Digital Entrepreneurship: Launching and Growing an Online Business

You can build a thriving online venture through affiliate marketing, e-commerce, digital influence, etc. One thing you can't do without, though, is hard work. 

The power of digital marketing only drives results with the corresponding determination. For those who want to launch a successful online business, here are some tips and tricks to aid you on your journey into digital entrepreneurship.

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Know Your Audience

Doing some preliminary market research will provide insight into what kind of people your online business will be catering to. This information can be used to create a buyer persona and obtain a clear view of your target group.

How to Create a Buyer Persona: Tips

Before starting your own online store, use preliminary data from your customer database, website analytics, and sales records to identify common characteristics among your current customers.

Create surveys to collect information directly from your customers. Ask about their preferences, pain points, and behaviors.

Define basic demographic information such as age, gender, occupation, income level, and location.

Understand your audience's interests, hobbies, values, and lifestyle choices. This information can help you create more targeted and resonant marketing messages.

Examine how your customers make purchasing decisions. Understand the factors that influence their choices, such as price sensitivity, brand loyalty, or product features.

Determine the challenges and problems your customers face that your product or service can solve.

Generate Quality Content

Blogs are still the main source of quality content. According to recent studies, companies with blogs attract almost twice as many leads per month. This isn't to say any blog suffices: you need content that converts. Your blog should be very specific in terms of your business niche to attract potential customers to grow your enterprise. 

Email Marketing

Email marketing can be indispensable in growing an online business. You target both current and prospective customers with emails specifically aimed at your business niche. Customizing these emails gives you a higher chance of converting leads.

Video Marketing

Video advertisements elicit the fastest response from customers of all other forms of advertising. Two-thirds of all customers are likely to respond to a branded video ad. The most effective platform for video marketing is YouTube. You can reach a vast audience by maintaining an active channel with frequent posts. The platform offers immense potential whether you want to try affiliate marketing or only intend to run advertisements.

Webinars are also a great way to get your business details out there. You can upload workshops, lectures, presentations, etc., using webinar software. Webinars are comprehensive with lots of detail, so by the end of one, the viewer will likely respond to the service or product on offer.

Customized Product Recommendations

If you use customers' browsing history to personalize recommendations, you will deliver a convenient and enjoyable shopping experience. Divide your email lists based on behavior and interests or send out targeted emails with promotions and personalized recommendations.

To achieve this, implement polls, quizzes, surveys, and other interactive elements on your site to engage users and gain insights into their needs.

Optimize Conversion Rates

Request as little information from your website visitors as possible to maximize conversion rates. Combine this with fast product searches and easy website navigation. You should have call to action (CTA) buttons on each page, preferably at the top, so they're easy to see.

The color and shape of the buttons should stand out, not blend in with the background color. Avoid bland and overused CTAs such as "click here" or "download." You should ensure they are benefit-oriented, such as "show me more" or "stay connected."

Post Customer Reviews

Customer reviews can be reassuring to a potential buyer. When you get your online business out there, reviews are bound to emerge somewhere, and that includes good as well as bad ones. Publishing them on your service or product page creates trust and lends credibility. What's more, you're helping people make an informed decision.

Use the Scarcity Effect to Your Advantage

Knowing a product is about to go out of stock can drive sales. You might have ten or 500 T-shirts left in stock, but if you draw attention to the scarcity, customers will perceive it as their last chance to grab one before they run out. 

Isabella Humphrey

Update 10 December 2023