January 8, 2008 20:36
Category: Other Information
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Does online business ensure making money from Day 1? If you feel the answer to the question is somewhat ambiguous, try this one. Is there any business - not necessarily online - that can assure immediate returns?
Your answer to the second one will probably be 'No', and there is no surprise if that is so. In real life that is what happens with nearly everyone when he or she starts a business for the first time.
There is no reason to believe that for online business it'll be any different from that in real life. In fact as the time progresses, the jostling queue of businesses that are debuting online is only getting more and more long and intense.
In other words, there is perhaps no business in the online space that can fetch returns right from the word 'go'.
The trouble is there is no dearth of advice that promises making money online - for example affiliate earnings - so easy that it looks like just a fruit to be plucked from the tree. Dare we say that is not so.
If now you feel the course of this article doesn't seem to be in line with the heading above, you're excused. What I'm trying to say is that while online business is indeed anybody's play, making money online is not.
It's not my intention to cast aspersions on my readers' ability to earn money online. Many of you are surely smarter than me in this respect.
But perhaps I've a point if I say that online business is not the same thing as making money online, and so needs a somewhat different understanding.
What is the big difference, if any?
Business Online Versus Making Money
Like any business, online business is the broad outlay of the mini-plans to be put into action in tandem with one another. Suppose you're sourcing craft items from artisans, which you're then packaging to send to buyers who wish to buy them from you.
At the minimum the different arms of your business online in this case are sourcing, packaging and dispatch, creating and maintaining an e-commerce website, online marketing like running PPC ads and affiliate program, and attending to customers' feedback.
As you can see a virtual business is the aggregate of at least 5 actions, each targeted toward making your business successful. If your item is an intangible product - say an ebook - you can cut down some of these steps.
In contrast to above, making money online is essentially just one part of your online business, and is therefore not representative of the whole action.
True, it is the most important part of your business - some say building customers' trust is the most important in the long run - yet the other parts of your business have to work in perfect tandem as well.
Tomorrow's Big Picture
Trends online suggest that with each passing year individuals will perceive the Internet as a primary location for the purchase of items they need and/or want. The relatively small brick-n-mortar stores that reported steady business year after year have found their sales exploding within a few years of online presence.
The convenience of buying on the net will bring about the change of leveling the field for all businesses, and so even small start-ups will theoretically have the same opportunity as the big ones.
If you feel that is a tall claim, just look at some of the biggest Internet-based companies. They have become what they are now in a decade's time or even less.
How Can You Cash In
There is perhaps no sure-shot formula to succeed except being ready to persevere and having an abundance of patience. Among various ways to attract interested buyers to your website, the 2 time-tested ones are through higher search rankings (that is, SEO of your web pages) and PPC ads.
Measured on a time scale, the effectiveness of SEO and PPC are diametrically opposite to each other. SEO starts bringing fruits after several months of work. PPC 'can' fetch returns within a day of starting.
In either case, what remains the cornerstone of sustainable success is to script your online business properly, and forget that money can be made online out of thin air.
But yes if you have a well-planned website and a business strategy in place, there is every chance that you'll rake in moolah, and continue doing that as time passes.
