5 Essential Tips You Will Need to start an Online Business

Starting an online business is ideal for anyone seeking to tap into billions of dollars changing hand everyday.  The internet business frontier has a great deal of potential and if approached properly could easily transform your life. To start an online business however, you will need to understand a few tips that are essential for success.

This article discusses 5 important tips that will help anyone seeking to launch into internet business and make a substantial income. As you read these tips, it is important to understand that running this kind of business is not easy but this does not mean it is impossible. You can succeed where millions of other online marketers have succeeded.

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Starting online business tips

• Decide on your products or services

While this might sound as an obvious step, it is important to consider a few factors before launching into an online business. There are a few rules that will help guide you through this process. For example, do you need to ship any products and does the shipping cost make sense for the business? How is the competition around the product or service you need to offer? Are you able to offer competing deals at a better price and greater convenience? Do you have a reliable source for these products? You can look for products that are demand and consider services that need to accompany them and which could also fetch you some good money.

• Build your own website or online store

While it is not entirely important to have your own website, having one will go a long way in helping you start an online business. You can also get a free online e-commerce platform that helps you start selling products and services online. Your website should be designed professionally thus allowing it to bring the necessary conversion as this is an important factor affecting online sales. Don’t go for an outdated website as this will affect your business greatly. Always remember, people are influenced by what they see and hear and therefore you should aim for this at any given time.

• Market your products and services

Once you have the necessary products and a website or online store, the next this will be to drive traffic your way. This can only happen if you advertise your site using different avenues such as the social media and different search engines such as Google and Bing. This will require knowing exactly what people are looking for in relation to your products and services and you can do this using Google Adwords. Once you establish the right keywords, the SEO content will be an ideal way of advertising. Advertising will drive audience traffic to your site with the possibilities of conversion into frequent customers.

• Establish payment methods

To sell online, you will need a payment method through which your customers can pay for the products and services you offer. You can choose different methods such as paypal.com, skrills or credit cards among others. The methods of choice should be part of your online store allowing clients to pay whenever they wish to buy from you.

• Create a fun-base

As you sell your products and services, it is advisable that you consider building a community around your business. The social media coupled with quality products and services can easily help you achieve this easily. You can use platforms such as Twitter or Facebook as you engage closely with your audience. You should use the platform to understand your customers’ needs and know how best to address them.

Starting an online business does not need to be expensive and in fact you will find it cheaper as compared with offline businesses. You do not need to pay utility bills, rent and other charges needed to operate a business. 

Marina is a well skilled writer on online business issues. She has provided formula on how to start online business at CampbellMcPherson.com here.

The next step after an employee survey: Action planning

The use of employee engagement surveys should help organization’s leadership to come up with a proper employee engagement program. It is always good to analyze and measure employee satisfaction and employee engagement if you are to improve the working conditions and atmosphere in your organization. It is however sad to note that despite the much time and money spent conducting employee surveys, many organizations to not move towards engagement and thus do not get any meaningful results as required. 

For any employee engagement survey to drive business results there is need to follow it up with a clear action plan and implementation. The action plan should be measurable and there should be follow-up which in return will bring increased productivity in the company. The action part of the survey should also be developed carefully and professionally to avoid aborting the objectives in place. 

How an action plan should be handled

To begin with, there should be clear communication between the individual managers and their team members. This communication will help the employees to own the process which is a recipe for success. Action planning should be approached one point at a time starting with the most critical points based on survey analysis. It is advisable that employee surveys should be conducted regularly or annually to allow for step by step improvement of the situations that might be affecting employee morale and output. It is good to include all the involved parties in the action plan stage if success is to be achieved. 

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How action planning should be handled for success

Review the survey results: - The first step towards a successful action plan should be to review the survey results with other management staff. This will give clarity to the survey theme helping the management to understand the organization’s key strengths and weaknesses that need to be improved on. 

Communicate results and review with employees: - Sharing the summary with the employees will help them know that their voices were not ignored. It will also help prepare them for the action plan. It is always important to assure the employees that their contributions are appreciated while at the same time preparing them for the process ahead.

Appoint a process coordinator: - There should be someone responsible for the action planning process and this person should be in human resources department. It is also important to come up with a task force team that will help handle any major issues that come up in the report. 

Come up with specific and clear goals: - One of the best ways to measure your action plan implementation should be to set clear goals on what needs to be improved in the organization based on the report. The goals should be measurable and specific and should have particular implementation time frame otherwise nothing concrete will happen.

Let every employee know their part: - The action planning stage will not only affect and involve the management but employees as well. It is good to give clear communication that will prepare employees for any expected changes while at the same time setting clear accountability requirements as part of action planning process. 

It is important to follow-up on the action plan process closely to ensure that everything is happening as it should. Additionally, there should be regular evaluation to measure the success of your action plans. This should be followed or accompanied by other surveys to see what more ought to be improved for better results. 

Ripa is a well-acknowledged and regular writer on Business planning and actions. Here she has explained action planning on employeeengagement surveys. See further details here EmployeeSurveyToolkit.com

Why a Business Consultant is Important for Business Success

As an old saying goes, "opening a business is easy and keeping it running is an art". However, this art could be risky and tricky at times and not everyone will be able to keep up with the heat whenever things become tough. In case your business strategies do not seem to work as you expect them to, working with a business consultant is one of the most important result oriented strategies to adopt as it could (I say it could as there are many factors to consider) help you realize your goals and experience tremendous success. Business executives and managers are normally trained to handle different business challenges but some times things could get out of hand therefore demanding a different safe pair of hands to stir your company to greater heights of success and profitability.

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When sailing through troubled business waters, trial and error is never an option. You need strategies and ideas that are going to work and deliver the desired results. A business consultant comes highly recommended during such time as he or she will help come up with useful ideas, strategies and perspectives that will help stir your business towards success. As an outsider, he or she will be able to give your business a different approach without any emotional attachment and this is always good for the success of your organization. 

Business consultants, who are they and what is their work?

It is good to understand the role of a business consultant before taking the step of hiring one. This will help you to understand the qualities of a good consultant while at the same time enlightening you on the benefits of the person on whom you intend to spend your money on. So, what is the work of a consultant?

• First, they help business and companies to achieve their goals by first of all analyzing the existing challenges. This helps them to formulate plans and strategies that should help the business to perform successfully as they navigate the challenges and overcome the competition in the market. 
• They also inject fresh breath and ideas into the business thus bringing in a sense of passion and zeal that is necessary in the achievement of the set goals and aspirations. 
• Business consultants also help organizations they work with by training the staff members to align them with the business expectations thus making it easier for the organization to maneuver through the troubled tracks.

While this is the case, it is important to understand that successful business consultancy transcends a few degrees and talk. It is more about results and a good consultant must be able to show his or her experience as this is the only way that will give an assurance of suitable results. A good business consultant should therefore act as a catalyst that will help accelerate efficiency in the organization thus yielding satisfying results to his or her client.

Advantage of working with a consultant

One of the greatest advantages is that consultants bring a vast knowledge of the business world into your organization. This therefore provides your management team with valuable plans and strategies that will help beat your competition in the industry. As they study the prevailing challenges, business consultants go beyond diagnosis to providing touchable solutions that will help your business to succeed.  It is always important to consider hiring a business consultant as this brings an outsider’s perspective into your business thus giving you something to work with in order to achieve your business objectives. 

Chau Yap is a professional business consultant and business planner. He has been working many years and helped more than thousands of business growth.

Life Insurance Breakdown

Life Insurance Breakdown Infographic

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5 Ways To Use Social Media To Launch A Book

-Have a Book Cover Designing Contest

Although it hasn't been used too often, this technique can go a long way in generating interest around your book, and chances are, you'll probably be able to get yourself a variety of book cover designs to choose from.

Everybody loves a good contest, and it's one of the best ways to capitalize on the ‘viral’ factor of social networks. Just set the ball rolling by convincing some of your friends to put the details up as their status or tweet about it, and watch the ripple effect take place. Make sure your contest page has some details about the book - putting up a couple of extracts from the book will help you gather more interest around the book.

-Lure the movers and shakers

The first step in this technique involves finding the so called ‘movers and shakers‘ in your genre of books i.e. the bloggers and reviewers who have large fan followings. Once you have identified them, try getting them to review your book or even just tweet about it - you could offer them a few free copies or send them the first chapter and ask if they'd like to see the rest. However, if you do follow this technique please remember there's a fine line between 'luring' and ‘spamming - make sure you don't cross it.

-Don't be afraid to promote yourself

Blog, promote, use Zinzz for share, advertise yourself... do whatever it takes to get yourself heard. Don't be afraid of coming across as annoying or narcissistic. If you genuinely believe your book has what it takes, then you shouldn't be afraid to let that fact be known. Having a tumblr or vlog is a great way to promote yourself and your book.

Another great idea is to just tweet and blog about stuff that interests you - if you create a famous internet persona for yourself, people will automatically read your book.

-Release extracts

Imagine this - an extract from your book flying around Twitter and Facebook, being commented on, shared, and debated. It's one of the easiest ways to generate excitement around your book because it requires almost no effort on your part except for selecting the right extract from your book. Ensure that the extract is posted online in such a manner that it lends itself to sharing - this is one place where those annoying share buttons linked to multiple social networks is essential.

-Make sure purchasing online for your customers is easy

This is absolutely essential if you really want to leverage the power of a social network. Imagine this situation - someone reads an extract from your novel on Facebook, decides they want to buy it, looks on all the online stores doesn't find it, makes a mental note to buy the book the next time he sees a bookstore, and never thinks of the books again.

To really use social networks to your advantage, you must ensure that your book is available for those who want to buy it on an impulse - otherwise there's a large chance they'll just forget about it. Ideally this would mean that your book can be purchased in both paperback hardcover and eBook format online, and is available at all the major online retailers.

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•  Photo credit: smartphotostock.com

This is a guest post by Fabian Thunder. Follow him on twitter.

Engaging On Facebook Is About Relationships

You've probably heard that success using Facebook is about engaging with your audience, but what does that really mean? Engagement doesn't just mean getting likes and shares. You have to build a relationship with your fans to really engage them.

How can you build a relationship with your fans?

A relationship in real life is all about give and take, so how can we translate that to online relationships between your Facebook page and your fans? It all starts with building a dialogue. There aren't any good relationships that don't have meaningful conversations. You have to ask questions, and want to hear the answers, and then respond to those answers.

Keep in mind, not everyone is going to agree with everything you say. That's another thing about relationships. There are always going to be some points of disagreement. It's how you go about responding to and resolving those problems that will determine whether your relationship with those fans will continue to grow.

Give to your fans

Make sure you're giving your fans something in return for their liking you. Share information with them, and give them your time and attention. Far too many Facebook pages are run by folks who rarely do more than just make posts and then leave. That's just like asking your friend how their day was and then completely ignoring their answer. Most likely, you won't have that friend for very long. You need to engage your fans.

If you can offer a special deal or inside information to your Facebook fans, that's a great way to give something back to them. They will respond with gratitude, and they'll also look forward to seeing your next post or update.

Don't be too promotional

No one likes hanging around with someone who is constantly trying to sell them something. The same is true on social media. Being too promotional can drive people away. Everyone wants to feel they're valuable for more than what they can spend from their wallets. Show appreciation when folks engage with you, when they share your posts, and even when they offer constructive criticism.

Every good relationship is built on a foundation of trust, caring and communication. Be open and clear, and you'll gain trust. Show fans you care about them, and they'll care more about you in return. And always keep the lines of communication open, even when you aren't hearing quite what you want to hear, because that is what a good relationship is all about. There are some people who will hack Facebook likes but they aren’t getting true engagement when they do this.

What tips do you have for increased engagement on your Facebook?

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•  Image credit Cheap photos

Karen Barkan is a social media manager and guest blogger on social media topics. Read more and learn how you can improve your Facebook pages. 

The Five Elements Every Medical Blog Needs

Blogging has become a vital part of the medical industry’s marketing strategy, so much so that it’s rare to see a hospital, pharmaceutical company, or even a private LASIK clinic without a blog of their own. But having a blog alone isn’t going to set you apart from the thousands of other medical bloggers you’re competing with to gain rank. To maximize your blog’s potential, you’ll need the following elements.

From author bylines to social-media-ready images, incorporate these elements to give your blog the extra boost. Your marketing will be more effective, your readers will be more responsive, and your business will thrive! 

Comments Section

Many medical practices stray from including a comments section on their blog because they fear bad publicity, not complying with HIPAA policies, or both. Furthermore, comments allow spammers and self-promoters of all kinds to write in their own messages, plague your blog with unwanted links, stir up controversy, and so on. Needless to say, a comments section will never be a 100% safe element of blogging. But you can’t do away with it and here’s why.

Comments is where you rally up support for your blogs and brand, it’s where you find new patients, where you engage your users, and build a name for yourself. Without it, you’re missing out on potentially major publicity. Just keep an eye on it, respond to positive and negative feedback, and keep your cool. Monitoring your comments will keep you active in discussions and establish you as a professional authority that patients can trust. 

Author Byline

Leaving the byline out of your blog can force your articles to lose credentials and confidence. People don’t just want to read quality blog posts with solid information, they want to know their information is coming from a reputable source. A byline sets you up as the expert they need to listen to.

While your website should already have a biography with your information, credentials, and accomplishments, a small author byline at the end of each blog post will give it an extra boost. There are even several WordPress plugins you can use to link all of the articles you’ve written together and attach them to your Google Authorrank, a great way to gain a little extra SEO juice. 

Social Media Links

Blogs are meant to be shared! You want your readers buzzing so much that they’re willing to share your post to their Facebook feeds. This means reaching a wider audience and potentially nabbing a few extra patients. But if those social media links are missing, sharing your blog suddenly became a pretty inconvenient task. 

Include links to all major social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest and Reddit. You want your readers to have as many options as possible because people are more likely to shop (or make an appointment with a doctor) after they see a recommendation from a friend. Social media sharing might as well count as personal recommendations; so let your users share! 

Search Feature

There are plenty of ways to incorporate a search feature with your medical blog, including a search bar and an archive of all the topics you’ve previously written about. Not matter how you do it, having a database for readers to browse through is a win-win for your business and your readers. Potential patients can find more articles like the ones they’ve just read or search for blogs by topics that are interesting to them, therefore staying engaged with your website for a longer period of time. And when your users are this engaged, they are much more likely to convert.

Images

Images are crucial to a blog’s success and you simply can’t run a blog with having at least one picture per blog post. First of all, images make complicated concepts much easier to grasp, especially to the general population that didn’t go to med school. Think about how motivating “before and after” photos are rather than just reading about a diet plan itself. Having a visual supplement really gets a user’s mind into gear.

Images are also great for social media sharing. From Facebook to Pinterest, social media is becoming more centered around visual content, meaning not only are the platforms now better designed to display high-quality graphics, but people are now much more likely to click on a post with an associated image. Since our eyes are naturally drawn to pictures, you should use more to generate buzz around the web. Just be sure you own the images and that they relate to your blog post. 

Blogging isn’t entirely about the blog posts. To truly have a blog post succeed these days, you need to have the elements that can support it and promote it. Let your readers comment, see whom they’re learning from, and have an easy time searching and sharing your content. Not only can your blog succeed, but so can your business.

Pete Wise is a copywriter with 20/20 Institute. We provide LASIK services in Colorado. See what I'm posting on Facebook