A Beginner's Guide To Setting Up A Successful Online Store

By M. Mukesh

A beginner's guide to setting up a successful online store

Online selling is by no means a simple task. To sell products online not only requires making use of high end marketing strategies but also involves lots of planning. This article is meant for those of you who intent to start an online store. It is intended to give you a fair idea of what you would need to do and what you need to avoid while planning an online selling business.

The following are the various steps that you would need to take in order to open a successful online store

1.) Designing a website that sells

The first most important aspect of online selling is to have a professional looking website that is designed to sell. You can go about creating the website from code up using web designers or simply go for readymade website templates. If you are purchasing website templates, be sure to go for templates that are professionally designed and have the option of shopping carts. Buying templates from providers who offer allied services like template customization, web hosting; SEO etc would be even better. Some template providers like 'buytemplates.net' offer allied services irrespective of where you actually purchased the template from. To get a rough idea of how your site should be designed you can take hints from successful discount online stores like http://www.ishopage.com, 'gap.com' and 'bestbuy.com'.

2.) Hosting your store online

There are many factors that you need to take into consideration before selecting your web host when it comes to online selling. Some of the major factors are discussed as follows.

a.) Secure servers

Firstly you got to make sure if your web host offers you with SSL encryption which is very important for secure money transactions online. Most web hosting companies would offer you with SSL secure server facilities along with a regular package whereas a few would charge you an extra amount for the service.

b.) Up time guarantees

Your business is only as good as it remains online. Make sure to go for web hosting service providers who promise you an uptime guarantee of 99 %. Also check to see as to how they back up their data and what kind of back up systems they have in place in case of emergencies.

c.) Private CGI-BIN

A CGI-BIN directory is a location on your web server where you can upload your binary scripts or interactive programs. This is very important for payment processing and shopping cart
management. So be sure that the hosing company gives you a private CGI BIN directory.

d.) Web logs and web statistics

Web logs and statistics are vital for your online business. Studying the web logs can give you much needed information about your customers and your sales records. Understanding your customer behavior can help you retain customers and attract new customers.

e.) Customer support

Get as much information about the hosting company's support policies and the type of support they offer. Go for web hosting companies that offer 24/7 customer support.

f.) References

Most web hosts promise you lots of goodies but may not live up to it. Make sure to test the web host's credibility by asking them for references. The existing customers of the hosting company can give your first hand information on the service that you can expect to get.

In addition to this you should also look for services that offer you Mysql database and PHP scripting, unlimited emails and a minimum space of 10GB.

3.) Deciding on shopping carts

If you are selling more than a handful of products then having a shopping cart on your site is a good idea. You have three major options of getting yourself an online shopping cart. First one is buying a shopping cart software program; the second is using services of an ASP and the third is programming it yourself.

Your best option as a beginner would be to go for ASP services. These services are cheap and come with flexible options. As time passes and you online business develops, you can hire programmers to design yourself a customized shopping cart or buy shopping cart software programs that can be set up in your server. Some good ASP's that offer shopping cart services are 'SecureNetShop' (SecureNetShop.com) and 'GoEmerchant' (GoEmerchant.com).

Shopping cart software programs are a costly option for beginners and can cost you anything between $ 150 - $ 800. Some good shopping cart software programs are 'shopfactory 6' (shopfactory.com) and 'storefront' (strorefront.net)

One more option as already discussed above is making use of ecommerce website templates. These ecommerce templates have pre installed shopping cart systems and can help you set up a store in minutes. Some of these template providers also offer template customization services that would allow you to get your ordinary templates in selling modules.

4.) Deciding on how to accept payments

No matter what the speculation, credit cards are still the best way to accept payments. So make sure that your online business has facilities to accept credit cards. There was a time when you had to have a merchant account from a bank or financial institution to process credit card payments. But today there are enough options available that allow you to accept credit card payments even without a merchant account.

Paypal (paypal.com) is perhaps the best payment gateway and has no initial joining fees. Their service fees, per-transaction is very low and they allow you to accept payments from all over the world. In addition to Paypal some other good payment gateways are '2checkout' (2checkout.com), 'clickbank' (clickbank.com) and 'paysystems' (paysystems.com).

Payment options other than credit cards

It is by no means necessary that all your customers will have credit cards. As a matter of fact many of your customers don't have credit cards, many don't like to use credit cards, many have credit card phobias and the remaining may not wish to share their credit card information online. Under such a situation it would be best for you to provide alternate payment options.

Internet checks

Internet checks are as popular as credit cards when it comes to paying online. Internet checks are comparatively safer and are best if your customers are from international destinations. This technique would involve your customer's to make payments by an online blank check provided by an internet check service provider. This information is sent to the service provider for authorization. The merchant can also print the check on his printer immediately afterwards. Some good service providers who can offer you internet check services are paybycheck (paybycheck.com) and cross-check (cross-check.com).

In addition to internet checks there are some other options of accepting online payments like money orders and electronic checks. But these methods are suitable only if your customers are from nearby locations.

The best way to decide your payment options is analyzing your customer behaviors. You can also have online check boxes or feedback forms on your website to collect information about your customer's payment preferences and act accordingly.

5.) Promoting your online store

No promotion equals to no sales. You can promote your store using online marketing strategies like search engine optimization, email marketing, banner advertisements and affiliate marketing among others. While promoting your business you got to make sure to stay clear of any kind of illegal methods like spamming, cloaking etc. Your promotion activities should create a positive awareness about your online store that leads to trust building.

6.) Assuring your Customers

The customer is the king and just as in any other type of business here again you need to give your customer what he wants. To do this you got to be sure of your customer's preferences. Basically you need to address the following doubts that your customers are likely to have in their mind while buying online

a.) Is my credit information safe?

b.) How will the products be delivered to me and how long will it take? c.) Are their any additional costs associated with the item? d.) What kind of guarantees come with the product? e.) Are there any discounts if I purchase multiple goods? f.) What kind of customer service does the online shop have? g.) What happens in case the goods are damaged or of low quality?

These questions in particular and many more questions in general can arise in the minds of your customers depending on the type of your products and your online store reputation. You can address these issues by providing valuable information in your FAQ section. Providing an online live chat on your website would be a great way to deal with your customer queries. There are many services that offer free online chat software programs; for instance 'boldchat' (boldchat.com).

Article Source Ezine Articles’ expert M. Mukesh

breezeadsMake Money Blogging - Affiliate Marketing Tips for Increased Cl...

Do's and Don'ts of Affiliate Marketing

By Nitesh Pandey

Competition has increased in almost every niche. This has made marketing more difficult than creation of a product. If your target is of selling a product or service globally then you have more money making opportunities but the task of selling a product globally is more technical. You should be technically educated on how to sell a product online. The easiest way to sell a product or service online is to distribute your job among others. Such people who carry out the task of online marketing for merchants are affiliates and this form of marketing is Affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is all about creating awareness about your products or services with the help of affiliates and in turn affiliates are paid percentage of commission on the total sales done through them.

The role of affiliates is to bring qualified traffic to a merchant's site and after a visitor hits the merchant's site, role of the merchant starts. For a successful purchase, the site of seller should fulfill the requirements of the prospect and for a successful click on the merchant site; the content of the affiliates should be interesting enough so that the visitor cannot stop his curiosity of visiting the merchant site. To be a successful affiliate marketer, the marketer should be able to identify the needs of the customers and in their articles or website; the affiliates should provide a way to fulfill those needs. Affiliate marketers should follow certain do's and don'ts to become successful. Certain do's are given below.

What you should do?

Build a website not from marketing point of view but from reader point of view. Provide useful content to your visitors so that they get satisfied after visiting your website and click further.

Register only with established affiliate programs because with established programs you can get assured about your payments. ClickBank is the best option for the affiliates to register.

Optimize your site for the search engines to secure a top ranking in the natural search engines. High rank in the major search engines will help you to get the maximum visitors.

RSS Feeds and Blogs are good for promotion.

Remain active by viewing latest postings on the reputed forums like DP, Sitepoint or Warriorforum. This will help you to be aware about the latest trends and changing needs of the visitors. If you find any part of affiliate marketing difficult such as designing a website, development or writing content then hire skilled people for your job.

What you should not do?

Do not end up the curiosity of your customers in your website only but leave something for the merchant site also. Retain your visitors till the end of your page by telling them the benefits about the product or service so they get interested to click on the affiliate link to know more about the product or service.

Don't engage yourself in spamming otherwise you may get blacklisted.

Don't join any affiliate program because most of the programs are fraud. Join only established programs.

Don't waste time.

The above list of do's and don'ts will help you to become a successful affiliate marketer.

If you want to be a successful affiliate marketer but don't know what to do and what not to do then visit Niche Profit Classroom [http://www.nicheprofitclassroom.org]. [http://www.nicheprofitclassroom.org] imparts knowledge about do's and don'ts of affiliate marketing. Open the site and find answers to all your queries and clear your way to be successful.

Article Source: Ezine Articles’ expert  Nitesh Pandey

ClickBank Money Machine: Make Money Online With ClickBank Affiliate Mark...

The Secret Formula to Making Lots of Money on the Internet

By Beausil Slowbenga

In order to make money on the internet, you need to follow a certain guideline/ formula that will ensure that you make the most money possible online. Our industry these days are full of 'Gurus' who sell products that promise to make money with a push of a button- or without doing nothing at all; come-on people, if it was that easy, wouldn't the person who created that then use it for himself to make money? Here's a small tip; If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

You can make money online if you know what you are doing. Below is a secret formula used by the top income earners to make lots of money from home and if you follow it and take action, you too can become a top income earner using the internet very soon. In order to start making lots of money on the internet:

1. You Need to Find Something to Sell

- Affiliate stuff (ClickBank.com, Clicksure.com, affiliatedot.com)

- Sell your own stuff

- Business Opportunity

Ask yourself these questions:

- How much money are you making per sale?

- Is there residual income?

- How fast do you get paid?

2. You Need a Custom Landing/Squeeze Page

- Create it yourself (visit leadpages.net)

- Get somebody else to do it for you

3. You Need to Get Targeted Traffic

- Use the OPL (other people's lists) method

- Purchase a Solo Ad from udimi.com or arcamax.com (use Google to find more solo ads vendors)

Offline Marketing

- Voice broadcasts

- Newspaper Ads (nationwidenewspaper.com)

- Text Marketing

- Magazine Ads

- Postcards

CPA (Cost per Action) Backdoor

Rules:

1. Pay per email submit

2. Have double opt in enabled

3. Set your daily limit

As you can see that this is a simple setup, but it does require you to have more knowledge about what you're doing (so treat it as a business). You now have everything you need to succeed in making money online and all you need is to truly believe that you can do it no matter how hard things get along your way up, just hang in there and I promise things will get better over time if you truly want it to be!

The truth is, all those people who are making lots of money from home, all started somewhere, and they are not better than you.



Article Source: Ezine Articles’ expert  Beausil Slowbenga

CPA Affiliate Success - CPA Affiliate Marketing - CPA Affiliate Success

How the Changing Times of Affiliate Marketing Can Help You

By Anne O'Dwyer

Like the song "times they are a changing", nothing stands still everything changes, things grow or decline, live or die, get better or worse. We have been watching the series or programs about life in the 50s and 60s. It is really funny to see how we lived then compared to now. Life seemed so much simpler then, people seemed more satisfied with less. Where will this desire for more escalate to I wonder?

As a child I remember less clothes were available to buy, hand-made was part of life. Luckily my mother was a great seamstress and made us beautiful clothes and amazing dolls clothes. She was innovative too and I remember seaside holidays were the time for knitted swimsuits. Great when they were dry, but if you went in the sea they became a sodden weight that dangled round your knees. Not a good Look!

As a teenager an important part of the weekend was spent making a new dress for the Saturday night dance. Friday payday meant after-work a quick dash to the shop to purchase several yards, (not metres) of cloth to be converted into the latest style by Saturday night. My friends all made their dresses too with the help of their mothers. Hemlines rose weekly inch by inch as we became more daring, up to our knees and beyond. In fact I remember making coats, dresses, suits and even my wedding dress it was the norm then,

So how has affiliate marketing changed? ClickBank with an affiliate link was a popular starting point for affiliates, followed by sourcing your own products from large warehouses online, building your list of happy customers, with email and other marketing techniques plus building your own websites or paying someone to do it for you. All this too, before you earned anything, they were then often tiny commissions.

NOW there is a simple solution to starting online, work with the guidance of a mentor who provides great products with generous commissions, sales pages and training SO WITH THIS REDUCED WORK LOAD AND NO NEED TO LEAN IT ALL FIRST, it is much easier to start online. You can even earn whilst you learn the techniques.

It does take time to build a sustainable business so keep your paid work initially and work your new business in your spare time. It makes an exciting new hobby as you watch your efforts turn into cash.

Make 2016 a year to remember!

Books to help you:

"The Power of Your Subconscious Mind" by Joseph Murphy.

"Speed Reading and Speed Memory" by Tony Bazan

"Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway" by Susan Jeffers. Read if you have doubts

"99 Ways to flood Your Website With Traffic" by Mick Macro. Simple suggestions.

"SEO step by step" by Caimin Jones. An easy book for beginners to SEO

"500 Social Media Marketing Tips" By Andrew Macarthy

"Profitable Social Media Marketing" by Tim Kitchen & Tashmeem Mirza Also by the same author "How to get to the top of Google"

"Email Persuasion" by Ian Brodie

Article Source: Ezine Articles’ expert  Anne O'Dwyer

Clickbank Tutorial For Beginners Video 2 - Clickbank Guide

Clickbank Tutorial For Beginners Video 2 - Clickbank Guide

Why Do Beginners Struggle With Affiliate Marketing?

(And what a struggle! Gerard)

By Anne O'Dwyer

Affiliate marketing is a great concept: your products are provided, so with an affiliate link all you have to do is find customers, you don't even have to worry about delivery it is done for you, often electronically, or they could be physical products, but as you see a great way in theory, to start online.

Originally Clickbank marketplace, was where many affiliates started online. It is a store of E books, with sales pages provided by the vendor to send your customers to with your affiliate link.

Another option is visiting a large warehouse of products where a selection can be made; you then build your own website, sales pages and learn the marketing techniques. You can see with the Clickbank route and possibly the second, commissions are small so that a great number of sales have to be made to make a decent living.

The biggest draw back with the second route, besides the meagre commissions, it is the length of time it takes to become proficient at all the techniques, so that everything look professional to entice customers to trust you and part with their money. So if you need loads of customers because of the small returns, how are you going to find a lot of traffic cheap enough to cover your costs, never mind making a profit.

So lets look at a better way. Choose a mentor who supplies excellent products, professionally prepared sales pages and up-to-date training in the best sales techniques and marketing; plus the secret ingredient that makes it all work.

The secret ingredient that makes all the difference is a large selection of products at various price points according to the requirements of your customers. So entry-level products with small commissions up to expensive and sophisticated products paying larger commissions, all this together with a tried and tested formula of successful marketing.

So to sum up, the simple but effective way to learn affiliate marketing, is with a mentor providing a range of products, professional sales pages, and excellent training; who also pays generous commissions enabling you to purchase instant traffic and therefore earn a good return for your efforts.

So start now and make 2016 a year to remember!

Books to help you:

"The Power of Your Subconscious Mind" by Joseph Murphy. Believe in yourself

"Speed Reading and Speed Memory" by Tony Bazan

"Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway" by Susan Jeffers. Read if you have doubts

"99Ways to flood Your Website With Traffic" by Mick Macro. Simple suggestions. "SEO step by step" by Caimin Jones. An easy book for beginners to SEO

"500 Social Media Marketing Tips" By Andrew Macarthy

"Profitable Social Media Marketing" by Tim Kitchen & Tashmeem Mirza Also by the same author "How to get to the top of Google"

Article Source: Ezine Articles’ expert  Anne O'Dwyer

How To Become A Clickbank Super-Affiliate marketing for clickbank