Written by Will Johnson, wjhonson@aol.com. Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved
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I am a website developer. I have an in-depth knowledge of how to sell over the internet. Your website is going nowhere, you're not making any money. I'm going to go over some basic information here, I'm not going to tell you everything I know, just a few things to whet your appetite. And perhaps you will then want to contact me to discuss how to fix your website.
I warn you away from any company claiming they can dramatically drive traffic to your site, that they can build you an amazing web store in a few months, that it's easy to drop-ship or do fulfillment, that you can make a thousand dollars a week selling meat, or whatever. It's not going to happen. However, what is certain to happen, is that you will write them a check for a lot of money, and then they will do next to nothing useful for you. Then you'll join the hundreds of others, who have complained on the Bad Business Bureau, that they've been taken by the "Web Store Scam".
Now, regarding products and services, I'm going to break it down into three sections of making money online: you have a product or service already, you do not have product or service but you want to create one, or you do not wish to sell anything directly yourself.
Regarding ownership of the message accompanying the sell, I'm going to break that into two sections: you have your own website or wish to (this will probably cost you), or you do not have your own website and don't wish to (this is free).
The simplest way to get started in your attempt to become the next internet millionaire (laugh) is to put, on the welcome page of your website, a message like "I have purebred kittens for sale, contact me" or "I repair cars in Akron, contact me". And include your email address. The HTML code is
<a href = "mailto:wjhonson@aol.com">wjhonson@aol.com</a>
Easy isn't it? This sort of approach is used all the time with small businesses, or people trying to start a small business, to test the waters. You can find thousands of examples like this all over the web. My company does blah blah blah, here's a picture, here's a few links, contact me.
Easy, but dull. Craigslist handles the buying and selling of most products and services that require a local connection (like picking up a kitten or taking your car for repair), while Ebay handles the buying and selling of most products that can be shipped. (I suppose you could ship a kitten, but I wouldn't think it would be very happy about it.) Craigslist has a slight advantage, in that it's free for individuals. I believe businesses pay some sort of fee to list their products and services there. But really, I'm sure it's much less than spending thirty dollars a month on a website which only says essentially "contact me". I know, you fell for the hype, "build it and they will come". You built it -- they didn't come.
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I am a website developer. I have an in-depth knowledge of how to sell over the internet. Your website is going nowhere, you're not making any money. I'm going to go over some basic information here, I'm not going to tell you everything I know, just a few things to whet your appetite. And perhaps you will then want to contact me to discuss how to fix your website.
Overview
There are ways to begin making money online, or at least attempting to do so, without any upfront cost to you. There are also ways to begin making money online, that will cost you thousands of dollars upfront, when you haven't yet seen a penny in income. Which would you prefer? I'm a cheap-skate so I know what I picked, and that's what I'm going to show you today.I warn you away from any company claiming they can dramatically drive traffic to your site, that they can build you an amazing web store in a few months, that it's easy to drop-ship or do fulfillment, that you can make a thousand dollars a week selling meat, or whatever. It's not going to happen. However, what is certain to happen, is that you will write them a check for a lot of money, and then they will do next to nothing useful for you. Then you'll join the hundreds of others, who have complained on the Bad Business Bureau, that they've been taken by the "Web Store Scam".
Now, regarding products and services, I'm going to break it down into three sections of making money online: you have a product or service already, you do not have product or service but you want to create one, or you do not wish to sell anything directly yourself.
Regarding ownership of the message accompanying the sell, I'm going to break that into two sections: you have your own website or wish to (this will probably cost you), or you do not have your own website and don't wish to (this is free).
| Products and Services | ||||
| Already | Want One | Don't Want | ||
| Ownership | Own Site | O1 | O2 | O3 |
| No Site | N1 | N2 | N3 | |
O1 Have Product and Website
Some vendors will try to convince you that you need a Web Store in order to sell products or services online, even on your own website. You do not. Web Stores are almost never easy to setup for the beginner. They cost money, and you don't need that complexity, until you are certain that your online business is thriving. Then you can upgrade if you wish. In addition, there are companies out there, which make a lot of money, trying to sell you a complex Web Store for a lot of money, and then you'll spend five years paying off your credit card bills and you won't sell squat. Any company that wants a thousand or five thousand dollars upfront before your website/store is even built, is a scam. Every one of them, are scams. There are none which are not scams. Can you hear me yet? Reputable companies bill you by invoice based on work performed. Not on work yet to be performed. Although many will want a small retainer or pre-payment upfront to get started, the amount is small, in the one to three hundred dollar range.The simplest way to get started in your attempt to become the next internet millionaire (laugh) is to put, on the welcome page of your website, a message like "I have purebred kittens for sale, contact me" or "I repair cars in Akron, contact me". And include your email address. The HTML code is
<a href = "mailto:wjhonson@aol.com">wjhonson@aol.com</a>
Easy isn't it? This sort of approach is used all the time with small businesses, or people trying to start a small business, to test the waters. You can find thousands of examples like this all over the web. My company does blah blah blah, here's a picture, here's a few links, contact me.