How to Sell On the Internet
In today's market, most buyers want the option of being able to purchase online, or at least learn about a product there. Sometimes it could be due to the niche and others because of the convenience of the "click and buy" world we now live in. People have the choice of buying through third parties or going direct to the source. Selling is the same way. You can sell to the target customer or to a distributor.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Challenging
Instructions
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Research the market: You have a widget or service that you want to sell, but you have to know how your target audience (customer) buys. Do they buy online? What magazines do they read? Is there a niche magazine that they read, like "Bass Fisherman"? How old are your customers? What is their income? How often do they buy online?
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Open a Website: Regardless of whether it is a service or product, you do need a Website. Think of the Website as what the business card was ten years ago. However, all Websites are not alike. Let's look at some samples:Service site: gmscontracts.com (see Resources)E-commerce site:hotsauce.comA service site is to get a contact, a prospect, while a E-commerce site is to get a sale. Both may have information, history, about us pages and such, but the goals are different.One of the most cost effective ways is with Microsoft small business live if you are a service. If it is E-commerce site then consider 1 & 1 or Godaddy.com
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Get Fulfillment Services: If you have a product you might be able to put them in the garage and send them out as necessary, but if you get larger you might want to consider getting a fulfillment service. A service business might consider getting a calling center to take their calls or make telemarketing calls for appointments. It may eat a little of the profits, but it will be a problem you want to have if you want to grow. The role of the fulfillment center is everything after the order has been placed. See Resources for examples.
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Market your site for free: I am an advocate of starting with free markets first.1. Submit press releases online and to newspapers that might be interested in your story.2. Submit your domain name to all search engines.3. List classified ads on sites like Craigslist (if Appropriate), Merchant Circle.com, whitepages.com.4. Make an E-zine to send to potential customers.
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Advertise: Free is great, but if your product is filling a niche you may have to advertise in their magazines, like "Bass Fishing" or "Crafts." The goal here is to get as close to your target audience as possible.
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Put your website on ALL your marketing materials: You might think that is elementary, but you have no idea how many people forget or have their marketing materials done before they have a website. At the very least, put it on your business cards.
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Tips & Warnings
Get paid hosting. You don't want your competitor's ads coming up on your site if you are using a free hosting account.
