IS YOUR INTERNET WEB SITE INCREASING THE BOTTOM LINE?
It Takes More Than a Simple Web Site to Make Money on the Internet. Here's How to Maximize Your Return.
By G.H. Bey
About six years ago, when Internet commerce began to explode, it appeared that (finally) the small entrepreneur would be able to compete with the big boys. Many small mail order dealers thought that the Internet would increase their bottom line profits dramatically. However, many businesses have not reaped the huge profits that they expected from their Internet advertising efforts. So what's the problem?
Many people were led to believe that all you had to do was place your home page, display a classified ad on a web site and the inquiries and orders would come rolling in. They didn't understand that the vast majority of those who were using the Internet at that time were using it for research and information gathering. They weren't interested in buying home-based business or mail order programs. As a matter of fact, they didn't want to see the Internet being used to sell commercial products or services and they did everything they could to keep it from happening. However, five years later, we can see that the educators and researchers lost that battle in a big way.
Today, the trail blazers have opened the way and everything that can be sold is being advertised on the Internet. The question is--Has being able to advertise on the Internet really leveled the playing field for the small-time business operator?
Let's take this a step at a time. Because the Internet is still a relatively new advertising medium, there was no set or proven formula to follow that would guarantee the success of any Internet advertiser. So every advertiser, large or small, has to test different techniques to see what method works best for them. Now here is where the difference comes in between the big companies and the small operator. Larger companies have more money to spend to test various methods, while small entrepreneurs are working with limited budgets and can only do a limited amount of testing. This, of course, puts the small operator at a disadvantage to the larger company who can afford to lose more money. If the small operator doesn't find the right combination before the money runs out, he or she must borrow money to continue testing or simply give up.
If your Internet advertising is not paying off for you, there may be several things you can do to improve the results you're now getting. More than 90 percent of the business web sites on the Internet are simply home pages. Many small entrepreneurs slap their home pages on some obscure web site which is not promoted by the service provider and as a result, these pages get very few, if any, visits and don't make much money. If you expect to make money on the Internet, you must continuously promote your web site on an ongoing basis. You must let people who may be interested in what you're selling know where to find your web site. After potential customers find your web site, you must make it as easy as possible for them to purchase your product or service. If you expect to make money on the Internet, you must develop an e-commerce capable web site that can execute a sale from beginning to end.
This means that you're going to need all of the necessary tools to build a state-of-the-art web site. Yes--it will cost you money but will be worth it in the long run. You'll have to include some method of accepting payment for your product or service. This means that you'll need a credit card merchant account to be able to accept major credit cards, be able to accept checks by fax or both. If your web site isn't able to accept payment on the spot, you're going to have a difficult time making money on the Internet.
Don't panic if you're not on the Internet yet. Don't worry about being left behind. There are still millions of people out there who don't own a computer (believe it or not). Tens of thousands of these people are interested in starting a small or home-based business. These people are reading business opportunity publications just like this one. You can still offer your services to people in the print media.
Always remember that the basic principles of advertising, sales and marketing still apply regardless of whether you're advertising in print, on the radio, television or on the Internet. Offer the right prospect the right product at the right time and at the right price and you'll be successful, no matter what you advertise.
G.H. Bey offers advice and information on building your home-based business. You can contact him at: (412) 363-7187. You can also learn how you can make money from the Internet, even if you don't own a computer. Simply send a first class stamp to:
Day-Star Communications 7023 Hermitage Street Pittsburgh, PA 15208-1110
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