By Shelley Lowery
Since starting my Internet business back in 1997, I have
learned many lessons along the way. These lessons have
played a major role in my success, and I'd like to share
them with you.
Lesson #1
Collecting your visitors' email addresses should be one of
your top priorities.
Start collecting email addresses the moment you put your
site up. Developing a list of targeted potential customers
is an absolute must.
Although publishing an ezine is usually the best route to
go, it is not a necessity. You can use your list to send out
web site updates, product updates, or whatever you'd like.
Lesson #2
Your web site can either make or break you.
A professional looking web site will play a major role in
your success. If you aren't secure in your abilities to
design a professional looking site, you will be much better
off hiring a professional.
Lesson # 3
If you want to make a lot of money, you must create a niche.
A niche fills a specific customer need.
People want products and services that fulfill a specific
personal need. If you are the first to fulfill the need,
you'll reap the rewards.
Lesson # 4
Generating web site traffic takes a lot of time and effort.
The key to generating a lot of traffic to your site is
getting your link on as many sites as possible. Sure,
listing your site with the Search Engines is your first
step; however, you must not solely rely on Search Engines to
bring you traffic.
My two biggest traffic generators are as follows:
Affiliate Program - Having your own affiliate program is one
of the best ways to get hundreds, even thousands of links to
your web site.
Providing a Free Product or Service - Providing your
visitors with a free product or service is a great way to
drive traffic to your site.
For example, I offer a free article syndication service.
This service provides free content for web sites branded
with a link to my site.
Lesson # 5
Selling your own products and services is much more
profitable than marketing affiliate programs.
Some of the top Internet sellers include:
