10 Smart Ways to a Successful New E-Business
A strong mailing service company can help you expand your business while maintaining quality customer service.
Are you looking to expand your online business or to finally start the website that you know will increase your business? There has never been a better time to enter the booming e-commerce world, but there are many pitfalls for those that are not familiar with this new economy. We have compiled a list of some of the best things to spend money on to help your website. This list was generated by polling a large group of e-commerce professionals and ranking their responses.
KD Mailing works with many online businesses by handling their warehousing and order fulfillment needs. This includes a state of the art shipping solution that keeps you in touch with your customers and your customers in touch with their orders. Mailing services are rarely on the radar screen when starting an online business, but they can become an issue rather quickly.
#1 – Dedicated Server
The number one item that most e-commerce professionals view as the best money they have spent was for a dedicated server. A dedicated server can be bought, but it is more popular to rent the server and let the host worry about security and keeping it updated. With a dedicated server you don’t have to worry about another website unleashing bad code and bringing down the server with your site on it. Simply put, a dedicated server is stable, secure and fast.
#2 – Domain Name
Having a quality domain name is one of the most important things you can purchase to help ensure the success of your website. According to e-commerce professionals it is the 2nd best way to spend your money. A quality domain name will be something that is easy to speak, easy to remember, easy to spell and if you bought a premium domain it will also be a domain that has generic traffic. Cute, misspelled domains that sound like real words may make you think your cool, but after six months of your traffic going to what the domain sounds like instead of how it’s spelled and your likely to feel sick instead of hip. Goofy names used to be anti-establishment, but that wore off with the progression of search engines. Now, bad names tend to look ugly, not smart and kind of cheap. As an example, look at the newly launched Pownced.com (pronounced ‘pounded’) versus pounced.com. Pownced.com is trying real hard to be cool with the sound alike typo, but they are going to lose bunches of traffic to the real name – pounced.com. Don’t go cheap on the best names.
#3 – Quality Programmer
Trying to save money by outsourcing your programming to cheap labor is often a huge waste of both time and money. At least according to our e-commerce professionals. Missed deadlines and project restarts are two of the most common downsides to going with cheap – usually out of country – skilled labor. Hiring professionals with a proven track record is the #3 best way to spend money on your online business. If you need the cost savings of cheap labor try to start small and build into your larger projects with programmers that you have tested and now trust that can complete your projects.
#4 Trade Sites / Blogs
Keeping in touch with your market and the movers and shakers within that market is the fourth best way to spend your money. Networking with your peers can turn thin online relationships into deep, profitable off line business plans. Being better educated allows you to better predict the ebbs and flows of your market and usually lead to better profitability.
#5 – Books / Education
Keeping your edge sharp is the 5th best way to spend your money. Internet marketing is a very competitive environment with changing platforms, technology and players. Keeping up on new techniques, programming environments, languages and marketing studies is one of the best ways to invest in your company.
#6 Quality Designer
Like a quality programmer, having a top notch designer will help make your online business stand out. Professional graphics really rise to the top when your website is surrounded by 100’s of amateur level graphic designs. Note: your designer builds the images and graphics that are used on your site. They should have nothing to do with the sales/marketing of the site. This means, they have nothing to do with the site layout.
#7 Dual Monitors
Dual monitors are like dial up versus broadband connections – they are one of those upgrades that once you start using them it is difficult to go back. Increased productivity is the big winner here.
#8 Quality Hosting
If you don’t have the need for a dedicated server then you will be going with some kind of hosted solution. Internet hosts are not all the same and the old adage is very true here; you get what you pay for. Go with a higher quality host to help avoid slow page load times, security holes, shady host practices and low levels of support.
#9 Quality Chair
If you’re going to be setting for long periods of time like most Internet business owners you will want to invest in a back saving chair. The most mentioned chair among e-commerce professionals is the Herman Miller Aeron. It supports the posture very well and often extends the working hours of Internet professionals as their backs and legs don’t become sore as often. Seriously, save your back.
#10 PPC – Pay Per Click Advertising
Pay per click (PPC) is an advertising model used on search engines, advertising networks, and content websites/blogs, where advertisers only pay when a user actually clicks on an ad to visit the advertiser’s website. Advertisers bid on keywords they predict their target market will use as search terms when they are looking for a product or service. When a user types a keyword query matching the advertiser’s keyword list, or views a page with relevant content, the advertiser’s ad may be shown. This advertising model has changed the face of the Internet.