There are a series of proven steps you can follow to ensure your success when starting a small business online. I have seen thousands of people create and grow successful businesses by following these steps.

Everyone from the beginner to the seasoned online entrepreneur can benefit from this process to learn how to create an online business.

Step 1: Create a business that fills a need.
Most people starting out make the mistake of looking for a product first, then a market.

To increase your chances of success, start with a market. The trick is to find a group of people who are looking for a solution to a problem, but are not finding much of it. The Internet makes this type of market research easy:

Visit online forums to see what questions people are asking and what problems they are trying to solve.
Do keyword research to find keywords that a lot of people are searching for, but that don’t have much competition from other sites.
Learn about your potential competitors by visiting their sites and taking note of what they are doing to meet the demand. Then, you can use what you’ve learned and create a product for a market that already exists – and do it better than the competition.

Step 2: Write copy that sells.
There’s a proven formula for writing sales copy that walks visitors through the sales process from arrival to purchase:

Generate interest with a compelling headline.
Describe the problem your product solves.
Establish your credibility as the problem solver.
Add testimonials from people who have used your product.
Talk about the product and its benefits to the user.
Make an offer.
Offer a solid guarantee.
Create urgency.
Ask for the sale.
Throughout your copy, you should focus on how your product or service is able to solve people’s problems or improve their lives. Think like a customer and ask, “What’s in it for me?”

Step 3: Design and build your website.
Once you’ve defined your market and your product, and you’ve developed your sales process, you’re ready to design your small business website. Remember to keep it simple. You have less than five seconds to grab someone’s attention – if you don’t, they’ll leave and never be seen again. Here are some important tips to keep in mind:

Choose one or two solid fonts on a white background.
Keep the navigation clear and simple, and the same on all pages.
Use graphics, sound or video only if they reinforce your message.
Include a membership offer so you can collect email addresses.
Make it easy to buy – no more than two clicks between the potential customer and the checkout.
Your website is your online storefront, so make it user-friendly.

Step 4: Use search engines to attract targeted buyers to your site.
Pay-per-click advertising is the easiest way to get traffic to a brand new site. It has two advantages over waiting for traffic to come to you organically. First, PPC ads appear immediately on search pages and second, PPC ads allow you to test different keywords, as well as titles, prices and sales approaches.

Not only do you get immediate traffic, but you can also use PPC ads to discover your best, most successful keywords. You can then spread these keywords throughout your site, in your text and code, which will help you rank higher in organic search results.

Step 5: Build a reputation as an expert for yourself.
People use the Internet to find information. Provide this information to other sites for free, and you’ll see increased traffic and improved search engine rankings. The key is to always include a link to your site with each piece of information.

Offer free specialized content. Create articles, videos or other content that people will find useful. Distribute this content through online article directories or social media sites.
Include “send to a friend” links on useful content on your website.
Become an active expert in industry forums and social networking sites where your target market is.
You’ll reach new readers. Best of all, every site that publishes your content will link back to yours. Search engines love links from relevant sites and will reward you in the rankings.

Step 6: Use the power of email marketing to turn visitors into buyers.
When you build an opt-in list, you create one of the most valuable assets of your online business. Your customers and subscribers have given you permission to email them. This means that

You’re giving them something they asked for.
You are developing a lifetime relationship with them.
The response is 100% measurable.
Email marketing is cheaper and more effective than print, television or radio because it is highly targeted.
Anyone who visits your site and joins your list is a very valuable lead. And there’s no better tool than e-mail to follow up on those leads.

Step 7: Increase your revenue through distance selling and upselling.
One of the most important Internet marketing strategies for e-commerce is to build lifetime value for each customer. At least 36% of the people who bought from you once will buy again if you follow them. Closing that first sale is by far the hardest part – not to mention the most expensive. So use up-selling and upselling to get them to buy again:

Offer products that complement their initial purchase.
Send electronic loyalty coupons they can redeem on their next visit.
Offer related products on your thank you page after their purchase.
Reward your customers for their loyalty and they will become even more loyal.