Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting an Online Business

by Fiore, Frank

• ISBN13: 9780789721938
• ISBN10: 0789721937
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-01-13
• Publisher: DK Publishing, Inc.
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting an Online Business shows why and how to establish company Web sites and Intranets. It speaks specifically to the idea of distributed information as capital and how to use the Web and Web technologies to positively impact revenues. See how to set objectives, create strategies, and implement programs for Web-related communications that will impact your company's marketing, sales and financial activities. Learn to manage a Web site and maximize the use of information gleaned from an online presence. Also included: an overview of E-commerce, explanations of various Web software tools, the basics of Web design and how to set up a company Intranet.

Author Biography

Frank Fiore has been in eCommerce since its inception on the Net and has authored Dr. Livingstone's Online Shopping Safari Guidebook. A direct marketer of products and an eCommerce consultant for five years, Frank knows eCommerce from both sides of the transaction. He is the Online Shopping Guide for About.com, an eCommerce columnist for both online and offline publications, and CEO for OneMinueShopper.com, a cutting-edge eCommerce company.

Table of Contents

Staking Your Claim	p. 5
Putting the "e" in eCommerce	p. 7
What's Happening Here?	p. 8
What Is the Big Deal?	p. 9
The "Dot-Com" Craze	p. 11
Just the Stats, Ma'am, Just the Stats	p. 12
Today's eShopper	p. 13
Keep Your Eye on the eCommerce Puck	p. 14
What's the Big Idea? Identifying a Need	p. 17
Should I Sell a Product or Service?	p. 19
The Main Types of Online Businesses	p. 20
Dr. Maslow I Presume!--Meeting Basic Human Needs	p. 22
Meeting Physical Needs	p. 22
Meeting Safety Needs	p. 23
Belonging Needs	p. 25
Esteem Needs	p. 26
Selling Your Creative Work	p. 26
WWW--The Wild and Wooly Web	p. 29
Selling Off the Web--Let Me Count the Ways	p. 29
Selling Off a Web Site	p. 30
Selling Off a Network	p. 30
Selling Off Auctions	p. 34
Selling Off Email Lists	p. 36
Selling Off Classifieds	p. 37
Selling Off Online Malls	p. 38
Creating a Unique Selling Position	p. 41
Commerce Turned on Its Head--The Shopper in Control	p. 42
There's More Than One Way to Skin a Price Tag	p. 44
Fixed Pricing	p. 44
Online Haggling	p. 44
Online Auctions	p. 44
Group Buying	p. 46
USP--Your Unique Selling Position	p. 46
Creating Your USP	p. 48
The Business Plan--Planning Your Online Business	p. 51
Get a Plan, Man!	p. 51
Business Plan Tips	p. 52
Where to Find Sample Business Plans	p. 53
Great Idea! But Is It a Business?	p. 55
Get to the Point!--The Executive Summary	p. 56
Who and What Are You?	p. 58
What Is the Market and How Big Is It?	p. 59
How Will You Promote Your Product?	p. 59
Do You Have the Team to Do It?	p. 60
Running Through the Numbers	p. 60
Getting the Dough	p. 63
Bringing Home the Bacon	p. 63
How Much Do You Need?	p. 64
What Type of Financing Is Right for You?	p. 65
Ante Up, Fella!	p. 67
How Much Do You Love Me? Let Me Count the Money	p. 68
Venture Capitalists	p. 69
Funding Stages	p. 70
Hunting the Big Game	p. 70
Getting the Venture Capitalist's Attention	p. 71
Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Find Me Some Bucks!	p. 73
Setting Up Shop	p. 75
Getting Started--First Steps	p. 77
Registering a Domain Name	p. 78
Where to Start	p. 79
Here's the Process to Follow	p. 79
Finding a Home	p. 81
eCommerce Host Essentials	p. 82
Cost	p. 82
Bandwidth	p. 84
Tech Support	p. 84
Your Shopping List	p. 85
Hosting Your Store for Free	p. 89
Selling from a Personal Web Page	p. 90
America Online	p. 91
GeoCities	p. 92
Angelfire/Tripod	p. 93
Xoom	p. 94
Quick and Easy Online Store Builders	p. 94
BigStep	p. 95
eCongo	p. 96
FreeMerchant	p. 97
eCommerce Enables Your Existing Web Site for Free	p. 98
Vstore	p. 99
Nexchange	p. 100
One Minute Shopper	p. 101
Hosting with an ISP	p. 103
All-In-One Hosting Services	p. 104
Yahoo! Store	p. 104
iCat Web Store	p. 106
eBiz Builder	p. 107
Shop Builder	p. 109
Choosing an ISP Hosting Service	p. 110
The Nature of the Beast	p. 111
Essential Services	p. 113
Connection Speed	p. 113
Space and Site Requirements	p. 114
Unlimited Email Addresses and Auto-Responders	p. 114
cgi-bin Access	p. 115
Mailing List Programs	p. 116
Other Considerations	p. 117
What Should You Expect to Pay	p. 117
Be Your Own Host	p. 119
Moving Your Web Site	p. 120
In-House, Co-Located, or Dedicated Host Service?	p. 122
Co-Location Host Services	p. 123
Dedicated Host Services	p. 124
Hosting Requirements	p. 125
Should You Hire a Pro?	p. 125
What's It Cost?	p. 126
Time Is Money	p. 127
Building Your Web Store	p. 129
Web Site Essentials	p. 130
Fast Loading Pages	p. 131
The Right Look and Feel	p. 131
Photos and Graphics	p. 132
Basic Page Elements	p. 133
Web Site Tool Kit	p. 136
HTML Editors	p. 137
Graphics Tools	p. 138
FTP Software	p. 140
The Six Most Important Things You Need to Have on Your Site	p. 141
Shop Now!--Start Them Shopping Right Away	p. 141
About Page--Let Them Know Who You Are	p. 142
FAQs--The First Place Your Customer Turns To	p. 142
Full Contact Information--Address, Phone, Fax, Email	p. 144
Privacy Policy--Get on the Right Side of the FTC	p. 144
Shipping Policies--Tell Them the Full Cost of Shipping and Handling	p. 146
eCommerce Basics	p. 147
The 3 Cs of eCommerce	p. 149
Content--Turn Your Site into a Learning Fountain	p. 150
The Referrer	p. 150
The Informer	p. 151
The Advisor	p. 153
The Context Provider	p. 153
Community--Building an Interactive Community	p. 154
Discussion Boards or Forums	p. 155
Chat Rooms	p. 156
Discussion Lists	p. 157
Newsletters	p. 159
Commerce--Adding Multiple Revenue Streams	p. 160
Meeting the Customer's Expectations	p. 163
The Big Five of Online Shopping	p. 164
Selection--Do You Have What They Want?	p. 164
Price--Is Your Price Right?	p. 167
Service--How Do You Measure Up?	p. 169
Convenience--Are You Easy to Do Business With?	p. 172
Security--How Trustworthy Is Your Site?	p. 173
The Seven Cardinal Sins of eCommerce	p. 177
Vanity--Going It Alone	p. 177
Greed--Forcing a Square Peg into a Round Hole	p. 179
Envy--Keeping Up with the Nerds	p. 180
Gluttony--Is It Bigger than 60K?	p. 180
Sloth--Neglecting Security and Customer Convenience	p. 181
Lust--You Gotta Love Those Plug-Ins	p. 183
Wrath--Do You Hate Your Customer?	p. 184
Delivering the Goods	p. 187
Taking the Order	p. 189
The Order Form	p. 190
Registration Request	p. 190
Customer Contact Information	p. 191
Product Information and Order Costs	p. 192
Customer Billing and Shipping Information	p. 193
Optional Services Request	p. 194
How Do I Pay Thee? Let Me Count the Ways	p. 194
Payment Methods	p. 195
Payment Types	p. 198
Online Fraud	p. 201
How to Avoid Online Fraud	p. 202
Warning Signs of Fraud	p. 202
You Suspect Fraud--What Do You Do?	p. 204
Fulfillment and Shipping	p. 205
The Shopping Cart	p. 206
The Cash Register	p. 207
Setting Up a Merchant Account--The Rules	p. 208
Choosing a Fulfillment Partner	p. 213
Using Your Suppliers for Fulfillment	p. 214
The Tax Man Cometh	p. 215
Customer Service	p. 217
Service Elements--It's the Customer, Stupid!	p. 218
Customer Service Starts Before the Sale	p. 218
Serving the Customer During the Sale	p. 222
Service After the Sale--The True Test of Customer Care	p. 224
Handling Disgruntled Customers	p. 225
Promoting Your Online Business	p. 227
Marketing Your eBusiness	p. 229
Hello! Here I Am!--Letting the Web Shopper Know You Exist	p. 230
Search Engine Optimization	p. 231
Grass-Roots Marketing	p. 235
Creating Consumer Flypaper--Attracting Shoppers to Your Site	p. 241
Promotional Announcements	p. 242
Loyalty Programs	p. 244
Speaking the Language of Net Advertising	p. 247
The Language of Net Advertising	p. 248
CPM or Cost per Thousand Impressions	p. 249
CPC or Cost per Click	p. 250
CPA, CPT, and CPS	p. 251
Advertising Strategies and Placement	p. 251
Banner Ads and Ad Networks	p. 252
Opt-in Email Advertising	p. 254
Advertising in Newsletters and eZines	p. 256
Measuring Your Ad Strategy	p. 258
Promoting Your Site for FREE!--From Meatspace to Cyberspace	p. 261
Meatspace--Start in the Real World	p. 262
Listing Your Site--Getting the Word Out	p. 263
Multiple Submission Sites	p. 263
What's New Sites	p. 265
What's Hot and Cool Sites	p. 266
Business Listings and Classified Ads	p. 266
Banner Ads	p. 268
Web Rings	p. 269
Community Participation--Newsgroups and Discussion Boards	p. 269
Community Participation--Discussion Lists, Live Chat, and Newsletters	p. 271
Contests, Give-Aways, and Shopper Services	p. 275
The Luck of the Draw	p. 276
Structuring Your Sweepstakes	p. 277
Keeping It Legal	p. 279
Give-Aways	p. 280
Shopper Services	p. 282
PR--Getting the Word Out	p. 285
Creating the Buzz	p. 286
Place a Press Room on Your Site	p. 288
Writing the Press Release	p. 289
Where to Release?	p. 291
PR Do's and Don'ts	p. 294
10 Ways to Drive Customers Away from Your Site	p. 297
Confuse Your Customers	p. 297
Stay Anonymous	p. 298
Offer at Retail	p. 298
Frame Your Page	p. 299
Surprise Them with Shipping Costs	p. 299
Manual Order Forms	p. 299
Make Them Wait	p. 300
Neglect to Address Privacy	p. 300
Keep Security a Secret	p. 300
SPAM Your Customers	p. 301
Important Resources on the Web	p. 303
Email Discussion Lists	p. 303
eBusiness Publications	p. 309
Promotions, Submissions, and Search Engines	p. 312
General Resources	p. 313
Glossary	p. 315
Index	p. 325
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.