Book Review: Online Business Desk Reference By Michelle Megna
December 14, 2006
Reading a book that nicely outlines tips and steps for efficiently setting up and running your e-business always seems like a good idea in theory, but how much time do you really have to put down everything and pore over pages explaining what you need to be doing — now? Not much. That's why every Web shop owner should keep "Starting an Online Business All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies" (by Shannon Belew and Joel Elad, Wiley Publishing, Inc.; $29.99) handy.
As the title suggests, it's a tome set up for quick reference, so you don't have to actually read through it in one sitting, which is a good thing because it's about 800 pages. The compilation is actually comprised of 11 "mini-books" in one:
Online Business Basics
Legal and Accounting
Web Site Design
Online and Operating
Internet Security
Boosting Sales
Retail to E-Tail
Storefront Selling
Fundraising Sites
Niche E-Commerce
E-Commerce Advanced
Being part of the "Dummies" series means all the familiar icons are there to help you find the information you need: Tip, Remember, Warning and Technical Stuff. The beauty is that you can skim through and easily glean important tid bits (Tips and Warnings) while skipping over stuff you don't need to bother with for the moment (Technical Stuff). And, while people who have yet to make their first sale online will find the book immensely helpful, there's still plenty of information for seasoned veterans.
The Basics section helps you fine-tune a business plan or figure out the best method for financing the dream. There are strategies for validating your online business idea, including how to conduct a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) used by companies researching product development, as well as a feasibility study. Fortunately, they sound more complex than they are to execute.
In Book II: Legal and Accounting, readers will find out how to protect their assets, whether they should operate as a sole proprietor or incorporate, as well as details of what the IRS expects of you and how to keep accurate records.
Design Dos and Don'ts Web Site Design is covered in the third "book" and begins with the basics of registering a domain name - how to pick one, where to register - and continues through to the fundamentals of design. A handy checklist on page 149 that asks several questions to help determine if your site will make a good impression is useful to go through before finalizing your design. It's also a good way for those already in business to review their choices.
The Design chapters are detailed enough to help you decide what fonts to use, how to put function over flash and what to do when considering your customer demographic. There's also the basics every site needs: quick loading pages, site search, e-mail capability, discussion boards if appropriate and so on. If you know HTML, there is a Build-It-Yourself section that outlines steps while another part goes over how to select a Web design and a hosting company.
Marketing, Payment, Affiliates If you're editorially challenged, you can find tips for writing "sizzling content" that gets search engines to pick up your site and customers to click buy. Page 191 actually has a list of "get attention," "provide assurance" and "take action" words that can help you accomplish these tasks. Finally, a site-launch checklist will help site owners going live for the first time, including things such as having the site map match Web pages, testing connections and having copyright symbols in place.
Book IV: Online and Operating covers service-based e-shops, affiliate programs, payment options, fulfillment and more. One especially useful topic is "Determining Your Revenue Model" which outlines steps for using Alexa.com to figure out if you get enough traffic to have people pay to place ads.
What you need to review when considering signing on as an affiliate: commissions structure, payment method, refunds, recordkeeping, tracking, cookies, limits or exclusions, penalties and restrictions on marketing.
Payment processing and shopping cart must-haves are also covered in detail with analysis of four popular options: 1ShoppingCart, GoECart, ProStores and "off-the-shelf" providers, such as Miva Merchant and X-Cart.
While Book V covers Internet security and plans for deferring hacks and attacks, Web shop owners will find Book VI: Boosting Sales one section they can return to again and again. You'll learn how to calculate your conversion rate, identify high-traffic time periods and how to market your site through pay-per-click and search engine optimization.
For instance, the authors clearly outline the nitty-gritty of setting up a Google AdWords campaign and the math for evaluating PPC. On page 438, there are tips for measuring your traffic against activity to get an idea of how traffic influences sales. In regard to search engines, steps for Google and Yahoo optimization are also all here, as well as how to place keywords and meta tags on your site.
Other chapters cover areas of special interest, such as moving from retail to e-tail, niche and fundraising venture how-tos, as well as an advanced section that covers how to asses a dip in sales, plan a site re-design and more in-depth marketing strategies. Book VIII covers all the fundamentals of selling on eBay, Yahoo or Amazon.
In the end, the money you spend on "Starting an Online Business All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies" is well worth it, considering you can get loads of specific information on all things e-commerce, so give yourself an early holiday gift and get yourself a copy.
Michelle Megna is managing editor of ECommerce-Guide.com.
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