Survival of the Fittest--Building Your Business

With all the other businesses out there you must find
a way to market your business uniquely (a “niche”)
causing it to stand out from among the rest.

Be prepared to work at building your business.
You must build relationships with your customers and
fellow netpreneurs by building a good reputation, one
customer at a time.

So what does this have to do with the Internet? Or maybe
you are thinking, "How does this apply to me. I don't
even see or talk to my customers, it's all automated."

Even with the overwhelming size of the Internet and the
online businesses, business still boils down to people,
people make decisions based on 'relationships',
and relationships are made, one-on-one.

Know Your Customers…
This one-to-one marketing is also known as customer
relationship management. Online, I call it Internet
relationship management and it's accomplished by
providing absolutely outstanding service to your
online customers.

Lay A Solid Foundation…
Start by building a good reputation. Present yourself
as reliable, honest and trustworthy, a person who knows
what you are doing, be a person of your word, and
foremost…always put your customer first.

Enthusiasm is exciting and contagious! Be confident
and competent in your business. The customer will get
caught up in your enthusiasm.

Build relationships with your customers and fellow
netpreneurs. Make your web site, ezine and products
“user friendly” by asking for their participation and their
opinions. Let them get to know you and your business.
On the Internet, you can build both personal and
business relationships without actually “meeting”
someone.

E-Mail Priority
E-mail is to the online line customer what the telephone
is to the storefront business...It is the lifeline.

Answer all your e-mail inquiries as soon a possible.
Try to make it a priority to respond within 24 hours.
This demonstrates a lot about you, your business
practices and it also reflects your character. Be as
helpful and as personable as possible.

Remember you once needed help too. Most of the time
these people will become customers and subscribe
to your ezine as well.

Publish Your Own Ezine…
This is one of the best business-building tools on the
Internet and it is not hard to do. There are sites that offer
free Ezine templates and many sites from which to get “free
content” articles for placing in your Ezine (use
BizyBodies.com’s free content articles).

Ezine publishing allows you to market to your database
of customers and prospects, with new offers, updates
on your site or products, resources and any other
information you have to make available. At the same time
sending a timely ezine keeps your name and information
in front of your customers and prospects.

Write and Submit Articles…
By far the best business-building resource and most
powerful form of free advertising on the Internet! Share
your knowledge, experience and expertise and receive
free publicity by writing articles.

Writing is the most important skill you can learn for online
marketing. This establishes you as an expert in your field
while building your reputation and business, plus giving
you author status. This is another way of keeping your
information in front of people.

Writing articles is not as difficult as it sounds. You don’t
have to be a professional writer, just write your article
as if you were talking to a person sitting there beside you,
one-on-one. Research your subject information and
share what you know.

Write short articles around 500-1000 words. Then market
your articles in different areas. Post you article on your
web site, publish it in your Ezine, Submit your article to other
ezines, offer as “free content” to other web sites, and/or
compile a series of articles into a “free e-book bonus”.

Networking…
Network through message boards, discussion groups and
newsgroups. Become part of a question and answer group
or get involved in conversations and become known and trusted
in your in your field.

This builds your reputation and establishes you as being reliable
and trustworthy. Subscribe to and read other peoples ezines
of similar interests. Good quality ezines contain a wealth of
information and resources.

Ask for help and never stop learning. If you not sure
how to do something or have a problem, ask someone.
I have “met” some of the nicest, most helpful and
friendliest people since building my web site
www.bizybodies.com, my ezine and writing my booklet
“92 Professional Telephone Skills, Tips & Techniques”
and this manual.

Setting Goals…
Determine your main goal, and make small “mini” goals
under that. Then work toward reaching one smaller goal at a
time. Setting smaller goals that are attainable make your
large goal easier to reached.

When setting your goals, put a date or time limit on them.
Having an open-end goal can cause you to loose focus.
Do not listen to negative remarks and those who say
you can't do it. Set goals you can stick to and reach.
The only person stopping you is...you!

With each smaller goal you reach, you will gain confidence
and become more excited and focused on the next goal.
Work at it, never loose faith in yourself and before long you
will have reached your main goal!

Organize and Plan Your Time…
There is a lot of time and work involved in creating and
marketing your business. Writing a schedule will help you
with keeping your time organized so that you can get
everything done.

Not having a plan can cause you to feel overwhelmed
and then you are more likely to become discouraged
and give up.

Don’t Be Content To Stay Where You Are…
Things are always changing and moving on the Internet.
Keep on top of things. Continue searching and reading
new information.

Remember to do something every day…send an e-mail,
write or send out an article, post on a message board,
send a letter and booklet to a publication….do something.

As you change and move with the Internet and your business
grows…be prepared to learn new and exciting skills and
techniques along the way to.....Survival of the Fittest!