The Birth of a Successful
Internet Business
Part four of ten -- Developing Your Business Plan
Developing a
strategic business plan is an essential part of your success. Not only will
it assist you in visualizing your business strategy, but it will also give
you an organized approach to achieving your goals.
Your plan will be used as a step by step guide to assist you in accomplishing
your goals. Without a solid plan of action, you won't have any direction.
You'll travel in circles and ultimately never reach your goals.
Your Internet business plan should include all of the following:
Business Summary
Your business summary will completely summarize your entire business strategy
from start to finish.
Objectives
Your business objectives will consist of a description of your products and
services, and exactly what you want to accomplish.
Marketing Plan
Your marketing plan should consist of all of the following:
=> Identify your target market
If your product or service doesn't have a market, you definitely won't be
successful. You must identify who your customers will be to determine whether
or not there will be an interest in what you're offering.
Your product should not only fill a void, but should also be unique. The
less competition you have, the better. If you enter a market in which you're
competing against hundreds of other products similar to yours, your chance
of success will be minimal. Develop a high-quality product that fills a void
and provides people with exactly what they want.
=> Identify your competition
You must know who your competition is in order to compete. What are they
offering? How are their products priced? How is their website designed? How
are their products delivered?
In order to compete with your competition, you must continuously keep an
eye on them. Do a search at the Search Engines to locate your competition
and evaluate their business.
=> How do you plan to advertise?
Although setting up a website is an essential part of your advertising plan,
it is only the first step. You must develop an advertising plan that will
drive a continuous stream of targeted traffic to you website.
Your first step will be to submit your site to the Search Engines.
Although there are many Internet marketers that are constantly trying to
maintain a top listing in the Search Engines, in my humble opinion, it's
simply a waste of time.
Each Search Engine is different and has different guidelines in regard to
how they rank a web page. In addition, their guidelines change very frequently
and it is literally impossible to keep up with them. Your best option will
be to optimize your website to the best of your ability, submit your pages
to the Search Engines and forget it. (Resubmit your main pages any time you
make any significant changes.) Your time can be better spent using other
marketing techniques other than fighting the Search Engine wars.
If you really want to build your business online, you must be willing to
invest a portion of your profits back into your business. There are many
advertising opportunities available on the Internet that will enable you
to purchase targeted advertising very reasonably.
Ezine Advertising
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=doe
Pay-per-click Search Engines
http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com/
Pay-per-lead / Pay-per-sales
http://www.clickaffiliate.com/
=> How will your product or services be priced?
Although pricing
your product or service may seem like a simple task, it is a little more
difficult than you may realize. If you price your product too low, it may
be perceived as a poor quality product. Remember the old saying, "You get
what you pay for?" A higher price is naturally perceived as a better quality
product. However, if you price it too high, your product may not measure
up.
Make sure you take your time and select your selling price very carefully.
Visit your competitor sites and see how they're pricing their products. Test
different prices to determine the best price for your product.
=> How will your product or services be delivered?
If you're selling a tangible or physical product, what shipping options will
you offer? What shipping prices will you charge? Will you charge higher shipping
rates for orders outside your country?
If you're selling an intangible or electronic product, will you have security
measures in place? Will your product be password protected? How will your
customers retrieve your product? Will your product delivery be automated
or manual?
=> How will you accept payment?
How many payment options will you offer your customers? Will you have a merchant
account to process credit card orders? If you don't want to get a merchant
account, will you be using a third party credit card processing company?
Which companies will you use? Will you accept checks and money
orders?
If you decide to get your own merchant account, you will also need access
to a secure server and a shopping cart system. A secure server will protect
your customers' information. A shopping cart system will provide your customer
with a running total of what they've ordered and the total cost.
The following website can provide you with a merchant account:
Total Merchant Services (TMS)
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=ec
If you'd rather not have your own merchant account, third party credit card
processors will process your credit card orders for you. There are usually
no monthly fees. They charge a "per transaction" fee and send you payment
for all your orders processed, minus their fee and a reserve fee.
PayPal
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=pp
ClickBank
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=cb
If you're just starting out, you may want to use one of the third party credit
card processors, as this is the easiest route. Each company provides you
with step by step instructions to assist you in getting your website set
up to accept credit cards. The great thing about third party credit card
processors is that they handle everything for you. You don't have to hassle
with processing your credit card payments or charge backs, as everything
is taken care of for you.
Developing an Internet business plan will provide you with a road map to
achieving your dreams. Plan each step very carefully and fully research your
options. Plan your work then work your plan and you'll be well on your way
to achieving your goals.
Copyright © Shelley
Lowery
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, Web Design
Mastery.
http://www.webdesignmastery.com
And, Ebook Starter - Give Your Ebooks the look and feel of a REAL book.
http://www.ebookstarter.com
Visit Web-Source.net to sign up for a complimentary subscription to Etips
and receive a copy of the acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing
Strategies."
http://www.web-source.net
You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print,
in your ebook or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author
bylines are included.
Part Three
Part Five
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