Starting a business online is actually easier than what most people think. It’s actually easier than starting a business offline (brick-and-mortar). The reason is because starting a business online doesn’t have the big headaches that come with starting a business offline. Starting offline, you have to get A LOT of money, find a commercial zoned space for your business (the zoning has to relate to what type of business you’re running), and sometimes, finding employees which just brings in more headaches. On the other hand, starting a business online is almost completely opposite. You don’t need too much capital (money to start a business), you could work at home (or anywhere you can get internet), and you can do most of the work yourself. Though all that may be true, still, starting a business (online or offline) first requires research.

Research is probably one of the biggest hurdles future millionaires have gone through. Even if you were to join a home based business, like an MLM (Multi Level Marketing) for example, you would still need to do some research. What I mean is that there are things you still must consider when joining any business (especially with all the HYPE going around on the internet). If you would like more information on how to find the right business opportunity to join, then read my article:

You see, when business owner does thorough research in the beginning, he/she is able to plan their business much more effectively. Trust me, planning the business is very important. Without a solid plan, there will be no solid business. In fact, lots of people get so excited in starting a business, especially the ones that join already formed businesses (MLM, Network Marketing, Business Opportunities), that they inevitably forget to plan right. Here’s a saying in the business that may get you in the right mindset of entrepreneurship: “If you FAIL to PLAN, you PLAN to FAIL.” Simple as that.

So now, you’re probably wondering what should you research. Well, before we get into that, you must understand that a business is, in all it’s purity, a solution to a problem. Think about it, McDonalds has the solution to the “I’m hungy. What should we eat?” problem. Home Depot has the solution to improve your home. Any business you see out there, is a solution to a problem. So, what you need to research is what solution are you going to provide? Are you going to provide great advice on how to get more healthy and fit? Are you going to provide a solution to those who need money? Are you going to provide a solution to those that are having problems with their spouses?

There are a lot of problems out there. However, one person can’t solve them all. But then again, one person can solve one problem. What abilities do you posses that might be a solution to a problem? What passions do you have that may constitute as a solution to a problem? These type of questions are the questions you ask when you are starting a business. What you are essentially doing is trying to find the right market. For example: Maybe you love the idea of weddings. Well, then your market is, yes you guessed, The Wedding Market. Simple right?

Yes, it is simple finding a market. However, that’s just the first step. The next thing to do is break it down. You need to find what we call a “niche” in the market. The reason being is because just wedding is too general. Lets put it this way: McDonald’s is in the fast food industry (Wedding). However, they don’t serve all kinds of fast food. Their specialty are hamburgers (Niche). So, their Market is fast food, and their niche is hamburgers. So with the wedding market, the niche can be wedding dresses. Another niche of wedding would be wedding planning. There are a ton of niches in each market. The simplest way to find the one you’re going to be successful at is one where you will have passion about. After all, you got to be enthusiastic about your product right?

After the initial research stage, your next step would be to open up shop. You’re probably wondering how to do that. It’s simple really. First, you have to think a name of your shop. This may become a little difficult. I say so because, as stated in the beginning of the article, about 40 million people want to start an online business. That means, the name you want for your shop can already be taken. Just get a little creative, and you could end up owning a BRAND name. Now that you have a name, go register it. The name is what we call a domain. A domain is this: www.yourshopname.com Register your domain. There are lots of places to do this, but the one I recommend is namecheap.com (it’s the one I use). OK, now that you have your market and name, you need somewhere to put it. This is what we call a host/server. Think of it as the real estate if you were opening an offline business. There are a lot of hosting services out there. It really doesn’t matter where you go for hosting. It’s really your choice. I would recommend justhost.com because it’s what I use.

Alright! You got a market, a shop. Now, you need traffic (potential customers). Getting traffic is what we call Internet Marketing. Marketing is the hardest part in the online business world. However, once you master it, you are set for life. Once you master Internet Marketing, you can go beyond what you are selling, and sell anything to anyone around the world while you sleep. Sounds good huh? Unfortunately, it’s not easy to master the Internet Marketing skill. It takes time, diligence, and hard, hard work. Fortunately, all the time, diligence, and hard, hard work will pay off 100x in the future. Think of it this way, work hard for 40 hours a week, for a year or two, and reap the benefits for life! So how do you market you say.

Well, that is about another 500 articles to write. What I recommend you do is google “how to internet marketing” and you will find 1,000,000 answers to that question. Internet Marketing is the meat of online businesses. It’s what makes you work. It also is what makes you rich. If you really want more information, take a look at my sig on the bottom and it will tell you exactly what I do.

So now you know what it takes to start an online business. It may seem hard, but it really isn’t. As long as you set your mind to it, you can make it happen. Trust me, in this business, mindset is what counts. The desire to do something and change your life for, not the better, but the best is all you really need to succeed.

The following are some of the most important Rich Schefren business online and list building strategies:

#1: Know your why.
There’s no point in learning any list building or business online strategies unless you are going to use them for something. It’s important to know why you wake up early in the morning and why you work long hours at night.

#2: Focus on your strengths.
Many people want to repair their weaknesses. This is a recipe for disaster. Your strengths uncover what’s unique about yourself. People will respond to your individuality. Nurture them.

#3: Know what’s all about. Study the best.
Many of the strategies taught by Rich Schefren will teach you new and revolutionary approaches to learning. His advanced learning strategies will skyrocket the way you run your business online.

#4: Don’t waste time with low paid activities.
Let others do the grunt work.

#5: Outsource instead of out-task.
Most business people focus too much on giving their tasks to someone else. You need to think strategically. Outsource entire critical but repetitive tasks for years to come.

#6: List building is the backbone of your business online efforts.
List building is the hidden weapon of the gurus. This is how they make their money. They talk with each other and they promote products from other gurus on their email list. That would be impossible without their amazing list building skills.

#7: Find a niche and dominate it.
Most gurus out there focus on just finding a niche. Finding a niche is a great first step. But it’s not enough. You need to find a niche and to position yourself as the clear and most obvious choice in the mind of your customers. Rich Schefren will show you exactly how to do this.

#8: Consider your competitors in your business online strategy and planning.
Left unchecked, your competitors will eat you alive. They will copy everything you do successfully. As a result, they will gain the market share that deserves to be yours.

#9: Business model innovation.
The landscape changes. Your business has to adapt. You don’t do it just by throwing more time and resources at it. You reinvent your business from its core.

#10: Keep track of your numbers.
Rich Schefren calls them “business metrics”. They are the key numbers of your business like: the lifetime value of your customer, the conversion rates, the daily revenue value, the profit share etc.

Some businesses do too much and other businesses too little. You need to find a balance. The balance comes from keeping track of a few key business metrics. They will give you the highest amount of information by using the lowest amount of resources.

#11: Rich Schefren says: “Put everything on autopilot.”
The main purpose of your business should be to generate more freedom and options for yourself. It can not do this if you spend all your time doing stuff.

#12: Have something to aim for at the end of the day.
Many people waste time with frivolous activities because they don’t have a life. They do not have something real to do after they finish their work. You should do some activities that you find valuable at the end of the day. Going to a club or spending more time with your loved ones are great choices as long as they are valuable to you.

#13: Gain momentum.
You can not really hope for a business online success unless you progress gradually and constantly. No list building or business online strategy will work unless you apply it each day. Don’t do this and you will live through an endless circle of frustration.

The above list building and business online strategies by Rich Schefren will help you generate higher profits faster than in the past. Make sure you apply them. They will not work by themselves. You need to actually use them.

To help you boost your business’ online presence, here are top 5 marketing and sales strategies that you may not want to miss.

1. Affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing works by having affiliates promote your products. Affiliates are individuals online or website owners who want to make extra money online. By being an affiliate, they get commissions for every sale of a product, or if they can refer a potential customer whatever it is that you have agreed. One good thing about affiliate marketing for businesses is the convenience of getting customers to your site and of course, you only pay for results.

2. Pay per click marketing. Pay per click marketing or PPC allows you to post you links or your ads in other websites or on the search engines and you only pay for every interested online reader who clicks on your ad and the cost is very minimal. Although this is a cost-effective marketing strategy online and cost cheaper compared to the conventional marketing and advertising techniques, this can also cost you money if you fail to plan your PPC campaign. In PPC, it is important to study your campaign, choose effective keywords and be constantly watchful on the marketing trends online.

3. Article marketing. Yes,you can write informative articles to promote your business. People online are looking for information. In fact, people always want to know before buying, so provide valuable information to effectively sell and promote your products. Although this can be time-consuming, you can however delegate this part of the marketing campaign to freelance writers who are willing to do the work for you. You can then submit your articles to submission directories online and start getting traffic in the long term. One advantage of article marketing is that, it can generate you traffic for a long time, for as long as your articles are present online.

4. Social Networking. If you find these social networking sites addictive, you can also take advantage of this for your marketing and sales strategies. You can crate a page in Facebook, or MySpace or put your business into twitter. Sending tweets allow you to send fresh information conveniently, thus you can take advantage of these new and fast ways of communication and make your business a buzz with these useful sites.

5. Search engine optimization. One of the very important things that you have to keep in mind if you want to promote your business online is to make sure that your business website will be visible to as many target customers as you can amidst the competition and amidst the millions of websites already existing online. To do this, you can make sue of some search engine optimization techniques and methods that will allow you climb on top of the search engine results where people search the information they want to learn.

Positive thinking is a simple trait that every person who wants to succeed in an internet business should possess. Without optimism, a business owner’s chance of prosperity is next to impossible. An optimistic online entrepreneur understands that success doesn’t just happen overnight. It will take time for any new business to make a profit. Starting your own business takes time, patience and lots of hard work. There is no such thing as a get rich quick approach to any business, online or offline.

Find positivity in negative situations

As with other types of businesses, challenges will always be part of managing an online business, especially in its start-up stage. It takes determination to stay positive through difficult times, but being positive is a state of mind that you should strive towards. Always try to turn negative thoughts and discouragement to positive ideas. Consider challenges and all obstacles as prerequisites to the success of your business. Never doubt your capabilities to manage a business successfully.

Choose to be optimistic

Your positive outlook is essential in managing your business. The fear of failing is normal for any person who’s starting a business. However, you have to conquer that fear and trust in your ability to make your business work.

Your attitude will determine your success or failure in your online business. Changing the way you think will create a great impact in the success of your business. Positive thinking has the power to bring more customers and more opportunities to earn. Your optimism will come through in your dealings with others, and in anything you say or write. You are also able to create well-defined business goals when you maintain a positive attitude. The more positive you are about things, the more productive you will become. The outcome? Your online business success will be within your reach!

Getting into any type of business requires a degree of risk. But remember that risk is always a part of success. Internet marketing can be a challenging business and is very competitive. When you are equipped with the right attitude and the necessary skills you need, then you’re ready to enjoy your business success!

What would happen if a potential client looked for your business online right now, what would they find? Perhaps a negative article written about your business from the local paper or a negative online customer review, a website that hasn’t been updated since it was launched or worse – nothing at all?

Many service related business people fall into one of the following categories where their online presence is;

* only their own personal social media accounts
* what other people say about their business without any knowledge
* a website that hasn’t been updated in years
* nothing at all

Creating a business online presence is more than just having a website where people can read about your company, see your services and order from you. Its how a person finds, follows and connects with your business online.

10 tips to create an online presence for your offline business:

1. Get listed locally on Google Places- Google Places local listings provide you with maximum visibility on the 1st page of the Google search engine allowing consumers to quickly find you.

2. Get on the map- claim & optimise your Map listings on Google. At the desk, in the car & on the go Maps lead customers to your door.

3. Put the word out through Google reviews- reviews & promotions are important ways to influence customers. Let them know how great you are!

4. Get a domain name- Having a professional sounding email ending gives more credibility to your business than one that ends in ‘hotmail.com’ or similar which could suggest you’re not a business to be taken seriously.

5. Add video – videos provide a dynamic, interactive experience for site visitors. The engaging nature of video encourages users to spend more time on a page, thereby increasing stickiness and ad revenues.

6. Get a website – not having a website can now make even the smallest business appear…well small. Give your customers the confidence that you’re a thriving professional business no matter how many staff you have or the size of your premises.

7. Do SEO – Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an online marketing strategy to help your potential customers find your website in the search engines. SEO targets various aspects on your website (i.e. your content) and off your website (i.e. links pointing to your site)

8. Start a blog – at the core of every successful blog is great content. If you’re passionate about a subject like your business, blogging could be a great way to communicate this to your customers.

9. Social media – it’s the future and it’s here now. Start with Facebook and then think about Twitter or LinkedIn if you think it’s relevant to you and your customers.

10. Everything else- you then get into things line Affiliate marketing, Text marketing etc etc, the list is almost endless. Get the other 9 in place before you even start to contemplate more advanced online strategies.

The key concept about marketing is to think of it like a Roman temple.

The roof is held up by pillars and the roof represents your business, and the pillars are your marketing efforts. You need several pillars of marketing activity that will support your business. If you rely on only one activity like referrals from local people, what happens if they dry up? Do you lay off staff as business declines, make less profit, possibly go bust because your regular routes to market dry up?

Each of the social media services that are available will provide different advantages for each specific business. In order to grow your business successfully, you’ll need to know which social media platform will prove to be the best marketing platform for your business.

* Facebook: Social Gathering
* Twitter: Communications Network
* Four Square: Location-based
* LinkedIn: Business-To-Business

Facebook is an excellent place for social gatherings and communicating with a variety of different people in social groups and circles. This is an ideal place for businesses to begin because they can test different products and services and find what might be hot, and what is not. One of the unique aspects of Facebook is that it is free and provides many different tools for marketers that are interested in targeting specific groups.

Twitter is really a communications based system which allows businesses to get the word out about their business in short but sweet snippets. When people find value in your tweets, they will then re-tweet or create buzz about your business to their followers. This is very effective, but in many cases – this will not work for every type of business. Some businesses would like to target their local markets and in this case Four Square may be one of the social media services they choose.

Sometimes brick-and-mortar businesses would like to focus on the local market, and in this case Four Square could provide more benefits than any of the other social media services. LinkedIn provides a fantastic opportunity for businesses overall because it helps to link businesses with other businesses, as well as people with businesses. People can use the service to interconnect by making connections, and receiving recommendations.

There are many more social media services available; however, each service will provide something different when it comes to benefits, and the specific audience you will have access to. All social media Platforms are not created equal and each service will provide something a little different. It will be up to the business owner to test which service will prove to be the best fit for the products and services they provide.

So what is social media and social networking?

Some people may mess up the definition between social media and social networking, or even they are using interchangeably. But actually they are two different things.

Social media can be seen as a “tool” or a platform that allow people to share information with each other. While social networking can be seen as an “action” that people with different interests can freely create and share message in the same platform, as well as building relationship with each other.

You will have to pay a lot of effort unless you have already had a brand established for a long time, or you have already had a customer base, having powerful influence in this area takes hard work and continuous effort. And you do that with your social networking skills, which is a way to have a conversation with your target audience.

Important points regarding “social”

Social media provides an excellent way for people to communicate with each other. As a result, it allows us to build a deep and valuable relationship with each other. However, if you want to get the maximum return from it, you need to remember two things:

1. People want a lot of useful information. In other words, although selling things over there is acceptable, if you just focus on sales but nothing, sure it will drive people away. So find a way to add value to the conversation using your knowledge and expertise is the way to go.

2. When you launch your social media campaign, you may not see a lot of responses immediately. It takes time and efforts so do not give up.

Marketing With Social Media

The key to do social media marketing is about connection. After understanding the underlying concept behind this marketing channel, you should pay more attention to create a right message and sending to a correct market. It is less about the technology. In other words, no matter which platform you are using, the fundamental principles are the same. Therefore, instead of considering that it is another “fancy” tools or technology, they are actually a way for people and friends to connect with each other. Making use of it correctly will give you tremendous success.

Things You Need To Know About Facebook Fan Page

There are several important things that people often do not realize about fan pages:

- At present, you can create as many fan pages as you want, if you have a Facebook account.

- You can have unlimited number of fans. It is different from friends that you can only have maximum 5,000.

- Unless you decide not to publish your Facebook page, it can be seen by anyone, including search engine, without login to Facebook.

- Google will index Facebook page. In other words, you can apply your existing SEO technique to a Facebook fan page. It is probably the most important point because business that has Facebook presences may not leverage their fan page power to the max.

- You can include external resources, like a website, into your Facebook fan page. It can further extend the functionality of your current page. You can also create marketing campaign that is specifically designed for Facebook.

Using Facebook As a Marketing Tool?

Quite a number of people think that Facebook is a great marketing resource because a lot of people are using Facebook everyday. Although they are correct to certain extend, Facebook is not originally designed to be a marketing platform. It is a social media platform. In other words, it is designed for people interacting with each other online. Marketing is just one of the ways of using Facebook. Just like search engine, it is designed to allow users to search and get result, not for advertising purpose.

However, most businesses cannot see it and they create a Facebook fan page because other people are doing the same thing. As a result, they do not have many fans on their fan page and their business does not benefit from the fan page.

So let’s discuss how to use Facebook advertising to drive traffic to your fan page and website.

Driving Traffic Using Facebook Advertising

The most important key to be successful in Facebook advertising is to know who is your customer. Unless you define your target customers as detail as possible, you may not get good result from Facebook advertising. After defining your ideal customer profile, you can create a marketing campaign specifically targeting those customers.

The next key is about image. Some people think that having a good image is important but other people find that it is not. Actually the answer depends on what business you are in. So you have to do a split test: first create an ad that has an attractive image and create another one that does not have attractive image, see which one perform better. You will find that out very soon.

Increase Goodwill

One of the most important benefits of creating a social media marketing campaign is that customers will feel as if you are speaking directly to them and listening to their suggestions or concerns. This creates a feeling of goodwill toward your company, as customers are more likely to frequent a business where they feel they have a voice. In addition to the goodwill your customers feel, you will also have instant access to customer feedback, allowing you to address any problems or concerns immediately. This enhances customer service management and allows you to provide a better customer experience, encouraging customers to return.

Generate Leads

Social media marketing also opens up new lines of communication with potential customers. With the many sites now available that are designed with specific industries in mind, you can create an amazing campaign that reaches specific customer demographics and generate possible leads more quickly than with traditional marketing methods. These top social sites has also been shown to increase website traffic significantly, which can also increase customer base.

Improved Search Engine Ranking

Search engines are the method used by consumers to find products and services online. The more active your company is in on these social sites, the higher the company ranks in search engines, making it more likely that a customer will visit your website as opposed to that of a competitor.

New Products or Services

Social media marketing is one of the best ways to promote a new product or service offered by your company. Being active on these social sites also creates better brand recognition if the campaign is handled properly, people are more likely to investigate a new product or service your company offers if they are already familiar with the company through these various social media sites. In addition, social media allows you to obtain instant feedback on how a product is viewed by customers and what adjustments need to be made to make a product or service better.

If planned and executed well, a social campaigns can be one of the most cost effective ways to promote your business. Since it is free to set up your profiles, the only cost to your company is the manpower required to keep the profile updated and to respond to customer questions or concerns. Using various social marketing strategies is a powerful tool for any business.

Here you will discover some of the benefits of social e-Commerce, and how this integration of social media and shopping can take your business to places never before thought possible.

* Product reviews by people you know

When it comes to creating a buzz about a product or service, before social media – business owners had to rely on reviews and praises from people that bought the product in the past. But how does that compare to having someone you know, within your social network, to talk about a specific product you’ve been interested in purchasing? Social networks will help business owners explode their sales because people like to buy products that people they know are buying.

* Instant purchase notifications

Another powerful aspect of social e-Commerce is when a consumer makes a purchase; people within their respective groups will get notified that one of their friends has made a purchase of something they may be interested in as well. How powerful is that? Even more intriguing is the fact that the friend, that you know, has also recommended their purchase because they feel you may benefit from it as well. This is social online shopping at its best.

* Consumers are creating marketing content for you

Years ago, online marketers would have to test the markets with products and a service to find out exactly what it was people were more attracted to. Not anymore. Consumers are creating marketing content needs, and brand owners, like you, have to do nothing more than to provide that content, product, or service. The content that is being created by consumers is honest, fresh and extremely valuable to their shopping experience.

These are only a few drops out of a barrel full of benefits a business owner can expect when it comes to social e-Commerce. This is a powerful tool for any business owner, and if you aren’t already taking advantage of social networks and online shopping, the time is now.