7 Steps To Follow In Starting A Small Business Online

Follow these steps below to attract visitors to your small business website on social media and encourage them to buy. When you’re starting a small business online, you should try to know some proven sequence of steps to follow in order to guarantee your success. I have seen thousands of people start and build successful businesses by doing the following:

1. You should try and find a need and fill it.
2. You should write a copy that sells.
3. You should design and build an easy-to-use website.
4. Try and use search engines to drive traffic to your website.
5. Try and Establish an expert reputation.
6. Track your customers and subscribers via email.
7. You should increase your sales with back-end sales and upselling.

Step 1: You should start a business that fills a need.

Most beginners make the mistake of looking for a product first and then a market.

Starting with a market to increase your chances of success is very important. The system is to search for a group of people who are looking for a solution to a problem but aren’t finding any results. Social media makes this type of market research easier:

• Try and visit online forums to see what questions people are asking and what problems they are trying to solve.
• Try and do some keyword research to find keywords that a lot of people are searching for but don’t have much competition from other websites.
• Try and discover your potential competitors by visiting their websites and what they are doing to meet the demand. Then you can apply what you’ve learned and create a product for an existing market – and do it better than the competition.

Step 2: You should write a copy that sells.

There’s a tried-and-true sales text formula that guides visitors through the sales process, from the moment they arrive to the moment they make a purchase:

1. You should spark interest with a compelling headline.
2. Describe the problem your product solves.
3. Prove your credibility as the solver of this problem.
4. Add testimonials from individuals who have used your product.
5. You should talk about the product and its benefits to the user.
6. Try and make an offer.
7. You should try and make a strong guarantee.
8. create urgency.
9. You should try and ask about the sale

Throughout your writing, you should focus on how your product or service is uniquely able to solve people’s problems or improve their lives. Think like a customer and ask, “What’s in it for me?”

Step 3: You should design and build an easy-to-use website.

Once you have your market, your product, and your sales process defined, you can now design your small business website. Just remember to keep it simple. You have less than five seconds to get someone’s attention – otherwise, they will live and you will never see them again. See these important tips to keep in mind:

• Try and choose one or two plain fonts on a white background.
• Try and make your navigation clear and simple and the same on every page.
• Try and make use of graphics, audio, or video only if they reinforce your message.
• Add an opt-in offer so you can collect email addresses.
• Make the purchase easier: no more than two clicks from prospect to payment.
• Your site is your social media storefront, so make it user-friendly.

Step 4: Try and use search engines to drive traffic to your website.

Pay-per-click advertising is the easiest way to drive traffic to a brand-new website. It has two advantages over expecting traffic to come to you organically.

First, PPC ads appear instantly on search pages, and secondly, PPC ads allow you to test different keywords, as well as titles, prices, and sales approaches.

Not only do you get instant traffic, but you can also use PPC ads to discover your top converting keywords. Then you can distribute the keywords in your copy and code throughout your website, which will benefit your organic search rankings.

Step 5: Try and Establish an expert reputation.

People make use of social media to find information. Give this information to other websites for free and you will see more traffic and higher search engine rankings. The secret is to always include a link to your website with every piece of information.

• Offer expert content for free. Create articles, videos, or other content that people will find useful. Distribute this content through social media article directories or internet websites.
• Add “send to a friend” links to valuable content on your site.
• Become an active expert on industry forums and social networks where your target audience hangs out.

You will be able to reach new readers. Even better, every website that publishes your content will link to yours. Search engines are interested in links from relevant websites and will reward you in the global rankings.

Step 6: Track your customers and subscribers via email.

When you create an opt-in list, you create one of the most valuable assets in your online business. Your customers and subscribers have given you permission to email them. That means:

• You give them something they asked for.
• You build lifelong relationships with them.
• The reaction is 100% measurable.

Anyone who visits your website and signs up for your list is a very interesting lead, and there is no better tool than email to follow you up.

Step 7: You should increase your sales with back-end sales and upselling.

One of the most important social media marketing strategies is to develop the lifetime value of each customer. At least 36% of people who have bought from you once will buy from you again if you follow them. Closing the first sale is by far the hardest part, not to mention the most expensive. So use back-end selling and upselling to entice them to buy again:

• Offer products that complement the initial purchase.
• Send electronic loyalty vouchers to redeem on their next visit.
• Showcase related products on your “thank you” page after purchase.
• Reward your customers for their loyalty and they will become even more loyal.

Note that the internet is changing so much that one year online is roughly five years in the real world. But the principles of starting and growing a successful online business haven’t changed at all. If you’ve just started a small online business, please follow this order. If you’ve been online for a while, do a quick check to see if there’s a step you’re missing or never had time to do.