Business on the Internet is different from the usual way of selling. Otherwise, everything is the same: draw up a business plan, open an account, and form start-up capital.
Step 1. Choose what you want to do
Sell goods
They now value locally produced products or something unique, made with soul and in small quantities.
To provide services
Tutors, auditors, lawyers, stylists, psychotherapists, and vocal teachers are also searched on the Internet. Instead of living consultations, doctors communicate with patients via Skype, and stylists select images in online stores. It is economically profitable to sell services on the Internet because you can start a business without investing in production.
Step 2: Formulate a Unique Selling Proposition
To capture the attention of your potential customers and stand out in the marketplace:
- Think about your unique selling proposition – USP.
- Be specific about the feature that sets you apart from others.
- Describe it in a way that is understandable to customers and meets their needs.
For example: “We will deliver the food 15 minutes after the order”, “I will bring you a cake myself so that the courier does not crush it on the way.”
Step 3. Define the target audience
Find out who your buyer is: how old is he, what is his income, in what area does he work (or does not work at all), and what is he interested in his free time. By getting to know a potential customer, you will understand what he will like about your product and how to advertise it.
Step 4. Choose how to advertise and promote
First, word of mouth, subscriptions of friends, and friends of friends will help. But if you want to develop, you need to advertise yourself.
Any advertising on the Internet is targeted, that is, targeted – it is always designed for a specific user or a specific request. Therefore, the better you know your audience, the more effective your marketing campaign will be.
Contextual advertising
The cost depends on how many times your ad will be clicked on (whether they buy something or not); you will pay so much money. The ad must lead somewhere – for example, to a website.
Social media advertising
When choosing bloggers, do not focus only on the number of subscribers. The wider the audience, the more diverse it is.
Look at likes under posts and at reach and interactions (how many people left comments, added to bookmarks, shared).
Content Marketing
You can have an account on Facebook or Twitter. Post beautiful photos of cakes that you baked yesterday, and tell us how and from what dough you make them. Other users – confectioners or just sweet lovers – will read your stories and wait for new ones to come out, start following you regularly, and then they will also want to taste the dessert. This is how content marketing works.
Step 5: Plan your spending
You will need money for:
- To pay duties and taxes.
- For production and marketing.
- For the possible rental of premises (for a warehouse, for example) and delivery to other cities.
- For employee salaries.
There may be other costs associated with the specifics of your business.
Step 6: Decide on the legal form
Choose a form that requires minimal costs and work with documents at the start of your Internet business. Or you will need an accountant who will keep records.