|
|
|
|
Although the Internet's golden glow of the late 1990s has long fades and
many once-promising companies are now historical footnotes, the survivors of the dotcom bust are doing quite well these days, particularly in the business-to-business arena.
For e-businesses that offer products and services to consumers, the jury is still out. Some are prospering; others are not. While books, music, software, computer hardware, electronics, office supplies and travel services sell well, the bottom line is that e-commerce is still a small part of the overall economy. The good news is that in the United States, e-commerce is experiencing double-digit growth according to research firm eMarketer.
One prevailing Internet myth--now soundly debunked--has been that once
people discover your website, the money rolls in. As many failed entrepreneurs
now know, it's hardly that easy. Hundreds of thousands of e-commerce enabled websites
are already online. Getting customer's attention requires plenty of advertising,
even if your website is branded with a name like Disney or Sony. There's a rough road ahead, so don't count on your site becoming
the Amazon of the Internet unless you really work at it. Having said that, you can make money in cyberspace, particularly if you run a lean operation.
Here are three ways to generate income.
Advertising
If you've spent any time online, you've undoubtedly seen advertisements plastered all over the Web. Companies large and small pay for banner ads and sponsored links to their websites from search engines and other websites. Advertising rates vary wildly, depending on the site and its audience.
|
Online advertising in the U.S. grew by almost 30% last year.
|
What determines which sites attract advertisers? Sites whose audience demographics match those of the advertiser's customer base. For instance, if your company sells telecommunication services to businesses, you want executives who making purchasing decisions in that area to see your message. If that's who regularly visits your website, it becomes a prime candidate to sport an electronic billboard for a telco. To put it bluntly, you're selling "eyeballs" to an advertiser. The more targeted your audience is, the higher rate your site commands.
Once again, the demographics of the Web are a key factor in determining whether this strategy will work for you. It's vital to understand who uses the Internet and who visits your site. Although computer technology makes it possible to gather some very specific data about site visitors, some demographic information is best gathered by asking for the information. That's why many websites require you to register. They're trying to figure out who you are.
Rather than trying to sell ads on your own, an easy way for online publishers to make money is by joining an online ad agency, like Google Adsense.
By placing ads on content pages, site owners earn revenue each time a visitor clicks on an ad. Even though the amount per click is be small, all those clicks add up quickly. Learn the Net uses this service and fully endorses it.
Still, the amount of
money spent by companies to advertise online palls in comparison to what
is spent in traditional media outlets like radio, TV and magazines. Nonetheless, publishers of specialty websites and blogs can generate a respectable amount of income, especially if the site is actively promoted.
Learn the Net (www.learnthenet.com) is
Copyright 1996-2008.
Michael Lerner Productions.
All Rights Reserved.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use the Site
