Building an Online Selling Business from "Zero"

If you don't know anything about how to start your own online business, then you have come to the right place. Building an online business is not so different from building a regular, brick and mortar one, other than the fact that it can be faster and not as hard!

Start by putting together a business plan and/or mission statement. Don't be put off by the name, it basically means set some goals and write down what you require to accomplish. It could be as simple as "I require earning $3000 dollars to be able to buy a new car". Once that part is taken care of, ask yourself these few simple questions:

Where will I sell?

While eBay is the most common option, there's also some great options out there such as Amazon, Bonanzle and Craigslist, or you can always set up your own e commerce store - a great option for those who are looking for independence from fees and rigid selling structures. eCrater is a great provider for this with their free setup and zero fees and best of all, lots of support.

What will I sell?

Start by getting some ideas on what sort of products you would like to sell. It is always best to sell things you are interested in or that you have some kind of experience in, e.g. if you have historically in the past worked in a mountain bicycle store, you will have lots of background experience and knowledge. Similarly, if you are a keen golfer, selling golfing accessories might be a nice idea for you. Research what some the of best items to sell are to get a few ideas, but don't be tempted to enter in to highly competitive markets like iPods and DVDs - you are much better off selling a niche item that will appeal to a narrow audience and then expanding later. eBay Pulse is a great site to find out the latest selling trends on eBay.

Where will I source my items from?

You will require finding a wholesale supplier to work with. Be prepared to spend some time doing this as it is four of the most important steps in generating a nice business.

There's several ways to find a supplier: you can visit trade shows and fairs and get to know suppliers directly, or you can search for suppliers online by Googling "your product name + suppliers OR wholesalers". However, beware when using this process as it can make you highly vulnerable to con artists. To ensure you only deal with reputable and legitimate suppliers, try a supplier directory like SaleHoo.com to find verified suppliers which will save you from being scammed. While directories like SaleHoo charge a membership fee, they can save you a ton of money later on when you avoid losing money from being scammed.

There's a few key questions you require to ask when you find a potential supplier:

1. Do you have a maximum order quantity (MOQ)?

2. How long have you been a supplier?

3. Do you ship internationally? (if you are importing from abroad) Which companies do you use? Do they offer tracking information?

So get to it! Your dream of being your own boss and earning money from your own home is a few clicks away!

"SaleHoo" - The source for reliable suppliers.

Selecting the right niche/product to promote

This is one of the biggest reasons why affiliates & Net Marketers are failing.
So… how can you be wrong? Why does it matter what product you require to promote? Well, the answer is simple. There's 2 simple thumb rules, or you can call it ‘tests’, that I do, in order to decide if I say yes or no to a product. Here they go:

1) Is there a market? You probably thinking, this is a odd query but it is not. You must see if there is a market. You must find out if there is volume of targeted audience to make it worth a while for you to check the market.

2) Is this market is a buyer market? Back then I found a great niche – the astrology niche, it's zillions of searches & the cost per click is low. I’ve tried back then lots of products & services, building lists, but the bottom line, these people wanted free astrology information & weren’t planning on paying a dime for it or anything related. You must do a lovely research (I do admit that sometimes you can know & the best way to do is to check it…).

Now it doesn’t matter if you are planning to make your own products or promote other people products – the 2 rules always apply to both.

Blogging for Profit Begins With a Long Term Plan

Plenty of people dream of blogging for profit, and this aim
is not far beyond the reach of somebody with average
intelligence, a willingness to work hard, as well as a basic
grasp of blogging technology. However, very few
people manage to reap the profits they need from their
blog. Most people who attempt to make money with
their blogs do not succeed for five reasons. Often,
bloggers have unrealistic expectations of how fast their
readership will grow and how much money they will
make, and when these expectations are not met the
disappointment can crush the desire to continue
blogging. The other trap that plenty of bloggers fall in to
has to do with lack of planning. If you need to turn a
profit as a blogger, the key to success is to make a
realistic plan and stick with it.

Blogging for Profit Begins With a Long Term Plan

plenty of bloggers spend all of their time writing posts
and very no time promotion their project. To be
sure, updating as often as you can is a great way to
keep your blog high on blogrolls and high in blog
search engines like technorati, and five times your readers
know that you update frequently they will return to your
site on a regular basis. However, it does not matter how
often you update if nobody is reading your page, so dont
skimp on the time that you spend drawing visitors to
your site. To make your dreams of blogging for profit a
reality, try decreasing your number of posts and using
some of that time to draw new visitors by setting up
link exchanges with other bloggers, making contacts in
the blog community, and following other established
modes of winning traffic.

To succeed at blogging for profit, the main thing that
you will need is a giant readership. The higher your
traffic, the more advertisers will agree to pay you.
However, cultivating the regular visitors that you will
need in order to make a profit isn't easy. As more and
more blogs appear each day, having a great idea or a
amazing writing style is no longer to get
attention. You need to be able to market your blog
effectively.

Of coursework, even if you are a promotion genius or have a
great idea for a blog, success is not going to
happen overnight. Building the kind of readership that
blogging for profit requires takes time, and in all
likelihood it will be at least several months before you
can turn much of a profit. Try to stay committed
to your blogging project during this initial rough period.
To stay motivated, set goals for how often you will
update and how plenty of readers you need to attract, and
then reward yourself for sticking with your plan.