Survival of the Fittest -- Building Your Business by Livvie Matthews 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 your article on your web site, publish it in your Ezine, Submit your article to other ezines, offer it 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! ================================================================ Livvie Matthews helps individuals and businesses turn their knowledge into great-selling tips booklets. Her products and services include a how-to e-book for creating booklets. Visit http://www.bizybodies.com or contact Livvie mailto:bizybodies@earthlink.net . Stop sitting on YOUR gold mine... mailto:sittingonagoldmine@getresponse.com mailto:bizybodies2-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to subscribe to BizyBodies.com Ezine ================================================================