How to Set up your own Online Business: 11 FREE or LOW Cost
Services you'll need to know about
Whoever said you need thousands of dollars to start your own web
based business didn't know what they were talking about. If you
know where to look your business can be on the web for very
little money, and in some cases free.
1) Free Domain Names: If you want your own domain name like
http://www.sallysshop.com, you may expect to pay anywhere from
$10.00 to $30.00 a year to own it. Back when Network Solutions
was the only game in town, they charged $70.00 for the first two
year period. Now that others are allowed to sell domain names,
pricing has become quite competitive. Some of the cheaper ones
are:
http://www.onestop.net $11.00 per year http://www.joker.com
$12.00 per year http://www.dotster.com $15.00 per year
But what if I told you that you get your domain absolutely FREE?
That's right! Free. I have found a few sites that will register
your domain at no charge. The catch with most of them is that
they set themselves up as the administrator, but will transfer
ownership of the domain to you after a set period of time or for
a very small fee. Check:
http://www.namezero.com http://www.domainzero.com
http://www.namedemo.com
2) Free Web Hosting: If you've been thinking of launching a
website but don't want to pay the $20 to $40.00 a month
typically charged for hosting it, you don't have to. With a
little research, you'll find plenty of places that will host
your site free.
Before you get too excited let me tell you the drawback: Most
free hosts place a banner at the top of your pages for giving
you this courtesy. But believe it or not, I have found web hosts
that won't charge you a dime and won't force you to display
those pesky banners. Some of them also will take the banners
away for a small yearly fee which is nothing compared to paying
a host monthly.
Some of the best ones are:
http://www.netfirms.com Requires banners, but you can remove
them for $60.00 a year.
http://www.crosswinds.net Free hosting, no banners required
http://www.doteasy.com/ Free Domain Hosting, no banners
If you sell product and need a shopping cart, check some of
these:
http://www.gta-tech.com http://www.freemerchant.com
http://www.bigstep.com
3) Product or Service to Sell: Let's face it -- if you don't
have something to sell on your website, it won't earn you any
money. The best-selling items online seem to be information
products and software, because they can be paid for and
downloaded immediately. If you sell a product, you need to
factor in shipping expenses -- both local and international.
If you don't have your own product to sell, no problem. Many
Internet companies will be happy to have you sign up and start
selling their products for them. They get increased sales and
you get a commission on everything you sell. Online these are
called "affiliate" or "associate programs." While most are free
to join, you should resist the temptation to sign up with too
many. Stick with one common theme when deciding on what to sell.
In other words, don't resell software and dog biscuits on the
same website (unless your site is targeted to veterinarians and
the software deals with patient records). You need consistency,
so pick a theme and stick with it.
To find associate programs to join check out:
http://www.associateprogams.com Over 2,000 to pick from
http://www.associate-it.com Huge directory of programs
http://www.referit.com Many to choose from
4) Fax Number: Don't buy a fax machine; now you can get your own
virtual fax number totally free. These online companies will
give you your own fax number that will send your faxes directly
to your email inbox ("e-faxing"). If you travel a lot and need
to receive faxes from the office this service is a godsend. Easy
to sign up.....and use.
http://www.efax.com http://www.onebox.com http://www.faxwave.com/
5) Logo: If you're going to have an online business, you really
should come up with a logo. A logo will help to brand your
company online. After awhile, folks will come to associate your
logo with your products and services. At least, that's the main
idea. So what if you can't even draw a stick figure? There are
plenty of online sites where you can design your logo or
absolutely free:
http://www.freelogos.com http://www.cooltext.com
http://www.thelogocreator.com Software to purchase to make your
own logo from templates
6) Refer a Friend: People love recommending good things to their
friends and family. So why not give them the chance to tell
someone about your website? This is an easy feature to add to
your site. Once you sign up with your chosen service, you paste
a few lines of HTML code they give you onto your page and you're
done. This is a form of viral marketing, and it works great.
http://www.recommend-it.com
7) Newsletter/Ezine: If you're going to have a website you must
publish an ezine. Yep, sorry, hate to break it to you, but if
you want to bring people back to your site and remind them of
your existence you need to offer an ezine. Luckily, you don't
need to set up a tricky list server; use one of the free
services below.
http://www.egroups.com (my personal favorite)
http://www.topcia.com http://www.listbot.com
To learn more about ezine publishing go to
http://www.ezineuniversity.com http://www.absoluteezines.com
http://www.ezine-z.com
8) Autoresponders: Remember fax-on-demand? Well, autoresponders
work like that but come directly to your email box instead of
your fax machine. You'll find many uses for them: from listing
your products or services with current pricing, to offering back
issues of your ezine. You can even use them to set up a
scheduled training course on any topic you choose.
You'll find plenty of free autoresponders if you take a look,
like:
http://www.sendfree.com http://www.getresponse.com
9) Promotional Items: Once your website is built you'll need a
few items on hand to help promote it.
a) Press Release- Keep it short & newsworthy, 4 paragraphs tops
b) Descriptions of your Site- Long and short for search engines
and directories c) Banners- animated & static, 468X60 and maybe
a button banner d) Classified Ads- Write a few short ads, 4 or 5
lines, 60 to 65 characters wide to use for online advertising in
ezines. e) Signature Lines: write a few good signature lines and
use them on every piece of email that you send out. Try to
include something free in it.
If you'd like all of these things made for you in one neat
package see:
http://www.mcpromotions.com/getreadytomarket.htm
Business cards can be made for just the cost of shipping at
http://www.vistaprint.com
10) Toll Free Number: If you don't want to add another phone
line in your house for your new business, don't! There are many
companies online who are just waiting to give you your own toll
free phone number. Many of them can be configured to ring on
your land line, or transferred to your cell phone if you prefer.
You can even set the hours and times you want the calls to
transfer to your other phone number, all done seamlessly. Many
of these types of services will also notify you by email when
you have a message waiting in your box.
http://www.ureach.com The best one online in my opinion
11) Ability to Accept Credit Cards; No merchant account, no
problem! Let's face it, if you want people to order from your
site you need to make it easy for them to pay you and that means
accepting online payments. Merchant accounts can be costly to
set up, especially for a new Internet business. Good thing there
are plenty of third party processors you can use who will take a
small percentage of each sale in exchange for giving you this
service:
http://www.ibill.com Takes a higher percentage of sales
http://www.ccnow.com Must be a tangible product not a service
http://www.propay.com Low rates, and your email address appears
on the customer's cc statement not the processor.
http://www.clickbank.com Rates aren't bad and allows you to take
out of country payments.
Another easy way to accept online payment is PayPal
http://www.paypal.com Free to register and cheap; an easy way to
send or receive money.
So there you have it in a nutshell. Don't put off starting your
online business one more day because you think you can't afford
it. You can. By implementing these 11 suggestions into your new
business, you'll have a site that not only makes the sale, but
doesn't cost you an arm and a leg to own.