You don’t need any formal qualifications to be successful with an Internet business. But you need to know how your specific niche works and what your prospects expect from you. Who are your customers? How can you help them? What value do you offer? How do they know your business exists? Here are 6 steps to success when you’re running an internet business.
1. Meet your ideal client
If you try to sell to everyone, you probably won’t sell anything to anyone. Picking the right clients can mean the difference between success and failure. When you have a clear focus on your ideal customer, your marketing messages will grab their attention because you’re offering to help them solve a problem or make their life easier.
2. Build relationships
The Internet can be an impersonal business environment and it’s easy to hide behind a website. Every piece of content must provide value. That means everything that is put on your website or blog and every video, podcast, or social media update that you make. The more value you provide to your target audience, the more they will know, appreciate and trust you. They will value your opinion and be more inclined to buy from you.
3. Offer something of value for free
When you give away something that offers real value and really helps your prospect, they’ll want to know more about you and your business. After all, if you give this away for free, your products and services must be even better! Whether you’re giving away an eBook, white paper, video tutorial, or webinar invite, do it to the best of your ability. Don’t forget to ask for a potential customer’s email address in exchange for your gift. It’s fair trade and it means you can keep in touch and build your relationship with them.
4. Have a proven marketing funnel
A marketing funnel is the process you’ve designed for your prospects from when they first connect with your business to when they become customers. For example, a traditional 3-stage marketing funnel is:
- A web page that offers a free gift in exchange for entering your email address.
- When they have sent their email, they are directed to a page that offers them an item to purchase related to their gift.
- When they make a purchase, they are directed to another page, thanking them for their purchase and providing a download link for their item.
5. Advertise your business
You may have the best products and the best website online, but if your target market doesn’t know you exist, you’ll never sell anything. Advertising is a true business investment. There are many cost-effective ways to get your messages across to your target audience on the Internet.
