When Starting an online business there are numbers of possible steps to follow to ensure great earnings. Most of the successful people that do their business online have some few steps that they took. Even a newbie can benefit from the internet if these steps are properly followed.

The steps include:

1. Identifying a need or opportunity.
2. Write a brief content about that product and services.
3. Get a blog or website that is user friendly.
4. Drive traffic to your blog or website.
5. Build a good reputation.
6. Ensure proper follow-up of your customers & subscribers.
7. Increase your income through back-end sales & up-selling.


1. Identifying a need or opportunity:
Identifying a need or opportunity can be sometimes very difficult. But the internet makes this very easy. Most people make the
mistake of picking a product first before finding a market. To increase your chances of success, start with a market then note some
problems that most people are seeking solutions to, there you can start.

To locate opportunities online make research by:

* Visiting online forum to see what questions people ask and what problems they are trying to solve.
* Make a keyword research to find keywords that people search, but only few websites are competing for it.
* Check out potential competitors website & take note of what they are doing to meet the demands.
* Use what you have learned to create a product or result and do it better than them.

2. Write a brief content about that product and services:
order or purchase it. This step is very important as it sells out your product before you make the actual sales. When writing about the
product or service you render, follow these steps:

* Start with a very compelling headline to arouse the interest of potential customers or subscribers.
* State and describe very clearly the problem that your product solve
* Include testimonies from people that have used your product (If Any).
* Talk about the importance of the product or service and it’s benefit to users.
* Make an offer or discount.
* Make a strong guarantee about the product or service
* Offer “after sales services”.

When doing this, you have to think like a customer and ask yourself “What is in it for me”

3. Get a blog or website that is user friendly:
Once your product & service is ready & you’ve note down your selling process, what you need next is a marketing platform or a means
of contact between you and your customers.

A blog or website is necessary at this point. Remember to keep it simple and it should be user friendly otherwise you’ll loose a lot of potential customers or subscribers.

Some important tips to keep in mind when creating a website include:
* Choose plain fonts on a white background.
* Navigating through the site should be simple.
* Use pictures, audio or video if necessary to send your message.
* Include an opt-in offer to collect e-mails.
* Make it very easy to buy from your website, not more than 2 clicks.
* Include an opt-in for feedback.

4. Drive traffic to your blog or website:
Driving traffic to your website or blog is important, and you can drive traffic to your site or blog by search engines by advertising.
I’ll recommend pay-per-click advertising as it is the easiest way to get traffic. Using pay-per-click has two main advantages:
* Pay-per-click show up on the search page immediately.
* It allows you to test different keywords as well as headlines, price & selling approaches

With this you get immediate traffic & track your best highest-converting keywords which will help your ranking in the organic search results.

5. Build a good reputation:
This involves writing free articles and embedding videos on other website with a link to your own website. The content should be
things of interest to other people with a back-link to your website.
You will reach new readers in better way, every site that post your content will link back to yours.

6. Ensure proper follow-up of your customers & subscribers:
Remember in Step #3 when building a website and make an opt-in offer to collect e-mails, well those emails are very useful.
You can use e-mail marketing to turn visitors into buyers. When your customers or subscribers opt-in for e-mail, they have
given you permission to send them e-mails in regards to your product & services. This is a very hot lead, and e-mail marketing is
the best tool to follow-up that lead.

7. Increase your income through back-end sales & up-selling:
Increasing your income through back-end sales and up-selling is a very important market strategy similar to after-sales service.
36 percent of people who have purchased from you before will buy from you again if you follow-up with them.

* Offer related products on your “Thank You” page after their purchase.
* Reward your customers for their loyalty and they will become more loyal.

If you are just starting a small business online stick to these steps above. If you've been online for a while check and see if there is a step you are neglecting.

source: http://naijapayout..com/2015/05/7-steps-on-how-to-start-online-business_11.html