Business Sphere

I got interested in applying my knowledge in marketing to online business when PJ, the wife of my blogger-friend Mike of Mike’s Blog Marketing Tips, launched her own body and bath lotion online store—that is, store on the internet.

PJ, the romantic blogger behind the wonderful personal diary blog PJ’s Prose, has branded her bath and body creations, consisting of body lotion, facial scrub and fragrance oil using natural ingredients as “Tranquil Desires”.

Now, I believe that to get more customers and expand a home-based business—or any business for that matter—the internet is a potent and awesome tool.

In home-based business, for example, your customers are limited within your neighborhood or community. But if you use the internet, your buyers can be anywhere in the world, as long as they have access to the internet.

Therefore, since the principle of marketing is universal and is applicable in any place and in any business—whether offline or online, the following principles are basic and can be used by any entrepreneur as ingredients to make his/her online business a success.

1). Know your market niche. Niche marketing is important so that you can target your potential customers on the Net effectively. The benefit of having an online business with targeted niche is its high and enormous profit potential because your market is borderless. Thus, you can reach your customers through advertising and promotion, also on the net.

2). Know your niche’ needs and wants. The age-old saying is still apt: “Find a need and fill it.” The key to building up your online business is to know first who your potential consumers are or will be and to clearly understand their needs and wants, tastes and preferences.

Knowing your customers’ needs and wants and provide them with products or services that meet  their tastes and preferences will make them your loyal customers, giving your business the basis for its survival, growth and profitability.

3). Build a business website. How do you promote and market your products and services on the web?  Of course, by having your own website or blog as a vehicle, a marketing tool.

Since your blog is the bridge to reach your target customers anywhere in the world, it must also be promoted to have traffic. Here, it is necessary to advertise your blog as your advertise your products and services.

One best way in blog promotion and traffic generation is to submit your blog to search engines, especially to Google, Yahoo! and Bing to have good search engine results page (SERP), especially on Google.

Traffic from search engines is the only constant and steady source of targeted traffic, and it’s free. This is because everyday millions of people search the web to find information, acquire new knowledge, or to look for products and services to meet their needs and wants.

As such, if your blog promoting your products and services have better SERP, people can find your merchandise on the web through your blog and click through to your site’s cart or buy and pay page.

Conclusion

There are many other proven and effective strategies that an online entrepreneur can do to make his/her business survive, grow, and become profitable.

This includes building an affiliate network, develop a good support system, participating in internet business or internet marketing forums and helping others along the way.

But when all is said and done, only three things matter to make your online business or store a success: marketing, marketing and marketing.