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Top 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."
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You have
permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook or on
your web site, free of charge, as long as the author bylines are included.
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