Tools to start an e-business

When I ventured into the world of e-business, I was completely lost. The difficulty was that whilst most people were ever willing to share the information they gained, they were also out to make a sale. They would not share their knowledge or tools with me unless I bought something from them. So I had to learn much of it by trial an error. I also decided that once my website was set up, one of the first things I would do would be to help others by giving them a list of things that I used … free. So here’s the list of seven tools I found most useful:

Tool # 1 – where to begin
1. My starting point was a course to teach me how to go about setting up an e-business. I invested in ‘The Insider’s Course on Marketing on the Internet’. I will give you an example of how this course helped me. Two years ago, I started my first website, I made many mistakes but one that I just did not know at the time was that I was hosting my website with my ISP. Now, I was afraid to change but when I read this course, it was like “Ahha .. so that was what I was not supposed to do!” Not only were the problems set out, I also learnt so much about how to market a website!

Tool # 2 – Copying someone else is the best form of flattery
2. Copying someone else is, they say, the best form of flattery. “But whom to copy?” was my question. I had no clue. Every website I went to was beautiful and well designed. I did not know what was needed, how to do it. So I found this website that interviewed successful web-entrepreneurs who openly shared their knowledge and tool. Quite appropriately, this website was called Secrets to their Success.

Tool # 3 – don’t spend hours sending out email
3. One of the things I did not want to do was to sit and answer e-mail after e-mail, after e-mail. I knew I wanted automation software. But have you seen just how many different pieces of software there are out there? So I did the research and found that the one that did most good was Mailloop. Personally what impressed me most about this product is the after sales service that was provided by the company. Like any piece of new software, you need to take time to learn it. But what I have found even more frustrating with most companies is that they don’t even answer your call when you call them for help. But here, as requested by their system, I submitted a ticket and to follow up, they would either call me back or I would call them … all this in the space of 24 hours. But really, it is an easy product that makes life simple.

Tool # 4 – they copied my work and are making money of it
4. When I wrote my first book and converted it into an e-book, I thought I was elated until my friend showed me how he had downloaded the whole book onto his palm pilot and could easily e-mail the whole book to all his friends! I was horrified. No one would pay and the risk of my intellectual property being breached was on high alert! I found a software that could protect this and it is called eBookPro. With this, all ebooks written cannot be copied or printed (unless you allow it).
Tool # 5 – Simple instructions
5. 'Microsoft FrontPage 2003' by Christian Crumlish and Kate J. Chase. Published by Sybex. Before I got the book, I was doing most of the designing by trial and error. Once I got it, I had a wonderful idea of structure and how to manipulate the tools in Front Page. I am aware that there are other more sophisticated programmes out there but for someone with limited resources and a desire to learn from scratch, this book gives wonderful advice and ideas.
Tool # 6 – Members only Forum
6. I wanted to create a members only online forum. I was searching for weeks for suitable software and I chanced upon Member Client Pro. From the very beginning, the staff was courteous and you know when a product is good when you can ask the support people the most banal of questions and they still answer politely and promptly. I found this one benefit alone to be worth the money spent. Member Client Pro was really just what I needed.
Tool # 7 – Shopping Cart
7. When I needed a shopping cart and a merchant account, one of the biggest problems I faced was geographical. Most of the services of the net require you to have a bank account in the US before you can even go into business. There are no set up fees and low rates but ask them one simple question – “how does the money come to me if I don’t live in the US?” and you will receive answers like, “we do not send money by wire outside of the US,” or “We do not send cheques.” The one company that does cater for those outside of the U.S. is 2chekout.

Further descriptions of the tools I used and links to the websites that sold them listed on this page in my website:
http//www.howtotellagreatstory.com/Products_used_in_building_this_site.html

If you are setting up your own website, then I wish you luck and hope that the tools I have mentioned above may have helped you in some way.

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Aneeta Sundararaj, a storyteller, is the creator of the bestselling program "How To Tell A Great Story". Aneeta’s technique and famed “R.P.I. Principle”© has been used by many people and offers simple, cutting-edge strategies applicable universally. She is also the author of two ‘traditional’ books The Banana Leaf Men and Mad Heaven: the biography of Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. M. Mahadevan. Visit http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com to learn more.

Written by: Aneeta Sundararaj