The
economic recession is pushing more and more people to consider self-employment.
Starting an online business is a very low-risk way to put your toe in the
entrepreneurial pond because the start up costs are minimal, the overhead is
low, and the returns can be high. Despite these benefits, however, an online
business is just like any other and needs to be thoroughly researched before
starting to determine if there's a need in the marketplace and how viable the
business idea is.
The Internet is rife with exorbitant claims of how much
money can be made as an online entrepreneur and that you can be rolling in the
dough by the next week. Remember, most "overnight" success are 1, 2, or more
years in the making, and online businesses are no exception to this
rule.
How do you determine if your online business idea will sink or
swim? Here are 10 steps you can take to test your idea without breaking the
bank:
1. Research. Comprehensive research is always
the first step for any business idea. Brainstorm a list of keywords someone
might use to find the product/service that you're offering, and then use a
keyword tool finder to see how many searches have been done on these keywords.
The keyword tool will also make suggestions of related keywords to try. Once
you have a list of keywords, conduct searches (use quotation marks around your
search term for stronger results) in Google, Yahoo, and MSN to see who else is
out there. Evaluate the popularity of the sites you discover by checking out
their Google Page Rank and Alexa ranking. Use the same keywords to see if
articles have been written about your topic in the major article banks. You'll
uncover your competition in this research, as well as potential strategic
alliances. Employ a powerful bookmark program to help you track your research
results.
2. Monetize the idea. After completing your
research, have you discovered enough competitors in the marketplace who are
making money from doing something similar? If so, how are they making money --
is it from the sale of info products, consulting services, subscription to their
site, advertising, etc? If you don't see much competition, that usually means
one of two things:
a. There's not enough demand for the product/idea
or
b. You're ahead of the curve in seeing the profit potential.
Unfortunately, in most cases, that result means that there's not enough
demand for your idea in the way that it's been presented.
3. The
"so what" factor. From your research you should be able to clarify
what it is that you're offering and what group of people need what you're
offering. In order to be successful, your offer must pass the "so what" factor
in light of your competition. To take this test, you must successfully be able
to answer the following question after telling someone what you do, "So what?
How is that different from what x, y and z are offering?" You can answer these
questions best if you review the benefits of what you're offering (the What's In
It For Me) rather than just a listing of the features, and if you can speak from
the heart about your idea. An online business will take time to manage and
develop, so you want to settle on something that you love. If you don't enjoy
what you're doing, you quickly become a prisoner in a prison of your own
making.
4. Industry information. Set up Google Alerts
for your industry keywords and track them from info posted on websites, blogs,
and newsgroups. Reviewing the alerts you receive over the next few weeks should
help you expand your view of the problems/issues with your subject, help you see
the "movers and shakers" in the industry, and help you discover other places
(blogs, discussion forums, social networks) where your target market hangs out
online.
5. Test the waters. The easiest way to test
your idea is by creating a blog. Buy a keyword-rich domain name for the blog
and map your blog to that domain. Then begin to blog about your insights on
your topic, or reprint articles others have written on your subject. The idea
here is to begin to establish your online presence and your online
brand.
6. Build a list. Once you've got a blog set up,
you need to begin to build your marketing list. The easiest way to do this is
to create a free giveaway on your site (ebook, video, report, audio recording)
and a form for the visitor to input his name and email address to receive your
giveaway. Your privacy policy should be readily available to them and outline
how you'll use their info and what they can expect to receive from you. You'll
also need an email marketing service or shopping cart service to manage your
list.
7. Crown yourself the expert. The only way to
become an expert in an area is to believe that you are one. By virtue of the
research you've already conducted, you know more than a large percentage of your
target market. Therefore, don't hesitate to begin to refer to yourself as an
expert in your industry
8 Drive traffic. Once you
build your blog, they (visitors) won't come without some encouragement. Create
profiles on prominent social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Start
writing articles about your topic and submitting those to article directories.
Discover if your target market hangs out on niche-specific social networking
sites and start networking there. Interview experts in your industry and
release the interviews as a podcast. Create a weekly email newsletter to stay
in touch with the prospects on your email list. Create powerful inbound links
by getting your blog listed on various blog and website directories.
9.
Implementation time. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither
is a successful online business. Allow at least three months to give your idea
a test run and evaluate it after that time. Have you been able to build a
list? Are you getting traffic to your site? Are you attracting attention of
others in your industry? If so, you're ready to move to the next
step.
10. Move forward. If you determine that your
idea is viable, what's next? Creating info products or a membership site? What
are your longer terms goals to develop this idea into a business? The best way
to harness all the info that you've collected thus far is to create a business
plan. It doesn't have to be complicated -- it can be only one page, in fact.
What you need to commit to paper is your offer, your target market, your ongoing
goals for how to monetize the idea, and an outline of how you plan to grow the
business over time.
It's not too late to get your start in an online
business. Don't be distracted by the false promises of quick wealth overnight.
Success takes time and planning, so invest some planning and research time into
your business idea. That's the strongest foundation you can create for yourself
to become a successful online entrepreneur.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: Internet Marketing Strategist and Boomer Biz Coach Donna Gunter helps baby boomers create profitable online retirement businesses that they love by demystifying and simplifying the tools and strategies needed to market and grow their businesses online. To claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at AskDonnaGunter.com.
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