There are loads of different types of online businesses and I wanted to give you an overview of the more common types that people are running. Ultimately the decision of what type of business to run is up to you and depending on your skills you may prefer a business that is already set up for you.

Marketing Business

This is one of the most common types of online businesses around. You can either run this business by exclusively marketing your own products, or by marketing those of other people as an affiliate. In order for this business to be successful, it needs to be promoted effectively to potential customers via search engines, email or other sources and that is covered in the online audience section.
An example of a marketing business is Amazon or any other kind of ecommerce store or blog that promotes a particular product.

Turnkey Internet Business

This is a very trendy type of business to have online. This is where you purchase a website from an already established sector and then run the business on a web platform that is provided to you by the established business.

Serviced based business

This is a business where specific services are provided to online customers at a reasonable price. Such businesses are often set up according to a person’s professional expertise and will provide services to their customers in relation to this. The types of businesses that will come under this umbrella are online consultancies, computer software assistance, and hardware trouble shooting and even such things as how to start an online business.

Now there are service based businesses like virtual assitants (online secretaries), ghostwriters (people who will write your book for you), researchers and freelance workers – too many to mention

So your online business will fall under one of the follow and you need to decide which one will suit you best after researching the different types.

Step 1:
Develop the right mindset to succeed in your business
An online business needs to be run by someone who understands that they are a business owner and they need to do the work to market their business.  It is time to stop seeing yourself as the buyer and starting seeing yourself as the seller too.

Step 2:
Decide on the area you want to focus on (your niche)
With the right mindset in place you now need to focus on the niche area your will work within. You can choose to focus on one or two areas of keep producing products in different areas.

Step 3:
Discover the problem your niche has and how you will solve it
As you do your research you will come across a problem that needs to be solved or a community in need of entertainment. Whatever you decide to focus on make sure you are providing a solution. An online business is a solution giving!

Step 4 :
Delivery – How will you deliver your product to your niche?
This is where you decide on the structure of your business. Will you run a blog? Set up a network? Build an authority site? Start an ebay or ecommerce store?
What kind of product will you offer as a solution? Will you create it yourself? (an information product), will you promote the work of another person? (affiliate marketing), will you create a home study course? Will you write about it using a blog?

Step 4 is the exciting phase of an online business because you are looking at putting it all together.

Those are the 4 important steps when you are looking into extra ways to make money by starting an online business

It has been recognized that the strength of community participation within a virtual community is in direct proportion to the size of the community so a new small community will have far less participation than a larger one. As the virtual community grows and members increase in numbers so will the desire to contribute and add content by members.

It is important that creators of networks recognise this slow growth because it can become very easy to feel disillusioned by the lack of participation and give up before the community has a real chance to grow. Comparing growth to the growth of a flower is a great analogy. When we plant a seed we wait patiently for the seed to sprout then nurture it to ensure it grows. At first the growth will look slow and then suddenly almost overnight it will seem as If the plant is now fully grown.
More participation begets more participation and the majority of this participation in the new days must come from the network creator.

In “The Economies of Online Cooperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace” Peter Kollock (1998) conducted research into what motivates someone to contribute to a virtual community and came up with three distinct motivations that fulfuill the “what’s in it for me” outlook of the large majority of contributors: they are anticipated reciprocity; increased recognition; and sense of efficacy.

Anticipated Reciprocity

A member will contribute to a network, provide valuable help and support, add their knowledge and expertise through blog post and continue to be a useful member of the community in the hope of gaining some reward. That reward will be different for each member. If the network is a business one they may work towards showing their expertise as a way of gaining new clients. They may also be hoping to get help in return so that when they ask a question they need answering other members will go out of their way to help.

Increased recognition

For some members being recognised for the contribution they make to a virtual community is extremely important, not only from other members but also from the community leaders. Other members in this category will be after the prestige of being recognised especially if the leader is a well respected authority or expert in their field. Being noticed by them because of their contribution will play a huge part in motivating and keeping them motivated.
A forum that highlights their most active participants will find that those motivated by recognition will spend more time adding and replying to posts just for the thrill of seeing their name as one of the top contributors.
Sense of efficacy

Members motivated by efficacy will contribute to a community by providing valuable and highly regarded information. They will be recognised for their contribution because what they add to a community has a positive impact on the whole network, which in turn supports their own self image as a effective and useful person.

For the majority of people their motivation for being in a virtual community will be as simple as enjoying a sense of community, leaving behind the feeling of loneliness for those at home alone or without active friendships.

Being able to create a profile as well as read the profile of other members, write interesting discussions and have other members leave a response. Respond to interesting discussions and enjoy the interaction that comes from taking part. Uploading photos and having other members comment on them. All of these factors contribute to creating a sense of community and will be a major motivating factor for many members.

It has been reported in the past that over 80-90% of the people that start an online businesses fail within the first two years. Why? Well, most of it is for simple and avoidable reasons and I have outlined 7 reasons why I believe that people who start an online business don’t always succeed:

People become overloaded with all the information that is available and hit INFORMATION OVERLOAD!
Information overload is a  place that is not nice to be in but easy to get out of with a little help. The key here is to focus your attention on one thing only. Our aim in this network is to help you find your one thing. Even when you do find it you may still find yourself feeling overwhelemed as you deal with learning something new – this is normal and will soon pass as you continue to stay focused and keep learning.

They have no idea what to do and so try everything
It is very easy to jump from one idea to another (I did!). Most of the stuff online will work if you give it long enough but when you have no idea what you actually want to do then this is where the trouble begins. It is better to take the time to figure that out first before starting.

They read information online that is either outdated or just does not work
Unfortunately there are many people writing about how to make money online when in fact the truth is they have yet to make any real money.  It is important you take the time to research anyone you decide to follow (including me!)

They believe success will come from reading one ebook
You are going to need support and lots of it. You wouldn’t walk into a kitchen unable to cook and expect to instantly be head chef, So why think you can start an online business and instantly become a success?  Building an online business takes time. Anyone who has made it will be able to show you their massive library full of books, home study courses, information products, audios, videos, online teleseminars and more they have attended. Be prepared to learn how to succeed.

Lose interest and motivation because they don’t experience the results they were hoping for.
Many people do this and all I can say is hang on in there. Building an online business is a little like digging for oil. You have to keep digging and you have no idea when you will strike it rich, but as long as you have done the work to ensure you are digging in the right place then you will eventually STRIKE!

They think they need to invest thousands to make earning money a reality.
The worst place for this to happen is at these free seminars. They whip you up into excitement, sell you a $3,000 program and then you get home and have no clue where to start. I have known quite a few people who simply gave up and wrote off the money. Don’t buy into this – it really does take a lot to make these programs work and unless they promise one to one support chances are you will end up lost and confused.

Put their time, money and energy into starting a business that isn’t automated.
Automation is the key to success. When things are automated you can leave it to work while you sleep! I bought an ebook and the writer had to email it to me after receiving my payment. You want to avoid this at all cost. Make sure whatever you set up has the ability to be automated so it all happens automatically.

The internet has given us new ways to improve our lifestyle and the opportunity to enjoy financial success beyond what we can even think is imaginable – because of that people get carried away in their pursuit of making it work when all they really need is to focus in on who they are helping and why.

Now you have some of the common reasons why not all online businesses succeed you will know what to do to avoid making the mistake of starting an online business that ends up leaving you broke and frustrated. If you take the mindset on of learning the basics  you give yourself a much better chance of success when you get support.

To find out how you can develop  extra ways to make money <== click the link

This is great news for anyone looking to start an online business and in need of a payment system. In fact, using services like this not only provides a quicker way for money to be paid online, but it is more secure than having someone sending you a check or cash.  This is because the funds are electronically transferred to your account with them in order to settle any transaction made.

Such services have become especially popular among those who use online auction sites (such as Ebay), but also many other online businesses are now beginning to see the advantages of these services as well.  However, what is important to know is how they work, and how to avoid any potential problems that may arise.

Such services use a relatively simple process in order to transfer money from one person to another.  What you need to do is set up an account providing enough information which should include your real name, email address and credit card or bank account details (which are used to verify your identity).  Then, in order for someone to pay you, they enter your email address and the amount of the transaction in question.  This is then paid into your account, and can either then be transferred to your bank account, or a check can be sent to you.

However, many of the payment services will charge a small fee in order to transfer funds.  For example, PayPal charges you up to 2.5% for each transfer that they make (but this all depends on the amount).  But what should be remembered is that these fees are probably less than what you would normally pay for a credit card merchant account.  Also, such services can be especially helpful when you need to arrange for small repetitive payments to be made to your account, such as affiliate rewards and commissions.

But there are some drawbacks to be had from using a payment service, and these are as follows:-

1.    Many of them impose a daily or weekly limit on the amount of money that you send or receive.  So if you want to exceed these limits you may find yourself incurring an additional fee for a “business account” or “premiere account”.

2.    These services are not banks, and therefore are not subject to strict banking regulations or protected by Federal Deposit Insurance.

3.    Often these services provide their customers with less protection against fraud and abuse than many credit card companies offer.

4.    Also, they are sometimes quick to freeze a customer’s account if they suspect fraudulent or other criminal activities are taking place.  They can be so quick sometimes that some customers have found that their account has been frozen for no apparent reason whatsoever.

It is important that before you sign up to any payment service, you read through their terms and conditions thoroughly.  Plus, also read through their terms of service agreement carefully.  It is important that you fully understand and accept the service’s dispute policy, limits on liability, their fee structure and any other rules or regulations that they may have.   It is also important that you do not keep too much money in your account, rather hold in it enough to conduct a few days of business and any unused funds should be transferred over to your regular bank account.

Below are just a few more payment services that you may want to look at further when setting up an online business account.

1.    Authorize.net. This service processes credit card and checking account transactions.

2.    BidPay.  This allows person to person payments, in which they accept a credit card payment from the payer and then send a money order through to the payee.

3.    BillPoint.  This also allows person to person payments, but from a credit card.  Originally this system was being targeted specifically at Ebay customers.

4.    E-Gold.  This allows the payment in gold (silver, platinum or palladium) to be made from one customer to another using an account based system.

5.    PayPal.  This is probably the most well known of payment services, and it allows user to user payments.  This is where a payer uses a credit card to pay money into another user’s account.  Or, in fact, they can use money they already have in that account in order to pay for the goods they have purchased.

6.    World Pay.  This service provides both an internet merchant account, and payment processing service in one package.

If you want to accept payments online Paypal is the best one to go for – you can not run an online business without one. Plus to be paid your affiliate commissions it is much nicer to get in through your account rather than have a cheque sent – for those of us in the UK receiving a US cheque takes a while to bank!

http://www.paypal.com

Your niche is so important that there are three areas you need to focus on when choosing one for an online business

1.  Choose a niche with money to spend
This is the first and very critical rule. No matter how big your niche is if they do not have disposable income then you wasting your time.  If you are providing a solution to a problem within your niche you want to make sure they are at least have the money available to buy it!

2.  Choose an influential niche
You want to find a niche where your customers influence each other and also where they can be influenced by professionals or “experts”. Health is a great example. The latest exercise equipment will be influenced by professionals, but also those who buy the equipment will also influence others to make the same purchase. Children are another influential market, as a mother I know I will quite happily spend a large amount of money on a product if I think there was any chance of it helping my child.

3.  Choose a niche that you are passionate about
It makes it so much easier to speak, write and talk with genuine passion about a particular area when you are already familiar with it, it is a current hobby, you are trained/an expert in it. So stick to a niche you know well because you have enough work to do just to get your business up and running without having the extra work of having to learn about a particular niche you know nothing about.  Even if you are passionate about something the first two rules still apply before you can regard it as a niche that you can build an online business in.

What if I don’t have a passion?
I find it difficult to believe that anyone can never find one area that they particularly love. Whether it’s eating ice cream, discussing political views or helping people understand something that you know well.
If you really aren’t passionate about one particular area then choose something that makes you happy and you know something about.
You can ultimately just choose a market that has a problem and sell to it, it’s your choice, but it helps if you are interested in it too.

Those are three areas that I believe you really should focus on when choosing your niche for an online business. Make sure they have money to spend on what you are going to be selling, find an influential market that can be swayed by opinion and as much as possible have an interest in the topic if not a passion for it.

Choosing a niche for your online business takes time and research and can be confusing unless you know what you are doing – that is when the support of a membership site or network group can help. Plus what you will learn will be priceless information you can use over and over again to help you.

Take a look at Stephen Pierce’s membership site for great support in starting an online business.  You can get hold of a copy of his free book “Make Real Money On The Internet” by visiting http://www.ethicalcash.com

There are also a large number of people today who  have become dissatisfied with their jobs and their pension provisions.  So the interest in starting an online business has begun to increase but there is so much information around that it is very easy to become confused and overwhelmed.

One of the first things that you should bear in mind when setting up an internet business of any sort, is that you must treat it as just that – a business. This means that you must be prepared to put in the time and effort in order to reap the rewards, even if you are only starting it as a part time venture at first.  Part time online business owners are now being called the 5-9 entreprenurs because they traditionally work on the business after work.  I would say for people who work the reality is more like 7-midnight though!

But don’t despair because I have spoken to loads of people who worked 50-70 hour weeks and they still managed to leave. It took them 2-3 years but think about it – could you say after working for 3 years you will have enough money to stay at home? Probably not. So don’t let the time it is going to take phase you and just get started.

Next, you must be prepared to invest some money into it. You do not need to put in large amounts, in fact, if you want, you could actually set it up on a very low budget because the  running costs are very low compared to a more traditional business.

The best way of starting an online business is to do it in an area that you are knowledgeable or passionate about.  This will help you to focus your attention, as well as help to create a small income more quickly.  But over a period of time, you will soon develop new skills, and through persistence and patience, you will soon see some very good results appear.

You still need to ensure that your passion is being searched for and shared by other people because if only 900 people a month search for information  about “collecting stamps from the 1950s” then there is no point in starting an online business focusing on it. But if your research  shows you that 19,000 people a month search for “how to make a dolls house” and you are passionate about making them then you have more of a chance of enjoying success.

All communities whether offline or online go through a cycle of participation that will see the network activity peak, slow down, rise again, peak again, slow down again – on and on.

New members who join an online group will go through the same initiation process as a person who walks into an established offline group – they will be expected to go through a period of getting to know the members, contributing to discussions and adding to the community before they will be fully accepted.

This is why advertising a business as a new member of a network really doesn’t work. Yes, virtual communities offer a fantastic opportunity to promote what you do and earn a living but not when you join an established community and immediately begin to advertise what you do in a form of “look at me” behaviour.

Giving is paramount in any situation and it is no different online. Giving to receiving, providing value first, sharing what you know – as a participant of an online forum or network this is essential if you want to make a difference and create an impact.

Participation will also be dictated by the facilities available – a blog on it’s own can provide a primary means of connecting with users and giving them a space to air their opinions. A blog with a forum attached now opens up the possibility for members to contribute by adding their own content (commonly known as user generated content) and a blog with a social network provides a safe space for those who want to read and lurk (all communities have their lurkers who do not want to participate actively but enjoying reading) as well as upload more personal items such as video and photos.

Different types of member participation – a life cycle view

In 2000 Amy Jo Kim proposed a life cycle for members of virtual communities. In this cycle it states that

• Members may start off as visitors/lurkers, people who want to take a look at what the community is about.
• Once comfortable they will join and are now new members of the community or novices and begin participating in community life.
• After a sustained period of contributions they become regulars and if they continue to maintain their current level of participation they become leaders.
• Leaders who continue to take an active part in the community move on to become elders.

This life cycle can be applied to any virtual community and it is very common for regulars and leaders to stop contributing for a while before returning – sometimes to their past status and sometimes not.

Another model that highlights the life cycle of a virtual community can be taken from the works of Lave and Wenger who suggest that there are five different model types when it comes to member participation

Peripheral (i.e. Lurker) – This person remains outside the group and is anonymous
Inbound (i.e. Novice) – A new member who has joined and is looking at becoming active in the community
Insider (i.e. Regular) – A regular contributor to a virtual community who will add and take part in discussions as well as join groups.
Boundary (i.e. Leader) – Maintains membership participation, monitors interaction between members and is critical especially at the beginning of a new social network to ensure the virtual snowball effect takes place.
Outbound (i.e. Elder) – A member who has contributed to the group for many years and who will always remain an important member.

There are also members who are ready to move on because the group dynamics have changed, maybe the community has moved in a new direction or has changed the way it operates.

Joining & Non Participation

It is very common for new people to join a network and not take advantage of the services on offer. For some there may be barriers to participating in a social network that makes it difficult for them to join in or time constraints, meaning they join but never get round to coming back and actively taking part.

If you have a small group and the large majority of members find participation difficult this will obviously stunt the growth of your network, and learning aids like video tutorials can make a huge difference.

If participation is an important part of the value system of your organisation then you will want to spend time discovering what causes the lack of participation from each member. The only way to overcome this issue will be to contact each member individually to discover what you can do to help.

While there are a number of motivations for contributing to virtual communities there are also barriers to participation that mean some people will never evolve beyond visitor status, reading posts without the need for replying, maybe even looking through profiles if the network allows and others will join and never really become fully active.

Some of the reasons people visit but never join a network (also know as lurking) include:

Their concerns about the internet and sharing their information

Many people are still concerned about adding their name, photo and other personal information into a virtual community. They will be worried about identify theft and online security in particular the ability for someone to take their details and commit fraud.

Never having participated in a forum

For people who have never participated in a forum they may believe they have nothing of any value to contribute, they may be stopped by the closeness of a community if it has been running for some time or they will have some other limiting belief that makes them feel that contributing just isn’t something they can do.

They are gaining everything they need from visiting

If a potential member finds whatever information they need from what is available without joining then they will have no particular motivation to join and will continue to lurk – this happens in particular in forums.

Unfamiliarity with technology

There are still many people who have never used an online group or forum, will not know how to do things that more experienced members take for granted like uploading photos or writing a blog post and they will need support to become more active members.

Unfriendly group dynamics

When you bring a group of people together it is inevitable that there will be those people who do not get alone or who vary in their opinion on particular topics (religion, sex and politics being the biggest three!) and how this is handled by leaders will have an effect not only on those who are visiting but also new and more established members.

I belonged to a popular online business networking group and eventually became affected by some members who would add insulting comments on forum and blog posts. Eventually I made the decision to no longer contribute and eventually I left because I refuse to spend my time in a network where this behaviour is not managed. Potential visitors can decide not to join if they see other members being “attacked” for expressing their point of view or if they take a hard stance that a potential member does not like.

There may be other reasons that people choose not to actually join a virtual community but instead choose to remain outside as visitors but the above are five common ones that a virtual community will need to be aware of when they start.