10 Step Internet Business

Okay, you wan to build a solid profitable internet business you can run from home or anywhere you choose. It's totally do-able and you CAN do it. If you're sitting there thinking, "I'm just not getting it", stop right now. You'll get it and it is easier than you think.

These ten steps work for any product or service you want to market. The basics are the basics and you have to master each one of them. Then you can put your creativity and personal touch into your business. Remember you are building a business, not a hobby. Businesses make money, hobbies cost money. To build an internet business that is solid, (profitable for the long term) you need the right tools. Whatever you do, don't cheap out and use free software. There is a reason it is free. Just remember what you paid for the free stuff, because that is probably what it is worth.

You may have purchased some plans or systems which we call a "Business in a Box". Most don't work and the others allow you to pay to promote and market someone else's business. Yes, almost every beginner or newbie has spent a fair amount of money on the "Business in a Box". We have all done this, so cheer up. You're on the right track now. The bright side is, these misstates are tax deductable at the end of the year!

So let's get to the ten steps. These are the correct basics which every successful internet marketing business has done. Now each step has its' own nuances and rules, but for right now, you don't need to worry about that. You are going to take each step one at a time. You will master them all and be in a business that can't fail, be out-sourced, taken away from you, or downsized.

There is a simple way to master each of these.

1. Market Niche: What are you going to market? It doesn't matter what you market but you have to do the research first. Throw out the Guru's advice and market something you love. If worm farming is your favorite hobby and subject, I doubt you'll get rich on that, so do your research.

2. Select your product or service: Research is done, know how to acquire the products or services. The reality is to start with other people' products. It doesn't matter if they are digital or non-digital, don't use your own at first.

3. Domain Name: Now pick you domain name. Make sure it relates to your niches or products. Don't confuse people. I know what you might be thinking…what the heck is a Google and what about Yahoo? Good point, but they took a chance when they started. Those two examples overcame the confusion and snide remarks in the beginning. They were great and timely products. You can't take that chance.
4. Website Building: You have to be able to build a website - period. Remember you do not need to know HTML. Out-sourcing (someone else building your sites) doesn't work for two reasons. First, it is expensive. You will probably end up with 10 or more sites that need updating and monitoring. Now the big guys have in-house webmasters to handle that, but the overhead would kill you right now. Second, outsourcing for building, updating and monitoring take weeks for each. Forget about it.

5. Hosting: Pick your hosting company carefully. This is important; whatever you do, don't choose a free one and don't use their website templates. Purchase plenty of data transfer and make sure they equip you with a full suite of statistics. We will show you the best tools in each of these categories.

6. SEO: Does anyone call this "Search Engine Optimization"anymore? Nah, it's just referred to as SEO. This is very important. You flat out can't get ranked on any search engine without it. Well, you can, but being on the 200th page of a search engine doesn't do much for you. SEO is evolving and you need professional help.

7. Auto Responder: No internet marketer even thinks about building a business without an auto responder. You need to look for unlimited lists, email campaigns, and all the statistics you can get for tracking. Use companies that specialize in what they do.

8. List Building: The money is in the list. Every visitor to your site can be turned into a paying customer. Even if they don't buy the first time, you can email market back to them over and over. They know who you are and the conversion rate goes up with each op-in contact. Remember, we don't spam.

9. Organic Marketing: This is the best way to build your business. Okay, you probably have read about Adwords and PPC. Don't think about these yet. Unless you have fine-tuned your sales system, sales copy, and know your conversion rate you will get into trouble. What kind of trouble? The work kind! You will lose money!

10. Ecommerce: this part of the business used to be a pain the @#*! It's not any more. Matter of fact, it is probably the easiest part. The Ecommerce providers do everything for you. We're talking customer shopping carts and full, secure transaction handling. The best of them will take a small percentage of each transaction, but it is well worth it!
Well, there you go. The basics on any internet marketing business. You will need to master each one of them. I know some of the other guys in this business and believe me, you are as smart as they are. The reason they are making a good living at this and you're not (yet) is because they have mastered the basics and persevered. You can too.

Author: Jim Janowiak
Internet Marketing Business Coach