It is true that so many online businesses promote the lifestyle benefits. The use of images and the sales pitch make you believe that you can retire in a few months, become a millionaire almost overnight, own the top sports cars and buy a huge mansion.



Do not be fooled by the attractive sales line of starting an online business that is fully automated, which implies that you do not have to do much work in order to earn a huge amount of money. Building a profitable online business requires a great deal of work.

Unfortunately, it is due to the above that so many people fail in their online business. They have been misled into believing that owning a profitable online business is easy without having to apply any basic business principles or do very little work to earn a huge amount of money.

To treat your online business like a real business, not a hobby, is the most important success strategy that you can adopt. Highly successful online business owners put into practice on a daily basis the following basic proven success strategites and you can do so too.

You need to apply basic business principles with a full time attitude to everything related to the business i.e. internet marketing, cash flow management, product testing, ad tracking, customer service, email marketing, website updates and maintenance, etc.

Be firm with yourself and make the decision to either get into business or get out. Only once you have decided that you are in business can you move forward to accept the challenge and take on the responsibility of building a profitable online business.

A business is not exempt from these basic business principles just because it is online. Sell something that has value and market the product in such a way that you attract the right potential customers to your website.

Give potential customers visiting your site a way of contacting you, either by email, fax or phone. This not only builds trust but will give you the opportunity to get to know your customers and build a relationship with them.

Add a photograph to your website using a good professional head and shoulders shot. It is important that your business projects a professional image. Your business should be designed to fulfill a need and you will start making a profit when you put your customers' needs first.

It is a fact that internet marketing requires discipline and hard work. Find out what is and isn't working and why. Track every possible means that a potential customer has of finding your website. If you are using PPC or other paid advertising conversion rates are important. You need to constantly monitor and check and tweak where necessary.

It is important to get to know your opt-in and opt-out statistics and why they are opting out at certain stages. Which traffic sources are generating the highest opt-ins? Be sure to track, test and monitor every link in your internet marketing chain. When making changes to your website, make one change at a time and when you get different results you will then know exactly what caused the new result.

The great thing about the internet is that you can track everything; Avoid the guessing game - it is just a matter of becoming disciplined and making it a habit to track everything. Know what your top performing keywords and keyword phrases are and at what position in the search engines do they perform best. Know your click through rate to sales conversion rate.

If you are only able to work a few hours a day on your online business time management is really important. Decide what is important and what is urgent. Prepare a daily task list with time limits on each. Strict control on your cash flow is also essential.

In summary therefore, provide something of value that solves a need or a problem. Show your potential customers, by projecting the right image, that you are a real professional online business that cares. Use the right keywords and keyword phrases in order to attract targeted prospects. Never ever stop marketing your online business as you can never get enough exposure. Be wise and grow your business by investing a portion of the profits back.

You will form a very solid foundation to an online business by applying these very basic business principals and online business success strategies. You are on the road to building a highly profitable online business when you combine these with your decision to "get into business" with a "full time attitude".