Robert Blaise

Planning your eCommerce project

Do you want to succeed in business?  Do you have product or services you want to offer?  If so, you can increase your bottom-line by taking advantage of ecommerce.  If you are afraid because you do not know a lot about internet and ecommerce, it may help you to know some basic information on planning the development of your ecommerce website.

Do not fret; the idea will surely make you feel like there are butterflies in your stomach.  However, there are tools and helpful information on the internet that will help you not just in planning the development of your ecommerce website but the information you may get will help walk you through succeeding on the internet commerce.

What are the things you need to know?  There are a lot and you may read some of those in this article.

Steps you need to take

First, you will need a marketing plan.  How do you do this?

•    Know if your competitor is online or other products and services similar to what you offer.  You will learn a lot from them.
•    Know what products they offer on the internet and how their products are positioned.  You will need to know a different way of offering the same product to the market; this is what is called the unique selling proposition.  Flaunt your USP by sending articles about your product to article syndication websites and directories.
•    Create materials for your products, the first and the foremost is a sales copy.  A strong sales copy is the one that will make your customer open his wallet and make a purchase.
•    Apply for a merchant account so that you can accept credit cards.
•    Design your catalog and insert some reviews to help customers choose your products over others.

Next, design your ecommerce website.  This is the challenge, there are templates on the internet, and ecommerce service providers will be glad to assist you.  However, if you do not have a deep wallet, you may ask some friends if they can recommend a person to design your website.  If you are unlucky with your friends, go back to the internet.  Search for reasonably priced ecommerce service provider.

Because you already have an idea of how you would want your website based on what you see with your competitor and other websites, you may be able to have your website designed properly.

Of course, your designer will have some ideas in mind and considering them may be advantageous.

A professional and user-friendly website is a good start in succeeding in the ecommerce era.  In addition to this, you will need an affiliate program, newsletters and offer promotions.  You ecommerce provider may give you the help you need.

Before you contact an ecommerce service provider, ensure that you have the blueprint on hand.  This will be your guide, having this marketing plan will help you in the process of planning the development of your successful ecommerce website better.

Tags: eCommerce

What is viral marketing and what it can do for you?

Viral marketing is a known word in the World Wide Web.  It is not as dangerous as its namesake flu virus but the name itself says it spreads like virus.  Marketing campaigns and advertisements are costly online or offline.  Thus, many marketers want to use a free means to spread the word about their products or service.

This is where viral marketing comes in.  Viral marketing commonly refers to an email message, a website, or a product download that can be transferred from one user to another.  It will then affect all the people that the message came across.

In definition, viral marketing is a technique that uses pre-existing social networks to produce increase in brand or product awareness.  If you are a marketing professional, you surely know that the more people who knows your product or service, the more profit it will bring for you.

What can viral marketing do for you?

Viral marketing can do everything that your advertisement can do for you.  It can do everything that your marketing campaign can do for you.  Viral marketing can do many things except, it can be less expensive for you and you can do it in just a few minutes.

You surely know that word of mouth advertising is the most effective advertising method, right?  Viral marketing is a word of mouth advertising for free.

Your only investment in this advertising method is the draft of your message.  If it is easy to transfer your message to as many people, it will surely reach significant number in no time.

How can viral marketing be effective?

•    Give away valuable products or services and tell the recipient to invite friends or transfer the same message and their friends will get the same gift for free.  The key is tell how wonderful this free product is and mention the word, free.

•    Give them a good reason to transfer your message to as many people as they please.  Give helpful tips and links and make it easy for them to transfer the message.

•    Make sure the message is clear, they get a free product, and their friends will get a free product as well if they transfer the same message.

•    Ensure that the link works well and if you can, insert the link to your portfolio the better.

Viral marketing is an effective campaign.  Take advantage of viral marketing, the term viral, or virus may be a dreadful word but if you can turn around the message to benefit everyone that receives the message, you are already on your way to success in the eCommerce arena.

Tags: Marketing