Starting a business can be one of the most exciting yet stressful things you could do in life. With so much to take into consideration when starting an online venture, I will share with you some key points you will need to address when launching a successful online business.
1. Preparation is key
You have a lot to do when starting an online business so you will need to prepare a structured plan suitable for your new venture. You will need to ask yourself;
- Do you have a Domain Name? If not try 123-reg.co.uk or networksolutions.com.
- Have you claimed your Business through Google Places? This is a great, free way to promote yourself.
- Have you looked into Google Webmaster, Google Keyword Tracker or Google Analytics?
You must do your research into how you can position yourself and also, how your competitors fair online. You need to be doing what they are, but better.
2. Be inspired to succeed
For your online business to succeed, you need to be 100% behind your brand and believe in the message it portrays. You will find that a lot of people who start a business, have a great idea however, once they begin to face problems, their enthusiasm they once had, has worn off and they are ready to quit. You need to ask yourself why you’re starting this business and the answer needs to be enough to motivate you to keep going regardless of the struggles along the way.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help
You won’t be able to start a successful business by yourself; you will need a good, solid team around you. Look at a possible partner and virtual assistant as a starting point. To be able to give your customer the great digital journey, you will need to be connected and dedicated to your brand, and the same goes for your colleagues.
There are a lot of business owners out there that are willing to share their expertise and knowledge with you. Look at attending seminars at trade shows to get more of a realistic insight into what it takes to run a successful online business.
4. Promote
Brand awareness is crucial when starting an online business. Social commerce allows your consumer to connect where they buy and buy where they connect. Take your brand to Social Media, hold competitions and most importantly, engage with your audience. There are so many tools out there that allow you to do this effectively so as said in point 1; do your research.
Using SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to generate a better ranking in Google is a great place to start. Have a read of this Google SEO Guide here if you need some help.
You should also look into becoming a merchant at an Affiliate company. Using affiliate marketing is a great way to generate sales and increase brand awareness – companies like M&S, PC World, New Look and even O2 and Sky use Affiliate Marketing. Have a look into either Affiliate Window or AffiliateFuture if you are considering going down this road.
Lastly, a goal of yours should be lead generation. When you run a competition or set up a monthly newsletter, you must capture each lead’s name, telephone number and most importantly, email address. You need to build a community and this is the best way to do it. Email marketing can be very powerful if done the right way. Try MailChimp if you’re not already contracted to another email campaign manager.
5. Don’t give up
No one said it would be easy starting an online business. Things may be going bad for you now, but that doesn’t mean things won’t improve for the future.
Leonardo Del Vecchio was an orphaned factory worker whose eyeglasses empire today makes Ray-Bans and Oakley’s. If he had given up, (which most of us would have) he would never have been a success, with an estimated worth of $10 billion.
J.K. Rowling lived on welfare before creating the Harry Potter franchise and is now worth around $1 Billion.
Roman Abramovich was an orphan who turned an expensive wedding gift into an oil empire and is now worth $12.1 Billion.
Moral of the story; never give up!
Are you ready to make your online business a success?