How to Sell Your Services Online

Peter Sellers

• Publisher: Bibliomundi
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9781526039279
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Sales
• Index: Business

About twelve or thirteen years ago, your ship came in, and you may not have even realized it. You see, that was about the time that personal computers started appearing in homes around the world, and we all started accessing the Internet. At the time, many of us didn't realize it, but the playing field had just been totally leveled, and things that you never thought would be possible became possible. Your ship came in.If you didn't realize that your ship had arrived back then, there is good news. You still have time to catch that ship before it sails away. With the use of the Internet, you can start your own business with very little invested. In fact, you can start your own business, and become financially secure – if not financially independent – with very little. This is what I meant when I said that the playing field had been leveled.Because we have the Internet, you have just as much of a chance at success as you would if you started a brick and mortar business. In fact, the chances of success are even higher, although many people don't realize it. You see, with the Internet, you don't need the large investment that would be required to start a traditional brick and mortar business. You also won't have that overhead every month. You are also not subject to being limited to customers in your geographic area. You have a global customer base. That is what increases your chance of success.But you must also consider the other side of the coin. Anyone can start a business online, and right now – today – there are millions, if not billions, of online businesses. Not all of them do succeed. It takes time, patience, and know-how to make it work. It does not, however, take a lot of money. That isn't to say that it doesn't take any money. Anyone who tells you that you can successfully get an online business off of the ground, for free, is pretty much lying to you.Since you are reading this, the chances are good that you have considered starting your own online business at some point. You may have even done so – successfully. But if this is all new to you, you may be a bit concerned about the fact that you don't have a product to sell. If you are not new to the whole idea of making a living online, you may have already realized the truth – everybody has something that can be sold online.What I'm talking about here is services, as opposed to physical or digital products. When you sell services, you and your service are essentially your product. Now, if you have a service – a skill – to sell, you have just increased your chances of success with an online business tremendously. Anyone can create or buy a product to sell to others. In fact, there are millions of people doing that right now, and again, not all of them are successful. In fact, few are successful - but not everyone has marketable skills.When a product creator wants to sell a product, and they do not have marketable skills, guess what? They hire someone who has the skills that they lack. Those that have sense enough to hire a professional to get the job done right are more likely to succeed.That's where you come in. If you really think about it, you probably have skills that may not be very marketable out in the physical world, but those same skills may be in very high demand online. If you are a programmer, the chance that you will be hired by Microsoft and move to Redwood, California to work in a cushy office is slim to none. Those jobs are already taken. But there is lots of work to be had, and it is provided by people who are not sitting in an executive office in Redwood.As an Internet Marketer, you have most likely needed to hire the services of various professionals. These may have been writers, graphical designers, web designers, or programmers. But the chances are good that during your career as an Internet Marketer, you've picked up a few skills of your own. For example, as an Internet Marketer, you probably know quite a bit about writing sales copy.Do you have any idea how much that skill is worth online? There are copywriters making anywhere from $2000 on up to $20, 000 for writing one webpage of sales copy right now. The difference in their rates depends on how well known they are, and how much success they have helped others to achieve.There are more and more people coming online everyday, trying to break into online business. They have absolutely no idea what they are doing, but they think that they know how to get started. It doesn't take long before they realize that they don't have a clue, and they start looking for help. Why isn't their sales page working? Why aren't they moving up through the ranks in the search engines? They need help – and they are willing to pay for it. Again, that's where you come in.Internet marketers sell products, and sometimes, they supplement their income by selling their skills to other Internet marketers. It is a very common thing, and believe it or not, most Internet Marketers

Different Types of Services to Sell

Just about any service can be sold online – even if the work that you do for your clients is offline. With that said, we are going to focus on those services which are typically related to online business needs, since those are the most lucrative, and the easiest to get started in. Below, you will find some of the best paying service related industries along with details concerning each one.

• Writing – If you can string sentences together, you can get work. Writing
• is in high demand these days. Business owners have websites, and those websites need content, and lots of it. Furthermore, information products, such as ebooks, are hot, and again, if you want to sell an ebook, you need someone to write it, unless you are going to write it yourself.

Breaking into writing is very easy, and all that is really required is some good writing samples. With those in hand, you can join any one of the freelance job sites, bid on jobs, and find work almost instantly.

The amount that you will be paid, however, will vary depending on the work that needs to be done. Most writers charge either by the word or by the page, but it is a good idea to browse the job postings at the site or sites that you are hoping to gain work through to get an idea as to what the going rates are for that site. They do vary. You will need good word processing software, such as Microsoft Word for this work.

• Graphical Design – Graphical design is also in high demand. Graphic design programs are hard to understand for anyone who is not skilled in this field, and of course, knowing how to use color and design is the key to your success.

For this type of work, you probably need one or more good graphical design programs, such as Adobe or Paint Shop Pro. This software is not cheap, but if you learn how to use it, you will easily earn your money back quickly. With your software, create several samples to show prospective clients, and sign up with the freelance job sites. You don’t need to be a great artist to do graphic design, but you do need the software, and the knowledge needed to create outstanding graphics with that software.

• Programming – The term ‘programming’ covers a wide range. Programming can be anything from application programming to PHP programming for the web. If you have programming skills, you are in high demand.

Many people think that the programming field is flooded, but that isn’t so. Many people also think that they cannot compete with the low rates of overseas programmers, but again, this is wrong. Many people don’t want overseas programmers, because there is a communication barrier.

Programmers charge varying rates. Jobs may be charged by the hour, or at a flat rate. Again, it is a good idea to scope out the going rate for different types of programming at the freelance sites you will work through.

• Consultation – Like programming, consultation also covers a wide range. If you have knowledge, you can be a consultant. Unfortunately, most consultants do not gain clients through the most widely used freelance job sites. However, there are specialized freelance sites, specifically for consultants, such as oDesk at http://www.odesk.com.

Consultants charge a wide range of prices, and those prices are usually charged by the hour. Most consultation can occur online or over the telephone, but some jobs will require you to make an appearance, and your travel should be covered in the fee that you charge. Attorneys, sales specialists, accountants, web designers, programmers, writers, and numerous other professionals can become consultants.

• Customer Support – Not all customer support gets farmed out overseas. Many business owners want customer support staff that is located in the United States or Canada, even if it does cost more. Customer support can be done from your home, however finding these types of jobs are not easy.

While breaking into this field may not be terribly easy, once you have broken into this field, you can gain customers easily through referrals. Depending on the level of support needed, prices vary, although the going rate for such support in the United States ranges from $8 per hour on up to $25 per hour. Your clients may also want to pay you based on the number of support tickets or support calls that you handle.

• Copyrighting – Great copyrighters make great money. In fact, copyrighting is one of the highest paid Internet based professions today. Earlie...

Table of contents

• The Internet – A Level Playing Field
• Different Types of Services to Sell
• Your Service Website
• Using Online Freelance Sites
• Using Forums to Sell Services
• Client Referrals
• Getting Paid and Other Legal Matters
• Dealing with Multiple Jobs and Multiple Deadlines
• Your Promotional Materials