Whether you are starting a campaign to market your e-books, creating an e-commerce site to sell other products, or building a Website to promote your offline business, the solution is the same.
The key to success when launching an e-business is to choose a product or service to fit your niche customers' needs and then to determine a marketing plan for reaching them.
Give the people what they want. First, figure out what products or services you would like to sell or what skills you possess that might be marketable. Are you a tax expert or graphic artist? Are you an author or a self-help guru with advice to share? Use your favorite search engine to see what other similar products or services are out there. What search terms bring up products and services similar to yours?
Choose the right Website platform. Once you decide on your business, you'll want to pick the right platform for your Website. Pick one with good reliable hosting and a set of easy to use tools that will allow you to do regular updates without the need for a Web designer. Choose a Web platform optimized for search engines. This means one that will make it easy to locate your Website online with the keywords customers would most likely use when searching for a business like yours.
Market using social media. You're probably familiar with Twitter and Facebook, but there are other social media sites to consider too. Think about social networking sites like Google+, LinkedIn, and Pinterest and social bookmarking sites like Digg, Reddit, Delicious, and StumbleUpon. Pick the ones that work best for you. Create profiles for your business and then make connections and share links relevant to the market you are trying to reach.
Add video and other content to the mix. Video content, whether on sites like YouTube and Blip.tv or actually embedded on your Website, can attract traffic and build value. Shoot these videos with a simple Flip camera or just your smartphone and be sure to share useful information with your audience. You can also create other kinds of content like articles relevant to your product or service. Post them on a blog or other content site like Tumblr. Then link back to your Website to bring in more traffic relevant to your business.
You don't necessarily need any programming experience to get started, just a good understanding of your product or service. Many platforms offer simple tools to help you get your Web business up and running. Why not get started today?