So you would like to run an Online Business or already do but… 4

Previously I talked about products and / or services that you can deliver to your online customers. But what if you have no products or services to offer for now and want to become an online entrepreneur? This calls for some out of the box thinking. 

Think for a moment about the business world around you. In many towns and villages there are local markets where the trader buys items in bulk and sells the goods to passers-by. The trader lives on his ability to attract potential customers, display his goods in an attractive manner and persuade customers to part with their money ie, selling. Hopefully the sale is at a higher price than cost price resulting in a profit. 

Effectively, this is what happens online. Your display of goods or services is done on your web or sales page. This has no purpose unless you can drive potential customers to these sites. The selling process takes the form of you describing the benefits that the customer is likely to get from your product or service on the web or sales page. If you have been sufficiently persuasive, the customer has a need for your product or service and your price is right then the customer will click on the Buy Button ie, part with their cash. 

As in the local market, you need to build up trust between you and your customers. That is why honesty and ethical behaviour are so important. Perhaps you have heard the expression that “the money is in the list”. Perhaps this needs to be revised to “the money is in the relationship (or goodwill) that you have with your list”. 

Now back to my earlier question. So you are still determined to be an online entrepreneur but have no product or service to offer. The answer may sound obvious but you can sell other people’s products online. You join an organization’s affiliate program. Amazon has such a program. Bella-Italia has one see http://www.bella-italia.com/affiliate.html. eBay has one – visit https://www.ebaypartnernetwork.com/files/hub/en-US/index.html . So does American Express if you visit their website and click on affiliates at the bottom of the page. If you surf the web you may just be surprised at who offers affiliate programs. And many of them are big household names. Unlike the market trader, you have no direct cost of the product you sell. You attract commissions from each person that purchases online as a result of your efforts. 

An alternative way is to join an organization through payment of an entry fee. Here you usually get a set of digital products to sell, a web site and a choice of sales pages complete with payment system. Some also have a recruitment element where you are paid a sizeable fee. This is the approach I adopted to get started and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of online training of all kind that was available. Visit http://Phrontis.LGNRevolution.com and explore the numerous pages. If you are new to internet marketing (that is really what online entrepreneurs do) this is a good entry point. 

So you would like to run an Online Business or already do but … 5