You may think that ALL internet businesses require a certain physical product to sell. Well, you're wrong. E-books are now available for the reading pleasures of stay-home persons.
Everything and anything under the sun can be made into a money-making product either physically or electronic. For instance, who knew that a red paper clip could have been traded up for a house?
So this is your guide to starting your own online internet business. These are the 6 essentials to get started:
E-mail Address
First you will need to sign up an e-mail address, preferably a Gmail or a Yahoo! account. This will allow you to receive messages and alerts on events in your business.
A Domain Name
Notice how most websites have a neat title? They have to buy the names of the websites. It is the same principle as buying your car number plate; you can only get it IF it is available.
If possible, get a domain name that reflects the business you are going into, or brand your own name; at the same time select a quirky name. However, the shorter the better, it is easier for people to remember you. For instance, choosing 'bloguide' instead of typing 'howtoblog'.
Hosting
Web hosting service is the element that makes uploading files, operating flash media and watching videos possible.
Web hosting is essential if you want your subscribers to view your website. It also functions as a control panel to customize your webpage to your own liking.
I suggest you find the best there is for web hosting, as it can mean the difference of customers finding it boring and leaving the instant they enter or customers flocking to your website.
PayPal Account
You will need to set up a PayPal account to enable global money transfers. Until now, PayPal is the most widely recognized money transfer platform that enables you to buy and sell to people halfway across the globe.
PayPal registers your Visacard or Mastercard so that payments are passed through the same medium, this is important as almost every online shopper uses it.
Blog
Here comes my favorite part. Set up a blog for free with either WordPress, Blogger or Craigslist. This is your 'online diary' that you can update anything about: personal life experience or indulge in hobbies.
For your business, update posts related to your niche, let's say your business is about computer hardware, posting related pictures or videos will help increase the number of targeted visitors to your blog, just make sure you have your link to your business webpage to link people to it.
Forum
Forums are a good way to promote your website to targeted audience. If you are in the fishing equipment business, you will want to sell to fishing enthusiasts.
Use forums to establish your presence as an expert by helping answering questions people have about fishing, and people will start to give you credibility and of course, visit your website.