Tips for Doing Business Online
Build an interesting website
Having a website is crucial for small business owners looking to kick-start their online careers. A website should not only be professional-looking, it should also be interesting to engage readers (as potential customers).
Don’t have coding know-how? Employing the services of a web designer is a good investment. In the process of creating your business website, arrange that all links are working. Include pertinent information on your products and services page. Your “About me” page should contain well-written and interesting nuggets about you and your business. Provide a “Contact us” page that includes your phone number, business address, email address, or better yet, a contact form, so that your potential customers know how to reach you to avail your services.
If you need to finance your website or any other business project, there are federal programs available for entrepreneurs that offer funding opportunities to help scale up businesses. There are small business grants for women, small business federal contractor programs, SCORE services, Small Business Administration resources for veterans, and many more.
Write a blog
A website isn’t enough. You have to work on getting an audience for your products and services. Why not form a blog? There are many free blogging platforms that you could use. You may also opt to have a “Blog” page on your website. Update your content, preferably two to three times a week, with solutions and interesting facts about how your business can be able to help people.
To have more interesting content, try incorporating images or producing podcasts and videos that answer your customers’ questions. Quality content is key to optimizing readership and getting your business out there.
Establish social connections
Okay, you have a website and a blog. But how do you grow organic traffic to your website and blog? This is where you need to establish social connections by applying a social media strategy.
See where your target customers often hang out online. Top social media sites for business include Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. In order to form real connections, you have to gain trust from your audience. Skip the generic written fluff; promote content that particularly addresses your target customers’ needs. You can also share other people’s posts, and see if they reciprocate by promoting yours. Use social media to respond to quickly customers’ questions and boost your online reputation as a wholesome business.
Create email lists
A mailing list is a way for Internet users to periodically keep up with resources and topics they’re engaged in. To build a mailing list, you can produce Ebooks or resource guides from your content in exchange for a customer’s email address. Don’t scrimp on your offer; provide the best stuff. If you furnish your subscribers well with a foretaste on what your products and services are all about, you will get to establish a loyal following and keep them interested about your online business.
Know if you’re getting traffic
It’s important to keep up with your traffic numbers to see what your target audience likes. You can use Google Analytics that provides detailed stats to help you determine your website’s traffic. While you can draw tons of traffic from your social media sites and website, if your readers come and quickly leave, you’re wasting your efforts.
Take time to evaluate your monthly Google Analytics and use that information to improve your site and content. From this, you can figure out what your readers really want.