Each decade, the American Dream slips further and further away from the traditional 40-year, nine-to-five job. While devoting most of your life to a stable career at a company used to be an appealing goal, people are becoming more independent.
We want more out of life. We want to be creative and free and unbound by out-dated career modalities. However, we still want financial security.
Is there something that offers all of that?
Of course, there is. We live in a booming capitalistic society where anyone with a good idea and an internet connection can become an internet entrepreneur.
However, it’s important to understand that there’s a difference between being an online entrepreneur and a successful online entrepreneur. We’re here to help you define that line. Keep reading for our top tips on entrepreneurial success via the internet.
Find Your Niche and Identify Your Target Audience
What do you have to offer people that they will pay to receive? If you’re creating a digital storefront for your own creations, making money is a matter of getting your products out there. However, if you’re simply going to be a blogger, you need to figure out how to monetize your website.
Regardless, you need to find your niche within the industry. What is special about you or your idea? What makes you different from other people in the industry?
Based on your niche, you can identify your target audience. These will be the people most likely to buy your products, services, or subscribe to your blog.
For example, if you’re looking to manage social media profiles for small business, your target audience will be small business owners. Alternatively, if you’re publishing a blog about parenting, your target audience will be parents, stay-at-home moms/dads, etc.
Build a User-Friendly Website
Once you’ve defined your niche and target audience, you need to build a website. Every internet entrepreneur who hopes to be successful needs a user-friendly website as their digital storefront. But what makes a website user-friendly?
Here’s a quick checklist:
- Optimized for mobile devices
- Easy to navigate
- Aesthetically appealing, yet simple
- Multiple forms of media
- Quick loading times
- Full of engaging content
You may need help creating a website, and that’s okay. There are plenty of online tutorials that can get you started.
Perfect Your SEO
Next, we need to think about driving traffic to your website. Successful internet entrepreneurs know the importance of search engine optimization. SEO is the algorithm that search engines use to find content based on keyword searches.
For example, when you Google “pet groomers near me,” SEO is what determines what comes up on your results page. The higher their SEO ranking is, the faster they’ll come up in your search results. SEO is vital for driving organic traffic to websites.
You can boost your SEO by:
- Publishing articles on your blog
- Using long-tail keywords
- Using local keywords
- Installing internal and external links
- Using multiple forms of media embedded with SEO coding
- Getting backlinks to your site from other credible websites
Think about SEO as invisible directions that lead people to your website. The better you define those directions, the easier it will be for people to find you.
Get on Social Media
To thrive as an online entrepreneur, social media needs to be near the top on your list of priorities. Over 70% of Americans have at least one type of social media and most of them use it daily. Social media is an expansive platform that can provide incredible reach for your website.
You can start building a following by posting engaging content and encouraging your current followers to like, share, and comment on your posts. This will extend your reach to their audiences and help you gain more followers. Run competitions, giveaways, and other promotions to increase engagement.
If you’re registered as a business profile (you should be), you can also use paid social media advertising. You can choose how much you want to pay per day and dictate who sees your ads based on age, gender, location, interests, hobbies, and more. Furthermore, paid ads offer valuable insight into ad performance based on user engagement to help you become more effective at marketing.
Create Engaging Content
Internet entrepreneurs rely heavily on content marketing. Content marketing uses blog articles, social media posts, emails, and other forms of content to build a connection with a target audience. Publishing content that aligns with their beliefs, passions, opinions, desires, needs, and life circumstances will help you gain devoted followers.
Instead of shoving product ads in people’s faces, you’re talking to them about real issues and connecting with them on a human level. Then, you can gently nudge them towards products, services, etc.
Affiliate with Other Companies and Blogs
To get your name out there, you need to reach out to other blogs. Create an affiliation with them to gain access to their audience. Offer to guest post on their website and invite them to do the same on yours.
If you can affiliate with successful entrepreneurs or bloggers, you have potential to gain followers quickly. However, don’t limit yourself just to other bloggers. Align with related (but not competing) companies who have shared interests.
Invest in Pay Per Click Advertising
To become a successful internet entrepreneur, you may have to invest some money into building your online presence. One of the best methods is using pay per click advertising.
PPC advertising allows you to publish ads on other websites for a small price. Each time your ad gets clicked on, you pay the host website a predetermined fee. This gives you access to their readers and you only pay for the measurable exposure you receive.
If you need help, Digital Logic has amazing PPC management services.
Develop an Email Campaign
Finally, use your website, social media, ads, and landing pages to encourage users to subscribe to your email list. Typically, you’ll need to offer something valuable to entice people to subscribe. This can be anything from free content, access to a webinar, discounted products, and more.
Then, you should have an automated email campaign that continues to reach out to your subscribers. Don’t be too pushy with sales or you’ll annoy people and lose subscribers. Instead, offer valuable and relevant content to keep them interested while subtly promoting your products or services.
Do You Want to Become a Successful Internet Entrepreneur?
We understand how daunting the task ahead feels. However, take comfort in knowing that thousands of people with no background in business have gone before you to come successful internet entrepreneurs. There’s no reason you can’t do the same.
It will take work establishing an online presence, managing your website and social media accounts, and monetizing your blog. Our blog is dedicated to helping people just like you.
Be sure to check out more of our articles before you go. Educate yourself as much as possible about the digital business world to maximize your success.
