You’ve chosen a niche, built a platform, and now you’re ready to grow. Or are you? The path to online success is paved with good intentions, but it’s still strewn with obstacles. While it’s never easy to establish yourself in a niche that’s already occupied, it’s twice as challenging to do so when competition is high. In the following pages, we’ll walk you through the steps to take before, during, and after your online business’ launch.
1. Business Name And Logo
Once you’ve determined that online marketing is the right path for your business, the next step is to choose a name and logo that will represent your brand. You can also find a logo design that suits your brand and matches your target audience. Remember: your customers will be searching for your product or service online, so your logo and business name will be what they find when they click on your website’s links or look you up on social media.
2. Domain Name And Web Hosting
Your domain name is the address of your website, and it will be what people type in to find you. For example, if you decide that your website’s URL will be www.example.com, then the domain name example.com is the address of your site. Once you’ve secured your domain name, consider moving to a web hosting service that offers a free domain with your purchase. (You can also find cheaper, shared hosting with a free domain that’s suitable for personal use. Just keep in mind that the fewer ads you see, the more money you’ll save.)
3. Email
Having an email address is more essential than ever if you want to be able to capture leads and build a brand. To secure your domain name and web hosting, you’ll need to set up a simple and secure email address for yourself. You don’t need to go overboard and purchase a fancy appliance or have loads of storage, just make sure that you can receive emails sent to you from companies that you want to work with.
4. Social Media Accounts
With nearly everybody online, it’s essential now more than ever that your business has a presence on social media. By establishing yourself as a thought leader in your industry, you’ll be able to gain credibility with your target audience. Simply install social media apps to your phone, and start connecting with customers and building your following on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
5. Website
The success of any business, large or small, largely depends on its ability to effectively communicate its mission and vision to the public. For that reason, you might want to consider creating a website for your business. A great way to make your business stand out is to choose a unique and striking web address that will attract potential customers to your site. When visitors come to your site, they will immediately know what your business is and whether or not they want to engage with you.
6. Product Presentation
If you’re worried that your business has chosen the wrong niche and don’t want to end up selling a product that no one wants or needs, you might want to study the demographics and psychographics of your target audience. This will help you determine the product or service that they want and need and allow you to present it to them in the most effective manner. Changing your product or service to fit the needs of your target audience is an often-repeated cliché, but it really is the key to organic growth and expanding your business without undue struggle.
7. SEO
If you’ve decided to go the organic route and change your product to suit the needs of your audience, you’ll need to start thinking about SEO, or search engine optimization. SEO is all about getting your website to show up in Google when someone searches for your product or service. The better your SEO, the higher your website will appear in search results. In general, try to keep your SEO as consistent and natural as possible so that you don’t break the code of Google algorithmics.
SEO can be a difficult and time-consuming process, so get a jumpstart on the work by enlisting the help of a reputable SEO specialist. They will be able to give you advice on how to improve your site’s SEO and get its content in the right spot on various search engines.
8. PPC (Pay Per Click)
If you’ve chosen a lucrative and established niche, you might want to consider investing in pay per click ads. With PPC ads, you pay for each click on your ad, so if someone clicks your link and makes a purchase, you’ll earn a small commission. PPC ads are completely free, but you’ll need to upgrade your WordPress account to take advantage of this feature.
9. Analytics
If you’ve decided to go the organic route and change your product to suit the needs of your audience, you’ll need to start thinking about analytics. Analytics will help you track the effectiveness of your marketing and advertising in driving customers to your site and the conversions that result from these efforts. There are many different types of analytics tools, but the most common ones track:
- Website traffic
- E-mail marketing campaigns
- Product purchases
- Geo location
- Demographics and psychographics
- Searches
- Social media activity
- Mobile website traffic
- Online shops
The advantage of using analytics is that you can easily find out which tactics are working and which ones aren’t. You can track the results of your various marketing and advertising efforts and adjust your strategy as needed. Make sure to consider the type of analytics that your marketing platform offers before making any purchasing decisions.
10. Coupon & Discount Codes
If you’ve chosen a profitable niche with high sales volume and want to continue building your business, consider offering discounted rates to attract new customers. People love getting something for nothing, so it’s a great way to gain credibility with your audience. One trick you can use to get people to visit your site is to offer them a discount or coupon code for taking a look around. (You can also find some pretty lucrative coupon codes for popular brands and products that you can use to your advantage.)
11. Bloggers & Vloggers
Blogs and vlogs can be an effective way to attract and retain customers, build credibility, and attract additional sponsorships and collaborations. In order to start creating content for your blog, you’ll first need to establish yourself as an expert in your industry. Once you’ve done that, consider pursuing guest blogging opportunities, which will also help you establish yourself as an authoritative source in your industry. If you’ve chosen a lucrative and established niche, you might also want to consider investing in video content, whether that’s through blogging or vlogging.