| |
|
|
How To Make Money Online - Steps to Success
by Leslie Truex
Internet Skills
Published on this site: August 25th, 2011 - See
more articles from this month
One of the most popular ways to earn money is on the Internet. The appeal is
that working online allows you to start a business that doesn't require you
to talk directly to people (although you will need to respond to email) or
leave your home. For many who are shy or home-bound, an Internet business sounds
ideal. But an online business requires much more than launching a website.
The Internet is filled with abandoned stores and other business ventures that
never made a dime. Like any business start-up, you need to know what you're
doing, make a plan and WORK. Here are some steps to online business success.
- Decide what type of business you want to run. Do you have a product or service
to provide? Are you hoping to make a living as a blogger? Before you can start,
you need to know what you want to do.
- Determine if there is a market for your idea and what does the market want.
Don't launch a website without researching whether or not there are people
who want what you offer and are willing to pay for it. Keyword search tools
are helpful in learning how many people are interested in your topic and what
specifically they are interested in.
- Figure out how you will make money. I can't tell you how many people I've
met who want to make a living online and start a blog, but don't know how they'll
make money. If money is the goal, shouldn't you figure that out early in the
game? Money can be made online in a variety of ways including selling your
own products and services, selling the products and services of others (through
affiliate or reseller programs) and advertising.
- Determine the technical requirements to set up your website. If you'll be
running an online store, you'll need a full e-commerce site with a product
database and shopping carts. If you're selling just a couple of items, you
may not need a fancy e-commerce set-up, but in both cases you'll need payment
processing.
- Learn how to build or hire someone to build your site. Trust is an important
factor in making sales. The more professional looking your site, the more trusting
your site will appear.
- Develop a marketing plan. This is where most people fail in online business.
Having a website and getting listed in a search engine are not enough. You
have to know your market, craft promotional materials it will respond to, and
get your materials in front of them. Marketing isn't a one-time deal either.
Marketing is something you do every day to ensure you have a steady stream
of customers.
- Run the numbers. How much do you need to pay your bills? How much are your
business start-up costs? How much are your business running costs? How much
profit above that do you want? How much can you sell your products or services
for? How many do you need to sell to meet your goal? Knowing the numbers you
need to meet are crucial to your success.
Online businesses are a great way to make a living at home. But despite what
many infomercials and ads would have you believe, there is nothing automatic
about making money online. You can't "set it and forget it" unless you're going
to hire someone to run it for you. With that said, if you create an effective
marketing plan, implement a few systems and manage your business, you can be
an online business success.
Leslie Truex is the author of The Work-At-Home Success Bible
and Jobs Online: How to Find and Get Hired to a Work-At-Home Job. She has been
telecommuting and running home businesses for over 15 years and helping others
to work at home since 1998. Get work-at-home jobs and other resources with
her free newsletter at http://www.WorkAtHomeSuccess.com.
|
|
