometimes we can be blind to the obvious! This can work for and against us but in a business situation you can't afford to be blind. In this article I am going to discuss when it might be time to re think and even quit!

We all have off days. Days when nothing seems to go right or we don't make any sales. When building an online business you have to expect those types of days. Certainly at the very beginning you are probably going to see more of those days than successful ones!

It takes time to build any business and an online business is no exception. Just because there are promises of quick and easy results means that we can often think that our business is going nowhere when in fact things are actually working.

Realistically it takes 3 to 6 months of hard work to really understand if you business has the makings of being successful. You need to give it time. However, there are times when it becomes necessary to take a step back and evaluate what you are doing to see if in reality you need to quit.

Here are two things to look out for:

Decreasing Sales
If your sales are going down then you need to investigate. If you can honestly say that you have continued to put the same effort into your business as you have previously then this is a warning sign.

Perhaps the market has changed?

Maybe your customer has gone elsewhere?

If you are no longer making sales then ask your customer first for feedback. It might be something as simple as a process no longer functioning, like your automated email campaign.

If there is no reason that you can fix then seriously consider calling it a day. This is more likely to be the case if you are in a rapidly changing niche such as technology or one that is not evergreen. Be careful with these niches - you need to keep up with the trends.

No Subscribers
If you are no longer getting sign ups then you need to find out why. It could be that your offer needs changing or your prospects are now somewhere else online. Without subscribers you will continually struggle to make consistent profits.

Make sure that you are focusing on traffic generation exactly where your market will see your offer.

If your offer is no longer relevant then you need to reconsider what you can offer and if it is still in demand.

Changing your tactics or product line may be all that is necessary but a change is definitely needed.

By the way do you want to a sustainable income online? If so then download my brand new free eBook on how to maximize your profits by creating your own high quality products quickly: Super Fast Product Creation

Or visit My Blog for more step by step help.

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Internet Marketing: Is Change Good For Your Business?

Do you like change or do you do your best to escape it? Sometimes change can kill your business while at other times it can save it!

I'll admit that I don't like change! I like to be in control! I think we all do to a certain extent.

However in a business situation you have to make peace with change! Sometimes you have to embrace it!

In today's culture it is important to understand who your target market is and to keep up with how it changes. Especially when you market online.

The internet has enabled us all to search for exactly what we want. No longer do we have to make do. With a bit of effort we can usually find exactly what it is we are looking for even if it is quite obscure.

This means that there are plenty of little niche groups, groups of like minded individuals that before may not have existed just because it wasn't very popular.

Since the internet is world wide we can form a group with others across the world and share our particular hobbies and passions - something we would not have been able to do before.

Therefore rather than things becoming generalised the opposite is happening. Things are becoming more and more defined.

This is why there are so many businesses focusing on particular niches and sub niches.

If you choose a specific niche market then you can make a mistake if you decide to change by generalizing what you offer.

This is perhaps what Woolworths did by trying to stock everything rather than focus on what it was known for - its pick 'n mix.

If you have a brand then changing what your brand stands for can put existing customers off. You might get new customers but it is the old customers that in many ways, keeps your business going.

It is far easier to sell to existing customers and therefore it is in your best interests to keep those customers happy rather than make changes to draw in new customers.

If your existing customers want change then you should listen to them.

Therefore listening to your customer is essential if you are going to keep up with their demands. It might mean staying the same or it might mean making small changes here and there.

However, those changes could have a huge impact on whether your business continues to remain competitive.

By the way do you want to a sustainable income online? If so then download my brand new free eBook on how to maximize your profits by creating your own high quality products quickly: Super Fast Product Creation

Or visit My Blog for more step by step help.

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What Is The Purpose Of Your Content And Sales Funnel?

In this article I am going to discuss what purpose your content has and also why you need a sales funnel. How do the two fit together?

The content is in effect the start of your sales funnel. So you create content for people to read or listen to, as a means of generating traffic to the place you want that traffic to go.

You use that content to bring visitors to the website you want them to end up on. This website might be your sales page, your blog or a squeeze page.

If you use a squeeze page then the purpose of that web page is to encourage the visitors to sign up to your email list.

If they connect with you and the content you have created, plus they want to get what you are offering them, then they will sign up to your list.

One mistake that people make is to use their content for more than one purpose. If you write content with the aim of people to visit another site whether that be a sales page or squeeze page the purpose of that content is to draw them in.

That's the purpose. However, many people use the content not only to draw visitors in but also as a sales pitch!

This confuses your visitor. Using content marketing as a sales pitch is not going to work. It should be used to lure people in so that they become your subscriber.

How do you lure people in? By creating content that helps your target audience in some way or another. Your ultimate goal is to be THE expert (not just an expert) in your particular field and you can use content for this purpose.

Content that positions yourself as THE expert is content that your prospects will search out and find. So your content positions you as the expert and helps your audience in some way. It lures them in so that they become your subscriber.

Now the sales funnel can begin. Now that your subscribers see you as the expert and you have proved helpful you can nurture that relationship and increase that trust and respect.

You can offer a low risk, low priced product that is of high quality so that your subscribers become buyers.

Once you have buyers on your list you can then offer another, higher priced product as part of your sales funnel until you get to your backend offer.

Each part of your funnel acts like a filter. You filter off the people who don't need what you have and also those who can't afford or are unwilling to pay for what they need.

By the way do you want to a sustainable income online? If so then download my brand new free eBook on how to maximize your profits by creating your own high quality products quickly: Super Fast Product Creation

Or visit My Blog for more step by step help.

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Internet Marketing: Questions To Consider If Your Sales Are Going Down

In this article I am going to discuss the questions you need to ask yourself if your sales are decreasing. We all go through periods throughout the year where sales are particularity high such as Christmas or holiday seasons. However, when your sales keep going down its time to investigate and make the changes necessary to remain in profit.

This is especially important when it comes to an internet business because the internet changes much faster than the offline world.

Is Your Customer Service On Top Form?

If you are not providing excellent customer service then your customer will go elsewhere. If you promise something and don't deliver then you destroy any trust that may have been there.

Customer services is one of the easiest things to change in your business. Just provide the experience that you would expect yourself.

What Are Your Delivery Times Like?

If you are delivering digital products then check that your system is set up correctly. For shipping physical products check your delivery service and make sure that they are providing the service you expect from them. If not then find someone who will.

Are You Competitively Priced?

Pricing does play a factor and people will go to the cheapest provider just for that reason. However, there are plenty of other customers who will pay what the product or service is worth. Therefore be careful about lowering your prices.

Check out your quality and what you provide and compete with the equivalent standards found by competitors.

What Are You Doing To Market Your Business?

Over time we can become complacent. Perhaps you have cut back on your marketing efforts. Your need new prospects constantly and therefore you need to put effort into marketing for today's customers.

Are Your Products Of Top Quality?

Are your products providing what you have promised? The only way to know for sure is to ask your buyers. Make sure you get feedback and use it to increase the value of your products.

Are You Actively Following Up Leads?

Are you actively taking time to develop relationships with your prospects? This can be done on autopilot if you are using email. Make sure that you follow-up and ask questions and encourage a two way interactive relationship.

Are You Providing The Solution To Current Needs In Your Market?

Peoples needs change and therefore you need to keep on top of what today's customers need from you. Sometimes it will be the same as previously but you can't assume this is the case.

By the way do you want to a sustainable income online? If so then download my brand new free eBook on how to maximize your profits by creating your own high quality products quickly: Super Fast Product Creation

Or visit My Blog for more step by step help.

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Starting A Business: Reasons Why the Internet Provides The Ideal Business Model

Starting a business can be daunting and often the potential difficulties out weigh the benefits. In this article I am going to offer reasons why the internet provides an ideal business model and is one of the easiest ways to start your own business.

Problem: Costs

Starting your own business can be a costly thing. You might need to lease a shop or rent another property in which to function. Manufacturing costs are high and finding suppliers can be a nightmare.

Internet Solution: No Overheads

If you start your own information marketing business then you can work at home. There are no overheads provided you own a computer and internet access.

Problem: Stock

When you sell physical products you have to store them somewhere. You need to keep a stock so that people can actually purchase your merchandise. The more items you sell the more room you need for stock.

Internet Solution: No Stock

Selling digital products means that you have no need to have physical stock. The digital product resides on your hard drive! This means that you can have lots of products and you don't need more and more space to store them. The only thing you need is enough memory on your computer.

Problem: Small Audience

If you own a shop in the high street then you might have a fairly large audience compared to someone in a little town. However, if you want to get a bigger audience you would need to open another store somewhere else.

Internet Solution: Global Audience

On the internet everyone is potentially your audience. Obviously you would need to target your marketing so that people who need what you have can find you, but you have the potential to reach a far wider and global audience. This means it is much easier to scale up your business.

Problem: Staff

For your business to function the best you need a variety of staff to do all the jobs necessary to keep your business ticking over. This means more costs and managing people.

Internet Solution: Automation

On the internet you are able to automate parts of your business. You can build customer relationships using email set up to go out on autopilot. Your transactions are done automatically and the product is 'shipped' out without you needing to do anything provided you have set it up correctly.

The internet really does provide anyone with the opportunity to start their own business.

By the way do you want to a sustainable income online? If so then download my brand new free eBook on how to maximize your profits by creating your own high quality products quickly: Super Fast Product Creation

Or visit My Blog for more step by step help.

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Internet Marketing: Why You Need To Be A Tester

In this article I am going to discuss why you need to track and to test your results if you are going to get better results for less effort and also if you are going to be able to stay ahead of the competition. If you don't test your system then you could be heading for a breakdown.

Every business whether online or offline will at some point test their methods so that they can improve what already works and make it more efficient or to change what doesn't work.

In order to test effectively you need to understand what your system is. If you don't have a system then you can't really test it! Without a system or method in place you are like a headless chicken running round in circles and you will find it virtually impossible to know what to test!

Your System

Think about your overall business plan and what you actually do to grow and build your business. Spend time documenting the tasks perhaps using a mind map so that you can more clearly see what is going on.

Once you have your methods in front of you then you can modify it so that it is an easy to follow system. Imagine that you have to show someone else how to run your business so that they know exactly what needs to be done and the order in which each task is undertaken.

With a system in place you can now look at each part of that system and test its effectiveness.

Testing & Measuring

Take each method in your system and test it.

So for example, your traffic source, your opt in process, your sales process, your email campaign, your feedback mechanism, etc. Everything must be tested. You can use tracking to test some aspects and with others you might have to create a spreadsheet and analyse the data yourself.

Staying Ahead

The only way to keep ahead is to keep track of your numbers. This means testing everything.

This also allows you to spot changing trends and therefore stay up to date with changes.

You need to keep up with your market. Some things stop working while other things might become more important.

If you want to stay ahead of the competition you need to know as quickly as possible what these changes are.

How? By knowing your numbers. By testing everything regularly and implementing the necessary changes.

By the way do you want to a sustainable income online? If so then download my brand new free eBook on how to maximize your profits by creating your own high quality products quickly: Super Fast Product Creation

Or visit My Blog for more step by step help.

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Is Product Creation All About Needs Or Wants?

n this article I am going to discuss whether you should focus on what your customer wants or what they actually need. With information marketing you are usually providing a solution to a particular problem and therefore it is natural to focus on what your customer actually needs. However, what if they don't actually want your solution?

Have you ever been in a situation where you have tried again and again to help someone solve a particular issue that they have but it doesn't matter how many times you give them the solution they never do anything about it?

There are times when people don't actually want a solution to their problem because they feel secure having a problem. Sometimes people have had a particular problem for so long that if they were to have that problem removed they would feel extremely vulnerable and therefore subconsciously they hold on to the problem. They don't want a solution.

Therefore when it comes to creating your product that solves specific problems you need to be very careful how you market it. You need to market it in such a way that people who need it actually want it as well.

This might mean creating your product in a format that people want or in a way that someone will feel more comfortable with. For example, if you offer one-on-one coaching to help someone through their problem you may find that many people are put off by that and feel threatened by it.

That fear overrides their desire to remove the problem and therefore they do nothing about it. If you were to offer email coaching as another option then you might find that other people take you up on your offer because they feel safer with that kind of interaction.

In many ways when you market your product as being a solution to a problem you need to include in your sales page a reason why keeping the problem is a far worse option than solving the problem. There must be a compelling enough reason why someone should solve their problem so that they actually want to solve it as well.

The best way to do this is to ask your customers how they want to solve their problem. Find out what they want and the way they want it. They might be looking for information only or something more tangible.

When you include something that reflects what people want you are more able to help those particular people who may not realise that they have a problem in the first place and those who are reluctant to change.

By the way do you want to a sustainable income online? If so then download my brand new free eBook on how to maximize your profits by creating your own high quality products 

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