12 tips for starting an online business

Starting an online business has challenges. Here are 12 tips from my digested experience starting an online business.

Assess your idea's feasibility!

Every invention begins as a thought. Your idea should confidently answer questions like;

• Is there a need for your business? Can your service or product solve a problem for many people?
• Can your business offer a cost-effective fix to that challenge?
• Are your potential customers willing to spend money to solve that problem?
• What costs would be involved to create the solution and still make a profit?

Use Lean Canvas and SWOT analysis for your business plan

A workable idea forms the foundation when you build an online business. The next logical step is a business plan and strategy. I prefer Lean Canvas to a formal document with many pages people won't read.

Focus on eliminating waste, i.e., waste of time, processes, admin, etc. You can achieve this by being 'lean' in every way possible. The lean canvas will show your business model's crucial aspects in one actionable page.

Add in some simple SWOT analysis for good measure, and you're on the way to building something special.

Think about an appealing brand name.

Creating a unique name is crucial when starting an online business.

You will compete against competitors fighting for the same market share. It's all about which brand is good enough to attract and keep new customers. A brilliant name is one method of achieving this.

An appealing brand name is short, easy to spell, memorable, and scalable.

Consider the domain name. Your business name can be different from your domain name. In either case, the same rules apply. Prioritize the ".com" extension and learn more about acquiring a cheap but great domain.

Stupidly Simple Design

Simplicity is the name of the game when it comes to web design. This simplifies navigation and enhances faster page loading times, among many other benefits.

I recommend using stock images and taking inspiration from your favorite sites. I have some high-yield detailed tips to help you make simple and beautiful designs. Read Thumbnails that Rock! 6 Principles to Follow! to make beautiful designs for your thumbnails and website.

Be a Criminal.

There will be a lot of legal stuff to sort. However, it's best to first focus on other things. The most important task is to get your business running, irrespective of how scrappy it may seem.

There are general guidelines that guide you through this process.

Register your business. Have necessary licenses (if required). Be mindful of the business type you choose. You can choose a sole trader, a limited liability, or a partnership.

There are details you must incorporate on your website. These are your trading name, email address, physical address, and registration number.

The website should include terms of service, a risk disclaimer, a privacy policy, a cookie policy, and a return policy for e-commerce businesses. Adhere to the necessary data protection policies.

Develop and implement pre-launch marketing strategies.

A new enterprise will have a hard time standing out from the competition. Get your marketing on point, especially at the launch phase.

I always think of how to sell it before I make it. It's about finding strategies that keep your clients coming back for more. I use unique strategies to market Goleko. Read Crazy Marketing Strategy Goleko.com to gain unique insights that can be implemented in your marketing strategy.

Social Media Marketing for your website.

It's crucial to drive people to your websites. That's where Social Media Marketing (SSM) comes in.

There are several types of marketing. Most companies focus on social media platforms. They focus less on non-digital channels like radio, TV, and newspapers.

There are several billion people on social media. Promoting your business on social media is beneficial to drive traffic to your site.

Make your website attractive to search engines.

Search engines like Google are crucial to generating organic traffic. Target each of your pages for the main keywords, incorporate internal linking, acquire backlinks, and create quality content.

I prioritize the highest page-loading speed and responsiveness for web and mobile. Get verified by search engines, run paid ads, and get indexed. I ensure relevant pages can run without JavaScript.

Consider regular and relevant content publishing.

A website needs regularly published and relevant material to appear on search rankings. These are blogs, videos, testimonials, etc.

This leads to more customers knowing your business, increasing their chances of purchasing your product or service.

The key is knowing what clients want to read and how that drives interest in your business. Your content needs to be fresh and evergreen.

I speak more about this section in our article Developing Content for Every Stage of the Customer Journey

Follow your customers and subscribers with e-mails.

E-mail is one of the best marketing strategies for small businesses. It's cheaper than print, radio, and TV.

Billions of people have e-mail accounts, and it is highly targeted.

People opting for an e-mail list show commitment and interest in your company. This improves conversion rates.

Increase your income through back-end sales and upselling.

Upselling is one of the oldest tricks to building any business. Customers are likely to buy from the same company after their first purchase, assuming they are happy.

A business makes much of its income from loyal customers. I use upselling strategies like suggesting relevant products or services that complement the initial sale, offering upgrades, and using discounts or loyalty points on future orders (e-mail marketing ties in nicely here).

Use of webmaster tools/analytics.

Consistently analyze your website. A webmasters or web analytics tools are necessary. They help you track the number of visitors daily, weekly, and monthly.

They also track the number of page views, bounce rate, time spent by your visitors on each page, broken links, page download time, number of backlinks, and crawling for errors that make your site less SEO-friendly.

Summary

A lot of work is involved when building your online business. It can grow into something more significant once you catch enough eyeballs. A lot of collaboration is required when creating an online presence.

This collaboration requires a good platform to work from to get things done. This is why we use Goleko. It is an awesome project management tool that allows for easy collaboration and immense work done. Try Goleko today for some of the best speeds and state–of–the–art functionality. You can’t go wrong with Goleko.

You can use crazy marketing strategies to enhance your marketability. We have created a special piece that details this for you. Read Crazy Marketing Strategy Goleko.com.

You can also get the best insights on why IT is a great career choice. Read Why IT Is The Best Sector to Work In. I have shared the most crucial tips with you. All that's left is to commit and put in the work! If you need advice on how to build your first product MVP - reach out to me on Twitter or fill out a form.