I've had the privilege of speaking with about 25 business owners who are all just getting started on the Web! And as excited as they were about it, I think that I was even more excited for them!

The great thing about is that there has never been a better time to start an Internet based business than right now. The Web is exploding in growth, and has recently begun to hit a critical mass in terms of the people who are now using the Internet regularly.

What that means for you and I as Web marketers is that we can easily sell many times MORE of our wares over the Internet!

So, I thought that this month, I would share with you some of the things that make your business a successful business on the Web - without it costing you a fortune in the process!

The first thing you need to do in order to be a success on the Web is figure out who it is that will buy your product. This may seem like an obvious thing to many of you, but day after day I speak with business owners who have, at best, nothing more than a vague idea of who their market really is!

Is your market "network marketers?" Or is it really people who have an interest in health and nutrition; the very products your network marketing company offers? The answer is simple, right? You really want the person who is passionate about the product, not the industry!

Next, all you have to do is get out on the Web and figure out where these people are. Where do they go when they are online? What do they do? What do they read? Can you reach them regularly and at a low cost?

This is where you will make decisions about what vehicle(s) you will use to reach your market. Do you use the search engines, e-mail, advertising, links, etc These choices largely depend upon your market and your budget.

There is no point in trying to sell to a particular market if you can't easily identify them on the Web and if reaching them is a costly endeavor. What I mean is that if your market is so specific that in order to reach just one potential customer you have to advertise to thousands of people who would never buy what you sell, then the Internet may not be the way you want to go to advertise.

Next, take a look at your web site. Is it loaded with powerful benefit-laden copy that compels your prospect to buy now? If not, it may be time to get some professional help with your copy.

Experience has shown that the design of your Web site is much less significant than the words you use. After all, it's the words, not the graphics that sell your products!

One thing I really like to see in a Web site is that the words, the most powerful part of any Web site, download almost instantly. The graphics can take a few seconds longer, but the entire home page should be on your prospect's computer screen in less than 20 seconds. If it's not, you risk losing them! Yes, it happens that fast!

Is it easy for your prospect to order online? Do you offer them a way to order other than online? Some people will never enter their credit card number online, so it's important that you have another ordering method. You can use a fax number, or toll-free order line.

So far, you have brought people to your site and have sold them. Is that all? Well, surprisingly, many business owners drop the ball right here, letting untold millions of dollars in sales slip right through their fingers!

I know I'm not talking about you, right? No, you're a smart marketer and you know that it's equally important to keep in touch with your customers long after they have purchased from you the first time.

So the next step is to design a back-end sales program. Once a customer buys from you, it's just that much easier to sell to them again in the future, so make sure you keep their information and that you keep in touch with them on a regular basis!

I have more than doubled the sales of one company recently just by creating a back-end sales program for them! With virtually no cost involved, they were able to introduce new products and immediately begin selling them to their existing clients.

There is no need to be searching for new clients every time you come up with a new product or new offer! You've done that part already. Now, it's time to take advantage of what you've already created and reap the profits!

I have a number of programs that I use for just this purpose, so you can be creative here. Think about this. Never before has it been cheaper, faster, and more profitable to advertise than it is today, thanks to the Internet.

What that means to me is that we have, for the first time in the history of this Earth, a chance to experiment, to try different ideas, approaches, and to retry them until you can master them. All the while keeping your expenses to unheard of levels that can hardly be measured!

Think about what that means. It means you have the opportunity to uncover a new marketing technique all your own! And if you do, you can capture an entire market long before your competition ever catches on!

So, I ask you, what are you waiting for? The time has never been better than right this moment to jump in and turn any business into a super-success using the power of the Internet! And, you can do it all for mere pennies per sale!

If you're not excited now, you'll never be!

�1999 by Robert Imbriale. All rights reserved.