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12
TIPS FOR HOME INTERNET ENTREPRENEURS
- You'll never feel like your dreams are coming
true if you're not excited
by what you're doing. If you are not sincerely excited about your
product or service, you'll probably never get good results trying to
sell it. If you're not excited by your actual product or service --
not the message -- why are you trying to sell it in the first
place? Find something that excites you.
- Which needs do your
product or service
satisfy? Possible needs are: * To be safe and secure * To
stay younger * To be attractive and popular * To gain power and status
* To avoid effort * To gain praise * To make money * To save money * To
escape (holidays; entertainment; books, videos and games) * To be
caring and protective * To be special. Show prospective
clients how your product meets their need.
- Test the product market before you pick
products to sell. Check to see if the potential customer
would be interested. Find and develop your own unique selling
strategy. To have an advantage over
your
competitors, you better know your niche, know who your clients are, where your market lies, and how
you will exploit it. If you don't know who you're going to sell a
product or service to, your product or service is going to be pretty
hard for you to sell.
- Do your homework - surf a
while before you leap in,
find out what is going on in your specific industry.
- Give prospective clients
enough reason
to trust
you and your product. Why
must he trust you or your product? Provide believable
testimonials, show your expertise, make him comfortable with a
guarantee he can trust. Publish a section on your Web site called
"About Us". With your information, you could also include pictures.
This shows people you're not hiding behind your business. Publish
information about yourself and business history.
- Before you sell your first
product,
have your follow-up
product at the door and waiting. If
your
customer has purchased from you once, there's a good chance they will
again. You have already established trust with your customer.
Don't let them down and never rely on one primary product to carry your
business. Product development is an integral part of any business. If
you want to stay in business, keep your present customers coming back
for more.
- Consumers expect their
shopping
experience to be an enjoyable one. If you can make it fun and entertaining to do
business with you, chances are
they'll be back. Make it easy for your clients.
- As your business changes, so
too must
the tangible representations of your business. See that
everything that you have included in your marketing or presentation kit
is current and reflects where your business is going. Update your
website! I recently
bought three Internet products. All three had outdated links, they
recommended services from providers who do not provide those services
any more, and one did not respond to an enquiry. Will I buy
from any one of them again?
- Target your advertising and publicity to
make it work effectively. Bad targeting will doom your
marketing from the beginning no matter how much money you
spend. You target effectively by making sure your marketing
only goes to the people most likely to buy your products or services.
Get answers to the questions: "Who are my best prospects? What kinds of
media do they pay attention to?"
- Establish objectives for each
of your marketing programs and then carefully measure the
results. Without some
type of measurements, you cannot hope to improve the effectiveness of
your programs and increase the return on your advertising outlays.
Knowing what is really happening to your marketing expenditures takes
you a long way down the road to improving the effectiveness of your
marketing program.
- Your site: Answer
"What's in it for
me?" on the first fold. The ideal length of a line in
characters is 60, and 65 is the maximum acceptable. Arial or Verdana
are the best choices available. Black text on a white background is the
best way to go.
- Endurance. There will always be
obstacles in your way and problems that seem insurmountable.
Some situations will test you patience over a long period of
time. Your attitude towards these will make or
break you entrepreneurial adventure. Your long term goals
will help you overcome these temporary obstacles. Your
innovative spirit will help by exploring new and better ways to
overcome obstacles and achieve your goals. If you program you mind with
the idea that you will persist until you succeed, it will help you see
it through when many others would have given up.
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