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Building the Perfect Online Money Machine

There are plenty of reasons to start an online business. You may want to join the ranks of successful eCommerce entrepreneurs because you want to escape a grueling rush hour and the toil or even the mind games of the workaday world. Maybe you’re drawn to the idea of creating an online business because of the promise of prosperity and the low start up costs. Maybe you’re forward thinking, and you recognize the trend toward interconnected worldwide business. Perhaps you already have a brick and mortar business, and you want to fulfill your customers’ expectations by providing information, products and services online.

What was appealing about the Internet lifestyle in the beginning has been transformed as the concept of online business ownership has become more popular, or even mainstream. Once the image of the online marketer was associated the techno geek, typically a young pasty-faced guy who stayed up all night writing code, putting out flames on forums, or giggling maniacally into his webcam like a modern day mad scientist. Not pretty.

While this notion that you had to be a techno geek to build a website wasn’t far off the mark some 10 or 12 years ago, these days the picture of the online marketer is a little closer to the everyday world of mom and pop shops, stay-at-home moms, retirees looking to boost their pension checks, or high school kids who’d rather make their spending money online than delivering pizza.

All of these are compelling reasons to hang up your virtual shingle in the digital realm. But I’ve got to tell you, while they’re the result of intelligent self-interest, in and of themselves, they mean very little to Google and the major search engines. The reality is that while your own reasons for creating a website are valuable inasmuch as they’ll keep you going when the going gets tough, the world online is truly the great equalizer.

Why Be In Business?

The biggest reason to be in business is to bring value to the marketplace. You can only do this by being of service to the people you would like to call your customers. If you provide enough value, you can set yourself free financially. It’s very democratic. The power in having a website is that if you keep the focus on the parameters that count, you have a 100% equal opportunity to achieve online business success. The key factor that counts online is whether or not you’re providing enough value to your prospects and customers. Your website is like the setting for the jewel that is your core offering.

Whether you intend to focus your promotional efforts on email marketing, directory submission, social networking or article marketing, every one of these methods is, in some way, subject to the rules of online engagement - chiefly, where your site comes up on the Search Engine Results Page. You can only achieve top ranking by offering value in an intelligent, relevant way. You can only achieve long term success by serving others. eCommerce can be a very humbling endeavor, and you must keep the spirit of service alive in your business at every moment. Provide useful, relevant content on an optimized page; Offer products that solve problems; and develop lasting connections with people; and you’ll find success in eCommerce.

Having a website means you have a unique opportunity to make an income online that, once set up and properly promoted, requires very little maintenance. An eCommerce site that is virtually hands free is often referred to as a money machine. This kind of solution is one that a lot of online marketers dream about, and it’s often the reason they become involved in eCommerce in the first place.

But all too often, the stumbling blocks along the way can lead to a whole lot of discouragement, or even abandonment of their online real estate. The learning curve to create a quality website can be pretty steep, and shortcuts in technology get pricey in a hurry if you’re not careful. Well, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Gone are the days when developing a website involved coding HTML by hand. You don’t need a degree in computer science or graphic design to use the latest web development tools. In fact, the tools that are available today level the playing field. There are plenty of solutions for creating a website that looks good, is easy for your visitors to use, and is optimized for traffic. These days, websites have become a necessity for almost everyone. Companies, organizations, individuals, even very young folks have created websites that fill a need online. Whether your motive is profit or entertainment, in the next half hour you’ll find some great insider tips for building that perfect online money machine.

In this chapter we’ll be taking a look at steps to Creating an Online Business. We’ll take a comprehensive look at the parts of the eCommerce marketing machine that work together most effectively. You may be tempted to use others, and it’s a good idea to stay informed about new methods and trends. But be careful not to scrap your initial marketing strategy. Give it a chance to work. Stay focused on your goals, and make refinements to your existing plan. In most cases, small changes can mean big results. Whether you already have an established professional service or storefront, you’re looking to make a little extra money with an online business, or you’d like to set yourself free financially, the steps to building an eCommerce business are the same. Let’s take a look at them now.

Preparing For Online Business Success

Before we dive into the technology and talk about creating a website, you’ll need to consider the factors involved in any successful online venture - things like market research, the cost of design, development and maintenance. You’ll also want to consider your technology’s ease of use for your customer, which web host to use and logistical issues. These factors will either bore you to tears or thrill you to the marrow. The fact is, this is the foundation of your business and it will dictate your technology needs when you build your website. Get these things right, and the rest will flow almost of its own accord. The beauty of eCommerce is that all of these factors can be addressed for minimal cost, and in most cases, there’s a perfectly viable free solution. You simply don’t have to spend a bundle to get started online.

Now, your first step is to do a little market analysis and determine whether or not there’s a demand for your idea. Choose a niche and specialize in it. If you’re stuck for ideas, pick up a few magazines and thumb through them. Take a good look at what’s featured on the cover, in the table of contents, and especially the ads in the back of the magazine. This gives you a good indication of what people are interested in and what they’re buying. Also check Dummies.com. If there’s a Dummies book on the topic, you can bet there’s a market for it.

Take a look at what’s trending now on Yahoo, MSN, Google, Amazon and eBay. Each of these sites tells you right up front what’s popular now. Pick a niche that will be relevant a few years from now as well, something evergreen like pets, relationships, health or finance.

Once you’ve chosen your niche, create a written business summary, including your overall business goals, how you expect to achieve them and the timeline for reaching those goals. Don’t trust your brain to carry this stuff around for you. Take the time to put your plan in writing. You’d be amazed by how many savvy business people don’t do this. Once you’ve gotten where you want to go, what’s your exit strategy? It pays to think this through before you ever get started. By the way, there are website valuation tools available online, such as Cubestat.com. Make use of these free tools periodically to keep current with your site’s estimated market value.

Next, you’re ready to choose or create a product and identify your main source of revenue. You’ll definitely want to create your own product, and join a few affiliate programs as well. The most solid affiliate programs include ClickBank, Commission Junction, PayDotCom, TradeDoubler and LinkShare. Also, both Amazon and eBay have their own affiliate programs. This will be more than enough to keep you busy.

Once you’ve got your niche and a few products to sell, now you’re ready to find a good name. Choose one that’s easy to remember and spell. But don’t just shoot from the hip on this. Do your keyword research, and find high search/low competition keywords. Use them in your domain name, title tags, headlines and content on your website, blog and lenses. Using the Google Wonder Wheel, find related terms and use these as the categories on your site or blog.

After you’ve determined your market, decided on your business model, and come up with the right domain name, your next consideration is hosting. Get secure, reliable hosting. Cost is not the only factor here, and neither is stability - although both of these are crucial to your business. Do a little research before you commit to a web host, because once you’re in, you’re not likely to want to move several dozen - let alone several hundred pages of your established websites... like I just did. Actually, it was more like several thousand. But I digress.

You’re looking for reliability here - it’s your top priority in choosing a host. You want a web host with 99% uptime, and you want a hosting company that’s going to be around for awhile - especially if you’re paying them annually. Take a look at the technology that the host offers. If you’re developing with PHP scripting, you’ll want to have a Unix or Linux hosting account. If you use ASP, then a Windows account is in order. Certain technologies are not cross-compatible.

The best hosting offers technical support 24/7, accommodates multiple technology platforms, and offers tiered hosting plans that won’t break your business bank. If you’re looking for hosting recommendations, check the list on my website at eCommerceGal.com/web_hosting.

There are companies that offer a user friendly development tool, training, tech support and site hosting bundled together for what is usually a stiff monthly payment. What they’re promoting is a spoon fed approach, often aimed at time-starved small business owners. Some of these packages cost hundreds of dollars a month. While this all-in-one package may look good in the box, it gets ugly in a hurry. Those monthly fees add up quickly, and the value delivered by these proprietary solutions is questionable. The biggest problem factors in when you try to migrate your website to another venue or web host. Their proprietary technology is often limited, and you will outgrow it in a hurry. But it just doesn’t transfer to the real world. Making the right choice at the outset will save you a whole lot of grief in the long run.

Whether you’re using one of these one-size-fits-all solutions or you decide to go with a simple WordPress installation and a free theme, you’re going to encounter the same learning curve or outsourcing fees. You might as well choose the option that empowers you. Your web host will provide just about all the tech support you need. Keep it simple and affordable, and your odds of success go up exponentially.

Next, you may be wondering if retaining a professional consultant for web development is a good idea. It depends on what you want your site to do. It’s not uncommon for consultants to charge more than the down payment on a house for custom turnkey technology, yet not even provide training or personnel to implement it. That’s extra. All they’re delivering is the site structure - just the bones - and a few training videos. I know some of these guys, and they’re very sophisticated, personable, experienced. It’s easy to get wowed by their bells and whistles and their resumes. But that doesn’t mean their services offer any more value than you could get from a good content management system like Joomla and a handful of quality graphics. In the world of ecommerce, time to market is crucial. You want to keep your business fast and light.

We’ll go into the technology specifics in just a moment. The philosophy you want to develop is that an as online business owner, you’re the one with the vision, and you decide how your business will be conducted. Any technical help you hire should serve your business in a supporting role. At no time should your developers dictate the terms of your business to you. If you ask for a button, a link, an opt-in form or a widget, your devleoper should deliver it to you. If you’re going to be an online business owner, take the time to understand just a few basics of the technology you’re using. Here’s a case where knowledge truly is power.

Hiring technical help typically makes sense for specialized jobs on a limited engagement. When it comes to more complex coding, hiring help really is the best way to go if you’re not technically savvy. Research the technology you want to use, then hire a techie to implement it. Use an online escrow service to handle the payment - that way you’re happy with the work, and payment is assured to your contractor. There’s no haggling over the details. You can find good help through Craigs List, and in a lot of cases, that means you can hire off-shore talent for routine coding jobs. However, at all times you need to retain the keys to your website, and the focus must remain on providing service to your customers - not funding your consultant’s wine collection. You know what I’m talking about.

Selecting and Using Your Web Technology

Creating a website is not that big a deal if we compare it to what you need to learn for other technical skills. Most people tend to give up and pack their bags as soon as they hear the words “programming” and “technical”. They think it`s too much of a hassle to actually learn a new “language”. Let’s put it this way: you program the heck out of your ATM machine every time you punch in your PIN number and pull out a handful of twenties. If you can handle that, setting up your WordPress blog will give you no trouble.

You may be wondering whether you should use open source software, and why. That’s a great question. Let’s start by defining what we mean. Open Source is a set of principles and practices for writing software, the most important of which is that the source code is openly available. That means the software has been developed and improved by the user community, and you have the freedom to use it. It also means you can obtain it with zero cost.

The free software movement was launched back in 1983. In 1998, the name was changed to open source software or OSS. There is such a wealth of open source technology available for all kinds of sites, whatever you want to do online. This is a great place to start, and you can hire a contractor to install it for you if it’s over your head. Popular OSS programs run the gamut from simple blogging platforms to enterprise-level applications. The open source technology that’s available is really powerful, and it includes simple HTML web templates, blogging, eCommerce, auction sites, your own online directory, your proprietary search engine, or even your own forum or social network. I’ve used and installed most of these types of technology for my own sites as well as for my customers. If you can follow a recipe, you can install your own forum.

The benefits of using open source software go beyond the implementation and the low cost. In most cases, OSS applications offer efficiency, reliability and the option to customize. There’s also a large community of support for these programs, and usually you’ll find the answers to your questions almost immediately through a web search or a dedicated forum for your chosen technology. Also the tech support department of your web host can usually point you in the right direction if you have any trouble finding your answers independently.

Let’s take a look at some of the different technology types that are available to you for developing and maintaining your own web presence.

Selecting & Installing Your Shopping Cart

When talking about eCommerce, the first thing we want to do is address the question of check-out. You need an application that will work with your website to allow your customers to choose and order products from you. Open source shopping carts are widely available, and they include OSCommerce, ZenCart, OpenCart, XCart, and CSCart. Each of these applications has its own fan base and forums to support them. I personally use OpenCart for my store. You can see what this looks like at Store.eCommerceGal.com. Go ahead and browse through, take it for a test drive. I promise you won’t pay for anything you don’t buy.

Now, with eCommerce shopping carts, you’ll still need to provide a safe place for your money to land. That is, you’ll need some kind of merchant account to go along with your shopping cart. Unless you’re in love with idea of investing in a monthly plan, using a service like PayPal should do the trick and serve your needs just fine at the beginning.

Some common digital cash payment processing methods include PayPal, CheckFree, FireballCart.com, Authorize.net, BidPay, BillPoint and WorldPay. Here’s something I’ll bet you didn’t know. e-Gold.com allows for payment in gold, silver, platinum or palladium using an account-based system. Ah, but no diamonds - a girl’s best friend.

Since there is not an actual store for people to walk into, the set up of your site will determine if they stay long enough to make a purchase or if they will got to another website. With so much competition in the e-commerce world, the consumer has the upper hand.

Your website should be appealing, but not overwhelming. The layout should make the website easy to navigate. Convincing your prospects to purchase from you can be a hard job. No matter how good you are at convincing them, they won’t buy if they find the process cumbersome.

The checkout process needs to be very simple. Customers don’t want to have to click many places to make a purchase. Make sure the eCommerce checkout process goes smoothly for your customer.

Building Your Website With HTML

One of the simplest ways to build a website and maintain total flexibility with the development is to download a free website template that corresponds to your site’s needs, and then edit the template with a WYSIWYG editor. The editor I use is called KompoZer. There are only a couple of things you need to understand in order to get started.

First of all, when you’re developing an HTML website, you typically have three types of files. There’s your standard HTML page, which is saved with the .HTML extension. Then you have your graphics, and these are commonly kept together in a folder called Images. Your web page will refer to them every time your page is loaded, so you place them onto your page, don’t move them around or change the names. Just leave them where they are. Finally, you have something called a style sheet that tell the HTML page what it should look like. If you want to get fancy, you can make changes to your style sheet directly. But it’s better to just make those changes using KompoZer.

You can get started with this type of web development right now. Do a web search on the term “free website templates.” Pick a site, and download a few of your favorite templates. Don’t go crazy - keep it simple to start out. Next, you’ll want to download KompoZer. KompoZer is available for free at Kompozer.net.

One you have your files, you’ll want to unzip them and install your KompoZer software. Launch the program, then open the index file of the template you just downloaded. Now you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Building web pages can be fun, even exciting. You can add or change graphics, write new content and create links to other pages on your site. When you’re satisfied with the look and feel, save the page once to keep your changes. Then save it again, but this time rename your file according to the links created.

Whatever type of site you’re developing, you’ll want to be sure to include an About page, Terms and Privacy Policy. After that, you can go crazy with content. Ideally, each page should have 350 to 700 words. When you’re ready to launch, all of your files will need to be uploaded to your web hosting account in the same file structure that you used to build your site. If you have questions about any of this, there’s all kinds of help available online, through your web host’s tech support, and on my website at eCommerceGal.com. Knowing these fundamentals will help you as you build and maintain other types of websites.

Building Your Website With WordPress

The next type of open source technology we want to look at is the WordPress platform. WordPress began life as a blogging platform. However, it’s so powerful that it quickly became a hit as a website development tool. What’s the difference? Well, for one thing, blogging has a certain look and feel. It’s part of Web 2.0 or interactive content management systems. A blog typicaly includes information such as an article’s date, time, author and comments - things not typically found on a website. There are loads of features on WordPress that make it completely customizable. Plus it’s just fun to work with.

While it’s possible to create a blog that’s hosted by WordPress, I do not recommend it for your business. WordPress places restrictions on what you can publish, and they will shut you down if you don’t comply, no matter how nice or well meaning you are. This is just not good for business. You want native hosting, and it’s easy enough to do. This means you want to install WordPress on your own hosting account and have your own URL pointing to your WordPress site.

To use the WordPress platform for your site, you’ll need to buy your own domain name and point it to the WordPress installation on your hosting account. There are a couple of ways to go about this, depending on your web host and whether or not they offer a tool called C|Panel.

If this option is available to you, it’s literally takes a matter of a few clicks to install WordPress. Click on the WordPress icon, choose a location and name for your site along with a user name and password, and hit the Go button. You’re done. The next thing you want to do is, using your web browser, navigate to your new site. Place your cursor in the address bar after your domain name, and type “/wp-admin”, then hit the return button. You should see your WordPress admin panel. Enter the user name and password that you chose during set up. If you goofed and didn’t pick one, check your email - WordPress sent this information to you. Log into your account, and start posting.

You should know these three things about using WordPress. First, you have a couple of different parts to your site. You have posts, which stack one on top of the other as you add fresh content. You also have static pages, such as your About page. These are pages that will always be there. If you have a topic that you want people to refer to again and again, creating a static page about it is the way to go.

The second thing you need to know is that you have the option to change the functionality of your WordPress site through something called plug-ins. These are little bits of code that allow you to do everything from block spam - always a popular option in my book - to automatically posting content from article directories.

The third thing you need to know about using WordPress is that your theme is completely customizable. You can change the look and feel of your site with the click of a button. There are literally thousands of themes available for free that you can install and enjoy immediately by navigating to the Appearance section of your WordPress site. Follow the onscreen instructions. Now, if you don’t find what you’re looking for in terms of WordPress themes through their directory, go to my website at eCommerceGal.com/WordPress and you’ll find a number of custom themes designed especially for small business. This will be more than enough to keep you busy.

Developing Your Website with Content Management Systems

The next stop on our Open Source Software tour is the Content Management System. Basically, this is a sophisticated idea that allows for the simplest possible means of managing information. It’s a way for non-technical people to manage large amounts of data. Joomla is great example of an open source content management system. Using Joomla, you can create an online directory for your local community and use it to sell advertising for area vendors. And that’s only one example.

One thing that you should be aware of is that, like WordPress, downloading and installing Joomla is completely free. A number of web hosts make this option available at the click of a button. Other content management systems include Drupal, PHPNuke, Mambo and TYPO3. These all provide power and flexibilty for managing your content.

There are dozens, even hundreds of open source applications for creating social network sites. In fact, we’re seeing a trend on the Internet that gravitates away from the uber networks like Facebook and toward the more intimate neighborhoods. This creates an opportunity for you as an online marketer to provide a place for your niche market to go and hang out. Available tools include Spree, iSocial, Mahara, Yogurt, the People Aggregator, GetBoo, and a whole host of other funny names.

Rounding out our open source tour are discussion forums, like other open source software, an Internet search will not only reveal a wide array of choices, but also a huge number of lists of choices. The forum software that I like is called Snitz Forum. It’s quick and easy and easy to install, and it really is a great feeling to provide a place for people to connect.

There are several other types of content management features you can add to your site - too many to list here by name. You can offer your visitors a classified advertising feature, a photo gallery, a user-managed knowledge base or a wiki. The list goes on and on, and it’s limited only by your imagination. In fact, if you were to build a quality website using each one of the systems that we’ve covered here, you’d probably be busy for the next year. Of course, you can always outsource, but even then, you’ll want to stay focused on one or two sites at a time. Get those plates spinning before moving on to the next one.

Test and Track, Rinse and Repeat

Now that you have installed some great technology to build your site, you’re ready to tackle some of the more subtle aspects of web development. Make sure that your site loads fast if you do not want to lose visitors. Most internet users will leave a website if it doesn’t load completely within 10 seconds.

Test each link on your site before it goes online. Test and track your results, and use your web statistics to develop your market strategy. Web design is a very important part of operating your online business. There are tons of ways to put your message across. Some of them are more effective than others. Try using different types of content, different headlines and images. See what people are responding to, what they’re ignoring and what they’re asking for. Customer feedback is powerful. Your object is to feed the starving crowd and keep them coming back for more.

Are you an entrepreneur wanting to escape a grueling rush hour or the mind games of the workaday world? Maybe you’re a young guy who stays up all night writing code, putting out flames on forums, and giggling maniacally into your webcam like a modern day mad scientist. Or it could be that your own self-perception is a little closer to the everyday world. You could be the owner of a mom and pop shop, a stay-at-home mom, a retiree looking to boost your pension check, or maybe you’re a high school kids who’d rather make money online than deliver pizza. No matter who you are, you now have some great tools to get yourself started and hang up your virtual shingle in the digital realm. Using the tools and techniques in this program, combined with that dream you carry around in your pocket, you can bring value to the marketplace and enjoy real online business success.