An easy way to start selling on the Internet. How to find things to sell on the Internet and create an online store.
Creating your own product and selling on the Internet is the ideal work at home opportunity to make money online...
- Low start-up investment.
- Low promotion costs.
- Simple to automate.
- Worldwide customers.
How to find things to sell on the Internet
The main factor to narrow down your options is whether to sell hard goods - tangible products, or digital goods - intangible products like ebooks, computer programs and website content. The first option may be good for you if you already have an offline store and existing inventory, but, in most cases, selling digital products on the Internet is the best work at home opportunity to make money online, since these products...
- are relatively easy to create and very cheap to produce.
- can be instantly delivered by digital download - no dealing with stocking, packaging, shipping, and the like.
- are more suitable to purchase via the Internet than via traditional offline stores.
- enable you to fully automate your business.
There is only one problem. In order to sell your own digital products, you must be able to create them. But, the good news is you don't have to be a talented software developer or writer. There are many resources to help you create information to sell on the Internet in the form of ebooks and paid membership sites, even if you don't have any particular writing skills.
One of the best free online resources on creating your very own infoproduct and selling on the Internet is Ken Evoy's 5-day email InfoProducts Masters Course. To get your copy, just send a blank e-mail to timssb@sitesell.net (the first installment is sent immediately, and four more installments will be sent out daily after that).
This course shows that everybody has knowledge and insights gained from life experiences that other people want and are willing to pay for, and offers the solution of how to create, publish, market and sell an infoproduct successfully on the Internet.
How to create an online store
Most e-merchants dive into the process of selling on the Internet backwards. They create an online store first, and then worry about visitors. Their stores do look professional. But 9 times out of 10, there's nobody home. Nobody's browsing. Nobody's searching. And most importantly, nobody's buying. And 98% die and give up within a year. Why?
#1 Merchant Mistake - create an online store, THEN worry about traffic.
Open a storefront on a busy "real world" street - visitors will spill in and buy. Selling on the Internet, however, doesn't work like that. People aren't looking for you... they are looking for information. The only way that your online store, or any other monetization model, can succeed, is to follow the CTPM process ...
C ONTENT-> T RAFFIC-> P RESELL-> M ONETIZE
In short, it means...
- CONTENT. Online, people search for information and solutions. So give them what they want by turning what YOU know into high-quality, in-demand CONTENT.
- TRAFFIC. Your theme-based topical content ranks high at the Search Engines, attracting free, targeted TRAFFIC... interested, motivated, targeted, "open-to-you" visitors.
- PREsell. Develop trust, credibility and confidence by OVERdelivering relevant, original, high-value information to these motivated, "open-to-you" pre-customers.
(By the way, here's the best new ebook on effective preselling - Ken Evoy's Make Your Content PREsell . It's a "lifetime best buy" and "#1 must reading" for anyone who communicates on the Net, even if it's only via e-mail, and the price is less than $10.)
- Then... and only then... MONETIZE. Convert your warm, willing-to-buy visitors into revenue, in various ways. Sell hard goods, e-goods, your personal or professional services. Or earn income without selling at all, through Google Ads, affiliate fees, finder's fees, etc.
For more proof that the above process is the best approach to successful selling on the Internet, click here .
There are plenty of tools on the Net that can help you create an online store - a quick visit to Amazon Zshops, eBay Marketplace, or Yahoo! Stores will confirm this. But, there is only one product in the world that takes you step-by-step through the powerful, natural CTPM process - Site Build It (SBI).
SBI is the most comprehensive and well established product among other small business website builders. You won't find any other tool that can show results like this . However, until recently, SBI didn't include an integrated shopping cart or online store functionality (it's fully compatible with many plug-and-play third party solutions).
But now, with the launch of Store Build It (StBI), every owner of SBI site can use this new opportunity and create a highly trafficked, profitable online store. SBI and StBI are a powerful one-two combo that work together...
- Site Build It. This is the engine that drives targeted, credentialized, PREsold traffic to Store Build It. Traffic is the lifeblood of any online store.
- Store Build It. Completely integrated into SBI (it runs on a subdomain of main SBI site) StBI is a powerful and flexible world-class online store.
Obviously, Store Build It isn't available as a standalone product for the very reason that there simply cannot be "M" without "CTP" first. Build a highly trafficked website. PREsell. Then, and only then, use Store Build It to create an online store and monetize.
Key Points
1) Creating an online store without traffic is no better than not having a store at all. Obviously, it's not practical to concern yourself with selling on the Internet until you have traffic. However, that's exactly what most small biz people do.
2) Content created in SBI attracts targeted traffic from the Search Engines, establishes your credibility, and builds trust with a visitor. The conversion rates are much higher than those obtained from Pay-Per-Click advertising or other means of driving traffic to an online store. And the cost to generate visitors is cheap.
3) Content created in SBI can be leveraged to generate income from other monetization models in addition to direct selling on the Internet - affiliate programs, Google's AdSense program, finder-referrer fees, and so on. This eliminates the reliance on any single revenue stream, offers a greater service to your visitors (by addressing a wider variety of needs), and generates additional revenue for the business.
4) Store Build It is completely integrated into SBI. Store runs on a subdomain of main site, maintaining a consistent brand and building upon the SBI-built trust.
5) Store Build It's accompanying guides enable even the complete novice to create a fully functional and profitable online store. They are intuitive and simple, with plenty of screenshots to ensure anyone can successfully have their own store up and running. The authors consulted with top store professionals and ran their own extensive testing to determine the best and most logical process for store-building. And they show you not only how to create an online store, but also how to assemble and source a unique product line, how to write product descriptions that sell, how to best display your products for maximum impact and much more.
6) Store Build It is fully scalable. Want to sell a couple of products or a couple of hundred? Need advanced features and flexibility? No problem. There's a version of StBI that will work for you no matter what your needs may be.
7) Store Build It is affordable. It is significantly cheaper than you can access another store-building software anywhere else. For example, the "Starter" version costs only $99 per year.
For more information, see Site Build It and Store Build It.
10 Website Essentials to Increase Your Sales
If you are a serious Internet Entrepreneur, your top priority must be your website. Your website is a direct reflection of you and your business. Creating a professional website designed to sell will take a great deal of time and effort, as there is much more to take into consideration than design. You must look at a much broader picture and specifically design your website to sell.
1) You must have a professional looking website. Your website is the most important sales tool you have. Your visitor's first impression will almost instantly determine whether or not you're going to make a sale. A professional website should be pleasing to the eyes, well organized, easy to navigate and load quickly.
2) You must specifically design your website to rank high in the Search Engines. This involves much more than just including META tags. Your KEYWORDS, TITLE, IMAGE ALT tags, Text and overall design, all play an important roll in determining how your website will rank. You can learn more by reading the Optimization tutorial at Web Source. (http://www.web-source.net/webpage_optimizing.htm)
3) You must use effective sales copy. Your words are the entire foundation of your business. Most business failures are the result of ineffective copy. Whether it is your website, sales letters or advertisements, your words play a major role in determining your success. When writing your website copy, use the following formula:
A -Attention - Use a powerful headline that demands attention
I -Interest - Intrigue interest and create curiosity
D -Detail - Provide details about your product or service
A -Action - Call for action
4) Drive traffic to your site. In order to create a steady stream of traffic to your website, give your visitors a reason to visit and continue to visit in the future. You must provide your visitors with fresh content on a continual basis. Content comes in various forms, such as news, articles, tips, horoscopes, weather, etc. and is freely available on the Internet. Your content should blend in well with the focus of your website and be updated on a regular basis.
The following websites provide free articles for publication:
(http://www.web-source.net/articles/)
(http://www.mega-success.com/)
(http://www.marketing-seek.com/)
(http://www.ideamarketers.com/)
(http://www.infobot.net/)
Syndication services provide free content from a wide variety of sources. You simply place a small line of code within the HTML of your web page and each of the following services provide fresh content for you. The great thing about syndication services is that once you've placed the code, you don't have to worry about updating the content, as it is automatically updated.
Syndicator - Provides free syndicated articles and columns with photographs
(http://www.web-source.net/syndicator.htm)
isyndicate - Provides free headlines for news, articles, comics, weather and more.
(http://www.isyndicate.com/)
Moreover - Provides news headlines from over 1500 sources.
(http://www.moreover.com/)
ScreamingMedia - Provides free headlines from various resources
(http://www.screamingmedia.com/)
5) Provide free instruction. Your website is the storefront for your product or service. You must convince your visitors that they need the product or service you're offering. This can be accomplished by providing your visitors with free helpful advice and instruction in the form of an article, tutorial, free ebook or free autoresponder course.
6) Display your testimonials. You must gain your visitors trust. By displaying customer testimonials, you are boosting your potential customers confidence in you and your product or service. You can either create a web page to display all of your testimonials or use a script to rotate them on your main page. You can find a great random text script here: (http://willmaster.com/master/merrygoround/)
7) Let your visitors know who you are. Provide complete information in regard to your company including, address, phone number and email addresses to request information and support.
8) Tell your visitors about their privacy. Create a page on your website called, "Privacy Statement," and let your visitors know exactly what you do with the personal information you collect.
9) Provide a sample or trial of your product or service. For example, if you're offering a Search Engine optimization service, provide a free META tag analysis at your website. Not only will this increase your sales, but it will drive more traffic to your site as well.
10) Remove the risk. To further increase your sales, you must remove the risk by providing a guarantee. A guarantee will boost your potential customer's confidence in purchasing your products or services.
A professional website specifically designed to sell is one the most important factors in determining your success. Take your time and make sure you're looking at the complete picture before you begin. If you're not secure in your abilities to create your own website, rather than risk the potential success of your business, consider hiring a professional web designer. Your success depends on it.
The benefits of using Php Shopping Cart
The aspiring small-scale entrepreneur wanting to go global and online from a small regional business would invariably need a website. The website needs to be functional, accessible and attractive so as to encourage the potential customers. The shopping cart software is surprisingly simple and when done with precision it could translate into a highly effective and universally accepted php-shopping cart. The details of the stocks are predictably stored in the database and the only information required from the patient which would in turn need to be stored is none other than the id of each product that has been added to the php shopping cart. The php-shopping cart is accessible and there are a variety of ways of reaching it - the most popular being the clicking on a link or by clicking on the 'add to cart' option on the product page. In the event of the php-shopping cart being arrived at using the link on the product page - 'add to cart' - the need of the hour is undoubtedly to update the products in the php-shopping cart before the display of a new product range.
It is not uncommon for the php-shopping cart to have more than one of a kind of any particular product, which could be compiled, and it is not advisable to list the number of products of a particular kind in the php-shopping cart. There is a commonality between the links to 'delete' or 'add' a product to the php-shopping cart. The customer could well have the option of updating the products in the php shopping cart - manually! The php shopping cart is seldom empty and if it is an appropriate message needs to be flashed to the effect. This is one aspect of the php-shopping cart, which can scarcely be negotiated
The Traits Of A Php Shopping Cart
The traits of a successful PHP shopping cart is predominantly that of - having the requisite information sent to cart. The php-shopping cart has the ability to locate and execute a high compliance php-shopping cart. The php-shopping cart has the inherent ability to call an external php file to say the least. The most popular of the options available is none other than the ability to pay by 'pay pal' the php-shopping cart then is a boon when used judiciously and history when ignored!
Selecting Shopping Cart Software For Your Site
On this page you can compare the major shopping cart software options so that you can find the option that works best for you
Your shopping cart can repel clients just as easily as it can attract them. It's a good idea to carefully compare the different types of shopping cart software to find the one that is right for you.
Professional Cart Solutions - The Professional Cart Solutions (PCS) website is clean and easy to navigate, allowing you to access the details of the packages and explanation of the features without hard-sell tactics. The software is based on a system of simple hyperlinks which are inserted into your website, connecting your webpage to URLs for each product, allowing autonomous site design and the capacity of an unlimited database. The links can be easily edited to glide into your site's aesthetic. There are specialist features for individualised e-Book licensing, digital product delivery, inventory tracking and automated recurring billing. Sales tax calculations, universal currency conversions, real time gateway providers and a 30 day money back guarantee are standard features. The best package for a reasonable price.
Ekmpowershop - Hosted Online Shop / Shopping Cart System
Ekmpowershop is a hosted online shop / ecommerce shopping cart system that makes it quick and easy to sell on the internet With no experience you can build your own powerful online store which works alone or is easily integrated into an existing website. Ekmpowershop is compatible with all HTML editors eg: Dreamweaver, FrontPage. Integrates with all major payment gateways such as WorldPay, Protx, PayPal, and comes complete with a 128bit SSL Secure Server to allow you to process credit cards offline.
Majon Shopping Cart - Mr CyberMall is just what the name suggests - a gateway linking thousands of commercial sites under the banner of a virtual marketplace. Punters search the site for the shopping category they want, and are then provided with a list of potential sites. Your site is headed with loud advertising and a Mall banner, including a search link. A big emphasis on commissioned affiliate programs, loud pop-up/over and under advertising, PR services, web traffic building, access to email lists and search engines. It offers a walk-through tour of the software, revealing a basic service with a basic design at a set annual fee.
1AutomationWiz - 1AutomationWiz offers a free 30 day trial of their complete modulated package pegged at different user levels, with a corresponding sliding fee scale. A feature is their multiple web site support managed from one account. There are optional autoresponders, advertising tracking, database building software, mail list management, affiliate programs and free installation. You can edit online, using their site management software. Various packages are listed, offering a basic product at basic prices to the pro versions with the bigger price tags. There are some irksome claims in the package lists, offering basic features that are described as unique to their service.
Ecommercetemplates - This system offers a series of shopping cart templates which are integrated with Dreamweaver, Frontpage and GoLive. It's a designer's package, with the promotional website offering a walk-though tour emphasising the products place in the overall design, and the platforms required to tweak it. You download the template, edit in the program of your choice and upload the pages, then add your products via an online admin service. It seems a little clumsy for people who want an efficient generic system, especially considering the graphics have to be edited in Fireworks. There's the standard features, plus templates that have been designed for specific regions, which is a plus considering the regular default to US shipping and tax calculations. Have a look at the free downloads and design editing advice to see if this is at your speed.
Autopilotriches - This is essentially exactly the same as Professional Cart Solutions, just under a different brand name. However the website presents the software and the service as a marketing tool, using marketing psychology and flow charts to prove the role that Autopilot Riches can play in your marketing stratagem. There's a big emphasis on cross-selling and up-selling, advertising and affiliate programs. A notable feature is the Autoresponder, a database collator based on a questionnaire offered to potential and actual clients. There's also a client management database and advertising tracking software. Aimed at e-merchants who want to implement marketing theories and bulk-up client databases.
The Best Shopping Cart Software
Shopping cart software converts an existing web site into an ecommerce store with features such as a shopping cart system, credit card processing, digital product delivery, newsletter manager, email autoresponders, ad tracking, and an affiliate program marketing system.
Here are some popular shopping cart software products, with more coming soon.
| Screenshot |
Description |
 |
1ShoppingCart is a remotely-hosted, shopping cart system, that includes credit card processing, merchant account, digital product delivery, newsletter manager, email marketing autoresponders, pop-up wizard, ad tracking, and two-tier affiliate program marketing system. |
| Format |
Free Trial |
Cost |
| Web-based application |
$3.95/30 days |
$19-69/month |
|
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| Screenshot |
Description |
 |
QuickPayPro is a remotely-hosted ecommerce automation system that includes a shopping cart system, secure, real-time credit card processing, digital product delivery, affiliate marketing system, ad tracking, mailing list manager and email marketing autoresponders. |
| Format |
Free Trial |
Cost |
| Web-based application |
N/A |
$45/month |
|
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