The unofficial guide to starting a business online

Only a few years into its popular use, the World Wide Web has already enabled thousands to set up online businesses that require a minimum of upkeep and maximum profits. The Unofficial Guide to Starting a Business Online is the cyber-entrepreneur's ultimate guide to every aspect of hanging out a shingle in the virtual world. Here's what readers get: Step-by-step advice and key information on setting up shop online, from creating a Web site to marketing and advertising big on a shoestring budget Addresses for hundreds of Web sites they can use as start-up references that would have taken hundreds of hours to track down alone A rundown of the best businesses to start online, and advice for choosing the right one Pointers on combining traditional selling techniques with Web-specific ones for the best of all possible plans!

Table des matières

The Unofficial Guide Reader's Bill of Rights	p. xiii
About the Author	p. xvii
The Unofficial Guide Panel of Experts	p. xix
Introduction	p. xxi
I In Business, Preparation Is Everything	p. 1
1 Making the Right Business Choices	p. 3
What's Involved with Starting an Online Business?	p. 4
Every Seller Is Welcome	p. 4
Every Product Is Welcome	p. 6
It Won't Be Easy	p. 7
Is an Online-Based Business Right for You?	p. 9
How Best to Invest Your Time and Money	p. 10
Which Business Ideas Are Best Suited to the Web?	p. 12
Forget the Fads, Watch the Trends	p. 13
The Growing Competition in Cyberspace	p. 14
Defining Your Business Idea	p. 17
Should You Give Up Your Day Job?	p. 18
Establishing Your Existing Business on the Web	p. 21
Be Careful What You Get Involved In	p. 22
E-Commerce in the New Millennium	p. 23
Just the Facts	p. 24
2 Laying the Groundwork for Your Online Business (I)	p. 25
Starting Your Business: Some Considerations	p. 25
Advantages of Self-Employment	p. 26
Questions to Ask Yourself	p. 26
Developing a Business Plan	p. 28
Getting Help--People and Software	p. 30
Elements of a Business Plan	p. 32
Seeking Expert Business Advice	p. 36
Setting Up an Office	p. 37
The Computer	p. 38
Software	p. 38
Printers and Back-Up Devices	p. 39
The Phone	p. 39
Other Elements p. 40
Just the Facts	p. 43
3 Laying the Groundwork for Your Online Business (II): Financial Issues	p. 45
Benefits Plan and Compensation Packages	p. 46
A Few Words About Hiring Employees	p. 48
Should You Incorporate?	p. 49
Other Considerations Involved with Launching a Business	p. 51
What Needs to Be Done Before Going Online?	p. 53
Planning Your Business Operations	p. 55
Setting Up a Merchant Account	p. 55
Secure Electronic Transaction Protocol (SET)	p. 57
Obtaining a Merchant Account	p. 58
Financing Your Business	p. 60
Just the Facts	p. 63
4 Planning Your Site	p. 65
Making Your Site Look Professional	p. 65
The First Steps in Developing Your Site	p. 69
Developing Your Site's Basic Layout	p. 69
Choosing the Perfect Content	p. 70
Using Color and Art	p. 76
Choosing the Best Fonts	p. 78
Types of Graphic Files	p. 79
TIFFs	p. 79
GIFs	p. 80
JPEGs	p. 80
Graphics Programs	p. 83
Choosing Web Site Creation Software or Another E-Commerce Solution	p. 84
E-Commerce Software Solutions for Small Online Businesses	p. 85
Microsoft FrontPage 98/ FrontPage 2000	p. 85
Symantec Visual Page 2.0	p. 86
Additional Inexpensive Software Packages for E-Commerce	p. 86
An Up-Close Look at Yahoo! Store	p. 87
Copyrighting	p. 90
Avoiding the Most Common Web Design Mistakes	p. 90
Using Outside Creative Talent	p. 94
Just the Facts	p. 95
II Getting Your Business Online	p. 97
5 Selecting and Registering Your Domain Name	p. 99
Understanding Domain Name Syntax	p. 100
Main URL Features	p. 100
Common Extensions	p. 102
Choosing Your Domain Name	p. 105
Being Creative	p. 106
Getting Help	p. 108
Domain Parking Is Available: Plan Ahead	p. 109
Finding if a Domain Name Is Available: InterNIC	p. 109
Getting Started	p. 110
Registering with Network Solutions/ InterNIC: Step-by-Step	p. 111
Costs of Obtaining and Registering Domain Names	p. 115
Registering Your Domain Name with WorldNIC	p. 115
When the Domain You Want Is Taken	p. 116
Getting Help Registering Your Domain Name	p. 117
Just the Facts	p. 118
6 Selecting Your Host: The Ins and Outs of ISPs	p. 121
The Costs Associated with Going Online	p. 122
Services You Need at Prices You Can Afford	p. 124
All-in-One Turnkey Solutions	p. 127
Getting Technical Support from your ISP	p. 128
Finding an ISP	p. 129
Microsoft-Registered Web Presence Providers	p. 131
The Computer Equipment You Need In-House	p. 132
Speed	p. 133
Retail Versus Mail-Order	p. 134
The Need to Surf the Web and FTP Files	p. 135
Just the Facts	p. 136
III An Internet Presence for Existing and New Businesses	p. 137
7 Expanding Your Existing Business into Cyberspace	p. 139
How Virtual and Traditional Businesses Differ	p. 142
Creating an Online Presence for a Traditional Business	p. 143
Converting Hard Copy Assets into an Electronic Format	p. 147
What Your Business Could Offer on the Web	p. 148
Spreading the Word about Your Online Presence	p. 151
Just the Facts	p. 153
8 Fine-Tuning Your Business Before Going Online	p. 155
Research--The Key to Success	p. 155
Becoming a Niche Marketing Expert	p. 159
Identifying the Needs and Wants of Your Potential Customers	p. 161
Beware of Get-Rich-Quick Schemes	p. 163
Tips for Avoiding Pyramid Schemes	p. 164
Twelve Common Scams	p. 166
Business Opportunities	p. 166
Bulk E-Mail	p. 167
Chain Letters	p. 168
Work-at-Home Schemes	p. 168
Health and Diet Scams	p. 169
Free Goods	p. 169
Investment Opportunities	p. 169
Cable Descrambler Kits	p. 170
Guaranteed Loans or Credit, on Easy Terms	p. 170
Credit Repair	p. 171
Vacation Prize Promotions	p. 171
Other Online Scams to Watch Out For	p. 171
Always Pay Attention to Details	p. 173
Making Online Ordering Fast, Easy, and Secure	p. 174
Make Building Customer Confidence a Top Priority	p. 175
Security and Privacy: It's Every Web Surfer's Concern	p. 176
Just the Facts	p. 178
9 Generating Revenues from Your Site	p. 179
Using Your Site to Accept Purchase Requests	p. 180
Selling Advertising Space	p. 180
Membership Fees	p. 181
Selling and Trading Online Advertising Space	p. 182
Affiliate Programs	p. 187
Selling Software or Other Downloadable Goods	p. 190
Charging Visitors for Access to Your Site	p. 192
Just the Facts	p. 194
IV Promoting Your Site	p. 195
10 Promotion Is the Key to Success	p. 197
The Importance of Promoting Your Online Biz	p. 198
The Target Audience	p. 198
Defining Your Target	p. 198
Reaching Your Target	p. 200
Promotional and Advertising Opportunities Available Online	p. 202
Internet Newsgroups and Mailing Lists	p. 204
Internet Mailing Lists	p. 206
Paid Online Advertising Versus Promotion	p. 208
The Ins and Outs of Banner Advertising	p. 209
Banner Ad Trades--The Ad Barter System	p. 213
Press Release Distribution	p. 215
Online Chats	p. 220
Why You Should Avoid Using Spam	p. 220
Taking Advantage of Traditional Advertising	p. 222
Just the Facts	p. 223
11 Tapping the Power of Internet Search Engines and Portals	p. 225
Internet Search Engines and Portals	p. 225
Understanding Search Engine Lingo	p. 227
The Web Directory Aspect of Certain Search Engines	p. 228
MetaTags	p. 229
What a MetaTag Looks Like	p. 230
Help New Customers Find You	p. 232
Search Engines: the Next Millennium's Yellow Pages	p. 232
The Most Important Search Engines	p. 234
Registering Your Site with the Search Engines	p. 234
Getting Help with Registration	p. 235
Paid Advertising Opportunities on Search Engines	p. 238
Planning Your Banner Ad	p. 243
Banner Ad Creation Tools and Services	p. 245
Just the Facts	p. 246
V Improving and Analyzing Your Site	p. 247
12 Making Your Site Look and Sound Great	p. 249
Plug-ins	p. 250
Adobe Acrobat	p. 250
RealAudio/RealVideo/RealPlayer	p. 252
QuickTime 4.0	p. 254
Shockwave	p. 254
Chatting Within Your Site	p. 254
Beware! Not Everyone Uses Plug-Ins	p. 255
Creating and Using Animated GIFs	p. 256
Live Webcam Broadcasting	p. 257
Using Java Applets and Other Graphic Technologies	p. 259
Should Your Site Use Cookies?	p. 261
Paying Attention to Download Times	p. 264
Giving Visitors Something of Value	p. 266
Free Online Web Site Design Help	p. 267
Think Before You Act	p. 268
Just the Facts	p. 269
13 Analyzing Your Site	p. 271
The Web Site Checklist	p. 272
Determining How Your Site Is Perceived	p. 275
Soliciting Comments and Feedback from Visitors	p. 277
Keeping Your Site's Content Fresh	p. 278
Just the Facts	p. 279
VI The Experts Speak	p. 281
14 The Experts Share Their E-Commerce Knowledge and Experience (I)	p. 283
Sandy Bendremer--ISPs and Web Host Providers	p. 285
Neil Cohen--Ad Sales Services	p. 295
Christopher Hadden and Todd Matzke--Web Graphic Design Programs	p. 302
Just the Facts	p. 306
15 The Experts Share Their E-Commerce Knowledge and Experience (II)	p. 309
Brent Halverson--Software to Create and Manage Your Site	p. 310
Brian Jamison--Services for Larger Companies	p. 314
Tim Brady and Paul Graham--Turnkey Services	p. 320
Just the Facts	p. 333
16 Successful E-Commerce Entrepreneurs Speak Out	p. 335
Cara France--ArtisanGifts.com	p. 337
Mark Giordani--LefKey	p. 347
Chris Gwynn--Niche Marketing	p. 354
Ken Young--1-800-Flowers	p. 364
Just the Facts	p. 370
A Glossary	p. 373
B Resource Guide	p. 377
C Recommended Reading List	p. 385
D Important Documents	p. 387
E Important Statistics	p. 399
F How to Contact InterNIC	p. 401
Index	p. 405

Disponible:*

Relié avec ces titres

Commandé

Résumé

Résumé

Table des matières