|
Maximize profits from your website using the simple methods and viable resources offered in this "how-to" article. Take good notes, and bookmark this site to review the links and invaluable business tools available to you. Startup cost is extremely low compared to the incredible yields you can earn through the internet.
Build your empire in a matter of days!
The first step is:
GET YOUR MIND RIGHT!
Generating income through the internet can be a mixture of emotions. Feel them, deal with them, and release them. This will require work, there will be bumps along the way, but the ends will justify the means. Channel all of your energy into one main thing: FOCUS.
A steady aim, an organized gameplan, and a positive attitude are key factors in the success of your website.
There is such a thing as quick money, but there is no such thing as easy money. You may need to sacrifice leisure time, friends, and more while you prepare to work towards your goal. If you are the type of person who needs a little help staying motivated, Sculptor3 is an amazing program for positive affirmation. You could even write this off as a tax deduction at the end of the year (as with most of the resources available on this page).
A REAL START:
SIMPLE METHODS FOR MAXIMIZING PROFITS FROM YOUR WEBSITE
Let’s begin with the good old 5W’s and H method: who, what, where, when, why, and how? .
WHAT
WHAT is the purpose or focus of your website? To make sure your visitors are not searching for the answer to this question, make sure you know it clearly! People will ask the question: “What is your website about?” and you ought to have a de facto statement ready to give as a response.
Start with an idea and NARROW IT DOWN as much as possible. Finding a niche market is an excellent business technique. For example, creating a website about weddings is more complicated to approach than a website about wedding invitations. Here, your mission statement could be something like: Provide a comprehensive website for brides and grooms who wish to custom-design their own wedding invitations.
Always start small and grow from there. Don’t waste time and energy until your smaller successes are proven.
Great Ideas for Beginners:
If you don’t already have an idea in mind, one incredibly easy and particularly attractive way to build a niche store is to become an ebay affiliate store. With literally millions of products already being sold all around the world, you can choose your favorite niche and direct traffic to ebay,earning commissions for each sale that you direct! No shipping, no inventory, no hassle - just getting paid to direct traffic!
A similar way to work from home and generate money through the internet without much setup or startup capital is taking paid surveys online. There are more comprehensive work from home kits available which don't even require you to have a website! This is an excellent way to supplement or generate income from home with little knowledge of computer jargon, html, or advanced business techniques.
Research
Spend a good amount of time researching your idea properly and write a solid business plan. Talk to people who have already achieved success in your field. No matter how much you think you know, always be open to learning more. Read e-zine articles, blogs, and commentaries from other website owners in your field.
It is a wise idea to at least see what the millionaires have to say as well! One particularly inspiring and useful story is that of a 28-yr old ex-felon who turned his life around using the internet. This book tells his strategy for generating enough sales to become a millionaire in just 1 year. Many successful entrepreneurs have printed books and ebooks loaded with proven business strategies. You are sure to pick up invaluable tips along the way if you spend a good week or two just reading and researching your venture.
If you have little to no prior experience with e-commerce or the web, a home study course or a course at a community college is a wise move. Investing in this type of research will give you amazing money-making ideas you may have never fathomed! For example, this home video on flipping websites can show you how to generate huge income in a new and lucrative industry that is unknown to most. Remember, you should choose well where you spend your startup capital, and being sure of your knowledge of the web is a more than worthwhile investment.
Once you establish your niche, your de facto mission statement and business plan, and you feel solid in your research, you can move on to the next W.
WHO
WHO is your target audience? WHO are your strongest competitors? WHO is on your team?
WHO is your target audience?
This is the most important question of all. Even the most amazing product cannot be sold on its own merits alone - people have to know about it. How many TV commercials do you see every day for absurd products? The point is you see them every day and so do about a million other people. The absurd idea still sells more than the one that no-one ever hears about. If you establish your target audience, it is much easier to build an appropriate site, come up with an effective marketing strategy, and increase your site’s profitability.
Continuing with our former example, a website about wedding invitations will have a target audience of mostly women (brides) between the ages of 20-45. Of course, there will also be other smaller audiences to consider: men, older brides/grooms, etc. Focusing on the the largest target audience, you can now create links and post ads in bridal magazines, wedding search engines, design search engines, et al.
Learning how to advertise your website on Google, Yahoo, MSN, and the other major search engines is essential to anyone who wants to yield high profit from the web. For example, having a site with at least 5 pages and a site map increase your chances of being spotted by a crawler from one of the major search engines.
Options for search engine optimization vary greatly in price range and reach, so shop around before you choose your route. This may be your highest expense in the startup process, and it is definitely worth it! Find the best options for your budget and product.
You could also print paper ads in industry-related magazines and periodicals, or your local newspaper. Contribute articles and blogs in related fields to generate even more traffic to your website. Gear these articles towards your target audience, and always ask yourself how your site can truly benefit your visitors. E-mails with newsletters are another great way to get visitors to return to your website and stay interested.
WHO are your strongest competitors?
It is highly unlikely that anyone will come up with a completely unique idea in today’s world. There is room for competition in every industry, so be sure to carefully assess the other leading sites. For example, how can a website on wedding invitations be better than going through this process offline or through a competing website? Discuss the benefits right on your site!
Research other similar webpages, and see how many times they have been visited. What do the most successful websites have in common that you should include? Take note of strong keywords that appear in the leading sites’ content. Take time to research the benefits of good keywords for your industry as this is an important way to boost revenue from your website even further. The more keywords in your site, the higher your rankings in the search engines which brings more traffic your site resulting in HIGHER PROFITS.
Be very careful not to plagiarize or copy anything, as there are strict laws governing copyrights. This step is solely to research and get an idea for the competition. Notice the design setup, colors, graphics, and other factors besides just content on competing sites. What can your site include that the others do not? Find a test client and ask her what she thinks about a competitor site. What more could it use? Fill in the blanks, and spend time on this step.
WHO is on your team?
Establish the answer to this question early on in the process. Will you be building the website yourself, hiring designers, hiring writers? Will you need a lawyer, accountant, or any financial consultants? Are your friends helping you or expecting some kind of return? Are you taking investments or loans?
You are the leader of your project, but when there is money involved, make sure that anyone who works with you or for you is given a tightly worded contract detailing their obligations and specific payment for their work. You are the “editor-in-chief” so be open to all ideas presented, but don’t let anyone push you around in the process. Remember to keep a positive attitude.
Certainly, the less people you have to pay the better. When you have people working for you, make sure you know and completely understand the laws governing the internet, as you do not want to commit an infringement without even realizing it. There are limitless resources for building a website yourself
from scratch for people with any degree of knowledge on the subject.
One of the easiest and most comprehensive tools is Network Solutions, which is a WSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) program that will take you from the first to last steps of publishing and maintaining your website. This comprehensive package includes domain name registry, web hosting, site design tools, site map tools and much more. You don't even need to know HTML. A comprehensive web hosting package is a great way to stay organized and cutback on the number of people you need to hire to work on your business.
WHERE
Where is your target market, and what is the best way to reach them? You should constantly try to assess where your target market is, and focus your attention here. Knowing the size, growth rate, info about age/sex/race/etc, and other main features of your target audience is very important to the success of your website.
Once you have figured out your target audience, you can begin making a list of all the places you can reach them. Place ads in e-zines,blogs, myspace, posts, industry-specific search engines, major search engines, chatrooms, and anything else you can think of related to your chosen field. You can also link to newsgroups, community bulletins, other leading websites in the industry, and related topics.
Where do you keep all of the information related to your website? Maintaining a successful website can become overwhelming after some time, so make sure you are organized from day one. Keep all files related to your site in one main folder so that you do not have to waste time looking for one little image or text item. Be sure to label your files and folders with descriptive names, even including the date so that you don’t get confused later in the process. During the research process, bookmark important sites with appropriate titles. Of course, keep backup files as well!
Be equally organized with your hard copy files. Create a file cabinet with all related info for your website, accounting records, taxes (be on top of this!),PayPal information, banking info, and any other files you may need to create to stay organized in maintaining your website.
You have no idea how much money you can lose just by being disorganized! Try not to take any hard copies, discs, or other website-related items outside of the office unless totally necessary. Keep records of everything from accounting to returns to customer service inquiries. All of this information can be used for website re-evaluation later. Also, much of it will be required for tax purposes and liability.
WHEN
When is an important question to answer. To generate more income through your website, come up with a sensible business plan, budget, and definitely a realistic timeline. Once you organize your task list and complete your research, you may be overwhelmed by the long list of to-dos. Organize your responsibilities in order of importance and design a reasonable timeframe to complete each task. Really try to stick to these deadlines.
Include within this timeline plans and projections for your budget and income. Every day you should create a daily task list along with a loose schedule so you will not be wandering aimlessly through this process or elongating your day. This timeline will change along the way to accommodate unforeseen things, and even many times. However, it is extremely important to set this structure for yourself so that you keep the ball rolling.
Also integral to the process is taking breaks, as incessant computer work can have detrimental effects on the body as well as mind. Schedule in breaks for eating, taking a walk, or even a couple of days off in between. Try not to multi-task eating, phone conversations, and website work as you don’t want to make silly errors or lose concentration. Remember focus is key in this game, and you don’t want to burn out early!
Once you really get started, maintining your site should be a daily process if you truly want your website to generate more revenue. Keep updating your webpages at least once a month, if not more, to stay up-to-date with trends and keep the site interesting to repeat visitors. When the going gets tough, don’t throw in the towel. Surviving the hard times is the real test of a successful entrepreneur. You should expect downtimes and plan for them even before you embark on your venture. If you expect the worst and hope for the best, you will be better prepared and less often disappointed!
WHY
Why are you doing this? It’s okay to say you want to make more money with less work while doing what you enjoy. It’s okay to go out and find your own happiness! If maximum profit for your website is what you are looking for, learn to respect money and understand what you can do with it. Spend time learning how to manage your finances, because you just might make more money than you expect. Understand legalities and taxes, cut costs everywhere you can, and keep a close eye on the trends of the revenue generated through your website (on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis).
Equally important to profit should be a respect for your product or service. Educate yourself as much as possible on your product/service, the industry related to it, recent related news, and of course information about your target audience.
If you truly believe in your product or service, it will be a much easier sell. Sell something on your site that you sincerely think will benefit your site’s visitors. Consider concerns they may have, and be sure to address these. If your intention is to completely satisfy your customer and deliver a product/service you stand behind, your profit will increase as you will have repeat visitors, referrals, and a positive energy to your website. Be sure to include a way your customers can contact you with questions or comments.
HOW
This is the real question. Depending on your industry, the details for this section should be further researched. The following are general suggestions for maximizing profitability on most types of websites.
Step 1:
ORGANIZE a detailed business plan including financial projections, deadlines, budget, product/service info, your mission statement, marketing strategies, planning tools, website maintenance plan, staff & salaries, and any other pertinent information.
Step 2:
RESEARCH and compile information. Before you begin building your site, spend time researching your industry, target audience, general statistics, keywords, competitor sites, useful tools and resources, offline alternatives, and other factors previously suggested. Compile the necessary information for your website’s content and for your own knowledge carefully, as you may need to call upon these details later.
Step 3:
BUILD your site.
Website building options There are literally thousands of options for building a site, so it is definitely worthwhile to spend time researching which option is most appropriate and profitable for your field and your level of experience with the internet.
Here are some general options: hire a web designer (this option gives you the least control, costs the most, and is most risky but requires the least physical work on your end); purchase a comprehensive package like Network Solutions or Site Builder Elite (this is the best option for beginners and designers at any stage – includes domain registry, site building, hosting, tracking, marketing tools, and much more); do it yourself with a website building tool like Dreamweaver (this option is best for intermediate to advanced website entrepreneurs, although even the ambitious beginner can succeed this way with enough research).
Choose which option works best for you, and begin building your site. Spend time deciding on a great name for your site, as this is the cornerstone for the rest of your website. Once you are finished building your site,purchase a domain name. Choose a name that does not already exist (even with hyphens or a different extension).
Avoiding hyphens in your domain name can increase your sales. Choose a dot com rather than a different extension, as this is the most common. Keep the name short, simple, and pertinent to the topic of your website! Try to think of a domain name that is original, catchy, and hassle-free for you and the site visitor. For example, custom-design-your-own-invitations.net is not a great choice for a domain name!
Make sure your site’s content is rich in keywords, interesting and easy to read for your visitors, designed with your target audience in mind. Remember to keep track of what works and what doesn’t along the way! Do not forget to include legal disclaimers, an about us, a contact page, a site map, and copyright information for your website before you are finished!
Organize your accounts receiving methods. Be sure your bank accounts, PayPal accounts, tax id information, mailing address, and any other relevant information are updated and ready to receive funds. Get in the habit of checking your accounts every morning after breakfast. Remember to keep excellent records of all income and expenses from your website.
Step 4:
EDIT your site. From content to design to HTML coding, you want to edit your site to make sure you have not made any errors. A website full of spelling errors does not speak well for the product or service offered. You can download an HTML editor for free from the net if one is not already included in your site building package or software.
If you have not already done so, you shuld now choose an appropriate web host. There is a whole range of possibilities, so here is another place to spend some time researching your options before choosing a host for your site. Although free sounds great, remember you get what you pay for, and cost for a quality host is generally pretty low considering your returns.
Next you will upload all of the files, images, graphics, and links on your site to the web server. This is where naming all of your files descriptively comes in handy. Make sure to use the same names you originally used when you upload the files.
Step 5:
TEST it out! Test your site to make sure everything has uploaded correctly and functions the way you want it to. Try doing this from a few different computers, so you can make sure all of your graphics and text appear correctly.
Step 6:
MARKETING! This is the most important step in maximizing profit through your website. The only way to generate huge sales and revenue from the internet is to have a huge audience! It is in your best interest to subscribe to the major search engines, and to more specific industry-related search engines. Or you can purchase a program to submit your articles and/or URL to several major engines. There are also excellent website promotion packages, which are an essential investment.
Be proactive in your marketing scheme by submitting topic-related articles and blogs to popular e-zines, commentary boards, and other leading websites. Social bookmarking is another way to increase hits to your site and optimize your website’s earning potential. Don't forget about getting related website owners to link to your site for added traffic. Yet another great way to market your product is to allow customers to post comments and reviews on your site. If there are no restrictions on your product/service, you may be able to generate income from an international market through your website. It's called the WORLD WIDE WEB for a reason, so use it to your advantage!
There are plenty of ways to market your website offline as well. Put thought into paper ads in newpapers, periodicals, local marketplaces, and other areas with large traffic. Tell everyone you know about your site. Send emails with newsletters and specials to people who sign up to receive more information.
Spend a lot of time researching, reassessing, and executing your marketing strategies, as this is integral to maximizing profit for your website. Also, this will be the step where you should expect to outsource and/or spend the most capital - the stronger the marketing plan, the stronger the returns from your website.
Step 7:
TRACK your site! Keep a close watch over your business with careful statistics and record keeping. Track your visitors’ demographics, your keyword profitability, your links, any errors and of course your expenses and income (daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly for most businesses).
All of this information should be assessed and reassessed periodically to delete unprofitable factors from the website and add content that brings higher yields from your website traffic.
Step 8:
REAP THE BENEFITS! The hard part is over. In just a few simple steps, you’ve created your own profit-yielding website. Following these easy steps, and make use of the tools and resources available to you throughout this article. Make wise investments and cut corners when necessary, and constantly reassess the progress of your website and competing sites.
If you spend the right amount of time and focus setting up your website, tracking and collecting your money should be the hardest work you have to do. Remember to stay up-to-date, manage your accounts carefully, and above all believe in yourself! This WILL work, e-commerce is no longer the wave of the future – it is the wave of today, so don’t be afraid to hop on and enjoy the ride!
|