Selling online

June 22, 2012 by  
Filed under Internet Marketing Tools

Once upon a time, setting up a business meant opening up a shop somewhere where you could be sure that customers would come to see you. You needed to order stock and keep the shop tidy, well-heated or ventilated, and you needed to always be there. All of this meant that starting to sell would be preceded by weeks, even months of extremely diligent work, and with no guarantee of success anyone looking to set up a business would often decide that, on balance, the risk was too big. Now those problems are things of the past, and the potential businessperson can get things up and running very quickly.

The thing about “bricks and mortar” businesses is that they relied a lot on location and the other factors mentioned above. By going electronic, your sales room can be a small study under your stairs and your customers can be anybody. There is plenty of technology available which allows you to process payments electronically from a customer’s credit card or online banking facility. But even if you are not in a position to do this, you can set up a PayPal account and do your selling on eBay. Scarcely any initial outlay for you, and potential for the money to come flowing in with scarcely any delay. And now you can do business in your pajamas at 1.30am. so many of the obstacles to someone hoping to make a way in the business world have been removed, and it is all thanks to the Internet.

Logging on For a Living

June 19, 2012 by  
Filed under Internet Marketing Tips

More and more people are becoming aware of the fact that to be on the internet can mean serious business opportunities for those who are switched on and prepared to do the necessary work. In times gone past getting set up in business was a lengthy process that would almost invariably require some hefty investment up front simply to get started. Now, all you need is a computer, an internet connection and an idea. The rest is simply a matter of following some uncomplicated steps and putting your plans into action. You can have an idea one day and be up and running within twenty four hours if you have the drive to make it happen.

Before the internet opened things up so much, a business would generally require premises from which to operate. Even if you ran the business from your home, this would make it more complicated as it would involve having your business life intrude heavily on your home life with little separation between the two. Now, all business can be routed through your computer – using e-mail, PayPal and some simple, user friendly websites (such as a blogging platform) – and the rest of your home can stay just as it is. The only concern that you need to have is how you are going to make it pay – but that is no different from any business, and there is no such thing as free money. What there is, thanks to the internet, is a world of business that is simpler and more transparent than it ever was before.

Getting Up and Running

June 9, 2012 by  
Filed under Internet Marketing Tips

Making an Internet-based business work and pay for you is more simple than business has ever been before – you just need to know how. The first thing to do is to decide on a price list for things that you will do. In order to make explanation more understandable, let us use an example. If you are a website builder for example, you can set prices based on how complicated or otherwise the site is. A site with an intricate design, multiple pages and interactive content will be a lot more time consuming and demanding than one that simply has a front page with basic information. You would therefore price it more highly.

Having a host site is preferable if you want to do business by way of the Internet. This can again be simple or more complicated. The site is like the front door of a “bricks and mortar” office – it will be what brings customers into contact with you. It acts as a shop front, so making it attractive and intriguing will bring in all the more business. For simplicity, you can set up a blog, something which is highly popular and easy. An original, more customisable site will require some HTML knowledge and other associated competencies – but if you build websites then you will know that.

On the site, you can display some short descriptions of what you do, how you do it and how much you charge. Really, there should be a limit to how much information you give to customers. To overload them will get in the way of things – you can give the specifics when they contact you.