Thursday, December 13, 2007

Is there a difference between having a Home Based Internet Marketing Business and an E-Commerce site?

Understanding the difference in terms such an E-Commerce site and personal or business website for affiliate marketing can be an important thing to be able to distinguish. Do you know how the differences can affect your ability to earn as well as how much responsibility you have as the marketer?

One of the popular ways to start home businesses today is that of signing up for an E-Commerce site. Depending on the products or services that it sells, you can have quite a lucrative business in this area without all the headaches of owning and running a more traditional business. Not having to do anything more than promote your site can be quite liberating compared to all the worries of the alternatives. You don't need inventory, and you don't have to package and ship any of the products—that is all done for you. It's so easy that someone who has never run a business before would probably do well to start with something like this to learn to be an effective Internet marketer.

In the majority of cases, when you sign up with a company they will provide an E-Commerce site, this is usually a mirror site of their main site with your own identifying codes and URL. You are responsible for marketing the site, but you will not be handling the shipping or the maintenance of an inventory. For someone who is looking for more independence and freedom this has many things that they may like to do without being tied down to a desk, this is a perfect business for that type of person. You don't have to sit at your computer waiting for someone to buy something because it’s all automated for you, including the merchant accounts for the taking of credit cards. The only things you will have to do are research keyword and your target market and then market your site so that you will have a steady flow of visitors in order to ensured consistent sales. You will receive a commission based on the dollar volumes of the products purchased from your site. Of course, there are many types of E-Commerce sites.

You may also choose to use your personal or business website to post links and banners from companies with whom you have agreed to be an affiliate such as Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and many others. This is very different than an E-Commerce site. In exchange for posting their banners on your site, they will pay you for sales that result from customers who get to their site through one of your links. Of course, these are not as profitable as an E-Commerce site as described above unless you generate a great deal of traffic. On the other hand, some services such as ClickBank that deals in products that pay much higher commissions. Of course, if you have the time to promote your site, you may generate enough traffic to make it worthwhile.

Promotion is the key issue with an E-Commerce site whether it's a mirror site or affiliate programs. The amount of money you make is directly related to how much time you spend promoting your site and how visible your site is. With good promotion, your site will be highly visible and allow you enough visitors to afford you a reasonable income. How much you make depends on the scope of your site and your target audience. It is best to never guess on something as important as your income. It is always best to identify a need in the market place and fill that need rather than guess.

About the Author Dan Iverson:
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To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.BigFirstStep.biz
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