Online Exposure Internet Marketing Made Simple

Section 1.2 Online Products and Services You may already have your own business providing a product or service to the market.. Section 1.4 Drop Shipping Arrangements Can Make You Money O

Online Exposure Internet Marketing Made Simple

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 4

SECTION 1 UNDERSTANDING HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE 1.1 The Benefits and Costs of Online Marketing 6

1.2 Online Products and Services 9

1.3 Product Ideas 10

1.4 Drop Shipping Arrangements Can Make You Money Online 13

1.5 Types of Websites 17

SECTION 2 CREATING A SUCCESSFUL PRESENCE ONLINE 2.1 Web Hosting 20

2.2 Domain Names 21

2.3 HTML 26

2.4 Design Strategies for Your Website 31

2.5 Headlines 33

2.6 Sales Copy 34

2.7 Pricing 43

2.8 Ordering and Payment Options 45

2.9 Fraud Protection and Security 48

2.10 Protection from Thieves 51

SECTION 3 AUTOMATING YOUR SITE 3.1 Email Automation or Auto-responders 52

3.2 Credit Cards and Merchant Services 58

3.3 Order Fulfillment 60

3.4 Shopping Cart Features 61

SECTION 4 DRIVING TRAFFIC YOUR WEBSITE — PART A 4.1 Up-selling and Backend Selling Your Products 69

4.2 Email Marketing that Really Works 73

4.3 Hyperlink Techniques 84

4.4 Viral Marketing 88

SECTION 5 DRIVING TRAFFIC YOUR WEBSITE — PART B 5.1 Search Engine Success 92

5.2 Banner Marketing 100

5.3 Online Auctions 106

5.4 Creating Residual Income 109

5.5 Classified Advertising 117

5.6 Newsgroup Marketing 118

SECTION 6 MULTIPLYING YOUR EFFORTS 6.1 Joint Ventures 120

6.2 Affiliate Programs 123

6.3 Starting Your Own Affiliate Program 126

CONCLUSION 134

Introduction

Yourself, “ Do I have all the money I feel that I deserve? Do I Have enough money saved to retire? Do I have enough money for my children's education? Am I doing the things I want to

be doing? If the answer to these questions is no, then read on This manual is designed to help take ordinary people to new heights using the money-making machine that is the Internet

Ask

You may have a business or product already This manual is designed to create demand for that product

or service You may simply want to find a way to "break in" to the lucrative world of the online marketplace

I will tell you how you can be successful at accomplishing all of these things!

If you are thinking to yourself, "But I don't know anything about computers! How am I going to create a successful business online?" Don't worry I will walk you step by step through the techniques that will be introduced You don't need to be a rocket scientist or have a degree in Information Technology to make these techniques work for you If you

can turn on your computer and click your mouse, you are ready to start changing your life

It is helpful to remember that there are literally hundreds of thousands of people that have made

millions of dollars using the Internet In fact, the Internet has created more millionaires than any other medium out there — including Real Estate Individuals who have never even run a smal business, are

succeeding online because of how easy it is to run an e-commerce business Why should you be one of them? Simple! Take advantage of the "information superhighway" and put yourself in front of the

explosive growth of the World Wide Web

As you read through this manual, keep a pen and paper handy Think about your situation Do you have your own Internet-based business already and just want to drive more traffic your way? Do you have a product that you want to market but don't know how? Are you looking for a product or service or even

information that you could sell online? Keep your particular situation in mind as you read through the ideas presented, and jot down ideas and notes that pertain to you Write down any thoughts you have that apply to your situation If you do this as you go along, you will be much further along at the end of the process You will have the beginnings of a business plan already in place You may also want to write notes

in the manual itself, and note the page numbers in your "business plan," so you can refer back to the

information as you work through your planning stages

Remember, this will take effort at first, but this manual will show you how to automate your business, so that eventually it will become a residual income "generator" that makes you money whether you are there or not! You can be on vacation, at the

pool with your family, or on the golf course, and the money will still roll in – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year!

This manual will show you how to create your site so that orders will come pouring in All of the

techniques that are discussed have been tried and proven successful They are not new or untried ideas Every one has been proven to be a sure money maker Each of these ideas can increase your income in a small way, creating another step on the "ladder" to financial independence As you

implement each idea, you will start to see the ability to increase your income You have the potential of increasing or even replacing your income with the ideas outlined in this manual Each time you put one

in place, you have added an additional stream of income to your total Patience and hard work up front will pay off in the long run!

You are probably saying, "Ok, this sounds good, but how much is it going to cost me?"

Surprisingly, very little We will discuss the costs of getting started, and you can do it for anywhere from as low as $100, if you want to do everything yourself, to up to $1,500 by paying someone else to do it for you and get everything up and running right away You can see that even the tightest budgets can handle these costs

The bottom line is this: if you have a business and you do not already have

an online presence, get online now! USA Today ran an article stating that 70% of small

businesses are not online and are limiting their potential by not investing in a website Every type of business can be taken online, whether they sell products or services Even a service provider like a hair salon can utilize email marketing to bring repeat business into the salon Knowing your customers and keeping in touch with them through email, or other means, creates loyalty and a sense of community with them

So, get your pen and paper, turn the page, and let's get started The longest journey begins with a single step Commit to taking that step, and making the journey one step at a time, and soon you'll be creating your own agenda for your life and the lives of your family!

SECTION 1

Understanding How to Make Money Online

Section 1.1 The Benefits and Costs of Online Marketing

BENEFITS

To begin this manual, I want to share the benefits of taking your business online

• Online businesses can be automated, freeing up your time Your online business requires little or no staff and is open 24 hours/day

• You set your own pace No one is looking over your shoulder or giving you deadlines

ƒ Access to new customers costs a fraction of advertising in traditional media sources

• You have access to millions of potential customers from all around the world without spending tens of thousands on advertising

• Trying out new ideas, products, or sales promotions is easy to implement and cheap to change if it does not work out

• You can use your website to track the wants and needs of your customers, by determining the things they are accessing on your site Then you can

change your site to better meet the demand

So those are all nice advantages of taking a business online However, here are the most important three:

• Start up costs are very low compared to that of a traditional business •You have

instant access to the world wide web (a "global" marketplace) •Time required to run the

business is minimal once you've automated

COSTS

Advertising in a traditional magazine can cost $30,000 or more for a full page

Ad! You have to get the ad to the magazine in advance, and you won't start to see leads until the month after publication That is a lot of money up front and a long time to wait to see results

If you want to really get going, hard and fast, you could spend more to purchase advertising,

software for automation, and people to help you with the details This would be an initial outlay of perhaps $1,500 This would be the fastest

Online, you can run the ad; see how the public responded and start taking orders immediately, which translates into money in your pocket You can test as many variations of the advertisement as you like to determine which one is the most successful

So how much does it really cost to take a business online? This is what most people really want to know As I said before, you can start your business for even as low as $100, but you will have to do

everything yourself, and it will be slow

For around $500, you can get your site up in two weeks, and begin your online advertising

campaign This would include email promotions, web sites, co-op linking, etc

If you want to really get going, hard and fast, you could spend more to purchase advertising,

software for automation, and people to help you with the details This would be an initial outlay of perhaps $1,500 This would be the fastest and most effective way to jump-start your online

business, to start taking orders immediately, and begin seeing profits from your hard work

Do not fall into the trap of scam artists out there that charge thousands of dollars to create a web site They take advantage of people who are not web-savvy As I said before, you can have

everything for around $1,500, and that includes a terrific web site So shop around and compare Getting started on the Internet may not take a lot of money, but it will take a lot of hard work, at first Eventually, you will be able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labors, but in the beginning you will have to work to get the business going

You should go after a narrow "slice" of the market You can't be Ford or GE and market to everyone, so it

is far better for you to target the group of consumers that are most likely to purchase your product or service It is extremely important that your target market can be identified and is an online audience

There are five steps to success:

Section 1.2 Online Products and Services

You may already have your own business providing a product or service to

the market You may be like many others and be searching for the right thing to offer the market

right now Products and services are two totally different animals, and both have their pros and

cons

PROS

Selling Products — Income is not dictated by the time needed to "perform" the service

The more products you sell, the more money you make Once you automate the business, this is more so the case

Providing Services — Profits are easier to come by because the payment for the service is

paid to you

Providing Services — Repeat business is likely with services because your customers, if

they are happy with you, will return again and again

CONS

Selling Products — Fulfillment issues You have to stock and ship a product (or pay

someone else to) The cost of fulfilling orders on a product will take money from your profits

Selling Products — Unless your product has a very large profit margin, you may have to

sell a LOT of items in order to make the profit you want

Providing Services — Your income can be limited to the amount of time you are

reasonably able to spend providing the service each day Hiring employees can increase the services you can offer, but also cost money to employ

If you don't already provide a service, I would recommend selling a product or offering information as

a product It is the best way to earn really big profits over the long term However, if you do provide

a service, try to find a way to transform it into a product For example, instead of providing a service directly, create reports or newsletters that give key information to people so they can do it

themselves By doing this, you have translated your service knowledge into a saleable item, thus

creating an added stream of income for yourself

Another excellent way that companies use the Internet for their service-oriented

business is, that they will give you coupons as an incentive for you to visit their site

and then save money by simply printing out the coupon By offering the coupons,

they get you to their site

Don't forget that most people use the Internet to gain information It may be as

simple as looking up a phone number or checking the weather forecast, but they are

still looking for instant information Information is the top commodity online it is in

your best interest to market information products such as books, reports, videotapes,

how-to manuals, etc

Information products are easy to sell, generate quick profits, and have a huge profit margin

Typically, books cost anywhere from one to four dollars to print But how many books have you seen that cost less than $9.99 or so? Some even retail for $30 or $40 On a book that only costs a couple

of bucks to produce, that's some profit margin! You also have to remember that if these items can be printed in hard cover, they can also be downloaded over the Internet directly to your customer, therefore eliminating the wait time for the information or book to reach your customer's doorstep

If people are researching the Internet for information, and you are provider of information, then your clientele is already searching for you! Let's use a perfect example, Stephen King is a renowned author of hundreds of books Chances are that you have probably read one You can pick up any one of his books at a store such as Barnes and Noble Yet, if you are interested in his newest book

or want to see some of the books you haven't read without getting in the car and driving to the book store, you can simply log onto the Internet You can visit his website where you can satisfy your craving for his literature, or perhaps even have the opportunity to read a portion of the book before you purchase

If you don't have specialized knowledge already, you can summarize industry experts Find out what the best-selling books are Find books that all have the same hot topic that people are trying

to find out about Buy these books, read them, and then summarize the information you've digested Believe me, people will pay to get a large amount of information from different sources in a more concise format Most people don't take the time to read an entire book, but an "executive summary" version of several best selling books is a desirable commodity

Ok, so what if you don't have a product or information to sell? Read on for some ideas for YOU to put into place on the Internet with your own online business

Section 1.3 Product Ideas

I will cover each and every idea that relates to a product But first take a minute to take stock in your hobbies, interests, and personal knowledge Most people don't realize the potential that lies at their feet Take at look within yourself, and see what it is that you enjoy most What are the things you

enjoy doing or how do you enjoy spending your time? These things can translate into a product or service for you to sell

Ask yourself these 4 questions:

1 W H A T A M I P A S S I O N A T E A B O U T ?

2 WHAT THINGS AM I INTERESTED IN?

3 W H A T D O I K N O W A L O T A B O U T ?

4 WHAT DO PEOPLE ASK ME ADVICE FOR?

Remember, you can take one of these ideas and be very successful with it But if you take something you love and find a way to translate that into your product, you will be that much further ahead, love what you're doing, and feel comfortable in an area you already know Have you ever said to yourself

I wish I could get paid doing what I love? Perhaps finally here is your chance

Don't worry if you think your area of interest is very obscure or specialized; the Internet is where

people are looking for the obscure! In fact, many successful entrepreneurs start businesses by finding

a narrow or specialized market and then developing a product that market needs Voila! Instant

Market!

One way to target a specific market is to find products that already exist and find a way to improve

them You can look on consumer review websites for your competition's products and find out what people do and don't like about them Some good sites for this are:

www.consumerreview.com www.consumersearch.com

www.epinions.com

Another way is to surf news groups, discussion boards and chat rooms for your target market This specific location on the Internet is referred to as the UseNet I will discuss this more later on in the manual You will find that discussions of these types can lead you to develop something that the

market is hungry for A place to look for discussion groups of these types is http://groups.google.com

or just search any major search engine by typing in the words "newsgroup" or "chatrooms" and your specific search

So you may be saying, "Great, that gives me the perfect idea to start!" or you may

be saying, "None of that is going to work for me" If you saying that later, then read

on I'd like to give you some ideas

C R E A T E A N E - B O O K

Compile interviews or articles written by others in a particular industry Make sure

you get written permission to republish their work before you do this Taking others'

knowledge and compiling it is a great way to make money online

C R E A T E A S O L U T I O N I N Y O U R O W N I N D U S T R Y

Whether you are a software programmer, a secretary, or a construction worker, you have knowledge

of problems in your industry What do you hate about something you have to deal with every day? What issues do others in your field always complain about? If you can find a solution to this

problem, you have a certain best-seller in your particular field!

C R E A T E A T U T O R I A L F O R S O M E T H I N G

Do you know how to do something really well? A piece of software? A hobby or skill? A video game? Create a tutorial to show others how to do it too For software, you can use a product called Lotus

Screen Cam to create video tutorials to demonstrate what you want to teach Go to

www.lotus.com/products/ screencam.nsf to use a 15-day trial version You can use this product to

"record" what you are doing on your computer screen while recording your speaking voice to go along with it

For demonstrating a hobby or video game, you can either digitally record a tutorial with a video

camera, or simply create a written instruction booklet People are always looking for ways to do

things better or faster!

C R E A T E A W E B G R A P H I C S C D

With the Internet explosion, people everywhere are publishing their own websites for

everything from family reunions to online businesses However, the average

"lay-person" can't create their own graphics

You can take advantage of demand by learning how to create graphics to sell on CD

or downloadable zip-file Learning to create graphics is easier than you might

think, and you could take the time to put together a library of 100 or so graphics to

sell These types of graphics libraries can sell for up to $75 each, making it a very

worthwhile endeavor!

If you target your images to a certain market, you are even better off Find a market

that has a need for specialized graphics and target your CD to that industry It makes

marketing easier, as well as creates repeat sales for future CD's with additional

graphics

CREATE A TIP OF THE DAY NEWSLETTER

This idea goes back to selling what you know Set up a newsletter that will email a

hint, trick or tip for your industry each day to subscribers It doesn't matter what

industry you are in, you can make this work for you The trick is to keep the

subscription cost low and aim for a high subscriber base

Think about it If you charge $5 per YEAR for your tip of the day email

newsletter and get 10,000 people to subscribe, that's $50,000 per year! For a lot of

people, its enough to quit the job they currently have! Think about the guy who came

up with the "Joke a Day" website Good ideas can put you right at the top very

quickly It takes some time and effort, but you can spend one day a week coming up

with your ideas or maybe a few days a month, and leave the rest up to email

automation to send them out at the right times Talk about "hands off"

CREATE AN ONLINE COMMUNITY

If you know of a topic that will appeal to a large group, you can set up a private online

community and sell membership and advertising space The community can have

resources and articles, chat rooms or forums, links, tools, and news relevant to the members You can even have an online store to sell specialized items to your members This idea can take a lot of time and energy, but can also be a huge money maker for you

CREATE SOFTWARE TO SOLVE A MINOR PROBLEM

There are tons of irritating little problems in software out there, that the big software makers don't bother to fix Find a way to fix the "everyday nuisances" and you will have a top selling item You don't even have to be a programmer You can find programmers at local universities or technical schools who are looking for extra money or experience You can either pay them upfront or offer them a cut of the profits Just remember to have them sign a non-disclosure agreement before you describe your idea, so it doesn't get stolen! Better safe than sorry

CREATE A FANTASTIC ONLINE BUSINESS FOR SOMEONE ELSE

Find someone who has a great product or service and run THEIR online business for them There are plenty of people who know nothing about computers or the Internet You can use all the techniques in this manual to make millions using someone else's product, and then take a cut of the profits for doing the work A small percentage of a million dollars is still a lot of money!

Section 1.4 Drop Shipping Arrangements Can Make You Money Online

Now that we've given you some ideas for your own product or service, you may still be saying, "But

that's not for me What else is there?"

Another money-making idea for utilizing the Internet for your online business, is to enter into a drop shipping arrangement with a manufacturer or wholesale distributor

The beauty of this concept is that you don't have to worry about stocking inventory, maintaining

warehouse space, shipping and receiving products, etc A drop shipping arrangement allows you to sell quality products on your web site and the drop shipper handles all of the shipping details for you They ship the product directly to your customer for you and also handle returns This can be extremely lucrative in getting started, simply because you do not have to purchase the products up front Once the client buys the product from your site, you can set it up so that an instant email goes out to the

drop shipper, and they fulfill the product for you Great isn't it?

EXAMPLE

I set up an online website to sell porcelain figurines My website is set up to accept credit card orders through e-commerce A customer visits my website and orders a figurine My website automatically processes his credit card for the retail price of $200 plus shipping of $20 Once the order is placed, and the credit card is approved, an email with the order goes out directly to my drop shipper (either the manufacturer or a distributor) who will then fulfill the order and ship it The drop shipper will send the figurine with my company's name and the drop shipper's address Now you may be asking yourself why they would put my name and their address Simple they handle all returns that may come back damaged or in need of replacement They then email

me the tracking number and shipment information The drop shipper will charge me the wholesale price of $120 and shipping of $20 I have already collected this money from the sale, and it has been deposited from the buyer's credit card into my account

Because I passed the shipping costs directly to the end consumer, I just made a profit of $80 for doing nothing more than simply taking the time to put the item on my website and then drive people to visit the website

You can see how you can turn this kind of business arrangement into a huge money maker for

yourself! Drop shipping arrangements can save you the cost of building and maintaining inventory on your own You won't have to use start-up money to buy inventory to sell online

Another advantage to drop shipping, is that because you do not have inventory to maintain, you also don't have extra product that won't sell, should the item lose popularity or never get off the ground in the first place Because your product

line is entirely online, you can add and delete products almost instantly! By simply changing your

website, you can change the mix of products you offer; thereby, taking off the ones that aren't selling and adding newer, better, more

popular products to replace them

Shipping headaches are also eliminated through this method You won't have to worry about

packaging supplies, carrier accounts and pickups from companies like Fed Ex or UPS, or dealing with sending your products through the postal service

So, what kind of products work well in a drop shipping arrangement? If you look online, there are

tons of online companies selling cheap, imported stuff

— hundreds and thousands of items for a very low price Do NOT try to compete with giants like ABC Distributing or Oriental Trading Company In fact, a smaller product base can be a huge advantage to you because it will not give your customers too many options to choose from, but the only the ones you want them to choose from

As we mentioned earlier, a narrow market targeted to a specific group of people is the better way to

go Once you have determined the market you want to target, do some research to determine what your competition in that market is selling and for how much By doing a bit of homework up front, you should be able to see what the "going price" for the products you want to sell, and thus you can figure your profit margin You may find that you can't make enough profit to make it worth your while, and you can then find a different product or market that will net you a better profit

One thing to remember is that if you want to put your own product out there on the world wide web you may not be able to fulfill the shipping of your own product You may end up needing to set up a drop ship relationship and even a manufacturing relationship just to fulfill the demand for your own product Also, if you are still in the idea stage of your own product, do not hold back

your success while waiting for the finished product Go ahead and start selling an already existing product from a distributor in the mean time to help satisfy your investment costs for developing your own product

CHOOSING A DROP SHIPPER

When looking for a good drop shipper to enter an agreement with, your best bet is to do some

research up front You should try to work directly with the manufacturer when possible, because this will net you the largest profit margin if you don't have to go through a middleman or distributor

Search the Internet for the product you would like to sell Look for manufacturers of that product

and contact them directly Ask if they will drop ship their products to your customers

Some will be willing to enter into a drop shipping arrangement with you, others may

not offer that service and direct you to one of their distributors This still can be very

profitable for you because these distributors, on many occasions,

have to purchase in bulk from the manufacturer, so they will be able to give you good

prices and mark up percentages, but you will still be able to purchase just the

number you need at any one time Still others may not be familiar with drop shipping

arrangements, and you may need to convince them to work with you in selling their

products Just remember, they are going to want to sell to you in bulk Keep that in

mind You do not want to become the drop shipper yourself

and end up warehousing product in your home

If a company does not drop ship directly, you can ask to recommend one of their

distributors You can also find lists of distributors in trade magazines for the industry

or product you want to sell A little homework can go a long way here Search the

Internet for wholesalers or distributors of product You'll be surprised at how much will

turn up

Once you've made a list of the manufacturers or distributors whom you'd like to

contact, keep the following few things in mind before you contact them

ƒ You will need an official business name

• You will need a tax ID or resale number

• You may need a credit reference if the company will be billing you once

a month for the products you sell You can give them the name and

number of your bank

ƒ When you call, ask to speak with someone about becoming a vendor for their

products

Once you are speaking to the right person, you need to ask some questions to determine how the company will handle your business, as well as to get a "feel" for the how the business relationship would proceed should you decide to go with them

Some questions to ask are:

Price? — What is the wholesale price of their products to you? Is it low enough that

you can have a reasonable profit without pricing your product out of the market?

Shipping and Handling? — How do they ship their products? Most companies use a

nationwide carrier like UPS or FedEx Will they include ALL of the shipping and tracking information in a confirmation email to you? Is there a handling fee or simply the straight shipping cost? You want to know this upfront so you can build it into your shipping costs to your customers

MONTHLY MINIMUM OR MAXIMUM? — Will you have to sell a certain dollar amount per month? Is there a maximum amount of product they will ship for you? These are important things to keep in mind If a manufacturer cannot ship as much as you sell each month, you may have to move to one of its distributors for fulfilling your orders instead

Billing? — How will you be billed? Will they charge a credit card for each order or bill you

once a month for all the orders for that month?

Returns? – How will they deal with product returns? Make sure they have some sort of

warrantee or guarantee on their products and will be willing to handle returns for you If there is a problem with the product, you can direct your customers to deal directly with the manufacturer

Product Information? – How will you get th e graphics and product information for

your website? Many companies will simply direct you to use the information and graphics from their company site Others may send a CD ROM with their product images and descriptions Find out how this will work up front so it will be easy to set up your site

Make sure that you ask these questions, and any others you can think of, to get an idea of how the company will conduct this business arrangement If they don't answer your questions or you just don't feel "right" about the conversation, you may want to think about trying a different drop shipping partner

If your drop shipping arrangement isn't a solid one, you may end up with unhappy customers and no business

There are a few things to look out for in the drop shipping arena Do not pay money for lists of drop shippers With a little research and hard work, you will be able to find your own companies to

contact People who are charging you for a list are probably giving you an out-dated, and useless list that will be 75% worthless anyway One of the easiest ways for you to find a great list of potential drop shippers is to go to a major search engine online such as Google or Yahoo and type in the

search "Wholesale Drop Shipper" or "Manufacturer"

Do not enter a drop shipping arrangement with a drop shipper who charges you a monthly fee You are selling their products for THEM They should not be charging you to do so If they are, there is a

serious problem with their business model, product, or both

Do not buy a "turn-key" solution from a online source These companies usually charge a one-time or monthly fee, and claim to provide you with a website, products, and a merchant account This is

basically a scam to get you to pay to advertise and sell their products You will not make a good profit margin with this type of business and could even lose money in the process

Other problems can also occur even when you are working with a reputable drop shipper They are common occurrences and easily solved if you prepare in advance for them

Shipping dela ys – Sometimes a drop shipper can be sold out or be backordered

on the products that your customers are purchasing This can cause shipping delays that could lead to unhappy customers To solve this problem, make sure that your drop shipper responds via email to all orders with the status and shipping information Once you have received the notification of backorder and shipping delay, you can easily inform your customer

Lost Shipment – What happens when your customer contacts you to ask where their

product is? You have not shipped the product, so can you give them an informed answer?

Yes To handle this issue, simply require your drop shipper to include shipment tracking information, including carrier such as FedEx, UPS, etc, in the confirmation email that is sent to you at shipping time With the tracking number, you can easily track the package online and give the customer the

exact shipment details Problem solved

Shipping Costs – If you have a variety of products on your website from multiple

different manufacturers/distributors, your customers could end up with multiple shipping charges on one order If the customer has to pay half again as much as their order, they won't order through you! To counter this problem, try to keep all of your products through one manufacturer or distributor This way, there will only be one shipping charge per order, and you can keep costs down for your customers

L o s s o f A r r a n g e m e n t – W h a t i f your drop shipper

decides they no longer wish to maintain a business

r e la t i ons h ip w i t h yo ur c om pa n y? This can be a little

harder to solve I t u s u a l l y i s c a u s e d b y t h e d r o p shipper

deciding that it is not cost effective to handle all the

packaging and shipping for you If this happens, first contact

the company to see if there is a large distributor with which

you could establish a drop shipping arrangement In this case, you

would simply need to change the company

If this is the route you want

to go, make sure to take the time to do your homework

you are doing business with If you can no longer carry the

products, don't despair Simply go out and find another

manufacturer or product and start over It was easy enough

the first time, wasn't it?

In closing the discussion on drop shipping arrangements, remember this - if this is the route you want

to go, make sure to take the time to do your homework Research the market, product, and

companies Find out what is out there in

the way of competition, pricing, etc If you can find a great product in a narrow market, you have what

it takes to make a lot of money using drop shipping, and you can spend your money marketing your business online rather than maintaining a space-consuming inventory

S e c t i o n 1 5 T y p e s o f W e b s i t e s

The last thing I want to discuss in this section, is websites There are three main types of websites available to you for using in an online business The first is a billboard website or more commonly called a FREE website These can be found with any major web provider Basically, you just use their software to build your own insecure site on their server space I don't suggest using one of these unless it is only used as a way to market and advertise business, driving potential customers to your main site (Hence the name "billboard" site.)

The second type of website on the Internet, and one of the most popular, is called an

e-commerce sales website This is the type of website you see all the time when you visit a company's online site This website is designed to offer the company's product or service online, tell the

customers about it, and make it easy for them to purchase that product or service directly from the site

as opposed to having to call in or order from a magazine or other source An excellent example of this

is the popular company called Omaha Steaks Omaha Steaks has been around for a long time, and yet, they only sold their steaks through a mail order business At the beginning of 1999, they set up their own e-commerce website and instantly, that same year, doubled their sales Why? Because they opened their business up to a huge potential customer base on the Internet millions of steak lovers across the world

You can do this as well You can put up a site to give your customers the option to buy from you, or you can offer free information that will draw them to another site where they can then find out about your core products or services This is the most straight forward type of website, and one that most people are familiar with

The third type of site you can utilize online is a portal web site This type of site is an online

"community" of sorts Think about Yahoo and Alta Vista These sites are designed to draw people to the site and keep them there for all their online needs such as weather, stocks, maps, traffic, shopping, etc A portal offers information to its "citizens" A broad "horizontal" portal offers a large range of topics and information catering to "everyone" A narrow "vertical" portal caters to a narrow segment of the market, with specialized information that would be of interest to a smaller range of the population

As you read on about portal sites, remember that this is not a quick cash generating business It can take a lot of investment in time and money to get one up and running However, the potential payoff down the road can be huge So if a portal site is of interest to you, keep reading If you are more interested in putting up your sales website and getting cash flowing in the door, move on the next section where I will discuss creating your successful online presence

WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM IN A PORTAL SITE?

A portal website can be a money maker for you, even if you don't necessarily have a product to sell The reason for this is that once you have sufficient traffic visiting your site, advertisers to your narrow market segment will pay you to advertise at your portal

A portal site can also help you become recognized as an industry expert, increasing sales to

an already established business venture For example, suppose you are an online business selling scrap-booking supplies You have a reasonable amount of traffic to your site, but let's face it; there are a lot of scrapbook suppliers out there

You decide that you would like to create a scrap booking portal site You can become THE

online resource for all the crafters out there that are into scrap booking You can create forums to

allow people to share their ideas and even images of their finished pages You can add links to other websites and suppliers, you can include daily, weekly or monthly articles and ideas You can allow your "citizens" to provide the information for articles and tips

Think about it Once you have established your portal site as an industry standard, people will be willing to visit YOUR online store to purchase their products since you are so helpful and

knowledgeable about the industry

And here's the best part, once you have a lot of traffic to your site, advertisers will pay you to advertise to those crafters that are visiting your site every day! By constantly adding information and ideas, you will encourage repeat visitors and establish an "online community" where people who scrapbook can visit often

So we've talked about how a portal can drive potential customers to your core sales site to increase product sales What if you don't have a product?

Use your portal site to refer your visitors to the products or services of others And get a referral fee for doing it! You don't have to take credit cards, ship products, or maintain inventory — simply tell the customers who see you as an expert what is the best "widget" to buy and send them to that site Then collect the referral fee from the company you just referred them to

sections you have, the more money you are collecting in advertising revenues each month!

So how do you go about developing a portal site? You have the knowledge and want to move forward

to establishing yourself as an industry expert, so what now?

The first thing I would recommend is move NOW Don't wait There are people out there that know as much as you do about your industry You want to move in quickly and establish yourself before someone else does

A n o t h e r i m p o r t a n t e l e m e n t i s t h a t t o b e a n i n d u s t r y

e x p e r t , y o u c a n ' t j u s t r e l y o n t h e s t u f f y o u a l r e a d y

k n o w Do research! Read and increase your knowledge

Communicate with people in your industry Continue to learn as you

enrich your site for others

Along the same lines of your continuing education about your industry, make sure that your site grows along with your knowledge Keep your visitors coming back by maintaining a well-designed site with compelling and informative content This is very important Your main purpose on the

Internet is running your business So make sure to automate it, and make it as "hands off' as possible This creates and maintains a strong residual income for you

You can do this in some very easy ways, but you must put the time in now to make this so Keep your site looking "fresh" Change it often, daily if possible, to keep them returning to learn more Stay focused and keep your target market in mind when you publish content Communicate with your visitors through email campaigns or online surveys to find out what they would like to see added or changed, then do it and make sure to let them know it has been done If you don't tell them that you made the changes they wanted, they won't come back and take a look Customers need a little friendly reminder on occasion

Diversify your income on the portal site by developing products or services that will appeal to the huge base of potential customers that are visiting your site all the time By doing so, you will have a

"built-in" client base for your product or service, AND you will already be seen by them as the industry expert

So, whether you are building a billboard site, an e-commerce sales site, or a portal catering to a niche in the market, you still have to do one thing Build the site! You've heard that cliché statement from the movie "Field of

Dreams" — "If you build it, they will come." Get started with something! Remember your business plan can change monthly if needed, but taking action is what will start the flow of success Now move on to the next section, where I will discuss the basics of creating that successful online presence through your website

SECTION 2 Creating a Successful Presence Online

In creating a website, there a several things you need to address in getting the best, and most

secure site you can get

The 7 items I want to discuss in this section are:

Remember there are two ways in starting your business in today's world; the first being "Trial and Error." With this way, you can expect to pay more The second is "follow in someone's successful footsteps;" it savings you a substantial amount of time and money I will identify for you what is called the "10 second rule" in regards to your website, and how to keep the potential customers within your site If your customers won't stay on your site because its slow, or to difficult to read or understand, you've just lost money! First impressions are everything So make it count!

Section 2.1 Web Hosting

Choosing the company to host your website, you are making one of the most important decisions

you can make regarding your online business Would you just point to a name in the phone book

and call someone up and offer them a chance to be your business partner? Of course not But

many people use much the same technique when selecting a web host It's a mistake Your web

host is vital to the success of your site It is the "engine" that is running your money making

machine, and if the engine breaks down, your money maker grinds to a stop

If your web host is not reliable, your website will not be either! If your web host is slow, your website will be slow too And no one will wait forever for your page to load, even if your product is the best in the world

You can't afford to do business with a web host that is down 20% of the time, is slow, or has no

security Do your research up front, and find a hosting company with a proven track record It is worth the time and money to find a reliable partner Don't try to save a few cents on a less reliable

provider What is saving a few cents going to mean to you when you are losing thousands of dollars each month to downtime? Are you going to care about a few extra dollars if the host's hardware

crashes, losing all of your data including your website?

Take the time to do your homework first Will you be building and designing your own website? There are lots of companies out there who will build it for you In this scenario, you must remember that the cost will be high to have them do it entirely for you Can you do it yourself? Yes, YOU CAN! Take the time to research companies that allow you to build the website yourself using their web-building

software or have them give you a password that will allow you to access their online builder

Whatever route you decide to take, Get to know the ins and outs of how your host operates, when they are available for technical support, etc Find a reliable company to host your site, or it will cost you in money and headaches later on

Why should you purchase your own domain name? Two reasons

Section 2.2 Domain Names

NUMBER ONE

Y o u w a n t yo u r n a m e t o r e f le c t w h a t y o u a r e s e l l i n g P e o p l e w o u l d rather visit a descriptive website name that sounds "legitimate" than a site with a name like www.xyzhost.com/joespages Wouldn't you? This second example is commonly referred to as a Sub-Domain name It is the provider's name and then your business name after it Think about how you want to represent yourself out there in the world, out there to your potential customers You want them to remember your name the first time they see it

NUMBER TWO

If you have your own domain name, your web host cannot hold you hostage and after you move, your customers can still find you because you haven't changed your website URL

So you need a domain name and you need one quickly Domain names are going fast and people are buying them up so that they can resell them to someone who REALLY wants them later on But don't panic if all of the ones you can think of are taken You can register a domain name up to 67 characters

in length, so you still can put together groups of words or phrases that will still generate traffic to your site

When deciding on and registering a name, make sure you that register all iterations of your business name and product You may just leave them empty or you can direct each of them to your one sales site, but the point is that others won't be able to use them if you have already registered them

Another thing to remember is to try to get a com domain name if possible People don't remember net

or org names as well, and you can lose visitors to your site which equates to money out of your

pocket So be creative if you need to be, and register a com domain name Use a memorable name, even if it is long, because it will provide a description of what you are trying to sell If you just can't find

a domain name ending in com, then move to the second most popular suffix which is net

A different way to go with domain names is to use a catchy phrase even if it doesn't describe your

business or product Names like www.dont-count-yourchickens.com or something like that can draw people to your site, just because it is memorable and catchy Names like these can also boost your search engine ratings!

Speaking of search engines, you can use other domain names that are loaded with keywords that

describe your product to submit to search engines Search engines love domains that have a lot of

keywords in them and you can use these "alternate" domain names to direct people to your "real"

domain/website You can register domains with lots of keywords with and without hyphens, and I

suggest you do so Why? Search engines prefer hyphenated URLs and visitors prefer them without

So satisfy both by registering your keyword domain both ways (I'll talk more about search engines in Section 5.)

Here are some ideas for keyword-rich domain names

www.crafts-dolls-art-supplies.com www.craftsdolisartsupplies.com www.dogs-cats-birds-pets-reptiles.com www.dogscatsbirdspetsreptiles.com

As you can see, it won't take you long to figure out a keyword-type URL to submit to search

engines for your business

You can also register your name as a URL Not only can you use this for online businesses, but

personal and family websites as well And a great benefit of having a website with your name as the URL, is that anyone you ever give your URL to can find your site – forever!

Remember that registering a domain name only costs between $6.95 on up to $25 per year It depends on entirely where you register the domain name at online, and there are lots of options out there You are not required to actually put up a website on every name you reserve You are merely holding the name for future use, or security purposes so someone else can't take it In fact, you may want to register other names which have to do with other ideas you may wish to pursue in the future as well, just to ensure that you will have them when the time comes

Another very important reason to get your own domain name, is that it will allow you to have a permanent email address If you plan to do business on the Internet, you must invest in a permanent email address that you can use for the rest of your life

You can get a permanent email address through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) for a small annual charge This will forward all of your email, no matter where you are or what new address you are using However, if you try to go through your ISP, you may waste time and money If they close business or just decide to shut you down, you lose your email address and domain name forever

Here are some companies that can help you to obtain a permanent email address:

POBox.com, Net Forward, Net Identity, A.K.A.Mail

However, like I said before, I highly recommend that you have your own domain so

that you can use IT as your permanent email address It sounds much more

professional to have your email address as:

yourname@yourdomain.com

Another very important tip, is to register your own personal or family names If you

do not, other people could do business under your name You want to protect your

name, your reputation, and your place on the Internet

When you activate your domain name, people will ALWAYS know where to find you

You may move to another state or change your phone number, but friends, family,

and customers will ALWAYS know how to contact you You may even do the

same thing for members of your family and give them as gifts How about that for an

enduring gift? You are securing their place on the Internet for the rest of their lives

Internet is here to stay!!

You won't have to worry about forwarding your new email address to anyone, and

your name won't be lost somewhere in cyberspace This is a very valuable asset

There are now domain names being sold for over five million dollars TRUE!!

Don't believe that you are the only one with your name

Even if you are only thinking of doing business on the Internet, you should still

register your domain name There are over three million domain names being

registered every month Chances are someone else with the same name may

register before you, and you're out of luck One client from Australia took this advice,

and a month later, was offered $50,000 for it A nice profit on a $60 investment

Hurry - it may be here now, and gone tomorrow

If you have a good idea for a name, register it now, even if you don't want to set up

a web site yet You can "park it for free," which means registering your domain name

so that you own it, but then storing it so you don't have to pay a fee to host your web

site

Here are some providers that can help you register your domain names These

were found simply by searching on "domain name registration" in a common

search engine You can do the same if you don't like what these have to offer

www.web.com $6.95 www.simplehost.com $7.50 www.godaddy.com $8.95 www.registersite.com $10.00

www.aplus.net $7.95

DOMAIN EXTENSIONS

Extensions are categories of Internet domain names There are several to choose from:

•com represents the word "commercial," and is the most widely used extension in the world

Most businesses prefer a com domain name because it is a highly recognized symbol for having a business presence on the Internet

•net represents the word "network," and is most commonly used by Internet service providers,

Web-hosting companies or other businesses that are directly involved in the infrastructure of the Internet Additionally, some businesses choose domain names with a net extension for their intranet Websites

•org represents the word "organization," and is primarily used by non-profits groups or trade

associations

•biz is used for small business Web sites

• Info is for credible resource Web sites and signifies a "resource" web site It's the most

popular extension beyond com, net and org

•US is for American Web sites and is the newest extension It has the largest amount of available

names in inventory

•CC was originally the country code for Coco's Keeling Islands It is unrestricted and may be registered

by anyone, from any country

•bz was originally designated as the country code for Belize, but is now commonly used by small

business who can't get the name they want using the biz extension It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country

•tv is for rich content/multi-media Web sites, commonly used within the entertainment or media

industry

Section 2.3 HTML

HTML„stands for Hyper Text Markup Language and it is the major language in which most websites are written You will want to learn HTML so that you can make changes to your own site without being at the mercy of others

This is easier than you might think First of all, there are many tutorial programs out there that will help you learn HTML Using one of the programs will give the background you need to make changes to your site A FREE guide to barebones HTML programming is available at

http://www.werbach.com/ barebones/ Remember HTML is very easy to learn, it just takes a little effort

The other thing that makes using HTML easy, is that you can use any number of HTML editors to create and edit your website Using an editor is like using a word processing program You type in what you want to say, insert your graphics, change colors, etc., and what you see is what you get when you publish it to the web The back end of the editor inserts all of the HTML tags to create what you have done on the screen Piece of cake!

There are lots of editors out there, but the ones that I would recommend are:

• Microsoft FrontPage

• Dreamweaver (www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver)

• HotDog (www.sausagetools.com)

• Visual Web Tools (www.pacificwebworks.com)

You can download trial versions of the second two and try them out In fact, just spending some time going through these editors will teach you a great deal about HTML language If you want to see an example of HTML on a real web page, follow these steps:

•Open a web page in your browser

•Click on the View drop down menu

There should be a View Source Code option or it will just say Source When you click on this, you can see the HTML code "behind the scenes" of the web page

So now that you know that you should learn HTML, let me give a couple of compelling reasons

why

Waiting for someone else – if you don't know how to make changes on your site, you are

at the mercy of someone else You may have to wait until a backlogged programmer has time to make a tiny correction or change for you Do you want to wait several days to have a typo changed?

Number of Changes – at the beginning, as you work to get your site "just right", you may have a

large number of changes, perhaps every day If you are using someone else to make those changes, they may not have the time to make all the adjustments you want done, or it may be cost

prohibitive for you By doing the HTML changes yourself, you save time and money and get just what you want

Losing it in the translation – when you describe what you want to the programmer

working on your site, can you be sure he is picturing what you are picturing? Will the site turn out the way YOU want, or the way HE is imagining it? You have total control

on making your ideas turn out the way you want if you are the one programming it

Even if you desire a really complex site and want to go with a web designer for the initial site

programming, I would still recommend that you learn basic HTML so that you can do the tweaking on the site once it is up This will save you time and money as you go along, for the same reasons I mentioned above You won't be at the mercy of your programmer's schedule and you won't be charged for every little change that you want to make

Make sure that you do a little research and find a quality web designer that

won't charge you too much You shouldn't have to pay a fortune to get a quality website put up Ask for references, and take the time to check them Your website is an extremely important part of your business, and you want it to be fantastic

Since we are on the subject of web design, let's move on to the "look" of your site — the design and text that will make the first impression on your visitors Later, I will discuss some of the "guts" of the site when I talk about how to set up ordering and payment, as well as auto-responders that will reply

to those who order

Section 2.4 Design Strategies for Your Website

If you want to be successful online, you need to make your website a quick and easy

place for people to order If your site is slow, or sloppy, or confusing, your potential

buyers will go elsewhere You only have a very short time frame to get someone

online, and online buyers are impatient

I have outlined some good rules of thumb to keep in mind when designing your site

Read through them once, and then when your page is done, go through them again

to make sure that you haven't "broken" any of them

MAKE YOUR SITE FAST!

If your website is slow to load, your potential customers may not wait and will click

elsewhere If something is not up within around 10 seconds, they won't stick around

There are a lot of elements that contribute to the speed of your pages loading The

speed of your customers' computer is one of them Not everyone is using high speed

internet; there are still plenty of people out there with slow modems and dial-up

connections You have to remember that these slow modems with cause your page

to load slower

Another thing that will bog down your page is a lot of graphics or really large graphics

Other than simply using fewer graphics, there are a few different ways to handle this

Compress the file size of your images — WebGraphics Optimizer is a good

program for optimizing and compressing images for the Web

Compressed images will load considerably faster and take up less space as

well

Create a "space" for the graphics on the page — Using HTML, you can

specify the dimensions of the graphics that will be loading By doing

this, the browser will "create" the area that the graphic will need before

the graphic actually loads This will allow the rest of the page to

display before the graphic shows up, and it allows your viewer to begin

reading the information on your site without waiting for everything to load

Keep the "files" to a minimum — Let me explain Most browsers are

set to a default maximum of four sockets Each socket allows one file

to be downloaded to the computer So four sockets means four files

simultaneously A web page consists of the HTML "file" and then each

graphic is another "file" By limiting the number of files and graphics to

around five (the HTML page and four graphics) then the web page and

three of the graphics will load up simultaneously, with only one graphic left

to load once a socket becomes free This may not be possible, but it is a

good trick to remember when trying to increase loading speeds

Size & Resolution — On a website, graphics do not need to be large or have a

high resolution This is not print A resolution of 72 dpi is sufficient and 256

color graphics will be fine The higher the resolution and color, the larger the

graphic file size will be By lowering the resolution and color, you will save

file size and speed

Replace graphics with something else – For example, you can use colored text to set

off different sections rather than having a graphic at the start of each new paragraph or page It will look cleaner and load faster

Text instead of graphics – Some visitors turn off the graphics on their browsers, so

make sure that you provide a text alternative for each image This lets those users know what the picture is supposed to be This also helps in a case where someone presses the stop button to cancel the downloading of a slow site The page will probably come up, but not the graphics You can do this easily using HTML code

Inform your viewer if your site is unavoidably slow – Sometimes your business or

product will necessarily be graphic intensive When your website is large and perhaps slow-loading, it is wise to put a note at the top of the page that informs your visitors to be patient while the page loads When you do this, you will get more people who will wait rather than give up

C O L L E C T E M A I L A D D R E S S E S O F T H O S E W H O V I S I T

Offer information for free in order to get their email address This is important because it allows you

to compile a list for future marketing campaigns If they visited your site once, they are more likely

to respond favorably to email marketing from you later on You can offer free reports, newsletter, Books, etc, and set up an auto-responder to send out the information automatically once you have the email address

e-D O N ' T S E N e-D Y O U R V I S I T O R S S O M E W H E R E E L S E !

Do not include links to other sites on your main page; always put links on a separate page You don't want to do all the hard work of getting someone to your site, only to have them click over to someone else's

M A K E Y O U R S I T E E A S Y T O G E T A R O U N D

Lead your customer where you want them to be Don't give them tons of choices and then hope that they make it to the order form so they can buy your product Lead them to the purchase decision, and make it easy for them to get there

Give them the information that they need right away Don't make them sift through irrelevant

information before they can get to what they came for Most people won't wait that long The easier it

is to navigate your site, the longer they will stay and the more likely they are to return later

Provide consistent links on each page that make it easy to move from page to page and back without having to use the "Back" button on the browser Keep the links simple and easy to understand using text or icons Keep these "navigation" buttons in the same place on each page (top, bottom, side, etc.) so that they aren't searching for them on each new page Make sure that EVERY page has a link to your home page You don't want to lose someone who accidentally landed on a sub-page and has no way of getting back to the main page and order form Avoid using a large graphic as your navigation tool

Some sites create an elaborate graphic as their "navigator" and their visitors must click on parts of the picture to surf to the various parts of the website This will only slow your site, and the novelty of it will not outweigh the slow speed

Above all, make the site consistent Keep the background color the same for all pages Choose link and text colors, but don't over do it You want to keep a feeling of consistency throughout your site, so that your customers will instinctively know that they are still on YOUR site and haven't navigated off to someplace else

DON'T OVERDO THE COLORS!

Remember you want your website to look professional and appealing It is not a contest to see how many colors or fonts you can use on your site Use color to emphasize key concepts or points Use a specific color to denote your hyperlinks, and perhaps only one or two other colors as highlighting devices Don't overdo it!

CHOOSE YOUR BACKGROUND WISELY

Not all computers "see" color in the same way What may look great on your computer, may not even be readable on someone else's Brightly colored backgrounds may drown out the text making it nearly impossible to read Some people may have the colors on their computer set to a lower setting than you do, so make sure to use simple colors if you are going to use a colored background This way, you will get the proper results on the greatest number of computers

M A K E S U R E Y O U R F I L E N A M E S M A K E S E N S E

The file names for your website pages will show up in Search Engines, bookmarks, and browsers Make sure that the names you choose for your pages are description and make sense You don't want someone to bookmark your page and then wonder later what www.abc.com/pagel was and why they book marked it in the first place Use a description that will explain what the page is

Suggest that your visitors bookmark your site This increases repeat visits

Do this at the beginning of your sales message or site, and then again later on

Making this suggestion, will remind people to visit again

Y O U D O N ' T N E ED FRI L L S

Your sales copy will be what sells your product, not spinning logos or elaborate Java script Use these "fancy" features wisely They increase your site's download time and can be distracting to the customer The information on your site is going to be what will influence the customer, not flashy graphics

CONTACT INFORMATION

Make sure that your site allows visitors to easily find out how to contact you Make your real email

address and phone number, even address, available to those who want to reach you It establishes credibility for your site when someone can get a "real" person on the other end and can make a big difference on swaying leery buyers

M A K E Y O U R W EB S IT E E A S Y T O F I G U R E O U T

Make it easy for your visitors to get the information they are seeking and then purchase your product

or service You don't want them wandering helplessly through your site, only to lose interest or

become frustrated and leave Your site needs to guide them to buying your product

Clearly give them the benefits of your product, establish your credibility, stoke their excitement to

buy the product Ask for their order, and give them more than one chance to move on to the

purchase Give them the opportunity to order via phone, mail, or fax for those who are

uncomfortable ordering online Be willing to take checks or money orders as payment options Make this an easy step-by-step process

Make sure your order forms are easy to understand You want the ordering process to be quick and easy If your forms are too hard to figure out, people will give up and find someone else to buy from

In order to allow online ordering, you will have to be able to process credit cards Not doing so, will

cost you orders and lost dollars! I recommend a company called Tradeworks as a good merchant

service provider (wvvw.keystoneresources.net/tradeworks)

If you go this route, make sure that the shopping cart software you use on your site it

easy to use, easy to understand, and allows the customer to add or delete items

without difficulty If your shopping cart is "hard to handle," you will lose customers I

will discuss shopping carts in more detail in the next section

K E E P Y O U R S I T E U P T O D A T E

Make sure that the information on your site is always current Update your articles

daily or weekly You want to make sure that people will come back If the same

information is always up at your site, why would they EVER return? Keep the

information new and relevant to your target audience Keep your statistics current,

add new content or information, offer new recommendations, etc

MAKE YOUR SITE 24/7

Be prepared to automate your site You want to be able to take orders 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and YOU don't want to have to be at your computer all the time You want your site to be able to handle your customers at any hour The Internet can facilitate customers from all over the world, at any time of the day or night

If you don't want to become a fixture at your desk, you will want to automate your business Your best bet is to plan to do this from the beginning Why? Because your first customers will become repeat customers if they are treated right This is where the idea of residual income comes in It is the ability

to bring customers back into your website without you having to be there

If you don't want to have to check your email every single day, confirm and process orders every single day, and spend your time handling orders and doing paperwork, then you must make the

effort to automate your business I'll show you how at the end of this section

P R O V I D E L I N K S T O Y O U R S A L E S M E S S A G E

You want your website visitors to buy your product Make it easy for them by providing links to click over to the product sales message Place these links strategically on your site When you have finished a piece of information, allow them the option of "learning more about your product" by

clicking "here"

You don't want your visitors to simply read your interesting content and then surf off to another

interesting site Give them the option of finding out how to fix whatever your product was designed to

"fix" If you don't, you are relying heavily that they will get there on their own Do you want to hope that they do?

Now that we have discussed some things to remember and watch out for when designing your site, let's move on to the text that will be featured there Don't neglect the text on your site! It is easy to get caught

up in designing a "cool" site, and totally forget the stuff that really makes a difference — the copy

Section 2.5 Headlines

The first step in writing your product-selling copy is to create headlines that grab your customers'

attention This is the most important text your customers will read If they don't like your headline and it doesn't entice them, they won’t read anything else In fact, it has been proven that headlines can increase your sales by over 1000%!

T h e s a m e b o d y t e x t a n d a d i f f e r e n t h e a d l i n e c a n make a huge difference in sales

When you write your headlines, focus on communicating the benefits that your product can offer the customer Create curiosity so that they continue to read

A great headline emphasizes a key benefit or solution and applies it to the

customer's situation Poll your current customers and find out why they bought

your product You may find that there is only one reason they bought from you,

and it wasn't what you thought! If you change your headline to reflect this new

information, your sales will jump drastically!

Create headlines That grab your Customers’ Attention

After you write your headlines, test them, modify them, test them You get the

picture You will find that some are better than others, and that you can make a

huge difference in sales by changing your headlines It's worth the effort to keep

trying to find one that really brings in the sales

Section 2.6 Sales Copy

Now let's move on to the sales text or copy Your copy should not tell your potential customers

about the features of the product Instead, emphasize how your product will improve the customer's life

EXAMPLE

Let's say that your product is a skin care lotion Your original text reads as follows:

"ABC Beauty Cream is made from the finest ingredients, has a lovely floral scent, and feels like silk on your face! We have a commitment against any products tested on animals The cost is only $19.99 per jar Buy one today."

You can see why no one would really care one way or the other if they bought this skin cream over the stuff their Avon lady is selling But if you change your copy to emphasize the benefits of using your cream over Avon's, then

"Is your skin dry and tight? Do you feel like all of the smog, and pollution settles onto your face by the end of the day? ABC Beauty Cream can make your face feel like you've just stepped out of a spa! Smooth on ABC Cream at the end of the day, and feel the stress and grime of your day slip away Your face will feel softer The floral aromatherapy scent will soothe your senses And your skin tone and texture will improve as you continue to use ABC Cream Similar products sell for as much as $30 out of catalogs, but ABC Cream is yours for the low price of $19.99 Buy today and get free shipping!"

You can see how a customer would be enticed into buying the product in the second example A

woman would be able to imagine her face feeling clean and fresh after a long day You answer the question "What's in it for me?" and your customers will buy from you

Don't try to sell your product to a customer, instead help them solve their problem Focus on the

benefits of your product, and how it will help the customer It is much easier to sell a solution than a product Focus on a solution instead of a feature Toothpaste companies focus on a whiter, brighter smile, not the flavor of the toothpaste or the ingredients that help whiten

People are motivated when they are afraid they will miss out on something, or if they can gain something additional when buying from you Use these two tools in your marketing copy Make them aware of what they are missing out on, or wasting if they do not buy Show them what they can gain

or save if they do

But always remember — people do not want to be sold something Do not waste your time listing the features of your product, focus on the benefits and what they will get from your product Benefits are not the cost of the product, the color, of the features Benefits answer the questions "What's in it for me?" "Why should I keep reading?" or "Why should I buy from you?"

Here are some other things to keep in mind when writing your sales copy

GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS INFORMATION

When you take the time to educate your visitors, you are establishing credibility for you and your site When your potential customers see you as an expert, they are more willing to buy from you They

want to purchase from someone who knows what they are talking about, so give them the

information that proves that person is you

Explain how using your product will enhance their lives Explain what makes your product better than its competition And as always, explain "what's in it for them"

Emphasize the benefits, but do NOT make offers you can't stand behind Remember you want them excited to buy, but not disappointed when you don't deliver what you promised! Give real

information, quote real statistics, use testimonials from satisfied customers The more information you give them, the more comfortable they'll feel about buying from you

L E T T H E M K N O W Y O U A R E A R E A L P E R S O N

Establish a rapport with your customers by letting them know who you are and how you came to be the expert that you are Tell stories that explain how you came by your experience Let them see that you are a real person, like them Help them to develop trust in you and your product The more comfortable they are with you and your site, the more willing they will be to buy from you You don't want them thinking that you are just another internet scam!

FOCUS ON YOUR TARGET MARKET

Make sure that you keep your target audience in mind You need to focus on what this audience needs and the benefits that will help them Keep in mind what they want, how old they are, the education they would have, etc Do they have any specific needs that you can focus on? Your sales copy will be directed toward this audience, so make sure it is appropriate for them Don't waste your time selling to the entire world; keep the target in mind when you write your sales copy

K E E P I T S IM P L E !

Be clear and to the point when you write your sales copy Don't use large words or long sentences Explain everything You cannot assume that every reader will know what you are talking about Make sure your copy makes it clear exactly what you are trying to say

Keep your language informal, as if your were talking to someone Use a casual "tone of voice" and speak to your customers as if they were there with you You want them to feel like you are giving them your personal attention; like you were thinking of them when you wrote it Read the copy aloud when you are finished Does it sound like you are talking to a friend? It should

WHY ARE THEY HERE?

Your site should have one all-encompassing focus that is immediately apparent to your visitors They should know why they are at your site Even if you are selling lots of products, you need to make it clear what the overall focus of your site is Are you selling beauty products, communications devices, craft supplies? Make sure that all of your website text agrees with this focus

BOLD, UNDERLINE & BULLETS

Make your copy easy to read You don't want to use a lot of different fonts or colors Also, don't use all CAPS — it's distracting and hard to read Use bold or italics to emphasize an important point, but don't get carried away

Underlining in text on a website can be mistaken for a hyperlink, so use it sparingly, if at all Use

bullets to make important points and to set them apart from the body text Bullets build excitement and interest

PEOPLE WON'T READ EVERY WORD

Make sure that your copy is easily scanned Most people are not going to read every word Make the benefits easy to note with just a glance Break your copy up into easy to read sections, so that people can slow down and read more carefully when they see something they are more

interested in Bolding, italics, and bulleted lists will also help to accomplish this

USE YOU AND YOUR

Make your sales copy more personal by using the words "you" and "your" in your writing By saying things like "Your product will arrive in 2-3 days," or "You will be receiving," you are transferring ownership of the product to the potential customer, making it easier for them to envision actual ownership You should have at least twice as many "you's" and "your's" in your copy as you have words like "me, my, us" etc

USE POWER WORDS

Make your copy exciting by using "power" words in the text Here are some examples of Do's and Don'ts The Do's motivate people and entice them to purchase from you The Don'ts are words that turn people off and cause them to want to stop reading

Do's DON'TS

Free Loss Love Contract Safe Hard New Taxes Benefits Liability Right Worry You Sell Alternative Fait

Security Obligation Sate Cost Now Deal Value Bad Money Decision Gain Death Save Wrong Happy Buy Fun Difficult Discover Failure How to

Remember, the word "Free" is a powerful word, but don't abuse it Only advertise

things as "Free" if there is no cost or obligation involved Even a "free sample" is not

really free if the customer has to pay for shipping

LONG IS GOOD

Although you might think that you should keep your copy short and to the point,

this is not always the case Long copy can work on a sales website This is because

if people are interested in the information you are presenting, they will keep reading

(or at least scanning for important points)

Now long copy may not work for all products and services, so be sure to test both

long and short text on your site You will find a fit that is right for you

D ON' T MAK E A B IG D EA L A BOU T WHA T Y O U AR E SELLING

People don't want to hang around a website that is selling something They don't

want to be asked for their hard-earned cash Make sure that you do not tell your

visitors upfront that you are selling a product

When your sales copy gives a lot of information, people will naturally think that

you are giving this information away They read it strictly to learn and gain "free"

information By the time they reach your sales pitch, they have read your information

with an open mind and are not turned off by the idea that they have to buy

something And because they have read the information, they are in a state of

mind to purchase your product Then you can lead them to the order page You want

your customers to "sell" themselves on your product by reading the information you

are providing

TESTIMONIALS

Your website will inspire trust with your customers, if you publish testimonials of

past customers who are happy and satisfied with your product and customer service

You need to use the words of others so you don't sound like you are merely "blowing

your own horn." Why would a potential customer believe what you are saying about

yourself? A testimonial from another "regular person" will go a lot further in

establishing the trust you need in an online arena

So how do you go about getting and using testimonials, especially if your product is

brand new?

You can also use your own testimonial about how the product has changed your life

or benefited you Talk about your experiences with it Be honest.Once your product

is selling, continue to try to gain more testimonials Ask your customers for their

First of all, do NOT make up testimonials It will destroy your credibility

and it is illegal To begin to collect testimonials on a new product, simply

go to people in your field or target market, and ask them to provide you

with testimonials Offer a free trial in exchange for use of their comments

in your national marketing campaign Most people would be thrilled to

have THEIR words used in advertising

feedback If you get an email or letter from a customer, respond with your thanks and a request for permission to use their words As you collect testimonials from your customers, you will have plenty of future material for your marketing efforts

Make sure you get permission from those who are providing testimonials Get it in writing, and specify that permission is granted for use in all current AND future advertising

So what makes a good testimonial?

It is descriptive – Use testimonials that are two to three sentences long and use solid

facts Avoid testimonials like "Wow!" These don't offer anything solid to the potential customers Use testimonials that describe the benefits gained from the product

It lists the real person – Make sure that you list the person's name and contact

information with the testimonial People want to be reassured that these are REAL testimonials, and if someone is really interested, they may want to contact one of your testimonials for a reference

It is not "fixed up" – Do not edit your testimonials for more than spelling You want the

comments exactly how your customers gave them to you If you correct sentence structure, word choice, etc., the testimonial will cease to have the customer's voice and will end up sounding like you made it up

I F Y O U W A N T T H E M T O O R D E R , T H E N A S K

It seems a simple enough thing, but you can't GET the order, if you don't ASK for the order You will increase your sales by doing this one easy thing Ask for the order, back it up with a guarantee, and then guide them through the ordering process

Using the "you" and "your" words is a subtle way of asking for the order You can even use a P.S at the end of the information that restates the guarantee and asks for the order Remind them that they have nothing to lose by ordering

OFFER A GUARANTEE — THE LONGER THE BETTER!

Giving your customers nothing to lose by ordering, means offering a great guarantee Everyone has been burned before, and in the world of the Internet, people are even more leery of purchasing if

there are no guarantees So it stands to reason, that you must offer a guarantee or lose sales

Unless your product is a scam, and I'm sure it is not, go ahead and offer a 100%, no

questions asked, lifetime, money-back guarantee The longer time period you can

offer for accepting returns, the fewer returns you will actually get

Why? Because people will not be rushed into a 30-day return window They will

take the time to really experience your product, knowing they can return it at any

time Also, if they know they can return it forever, the thought of being unsatisfied

and worrying about the amount of time left, leaves their mind If you offer a lifetime

guarantee, the customer automatically thinks "Well, it must be a great product if they

can offer a lifetime guarantee!"

GIVE BONUSES WHERE YOU CAN

When it is feasible, offer bonuses to your customers It will help you close sales, and it

will boost your customer satisfaction A bonus increases the customer's perceived value of your

product Let's face it, who doesn't like getting something for free?

If you make the bonus available only for a limited time, it will also instill a sense of urgency to buy the product before the deadline However, do not make the PRODUCT a limited time offer You will lose credibility as your "limited time offer" product never ends!

Just remember, that you are marketing to a targeted audience, so make sure that your bonus is of value to that audience Also try to relate your bonus to your product For example, something that

"goes along with" the product you are selling If your product is Beauty Cream, then a free bonus

could be bath oil or perhaps a sleep mask Don't offer coupons good for the next purchase as these are NOT free And don't make your bonuses something totally unrelated

One thing that is a great bonus item is an eBook that relates to your product These are make good bonuses for two reasons The first is that they can be delivered instantly via email to your customers The second is once you've written and compiled your eBook, it costs you nothing to offer it as a bonus

to your buyers! You set up your email system to send it automatically, and there is nothing else for you to do, but sit back and watch the sales come in

You can go to www.ebookpro.com for more information on producing your own eBooks

DON'T GO WITH YOUR FIRST DRAFT

I know this sounds obvious, but always test your sales copy, headlines, and price until you've found the best combination Evaluate and rethink your offering and then test to find out if the changes net you more profits

Only change one thing at a time when you are conducting tests Only change price,

OR a headline OR copy that details benefits, not all three at once Otherwise, you

can't know which of the three changes made the sale for you And test on a small

scale Once you have found the right combination, THEN you can spend your money

taking the "right" marketing campaign on a larger scale

Another way to test your offer, is to contact the people who received your offer and ask

for their feedback Now this can be uncomfortable, because a large number of these

people may have decided NOT to buy from you But if you take the time to try and

get honest answers from them, you will be able to fix any problems and improve your

sales copy This feedback will help you to find areas where you may have gone

wrong, so that you can stop losing sales

Here are some examples of questions you can ask:

ƒ Did you get my letter/offer?

ƒ Did you read it? If not, why?

ƒ Did you find it interesting?

ƒ What kept you from ordering?

ƒ What would convince you to order?

ƒ What did you like about the information I sent?

ƒ What did you NOT like about the information I sent?

ƒ Do you have any questions about what was sent that you feel were not

adequately answered?

Another way to test your sales copy is to give it out to strangers in a public place Try choosing people within your target market segment if you can Ask them to read through it and then ask them if it was good sales copy

The answer you want to hear is "Where can I get this <product>?" If they tell you that your copy

sounds fine, keep reworking it Once you get people asking how to buy your product, that is the copy you want to use!

Learn from every test Gain insight with every "failure" to help you improve the next time Take the time to test, rework, and retest so that you can have the best possible website you can

SURVEY YOUR CUSTOMERS

The second part of testing your website is surveying your customers By doing this, you'll find out critically important information that will help you to better your marketing efforts in the future

First, surveys help you to narrow your target audience They will help you to understand exactly why your customers bought the product I just read an ad for some skin cream that was created to reduce stretch marks However, as the company test marketed the product, the container had no instructions and simply read "Skin Cream" or something along those lines

Well, in the process of hundreds and hundreds of personal trials of this product, people got confused and started putting the cream on their faces The company was amazed when people started asking for more of the amazing wrinkle reducing cream! They had no idea that the product was incredible

at firming the facial skin and getting rid of wrinkles Now they are marketing the stuff as wrinkle reducing cream and stores can't keep it in stock

Now this is an extreme example, and hopefully you know what your product can do However, you can only guess the real reasons behind a customer's decision to buy your product Surveys can shed light

on these reasons What you may find, is that instead of the reasons and benefits you were using in your copy, people are buying for an altogether different reason Once you have identified that reason, then you can shift your marketing to focus on it, and your sales will go up

Surveys will also help you to narrow your target market You may find that you were trying to sell to everyone who has a dog, for example, but in your survey efforts, you find that only people with large dogs are buying your products Once you learn this information, you can then change your marketing strategy to focus more on large dog owners If you narrow your focus, your sales will increase!

Like testing your copy, surveys can help you to find the problems in your strategy Are your prices too high or too low? Is your order page confusing? When you find out these details from your

customers, you can fix the problems to make it better for everyone

You can also ask your customers if there is anything else that they would like to see offered This way, you can find potential product ideas as people tell you what they need

Now not everyone will be willing to take the time to answer your survey So, to get the most

responses you can, consider offering some sort of incentive It doesn't have to be much — perhaps

an eBook, or a newsletter, or an article Something that is of value to them, so they will spend their