Once the decision is made to start a  business online, we move forward by putting the action steps down mon paper or computer but the important thing is they get logged, so we have something to look at and follow.

The action steps are the things we need to do, in order to launch the business online, get traffic and get profitable.

To identify my action steps, I reviewed my business plan:

1. Set up a squeeze page to capture leads, decide what to giveaway in exchange
2. market my free domains to the prospects
3. Drive traffic to the site
4. consider and impliment future traffic activities.
Step 1
————
So, setting up a squeeze page. I’m the first to admit, I’m not so skilled in page design and layout. 

You can hire someone, but it was not in my budget. Here is what I did.

I downloaded Komposer, a free HTML editor and loaded up a blank page.

I needed a header graphic, so I did a google search for “header Graphics” and found this as the 1st result . I downloaded a free header graphic and opened it with PAINT program, that came with my windows software.

I typed in my URL and pasted it onto the graphic, and I was done. I loaded the header into my new web page in Komposer, and put a table below it. I typed my message And played around with fonts. I mentioned in article 1 that I had done a survey, and decided on a List  building PLR rights ebook to giveaway. I pasted in the code from my autoresponder (See “Setting up an Autoresponder“) and uploaded the page to my web host. (also review “Picking a Domain Name” if you need to)

I created a couple of more pages like
index.html  (home page)
confirm.html (to confirm opt-in)
contactus.html (to contact us)
privacy.html
download.html  (to download the giveaway PLR product)
faq.html  (provide answers to common questions)
how-it-works.html  (Page to list available domains to be given away)

For each page, I loaded the saved template I created for index.html, and I edited it to suit the needed page.

 
Step 2
————
market my free domains to the prospects is step 2. This is somewhat speculative in nature, not an exact science. What I did here was simply create a series of autoresponder messages to drip out to my new subscribers. I wanted to focus on the free aspect of the domain being given away, a $10 value, and also the free business being given away with each domain name. You can download my Autoresponder series emails here, and you are free to copy and modify as you see fit. this is the extent of marketing to my prospects.

Step 3
————
Drive traffic to the site. This I have done in two different ways. One method is not available to you, so you will need to find an alternative. The first method you can repeat. Method 1 is Twitter.  I have spent the last 2 months building a Twitter following of close to 10,000. I post tweets daily, and I tend to receive 30-100 clicks per day to my links. Some of those Tweets say things like: “I posted THE IDEA of starting an online (unique) web hosting business URL” , and “I fully expose my business idea for startabiz, URL” and “I bought 10 domain names, but I’m giving them away” and ” I goofed and disclosed my traffic plan for my new business”  and each and everyone of these tweets went back to my blog post, not to a sales page.

My second method I used was to tell my collection of 13,000 affiliate marketers involved with Adreporting.com about StartABiz, and let them get involved. Overall it is working, I have given away a collection of domain names so far, and it is growing into a noticeable residual, monthly income.

 
Step 4
———-
consider and impliment future traffic activities. I have run a paid cpc campaign on Facebook recently and picked up a number of subscribers, not so many buyers just yet. I’m spending a considerable amount of time on this article series, and will post in to  article directories, and invite other blogs to link to it. I’m on the look out for good PLR products with full websites. I’m always looking for good domains.

This in a nutshell is my game plan, or business plan to start this business online

Stay tuned for article 3, The Technical Steps For StartABiz101 Web Business
Kevin Needham

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documents new businesses Online.
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Step 1, The idea

I started off with good intentions when I wrote “Watch Me Create An Internet Business” and followed it up quickly with “The Mind Map Business Plan“. I then wrote a few articles about hosting and social media.

I want to fill you in on what I have been up to in regards to getting the first business launched.

Well it is launched (but really that is the final punch line.) Here is what I have done.

Originally I liked and purchased buyasite101.com as I felt it described what I wanted the customer to do. And it does. however I let it sit for a couple of days and when I came back to it, I did not like the word “buy” in the domain name. I figured it would discourage visitors instantly from exploring the site.

Somewhere during this time I wrote “pick a domain name pick it well” and decided to change the sites name completely.

I went out and registered startabiz101.com

I think Start A Biz, meaning start a business much better describes the benefit we offer at StartABiz101.com

So, I had the domain name figured out, lets recap the business model.

1. Drive traffic to my squeeze page, capture a name and email.
   To do this I first conducted a survey on my blog, drove a handful of visitors to the survey page using Twitter posts, and decided, based on the results of 10 or so people, to give away a list building ebook with resale rights as the carrot to obtain the email and name. Took 2 days
2. Once the subscriber is inside my autoresponder (if you are not familiar with autoresponders, read “Setting Up An Autoresponder“) I then follow up with a series of emails offering them a free business, already set up for them, with a domain name. Took 2-3 hours to set up AR messages
3. There is only one of each domain name, my cost is $9.05 on each domain name, and it took me 1/2 hour each to set up the site. Bought 10 domain names, took 50 mins.
4. The hope is that they take the domain name and web business for free. we host the web site for them at $12.00 per month, and that is how we make money. Our business model is hosting. In the longer term, we plan to offer services such as blog installs, Twitter marketing, Traffic generation and Information Products to enhance the back end

Over the next series of 3-4 articles, I’ll describe

1. The idea, this article you are reading

2. Action steps. Write a “napkin” business plan to follow

3. The Technical, how I set everything up, where I bought my services like hosting, autoresponders. Where I got the PLR content to give away.

4. The Revenue Streams, how to make money

5. Traffic Plan, Marketing Ideas

6. Long Term Plan, what can we do

So each “Web business” found under the “Web Business Blueprints” Category will have these 5-6 articles (some more if required) and by reading these series of articles you will be able to set up the exact type of business for yourself.

Stay tuned for the 2nd article of this series called “Action Steps For StartABiz101″

Kevin Needham

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documents new businesses online.
Subscribe to his newsletter
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