Sales And Marketing For Online Businesses

Your Website Preview 07:28

Having a dedicated website just for your business can be a huge help. It's basically business central. This is where it all happens. Product announcements, communication, links to every aspect of your business presence, helpful information, and value. It really depends on type of business you conduct. In some cases a blogging website will be best. We will talk about your options in this lecture, the best way to go, domains, branding, and how to optimize your site. Before you push your business hard have your website ready to go and this lecture will help you get started.

Branding Preview 07:46

We talked about branding briefly in our previous lecture. For this lecture we will go into greater detail. Branding a business and/or yourself matters. Your goal is to have your name or your business name associated with your product type. When people think of that product they will think of you. It also helps build your reputation. I have some great tips and real life examples of how this works and why it matters.

Section 2 Completion Quiz

This quiz will test you on some of the important things you learned in section 2.

Efficiency/Time Matters Preview 08:57

This is a very important lecture. We associate money with business but time is just as important. For example if you spend four hours on a project that earns you a dollar or two than it is worth that time you just spent? Are you earning the type of income you need in order to survive? These are questions only you can answer. I will arm you with knowledge in this lecture and then you will need to put it to use in order to best serve your business. Always remember that time is money in business.

Control Your Business Preview 08:00

My biggest online business is my Etsy shop. This is where I earn 90% of my online income from. As a small business I depend upon Etsy. Imagine one morning I wake up and they have shut down for good! Now what? I need to be prepared to keep my business going using other outlets and that is what this lecture is all about. I am going to teach you how to control your business by being prepared and not depending 100% on outside forces. I have many great examples to share that will make a huge difference to your business.

Multiple Streams Of Income Preview 08:09

This lecture relates to our previous one. Things change often online. Popular websites disappear and small businesses end. If we rely on just once source for our income and then things change we could go broke. This happens daily to so many. It is best to earn from more than just place and that is why this lecture has been created. I have some great tips for earning multiple streams of income and if things go well this will also help you earn much more money!

Section 3 Completion Quiz

Time for another quick quiz! Please complete before moving onto section 4.

Marketing Analogy Preview 09:22

What does the human body and marketing have in common? You'd be surprised! In this lecture I will explain my unusual marketing analogy that compares the process of online marketing to the actual human body. Once this lecture is over you should have a much better understanding of this whole things works. Not only that but it will difficult to forget as well!

Traffic Preview 04:48

No business can survive without traffic. Places like the local deli depend upon car and foot traffic. An online business like Etsy depend upon internet traffic. This is why Google is so big. We need people to find our products and services and that is done through traffic. All fo this will explained in more detail in today's lecture. If you have not been taking notes you might want to here. Traffic will become the lifeblood of your business so this lecture is very important.

Email/Newsletter Preview 05:40

Sure you have the traffic coming into your website, blog, or online shop but not everyone is going to buy. This is where email newsletters come in handy. It is a way for you to hold onto your visitors and build a relationship with them overtime. They may not buy today but a few weeks from now they might. Having this option allows you to increase your odds and your sales otherwise you lose that potential sale. I will share my tips, how to go about this, explain autoresponders, and what not to do in this lecture.

Keyword & Marketing Research Preview 14:29

This is usually the most boring and tedious part of marketing but it is needed. Before creating your product listings, ads, blog posts, etc it is important to know what people are actually looking for and interested in. If your main keyword is something that gets searched less than 10 times a month your chances of success are very slim. No one will find you. This lecture will explain exactly what you need to do and I will also take you on a tutorial showing you a simple way to research your keywords.

Blogging Preview 14:39

It's true that not everyone is a writer but in the 21rst century most online business owners are. It is another form of advertising that makes multiple connections with your customer base and potential customers. It allows you to use your keywords to grab people from the search engines, allows you to go into detail about your business and products, and is a free way to advertise. You don't need to be a Stellar writer like Stephen King or J.K Rolling. You just need to provide valuable content. In this lecture I will show you how to write a blog post and share tips on where and when to post as well as how often. After this video you will be blogging with the best of them.

Call To Action Preview 05:47

In order to make your videos, blog posts, and website effective you need to have what's called a “call to action”. It's a simple one or two sentence teaser ad that invites readers and viewers to go deeper. Whether it's visit a sales page, a capture page, another blog post, etc. It is what makes your post or video a piece of advertising. I will explain more in the video lecture and teach you how to utilize this in your marketing efforts.

Social Media Preview 04:56

This lecture will focus on social media as a whole. Most times this a free way to advertise. There is a right way to do it and a wrong way. I will go over all of that. Many in business benefit from the instant connection that social media provides and it should be part of your business.

Ebay & Craigslist Preview 06:43

Ebay and Craigslist are two very large websites. Both can be helpful to your business however for their positives there are also many negatives. I use both sites and I have been selling on eBay since 2000. Recently I was finally crowned as a “Top Rated Seller” by eBay. There are lot of details here but when the video lecture is over you will have the knowledge you need to utilize these sites properly for your business and marketing needs.

Forums Preview 03:09

Forums can be tricky. You can't just start pushing your products. It will take time but once you build a decent reputation your name and brand will grow enough where people will want to visit your site. This can be a fantastic free source of traffic and sales. All of this will be covered in this lecture.

Offline Advertising Preview 06:33

Sometimes old school still works! Advertising outside the internet is still very effective. You can pass out business cards, flyers, or more advanced stuff like radio ads and billboards. There are many different things you can do to get exposure and hopefully sales and we will go through them in this lecture.

Trade shows/Events Preview 03:56

In line with our last lecture a more advanced way to advertise your business is through trade shows and events. You can get a booth and demonstrate your product, do giveaways, contests, and make sales. It all depends upon the event but this is a great way to grow your brand. This is more advanced but this lecture is designed to get you thinking out of the box.

Paid Ads Preview 13:37

Once your business starts making money or you have it now you can invest in advertising. This type of advertising is typically less time consuming, works faster, and can generate lots of traffic in a short amount of time. This should be something you work towards as your business grows. The are many different options available and we will go over each one in today's video lecture.

Section 4 Completion Quiz

This quiz covers some important info learned in section 4. Test yourself to see how much you learned.

Video Marketing Preview 08:20

People respond to visuals and video is highly effective. There are endless possibilities as to what you can do. Your videos can be one on one conversations, tutorials, product demo, behind the scenes, and commercials. In this lecture you will also learn how to market that video in order to increase traffic. You will also learn tips for creating fantastic professional videos such as lighting, audio, and video quality. This is one lecture you don't want to miss.

Becoming A Better Speaker Preview 10:09

Way too many people fear speaking in public and on video. Others just lack the skills. It really isn't as bad as most think. In this lecture I have some tips for overcoming this so that you can be a fearless and confident leader in your business. We will discuss having passion, believing in what you are saying, and being truthful.

Section 5 Completion Quiz

A short quiz to see what you learned in section 5.

Customer Service Preview 06:19

When it comes to online business owners they lack good customer service skills. Many don't think this will be a skill set needed but if you are selling your own products, communicating through email or phone then yes you do need this. During this lecture we will discuss this and I will help you develop these skills. They are important because your connection to your customers could affect the success of your business.

Conclusion Preview 04:38

As we wrap up our final lesson we spend some time going over everything we talked about. Now that you have the knowledge it's time to put it all together. You will also find some inspiration as well.

Section 6 Completion Quiz

This is the final quiz! Take it and then congratulate yourself for completing this course.