100 Things Every Business Should Do To Succeed Online

Brand Decisions

Your brand is the image people observe, develop & relate to

Identify your business mission & vision

Identify colors that represent your brand

Choose a business name that is easy to remember, spell & has domain available

Understand WHO is your target market & what they need

Identify what differentiates YOU from the competition

Brand Decisions

Hire someone to create a logo, using your colors & that supports your vision

Develop a brand purpose

Create a brand personality

Create a brand promise

Create a list & plan of each branding & marketing opportunity available

Your brand is who you are, what you represent & what makes you unique

Finances & Start-Up Decisions Careful planning & implementation can save time

& mistakes

Write a business plan that includes start-up capital requirements

Research & register your business with correct government agencies

Protect your business name by filing appropriate documents

Create articles of organization

Obtain EIN from IRS

Finances & Start-Up Decisions

Open a business checking account

Decide on a payment processing system

Establish an accounting system

Obtain a small business credit card or small business loan

Obtain the necessary business licenses or permits for your area

Your business is now set up & it’s time to start making money!

Domain & Hosting Decisions

This will be your company’s home on the internet

Create a list of potential domain name ending in .com

Identify your preferred domain registrar service

Register your primary .com domain as well as supporting domains as necessary (.net, .biz, etc)

Proofread your contact information on your registrar account

Set your domains to auto-renew

Domain & Hosting Decisions

Register your domain either as public or private

Verify information in the Whois database

Choose a website host that meets your requirements

Web space, bandwidth, price, support, etc

Setup business email with your primary domain in it

example: sales@myurl.com

Choose a template, hire a designer or put up a squeeze page so early visitors don’t find a blank page

WordPress Customization

Install WordPress according to your hosting instructions

Clean the default settings on your template

Delete default posts, comments, links, etc

Choose your theme, header image, hire a designer & activate your theme

Sign up for a Google account & install Google Analytics to your site

Register for a Feedburner account for RSS options

Choose, install & activate relevant plugins

WordPress Customization

Modify the theme’s general settings for title, tagline, time zone, etc

Set up permalink structure that is professional-looking & easy to understand

Example: http://www.sample.com/sample-post

Take steps to protect your site with unique logins & deleting the main login link from the home page

Create unique 404 error pages to guide lost visitors

Create a blog page structure

Include About page, Disclaimer, Privacy, etc

WordPress Security

Hackers are ready to cause problems – don’t make it easy for them

Remove visible info about your site, such as the version of WordPress used & your login link on home page

Secure login & add security plugin(s)

Add SSL for your Admin, available from your web host

Establish systems for scanning for viruses, making back up copies & keep software updated

Create a strong password for login

WordPress Security

Use reputable & trustworthy service providers

Give each a unique login & delete when project is finished

Change the default label prefix for your WordPress database

Uninstall & remove extra themes, plugins or users

Join a reputable hosting company that puts a high value on good security measures

Create a system to ensure your back up system works

Facebook

Widely used by many target audiences

Effective way to grow your audience & sales

Choose a Facebook name consistent with business name

Create a vanity URL for your Facebook business page

Brand your page with logo, current photos & relevant images

Facebook

Create an About page that represents your company voice, message & image

Create a goal for your Facebook activity

Establish a message for your page that supports your Facebook marketing

Create a steady & consistent flow of quality content

Set aside time each day to connect with potential customers

Integrate Facebook with other marketing tactics

Automate as much of the process as possible

Twitter & LinkedIn

The audiences are different but many of these tips are the same

Create informative Twitter profile with link to your site

Customize Twitter background with logo or relevant image

Create a lengthy & informative LinkedIn profile page

Create goals for each of these social media platforms

Create a message that supports these goals

Create a consistent flow of content using hashtags for Twitter

Twitter & LinkedIn

Set aside time each day to connect with prospects while also supporting your marketing goals

Integrate Twitter & LinkedIn with other marketing tactics, such as your blog, email signature, Facebook

Automate the process, using software such as HootSuite

Create systems to track & analyze your Twitter & LinkedIn marketing results

Plan Your Offer Funnel

Identify your most expensive product or service

This is the smallest tip or bottom of your funnel

Identify the price for this product or service

Identify a tiered product or service, where each additional product adds more value

Create a system to brainstorm your free content

The largest & widest part of your funnel

Create a schedule & content plan

Create a freebie to draw people into your funnel & build your list

Plan Your Offer Funnel

Create an introductory product that meets my audience’s basic needs

Identify an introductory price my audience can afford & justify

Create a mid-level product that meets my audience’s basic needs

Identify a mid-level price appropriate for my target audience

Establish a marketing strategy to connect with customers as they move through the funnel

Email Marketing

One of the most efficient & effective ways to connect with your audience

Identify your overall goal & the individual goal of each message

Research & identify various autoresponder services

Create an account

Establish a content/email schedule that consistently provides value & supports your business message

Know who your email list is targeting

Define your email marketing message

Email Marketing

Set aside time each week or month to analyze the analytics of each campaign

Make adjustments as needed

Create attention-grabbing email subject lines

Use test subject lines & analyze which one gets more response

Include a call to action within each email message

Create engaging content that supports your goals

Test each email for faulty links, low spam rating & pleasing design in various browsers

Sales Funnel Checklist

An effective sales funnel & supporting marketing system will earn you sales around the clock

Make a list of all your products or services along with their price points

Identify the problem solved, the target audience & benefit each product or service provides

Create a content plan that will drive traffic/prospects into the funnel

Create opt-in offer to build email list

Sales Funnel Checklist

Create automated email messages to follow up with subscribers

Choose an autoresponder service & schedule multiple messages

Identify opportunities to upsell, cross promote or offer promotional offers on your current products or services

Create a sales page for each offer

Test all elements of the sales funnel to check for errors

Implement a time to analyze your results

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