Prosper Newsletter: February 2007 > Ecommerce
You understand that the following information is educational in nature and is not intended to be legal, accounting, or tax advice. You are responsible for your own financial decisions and should consult your own legal, accounting, and tax advisors before making your financial decisions.
One Less Internet Dummy
E-bay is getting better. Since the first of October I have sold 13 items. I only sold total of 10 in Sept. I have over 200 items listed in eBay and am slowly changing listing to update with new knowledge. I submitted to 15 directories in the last two weeks. Put Adsense on all but the homepage in web-store. I did my first blog post. Listed more items in first three catalogs and am starting on 4th, science fiction. I am running out of time on my goals for this month, so I will be adding books and making web-catalogs as I come across new categories. That way I will have the catalogs up and running by end of month.
I started as an "Internet dummy" but now I have learned how to use a lot of the tools, how to find what I need, how to use html. How to use programs on my computer I did not know existed! The more I work with my coach and website the more confident I become with internet marketing. I have my site up and running, not perfect yet, but getting there. I, as of 10/26, have an article published. I am getting into a daily routine to do certain internet needs, like directory submissions, checking on articles, adding to web site.
When I first started I was having some trouble getting everything done not only with the course but also personally. With the coaching ideas, I now allocate so much time for each project, and then move on. This has helped reduce the stress and I am able to complete more things on my list. Also, with the positive feedback from my coach I feel encouraged to try harder to learn more. Yes, I would recommend it to a friend because of the skills I have learned. I would never have been able to do all of this on my own.
- Cathy D.
Avoid Services
When selecting items to sell on your site, keep in mind that the goal of your Internet business is to help you earn an extra income, not to provide you with an extra job. With this in mind, it is a good idea to stay away from selling services. The advantage of using the Internet is so you can sell products, and give away information, through automated processes that take much less time and effort than services do. Because of this goal it's helpful to find products to sell that you believe in and have an interest in. There are two main reasons why you want to have an interesting what you are selling:
Transparency—if you do not like and/or understand your product, your indifference might shine through to those who visit the site. Any salesperson knows that it is difficult to sell something you do not know or believe in.
Information—the second reason, and perhaps the more important factor, comes down to information. Information is your biggest weapon when selling on the Internet. Your ability to provide persuasive information to your customers will be directly related to your own experience and passion for the product.
The Five Phases of a Website
Website creation consists of five primary phases. Not all websites have all five phases, as websites are unique and constantly change. A website in the first phase may actually make more money than a website in the fifth phase. The phase that you implement will largely depend on your product offering and the type of clientele you wish to attract.
The Skin and Bones Phase
This phase is for websites that are about one page long. These sites typically sell one product or do one thing. An example of this would be a website dedicated to selling an e-book.
The Basic Content Phase
This phase is for websites that sell a series of items. There might not be a home page, but it would sell three or four products, and would be three to four pages long.
The Official Phase
This phase will contain a home page that links to the other pages of the website, giving it a more official feel. There may be an "About Us" page as well that describes the company and how the business got started.
The Sticky Phase
Sticky is a technical term that refers to a website that encourages people to stay logged on to that particular website for as long as possible. This may be accomplished through informational articles, reviews, etc. Another variable of the Sticky Phase is the ability to get the client to return to the site often. Maybe it would include a weekly article or a daily update which would encourage the client to return and visit the website often.
The Community Phase
In this phase, you take all the important elements of the community that is your clientele and combine them in a website. For example, you might have a "Members Only" section, or a question and answer blog. Maybe there would be a daily lecture or update, or perhaps a newsletter.
Remember, it is not necessary to move your website to a specific phase in order to generate business from your website. Many successful websites remain at the Skin and Bones Phase, and there are many people who will never want to reach the fifth phase. The Community Phase takes a lot of time to update, to produce newsletters, and to take the time to answer the questions that may come in. Find a phase that is suited to your particular needs.
