Using the Internet to Run a New Business

If you are a webmaster then you can set up almost any type of online business. What are your hobbies or interests? Let’s say you’re interested in travel or furniture or clothing or astronomy. Let’s say you’re an amateur astronomer, for example. Then why not start your own astronomy store online. This is just an example. But when I say astronomy, think any type of company that has your interest. What do you do first? First you set up a website. There are a number of free websites. Just put on your favorite search engine “free website” and you’ll find many of these free websites. Very many of these free websites and very professional. What do you know of astronomy, even as an amateur? Publish your content. Maybe this is an article on astronomy, some interesting subject. Maybe you tell people how to select a telescope. Maybe you have a list of recommended astronomy books. Then how do you set up your store?

Once you have published your initial content, then you set up your store. Now as for content, if you are not very good at your own content, there are many content producers, such as this one. Some are free content, some are paid. Put “content producers” on your favorite search engine. There are also free “news feeds” for very subjects and themes. These you can also add to your website.

Again, for the store? If you want to sell astronomy books, then you can join Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. When you list your recommended books – and include images of them – then you have your astronomy bookstore. Or it can be an astronomy store in general, in which you sell all types of astronomy products. There are a number of affiliate programs, for example, that sell telescopes. You can join these. You can also sell other products that might be of interest to astronomers, including T-Shirts with various astronomy themes and images, including astronomy clip art.

You design your store. Again, astronomy can be any type of store. You keep working on this store, and “tweaking” it, adding newer products as you find them. Adding new designs and clip art or whatever. You make your online store as attractive as you can make it. Then you are an internet entrepreneur.

Now for advertising. Start first with all the free advertising that the internet provides. Put “free advertising” in your favorite search engine and start going down the list. This includes free URL submissions, free banner exchanges, free link exchanges, free press releases, free traffic, and many other types of free advertising and free publicity.

Then you continue to study and learn how to make your store more and more salable. This guideline can be applied to almost any internet-based store. No doubt you can think of other advice to add to this.