Starting a business is a great way to get financial freedom, but building one usually takes much time, total dedication, and a lot of patience. Many young people have heard far more than one dozen stories about successful business owners who never pursued a college degree but could build profitable businesses.

This fact may make you wonder whether or not you need the right education to start an Internet-based business. To answer this question, you should consider your unique situation: whether or not you have any prior education, work experience, business idea, what kind of soft skills you possess and how well they are trained, and so forth.

If you have an entrepreneur mindset, reading a few books in business and having a clear business idea may be enough for you to start a company. However, even if you can become a business owner without any degree, you should understand that pursuing one may help you succeed faster and with fewer resources, especially if you can train marketing, analytical, accounting, and other useful skills during the education process. If you are dead set on selling something online but have no relevant knowledge, the following tips will help you a lot.

Focus on Filling a Need

A common mistake that most aspiring entrepreneurs make is that they start thinking about a product first and only then analyze a market. To succeed, you should focus on the market first. For this, surf the web:

• browse a few forums (e.g. Quora, Reddit) to see what kind of questions users ask and what problems they strive to solve;
• find out what most users are searching for (by doing a keyword search) and choose the keywords that don’t have much competition with other websites;
• browse your potential competitors’ websites and take note of what they offer.
• Think about how you can create a product or service that is better than your competitors’ ones. E-commerce sites such as Amazon and eBay have a lot of users' reviews. Read "less than excellent" reviews (1-3 stars) and see what they're not happy with. This way, you may be able to come up with something extra that they cannot offer but you can.

Create a Copy That Sells

Below, you will find an excellent sales copy formula that works. It will help you turn your visitors into customers. Make sure that your copy:

• has a compelling headline that provokes interest;
• describes the problem that your product is meant to solve;
• contains testimonials from your former satisfied customers;
• tells about the product and its benefits;
• makes an attractive offer;
• informs your prospective customers about solid guarantees.

Make sure that your copy highlights that your product is designed to either help people solve their problems or improve their lives.

Create a Website

Once you know exactly what your market and product are, it is time to start creating your future company’s site design. Since you have only 5 sec to grab your visitors’ attention, your site must be simple. Keep in mind the following things - if you use a popular website builder such as WordPress or Wix, the majority of the points are already cleared.

• Use the font that's already set in the template. It's better not to customize it, as it can slow the loading speed. Don't use more than two fonts, as they can make the page look busy and confusing.
• A white background looks better, clean, and thus is preferred. 
• Make sure your website is easy to navigate; top menu and footer menu are enough. Don't put too many call-to-action buttons to multiple other pages/sites.
• Optimize images (smaller in file size, usually less than 100Kb per image).
• Embed a YouTube video as it will tend to help the page rank better in Google.
• Graphics, video, audio materials are good, but don't embed too many, unless they make your product look better;
• Adding an opt-in offer is a good idea to grow your email list.
• Make sure your product can be bought with a few clicks. Don't redirect the visitors to multiple bridge pages (e.g. encouraging them to buy add-on products such as extended warranty, premium options.)

Drive Customers to Your Website by Using Search Engines

As long as your website is new, there is nothing better than using pay-per-click advertising. This is how you will be able not only to get immediate traffic but also to determine your highest-converting keywords. You will need the latter ones to improve your organic search results.

Take Care of Your Reputation

People surf the Net to find the needed information. By providing that info for free to other websites, you will be able to increase your organic page ranking. But for this to happen, you will need to include a link to your website in every article that you offer. Also:

• create useful content and distribute it via free content platforms and social media;
• don’t neglect to use “share with a friend” links on your website;
• Become a regular forum user. You will get to learn which forums and social media platforms are where your potential customers hang out.

By doing so, you will attract new readers. Moreover, every platform posting your articles will link back to your site. This is how you can improve your website’s ranking.

Employ Various Email Marketing Strategies to Turn Your Visitors into Your Customers

Your opt-in offer will let you develop an extensive email list. If you have one, use it for building long-lasting relationships with your clients and providing them with what they ask for. Note that this type of marketing is much cheaper and more effective than many other ones, mainly because it is highly targeted. Those who come to your website and opt into your list are warm leads, and you should follow up with them via emails.

Also read: Create a Free Landing Page with AWeber

Use Upselling and Back-End Sales to Make More Money

By offering goods and services that complement your customers’ former purchases, sending them electronic coupons offering discounts on the next order, and offering relevant items on a “thank you” page, you can encourage your clients to buy from your again.

If you are planning on selling your goods or services on the Web, follow these tips. With these basics, your chances to make a mistake are minimal.