| ||
|
|
|
|
| ||
|
|
|
How I Shot Myself In the Foot.. No, Wallet!
I need to let you in on some very important information. Not only will this information save you lots money, or possibly the life of your entire business, but it will allow you to increase your profits through multiple businesses. First off, operating an online store is a fabulous and lucrative pastime, so kudos on making that decision. But before getting into the thick of it, heed my warning, you do not want to make this same mistake: only maintain one distributor for each of your online stores. Two if you MUST. I know what you might be thinking right now, "But the more products I have, the bigger the selection will be and I'll end up selling more -- therefore I'll be making more profit!" And that's exactly what I thought at one point, too. But unless you are charging sky-high prices or maintaining an inventory of your entire stock, then this thought is only half true. It is true that you may end up selling more, but the reality of the situation will quickly appear and you will be losing money with nearly every sale. And this is all centered around one simple, and easily glossed-over factor: shipping. Let me tell you a true story. Many years ago for one of my businesses, I had this grand idea of creating a recreation room super store. So I found four distributors for billiard equipment and recreation room accessories, one for board games, one for pewter products and one for candles and other neat decoration items. It sure seemed like a good idea at the time; I would be able to sell people everything a person would want and need to setup a recreation room with one shopping cart. I could virtually feel my wallet getting fatter. Then reality hit when I sold my very first order. The customer's order consisted of 1 or 2 small products from nearly every distributor I had. Through the online store's software, I had it setup to charge shipping based on the customers final price. When all of the items were tallied up, the customer was charged about $9.00 shipping, which was reasonable for the size of the order. But when I turned around to order the products from my distributors, I needed to pay $5.00 shipping at this one, $3.00 at that one, $4.00 here and there, and $3.50 at a couple others. My shipping costs totalled nearly $20! That amount was way too much to pass on to my customer when they were just ordering a few small items. They would have cancelled their order and moved on to one of my competitors. After that fiasco, I quickly reconsidered the direction of my business. So if you've got great idea that would involve more distributors, try opening a second online store. There isn't any rule that says you can't run 2, 3, or more online stores! In fact, you might want to do that anyways -- having multiple streams of income is a proven way of making the big bucks. Even if your stores are selling basically the same products, you will be able to better corner the market at Yahoo! Shopping, or whatever place you are selling. Having multiple business will also give you the opportunity to test advertising with one store and see if sales grow or shrink in relation to the others. You could even provide links to your other stores and advertise them as "sister sites." If your customers trust one of your stores, they'll automatically trust your "sister sites." Do you see why you should have only 1 or 2 distributors per online store? It is very important to keep this in mind for the long term success of your business. Not only that, but it gives you a valuable opportunity to create multiple income streams. Copyright © 2003 by Palyn Peterson About The Author Sign up for Palyn Peterson's FREE 13 day intensive email course and discover the 16 necessary basics and 5 advanced internet marketing techniques. You'll also receive a free $gift$. http://FutureInternetMarketing.com/guide.htm This article is free to publish with resource box. If using this article, please send a brief message to palyn@futureinternetmarketing.com
Add to these social bookmarking sites: 
MORE RESOURCES:
Notice: Undefined index: TITLE in /var/www/vhosts/harmonyhollow.net/httpdocs/webmaster-resources/internet-marketing/inc/rss.inc on line 103 Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Truth and Lies How low can one get? The number of encounters I have had in the few months as a network marketer with liars is astounding. Why do people need to stoop to lying in their attempt to succeed? Do they really believe that they will attract customers by using deceptive means. Heres A Quick and Simple Way To Find Hot Niche Markets "Here's A Quick and Simple Way To Find Hot Niche Markets"In This Article You'll Learn.. Ive Started My Own Online Business...Now What? People ask me this question all the time! The "Now What" part is what grabbed my attention. There is so much more than just having an online presence. 6 Basic Principals Every Online Business Owner Should Know The fact that you're reading this article shows your interest in starting your very own internet business. Maybe you're already an online business owner in search of some answers why your online business stalled. 10 Search Tips for Internet Marketers From kids to the old, everybody searches and search engines provide search tips to help searchers get more relevant result.But how many of those search tips are you using? There are some tips very useful especially for Internet marketers and web masters. The Tao of Web Marketing A few months ago I was watching a stream meandering back and forth across a flat plain in a high mountain valley. The stream reached it's destination - a small lake - but only after dozens of loops and curves. Niche Marketing - Assessing The Potential Of A Niche Potential niche products exist all around us, but how do you decide which ones are likely to be worth pursuing?Here's a quick method that will give you a pretty good indication without having to spend large amounts of time and money on the task.Step One:This is a fairly obvious step - find out if other marketers are spending advertising dollars in that niche. Creating Information Products For Money, Image And Success There has never been a more exciting and profitable time to create your own online product. Recent breakthroughs in the costs of software, broadband, online hosting, and teleconferencing combined with the explosion of internet sales, makes it easier than ever before for any coach to create their own products. Can You Really Make Money While You Sleep? If you've been utilizing the Internet for any length of time it's likely you have been bombarded with junk mail claiming you can make money "while you sleep." Most sensible people are bound to ignore such claims of easy money. A Frugal Internet Marketing Strategy That Works! So you finally created the website that your business or brand needs to market globally, but nobody is clicking on your site and the phone never rings. It seems that you have immediately become fodder for those other marketers to sell you their manuals about web marketing, but you might as well have spent your website development money on a gym membership. Internet: The Darling Of Business Internet has become indispensable in our lives. It has become the biggest source of communication and information for us. 10 Psychological Desires To Insert Into Your Ad 1. Most people like surprises because it's a change of pace from their routine. Yahoo Search Marketing: Is an Effective Online Marketing Tool Yahoo! manages to utilize its huge network of websites and portals to provide Yahoo! Search Marketing services which provides you an opportunity to advertise your business in a number of methods. The methods are sub-divided in the following categories:Sponsored Search: Display your ad prominently in leading search engines such as Yahoo!, MSN, Altavista, CNN and InfospaceProduct Submit: Get your product listed in Yahoo! Shopping and Yahoo! Buyers Guide and be found by millions of usersTravel Submit: Get your travel product or service listed in Travel Deals marketplace or Travel Deals listings and allow easy access of information to potential travelersDirectory Submit: Powered by the powerful Yahoo! Search, submit your business information in Yahoo! Directory. At Last, The Real Secret Of Internet Marketing I am going to share a real secret with you this week. A secret that can be summarized in two words. The REAL Secret to Building A High-Profit Internet Business My wife laughs every time she sees me doing it.At least once or twice every week, I'll be at my desk (or at the dining room table) with my Franklin Covey planner open and a stack of laminated checklists in hand. 6 Proven Steps To Internet Marketing Success There is a misconception that you can come online set up a web business and be making $1000s within days. Let be put that myth to rest right away. Setting Your Online Business Up for Success! There is a common misconception that an "online business" requires no investment.. Basic Rules For Effective Email Marketing If you want an email campaign to succeed, you don`t want to offend anyone when sending your messages. Turn off a consumer with your email and you can be sure they`ll tune out your message. Keywords are the Key Niche marketing is focusing your business efforts to a target market, or a niche within the market. However, this can prove difficult if you are not aware of the most productive ways to market your products. Beneath the Surface of Internet Marketing To most people Internet Marketing looks like a good way to make money from home, which is possibly the main reason while people start. The shame is that people like this don't realize that they are only scratching the surface.
|
| Home | Site Map |
|
| © 2006 | |