Steps to Start a New Online Business

Starting a new business can involve a lot of different undertakings, and it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. Preparing all of these aspects before you even get your company up and running can consist of many varied tasks that must be completed before you begin making a profit.

Thankfully, for new and aspiring entrepreneurs, the internet has made many of these tasks easier to accomplish. An entire business can be started online without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. This has enabled people from every generation, from baby boomers to millennials, to start businesses to supplement or provide their full-time income online. The ability to start an online business has reshaped the work and employment landscape as we know it and is expected to continue in the coming years.

In this article, we will cover the basics of how to start a new online business. The topics concerning beginning an online business that we will discuss are:

• Choosing Your Business Idea and Niche
• Doing Market Research
• Determining Who Your Target Audience Is
• Developing Your Brand and Business Image
• Creating Your Online Store
• Promoting and Growing Your Business

• Choosing Your Business Idea and Niche

  Many entrepreneurs are enthusiastic about a particular product or service and can easily find inspiration to develop a business around it. However, not everyone who wants to have their own online business has a product or service in mind. Either way, developing a good business idea and targeting a specific niche can make or break a business.

  Entering a market saturated with competitors can present complex challenges to overcome. If your business does not offer anything particularly unique or useful that sets you apart, it can be hard for you to gain momentum in your industry. Finding ways to innovate the products or services your industry is built around is an excellent way to separate yourself from competitors. Offering something rare that a smaller but particular demographic of people would want for a specific reason is also a good business strategy because you will have less competition in your chosen area. When developing your business idea and picking your niche, it is good to think of ways you can offer something that other businesses cannot.

• Doing Market Research

  Market research can help you refine your business idea and further pinpoint your niche and how to market your products or services successfully. By learning more about your competitors, and the other products or services on the market, you can recognize various needs in the industry and come up with unique ways that your business can fulfill them. You can learn more about the nature of your industry, how things operate, how others have become successful, or your competitor's profit margins.

  By researching the keywords most relevant in your industry and analyzing search engine result pages, you can develop your SEO strategy based on this information. In addition, by learning what type of content is coming up in the search results related to your niche, you can see the kind of content your target audience is looking at, which can help you create a relevant but unique marketing strategy.

  Conducting in-depth market research is a key factor in starting a new online business and can continue to serve you as you move forward in time.

• Determining Who Your Target Audience Is

  You must learn more about your target audience to properly attract the customers who will purchase your products or services. This means learning about their demographic information such as age, gender, income level, ethnicity, and psychological aspects such as interests, values, opinions, world views, and more. This information can help you relate to your target audience through your marketing strategies, branding, company image, and how you design and deliver your product or services to them.

• Developing Your Brand and Business Image

  Developing your brand and business image is vital to starting an online business. As much of an internet user's experience is visual, visual components should not be overlooked, but your branding goes far beyond having a good-looking logo.

  A well-developed brand and business image should include your business name, logo, business philosophy, website, packaging, mission statement, and more while demonstrating a consistent message across all these areas. For example, consider "who you are" as a business and if this image clearly reflects your company to your customers across all aspects of your business.

  Are you an eco-friendly company that demonstrates this to your customers through your "about me" page as well as your manufacturing process, products, packaging, partnerships, environmental donations, etc.?

  Are you a cutting-edge business offering high-quality and state-of-the-art products and services to your customers that are proven and backed by the latest scientific research?

  Developing your brand and business image is one of the best ways to stand out from the competition and make your mark in your industry while relating to your target audience.

• Creating Your Online Store

  An essential part of starting your online business will be setting up your online store. Being able to list your products or services online, receive orders, and process payments are necessary components for an online business.

  You will easily be visible to a national or international audience if you create a store with various third-party sites such as Etsy, Amazon, or eBay. These sites already have massive audiences searching for products and a trusted reputation. Even though you will likely pay small ongoing fees, there are many benefits, such as not having to manage technical web design, SEO, or start from scratch building your audience.

  In contrast, if you choose to create a custom website, you will be responsible for the challenging aspects like buying a domain, website security, graphic design, testing responsive web design, ongoing technical updates, dealing with website errors, and so much more. Unfortunately, many new business owners fail to realize the expense and burden of maintaining a quality website. You may also be starting from scratch with no following or customers. If so, the odds are that you will need to invest in advertising, climb the ranks in search engines, and build a social media following in addition to maintaining your site.

• Promoting and Growing Your Business

  After completing these first steps, you will need to start promoting your online business to attract customers. Promoting your online company will be an essential and ongoing part of running your business. The following list is some of the ways you can market your business:

• Social Media Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Paid Advertising
• Content Marketing
• Video Marketing
• Sponsor a Social Media Influencer
• Cross Promotional Business Partnerships
• Customer Referral Program
• Host a Free Class/Webinar
• Offer Discounts

For more information on marketing your online business, please view our "Low-Cost Business Marketing Ideas" articles, part 1, part 2, and part 3.

Starting a new business can be intimidating, but the internet has opened up new and exciting opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs. By following the steps in this article, you will be more informed about overcoming the challenges of starting a successful online business.