You pre-notified your opt in list of your upcoming product and put together an incredible army of JV partners and super affiliates and now the sales are coming in like you could have only imagined. What else is there to do but move onto your next project? After all, this baby’s on auto-pilot. Wrong.
You’re in this Internet Marketing game to make money right? So, it would seem logical that once you have launched a product successfully and the money’s coming in, you should decide what you want to do next. Well, that is just plain leaving cash on the table...and lots of it.
It’s relatively common knowledge that it takes 6-10 views of a marketer’s message to entice folks to seal the deal, and open their wallets. In addition to that, almost 98% of folks that see your page the first time will not buy. If you think these stats don’t matter because you are already rolling in it, think again.
Ever heard the phrase “the money is in the list” before? Actually, that’s not entirely true. People with the money, are in the list. The money is in the follow up! You need to make sure you have a 10-15 message autoresponder series (more could amount to overkill and a silly unsubscribe rate) plugged in and ready to go to every new person registering for your list.
If done right you will absolutely see a noticeable increase in click thru to sales rates, sometimes into the double digits. And what does “done right” actually entail? There are a few things you should focus on when creating an autoresponder series.
1)Make sure there’s a logical chronology to your series. I am a subscriber to many lists and read my emails avidly...for one I want to always be learning and for another I just like to see what my competition is up to.
What’s amazing is the number of autoresponder series I’ve registered for where there is no clear and concise path. One day the mail is about this and the next day it’s about that. This is a surefire way to negatively impact your bottom line.
2)Personalize the messages as much as you possibly can. Yes, that includes utilizing code to automatically input the first name of the recipient but it goes deeper than that. People can smell mass production and are typically adverse to blatant pitches...especially when repeated through a series of emails.
So, how do you get your message across and yet still market your wares to your list? Share information about yourself...utilize your experiences and your personal histories to your benefit. Give people a glimpse into your life and they will feel an “attachment” to you and will be better able to relate. Once you have endeared them to you they will be more open to buying from you.
Now don’t go making stuff up and certainly don’t give them every intimate detail you have...but subtle references to you and your family as it specifically relates to what you are selling is a good thing.
3)For the love of all things holy don’t “slam” your list with back to back to back pitches and every affiliate offering under the sun. That just seems like common sense but I get so many messages from marketers where it’s a daily event and a new product each day...all the “best opportunity I’ll ever see”.
Be sure to space out your autoresponder series over the course of at least two to three weeks. You’ll want a Day Zero message which will arrive as soon as someone registers, then a Day One message to follow that up...from there consider a Day Three message for a little breathing room...then a Day Five or Six. You get the gist.
And never try to “product dump” your list. Think about lists that you are on. Do you really enjoy getting tons of email messages from the same person every day which all pimp different products? Kind of annoying, don'tcha think?
So, before moving onto your next big project you’ll want to make sure that you have completely leveraged your existing customer base and that you maximize the monetization of that base. You can help do this by creating a personalized, logically sequenced, consistent, and staggered autoresponder series. Tune in next week when we discuss some other “hot” items on your Post Launch Laundry List.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
E-commerce Success: Is it too Late?
A large percentage of people that started online businesses before 1998 have become very successful. Many are in the top ten on search engines for their respective keywords, they have a large amount of links pointing to their website, and a high page rank on Google. Many receive millions of visitors each month and make millions of dollars each year.
Some people that started businesses in the years 2001 or 2002 have also been able to achieve success, even some companies like Adbrite in 2004 have done it, but is it to late for e-commerce success? Can an e-commerce website compete in 2006?
I believe that an e-commerce website can compete in 2006. The key to a successful website is offline and online advertising, search engine optimization, publicity, an affiliate program, and good customer service. In essence, things are more technical now than they were before. In the nineties if you were first to market you were bound to make a lot of money, search engine optimization and things like that did not matter that much then, but now they are the most important things to a successful website.
Any new e-commerce website that focuses on those things can achieve success, it may take a little while, especially the search engine optimization but it will be worth it once the sales start to roll in.
Some people that started businesses in the years 2001 or 2002 have also been able to achieve success, even some companies like Adbrite in 2004 have done it, but is it to late for e-commerce success? Can an e-commerce website compete in 2006?
I believe that an e-commerce website can compete in 2006. The key to a successful website is offline and online advertising, search engine optimization, publicity, an affiliate program, and good customer service. In essence, things are more technical now than they were before. In the nineties if you were first to market you were bound to make a lot of money, search engine optimization and things like that did not matter that much then, but now they are the most important things to a successful website.
Any new e-commerce website that focuses on those things can achieve success, it may take a little while, especially the search engine optimization but it will be worth it once the sales start to roll in.
Retail Stores Dying a Slow Death as More People Shop Online
When most potential business owners think of opening a retail store they are most likely considering an online store rather than a bricks and mortar store. The main reasons for that are cost and more people are shopping online. Everyone knows that it is a lot less risky to open an online store; you don’t need to sign a long lease, deal with utilities, or employees. That cuts costs down a lot. Most e-commerce websites start as one and two man shows and grow over time. A retail store cannot start small like that.
Another thing that entices people to sell goods online rather than in a traditional retail store is the fact that they can reach a worldwide audience. With a brick and mortar store you can only sell goods locally.
Shopping on the internet is growing every year as the internet becomes more secure and more convenient. A majority of people would much rather shop online because they don’t have to deal with the crowds and parking, and in most cases they can save a lot of money. If you plan to open a bricks and mortar store please keep in mind that people love to shop online, and that love is only going to grow.
Another thing that entices people to sell goods online rather than in a traditional retail store is the fact that they can reach a worldwide audience. With a brick and mortar store you can only sell goods locally.
Shopping on the internet is growing every year as the internet becomes more secure and more convenient. A majority of people would much rather shop online because they don’t have to deal with the crowds and parking, and in most cases they can save a lot of money. If you plan to open a bricks and mortar store please keep in mind that people love to shop online, and that love is only going to grow.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
MySpace Safety: E-Commerce to the Rescue
For months, concerns about the content and audience of the social networking site MySpace have been expressed by parents, school officials, law enforcement authorities, and the media. However, amid pressure from these groups, it may be a financial motivation that ultimately leads MySpace to "clean house."
MySpace is one of the ten most popular destinations on the Web. Claiming 69 million members, it is certainly the best-known and most-visited social networking site. As such, it is uniquely situated for commercial exploitation, as any number of bands, comedians, and other entertainers can attest.
However, to make MySpace a truly profitable venture, as News Corporation must surely have intended when it paid $580 million for the site, it must appeal to traditional advertisers with larger budgets. Those advertisers are unlikely to pay for placement on a site that has been called a “predator’s playground” and is associated with acts of violence, drug use, sex crimes, and pornography on a nearly daily basis. (In the last twenty-four hours: alleged child pornography and defamation, an alleged probation violation, and a story detailing the use of MySpace by violent street gangs.)
News Corporation realizes the economic realities at play and seems to have developed a program aimed at increasing the value of the MySpace asset. A new security czar has been appointed to police the site and MySpace has begun running public service advertisements designed to warn parents and children of the dangers posed by a portion of the site’s users. Though these efforts, together with those aspects of the program which have yet to be revealed, will begin to ease the pressure exerted by parents and governmental officials, it is ultimately the power of e-commerce that will make MySpace safer for children. After all, it was the power of MySpace as a potential advertising medium that lead to Rupert Murdoch’s interest in acquiring the site.
MySpace is one of the ten most popular destinations on the Web. Claiming 69 million members, it is certainly the best-known and most-visited social networking site. As such, it is uniquely situated for commercial exploitation, as any number of bands, comedians, and other entertainers can attest.
However, to make MySpace a truly profitable venture, as News Corporation must surely have intended when it paid $580 million for the site, it must appeal to traditional advertisers with larger budgets. Those advertisers are unlikely to pay for placement on a site that has been called a “predator’s playground” and is associated with acts of violence, drug use, sex crimes, and pornography on a nearly daily basis. (In the last twenty-four hours: alleged child pornography and defamation, an alleged probation violation, and a story detailing the use of MySpace by violent street gangs.)
News Corporation realizes the economic realities at play and seems to have developed a program aimed at increasing the value of the MySpace asset. A new security czar has been appointed to police the site and MySpace has begun running public service advertisements designed to warn parents and children of the dangers posed by a portion of the site’s users. Though these efforts, together with those aspects of the program which have yet to be revealed, will begin to ease the pressure exerted by parents and governmental officials, it is ultimately the power of e-commerce that will make MySpace safer for children. After all, it was the power of MySpace as a potential advertising medium that lead to Rupert Murdoch’s interest in acquiring the site.
Fraud Protection and E-Commerce
Fraud Protection on the Short term
The bad guys that have this debit card data are not going to attack online merchants for goods that they will have to convert to cash. They have been walking straight to the ATMs for the green dollar.
The impact on merchants in the CNP world will be minimal; certainly no more than a few numbers of credit cards but probably less. I do not think the CP merchants will feel it much either. Consumers, on the other hand, are going to take a huge hit. As you probably know, credit card holder's liability is limited to $50 under FTC regulations but I do not think there is any such limit for debit cards. The card holder is responsible for keeping the PIN private and shame on him if it gets out and he does not report the card stolen.
And yes the banks will almost certainly do what they can to keep their card holding customers happy, particularly if the cleaned out account can be traced to a compromised PIN by whoever it shakes out is accountable. Will that responsibility always be traceable? I do not know. But even if the banks in the end cover those losses, the cardholder has to deal with his account being cleaned out and all that goes with it.
Fraud Protection on the long term
The big concern for the merchant, on line and off, is if the consumer confidence disappear. We already have confirmation that confidence in online transactions has been falling a bit. This first debit/PIN compromise by itself is survivable, but if it turns out that it was not a one-time thing and we have all of a sudden discovered that PIN transactions are not as safe as we thought. Well, then on line merchants are in trouble and brick & mortar could be in trouble as well.
The bad guys that have this debit card data are not going to attack online merchants for goods that they will have to convert to cash. They have been walking straight to the ATMs for the green dollar.
The impact on merchants in the CNP world will be minimal; certainly no more than a few numbers of credit cards but probably less. I do not think the CP merchants will feel it much either. Consumers, on the other hand, are going to take a huge hit. As you probably know, credit card holder's liability is limited to $50 under FTC regulations but I do not think there is any such limit for debit cards. The card holder is responsible for keeping the PIN private and shame on him if it gets out and he does not report the card stolen.
And yes the banks will almost certainly do what they can to keep their card holding customers happy, particularly if the cleaned out account can be traced to a compromised PIN by whoever it shakes out is accountable. Will that responsibility always be traceable? I do not know. But even if the banks in the end cover those losses, the cardholder has to deal with his account being cleaned out and all that goes with it.
Fraud Protection on the long term
The big concern for the merchant, on line and off, is if the consumer confidence disappear. We already have confirmation that confidence in online transactions has been falling a bit. This first debit/PIN compromise by itself is survivable, but if it turns out that it was not a one-time thing and we have all of a sudden discovered that PIN transactions are not as safe as we thought. Well, then on line merchants are in trouble and brick & mortar could be in trouble as well.
An Organic Herbal Tea Blend
With US$5 billion market in the United States alone in 2003, a 500% increase in 10 years, tea is a well established industry that is quickly growing. Tea bags, loose teas, tea shops, and gourmet teas are only a few examples of the outlets for this ever increasing number. Though sales have been mainly rooted in the standard teas stemming from the Camelia sinensis plant (Green tea, Oolong tea, and Black tea), a vast increase in herbal and natural medicines in the western world has brought upon a virtual explosion of Organic Herbal Tea Blend, releasing any confinements there may have previously been.
Now it is not only Big Business that is apart of this industry as the infinite number of herbal tea blends are combing with the free commerce of the internet. This conception is creating new life in an industry that had been patiently waiting. New companies are forming, new mixtures are being created, and now even new tea bags are being designed.
The machine manufactured tea bags are still standard in market where cost is being put before quality. A metal staple is used to close a bag filled with low quality tea dust, which is known to have very low health benefits and give a more bitter taste than its whole leaf loose tea counterpart. Due to the manufacturing techniques used by these production factories, tea dust is the only filler able to be injected with the machines used to mass produce these bags. As the general size of each organic herbal tea blend is larger, they are unable to be used with these processed bags.
Second in popularity is a relatively new pyramid shaped tea bag. A more spacious bag allows for a free floating of the loose tea that is inside. Though higher in quality than the stapled standard, problems of this style include a large shape and size that makes bulk packaging difficult. Also, most bags are filled with green and oolong loose teas, as opposed to organic herbal tea.
With the combined short falls of these two bags, the ever increasing number of organic herbal tea blends and home based companies are in desperate need for a tea bag to match their unique nature. Fortunately as the number of companies is increasing, and more money is entering into the market, handmade gourmet tea bags are being created, better matching the ingenuity behind each organic herbal tea blend. It is very possible that as the number organic blends increase in popularity, raising the desire for organic products and higher health benefits, consumers will be more willing to pay slightly higher prices to receive significantly higher in quality tea bags. With this in mind, it very well could be that a unique organic herbal tea blend could be your gateway to differentiation in a busy tea industry.
Now it is not only Big Business that is apart of this industry as the infinite number of herbal tea blends are combing with the free commerce of the internet. This conception is creating new life in an industry that had been patiently waiting. New companies are forming, new mixtures are being created, and now even new tea bags are being designed.
The machine manufactured tea bags are still standard in market where cost is being put before quality. A metal staple is used to close a bag filled with low quality tea dust, which is known to have very low health benefits and give a more bitter taste than its whole leaf loose tea counterpart. Due to the manufacturing techniques used by these production factories, tea dust is the only filler able to be injected with the machines used to mass produce these bags. As the general size of each organic herbal tea blend is larger, they are unable to be used with these processed bags.
Second in popularity is a relatively new pyramid shaped tea bag. A more spacious bag allows for a free floating of the loose tea that is inside. Though higher in quality than the stapled standard, problems of this style include a large shape and size that makes bulk packaging difficult. Also, most bags are filled with green and oolong loose teas, as opposed to organic herbal tea.
With the combined short falls of these two bags, the ever increasing number of organic herbal tea blends and home based companies are in desperate need for a tea bag to match their unique nature. Fortunately as the number of companies is increasing, and more money is entering into the market, handmade gourmet tea bags are being created, better matching the ingenuity behind each organic herbal tea blend. It is very possible that as the number organic blends increase in popularity, raising the desire for organic products and higher health benefits, consumers will be more willing to pay slightly higher prices to receive significantly higher in quality tea bags. With this in mind, it very well could be that a unique organic herbal tea blend could be your gateway to differentiation in a busy tea industry.
How Can a Drug Store Founded in 1838 Survive in The 21st.Century?
When my daughter and I meet for lunch in Greenwich Village, we always pass by Bigelow's Apothecary. I asked her if she shopped there, and she remarked that their Alchemy mascara is the best ever. (I had to take her word for it.)
I spoke with Bigelow´s current proprietor, Ian Ginsberg, and the Bigelow's story is both a fascinating piece of New York nostalgia, and a demonstration of the importance of change in business.
C. O. Bigelow Apothecaries has been a familiar sight in New York's Greenwich Village for over 160 years. Founded in 1838 by Dr. Galen Hunter as the Village Apothecary Shop, it was bought and renamed in 1920 by Clarence Otis Bigelow.
The original store was located a couple doors down from the current address, but in 1902, the ambitious Bigelow built a new building for himself which has housed the pharmacy for the last hundred years.
The Sixth Avenue drugstore still looks very much the way it did in the nineteenth century, and the business philosophy - integrating innovative change with unparalleled customer service - has remained a constant as well.
Pharmacist and businessman Ian Ginsberg now heads up the landmark shop, which came to him through his father. His family first became involved in the store when his grandfather took the helm a full century after its doors first opened.
He is just as much of a mover and shaker as C.O. Bigelow, and he has helped usher the business into the 21st century.
To keep the business moving forward, he took it on the Internet. Bigelow Chemists now has two e-commerce sites, one for their well-known house brand of cosmetics and skincare products.
They are two separate companies offering two separate but related brands. Ian decided to keep the sites separate (although Alchemy Cosmetics can be purchased from the Bigelow site) because he didn't want to dilute either brand.
Being in the catalog business prepared them well for the addition of e-commerce. They had the manpower and facilities to process and package orders and manage the remote sales. Their web sales, most of which come from outside New York, have surpassed their catalog sales:
"It's like a catalog that can go into anyone's home, and we can manage the content on a daily basis. It is a great thing."
Ian saw the potential of the Internet as a business building tool and went on to create a site and online store for the shop. A sound decision, he feels, and one that no business owner today can afford not to make.
"With the cost of building web sites today falling so low, with the way you can do this really inexpensively and still retain control of your branding, you've got to be crazy not to at least have some sort of representation online."
"Who opens the Yellow Pages anymore? For the cost of a little yellow and black ad in the book, you can have ten pages online in full color, describing everything you do."
"The first question people ask you these days is `What is your email address?´ That means that they're checking their email every day. And if they're checking their email every day that means that they've got a browser window open every day. So think about the guy who is checking his email, has a browser open right in front of his face, but doesn't have a website for his own business. It doesn't make sense!"
Ian finds that the web site speeds every aspect of the transaction, from a customer's product selection, to the placing of the order, to the packing and delivery.
Our biggest source of referrals has come from the press. We get a substantial amount of PR, and we always include the web address or our toll-free number so we can get names that way, but most of our catalog requests come directly through the website."
These referrals allow people to seek out the website of their own volition. Because they don't buy information or harvest the email addresses of their catalog and bricks-and-mortar clients, they aren't trying to force their clientele to adopt new ways of doing things before they're ready. This is particularly important when you consider that not all of their customers are young, hip, and fashion-forward: many have been regulars since Ian's grandfather bought the store, and perhaps earlier than that!
Ian travels all over the world looking for unique health and beauty products, and imports many brands hard to find here in the states. His two wholesale companies import and distribute personal care items, and manufacture Bigelow's house brands.
"We make soaps, perfume oils, essential oils, massage oils, cosmetic bags, and many other items. And we manufacture Alchemy, our own complete line of cosmetics."
The web site, then, serves a secondary service: as much as it is a point of sale to the consumer, it is also a full-color brochure Ian can point at when other companies express an interest in carrying or distributing Alchemy or Bigelow's brand.
I spoke with Bigelow´s current proprietor, Ian Ginsberg, and the Bigelow's story is both a fascinating piece of New York nostalgia, and a demonstration of the importance of change in business.
C. O. Bigelow Apothecaries has been a familiar sight in New York's Greenwich Village for over 160 years. Founded in 1838 by Dr. Galen Hunter as the Village Apothecary Shop, it was bought and renamed in 1920 by Clarence Otis Bigelow.
The original store was located a couple doors down from the current address, but in 1902, the ambitious Bigelow built a new building for himself which has housed the pharmacy for the last hundred years.
The Sixth Avenue drugstore still looks very much the way it did in the nineteenth century, and the business philosophy - integrating innovative change with unparalleled customer service - has remained a constant as well.
Pharmacist and businessman Ian Ginsberg now heads up the landmark shop, which came to him through his father. His family first became involved in the store when his grandfather took the helm a full century after its doors first opened.
He is just as much of a mover and shaker as C.O. Bigelow, and he has helped usher the business into the 21st century.
To keep the business moving forward, he took it on the Internet. Bigelow Chemists now has two e-commerce sites, one for their well-known house brand of cosmetics and skincare products.
They are two separate companies offering two separate but related brands. Ian decided to keep the sites separate (although Alchemy Cosmetics can be purchased from the Bigelow site) because he didn't want to dilute either brand.
Being in the catalog business prepared them well for the addition of e-commerce. They had the manpower and facilities to process and package orders and manage the remote sales. Their web sales, most of which come from outside New York, have surpassed their catalog sales:
"It's like a catalog that can go into anyone's home, and we can manage the content on a daily basis. It is a great thing."
Ian saw the potential of the Internet as a business building tool and went on to create a site and online store for the shop. A sound decision, he feels, and one that no business owner today can afford not to make.
"With the cost of building web sites today falling so low, with the way you can do this really inexpensively and still retain control of your branding, you've got to be crazy not to at least have some sort of representation online."
"Who opens the Yellow Pages anymore? For the cost of a little yellow and black ad in the book, you can have ten pages online in full color, describing everything you do."
"The first question people ask you these days is `What is your email address?´ That means that they're checking their email every day. And if they're checking their email every day that means that they've got a browser window open every day. So think about the guy who is checking his email, has a browser open right in front of his face, but doesn't have a website for his own business. It doesn't make sense!"
Ian finds that the web site speeds every aspect of the transaction, from a customer's product selection, to the placing of the order, to the packing and delivery.
Our biggest source of referrals has come from the press. We get a substantial amount of PR, and we always include the web address or our toll-free number so we can get names that way, but most of our catalog requests come directly through the website."
These referrals allow people to seek out the website of their own volition. Because they don't buy information or harvest the email addresses of their catalog and bricks-and-mortar clients, they aren't trying to force their clientele to adopt new ways of doing things before they're ready. This is particularly important when you consider that not all of their customers are young, hip, and fashion-forward: many have been regulars since Ian's grandfather bought the store, and perhaps earlier than that!
Ian travels all over the world looking for unique health and beauty products, and imports many brands hard to find here in the states. His two wholesale companies import and distribute personal care items, and manufacture Bigelow's house brands.
"We make soaps, perfume oils, essential oils, massage oils, cosmetic bags, and many other items. And we manufacture Alchemy, our own complete line of cosmetics."
The web site, then, serves a secondary service: as much as it is a point of sale to the consumer, it is also a full-color brochure Ian can point at when other companies express an interest in carrying or distributing Alchemy or Bigelow's brand.
Selling on Web? You Can Do It
“Sell on web”, the dapper man in striped suit was saying, “it’s easy.” Robin knew he heard that before. To him the question was not ‘if’, but ‘how’. He always thought selling on web is a hallowed precinct belonging to only a few. Could he be one of them, he wasn’t sure.
Back home early, Robin crouched before his desktop and started shooting queries at Google. Soon enough, he zeroed on what he wanted. “Phew”, he exclaimed, “what a gem!” He was looking at SBI!’s website.
Robin was orthodox. He believed in the adage “whatever comes on a platter isn’t worth it”. He found solace in SBI!’s firm advice to work hard at it. But wasn’t it that SBI! gave all that one needed to succeed on web? Robin decided to take note of all that SBI! offered.
Own A Website
The basics first. Did SBI! offer domain name, building website, web hosting, unlimited pages, page templates, unlimited email accounts, or for that matter, unlimited data transfer and unlimited hosting space?
Yes, SBI! offered all these and more. Robin knew old-styled hosting providers would never provide unlimited hosting space and unlimited data transfer. Not SBI!. That meant when he owned a website in SBI!, he owned from the head to tail of it. Nothing less.
Ecommerce Now
You named it, you had it. Robin was eager that he must have catalog-display of his products, a fully-featured shopping cart and credit card processing as well. He wasn’t disappointed. To be true, SBI! overwhelmed him. Literally. Robin could either use SBI!’s Store-Build-It feature or plug-n-play with leading 3rd parties that delivered ‘pre-sold visitors’.
The icing on the cake was that SBI! included affiliate program too as part of ecommerce package. Was that an error he saw? Nope! He rubbed eyes and confirmed again.
Search Engine Optimization
Robin now leaned back and thought. He would require search engine optimization for his website. Unless he did that - he had recently learnt in a seminar – there was no way his site would ever appear in top search results. But wasn’t search engine optimization an expert job? He tried to figure out what help he must have if he wanted to do himself.
Keyword research tool for sure (he always thought ‘keyword research’ was better than plain old ‘keyword selection’). What else? He must know what the logfiles said. He must have click tracking option and their proper analysis. Search engine ranking report for various keywords was another help as also link exchange program.
Here he paused awhile and thought hard. Did he need any more help? Well, if he could have website analysis for search engine compatibility, nothing like it. And above all, why not ability to track search engine spiders and search engine listing report?
Back home early, Robin crouched before his desktop and started shooting queries at Google. Soon enough, he zeroed on what he wanted. “Phew”, he exclaimed, “what a gem!” He was looking at SBI!’s website.
Robin was orthodox. He believed in the adage “whatever comes on a platter isn’t worth it”. He found solace in SBI!’s firm advice to work hard at it. But wasn’t it that SBI! gave all that one needed to succeed on web? Robin decided to take note of all that SBI! offered.
Own A Website
The basics first. Did SBI! offer domain name, building website, web hosting, unlimited pages, page templates, unlimited email accounts, or for that matter, unlimited data transfer and unlimited hosting space?
Yes, SBI! offered all these and more. Robin knew old-styled hosting providers would never provide unlimited hosting space and unlimited data transfer. Not SBI!. That meant when he owned a website in SBI!, he owned from the head to tail of it. Nothing less.
Ecommerce Now
You named it, you had it. Robin was eager that he must have catalog-display of his products, a fully-featured shopping cart and credit card processing as well. He wasn’t disappointed. To be true, SBI! overwhelmed him. Literally. Robin could either use SBI!’s Store-Build-It feature or plug-n-play with leading 3rd parties that delivered ‘pre-sold visitors’.
The icing on the cake was that SBI! included affiliate program too as part of ecommerce package. Was that an error he saw? Nope! He rubbed eyes and confirmed again.
Search Engine Optimization
Robin now leaned back and thought. He would require search engine optimization for his website. Unless he did that - he had recently learnt in a seminar – there was no way his site would ever appear in top search results. But wasn’t search engine optimization an expert job? He tried to figure out what help he must have if he wanted to do himself.
Keyword research tool for sure (he always thought ‘keyword research’ was better than plain old ‘keyword selection’). What else? He must know what the logfiles said. He must have click tracking option and their proper analysis. Search engine ranking report for various keywords was another help as also link exchange program.
Here he paused awhile and thought hard. Did he need any more help? Well, if he could have website analysis for search engine compatibility, nothing like it. And above all, why not ability to track search engine spiders and search engine listing report?
E-Commerce and Drinking Water
Safety, Convenience and Customer Service Combine for Customer Satisfaction
E-Commerce is coming of age with millions of new customers from internet sales for a wide variety of products. Advances in web site design, payment mechanisms and delivery systems have met the increased demand for online ordering.
With the advent of on-line ordering firms like Amazon and E-Bay, what started out as a small business has morphed into a multi-billion dollar industry. The key to success in the field of E Commerce is the offering of high quality products coupled with state of the art technology to ensure ease of ordering and secure payment mechanisms.
The bottled water industry is an ideal beneficiary of e-commerce technology because of the large number of customers served and the frequency of transactions and purchases.
E-commerce Defined
E-commerce is similar to other forms of commerce except that it involves the buying and selling of goods over the Internet. E-commerce sites range from a simple web page highlighting a single item to dynamic fully developed on-line catalogs featuring thousands of products. The common theme and benefit in e-commerce sites is instant purchase, instant payment (if desired) and instant gratification for the customer.
Over the years, the e-commerce web has blossomed into a multi-billion dollar industry yearly, with significant growth projected over the next 5 years. A defining characteristic is that all ecommerce web sites accept a type of online payment, whether through a third party or directly with a merchant account..
E-commerce: The Wave of the Future
The internet is changing world view of shoppers. Instant gratification is a reality Utilizing e-commerce allows customers the ability to quickly take delivery of the goods they require and desire. In addition, the Internet is perhaps the best sales tool ever invented as it allows customers to browse endlessly in privacy. They can return and order again and again without ever leaving their home.
Most experts agree that it is only a matter of time before all sales-oriented companies will have some sort of e-commerce presence in order to remain competitive and the development of software and tools to improve the productivity of e-commerce sites remains strong. As more and better technology is developed, e-commerce will greatly expand.
Secure Payment and SSL(Secure Socket Layer): The Heart of the System
SSL(Secure Socket Layer) has been the de facto standard and heart of the system for e-commerce transaction security, and it's likely to remain so well into the future.
SSL is based on encryption. SSL encrypts data, like credit cards numbers (as well other personally identifiable information), which prevents unauthorized use. An SSL protected page is identified when the address begins with "https" and there is a padlock icon at the bottom of the page.
E-Commerce is coming of age with millions of new customers from internet sales for a wide variety of products. Advances in web site design, payment mechanisms and delivery systems have met the increased demand for online ordering.
With the advent of on-line ordering firms like Amazon and E-Bay, what started out as a small business has morphed into a multi-billion dollar industry. The key to success in the field of E Commerce is the offering of high quality products coupled with state of the art technology to ensure ease of ordering and secure payment mechanisms.
The bottled water industry is an ideal beneficiary of e-commerce technology because of the large number of customers served and the frequency of transactions and purchases.
E-commerce Defined
E-commerce is similar to other forms of commerce except that it involves the buying and selling of goods over the Internet. E-commerce sites range from a simple web page highlighting a single item to dynamic fully developed on-line catalogs featuring thousands of products. The common theme and benefit in e-commerce sites is instant purchase, instant payment (if desired) and instant gratification for the customer.
Over the years, the e-commerce web has blossomed into a multi-billion dollar industry yearly, with significant growth projected over the next 5 years. A defining characteristic is that all ecommerce web sites accept a type of online payment, whether through a third party or directly with a merchant account..
E-commerce: The Wave of the Future
The internet is changing world view of shoppers. Instant gratification is a reality Utilizing e-commerce allows customers the ability to quickly take delivery of the goods they require and desire. In addition, the Internet is perhaps the best sales tool ever invented as it allows customers to browse endlessly in privacy. They can return and order again and again without ever leaving their home.
Most experts agree that it is only a matter of time before all sales-oriented companies will have some sort of e-commerce presence in order to remain competitive and the development of software and tools to improve the productivity of e-commerce sites remains strong. As more and better technology is developed, e-commerce will greatly expand.
Secure Payment and SSL(Secure Socket Layer): The Heart of the System
SSL(Secure Socket Layer) has been the de facto standard and heart of the system for e-commerce transaction security, and it's likely to remain so well into the future.
SSL is based on encryption. SSL encrypts data, like credit cards numbers (as well other personally identifiable information), which prevents unauthorized use. An SSL protected page is identified when the address begins with "https" and there is a padlock icon at the bottom of the page.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Checklist for Choosing a Fulfillment Service Company
Order fulfillment, or delivery of goods, is a part of commerce operation once an order is received. Fulfillment refers to those providing the storing of customers' materials until they request delivery to themselves or to a third party. Vendors also provide fulfillment services of requests received form a customer by mail, phone, fax or any other electronic means, better known as “pick and pack.”
Order fulfillment is usually made by contacting the US Postal Service or delivery/logistics firm referrals, although word of mouth from colleagues and partners is generally the best way to find a company in your area, which will work for you. The Mailing and Fulfillment Service Association (MFSA) is another good source to find fulfillment companies and their references.
Some companies specialize only in literature fulfillment services. Others may offer a range of corporate business solutions, such as catalog and literature fulfillment, magazine premiums, kit assembly, hand fulfillment, inventory and warehouse space, along with a broad line of shipping services, in addition to order fulfillment, processing your orders, payments and pick and pack your products.
These fulfillment companies are particularly appreciated by companies with established commerce, e-commerce and telemarketing activities. Doing research for fulfillment services, the most important observation on your checklist is to look at the companies’ profile to find their capabilities. This makes it easier to partner with fulfillment companies that meet your order fulfillment or literature fulfillment needs.
Double check how many years the fulfillment services has been in business, since the better companies are those that have been providing services for a long time, guaranteeing they will not take your money and be gone tomorrow. Although, new companies should not be mistaken for being incompetent, just beginning.
In fact, many of them are just starters but have highly qualified professionals just waiting for the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to establishing a reliable partnership. Continuing with your checklist, ask the fulfillment companies to describe the areas of their business, such as order fulfillment, fulfillment services, literature fulfillment, etc.
Through their description, you can have a better idea of their services whether communicated verbally or provided by means of printed literature. If your business engages an important amount of money in your chosen fulfillment companies and you are concerned about them, check with outside sources like your local Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business Bureau, Dun & Bradstreet, as well as with the different delivery services they work with.
Reliable fulfillment companies should comprise financial stability, a positive background history, reputation in the marketplace, equipment list and fulfillment services offered (order fulfillment, literature fulfillment, etc.). Companies with quality control processes, postal knowledge and solid service rules in written or electronic form are your best option when choosing a fulfillment service company.
Order fulfillment is usually made by contacting the US Postal Service or delivery/logistics firm referrals, although word of mouth from colleagues and partners is generally the best way to find a company in your area, which will work for you. The Mailing and Fulfillment Service Association (MFSA) is another good source to find fulfillment companies and their references.
Some companies specialize only in literature fulfillment services. Others may offer a range of corporate business solutions, such as catalog and literature fulfillment, magazine premiums, kit assembly, hand fulfillment, inventory and warehouse space, along with a broad line of shipping services, in addition to order fulfillment, processing your orders, payments and pick and pack your products.
These fulfillment companies are particularly appreciated by companies with established commerce, e-commerce and telemarketing activities. Doing research for fulfillment services, the most important observation on your checklist is to look at the companies’ profile to find their capabilities. This makes it easier to partner with fulfillment companies that meet your order fulfillment or literature fulfillment needs.
Double check how many years the fulfillment services has been in business, since the better companies are those that have been providing services for a long time, guaranteeing they will not take your money and be gone tomorrow. Although, new companies should not be mistaken for being incompetent, just beginning.
In fact, many of them are just starters but have highly qualified professionals just waiting for the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to establishing a reliable partnership. Continuing with your checklist, ask the fulfillment companies to describe the areas of their business, such as order fulfillment, fulfillment services, literature fulfillment, etc.
Through their description, you can have a better idea of their services whether communicated verbally or provided by means of printed literature. If your business engages an important amount of money in your chosen fulfillment companies and you are concerned about them, check with outside sources like your local Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business Bureau, Dun & Bradstreet, as well as with the different delivery services they work with.
Reliable fulfillment companies should comprise financial stability, a positive background history, reputation in the marketplace, equipment list and fulfillment services offered (order fulfillment, literature fulfillment, etc.). Companies with quality control processes, postal knowledge and solid service rules in written or electronic form are your best option when choosing a fulfillment service company.
Options of E-commerce Order Fulfillment
With the Internet boom, e-commerce is a top-notch activity requiring more often a fulfillment service. If you take online orders, an order fulfillment service can help you enormously, saving you from the tedious packing and shipping process that is probably not your core competency, as you probably have not had the experience of a fulfillment company you can partner with.
By means of drop shipping, a form of blind shipping of merchandise from the manufacturer to the end-user, fulfillment companies are the helpful hand saving your time. Otherwise, you would have to forward to the end-user the merchandise and the lack of experience on this process may increase your costs and cause delay.
Because time can make the difference between a successful e-commerce business and another closing sooner than you expected time, the choice of your fulfillment company is an important decision that you must analyze. Starting with the advantage of having your inventory stored off-site, order fulfillment enables the small e-commerce owner to store a larger quantity and variety of inventory.
The fulfillment service will be in charge to receive and organize your inventory in its land-based storage service, while you will be able to log in through the fulfillment company's web-based interface to check your current inventory and the drop shipping history of each item. Many online e-commerce sites and small retailers use drop shipment to close their deals, as an example, eBay sellers.
Order fulfillment can be tracked online and even automated, accepting shipping requests via your web-based application, emailing the invoices generated directly to the fulfillment company's storage center, from where the shipping request is received, and the items ordered are automatically packaged and shipped to the customer, in fact, a drop shipping process.
Outsourcing your order fulfillment is convenient, even if you are just an individual running a small e-commerce website. A fulfillment company for small commerce sites, independent vendors and individuals willing to start an e-commerce activity, will be pleased to reply to all your enquires related to order fulfillment and drop shipping, as well as its overall fulfillment service.
A few factors to consider when selecting a drop shipping and fulfillment company is the location of the fulfillment service, size of the storage facilities, shipping options provided, turn-around time, order fulfillment, communication between the company, the distributor and customer service, error rate managed by the company as well as the gross costs of the service.
More than storage, shipping costs are the highest item within e-commerce order fulfillment, so make sure to find a fulfillment company offering you a savings in delivery, and depending on your e-commerce approach, verify if the company provides domestic and international shipping, returns processing, secure payment gateway, electronic support, online ordering, reporting and tracking, as well as a customer service call center.
By means of drop shipping, a form of blind shipping of merchandise from the manufacturer to the end-user, fulfillment companies are the helpful hand saving your time. Otherwise, you would have to forward to the end-user the merchandise and the lack of experience on this process may increase your costs and cause delay.
Because time can make the difference between a successful e-commerce business and another closing sooner than you expected time, the choice of your fulfillment company is an important decision that you must analyze. Starting with the advantage of having your inventory stored off-site, order fulfillment enables the small e-commerce owner to store a larger quantity and variety of inventory.
The fulfillment service will be in charge to receive and organize your inventory in its land-based storage service, while you will be able to log in through the fulfillment company's web-based interface to check your current inventory and the drop shipping history of each item. Many online e-commerce sites and small retailers use drop shipment to close their deals, as an example, eBay sellers.
Order fulfillment can be tracked online and even automated, accepting shipping requests via your web-based application, emailing the invoices generated directly to the fulfillment company's storage center, from where the shipping request is received, and the items ordered are automatically packaged and shipped to the customer, in fact, a drop shipping process.
Outsourcing your order fulfillment is convenient, even if you are just an individual running a small e-commerce website. A fulfillment company for small commerce sites, independent vendors and individuals willing to start an e-commerce activity, will be pleased to reply to all your enquires related to order fulfillment and drop shipping, as well as its overall fulfillment service.
A few factors to consider when selecting a drop shipping and fulfillment company is the location of the fulfillment service, size of the storage facilities, shipping options provided, turn-around time, order fulfillment, communication between the company, the distributor and customer service, error rate managed by the company as well as the gross costs of the service.
More than storage, shipping costs are the highest item within e-commerce order fulfillment, so make sure to find a fulfillment company offering you a savings in delivery, and depending on your e-commerce approach, verify if the company provides domestic and international shipping, returns processing, secure payment gateway, electronic support, online ordering, reporting and tracking, as well as a customer service call center.
9 Tips to Make Your Product Photos Sizzle
If you are selling products online, be it your own online store or in an auction site, good photos are a must!
Here are 9 tips if you want to ensure your product photos stand out!
1. Snap a shot of a portion of the product. It could be half or three-quarter of the product. You don't need to show the whole product. Use a thumbnail of the partial product to attract customers to click for a larger photo.
2. Angle the product. Must all photos be shot from the front and flat straight? No. Angle your camera so it shoots... well... from an angle.
3. If your product is combined from a number of parts, have a separate photo showing the separate bobs and bits. This allows the customer know how it all fits together and what they'll be getting when they buy it. And describe the parts.
4. If the product you sell is tiny or elaborate, show off the incredible detailing of this tiny product. Shoot close-ups of the product and get more of the intricate details.
5. Show how it is used. If the product is best shown being used, shoot the photo with a model using the product especially if it is new or complicated. For instance, having one or two darling children fiddling/using/wearing your products (if they're meant for children) always helps.
6. If you are selling clothes, get someone to model them. If your model is shy, tell him or her to turn their face sideways. Or better, just focus the camera on their bodies. Many people love to see how clothes drape and fit the actual body!
7. If you have the same product in different colours, why not arrange them in a circle and shoot? It's always attractive and at the same time, shows your customers the range of colours available.
8. If you are selling photo frames, why not insert a photo into the frame to make it look lively? Inanimate objects always look better when they're shown used.
9. If you're completely lost for ideas, pick up great catalogues and brochures (my favourites are those by IKEA). Study how products are featured and how they are arranged.
Here are 9 tips if you want to ensure your product photos stand out!
1. Snap a shot of a portion of the product. It could be half or three-quarter of the product. You don't need to show the whole product. Use a thumbnail of the partial product to attract customers to click for a larger photo.
2. Angle the product. Must all photos be shot from the front and flat straight? No. Angle your camera so it shoots... well... from an angle.
3. If your product is combined from a number of parts, have a separate photo showing the separate bobs and bits. This allows the customer know how it all fits together and what they'll be getting when they buy it. And describe the parts.
4. If the product you sell is tiny or elaborate, show off the incredible detailing of this tiny product. Shoot close-ups of the product and get more of the intricate details.
5. Show how it is used. If the product is best shown being used, shoot the photo with a model using the product especially if it is new or complicated. For instance, having one or two darling children fiddling/using/wearing your products (if they're meant for children) always helps.
6. If you are selling clothes, get someone to model them. If your model is shy, tell him or her to turn their face sideways. Or better, just focus the camera on their bodies. Many people love to see how clothes drape and fit the actual body!
7. If you have the same product in different colours, why not arrange them in a circle and shoot? It's always attractive and at the same time, shows your customers the range of colours available.
8. If you are selling photo frames, why not insert a photo into the frame to make it look lively? Inanimate objects always look better when they're shown used.
9. If you're completely lost for ideas, pick up great catalogues and brochures (my favourites are those by IKEA). Study how products are featured and how they are arranged.
Online Credit Card Merchant Accounts
A recent survey indicates that when you accept credit cards online, you can expect your sales to increase by an astounding 50 to 400%. If experts are to be believed, in this fast-paced world you simply can't compete if you don't accept credit cards. For the online web entrepreneur, the most important factor in credit card processing is how many products you think you can realistically sell in a month.
Business firms are often forced to extend credit to increase sales. In some businesses, the entire sale takes place on credit, cash sales being negligible. In certain other businesses, hire purchase and installment payments are the normal practices. Even in those cases where the sales to consumers are on a cash basis, credit is extended to the distribution channels. It is essential for any business firm to evolve a clear policy on credit and exercise proper control of it.
The firm must ensure that customers and channels do not exploit the credit policy of the firm. Credit transactions should not turn into bad debts. Credit has two cost dimensions: the interest on the money involved in the credit transaction, and the risk of bad debts. Bad debts must be seen and understood as an important part of the cost of credit. They erode the profits of the firm.
All credit transactions have the potential of becoming a bad debt. And even if they are sound, credit transactions always have another serious implication-- of affecting the liquidity of the firm. An analysis of outstandings and overdues will highlight the corrective action to be taken. Some firms offer cash rebates to customers in lieu of credit, with a view to reducing credit transactions and accelerating recoveries. Proper credit rating of the client is the fundamental step in credit control. Credit rating ensures that the credit worthiness of the client is assessed objectively before the firm proceeds with the risk of extending credit facility to him.
Online Merchant Accounts provides detai
Business firms are often forced to extend credit to increase sales. In some businesses, the entire sale takes place on credit, cash sales being negligible. In certain other businesses, hire purchase and installment payments are the normal practices. Even in those cases where the sales to consumers are on a cash basis, credit is extended to the distribution channels. It is essential for any business firm to evolve a clear policy on credit and exercise proper control of it.
The firm must ensure that customers and channels do not exploit the credit policy of the firm. Credit transactions should not turn into bad debts. Credit has two cost dimensions: the interest on the money involved in the credit transaction, and the risk of bad debts. Bad debts must be seen and understood as an important part of the cost of credit. They erode the profits of the firm.
All credit transactions have the potential of becoming a bad debt. And even if they are sound, credit transactions always have another serious implication-- of affecting the liquidity of the firm. An analysis of outstandings and overdues will highlight the corrective action to be taken. Some firms offer cash rebates to customers in lieu of credit, with a view to reducing credit transactions and accelerating recoveries. Proper credit rating of the client is the fundamental step in credit control. Credit rating ensures that the credit worthiness of the client is assessed objectively before the firm proceeds with the risk of extending credit facility to him.
Online Merchant Accounts provides detai
Monday, January 22, 2007
What You Should Know About Shopping Online
If 299,999 planes land safely that's not news. It takes just one to crash and that becomes news around the world and flying is seen as unsafe. Over 100 countries are at peace but the few that are fighting wars make the news. Understandably, a newscaster is not likely to think it's a lead story to say, "Well, everything went well today. People went to work, returned home, showered, ate and slept. They are expected to get up next morning and do the same thing." Media has become entertainment. We need to give the people information to excite them or at least to pull at their heartstrings.
The same happens with the Internet. As I watched the news last night, I saw a story about some attempt to defraud clients of a bank online. So some quack decided to "try a thing." He/she of course got international media attention. The $8 billion that was spent safely on the Internet over the Christmas holidays, however, didn't get the same kind of attention. So there is a news bias and we need to be aware of it.
It's important to be alert but there's no need to panic. The Internet is probably one of the safest places to do business because there is usually very little, if any, human intervention. A credit card is charged, a secure server sends the money to a bank account and the seller in most cases never even sees the number. You can tempt a man but you can't tempt a computer. It would just do what it is programmed to do. This, of course, means that computers can be programmed to do fraud. This is why it's important to be on the look out and make sure you're not the one out of 300,000.
Here are the basics to keep in mind when shopping online:
# Look for the "https:" which is also known as the Security Certificate (SSL).
# Search for reviews on the company. Do your homework.
# If there's a phone number on the website, call to check if there are real people at the other end.
# Don't buy from any merchant who tries to hide his/her identity.
# Keep a print record of your transaction.
# Report any fraudulent activity to the relevant authorities of the country from which you bought right away.
# Beware of businesses from countries with weak fraud laws. Again, research will pay off.
The International Internet Authority has a list of countries whose businesses will not get 'High Assurance SSL Certificates.' Personally I find the list looks more political than anything else. So I wouldn't use it as a guide to tell me where to buy from or not. What I would use the list for is to check the honesty of the merchants. If the website says it has a 'High Assurance SSL' then I would know for sure that it is being less than honest.
However, in today's world with 'skyboxes' and Internet telephony, it is easy to fake an address and pretend to be from the U.S.A. for example. In fact the few people I know who have been "burnt" online were defrauded by apparent US-based merchants. Just so you're aware, I'll actually tell you about the one I remember: Brooke Distributors out of Miami. Again, just for your knowledge, here's the list of countries from the IIA: Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Rwanda, Sudan, and Syria.
Hey, if in doubt about a company from whatever country, just don't buy.
Some people have also opted to get a special low-limit credit card solely for Internet transactions. That's smart too. What I know will be a big hit here is when we get an authorise-per-transaction system. So there's another Internet Opportunity for you. Talk to your bank and suggest the creation of a credit card that can only be used on an authorise-per-transaction basis. The cardholder would be able to log into his/her account on the Internet and specify, for example, "I am going to buy from X website and I authorise X amount." So if anything goes wrong, you don't lose much, but remember the news bias. Out of the 1 million transactions that go well, you'll only hear about the one that didn't.
The same happens with the Internet. As I watched the news last night, I saw a story about some attempt to defraud clients of a bank online. So some quack decided to "try a thing." He/she of course got international media attention. The $8 billion that was spent safely on the Internet over the Christmas holidays, however, didn't get the same kind of attention. So there is a news bias and we need to be aware of it.
It's important to be alert but there's no need to panic. The Internet is probably one of the safest places to do business because there is usually very little, if any, human intervention. A credit card is charged, a secure server sends the money to a bank account and the seller in most cases never even sees the number. You can tempt a man but you can't tempt a computer. It would just do what it is programmed to do. This, of course, means that computers can be programmed to do fraud. This is why it's important to be on the look out and make sure you're not the one out of 300,000.
Here are the basics to keep in mind when shopping online:
# Look for the "https:" which is also known as the Security Certificate (SSL).
# Search for reviews on the company. Do your homework.
# If there's a phone number on the website, call to check if there are real people at the other end.
# Don't buy from any merchant who tries to hide his/her identity.
# Keep a print record of your transaction.
# Report any fraudulent activity to the relevant authorities of the country from which you bought right away.
# Beware of businesses from countries with weak fraud laws. Again, research will pay off.
The International Internet Authority has a list of countries whose businesses will not get 'High Assurance SSL Certificates.' Personally I find the list looks more political than anything else. So I wouldn't use it as a guide to tell me where to buy from or not. What I would use the list for is to check the honesty of the merchants. If the website says it has a 'High Assurance SSL' then I would know for sure that it is being less than honest.
However, in today's world with 'skyboxes' and Internet telephony, it is easy to fake an address and pretend to be from the U.S.A. for example. In fact the few people I know who have been "burnt" online were defrauded by apparent US-based merchants. Just so you're aware, I'll actually tell you about the one I remember: Brooke Distributors out of Miami. Again, just for your knowledge, here's the list of countries from the IIA: Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Rwanda, Sudan, and Syria.
Hey, if in doubt about a company from whatever country, just don't buy.
Some people have also opted to get a special low-limit credit card solely for Internet transactions. That's smart too. What I know will be a big hit here is when we get an authorise-per-transaction system. So there's another Internet Opportunity for you. Talk to your bank and suggest the creation of a credit card that can only be used on an authorise-per-transaction basis. The cardholder would be able to log into his/her account on the Internet and specify, for example, "I am going to buy from X website and I authorise X amount." So if anything goes wrong, you don't lose much, but remember the news bias. Out of the 1 million transactions that go well, you'll only hear about the one that didn't.
Earn an Income from a Worldwide Market Using Your PC
Do you find there are not enough hours in a day to earn the sort of income you think you deserve? Have you reached an income ceiling and feel there is little chance of developing further in your current job? You may be good at what you do but there is still too much month at the end of the money. Think about it!
When a colleague of mine mentioned she was going to set up an internet business I was intrigued but wasn’t tempted myself. I didn’t have the expertise and wouldn’t know the first thing about creating and setting up a website let alone the business side of it. However, when after a few months she started to earn some serious money my attitude changed.
After doing a bit of investigation I purchased a product that would do most of the technical stuff for me and set about deciding how I could earn an income from my PC. It really wasn’t quite so difficult as I had imagined it to be. This is not to say it doesn’t involve a lot of work. It does! But for me it quickly become almost like a hobby and doesn’t feel like work at all. If you want to get rich quick this isn’t the way to do it – but let’s face it, that isn’t how things work.
Yet, if you want to build your passive income then this is the way. You will have to buy a few products to set you up but if you do your research properly this will be money well spent – it should pay back many, many times over.
Now you may ask - what expertise do I have that could earn an income? This is the big question and a pretty important one to! Sit down with a pencil and paper and write down all the options you have, these could be
Your expertise in your current job. You may be a fitness coach who has a skill of bringing out the best in your clients, you could create an ebook with your own specialized routines and motivational tips. You could be responsible for the computers at your workplace and have picked up some useful ways to optimise PCs, which software is best for certain tasks or where to get a good deal. We spend many hours a week working and can learn some very useful information that others would be prepared to pay for.
Your hobby Everyone has a hobby so why not take it further. Earning an income from your hobby is a great idea. Imagine if you could earn enough to live on! Do you enjoy messing about with motorbikes? Building model aeroplanes? Keeping pet rabbits? You get the idea. People want to know things about this sort of thing. Where do most people go for information these days – the internet! When my son wanted to make a paper mache Roman helmet I didn’t have a clue. I typed it in on Google and guess what? Sites that will tell you just exactly how to do it!
All you need to do is to recommend places to buy a rabbit, specialist motorcycle parts or the best models (so long as the provider has an affiliate scheme) and you could be earning commission from your knowledge gained from your hobby.
A special area of interest Perhaps like me you are fascinated by military history and visit battlefields or go on tours. Why not write about a particular period of history, the battles and the soldiers. You could recommend books, model soldiers and the best tour companies to use and again earn a commission. A popular topic for an ecommerce website is travel. Do you have a favourite holiday destination you visit on a regular basis? Do you know of great places to visit that a casual visitor would miss? Travel reviews written by ‘real’ people who have been there are very popular. Potential visitors want to know the real story behind the glossy brochures. You can tell it how it is, recommend the places to visit and the places to avoid. You set up a program with the hotels, villas and resorts and earn a commission!
An unusual/ interesting past time Okay this could be included under hobby but it gives me another subheading. Are you a member of an historic society who dresses up and re-enacts the lives of our ancestors? What a wealth of information and interesting stories you would have to share. Do you work in a wildlife sanctuary as a volunteer? Restore vintage cars? A part-time DJ or children’s party clown? Your knowledge and experience could be of interest to other people. This makes you the expert and they will listen to what you have to say AND your recommendations with commission involved of course. There are plenty of opportunities to exploit your knowledge and experience to make money. Choose a topic you have a passion for and it won’t seem like work at all!
The internet is growing rapidly with many thousands of new users appearing every day. Never before has it been possible to reach such a huge potential market with very little outlay. If you are willing to put in the work and experiment, you could build a substantial second income, and who knows, one day you could give up the day job and become an internet entrepreneur
When a colleague of mine mentioned she was going to set up an internet business I was intrigued but wasn’t tempted myself. I didn’t have the expertise and wouldn’t know the first thing about creating and setting up a website let alone the business side of it. However, when after a few months she started to earn some serious money my attitude changed.
After doing a bit of investigation I purchased a product that would do most of the technical stuff for me and set about deciding how I could earn an income from my PC. It really wasn’t quite so difficult as I had imagined it to be. This is not to say it doesn’t involve a lot of work. It does! But for me it quickly become almost like a hobby and doesn’t feel like work at all. If you want to get rich quick this isn’t the way to do it – but let’s face it, that isn’t how things work.
Yet, if you want to build your passive income then this is the way. You will have to buy a few products to set you up but if you do your research properly this will be money well spent – it should pay back many, many times over.
Now you may ask - what expertise do I have that could earn an income? This is the big question and a pretty important one to! Sit down with a pencil and paper and write down all the options you have, these could be
Your expertise in your current job. You may be a fitness coach who has a skill of bringing out the best in your clients, you could create an ebook with your own specialized routines and motivational tips. You could be responsible for the computers at your workplace and have picked up some useful ways to optimise PCs, which software is best for certain tasks or where to get a good deal. We spend many hours a week working and can learn some very useful information that others would be prepared to pay for.
Your hobby Everyone has a hobby so why not take it further. Earning an income from your hobby is a great idea. Imagine if you could earn enough to live on! Do you enjoy messing about with motorbikes? Building model aeroplanes? Keeping pet rabbits? You get the idea. People want to know things about this sort of thing. Where do most people go for information these days – the internet! When my son wanted to make a paper mache Roman helmet I didn’t have a clue. I typed it in on Google and guess what? Sites that will tell you just exactly how to do it!
All you need to do is to recommend places to buy a rabbit, specialist motorcycle parts or the best models (so long as the provider has an affiliate scheme) and you could be earning commission from your knowledge gained from your hobby.
A special area of interest Perhaps like me you are fascinated by military history and visit battlefields or go on tours. Why not write about a particular period of history, the battles and the soldiers. You could recommend books, model soldiers and the best tour companies to use and again earn a commission. A popular topic for an ecommerce website is travel. Do you have a favourite holiday destination you visit on a regular basis? Do you know of great places to visit that a casual visitor would miss? Travel reviews written by ‘real’ people who have been there are very popular. Potential visitors want to know the real story behind the glossy brochures. You can tell it how it is, recommend the places to visit and the places to avoid. You set up a program with the hotels, villas and resorts and earn a commission!
An unusual/ interesting past time Okay this could be included under hobby but it gives me another subheading. Are you a member of an historic society who dresses up and re-enacts the lives of our ancestors? What a wealth of information and interesting stories you would have to share. Do you work in a wildlife sanctuary as a volunteer? Restore vintage cars? A part-time DJ or children’s party clown? Your knowledge and experience could be of interest to other people. This makes you the expert and they will listen to what you have to say AND your recommendations with commission involved of course. There are plenty of opportunities to exploit your knowledge and experience to make money. Choose a topic you have a passion for and it won’t seem like work at all!
The internet is growing rapidly with many thousands of new users appearing every day. Never before has it been possible to reach such a huge potential market with very little outlay. If you are willing to put in the work and experiment, you could build a substantial second income, and who knows, one day you could give up the day job and become an internet entrepreneur
SSL Certificates - Secure Server Certificates
What is SSL?
SSL certificates are generally used with ecommerce shopping carts, or anywhere you want to collect information from a user securely on your website. If you use a secure server certificate with a form; and that form emails the results to you; keep in mind that the email is not secure.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer): Creates an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. CA (Certificate Authority): The vendor you will get the secure server certificate from CSR (Certificate Signing Request): A text file generated by a web server. A CSR looks like this:
-----BEGIN NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
MIIDGgBNAGkAYwByAG8AcwBvAGYAdAAgAFIAUwBBACAAUwB
AG4AZQBsACAAQwByAHkAcAB0AG8AZwByAGEAcABoAGkAYwl
L0ygNwwNIvKLMPq4/LcUkZ9Oo4AssXW5mvvhHWGz2RWYRhrw8o
-----END NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
First, you need to decide whether to use your hosting shared SSL certificate if they offer it. The URL to your store will look something like:
https://theirserver.com/youruserid/your/path/to/store.html
Or do you want to get your own SSL certificate? The URL will look like:
https://yourdomainname.com
If you decide to use your hosts' shared secure server certificate, then all you need to do is find out the path you need to use to call your files securely, and you will be on your way.
If you decide to get your own SSL certificate, this is generally what happens.
You first need to decide who you are going to get your SSL certificate from. It is a good idea to make sure your host supports your particular vendor. Some certificate authority vendors are:
* Thawte
* Verisign
* Comodo
* You can also review several vendors at a glance at WhichSSL
Before getting your own SSL certificate, you will need to do some reading on what your chosen Certificate Authority requires for a secure certificate, and you'll also need to come up with some documentation. There are several steps to buying a secure server certificate, once you have decided on a vendor.
This is an overview, not written in stone. Each CA is different, so make sure you read their documentation and what they require. Here is an idea of what they want:
All documentation that is requested must match *exactly*. Secure certificate authorities will verify that your organization actually exists, so they know they are issuing to the correct company. You will need to prove that the Organization Name and the Domain name are in fact yours to use.
Steps you'll be taking:
* Gather required documentation
* Have your host generate a CSR
* Complete certificate authority online application
* Certificate authority will process your request
* Pickup and install your SSL certificate (usually an URL is emailed to you to download the secure server certificate)
* Depending on the vendor, it can take a few hours to a few days.
* Send secure certificate to host for installation. (Send in plain text)
Once your web hosting provider receives this information; they will generate the CSR and send it back to you in plain text. You then send it on to Verisign or Thawte, or whoever you have chosen as your secure certificate authority. They will then generate a SSL certificate for you which you will send back to your host for installation. Your web host may charge a fee for installation in addition to what your SSL certificate vendor charges.
Something to think about:
If you've decided to purchase your own SSL certificate, you will need to decide how you want your URL to be called. If you, as a rule, call your domain name in your coding as www.yourdomainname.com, then make sure you indicate this to your host when you request a CSR from them. If you don't, and you get the certificate for yourdomainname.com (without the www), this will cause browser errors, making the certificate seem insecure, and you will need to change your coding.
SSL certificates are generally used with ecommerce shopping carts, or anywhere you want to collect information from a user securely on your website. If you use a secure server certificate with a form; and that form emails the results to you; keep in mind that the email is not secure.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer): Creates an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. CA (Certificate Authority): The vendor you will get the secure server certificate from CSR (Certificate Signing Request): A text file generated by a web server. A CSR looks like this:
-----BEGIN NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
MIIDGgBNAGkAYwByAG8AcwBvAGYAdAAgAFIAUwBBACAAUwB
AG4AZQBsACAAQwByAHkAcAB0AG8AZwByAGEAcABoAGkAYwl
L0ygNwwNIvKLMPq4/LcUkZ9Oo4AssXW5mvvhHWGz2RWYRhrw8o
-----END NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
First, you need to decide whether to use your hosting shared SSL certificate if they offer it. The URL to your store will look something like:
https://theirserver.com/youruserid/your/path/to/store.html
Or do you want to get your own SSL certificate? The URL will look like:
https://yourdomainname.com
If you decide to use your hosts' shared secure server certificate, then all you need to do is find out the path you need to use to call your files securely, and you will be on your way.
If you decide to get your own SSL certificate, this is generally what happens.
You first need to decide who you are going to get your SSL certificate from. It is a good idea to make sure your host supports your particular vendor. Some certificate authority vendors are:
* Thawte
* Verisign
* Comodo
* You can also review several vendors at a glance at WhichSSL
Before getting your own SSL certificate, you will need to do some reading on what your chosen Certificate Authority requires for a secure certificate, and you'll also need to come up with some documentation. There are several steps to buying a secure server certificate, once you have decided on a vendor.
This is an overview, not written in stone. Each CA is different, so make sure you read their documentation and what they require. Here is an idea of what they want:
All documentation that is requested must match *exactly*. Secure certificate authorities will verify that your organization actually exists, so they know they are issuing to the correct company. You will need to prove that the Organization Name and the Domain name are in fact yours to use.
Steps you'll be taking:
* Gather required documentation
* Have your host generate a CSR
* Complete certificate authority online application
* Certificate authority will process your request
* Pickup and install your SSL certificate (usually an URL is emailed to you to download the secure server certificate)
* Depending on the vendor, it can take a few hours to a few days.
* Send secure certificate to host for installation. (Send in plain text)
Once your web hosting provider receives this information; they will generate the CSR and send it back to you in plain text. You then send it on to Verisign or Thawte, or whoever you have chosen as your secure certificate authority. They will then generate a SSL certificate for you which you will send back to your host for installation. Your web host may charge a fee for installation in addition to what your SSL certificate vendor charges.
Something to think about:
If you've decided to purchase your own SSL certificate, you will need to decide how you want your URL to be called. If you, as a rule, call your domain name in your coding as www.yourdomainname.com, then make sure you indicate this to your host when you request a CSR from them. If you don't, and you get the certificate for yourdomainname.com (without the www), this will cause browser errors, making the certificate seem insecure, and you will need to change your coding.
Online Shopping - It's A Small World
With all the online shopping sites today, it's amazing that you can stumble across someone in your own home town running an online business, and who would have ever guessed.
So no matter how big you think the online world is, and it really is big, it's still a small world. One of our friends was shopping online and wanted to ask the merchant a question so she called. When the girl that answered the phone asked for our friend's phone number she realized it was from her own hometown.
Even though it is a small world, there is a growing fascination and even compulsion to buy online. And why not? You can access more sites and products in such a small amount of time and never crank the car, let alone having to fight traffic.
It's nothing new but it is very much here to stay. So if you are thinking about entering the online world and starting your own business, the most important thing you can do is to do your homework. Research first and save yourself lots of time and money.
Where do you start? Online of course. The main thing you need to do is act. You can think, look, study and talk all you want, but until you act it will never happen. Don't wait another minute act today. I did and you can see the results at www.ochashomeshop.com
Ocha has worked in sales for over 23 years in the distrubution industry. He owns his own business in the building maintenance industry as well. Now he has started a business in the online world, which he says is proving to be the most fun and rewarding venture to date.
So no matter how big you think the online world is, and it really is big, it's still a small world. One of our friends was shopping online and wanted to ask the merchant a question so she called. When the girl that answered the phone asked for our friend's phone number she realized it was from her own hometown.
Even though it is a small world, there is a growing fascination and even compulsion to buy online. And why not? You can access more sites and products in such a small amount of time and never crank the car, let alone having to fight traffic.
It's nothing new but it is very much here to stay. So if you are thinking about entering the online world and starting your own business, the most important thing you can do is to do your homework. Research first and save yourself lots of time and money.
Where do you start? Online of course. The main thing you need to do is act. You can think, look, study and talk all you want, but until you act it will never happen. Don't wait another minute act today. I did and you can see the results at www.ochashomeshop.com
Ocha has worked in sales for over 23 years in the distrubution industry. He owns his own business in the building maintenance industry as well. Now he has started a business in the online world, which he says is proving to be the most fun and rewarding venture to date.
How to Avoid Negative Feedback on eBay
If you are a regular eBay user then I am sure you will have seen someone with a negative feedback comment in their profile. Negative feedback is usually posted when a buyer and seller have a difference in opinion about a certain product, or one of the parties fails to fulfil their part of the transaction.
If you are a seller on eBay, your feedback profile is the most important part of your business. One negative comment from an unscrupulous buyer could damage your reputation and more importantly damage your sales and profits! As a seller on eBay you want to avoid getting negative feedback comments at all costs, let me show you how to do this.
To begin with ALWAYS make sure you are polite to your customers, I shouldn't need to write this because all good sellers know that it is vital to be polite with your buyers. If you are polite with them in all correspondence then you should be able to work out any problems that you are having. No matter how rude the buyer is when corresponding with you, always keep a cool head and reply to them with a courteous email. If the buyer is a reasonable person then you will be able to resolve your differences without risking a negative feedback.
What if that doesn't work I hear you cry! Well don't worry, even if the buyer leaves you a negative comment after your polite emails there is still a way to get the feedback withdrawn. I'm sure you will have heard of the term "Mutual Feedback Withdrawal". This is where both parties (the buyer and seller) agree that the feedback comment is no longer justified and decide to remove the comments. You can apply for a negative feedback withdrawal via an on-line form on the eBay website, once you have submitted the form the other party must accept the request within 30 days, if they accept the request then your feedback will be removed, it will still be displayed to the public but the negative score will have been removed from your profile.
Before requesting a mutual feedback withdrawal you should contact the other party again via email and tell them (politely of course!) that you would like the matter to be resolved. Discuss the problem with them and try to find some level ground, do your best to solve the problem for them, you could even offer them a full refund or ask them to return the item to you if they are not happy with it. Once you have resolved the dispute ask them if they would be willing to withdraw the negative feedback, when they reply simply fill out the on-line form on eBay and as long as they accept the request your feedback will be removed.
If your trading partner rejects your polite emails and your mutual withdrawal request then unfortunately you are stuck with the feedback. However there is still time for some damage limitation! You can respond to all feedback comments that you have left and received via the eBay feedback forum. You can find this part of eBay by going to your feedback profile, then look at the top of the page and you will see some links that say - Home > Community > Feedback Forum > Member Profile. Click on the link that says "Feedback Forum", you will then see links to the pages you are looking for. Click on the link that says "Reply to feedback received" and you will be able to reply to your negative feedback comment. You should then leave a brief (polite!) reply stating the problem you had with the other party. Although replying to your comment wont remove it, it will show other potential buyers that you tried to resolve the situation and that you do care about your customers and your feedback profile.
One thing I haven't mentioned throughout this article is responding to the negative comment with a negative comment of your own. No matter how tempting it may seem DON`T DO IT! Immediately sending a negative comment to the other party involved will more than likely make the situation worse and will harm your chances of resolving the dispute successfully. The only time I would leave a negative comment for the other party is AFTER you have followed the instructions in this article!
If you are a seller on eBay, your feedback profile is the most important part of your business. One negative comment from an unscrupulous buyer could damage your reputation and more importantly damage your sales and profits! As a seller on eBay you want to avoid getting negative feedback comments at all costs, let me show you how to do this.
To begin with ALWAYS make sure you are polite to your customers, I shouldn't need to write this because all good sellers know that it is vital to be polite with your buyers. If you are polite with them in all correspondence then you should be able to work out any problems that you are having. No matter how rude the buyer is when corresponding with you, always keep a cool head and reply to them with a courteous email. If the buyer is a reasonable person then you will be able to resolve your differences without risking a negative feedback.
What if that doesn't work I hear you cry! Well don't worry, even if the buyer leaves you a negative comment after your polite emails there is still a way to get the feedback withdrawn. I'm sure you will have heard of the term "Mutual Feedback Withdrawal". This is where both parties (the buyer and seller) agree that the feedback comment is no longer justified and decide to remove the comments. You can apply for a negative feedback withdrawal via an on-line form on the eBay website, once you have submitted the form the other party must accept the request within 30 days, if they accept the request then your feedback will be removed, it will still be displayed to the public but the negative score will have been removed from your profile.
Before requesting a mutual feedback withdrawal you should contact the other party again via email and tell them (politely of course!) that you would like the matter to be resolved. Discuss the problem with them and try to find some level ground, do your best to solve the problem for them, you could even offer them a full refund or ask them to return the item to you if they are not happy with it. Once you have resolved the dispute ask them if they would be willing to withdraw the negative feedback, when they reply simply fill out the on-line form on eBay and as long as they accept the request your feedback will be removed.
If your trading partner rejects your polite emails and your mutual withdrawal request then unfortunately you are stuck with the feedback. However there is still time for some damage limitation! You can respond to all feedback comments that you have left and received via the eBay feedback forum. You can find this part of eBay by going to your feedback profile, then look at the top of the page and you will see some links that say - Home > Community > Feedback Forum > Member Profile. Click on the link that says "Feedback Forum", you will then see links to the pages you are looking for. Click on the link that says "Reply to feedback received" and you will be able to reply to your negative feedback comment. You should then leave a brief (polite!) reply stating the problem you had with the other party. Although replying to your comment wont remove it, it will show other potential buyers that you tried to resolve the situation and that you do care about your customers and your feedback profile.
One thing I haven't mentioned throughout this article is responding to the negative comment with a negative comment of your own. No matter how tempting it may seem DON`T DO IT! Immediately sending a negative comment to the other party involved will more than likely make the situation worse and will harm your chances of resolving the dispute successfully. The only time I would leave a negative comment for the other party is AFTER you have followed the instructions in this article!
Guidelines to Effective Marketing Testing
One of the biggest keys to the ongoing success of any marketing campaign is to understand that it's not perfect. Results can almost always be improved; but figuring out how to get those improvements, that's done by testing.
Too many marketing efforts have gone down the tubes because marketers "went with their gut" on a campaign, believing they knew best what the customer would want. Remember that "New & Improved" ... sometimes isn't.
In truth, it is your customers that will tell you what's working and what's not; you simply have to give them a chance, through logical, controlled testing programs.
You can test practically anything. Price points; merchandise mix; website design; advertising message; and so on. All the elements that go into a buying decision can and should be tested.
Here are some key guidelines to effective marketing testing:
*Test against a control. You learned back in science class that you've got to have a standard that your test runs against, to see if you're actually making any improvements. Your "control" is your current product, or sales copy, or whatever. Your current performance is the baseline you want to test against. Run your test against your control, head-to-head, at the same time.
*Test the big stuff. As a general rule, you want to invest the time, energy and money into testing the things that can make a big difference. Example: Rather than testing a change in the color scheme of your website, test a complete redesign.
*Test the right stuff. The right stuff to test is stuff that's scalable if it works - meaning, it could be rolled out and become your control. Example: If you tested offering a specific item as a premium, you'd want to be sure that item was available on an ongoing basis, should the test work.
*Test one thing at a time. Another lesson you learned in science. Limit your variables, or you won't know what made a difference. Example: Don't test a redesign of your website AND a premium offer at the same time. If results improve, you won't know which made the difference.
*Tracking is the key. Be sure you've got a solid tracking process in place, so you can correctly analyze your test results.
*Test continuously. All tests should have a specific start and stop date - but you should never stop testing. Once one test is complete and you've analyzed the data, start testing something else.
Remember, no matter how well you're doing, you can almost always do better. So test your way to even greater success!
Too many marketing efforts have gone down the tubes because marketers "went with their gut" on a campaign, believing they knew best what the customer would want. Remember that "New & Improved" ... sometimes isn't.
In truth, it is your customers that will tell you what's working and what's not; you simply have to give them a chance, through logical, controlled testing programs.
You can test practically anything. Price points; merchandise mix; website design; advertising message; and so on. All the elements that go into a buying decision can and should be tested.
Here are some key guidelines to effective marketing testing:
*Test against a control. You learned back in science class that you've got to have a standard that your test runs against, to see if you're actually making any improvements. Your "control" is your current product, or sales copy, or whatever. Your current performance is the baseline you want to test against. Run your test against your control, head-to-head, at the same time.
*Test the big stuff. As a general rule, you want to invest the time, energy and money into testing the things that can make a big difference. Example: Rather than testing a change in the color scheme of your website, test a complete redesign.
*Test the right stuff. The right stuff to test is stuff that's scalable if it works - meaning, it could be rolled out and become your control. Example: If you tested offering a specific item as a premium, you'd want to be sure that item was available on an ongoing basis, should the test work.
*Test one thing at a time. Another lesson you learned in science. Limit your variables, or you won't know what made a difference. Example: Don't test a redesign of your website AND a premium offer at the same time. If results improve, you won't know which made the difference.
*Tracking is the key. Be sure you've got a solid tracking process in place, so you can correctly analyze your test results.
*Test continuously. All tests should have a specific start and stop date - but you should never stop testing. Once one test is complete and you've analyzed the data, start testing something else.
Remember, no matter how well you're doing, you can almost always do better. So test your way to even greater success!
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Tax Tips for New Ecommerce Entrepreneurs
New ecommerce entrepreneurs can find them confused and confounded by the tax and accounting requirements of their venture. And that’s a shame: If someone’s spotted a great new category and successfully built a web presence, heck, that someone shouldn’t find themselves bogged down with the accounting minutia. The entrepreneur should focus on increasing traffic, expanding margins, and growing cash profits.
With that in mind, I offer up the following tax and accounting tips:
Tip #1: Don’t Incorporate
A true corporation—whether a C corporation or an S corporation—saddles your business with more complicated tax accounting and a bunch of state filing requirements. You don’t want to deal with this redtape—or at least not until you’re profitable.
Instead, operate your business as a sole proprietorship. If you’re concerned about legal liability protection, note that you can setup a one-owner limited liability company, or LLC. A one owner LLC is treated as a sole proprietorship for income tax purposes.
Tip #2: Start Your Business Before Making Investments
Expenditures you make before you’re actually in business-in other words, before you’ve got a business license and before you’re selling or trying to sell your stuff—aren’t very deductible.
Specifically, you can probably deduct the first $5,000 of these expenses. But any amounts in excess of the $5,000 must be amortized over the next fifteen years.
What this means is that you want to start your business before you start spending money on advertising, training, web development, accountants and lawyers and so on.
Tip #3: Automate Your Bookkeeping & Accounting
By law—and some people don’t know this—you’re required to maintain an accounting system that lets you clearly measure your income. As a practical matter, this means you need to use a product like Quicken or QuickBooks.
But you ought to go one better than simply using desktop accounting software. Make sure that you’re taking advantage of online banking and bill payment features which integrate your accounting system with your banking. As much as is possible, for example, you want to be able to move money from PayPal to your bank to QuickBooks simply by typing a few keys or clicking your mouse a few times.
Tip #4: Hire a Payroll Service Before Hiring Employees
Many successful ecommerce business owners can run their operations without employees. And if that’s true for you, hey, congratulations. If and when you do need employees, however, don’t try to handle the payroll yourself. Oursource the payroll to one of the large payroll service bureaus like ADP, Payroll, or QuickBooks.
These services are expensive. Figure $1000 to $2000 per year. But the services let you avoid the bookkeeping nightmare called payroll and prevent you from getting into payroll tax trouble.
Tip #5: Consider S Corporation Status After You’re Profitable
I’ve written and talked much about how S corporations save taxpayers money and how the right way to set up an S corporation is first create a limited liability company and then ask the IRS to treat the LLC as an S corporation for tax purposes.
Let me review the basics here again, however. Suppose that you’re making $90,000 a year off your web site. If you just treat your business as a sole proprietorship—or an LLC treated as a sole proprietorship—you might pay $12,000 in income taxes on the $90,000 and then another 15.3% self-employment tax, or roughly $13,500 on the $90,000.
If you set up an LLC and have the LLC treated as an S corporation, you’ll still pay the same $12,000 in income taxes. But you’ll only pay the 15.3% self-employment tax on that portion of the profit that you categorize as wages. If you categorize, say, $50,000 of the profits as wages, you’ll pay $7,500 in self-employment taxes. (The other $40,000 in remaining profits, by the way, gets paid out as a dividend-like “distribution.”)
With that in mind, I offer up the following tax and accounting tips:
Tip #1: Don’t Incorporate
A true corporation—whether a C corporation or an S corporation—saddles your business with more complicated tax accounting and a bunch of state filing requirements. You don’t want to deal with this redtape—or at least not until you’re profitable.
Instead, operate your business as a sole proprietorship. If you’re concerned about legal liability protection, note that you can setup a one-owner limited liability company, or LLC. A one owner LLC is treated as a sole proprietorship for income tax purposes.
Tip #2: Start Your Business Before Making Investments
Expenditures you make before you’re actually in business-in other words, before you’ve got a business license and before you’re selling or trying to sell your stuff—aren’t very deductible.
Specifically, you can probably deduct the first $5,000 of these expenses. But any amounts in excess of the $5,000 must be amortized over the next fifteen years.
What this means is that you want to start your business before you start spending money on advertising, training, web development, accountants and lawyers and so on.
Tip #3: Automate Your Bookkeeping & Accounting
By law—and some people don’t know this—you’re required to maintain an accounting system that lets you clearly measure your income. As a practical matter, this means you need to use a product like Quicken or QuickBooks.
But you ought to go one better than simply using desktop accounting software. Make sure that you’re taking advantage of online banking and bill payment features which integrate your accounting system with your banking. As much as is possible, for example, you want to be able to move money from PayPal to your bank to QuickBooks simply by typing a few keys or clicking your mouse a few times.
Tip #4: Hire a Payroll Service Before Hiring Employees
Many successful ecommerce business owners can run their operations without employees. And if that’s true for you, hey, congratulations. If and when you do need employees, however, don’t try to handle the payroll yourself. Oursource the payroll to one of the large payroll service bureaus like ADP, Payroll, or QuickBooks.
These services are expensive. Figure $1000 to $2000 per year. But the services let you avoid the bookkeeping nightmare called payroll and prevent you from getting into payroll tax trouble.
Tip #5: Consider S Corporation Status After You’re Profitable
I’ve written and talked much about how S corporations save taxpayers money and how the right way to set up an S corporation is first create a limited liability company and then ask the IRS to treat the LLC as an S corporation for tax purposes.
Let me review the basics here again, however. Suppose that you’re making $90,000 a year off your web site. If you just treat your business as a sole proprietorship—or an LLC treated as a sole proprietorship—you might pay $12,000 in income taxes on the $90,000 and then another 15.3% self-employment tax, or roughly $13,500 on the $90,000.
If you set up an LLC and have the LLC treated as an S corporation, you’ll still pay the same $12,000 in income taxes. But you’ll only pay the 15.3% self-employment tax on that portion of the profit that you categorize as wages. If you categorize, say, $50,000 of the profits as wages, you’ll pay $7,500 in self-employment taxes. (The other $40,000 in remaining profits, by the way, gets paid out as a dividend-like “distribution.”)
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