Starting and Running an Online Business For Dummies

ISBN-13: 9781119991380 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 400 str.

Kim Gilmour

Opis

With strategies to help you identify your market, design your website, choose services, trade securely, boost sales and stay ahead of the competition, this book is just what you need to survive.

Spis treści

Introduction 1

Part I: Strategies and Tools for Your Online Business 7

Chapter 1: Opening Your Own Online Business in Ten Easy Steps 9

Chapter 2: Choosing and Equipping Your New Online Business 39

Chapter 3: Selecting the Right Web Host and Design Tools 75

Chapter 4: Profiting from Web 2.0 and Social Media Tools 99

Part II: Establishing Your Online Presence 123

Chapter 5: Giving Your E–business Site Structure and Style 125

Chapter 6: Attracting and Keeping Customers 143

Chapter 7: Building in Security Up Front 169

Chapter 8: Monitoring and Improving Your Business 187

Part III: Running and Promoting Your Online Business 205

Chapter 9: Easing the Shopping Experience 207

Chapter 10: Running a Business on eBay.co.uk 227

Chapter 11: Accepting Payments 247

Chapter 12: Service with a Virtual Smile 263

Chapter 13: Search Engines: What You Need to Know 281

Part IV: The Necessary Evils: Law and Accounting 299

Chapter 14: Making It All Legal 301

Chapter 15: Accounting Tools for Online Businesses 323

Part V: The Part of Tens 337

Chapter 16: Ten Must–Have Features for Your Website 339

Chapter 17: Ten Hot Steps to Entrepreneurial Success 349

Chapter 18: Ten Must–See Websites for Online Entrepreneurs 357

Index 363

O autorze

Kim Gilmour is a business and technology journalist specialising in web hosting, social media and promotion. She has written for Which? Computing magazine, Web User and Internet Magazine and is the author of Digital Photography for the Older & Wiser. Dan Matthews is editorial director of Casis Media and co–author of Starting a Business on eBay.co.uk For Dummies. Greg Holden is the author of over 25 books including eBay PowerUser′s Bible.

Blurb

Learn to:

• Attract new customers and keep them coming back
• Improve your search engine rankings
• Select the right web host and design tools for your business

Discover just how easy it can be to break into the exciting world of online commerce – and succeed!

No matter how limited your startup budget, or your digital expertise, this new edition of the bestselling guide is your ticket to making it big as a web entrepreneur. Short on technical jargon and long on how–to information, it gets you up to speed on everything you need to get your business up and running quickly and economically. This thoroughly updated second edition includes the very latest on web–based business technologies, online marketing strategies, social media advertising tools and a whole lot more.

• Nuts, bolts and lots of cash — get down with the basic concepts, software and other technology you need to set up shop online, along with exciting new e–business money–making opportunities
• Check it out — create a compelling online presence with a website that grabs customers′ attention (and their cash) and gets them coming back again and again
• Reeling them in — discover easy, inexpensive online marketing and advertising strategies that boost visibility, enhance the online shopping experience and increase customer satisfaction
• Security! — get the lowdown on must–have security software for safeguarding your accounts and your inventory from hackers
• Keeping the books — find out what every web entrepreneur should know about accounting practices and tools that help you keep track of your online activities
• Tomorrow′s online business today — take advantage of new and emerging trends in web hosting, search engine optimization, social media marketing and more

Open the book and find:

• Ten easy steps for setting up your online business
• Tips for selecting the right web host and design tools
• Ways to design your website
• The latest social media marketing strategies
• How to structure and style your e–business site
• Methods for identifying your market
• Ways to attract and keep customers
• Pointers for harnessing the power of social media
• How to trade securely online