Are you maximizing the online potential for your business?This is just the question I asked myself during a “business brainstorm” session over a cup of breakfast tea yesterday morning.
That train of thought got me thinking about how I could best categorize the different types of “Internet Business” possible. You might also think of this listing in terms of income streams.
This is by no means exhaustive, but captures the essential methods to make money online.
To illustrate how one person could make use of all four areas, I’ll use “Bookseller Bob” as our case study. Mr. Bookseller owns a small but growing bookstore in his hometown and is thinking seriously about taking his business live on the web.
Each area begins with a “You” statement to sum-up the basic form of doing business – perhaps something like what I might say to Bob as his Internet Business Consultant.
1. Offline-Online Hybrid Marketing
“You can use the Web to enhance your offline marketing systems.”
Technically, we all fall into this category. As the late, great Gary Halbert often insisted, the Web is a “delivery system” and nothing else. While that is debatable, I think Halbert’s point is worth taking.
The offline-online hybrid takes Halbert’s advice very seriously and applies the most conservative approach to using the web.
For our case study, Bookseller Bob would begin very simply by putting up a primitive website with basic information about his store and his products. He might also include an opt-in form to collect email addresses and ramp up his email marketing campaign.
2. Affiliate Marketing
“You can create content to promote other people’s products.”
Now that Bookseller Bob is running a website, he might also consider adding a blog for his musings about books, book business, and other topics of interest.
Of course, one approach is to use the blog as a means of promoting his website and thus his bookstore. Or, Bob could monetize the blog to generate some extra cash from Google Adsense or other affiliate programs.
3. Single Product Marketing
“You can promote primarily one or a few products that “live” on the web, but can also be ordered by phone or mail.”
With a great landing-site and a thriving blog under his belt, Bob is becoming quickly convinced of the true marketing power of the web.
A lot of his readers and friends are even beginning to ask questions about his business model. Like any smart entrepreneur, Bob decides to diversify even further and thus pursues his next project: creating an information product.
Info products fit nicely into virtually any business model, but Bob is especially suited for this - he loves to write and knows how to convey information well for others.
Bob comes up with a working title, “Bootstrap Bookshop Marketing,” and starts working immediately on composition and layout. He then buys www.bootstrapbookshop.com, hires a sales-page copywriter, and arranges for credit card processing.
4. Wholesale or Drop Ship Middleman
“You can market other people’s physical products and use drop shipping or wholesale purchasing methods.”
Bob is still on a quest to maximize his web marketing system and is now thinking about increasing his product sales.
He learns about the simplicity of drop-shipping and begins making plans to open up a Yahoo or other merchant store on his website. Instead of only selling his physical inventory, Bob makes arrangements with a wholesale book distributor to drop ship and make light wholesale purchases for his online customers.
While this case study offers a seamless progression through these business growth stages in web marketing, it is by no means a step-by-step guide. Think of each example as a possibility and then position your business accordingly.
That said, if Bob’s process can help you navigate towards higher process, go for it!
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