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7 Steps to Starting your Internet Business

Regardless of what type of internet business you plan to start, the process is the same. Once you've set up your business, there are some steps that you can eliminate, like your start up. However, if you follow the other steps repeatedly, you can generate mulitiple streams of income, which will increase your profits.

1. Set Up Your New Business
When you first decide to start your business online, there are several things you need to do.

First, you need to choose an accounting system and open a bank account. You need to keep your money for your business separate from your personal accounts for purposes of accountability.

You can choose either a single entry or double entry accounting program. If you live in the US, single entry is recommended.

2. Choose Your Product
The products or services you choose to market on the internet will depend on what your interests are, how much money you have to get started, and whether or not there is a market for what you want to sell.

You can choose to create your own product, join an MLM, promote affiliate products, or offer your services.

3. Write Your Unique Selling Proposition
You want to make your business different from your competitors. The easiest way to do this is to decide what makes your business different.

When writing your USP, decide who your ideal customer is, how your product will benefit that customer, and what makes your product better than your competitors.

If you understand these things, you'll have a stronger focus in your business, and you're more likely to make the sale because you'll focus your energies where your actual market is.

4. Build a Website
Once you've taken the first three steps, it's time to build a website.

Do your keyword research. Focus on keywords that are popular but don't have a lot of competition.

You can build either a direct response site or a content site.

With a direct response site, you'll basically build a website that's a sales letter.

A content site will be more varied. You can include news, product reviews, articles, a FAQ, and interactive elements like a forum or discussion group.

The possibilities with this type of site are endless. Since the internet is an information driven media, you're more likely to find success with a site that is tightly targeted to a niche, with lots of content and interactivity.

5. Write Your Marketing Plan
Once you've built your website, it's time to decide how you want to market your new site.

During this stage, you'll gather your marketing tools, as well as decide what methods you use.

Examples of ways to market your website are: press releases, writing articles, posting on forums, posting to safelists, etc.

Once you've decided how you want to market, bookmark those sites where you will market.

6. Promote your new business
Once you've written your marketing plan, you'll need to write your promotional materials and then send them out.

Testing and tracking are key here to see how your marketing is doing.

This way, you can make adjustments and discard marketing methods that don't work for you.

Consistency is also important, and you'll need to market on a regular basis.

7. Maintain your new business
Once you've completed the first six steps, you'll want to apply the 60/30/10 rule of maintaining your new business.

If you sell products, sixty percent of your time will be spent marketing. Thirty percent will be spent on product development, and ten percent will be spent doing administrative tasks like answering email and keeping your business records.

If you sell services, you'll spend sixty percent of your time doing your service and thirty percent of your time marketing.

Keep in mind that regardless of whether you sell products or services, marketing is an integral part of your success.

Once you've created a successful business, then repeat the steps. You'll see more success for years to come.

Article Source: http://www.dummiesguideto.com

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