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From the smallest child's birthday party
to the grandest of weddings, they all take planning. Without a plan they
have little chance of success.
I mention this for a reason. Setting up
your online Home-Business takes a plan. You cannot start in the middle with
what seemed like a good idea spelled out in an ad, and run with it. The odds
of success are against you.
So if we use a "party line" approach to
set up your online business, it would go something like this.
First we must have a LOCATION. In our
example this would not be our backyard or the Clubhouse in our Condo
complex. It would be a Website. We want to design this Website to represent
specific products, but with a few considerations to keep in mind:
easy-to-remember title, minimum bells & whistles (pages must load without
delay), a neutral background color, and a great introduction. That takes a
lot of planning already.
A few years ago this would have cost plenty,
but today there are many programs that offer "instant" results. With
minimal technical background this will not be difficult, albeit
time-consuming.
Next we must have something to sell. There
are untold numbers of "work-for-me" programs called "Affiliate" or MLMs. And
then there are the endless supply of quick-selling, popular eBooks,
software, audio and video, special reports, and various other info-products
that you can purchase 100% Resale Rights to.
Affiliate status in nearly all programs is
free, and that seems to be the attraction. That, and the "replicated"
Website that is generally given to each new member requiring NO personal
Website of your own. On the other hand, Resale Rights to several products
can be introduced on your own Website.... as you acquire them.
Now we have a Website and product(s).
The next step in your "plan" is a Marketing Budget. Even weddings and
birthday parties are managed with an estimated cost. Your online Home-Based
business must have at least a minimum budget to work with. There will be
charges for a Domain Name and a Hosting company to set up your Website.
Most marketing experts feel that your own
Domain Name is critical for consumer confidence; and a good Hosting site
will charge a fee, but you have less "downtime"; an important consideration
when an impatient prospect is trying to make a purchase.
Next we have the "invitations". Your
advertisements are your invitations. If no one knows you are in business,
that your products are in demand and reasonably priced --- there won't be
any party, right? Getting the word out is part of the plan.
Where to start, what to say, how much to
spend, and almost as important --- how to track your efforts. Tracking gives
us success or failure of various ads. A "must-have", and generally obtained
for a small fee.
Lastly, most party-givers send out a
"thank you" if the festivity resulted in a gift (in this case, sale). By
thanking your client you begin a long-term relationship and this means
future sales as the result of trust. Stand behind your product, satisfy any
complaint or refund promptly, and you will have a new customer for life.
All because of good planning.
© 2004 Esther Smith
About
the Author: Smith has published numerous articles and writes a blog for
all artists:
http://the-self-taught-artist.com/blog.html
She also coaches new students on how to leave the time-for-money trap and set up
Leveraged Income for life.
http://thepermanentventure.com/dcc.htm If you can’t sing or ride a
bull, you better learn how to make your money work for more money. |