by Dr. Kevin Nunley
Index
of Articles
The Internet is a great
equalizer giving opportunity to anyone willing to roll
up their sleeves and go to work. But how do you build
your own online empire when you're already busy with job
and family?
Here are seven tried-and-true
shortcuts to get your online business up and profitable
in record time.
1. Those snazzy corporate
web sites now cost one million dollars and more. Customers
expect your site to look almost as good.
Professional designers
spend years and thousands of dollars purchasing the right
programs and learning how to use them. You can skip the
learning curve by using a good template-based web design
system.
JustWebIt.com and others
offer free systems you can use online to build your site.
Simply type your headlines into the supplied boxes, add
your copy, pull up the right graphics, and list your product
prices.
For a more advanced look
that makes you look like you spent thousands on designers,
try NetStudio. Get the free download at NetStudio.com.
I'm about as graphics challenged as anyone and I was able
to churn out a killer web page in 15 minutes.
2. Skip the shopping
cart and go with a good third-party credit card processor
or one of the new generation of all-in-one solutions.
A number of firms like ibill.com and ccnow.com give you
an online order form, process your customer's credit cards,
and deposit the funds into your bank account. The big
favorite is PayPal. They've got around 100 million members
and can take anyone's order whether they're a member or
not. The PayPal system is very easy to set up.
Watch for hidden merchant
account fees. Especially be wary of credit card companies
that say your shopping cart can be tied into their system
with simple programming. One "simple" system turned out
to be so complicated we had to hire two professional programmers
for three days to hook it up.
3. Buying visitors
for your web site can be very expensive. Advertising
and marketing costs mount quickly. You can get thousands
of visitors free by building attractive features into
your site. Offer free software, free articles, or a free
7 lesson course via email.
Think from the beginning
how you can make your site attractive to search engines.
Keep your site's theme narrow and well-focused. When prospects
type a word that describes you into a search engine, your
site will be far more likely to come up if your copy revolves
around that search topic.
4. Offer a service
with plenty of profit built in. Think of something
you, or someone you hire, can do to help businesses. The
lion's share of commerce on the Internet consists of products
and services sold to businesses.
A good service can cost
you very little to deliver and it can command a high price.
5. Create your own
in-house email list. Spam is ineffective and often
illegal. It's a much better idea to offer a newsletter
or monthly update packed with helpful information your
customers will appreciate. They will respond by saving
your email, printing it off, and forwarding it to associates.
Cut the time of producing
and sending your newsletter with the no-cost Ezine Builder
at e-zinez.com. Onelist.com and Topica.com offer free
list management services that can save you hours each
week.
6. Get help writing
your web site copy. Effective copy can make a huge
difference in how many people buy from your web site.
One major company had us tweak their copy and sales doubled
immediately.
Having a professional
writer do all your copy will probably be too expensive.
Instead, write your copy yourself and have a professional
writer fix it up. It may take no more than an hour of
their time.
7. Become an expert
on something. Experts are in constant demand. Everyone
wants to buy from an expert. Becoming known as an authority
is probably easier than you realize.
Spend time at your local
library reading up on a subject your customers care about.
Use search engines to find more information online. Jot
down the things you learn and spin them into short articles.
Use your own words.
These eight simple shortcuts
are the mortar behind many successful Internet businesses.
Use them to smartly cut costs and speed your path to success.
