All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Sunu Philip

10 Step action guideTo kick start your

Business Online

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Compiled By : Sunu Philip

To kick start your

Step action guide10Business Online

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

The author has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in the creation of this report, notwithstanding the fact that she does not warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate due to the rapidly changing nature of the Internet.

While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, the author assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. Any perceived slights of specific persons, peoples, or organizations are unintentional.

In practical advice books, like anything else in life, there are no guarantees of income made. Readers are cautioned to rely on their own judgment about their individual circumstances and act accordingly.

This book is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, accounting or financial advice. Readers are advised to seek the services of competent professionals in legal, business, accounting, and finance fields.

You are encouraged to print this book for easy reading.

Legal Notice

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

IntroductionStatistics tell us that over 4 billion people access the internet on a monthly basis. This makes it evident that there is a huge market readily available online. You can easily tap into this market by starting an online business.

While starting an online business from scratch can be pretty overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be that way. Following a step by step strategy will breakdown the entire process for you and help you concentrate on just the essentials until your business is established.

My advice to you is to take time to go through each step and not hurry through it all. It is important that you have a clear picture of your business purpose and plan before you jump into establishing it.

What you’ll find in this guide is 10 steps to kick-start your own online business from scratch. We start with brainstorming about your business idea, and by the end of the 10 steps you will have a fully functional business website where you can sell your own products or services. You can also use this guide if you already own a local business and just want to increase your visibility online.

This guide acts as a basic outline for the entire process of starting an online business. If you need more extensive help, my eBook, 31 to Start an Online Business is an excellent resource. More details about the eBook can be found on the last page of this guide. This action guide is a part of the Online Business Startup Kit – a free gift from Clothed In Scarlet. To share this kit, please direct your friends, family and co-workers to the following page, where they can download a free copy for themselves:

Download the free kit:

Online Business Startup KitShare this Kit

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Step 1:Identify Your Idea?

A business that is based on your passion will last long and flourish because it fits your personality, strengths and talents. Therefore, it is important that your business idea is something that is close to your heart.

A good business idea is one that makes use of your talents, and solves a core issue for potential customers. I encourage you to first identify your strengths; what we are looking for is a way to convert your strengths to a business – a platform that would generate an income.

Take into account the following factors to discover your specialized interest:

• Your dreams

• Prior job experience

• Books you like to read

• Discussion groups – online and offline

• Magazine subscriptions

• Your education

• Hobbies

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

The next step is to figure out which of your ideas are worth pursuing as a business opportunity. Here are a few tips that will help you process your ideas as you brainstorm.

• Your business should be able to solve a problem.

• Your product/service should add value to your customer. What more can you bring to the customers, in addition to what your competitors are already providing?

• Can you provide a solution to an issue you are currently facing?

• Ask yourself – Is there a better way to do ‘___________’ ?

Keep in mind that all big ideas are just ideas until you act. So, go ahead! Pick your idea based on the prompts given above and move forward with it.

A successful business is one that makes use of your

talents, and solves a core issue for potential customers.

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Step 2:Market Analysis

What people need 10 years from now will be vastly different from what they want now. So, if your ideas are not in tune with what the market needs now, the business will never really take off. In order to build a prosperous business, you will have to pick a niche that has a demand.

The first part of analyzing your market includes defining your target customer base. Create a varied set of profiles for customers who might use your product or service. Make sure you include specifics such as age, gender, occupation, income, location, family status, hobbies, etc.

When it comes to business, there are two things you need to keep in mind.

1. Business is never about you – it’s all about your customers.

2. Market demand is never stagnant; it is constantly varying.

The second part of analyzing your market is to determine if your business niche is profitable. This process, also known as market research will help you gauge if your business idea will translate into a profitable business. There are quite a few tools available online, to help you conduct market research. A few of them are:

• Google Keyword tool

• Google Trends

• Facebook Audience Insights

• Online Forums, Facebook Groups and Q/A sites

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

For more information on how to use these tools to identify a profitable niche, you can refer to this article: How to Identify a Profitable Target Niche for Your Business. With the results of your market research, you will be able to find a profitable niche that suits your business idea.

Define your target customer base and identify a

profitable niche for your business.

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Step 3:Business & Domain Name

Your online business is very similar to an offline business – just that it’s on the World Wide Web! Just like a traditional business, the first thing you need is a name and an address. Your business name represents what your business is about, and your domain (or sub-domain) represents your business’s online address. It’s very important to choose the right web address to represent your online business.

Select a domain name that fits these basic criteria:

• It should preferably be short and catchy.

• It should be easy to spell and remember.

• It should not violate any existing trademark.

• It should resonate with your audience.

Here are a few different ways you can choose the right domain name for your business.

1. Go with your name

2. Go with your business name

3. Go with a keyword (the term people search for online, in order to find your business)

a. Go with just the keyword as your domain name

b. Go with a combination – keyword + a generic term

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

A few websites where you can find and purchase domain names for your online business are:

• GoDaddy.com - Most preferred worldwide

• NameCheap.com

• 1&1.com

• Name.com

• Google Domains

Your business name represents what your business is about,

and your domain represents your business’s online address.

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Step 4:Website Setup

Once you have a business name and an address, you need space to set it all up – that is where web hosting comes into the picture. It defines where your website or blog will be hosted.

Have a clear idea of your business requirements and all the functionality you’re planning to add to your web business. Then look around and choose a web hosting provider that meets all your needs.

Here are a few websites where you can purchase hosting for your business website:

• BlueHost - Recommended

• HostGator

• InMotion Hosting

• InnoHosting

The following videos will give you a clear picture of the entire process involved in setting up your website.

1. Purchase web hosting space from a hosting company

2. Point your domain to your web host (if your domain is registered outside the web host company)

3. How to set up a Wordpress site by Michael Hyatt

Have a clear idea of your business requirements and

functionality before you purchase a web hosting package.

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Step 5:Design

The way your website is designed creates a huge impact on the people who visit it. A good web design makes your website look professional, attracts customers and is easy for them to use.

Here are a few characteristics that good web designs are made of.

1. Simple and streamlined website structure

2. Platform compatibility across various devices

3. Browser compatibility

4. Colors that appear the same across all browsers

5. Navigation that remains the same throughout the site

6. Legible fonts

7. Relevant images

The easiest way to design your website is to hire a professional designer, but if you don’t have the budget for it, you can always work on the design yourself. You could:

• Develop your own design from scratch using a HTML editor

• Buy a template or theme from a template store and modify it

• Download a free template/theme and modify it

• Use an online web designing portal

A good web design makes your website look professional,

attracts customers and is easy for them to use.

Additional design help: 75+ Resources to Help You Design Your Website

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Step 6:Content Planning

Your business website’s content is crucial as people come to your website looking for something helpful. Your site should have valuable content that your potential customers can relate to, thereby ensuring that they come back again for more.

Why is good content important for your business?

• Readers find value in you through your content

• You become a trusted adviser in your niche

• You gain credibility and authority

• Great content gets more shares

• Great content gets more inbound links

• Search engines give preference to quality and unique content

Here are seven steps you can follow to plan your website content:

1. Decide how you want your content to work for you

2. Define personas and categorize their pain-points

3. Brainstorm content ideas

4. Decide on the content format

5. Decide who is going to create the content

6. Map out the resources required

7. Build an editorial calendar

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Ensure that your content appeals to people, in the sense that it grabs the user’s attention and benefits them, while also getting your message across. You also need to see to it that your content is picked up by search engines using strategically placed keywords and in-content links. We have a detailed article on the site on how to perform keyword research that you can refer to.

Your website content should appeal to potential

customers and get picked up by search engines.

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Step 7:Marketing Plan

There are thousands of businesses vying for people’s attention, and if you are not intentional in marketing it, your business will not be visible to your target audience. Content marketing has to be coupled with other marketing strategies to get potential customers to notice your online business.

A few essential online marketing strategies include:

1. Social Media Marketing

2. Organic Search Engine Marketing

3. Pay Per Click (PPC) Marketing

4. Email Marketing

5. Video Marketing

6. Affiliate Marketing

7. Ad Campaigns

8. Word of Mouth Marketing

You will have to look into your business requirements, time and budget to figure out which marketing strategies you can employ to make sure your business reaches the target audience. When you have a detailed online marketing plan in place, it will help you focus your effort in only the areas that will yield you the most results.

Online marketing makes your business

stand out from the crowd.

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Step 8:Product/Service Planning & Creation

If your objective in starting a business was to make money online, it means you have something to sell. It could be a product – something the customer can buy and use, or a service – where you hire out your knowledge and ability to help the customer.

There are two types of products you can sell – physical products and digital products. A physical product could be just about anything that can be seen and held. Digital products on the other hand include:

• eBooks

• Courses

• Software & Apps

• Themes & Templates

• Graphics

When it comes to selling services online, you are basically helping the customer do something they need help with, for a predefined cost. Services that can be purchased online are usually of two types – web-based services and freelance services.

A web-based service is typically based online and requires the customer to set up an account and log in to avail the particular service. Freelancing, on the other hand, is a huge umbrella that covers a variety of services that can be offered online such as, web designing, virtual assistance, editing, search engine optimization, social media marketing, etc.

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

You could also start a membership site with a combination of products (digital and physical) and services that are sold in a package for a subscription fee.

When you have narrowed down what you are going to sell, you then need to create the product or plan in detail the service you will be providing.

Decide what you are going to sell - a product the customer can

buy and use, or a service hiring out your knowledge and ability.

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Step 7:Payment Processing Setup

The payment process required to sell your product or service will vary based on where you are going to sell it. If you will be selling it on your website, you can choose one of the following payment processes.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Option 3:

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

For Option 3 above, you can check out these popular online payment gateways.

Additional Resources: Handy List of eCommerce Tools and Resources

Choose a payment process that best suits

your online business requirements.

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Step 10:Tracking Tools

The ultimate goal of web analytics is to collect information and insight that affects the performance of your site. Here are a few reasons why online entrepreneurs need web analytics:

• Online marketing is the only marketing strategy that is trackable.

• You get to know the actual data corresponding to your website visits.

• It tells you which pages are most popular on your website.

• It gives a clear picture of user behavior on your website

• You find out which online marketing campaigns are more effective.

• Gives you insight on how to optimize your website.

Every web hosting package has several inbuilt statistic reports software installed. The tools normally provided with cPanel are AWStats, Webalizer Statistics. You can check which tool is suitable in your web host control panel and use the same, or you can go with an external tool. Setting up a web analytics tool usually involves 3 steps.

Step 1: Sign up with a web analytics service.

Step 2: Set up the account with your website details.

Step 3: Set up the tracking code on your website.

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Check this extensive list of web analytics tools for your business. Keep in mind that you will have to analyze and respond to the information these analytics tools provide – only then will you be able to give your visitors a better experience and enhance your online business.

Set up tracking tools for your website, and analyze

the results to improve your business.

All Rights Reserved | Copyright © 2018 - 2019 | ClothedinScarlet.org

Going ForwardThe most important step in getting a business launched online is taking the first step. This 10-step guide just outlines all that needs to be done.

My eBook, 31 Days to Start an Online Business, is a more detailed resource to help you start an online business from scratch. This eBook expands on the steps outlined in this action guide and explains in greater detail the process involved in starting an online business.

You have received this action guide as a part of the Online Business Startup Kit. The other components in this kit include:

• A brainstorming worksheet – to help you identify a legitimate business idea.

• A handy checklist – to help you work through the steps involved in setting up an online business.

• A comprehensive business plan workbook – to help you plan your online business.

• A social media strategy template & planner – to help you with your social media marketing.

The 10-Step Action Guide to Kick-start your Business is to be used as a companion resource to all the other components in the kit mentioned above.

If you need any extra guidance with your online business, do not hesitate to contact me, Sunu Philip, Certified Internet Marketing Expert. You can reach me at Clothed.Scarlet@gmail.com or visit www.ClothedInScarlet.org for more information on what we have to offer.

If you’ve found this guide useful, please check out the other resources in the Online Business Startup Kit, and help us spread the word.

Share this Kit