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Dear friends,
Assalam O Alaikum:
Thanks for
appreciating my first article. I’ve received many emails from
ApnaKarobar.Com’s subscribers, thanking and asking for more information.
Now, I’m going to continue the same with more informative details. If you
have not read my first article on this topic, please
click here
to read it.
Important
Note:
I recommend you to print this email, so it will be easy for you to read it
properly and have a record of this email series.
So, you’ve decided
to start your own Internet Business. Haven’t you?
Here’s the first
rule you must follow to succeed in your business online or off:
Don’t cheat
anyone out of their hard earned money. When you run an honest business you
stand a much better chance at success.
You must describe
your product clearly, without making any false claims, or omitting any
important facts that the average person would need to know.
Any testimonials
given must be genuine and authorized by the person who gave them. You
should be prepared to show proof of any testimonials and they should be of
an honest nature.
When giving a
guarantee, it must give details of how it is carried out. Example: “If you
are not completely satisfied with the product, return it reasonable good
condition within thirty days for a full refund.” This clearly states the
length of the guarantee and the conditions.
Startup Materials
Here is a
list of a few important things, you need in your home-based business
startup:
Research Material
Read books,
instructional literature, magazines and anything else related to your area
of interest to keep yourself informed and updated.
Basic Office
Supplies
Just start with the
very basics. Pens, pencils, paper, business size envelopes, and a good
notebook should get you started.
Business Account
You should open a
business account in a bank sooner or later to keep all of your business
transactions separate from your personal finances. It is important to have
your business name on your checks to represent a professional image. You
should open this account once you have chosen a name and registered your
new business domain name.
Office Equipment
Other than the
computer which you already have, most people can probably get by without
purchasing any office equipment at all. The point is, don’t go out and buy
anything until you absolutely need it.
If you don’t already
have a printer connected to your PC, you should think about getting on.
You’ll eventually need to print something. Although you don’t need to have
one right away.
Software
Here are the basics
you’ll need…
¨
A
good word processing or desktop publishing program. Microsoft Word or
whatever you like.
¨
A
web design program. Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver.
¨
A
good email program. Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Outlook Express.
¨
Another very helpful program to have is a mail list or address list
program. This helps you grow a customer list as well as track product
ship dates, amounts paid, Email address and other relevant information.
Microsoft Access is very good for this, but you can use any other you
prefer.
¨
One
more item that you will need eventually is a web hosting company to host
your web site. Pricing varies widely here, and my next articles will
cover hosting in details.
I know, what are you
thinking? “What will I sell online?” Right?
What can you sell
online?
The big question is
“What
should you be marketing, or selling on the Internet?” That’s right; you
need something to
market if you are going to make any money.
I've come across
lots of people who want their own high-income business on the web but do
not want to get
involved with selling. What do I tell these folks? Simple. I tell them
other alternative i.e. JOB.
The simple fact is,
when you go into business for yourself, and you want to make serious
money, you have to be able to market yourself or your products or
services.
The Internet lets
you be a sales "genius" without hard efforts. Online, the actual act of
selling is as simple as setting up a few automated tools and letting them
do the work!
When you sell
something, you are not taking a person’s money. Customers are making the
conscious decision that what you have to offer is worth a trade for a
certain amount of their cash. This is exactly how and why businesses work.
So now that you know
you have to sell something
to start moving toward a high income, let's get right to the other part of
this question...
What
do you sell?
Too many online
marketers tell you that you should be reselling
their
products! That's not true.
The very best way to make money, either online or off, is to market
your own products or
services. Not only this give you complete control, it enables you to
maximize your profits by keeping most of the money from every sale.
Now perhaps you
already have a product or service in mind for your business. If you do,
great! You're a step ahead, but if you have
no idea what you could sell
to make money online, here are just a few ideas…
I’ve learned that
the number one seller in the world has always been, and always will be –
information, specialized information. I made a decision that I would start
my business on this basis. I set out to come up with the best information
about Internet marketing I could offer at a price far below what others
were selling it for. This has always been my business strategy and it will
remain the same until it stops working.
And I've got news
for you... creating your own information products is
not hard at all. Everyone
knows something about a particular subject. Whether it is "gardening" or
"computer hardware" you can easily create your own information products.
Simply take your area of expertise and start writing down everything
you know about it.
Think back to
everything you have learned over the years about it. This is the type of
information others want and need. They will pay good money to save their
valuable time and get the facts that you already know. Once you have your
facts together, putting them into a marketable format is much easier than
you think. The Internet offers tons of cheap software for book printing,
eBook creation and more. Just pick a program and run with it.
If you have
expertise in any field, of course, you have good command on whatever you
do. Suppose, you have a degree/diploma (and some experience) in Web
Engineering, you know how to develop a web site and its programming, you
can offer web development services to business owners who require your
services. If you have some experience or some existing clients, it will be
your PLUS point. Think... what can you do? what services you can provide?
Offer these services online. You can introduce yourself as a web
developer, software developer, hardware specialists, network engineer,
estate agent, teacher, instructor, doctor, lawyer, sales promoter,
accountant, engineer etc.
Busy businesspeople
need guys who can work for them. Think... what you know? what you can do
perfectly? Work as a freelancer. Promote yourself, utilize your
existing qualification, abilities, professional skills
and experience and convert them into a business, online business
and you will start making attractive earnings.
Now let me get back
to that side note... I can already hear lots of you thinking...
I don't want to
create a product or sell information.
Can't I make money reselling products and services
that other companies have already produced?"
The answer is yes.
The Internet is generating all types of new products and services every
day, and you can make money selling them, but you must be extremely
selective. You can make serious money only when selling products and
services that fit a certain criteria.
What are the
criteria? Well, if the product or service fits the following categories,
it should be considered:
1. It must have a
large demand.
That is, you must be
able to identify a large group of people who would be interested in it.
2. You must be able
to earn a minimum of 25% of the profits on anything you sell.
There are far too
many companies paying 5% or 10% commissions or less. The hard fact is, you
just cannot sell enough of something at those commission rates to earn a
substantial income.
3. You must be able
to become a reseller without spending a large amount of cash.
I know many web
sites that charges hundreds of dollars for the privilege of reselling
their products or services. Many people who spend their money there, most
of them never earn even
their initial investment back. If you see a business opportunity that will
require a large outlay of money, or the need for you to make many sales to
earn back your initial investment, leave it.
But when done
correctly, reselling can
be extremely profitable...
Some of the products
I resell are software and domain registration services. People simply
download the program or register a domain name. They order using their
credit card. Product delivery is as simple as emailing their registration
information code to them and that’s it. I earn good money every time. You
won’t find anything that easy in the real world. No inventory, no
shipping, no risk. And that's just one example. Reselling also generates
monthly checks whether you work or not.
And I want to make
one more thing clear here. It does not have to be information, software or
services you resell. It can be
anything along the lines of your interests. A friend of mine
even built a residual income as a reseller of personal ad sites on the
web. No matter what your interest, there is serious money to be made in
promoting existing products and services online - if you know what you're
doing.
Remember, although
the best way to make lots of money online is to come up with at least one
product or service that you own.
“Online Sales” It’s
a little different than real-world selling…
Here’s just a small
portion of this advice, which can help anyone trying to make sales online.
If you keep these in mind as you are creating your sales literature,
whether it will be email or web page copy, you will make more sales.
-
You must always
attract a prospect’s interest with an innovative and interesting title
or first sentence, while avoiding the temptation of using copy like
this: “Become a millionaire in 14 days.” Overly sensational headlines
are a big turn off, especially online, where the prospect is a little
more intelligent and sophisticated. Instead, get their attention with
headlines like one I use. It reads: “Thousands of businesses closed
their websites last year. Here’s why they failed…”
-
Always focus your
copy on solving your reader’s problem or making something easier for
them. This is the key to successful selling. If your product or service
cannot enrich the life of your prospect in some way, they will not buy
it. Make it crystal clear to them how you plan to do this and what they
have to do to take you up on your offer.
-
The best way to
sell in cyberspace is to first educate your consumer with free
assistance and then gently guide them to your offerings. And when they
get there, give them a reason to buy that very moment. You can do that
with a special bonus or other added incentive. Remember, once they are
gone they may not be back. Make your offer so appealing they can’t
refuse it!
A KEY COMPONENT –
YOUR FREEBIE…
When placed on the
internet, your sales literature will usually take on one of two formats.
These consist of:
-
Web Pages
-
Email Messages
In order for both of
these to do their job successfully, you must get people to read them.
Although there is a lot involved in selling online, if you start by
following rule number one you will be ahead of the game.
What is the rule
one?
Always Give Away
Something for Free!
Unless people have a
motivation to click to your sales message, most of your prospects will not
read what you have to say.
Here’s a perfect
example of this in action:
Were you enticed by
the offer of this free subscription to ApnaKarobar? Did it make you want
to investigate a little further? Hey, you subscribed it and you’ve got
this email, haven’t you? It must have been somewhat effective. The reason
I offer it for free is to spread the word about my business.
In addition to
teaching you how to succeed in your own online business, offering this
free subscription gives me an opportunity to show off my expertise and
possibly gain a few more potential prospects and customers.
Now, of course you
can’t go around giving everything away for free, but you can make your
readers stand up and take notice. That’s step one. Simply using the word
Free is your sales literature can do wonders. Of course you have to back
that up and actually give away something of value.
Whether it is a free
subscription to your email newsletter, a free software program or even
this very e-book, if you can give it away for free people will remember
you.
Now that you know
how to get the attention of your prospects, let’s move into some methods
of reaching them in droves…
MARKETING STRATEGIES
THAT WORK…
What online
marketing methods really work? Bulk email? Banner adverting? Email
advertising? Discussion group participation? Search Engine Submission?
The list of possible
solutions goes on and on. And , I’ve tried them all, believe me. Although
I don’t have room in this email to go into details on everything I’ve
tried, I will reveal one method that works head and shoulders above
anything else. What is this powerful income generator?
Your own “email
newsletter” or “ezine”.
An email newsletter
or ezine is simply a regular email message that you send to anyone who
asks for it. It delivers free, helpful information to your customers and
your best prospects. The “information” can take on the form of industry
news, web resources, discount specials or anything your heart desires.
This is definitely
one of the best proven online marketing method I have used since 1999. And
best of all, it’s virtually free to publish one!
Why would you want
to? That’s simple. Here are just a few reasons…
-
Your customers and
prospects won’t have to find you or your web site. They’ll constantly be
“in touch” and in tune with your business. You can keep them side by
side of new products and services as they become available. Whether it’s
a new product you are introducing or a service you are adding to your
existing web site, your newsletter is the perfect place to announce it.
-
Publishing a
newsletter is the cheapest form of promotion you’ll ever find. Unlike
traditional newsletters, there are no printing or postage costs so you
can publish as often as you like. Try sending out a catalog by postage
every week without going broke!
-
Since the cost of
publishing an email newsletter is near zero, you can offer free
subscriptions. This insures a steady flow of new prospects for your
products and services.
-
Educating
potential customers and prospects is an excellent way to market your
wares. What better way to educate them than through your free electronic
newsletter? You’ll be proving your expertise in your field and
establishing credibility with every issue.
A PROFESSIONAL
WEBSITE WITHIN ANYONE’S REACH…
During the first
year of my Internet business, I made one big mistake. I waited almost for
six month to start building my web site.
My email marketing
campaign was effective, but not nearly as effective as when I combined it
with a professional website. Why? Here’s the main reason…
Many people will
delete an email message if it does not contain a URL where they can
“anonymously” investigate your offer. With all the unsolicited email on
the net, folks don’t like to risk being added to yet another list without
their approval. That’s what they’re doing when they email someone they
don’t know.
However, if they are
invited to a URL and are presented with a professional web site, they are
likely to stick around. You just earned a prospect.
It’s really quite
simple… you NEED you own website!
So how do you set up
a professional web presence? Simple…
Here’s a checklist
of tasks you’ll need to complete:
Register your own
domain (A Must)
This will give your
business an internet established presence. Too many marketers skip this
crucial step. The Rs 900/- yearly fee is a small price to pay for
professionalism. If you’re serious about your business, don’t skip this
step.
Don’t use unusual words, phrases or ellipsis in domain name. Choose an
easy-to-remember name that also describers your products, services or
expertise.
Get
your own domain and paid web hosting services. Free domain and free
hosting (with a lot of banners or popup windows) doesn’t leave good
impression on your web site visitors about your business and
professionalism.
Build the site
If you do not have
the webmastering know-how, try to learn it. If you prefer to outsource
your design work, be sure to hire a professional designer. Tell them you
want to see examples of their work including unique logos, working scripts
and more. You want a site that you will be proud to direct people to.
Also, be sure to pack your website with helpful information so people will
stick around!
Host it
Be careful here.
I’ll discuss it later.
Planning Tips for
your Website
Once you enter the
planning stages of your website, you will need to include some proven
components.
Key Component # 1
Be sure your main
page contains a clear objective and an invitation. Let me explain this…
When someone comes
to your site is it obvious how the site can help them? After all, they
probably came looking for help. I have visited many sites that look great,
but fail at this key component. If I find myself trying to guess what is
in the home page should clearly define why it is there and invite visitors
in for more.
Key Component #2
A signup form for
free, email newsletter or product/service updates. An email newsletter is
a cost effective way to stay in touch with your prospects. It is also the
single most effective way to hang onto your visitors. Getting traffic is
tough, don’t let visitors get away without offering to stay in touch! A
simple fill-out form will allow you to add their email address to your
private in-house list.
A key tip here…
Don’t ask a lot of questions in your subscription form. They may be
interested in your newsletter but may shy away if they have to reveal too
much information about themselves. A lead is a lead. Ask for their first
name and email address only. If you scare them away, they may never be
back.
Key Component #3
Secure credit card
ordering. This is a MUST at every site that is designed to make money. I
won’t go into the pro’s and con’s of commerce enabling a web site. The
fact is, there are only Pro’s. Quite simply, you are missing the boat if
you think you can get away without this.
E-Commerce enabling
a website is as simple as getting a merchant account and hooking up a
secure server. Sites without these components are being left in the dust.
MISTAKES:
Mistake #1: Using
someone else’s domain name.
Does the first
impression your site makes look like this…
www.somefreewebspace.com/user/
or is it more professional and established like this
www.yourcompany.com
Think about it for a
second. Why are so many companies offering free web sites to anyone who
wants them?
Answer: To get
traffic to their sites!
Smart companies
realize that giving away freebies is a great way to attract visitors. So
go ahead and take them up on it. Build as many free sites as you want! But
link them all to YOUR site. A site with YOUR OWN domain name.
If your company
won’t spring for its own domain name at Rs 900/- a year, your potential
customers will definitely think twice before they buy from you. Plain and
simple. Even if just one or two are scared away, you’ve lost more than the
yearly domain cost already!
Mistake #2: A large,
slow loading home page.
A fellow marketer
recently wrote to me asking why his site was not generating income. I
visited the site and it was beautiful. Probably the best site I’d seen in
a year. So why was it a dud?
It took 3 full
minutes to load! Very few people will wait that long. Perhaps the small
percentage of users surfing the web on a T1 or faster connection will view
this site, but you can’t gear a site toward so few users. A good site
loads fast for all surfers.
Check your site load
time at
www.submitplus.com
today. If it loads in 20 seconds on a 28.8 modem, you’re fine. If not, cut
down the graphics and try again!
A slow loading home
page can also be a result of a page that contains too much information.
Visitors should not have to scroll down endlessly to view your home page.
If your main page contains too much information, simply break the
information up into several pages.
Mistake #3: Failing
to promote!
This one is a
classic. For too many business owners pop a site up on the web and cross
their fingers. In order to grow traffic, you need to promote it. How?...
Well if you have an
advertising budget, spend money. this is the easiest way to promote a
site. Buy banner ads on busy sites, sponsor email publications and reorder
every avenue that is effective.
If you do not have
much of an advertising budget, fear not. You can generate traffic for
free. I’ve being doing it for years. My favorite methods are article
submissions, ezine advertising, search engine positioning, and my
associate program just to name a few. If you’d like to learn how to
emulate these methods, just spend a little time tat the related web
articles. Nothing is held back in the articles. Anyone doing business
online will find some real, useful information.
In closing…
Remember, your web
site is the first thing your online prospects see. It is the very heart
and sole of your online marketing campaign. Make a lasting impression!
It’s all up to you
to Get Started…
You now have
everything you need to get your internet business started and shifted into
high gear immediately.
So what are you
waiting for? Are you worried you won’t succeed? Why not look at it like
this. If you try to succeed in your own business and fail, the most you
will lose is a little money. (and not much with the low start-up costs on
the net!)
Thanks to the
internet, you no longer have to risk your life savings when starting a
business. The knowledge alone, that you will gain from simply attempting
you own business will outweigh any financial loss by far.
That’s not to say it
will be simple. Success can sometimes be a difficult thing to sneak up on.
Determination is a major asset for anyone starting their own business.
After all, failure, as well as success, is a part of life. As the old
saying goes, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. This saying
wouldn’t be so popular if everyone succeeded the very first time they
attempted anything.
You cannot fail…
unless you quit!
If you succeed, and
more than 75% of all new entrepreneurs do, you will no longer have to rely
on others for your income.
You’ll be able to
work the hours YOU want to work, right in your own home.
So what are you
waiting for?
You can do it!
Just keep reading my
articles and refer to them as you go along. Have faith in yourself, work
hard, and you may be surprised how easy it really is…
If you ever have any
questions about online business, you’re invited to email
najam@apnakarobar.com
and I’ll do my best to help you!
Yours sincerely,
S. Najam Aziz Ahmed
CE, ECom Worldwide
www.ApnaKarobar.com
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