The Birth of a Successful Internet
Business Part four of ten -- Developing Your Business Plan
By Shelley Lowery
Developing a strategic business plan is an essential part
of your success. Not only will it assist you in
visualizing your business strategy, but it will also give
you an organized approach to achieving your goals.
Your plan will be used as a step by step guide to assist
you in accomplishing your goals. Without a solid plan of
action, you won't have any direction. You'll travel in
circles and ultimately never reach your goals.
Your Internet business plan should include all of the
following:
Business Summary
Your business summary will completely summarize your
entire business strategy from start to finish.
Objectives
Your business objectives will consist of a description of
your products and services, and exactly what you want to
accomplish.
Marketing Plan
Your marketing plan should consist of all of the
following:
=> Identify your target market
If your product or service doesn't have a market, you
definitely won't be successful. You must identify who your
customers will be to determine whether or not there will
be an interest in what you're offering.
Your product should not only fill a void, but should also
be unique. The less competition you have, the better. If
you enter a market in which you're competing against
hundreds of other products similar to yours, your chance
of success will be minimal. Develop a high-quality product
that fills a void and provides people with exactly what
they want.
=> Identify your competition
You must know who your competition is in order to compete.
What are they offering? How are their products priced? How
is their website designed? How are their products
delivered?
In order to compete with your competition, you must
continuously keep an eye on them. Do a search at the
Search Engines to locate your competition and evaluate
their business.
=> How do you plan to advertise?
Although setting up a website is an essential part of your
advertising plan, it is only the first step. You must
develop an advertising plan that will drive a continuous
stream of targeted traffic to you website.
Your first step will be to submit your site to the Search
Engines.
Although there are many Internet marketers that are
constantly trying to maintain a top listing in the Search
Engines, in my humble opinion, it's simply a waste of
time.
Each Search Engine is different and has different
guidelines in regard to how they rank a web page. In
addition, their guidelines change very frequently and it
is literally impossible to keep up with them. Your best
option will be to optimize your website to the best of
your ability, submit your pages to the Search Engines and
forget it. (Resubmit your main pages any time you make any
significant changes.) Your time can be better spent using
other marketing techniques other than fighting the Search
Engine wars.
If you really want to build your business online, you must
be willing to invest a portion of your profits back into
your business. There are many advertising opportunities
available on the Internet that will enable you to purchase
targeted advertising very reasonably.
Ezine Advertising
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=doe
Pay-per-click Search Engines
http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com/
Pay-per-lead / Pay-per-sales
http://www.clickaffiliate.com/
=> How will your product or services be priced?
Although pricing your product or service may seem like a
simple task, it is a little more difficult than you may
realize. If you price your product too low, it may be
perceived as a poor quality product. Remember the old
saying, "You get what you pay for?" A higher price is
naturally perceived as a better quality product. However,
if you price it too high, your product may not measure up.
Make sure you take your time and select your selling price
very carefully. Visit your competitor sites and see how
they're pricing their products. Test different prices to
determine the best price for your product.
=> How will your product or services be delivered?
If you're selling a tangible or physical product, what
shipping options will you offer? What shipping prices will
you charge? Will you charge higher shipping rates for
orders outside your country?
If you're selling an intangible or electronic product,
will you have security measures in place? Will your
product be password protected? How will your customers
retrieve your product? Will your product delivery be
automated or manual?
=> How will you accept payment?
How many payment options will you offer your customers?
Will you have a merchant account to process credit card
orders? If you don't want to get a merchant account, will
you be using a third party credit card processing company?
Which companies will you use? Will you accept checks and
money
orders?
If you decide to get your own merchant account, you will
also need access to a secure server and a shopping cart
system. A secure server will protect your customers'
information. A shopping cart system will provide your
customer with a running total of what they've ordered and
the total cost.
The following website can provide you with a merchant
account:
Total Merchant Services (TMS)
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=ec
If you'd rather not have your own merchant account, third
party credit card processors will process your credit card
orders for you. There are usually no monthly fees. They
charge a "per transaction" fee and send you payment for
all your orders processed, minus their fee and a reserve
fee.
iBill
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=ibill
PayPal
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=pp
ClickBank
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=cb
If you're just starting out, you may want to use one of
the third party credit card processors, as this is the
easiest route. Each company provides you with step by step
instructions to assist you in getting your website set up
to accept credit cards. The great thing about third party
credit card processors is that they handle everything for
you. You don't have to hassle with processing your credit
card payments or charge backs, as everything is taken care
of for you.
Developing an Internet business plan will provide you with
a road map to achieving your dreams. Plan each step very
carefully and fully research your options. Plan your work
then work your plan and you'll be well on your way to
achieving your goals.
Copyright © Shelley Lowery
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design
course, Web Design Mastery.
http://www.webdesignmastery.com And, Ebook Starter -
Give Your Ebooks the look and feel of a REAL book.
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