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Local Business  » Starting an On-line Business - Three Things You'll Need

Starting an On-line Business - Three Things You'll Need

Are you thinking about starting an on-line business? Maybe you

have a vague idea of what's required - maybe you haven't a clue.

This article outlines three basic, non-negotiable things that

you will need.

1. Premium web hosting

I suppose it is possible to make a modest income on-line without

your own website. But, it is practically impossible to make

serious income without your own site. This applies whether

you're selling on eBay, marketing affiliate programs, or selling

your own product or service.

A web host provides you with your space on the internet. You

want to make sure you get a host who can provide you with plenty

of space to grow and excellent data transfer rates. The last

thing you want to do is fall for one of the free services that

only gives you a small amount of space or can only handle a very

limited amount of traffic. You don't want to be forced to move

your site to a different web host after quickly outgrowing your

free space.

2. Sequential auto responders

As may be evident from the name, an auto responder can

automatically reply to emails. A "sequential" auto-responder can

be set up to send multiple, sequential emails at designated time

intervals. For instance, if you invite your web site visitors to

sign-up for a free e-zine (i.e., electronic magazine), your web

page would be programmed to send an email to your auto responder

e-mail address. The auto responder would then send one, two, or

more messages, at programmed intervals (perhaps a week apart) to

your visitor. This builds your "brand name" in the minds of your

visitors and increases the chances that they will buy your

product. And, guess what? You're building your "brand" with

little effort on your part! Imagine the time this would take to

manually send these emails to each web visitor?

3. Advice from a trusted source

So, what are the key steps in marketing your product or service?

The internet is a virtual sea of information. Navigating through

it is best done with the help of someone who has already learned

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through the "school of hard knocks". Perhaps you personally know

someone who has this knowledge, but if you're like most people,

you really don't know whom to trust. My advice is to find a

product or service which offers this type of "how-to" advice.

The available options range from fluff to very valuable. Let the

buyer beware! There are several ways to verify the claims being

made by the sellers of these services. First, check the traffic

numbers for the service's web site on alexa.com. The lower the

web site ranking, the better. Next, ask for advice on the

internet marketing forums. Many of the participants in these

forums know their way around the internet and can help you

evaluate the quality of a particular product or service.

About the author:

Dave Keegan works full-time as a systems analyst for a large

corporation and has quality ideas for helping people get started

in internet marketing. For more information, visit:

www.dkeeganonline.com