₦airaland Forum

Online business has grabbed a lot of attention in the recent years. A lot of brands have started acknowledging the power of online business. They are working actively to be a part of this ever changing business world. The perfect combo of both, online and offline business, gives any business an edge over their competitors.

Here are a few tips to make your online venture worthwhile and make it a success story as well...

1. Always prioritize your first impression

We have heard this phrase many times, "First impression is the last impression" and it turns out to be true for online businesses. If you want to create an impact in the market, you need to work on upon your online presence first. Your website serves as the online platform and acts as the face of your business. You cannot afford to go wrong on this first step of your online business venture.

According to experts, your website design should be simple and navigation friendly to convene your visitors and at the same time,it should be attractive enough to generate interest to explore further. The combination of both has always proved its credentials in the past and would continue to do so as well.

Another important aspect of modern times is to make your website design responsive in order to make it easily accessible through a variety of devices available at the user's disposal.

2. Content will Always Remain King

No matter what business you are in, the content marketing is always going to be there as a driving force behind your online marketing campaigns, advertising campaigns, getting more organic traffic to your site and every other key goals, you want to achieve for your business.

When we say "good content", that means a content which is grammatically sound, relevant to the users, entertain them,add value to users and is ideally designed to sync in well with the search engines like Google. if you take nairaland as an example you will think they are having a deal with google to show them in search. but the truth is that their is no such deal but the wonder that is happening is that they provide unique content that search engines can easily synchronize. when ever you wonder why Nairaland despite not putting too much efforts in advertising on other medias but it is growing bigger by the day and you just cant stop sticking to it, then the only thing i will tell you is "content remains King"

3. Never underestimate the power of social media

Social media platforms have taken the world as a storm and every business wants to utilize it to the utmost level for a better outcome; especially when it comes to designing marketing campaigns.

There are multiple social media platforms and you need to choose one, which is ideal for your business and wherein, you may find your potential customers. One of the key advantages of using social media platforms for your marketing campaigns is the fact that it is cheaper as compared to the traditional marketing channels.

cc:Lalasticlala

you can see more of my write ups @ www.importsng.com

If you're operating a small to medium business, you've probably been told over and over that you need to have a professional Business Blog. i have overly said it myself, and there are plenty of good reasons and ways that a business can successfully use a blog. You can share information about your products and services, relate success stories from your customers, and discuss important topics that are in the news and industry related. However, there are a number of challenges or mistakes that business owners can easily make which will affect the success of your blog. These mistakes can potentially turn your blog from being an asset into a liability.

1. Getting Too Personal
It is very easy to be personal on your blog posts, as it is natural to try to relate your personal life and interests. Some personal touch of course can make the blog post more interesting and compelling, but one must be careful not to be too controversial or too negative. You are trying to connect with customers and your business blog is not the place to shock your audience.

2. Use of a Third Party Domain
Businesses that are starting out may be tempted to use a free system like Blogger.com or Wordpress. By doing this, you lose out on a few benefits. If you use your own website and your own domain, each time you post a new blog entry you enrich your own domain and keyword content. This draws traffic to your main website. Later on, if you decide to switch from one platform to another, or to your own professional website, even if you're able to import all of your old blog entries, the URLs will change and any valuable backlinks you may have accumulated over the years will be instantly lost. Instead, take the time to invest in a professional website from the start that includes a Content Management System like Drupal which can incorporate your blog easily.

3. Finding the Right Balance
Your business blog should complement your other marketing efforts. On the one extreme, a business owner might spend all their time blogging and ignore other advertising mediums like social media, while on the other hand, many bloggers fail to write new blog entries regularly, relying instead on print ads or other marketing efforts. While there is no rule of thumb as to how often your blog needs to be maintained, successful business owners and bloggers will set a schedule for themselves and stick to it, whether it's daily, weekly or monthly. The best advice is to create a Message Calendar for your business so that you always know what topics or services you're supposed to be discussing or working on at any given time.

4. Dilute Keywords
Over time, a good blog will build up great search engine value due to the use of keywords in your blog titles and posts. Search engines will regularly index your blogs and note the words that you're using. However, if you aren't careful, and are writing blog posts that are not directly relevant to your business, you risk diluting your keyword content and ranking. Bloggers should be careful to write on topics that are very specific and relevant to their business and industry.

5. Use of a Blog as a Home Page
While this may work for some businesses or individuals, the rule of thumb and expectation is that your business site should have its own home page and the blog should be accessible through standard navigational menus. Business owners may be tempted to use their blog as their home since their regular efforts to post new blogs will ensure that their home pages are always fresh. This philosophy is flawed because your Home page needs to be crafted very specifically to speak to your clients and potential clients and achieve high conversion rates. A new visitor may not have any interest in your most recent blog post, and placing those posts on the home page can actually result in a drop in sales or conversions.

6. Not Building An Email List

From Day One, every blogger should be inviting readers to become subscribers. There are ways to dramatically increase subscription rates through lead generation options, but what's important initially to simply ask for the subscription, and make it it easy for site visitors to sign up. For that, I recommend MailChimp, particularly since it's free for new bloggers!

These are the issues which business owners should be aware of as they are getting started on their blog, or perhaps looking for ways to improve their blogs. Please feel free to post whatever questions you may have in the comments section below as I would be happy to help in any way.

cc:lalasticlala

it is important we start rethinking about what we do in the name of celebration

f

angelsola1:
Hello. Please which site can I go to for data entry jobs?

the sites are much. all freelancing sites and peti job sites have demands for this service. u can showcase to render the service their. I don't want to post sites.

i created a thread few days ago about "overcoming fear of becoming an entrepreneur" it was very insightful and it was a hit. it generated soo many intellectual comments and engagement within a very short period of time. today i will be given you guys "7 easy-to-do online jobs you can do from home". lets go...

If you are looking for online jobs from home, there are many alternatives to choose from. For instance, you can find from options like customer service, data entry, surveys, design, human resources, affiliate marketing and more. These jobs are in great demand for 3 obvious reasons. Firstly, companies will not need to provide a working space for those they will hire since you have the freedom to work from your home, secondly, they will not pay for your computer and internet connection since most freelancers already have both in place, thirdly people request for jobs based on what they are capable of doing. so, the companies will not have to pay for their training again.

The 7 easy-to-do online jobs are described below:

1. Online Tutoring

For people looking for online income options without investment, this is perhaps the best alternative. After all, it does not require any upfront money. However, you ought to have good qualifications or knowledge about your chosen subject. Even language teachers are in great demand. Make some online research to what others charge and start earning online money.

2.Online Data Entry
Online date entry jobs do command some experience and good computer skills. You need to remain well organized to excel in this job. In addition, meeting the deadlines is a must. Of course, it offers great flexibility in terms of work timings night or day shifts, part time or fulltime. With some training you can master the art of such online jobs from home.

3.Transcription

In this work, you are required to convert speech into electronics or written documents. The transcription involved could be anything - audio to electronic file, medical, legal, meetings, and more. At times you may have to provide a background for the subject. This helps in transcribing the speech.

4. Translation

If you have expertise for more than one language, this is the ideal job for you. It is primarily a work from home option where you translate emails, documents, books, or other texts in many different languages. When it comes to the time needed to finish the work, it will depend on the nature of job involved. For instance, if you are working on a book, it could take several months or even longer. Here, more than the experience, a better understanding of different languages is desired.


5. Online Surveys

These set of jobs do not require any upfront payment from you. There are many companies who are more than willing to make payment for your opinion regarding their services or products. Normally, these surveys contain a list of multiple-options questions which you are required to answer. Such online jobs from home have become very popular especially among homemakers (women).

6. Mini-online Importation

This is also one of the most lucrative online business currently but unfortunately their are many misconception about it. people usually consider the economy and price of dollar once they hear about this business model. things are much cheaper in all the portals Nigerians makes purchases especially when you tell them you need better prices because of the state of your economy which they are mostly aware of. despite dollar being on the high side some sources are still more affordable than the others. the truth about this business model is that despite competition being on the decrease the demand for foreign products is still very much. so the ones that are still in business are mostly experiencing boom.

7. Graphic Designer

Irrespective of whether you are a beginner or an experienced graphic designer, the internet offers numerous opportunities. The best part - most of these jobs are absolutely free and you can do the work from your home. The job listing usually carries the experience needed. You can even download graphic applications from the internet free of cost.

KingCheezyPuff:
[color=#0099ff]Importexpert comman say hi to me ....⚡ [/color]

said sis. you can advance

ogaprime:
Sir, how can I get those books...maybe pdfs or ebooks...

Nice encouraging post sir...

I strongly suggest u get the hard copies coz their is nothing like reading d hard copies. I have d ebooks but I only glance through them to c which hard copy I should buy

Nafizzey:
Great points Sir. I will be glad if you will help me a job seeker with a copy of your import guide ..

reach me on my phone number. your success is my pride.

OLAJADON:
please sir,can i get your whatsapp number.

you can get my number from my profile but not everyone can chat with me on whatsapp. i add my chat details to most of my guides. i wish you success

seguno2:
It is about time for this.
In fact this is coming too late.
But then, better late than never.
We need to appreciate DOGGEDNESS in the face of failure.

love your words. better late than never

Standing5:
Fear is real but the harsh challenges are real too. How do you go into singlet production when factors of production like power, water, road, labour are inflated and yet the border is porous enough for smugglers to bring in cheaper alternatives to your market?

dangote, dantata, otedola, all our indigenous banks and other successful businesses are all aware of such pitfalls. their difference with you is that they saw it as a challenge they must tackle and defeat and you see it as an obstacle that will not allow you to do anything.

femi4:
Easier said than done

yes especially in people like you that allow motivation dies in you as fast as a wink of an eye

Sirmuel1:
Let me sleep here jare

Lala come and join me

hahhhh bro you need deliverance. we are thinking of how to eject fear out of nairalanders and Nigerians you are looking for where to sleep. i am really suspecting you have taking 12bottles of a particular bear . just sleep bro coz even if you try to listen you may not understand.

Anabel:
A dream economy will never come, not in a couple of years. We still have better hope than the Venezuelans who relied so much on the oil money. If you put good business plans in place, you will run a successful business. The problem with us is, we have low self esteem when it's comes to doing business and our mindset is zero. A negative mindset can not run a successful business. No be jazz!

we can only do our best to enlighten them. their excuses will never finish. the earlier they understand that they do not need them, the better it will be for them.

Vanillaskin:
Only if it were easy to take out a loan, then being an entrepreneur would be easier

nobody wants to give you loan when your ideas are still in your head. you need to start showing out your potential in the most little way you can before you can get better access to loan. that not withstanding i have compiled the easiest ways to access loans in nigeria at www.importsng.com you can refer to it.

veekid:
Kiloshele? Dem send u come?

calm down bro. you can advance. nobody send me to you

ChappyChase:
Truth is, Not every one is supposed to be a business owner.. Take it or Leave it!

yes i understand so because ziglar in his you can reach the top has told me severally that "if you think you can you can. and if you think you cant you cant". keep creating excuses for you and others. the best thing about excuses is that they will always be available

Anabel:
When you go through serious of training on how to become a successful entreprenuer, fear will be the list of you problem. With every business, there are risks, some risks are just smaller than some. I realize most of us go into business cos it's our passion, a business can't thrive by passion alone. It thrives by ideas too. When the risks arises and fear comes, it's those ideas that will keep the business going. That's why you need to understand your business properly. If it's services you wanna be rendering, it's needs in depth understanding. Everyone goes into business with the aim of profit making. In some business, you can start making profits in 3 months while in others you need to keep pumping in money for the next 6-1year. That's why it's good to have a target market before starting up. Understand the needs of people around you and create ways of putting your business out there through advertisement or one on one intros. When you do things right, even when fear comes in. You won't have a problem of failing and starting again. If you don't fail, you can't succeed. A timid person can never be rich. Keep the state of the economy aside, people still have needs, and it's the duty of an entrepreneur to meet the needs of the customers.

sister please say it louder so that they can hear. despite the state of the economy millionaires are still being made on monthly basis, latest cars r being bought n mansions are being built but the most unfortunate part is that my brothers n sisters here prefer to blame the economy. i just wonder when their dream economy will be in place so that they can start.

AdekunleIG:
Bravo... Check your SMS from o8I373o....

noted bro. i will respond to it shortly. your success is truly my pride.

DirtyGold:
I dont wanna be a naysayer but, this is not the time to be experimenting with 'change'. That is a candid advice! The economy is not favourable and a failure now may upgrade your fear 'of risk' to phobia....

Take it from someone who truly knows because your business will not operate on your head but in the real world (Nigeria) where things are largely unstable right now.

What's tha business?

with your words i remember the words of "napoleon hills when he said the best time to start is now, either or not you are ready because if you await a favorable time you will end up never starting. i suggest you should go to youtube and see interviews of wealthy nigerians and see how often they fail. he who has never failed has never tried anything. learn how to use the economy to your advantage than to complain about it. so true are the words of mother theresa of calcata when she said "when you enter a dark room, instead of complaining about the darkness, strive to lite up a candle and tell others in the room to do the same. in a short while the entire room will be engulf in light and darkness will no longer have house in it". failure must come bro. learn from it and move on.

veekid:
Better said than done

yes especially in people like you that allow motivation dies in you as fast as a wink of an eye

werthy:
I was in this prison for like 3 years
Delievered now

thank God you have been delivered

Cornel88:
Good one. Thanks.

you welcome bro. look out for my next. it will also be hot

BiafraBushBoy:
How can we get business ideas for newbies..

Who are working but want to become entrepreneurs

i will urge you to be very curious. anywhere you go try to look at what people are doing and also derive your unique ideas from their. i detailed a business you can start with at www.importsng.com you can check it.

Despite all the economic woes and business/industrial downsizing, Nigerians are still blindly searching for jobs as a result of a burning fear in their minds that whisper failure to them when ever they think of being creative and do something personal. it is on this note i decide to write this to help wash away the fear that is buried deep within our minds.

"Less than 1% of people have the courage to face their fears, take risks, create their own businesses, change their lifestyles and become an entrepreneur."

Everyone experiences fear in their lives, even the most successful entrepreneurs out there. The people who became entrepreneurs have had to face and overcome their fears before they became entrepreneurs. But most people can't overcome this fear, so they carry on living ordinary lives working for the boss. even Dangote and otedola suffers such fear a lot.

Fear can take many forms such as being afraid to change, being afraid of the outcome of failure, being afraid of what others think you are doing etc. Fear also disguises itself as excuses, for instance 'I'm not ready to start my own business because I don't have time'. Underneath this excuse is fear.

I am here to share with you 3 Key Concepts that will gradually diminish the fear of becoming an entrepreneur.

THE VISION CONCEPT

Having a Vision of how you want to live your life as an entrepreneur is a powerful concept. Creating a vision first starts with realizing what you really want your life to be like in the future. You will start to focus on the thing that is driving you, and this will be a big part of your Courage and Motivation to take the leap into entrepreneurship.

Creating a vision will not only drive you to achieve what you want, but your fear of achieving it will start to naturally fade away because there is no stopping if you have a powerful vision backing you up.

THE BELIEF CONCEPT

Having a strong Belief goes hand in hand with your vision. You can have a great vision, but if you don't Really believe in it, you can't be an entrepreneur.

To really believe in something means that you will continue to pursue your belief no matter what struggles you will face to get there, and even more importantly no matter who tells you that it can't be done or it's not possible.

A strong belief will not get rid of your fear completely, but it will allow you to face it, and overtime your fear of becoming an entrepreneur will start to fade away.

THE ACTION CONCEPT

The last piece of the puzzle is taking Action.

If you haven't developed a vision and belief system, then at some point in time you will give up because your mind-set is not in the right place. When your mind-set is built up and ready to go, then it's time to apply yourself as an entrepreneur.

Once you start taking consistent action in your life and business, overtime you will start to see results, your motivation will improve and most importantly your fear will get to a point where it seems like it doesn't even exist anymore.

Remember the 3 Key Concepts

1. Create a Vision of what you want
2. Have the Belief that you can achieve it
3. Take Action to get there

lastly i will conclude with a saying that i find in almost all inspirational/motivational, self improvement and financial books i have read. it was in "the richest man in babylon, you were born rich, think and grow rich, greatest sales man in the world, rich dad poor dad, ziglar's you can reach the top" and so on. it goes as . . . . .

Never Allow The Fear Of Failing Surpass The Joy/Happiness That Comes With Succeeding.

Thukzee01:
Anything importexpert does i never joke with it. Thumbs up

thanks bro. expect more

jazinogold:
tru talk

thanks