Starting a business online goes far more than just creating a website and starting to post ads on Instagram. Just like a brick-and-mortar business, an online business also requires a level of diligence and commitment. Today, many people are rushing to start a business online, but, unfortunately, more than 50% of online startups fail in the first year. Wondering why they fail? They refuse to learn how to make an online business work.
In this post, we have outlined 10 steps to follow to help you build an enduring online business without burning your fingers. While the steps do not necessarily have to be completed in order, they will help to provide a good foundation that will help to bear the weight of the future of your business.
Steps for Building a Successful Online Business
#1: Find a business idea
Every great business starts with an idea. This step could be one of the most challenging steps in starting an online business. So how do you find a good business idea for your online business? Try and ask yourself what skills you think you have. What special knowledge do you possess? Do you find any topics especially interesting? What do your friends think you are good at? What needs do you think you can provide solutions to in your neighborhood or state? Answering all these questions will help you come up with a perfect idea for your online business.
#2: Assess the viability of your business idea
Just having a good idea is not enough, you need to check if such an idea is marketable. Check how feasible the idea is. Even if you have the most brilliant business idea, if there is no market for it, you will soon become frustrated. To evaluate your idea, ask yourself the following questions:
- Will your product or service be providing a solution to any problem of a substantial group of people?
- Is the solution provided cost-effective enough?
- Will people be willing to spend money to solve such a problem?
- How easily can you reach people that really need the solution?
#3: Conduct online market research
You can’t just open your online business straight away without first researching what the market holds for you. Comprehensive online market research will help you have an in-depth idea of who your customer is and what your competitors are doing. This will become a tool for you to know how to position your brand for a fair share of the market.
Use tools like Google Trends, Answer the Public, or SEMrush to have a background check on the keywords your competitors are likely ranking for and how you can also get low-hanging keywords for your own online business.
#4: Write a solid business plan for your online business
Once you have a good and marketable business idea and also know what the market competition looks like, the next thing is to write a comprehensive business plan. A business plan will help you take the right step at the right time. It will also help you spot potential bumps down the road while you plan for future growth and profitability.
Your business plan should include your business goals, objectives, initial costs, marketing strategy, and competition analysis. You can consider it as the road map to your online business success.
#5: Decide on what structure you want for your business
What business structure you are assuming will determine the tax and legal requirements you are to meet. Common business structures include sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, and corporation. While each of these structures differs in perks, they also have their individual downsides. So make sure you consult an attorney before finally settling for one.
#6: Be legally compliant
Even with an online business, you will need to obtain the appropriate business-formation documents and paperwork to operate on the right side of the law. This may include registering the business with the appropriate government authorities, get necessary licenses and permits, and meeting all state and federal tax requirements.
However, legal requirements to open an online-based business vary from state to state. So, you will need to make inquiries about what requirements you need to run such an online business in your state.
#7: Create and design a website
Remember, you are creating an online-based business, so you will definitely need a website to run it. But when designing your website, ensure to make it professional and keep it simple. Your website is the first thing your potential customer sees about your business, and you have a very short time to grab their attention. So it’s important to keep things simple and straight to the point. Don’t keep your audience waiting too long to guess what you sell or what service you offer. So:
- Keep your design simple
- Choose one or two plain colors
- Make an opt-in offer to collect potential customer’s email
- Make it easy to purchase on the site
- Include videos to enhance your message. But make it professional enough to grab their attention. You can explore such a tool as Movavi Video Editor Plus to create great videos for your site and social media.
- Make it easy to navigate. It just has to be customer-friendly
#8: Use social media and search engines to drive buyers to your site
When all is said and done, you will need to find a means of getting customers to buy on your site. That is how your business grows. So, leverage social media and search engines to drive relevant buyers to your online store.
Try pay-per-click ads (PPC) and see how much wonder it can perform for your business. PPC will not only help promote your business to the right people and bring instant traffic but will also help you figure out your highest-converting keywords.
#9: Leverage the power of email marketing
One amazing way to turn mere visitors into buyers is to leverage the power of email marketing. When you have an opt-in list, you are simply building an asset for your business. When those customers submitted their email on your site, they literally gave you permission to contact them through an email.
Leveraging that can help you build a relationship with them. It makes it easier to sell to them, and, to top things up, email marketing is a very cheap and effective marketing option compared to newspaper, radio, or TV. It is highly targeted.
So, use tools like CoSchedule, ConvertKit, MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, and Aweber to take your email marketing to the next level.
#10: Use back-end sales and upselling to increase your income
The truth is that at least 36% of people who once purchased from you will do it again if you effectively follow them up. Convincing them to make the first purchase is the hardest part, and maybe the most expensive. So getting them to buy again should not be that difficult. These are what you should do:
- Send them coupons they can redeem in their next visit
- Offer complementary products to their original purchase
- Offer related products when thanking them for their purchase
- Reward their loyalty with a discount or give-away
Final Note
There is nothing as pleasing and satisfying as working for yourself. It helps you focus on your dreams and passions while making a good income for yourself. All you need is to find a way to create a solution to a problem and get people to subscribe to the solution.
We have provided some effective steps you can follow to start and build a successful business online. Go through them again and let them guide you into your future.
