What do you feel when you hear news articles about the increasing use of smartphones to surf the Web?  Do you worry about how this might affect your business model, or do you get excited about the potential rise in traffic to your Web site?  The fact is, the news for online business owners is all good. Read the rest of this entry »

When you’re looking into how to build websites, the easiest and quickest way to get started is to work with one of the ready-made templates reliable affordable web hosting companies offer.  These are great, and you can go a long way with them.  As your business grows, though, you may find that your vision for your virtual storefront makes hiring a freelance web designer an attractive possibility. Read the rest of this entry »

Autoresponder systems make it simple to advertise by email.  You can create as many custom messages aimed at your target markets as you like and send them out as frequently as you can manage.  But should you?  How much is too much?  At what point do you risk alienating your customers and watching your open rates plunge, while your unsubscribe rates rise? Read the rest of this entry »

What’s in a name?  Well, as you probably know, quite a lot!  An attractive and compelling “corporate image” for your small business can attract customers and ensure your business makes the best impression possible.  You want to have a professional looking logo, great letterhead, a striking slogan, and, needless to say, a short, memorable domain name.  And you can—but don’t rush into anything, or you could risk losing customers. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re like most people looking at beginning to do business online, you don’t really have a lot of startup capital to work with.  You probably don’t have a lot of time, either.  You need to find tools that will increase sales without costing you a lot of time and money.  Making your website as interactive as possible can help.  Adding customer reviews, for example, can build your business in a number of ways. Read the rest of this entry »

In order to really get your new Internet business going, you’ll need to try to kill two birds with one stone—or three birds, if you can.  It’s not like a regular job where, if you don’t care about what you do, you can show up and do the bare minimum to get by.  You’re going to be responsible for your own success, and that’s going to take a lot of energy, and nothing gives you energy like indulging your passions! Read the rest of this entry »

There’s simply no question that you should be involved in an affiliate marketing program.  Unfortunately, there’s also no question that there are a lot of shady Internet businesses running around in the world.  You don’t want your business’ reputation sullied by the likes of them!  So, how do you protect yourself? Read the rest of this entry »