Introduction to ecommerce

Start your own business and operate or advertise it online.

Build a high traffic web site and sell advertising

Make a joint venture with an existing company to receive commission from selling their product. This is called an affiliate program.

The ecommerce marketing methods that actually work are building a web site and generating traffic through search engine positioning and advertising and the two-step marketing approach.

There are probably other ways to make money and I know there are a million get rich quick schemes on the Internet. It is a lot like the Wild West out there, a snake oil salesman on every corner. These are the three business models and two marketing methods I will discuss on this page.

Be careful and do not fall for the easy money lure of SPAM. SPAM aside from being a meat-like substance sold in a can is the Internet term for Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE). SPAM will put you out of business quicker than a fire in a candle shop. It sounds really good, you can send out a million emails for cheap, but when the complaints start to roll in, and they will, You get your Internet Service canceled and probably your web site deleted. The people than run affiliate programs and host web sites will not tolerate SPAM. They will fire you and or cancel your service. It is much easier to SPAM than you think, because most people think of SPAM as a mass mailing. Any unsolicited email that has a commercial message is SPAM. Okay, I have done my duty and issued the proper warning, if you get in trouble it is not my fault.

If you have a good idea for a ecommerce business the Internet is your friend. You can start and operate a ecommerce business for less money than anywhere else. I know that the initial hype about ecommerce has died somewhat and many of the dotcom / ecommerce companies are dead or dying. If you notice the dead or dying ecommerce companies had two things in common. They tried to reach the broad market of consumers and they spent a lot of money on advertising. The average person is just beginning to shop online. Ecommerce is a future play, some ecommerce works now, but the best ecommerce is yet to come. If you try to compete with WalMart or a national chain, stay home and save your money. Your only hope of success is to find a niche in which you have expertise and capitalize on that niche. That is the opportunity for the ecommerce entrepreneur. The more specific you can be the better. Tighten your ecommerce business idea down till it becomes like a laser. Don’t try to sell everything to everyone because no one will buy if your ecommerce offer is to broad, confusing or vague.

Here is an example of an ecommerce site that launched in February of 2001. It is strictly about real estate and it is promoted primarily by use of an affiliate program that pays 75% commission for referring sales. I will discuss affiliate programs in a few minutes, but the beauty of an affiliate program is that you get hundreds of people promoting your site and you only pay when they sell something and you get paid. Buy or Sell Real Estate online

If you are an artistic or creative person and can come up with a really cool web site that thousands of people will want to see, You can make a lot of money from your traffic. You can sell advertising space or join some affiliate programs that are relevant to your subject. If you have a fishing or automotive site, you may not sell very many quilts, but if you had a link to very inexpensive fishing supplies or hard to find automotive tools, you will do well. Here is an example of what I mean. This page started out as a bunch of Hamsters dancing to some really annoying music. It got national media attention and tons of newspaper articles rating it as the number one web site to annoy the person in the next cubicle. This page now has tons of ads and is probably not as fun as it was, but somebody made a lot of money and probably still does. An ecommerce site doesn't always start as an ecommerce site, but traffic is a very valuable commodity. Think about it, I am using it as an example in free ecommerce training. How can you buy an ad like that? My Mom showed it to me from an article in the paper and I bet I have showed it to a hundred people in person and there is no way of telling how many people will go there from this page. If you come up with something really interesting, the word will spread and the people will come. It is up to you to create the site and make some money without being obvious about selling. That is an excellent ecommerce business model. Almost like ecommerce by accident. Hamster Dance 2

Here is another example. This guy has been posting a .wav (sound byte) file to his web site every weekday since 1995. If you have that level of commitment, your ecommerce venture will succeed. Click Here to go to the daily wav sound byte site

The key to success in ecommerce is targeted traffic. You have to have traffic, but if they want tools and you sell quilts, guess what, no ecommerce for you! The other thing is your site has to load fast. I mean real fast and it has to navigate well. If your customer has to hunt for the product, can’t find the price and then can’t use a credit card, then your ecommerce venture is like a chicken with its head chopped off, already dead, but still flopping about. If you hadn't figured out that I am a bit of a Hillbilly, I suspect the word is out now.

Take Credit Cards Online without a merchant account Clickbank is a member of the BBB

Now this doesn’t sound like rocket science and ecommerce doesn't have to be complicated. You would be surprised at the major corporations that have terrible web sites. The sites are beautiful, but don’t sell and have terrible navigation. These are the ecommerce companies that are dead or dying. I have been selling real estate since December 1989 and I was told to KISS:

Keep It Simple Stupid!

Some people make it politically correct and say Keep It Simple Salesperson but KISS still applies. I am picking on major ecommerce corporations, but I didn’t figure it out on my own. I participated in a free ecommerce training class from DR. Ken Evoy of Site Sell. This 967andy.com domain and site is hosted with his ecommerce company and built with his Site Build It ecommerce program. Go take the free ecommerce training, because He does a better job than I do and it is free. He will also teach you how to choose and be successful with affiliate programs. Free Training by email DR Ken Evoy of sitesell.com

You have to have targeted traffic to your site and then you have to make the sale.

If you signed up for DR Ken Evoy’s ecommerce training, this will be redundant. If you haven’t maybe this will make you think. There are billions of web pages on the Internet and most are trying to sell something or get a message out. How do you get heard or make a sale with all that competition? The answer is simple, content. You have to write a web site that deals with a specific subject or problem. Don’t try to write a page about something you don’t know or understand just because you think it will make money. It won’t. A multi-millionaire told me once, stick with what you know. Don’t work on or invest in things that you don’t know or understand. A surgeon or an engineer shouldn’t try to hustle cars and a car salesman shouldn’t try to perform brain surgery. A car salesman can make a lot of money buying and selling cars, but if he tried to transplant a heart, he might have problems.

What I am leading up to is talking about affiliate programs as an ecommerce business model in general and one ecommerce affiliate program in specific. I want to start with what not to do, because it doesn’t work. I bet there are a million ecommerce sites on the Internet that are just a list of links to affiliate programs and have no real reason for anyone to visit the site and no real content. If you finally get some to visit this site, they aren’t going to buy anything, because you have no credibility and have not built a relationship with the visitor. There is a person on the other end of the keyboard and they have bills to pay and kids to raise and they can’t just throw away money or waste time. You have to earn their trust and their ecommerce business. How do you make that happen? Same answer as before, content. Here is an example. Let’s say your kitchen faucet leaks. You would like to fix it yourself, but don’t know how. If I have a web site that has step-by-step instructions on how to fix leaky faucets and I help you save money, you will return to my site the next time you have a plumbing problem. I, as a smart Internet marketer, have a link on my web site to a plumbing supplier or "How to fix plumbing" ebook that will pay me a commission when you buy something through my link. You already trust me, because I helped you fix your sink.

When you return to my site, you are much more likely to purchase from me than before. Now this may not be a perfect example, because many of you go to a home center to buy plumbing and plumbing may not be the best thing to sell from your web site, but this ecommerce business model is valid. A web site that gives plumbing or electrical help could generate a lot of traffic. You would have to search for the right product to offer and the best affiliate program to join but it would work. Too bad I am not a plumber.

This web site 967andy.com is an attempt to do exactly what I am preaching and DR Ken Evoy is teaching. I have a site that is all about real estate, something that I know very well. I give you step-by-step instructions on many real estate related topics. At various times I give you a link to a related web site. Some of these sites pay me when I make a sale or send them traffic, others do not. I am trying to create and gather the best content that I possibly can. I have links to low interest mortgages, credit repair and related topics that people interested in real estate might need. I now can offer free insurance quotes online. My customers need the lowest possible insurance rates. If you are an affiliate with an insurance company, please let me know and if they pay on more than one level, I might join under you, if they have good rates.

Second Chance for Free training from DR Ken Evoy

Where do I find products and services to match my content?

Affiliate Marketing Programs

Click Here to see what Clickbank has to offer. Free to join takes about 3 minutes

If you want to make money in ecommerce, you have to have your own domain. The quicker you admit this is true, the quicker your ecommerce results will improve. Click Here to look at Site Build It. Site Build It is the program I use for this page you are reading right now. It has amazing search engine optimization built in! Some of you will be unwilling or unable to pay for the site build it program. Therefore I am giving you an alternative. Click Here for a Free Web Page! Adland Pro will give you a free web page and free classified ads. Build your free page and then regisiter a domain and use frame forwarding to disguise the free hosting. Won't fool search engines but your average customer won't know they are on a free page.

Two-Step Marketing Method

The two step marketing approach to ecommerce is ridiculously simple and incredibly effective if you do it right. There are people getting rich with this simple ecommerce plan. The first step is to write a killer classified ad that will bring people to your ecommerce site and the second step is to have a web site or autoresponder that has the absolute best sales letter that you can possibly write. This sales letter can only offer one product and must focus on the benefits to the buyer.

A letter describing the features of a product will not sell bread to the hungry. You have to tell them about the delicious sandwiches they can make and how happy and proud their families will be to get something to eat. Inspire their emotions and create images in their minds about how happy they will be when they own your ecommerce product or use your ecommerce service. This is why you must be able to accept credit cards online. You have to be ready to sell when they are ready to buy.

If you go fishing and get a bite, you have to be ready to set the hook. If you wait around you will probably lose your bait and not catch a fish. Two-step marketing is just like fishing. You classified ad is the bait and the web site or sales letter via autoresponder is the rod and reel. One attracts the customer and the other sets the hook and delivers the sale.

I am a firm believer in examples so here are a few. Really look at the sales letters and see how they lead you towards making a purchase. You can use these programs or create a sales letter similar to these to sell your product or service. For this example the headlines will serve as the classified ads and the links will take you to the sales letters.

Make your hit counter spin! 57 million ads automatically submitted for you over the 6 months!

Autoresponders automatically follow up with your ecommerce customers. They can request more information and the autoresponder program immediately sends them a reply.

Click here to read an excellent sales letter. from DR Ken Evoy. This guy knows what it takes to get paid!

I have a tendency to ramble, but do you understand what I am saying? Content and customer relations are the keys to success online. Hey, that is exactly the same as an off line business. You need a high traffic location full of reasonably priced goods and you have to be nice to your customers so they will come back and buy again.

This is what I will do for you and what you can do for me. Join my affiliate program with your real estate for sale.com and I will pay you 75% of every ad you sell. You will receive a URL to promote and when someone follows your link and buys an ad, you get paid. A third party professionally manages my affiliate program. They collect the money and mail each of us a check. If you place that URL in your web site and give it a good review, your visitors will follow the link and buy an ad, if they want to sell a house.

I have a lot of other stuff, but that is for another page. I am planning a page about free and low cost advertising. Click Here for free ads

If you need help, you can email me. Please ask a specific question and think it out, because I answer my email personally and I get a lot of email.

Send an email to Andy Click Here to leave ecommerce page and return to 967andy.com homepage