Taking your product online

I am no expert on online advertising - but this page is an attempt at listing down the easiest and most cost effective way to make money of the internet. (a combination of original ideas & public information on the net)

Here goes,

How to go from Offline to Online 


Step 1. Define what you are selling.

Answer these questions -

a) What do I have to offer?

eg. I can make chocolates?

b) Is there anything unique about what you have to offer?

eg. I can make goddamn tasty chocolates! or You can make highly customized chocolates?

c) What do you call this product/service?

Do you have a brand name & graphic (logo)? I feel branding is crucial and directly affects sales. It is the first point of contact with potential customers.

Its about first impressions - the same way we humans gauge new acquaintances through first impressions, a potential customer will decide to visit your website depending on the first impression you create.

This impression will be a combination of quite a few things - but most importantly your brand name.

A Couple of years back I created a brand for my moms chocolates - 'Cocoa Concoctions' - unfortunately it was a little too fancy.

Potential customers were calling me and asking 'Is this Cocoa Connections??' Assuming the aim of a brand is to help customers gauge what you are selling and its quality, the above was a massive failure.

Keep the following in mind when you brainstorming on a brand name,

• It should be unique & memorable
• the people you want to sell things to - should be able to pronounce your brand
• you might want to come up with a name that can be used as a website name as well 
• if possible your brand should describe your product/service offering (eg. I replaced "Cocoa Concoctions" with "Mom Made Chocolates")
• something you can create a good visual out of - create a logo (some of the best logos can be created using powerpoint or word
• tagline - this is as important as your brand in creating that first impression. It can be used to describe your product/ or emphasize on what differentiates your product. (eg. "Mom Made Chocolates - Chocolates made by mom, for you") It sort of adds personality to your brand.   

c) Do you have content around any of this?

Content can take many forms, for starters you should have enough content for 2-3 pages of your website.

• a few lines describing your brand & your product/service. This would probably come on your home page & can be reused on various other online mediums as well.
• a visual representing your brand - this can be a logo. 
• pictures/photos of your product - use a phone if you have to - but try to take some clean shots of your product or service. edit these photos using paint or powerpoint. 
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