Online Business At a Glance

Online business which is also known as e-business/internet business is any kind of business that is done over the internet. 

A person who has a part time or full time carrier online, i.e. using the internet to generate money is said to be running online business. Running an online business though may be difficult especially as a beginner but when properly done can put millions of naira into your bank account, and the good thing about online business is that it can be done from the comfort of your home and at your spare time. A lot of businesses can be done online and this may include affiliate marketing, bulk SMS, web building and development, stock trading, blogging etc,

Online business only requires you having little knowledge about the computer, and it startup requirement is not too expensive because it can be done in a cafe. All you need do is think of a passion you can sell or any type of online business you desire try to know all about the business, start doing the business, grow in the business and  making money.

Types of online business

Below are types on business you can do online

Website building and development

Affiliate marketing

Blogging

Online investments

Stock trading/forex

Information marketing

E-commerce business

Freelance writing

Survey

Online advertising

Sales of various forms/ scratch cards e.g. waec, neco, jamb etc

Recharge card business etc

Steps in doing online business

1. Find a niche and get enough information on the niche.
2. Build a mini website and write good post or ebook
3. Use search engines to drive traffic to your site.
4. Advertise your site using social media.
5. Follow up with your customers and subscribers with e-mail.
6. Monetize your site.

Step 1: Find a niche and get enough information on the niche.

Online business requires you doing what you are good at, for instance, if you love fashion, beauty, cooking, dieting, sport etc then you are advice to start with it. Also you have to know what people love about your desired niche. Know that if you are going into buying and selling, you don’t just pick a product you love but a product that is hot in the market. You also need to get also of information about your niche by:

• Joining online forum.
• Doing key word research.
• Visiting other websites that is into your type of business.
• Buying eBooks or any materials that discusses your line of business.etc

Step 2: Build a mini website and write good post or eBook.

A website is seen as your online store and you can get free site from BlogSpot, wordpess etc. Try as much as possible to make your site very attractive and user friendly. Create good and quality post about your business. Use compelling headline that is very catchy and mind blowing. Try to tell you potential customers about the uniqueness of your product and how it can profit them.

Step 3: Use search engines to drive traffic to your site.

Introduce pay-per-click advertising which helps you to get immediate traffic to your site. Also update your site on a regular basis.

Step 4: Advertise your site using social media.

Social media technologies take different forms which including blogs, business networks, enterprise social networks, forums, micro-blogs, photo sharing, products/services review, social bookmarking, social gaming, social networks, video sharing and virtual worlds. Some of the viable social media that can do the magic include facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, Ello, YouTube, nairaland etc.

Social media allows a business to promote and market its own brand, with 46% of customers using social media as a primary source in their purchase decisions. It is therefore clear to that using social media sites to promote a business proves successful in expanding the overall growth and helps to consolidate the businesses concept and meaning. Thus social media presents a viable prospect across several ruts to establish strong and enigmatic business, services, and business concept.

Step 5: Follow up with your customers and subscribers with e-mail

You can turn visitors into buyers when you create an opt-in list in your site; by so doing you’ve created one of the most valuable assets of your online business. Then your visitors have no choice than turn subscribers wherefore they have given you the boulevard to send them e-mail. Thus they have asked you; for your services, to create a lasting relationship with them and always give them updates on products and services. This can only be achieved by the power of e-marketing through following up with your customers and subscribers with e-mail

Step 6: Monitize your blog

Website monetization is the process of converting existing traffic sent to a particular website into income. The ways of monetizing a website are by employing Pay per click (PPC) and Cost per impression (CPI/CPM) advertising. Various ad networks aid a webmaster in placing advertisements on pages of the website so as to gain from the traffic the site is experiencing.

There are several monetization options, and your website niche, target audience, traffic volume, and visitor behavior are what to consider determining the options that are most essential for you. Here are some of the monetization options that are popularly used; Google AdSense, Infolinks, Sponsored Posts & Reviews, Gate Premium Content, Generate & Sell Leads, Related Posts, Paid Private Forum, Affiliate Offers, Create & Sell Your Own Digital Product etc.

So as to start generating revenue, however you don’t have to try and do all of these at once but give sufficient time to make sure it strive. There is no magic to success; you need to see what will work for your website and the target audience. 

Read furtheron how to monetize your site