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Full Description
Start a successful online business and be your own boss! Being an online entrepreneur means more than just building a website and this book breaks down everything you need to know to be successful. Inside, you'll get plain-English explanations and easy-to-follow instruction on online business basics, legal and accounting issues, website design, Internet security, boosting sales, e-commerce, and so much more. While the ideas and concepts behind starting an online business are tried and true, the tools available to entrepreneurs change and evolve quickly and often. Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies gets you up to speed on the best new tools, resources, and communities, and shows you how to best leverage them to up your chances of success. * Discover your niche and create a business plan * Design your website and storefront * Increase your reach and market with social media * Choose the best web host for your needs If you're a budding entrepreneur with dreams of running your own online business, this book has everything you need to get started and grow your company to extraordinary heights!
Contents
Introduction 1About This Book 1Foolish Assumptions 3Icons Used in This Book 3Beyond the Book 4Where to Go from Here 4Book 1: Start-Up Essentials 5Chapter 1: Starting from Scratch 7What Are You Waiting For? Start Your Business Now! 8Choosing Just the Right Business 10Getting Started 14Chapter 2: Turning Ideas into a Viable Internet Business 17Thinking Like an Online Entrepreneur 17Putting Your Business Idea Under the Microscope 19Identifying Your Market and Target Customer 26Competing to Win: Analyzing Your Competition 28Chapter 3: Getting Real: Creating a Usable Business Plan 31Understanding the Value of a Plan 31Recognizing That the Parts of the Plan Make a Whole 33Getting Help to Write the Plan 35Using a Business Plan Today, Tomorrow, and Always 38Chapter 4: Funding Your Online Business 41Bootstrapping the Low-Cost, No-Cost Site 42Finding the Perfect Investor 46Checking Out Alternative Financing 51Taking a Shortcut: Purchasing an Existing Site 54Chapter 5: Creating Policies to Protect Your Website and Customers 59Taking Care of Customers 59Putting Policies in Place 61Delivering On Your Promises 66Chapter 6: Setting Up Shop: What You Need for Online Efficiency 67A Floor Plan for Success 68Must-Have Equipment 70Tools for Your Desktop 76Your Essential Software Toolkit 80Connectivity: Today's Internet Options and More 81Book 2: Legal and Accounting 83Chapter 1: Minding the Law 85Keeping Your Business Legal 85Zoning for Business (at Home) 91Obtaining Business Licenses 93Chapter 2: Choosing the Right Foundation: From Partnerships to Corporations 95Strategizing for the Best Organization 96Operating Alone as a Sole Proprietor 96Sharing the Load with a Partnership 98Limited Liability Company 99Making It Official with Incorporation 100Changing Your Organization as It Grows 102Chapter 3: The Trademark-and-Copyright Two-Step 103Understanding Why Trademarks and Copyrights Matter 103Making Your (Trade)Mark 104Protecting Your Investment with Copyrights 105Establishing Registration Yourself 107Retaining Professional Assistance 109Chapter 4: Accounting for Taxes (and Then Some) 111The Tax Man Cometh - Again and Again 112By the Numbers: Accounting Basics 116Choosing Software to Make Your Tasks Easy 122Hiring a Professional 124Following the Rules of Recordkeeping 130Book 3: Website Functionality and Aesthetics 135Chapter 1: What's in a (Domain) Name? 137Choosing Your Online Identity 138Registering the Perfect Name 141Finding Out What to Do When Somebody Gets There First 144All the Good Ones Are (Not) Taken 145Chapter 2: Designing for User Experience 151Understanding the Customer Experience 151Maximizing Performance for Profitability 156Guiding Website Traffic Flow 158Looking Your Best 160Choosing Substance Over Style 166Chapter 3: Building a Site without Spending a Fortune 169Mapping Your Route to a Successful Site 170You Can Do It! Making a Build-It-Yourself Site 175Creating Your Site with the Pros 184Chapter 4: Finding the Host with the Most 193Differentiating between an ISP and a Host 193Determining What Makes the Difference for High-Performance Hosting 194Sorting Out Your Website Host Options 197Putting the Long-Term Contract in the Past 198Serving Yourself: Don't Overlook Other Server Options 199Chapter 5: Developing Content That Satisfies Visitors and Search Engines 201Words Are Words - Right? Wrong! 202Getting Ready to Write for the Web 205Moved to Purchase: Turning Words into Action 212Chapter 6: Going Beyond Beta and Launching Your Site 215Some Things to Know Before You Start Uploading 215Taking the Compatibility Test: Testing Screen Resolutions, Browsers, and Platforms 217Taking a Trial Run 220Three, Two, One - Take Off! 222Book 4: Online and Operating 223Chapter 1: Determining Your Revenue Model 225Selling Tangible Products 225Selling Your Professional Services 231Selling Information 235Placing Ads for Profit 237Establishing an Affiliate Advertising Program 245Putting It All Together: Multiple Revenue Streams 247Chapter 2: Making Money with Affiliate Programs 249Looking at How Affiliate Programs Work 250Signing Up for an Affiliate Network 254Avoiding Scams and Questionable Content 257Chapter 3: Turning Information into Profit: From E-Books to Webinars 261Creating Your Own Information Product 262Providing E-Books 266Creating Informational Videos for Profit 270Putting Together a Webinar 271Chapter 4: Paying with the Right Payment Options 275Accepting Credit Card Payments 276Offering Alternative Payment Options 282Managing the Payment Process to Protect Your Income 284Chapter 5: Putting the (Shopping) Cart before the Horse 285Not All Carts Are Created Equal 286Shopping Around for the Best Hosted Solution 292Finding Stand-Alone Shopping Cart Software 297Designing a Custom Cart 298Chapter 6: Taking Inventory 301Finding Out What's Popular 302Putting Together All Your Research 304Pricing Your Products 305Building Your Inventory 306Chapter 7: Fulfilling Expectations and Orders 309Figuring Out the Logistics of Shipping 310Developing an In-House Fulfillment Model 311Deciding to Outsource Fulfillment 312Shaping Up and Shipping Out 319Maintaining the Back End 327Book 5: Managing Security Risks 331Chapter 1: Understanding Security and Your Risks 333Legal Responsibility: The Merchant and the Customer 334Defining Your Privacy Policy 338Keeping Your Website Secure 339Displaying Seals of Approval 340Chapter 2: Developing a Plan: Security and Business Continuity 343Making a Plan 344Creating a Budget for Your Plan 354Finding Security Resources 355Chapter 3: Spotting and Thwarting Hackers and Net-Thieves 357Fending Off Denial-of-Service Attacks 358Deterring Hackers 360Avoiding Viruses and Other Malware 362Keeping Your Domain Name Safe 364Staying Away from E-Mail Scams 367Mobile Security Risks 370Understanding How a Wireless LAN Works 371Establishing Barriers 373Chapter 4: Locking Down Your Site and Your Business 377Protecting against Personal Data Loss and Credit Card Fraud 377Backing Up Your Data 382Adding Firewalls 384Book 6: Online Marketing Basics 387Chapter 1: Jump-Starting Traffic and Driving Sales 389Defining Key Elements for Digital Marketing Success 390Getting to Know Your Buyers - Really Well 392Calculating Your Site's Conversion Rate 394Figuring Out When You Get the Most Traffic 397Getting Customers to Notice Your Website 399Getting Customers to Buy 400Chapter 2: Your Own Public Relations for the Web 403Writing Reviews 404Becoming a Community Leader 409Writing Articles 412Chapter 3: Web Marketing at Work 417Developing a Marketing Strategy 418Gaining a Following with Social Media 421Reeling in Customers with Newsletters 426Automating Routine Tasks 431Searching for Traffic with Search Engine Advertising 432Marketing Your Company Offline 440Chapter 4: Converting Browsers to Buyers 443Giving Customers a Reason to Stay on Your Site 444Anticipating Customer Needs 447Organizing a Buyer-Friendly Site 450Keeping Your Shopping Cart Simple 454Avoiding Assumptions about Your Customers 456Encouraging Viewers to Buy 459Chapter 5: Analyzing and Monitoring Your Customers 463Tracking Trends 464Measuring Website Traffic 465Analyzing Your Traffic Analysis Software 473Collecting the Correct Information 476Getting to Know Your Customer 479Using Your Data to Understand Your Business 482Chapter 6: Mastering Search Engines, Optimization, and Rankings 487Navigating the Ins and Outs of Major Search Engines 488Getting Your Website Noticed by Search Engines 490Placing Keywords in Key Spots on Your Website 492Arranging Your Pages Strategically 498Submitting Your Site to Search Engines 499Watching Your Rankings 502Moving Up in the Rankings 504Book 7: Retail to E-Tail 509Chapter 1: Expanding Online to Keep and Grow Customers 511Making the Decision to Move Your Store Online 512Finding the Right Time 515Bridging Your Offline Store with Your Online Store 518Making a Flawless Transition 520Building an Inventory 524Chapter 2: Managing the Differences between In-Store and Online Commerce 529Comparing Online and Offline Customers 530What Your Online Customers Expect from You 532Establishing Patterns 539Chapter 3: Window Dressing for the Online Display 541Creating the Right Look for Your Online Store 542Creating the Perfect Shopping Experience 543Beyond Window Shopping: Designs That Lure Traffic 546Chapter 4: Making In-Store Customers Loyal Online Shoppers 549Benefiting Customers (and Your Business) with In-Store and Online Synergy 550Enticing Customers to Your Online Offering 551Providing a Positive Shopping Experience 555Making Your Customer the Star 557Chapter 5: Revving Up with Mobile Marketing, Social Media, and More 559Distinguishing between Different Types of Mobile Commerce 561Localizing with Ads 566Social Media Ads 569Alternative Ways to Boost Localized Spending 574Chapter 6: Troubleshooting the Transition to Online Retail 577Handling Returns in the Store from Online Sales 577Merging Existing Back-End Systems with Online Requirements 579Deciding How to Handle Integration 584Extending Payment Options to Virtual Customers 585Book 8: E-Commerce Fundamentals 589Chapter 1: Starting Up with E-Commerce Functionality 591Knowing What You Want: Features 592Realizing What You Can Have: Cost 597Shopping for E-Commerce Solutions 599Chapter 2: Mastering the Amazon 601Joining the Marketplace 601Achieving Professional Seller Status 609Taking Advantage of Other Selling Opportunities with Amazon aStore 610Chapter 3: Web-ify Your Store with Shopify 613Why Open a Shopify Store? 614Setting Up Shop 615Managing Your Shopify Store 618Selecting a Plan 624Breaking Down the Fees 625Growing with Your New Business Partner 626Chapter 4: Making eBay THE Way 629Understanding How eBay Works 630Getting Started on eBay 630Setting Up an Item for Sale 634Opening an eBay Store 641Book 9: E-Business for the Nonprofit 647Chapter 1: Raining Donations: Fundamentals for Online Giving 649Determining How Your Organization Can Benefit 650Convincing Your Board of Directors 652Chapter 2: Adding Online Moneymakers to an Existing Site 659Determining Which Features Your Site Can Support 660Adding an Auction to Your Site 666Soliciting Donations on Your Site 669Chapter 3: Growing an Active Donor Base: Your Virtual Community 677Building an Online Donor Base from Scratch 678Putting Together a Plan to Reach Donors 682Converting the Faithful 683Reaching Out to People Surfing for Charities 686Chapter 4: Identifying Online Marketing Strategies That Fit the Cause 689Asking for Donations 689Making Donating Easy 697Chapter 5: Legal Considerations for Nonprofit Organizations 699Designating Responsibility 700Creating Online Policies 701Registering Your Charity 703Gaining Seals of Approval 704Book 10: E-Commerce Trends and Market Opportunities 707Chapter 1: Discovering Niche Markets 709Deciding to Sell a Niche Product 709Finding Your Niche 713Chapter 2: Building Business via Social Commerce 717Setting the Virtual Stage for Success 717Using Online Socializing to Build Social Commerce 720Creating Your Own Video Channel 726Gathering, Networking, and Promoting: Online Communities 732Chapter 3: Evaluating the SaaS Model: Selling Software and Apps 737Deciding to Deliver Online Services 738Putting the Software in the SaaS 739Understanding the SaaS Model for Making Money 740Creating Apps for the Mobile Customer 743Chapter 4: Generating Opportunities through the Generations: Millennials, Boomers, and Beyond 747Understanding the Baby Boomer Market 748Figuring Out What Millennials Want and Delivering It 754Getting Online with the Digital Kids: Generation Z 756Book 11: E-Commerce Advanced 763Chapter 1: Mapping the Digital Buyer's Journey 765Deconstructing the Path of an Online Buyer 766Monitoring the Flipped and Fluid Digital Sales Funnel 768Putting It All Together: The Buyer, the Conversion, the Channel 770Chapter 2: Getting Personal with Content Marketing 775Delivering the Goods with the Right Content Approach 776Developing Buyer Personas 777Creating Content for Storytelling and Consumption 780Launching the Personalization Effort Online 786Chapter 3: Listening to the Voice of the Customer 793Using VOC to Determine the Customer Experience 794Listening and Taking Action: Time to Redesign 798Increasing Appeal 800Making Your Website Functional 805Chapter 4: Overhauling an Aging Online Business 809Paying Attention to the Signs 810Qualifying for a Makeover from Lagging Sales 813Reengaging Customers to Spend with You, Again 819Knowing Where to Start 821Chapter 5: Expanding Products to Increase Stagnant Sales 823Figuring Out When to Expand Your Product Line 824Replacement or Expansion: The Art of Culling Your Inventory 829Finding New Products 831Chapter 6: Transitioning a Small Site into Big Business 833Seeking Out the Next Level of Your Business 833Dealing with Accidental Success 843Purposefully Making the Next Move 845Index 847
