So, you want to be an internet millionnaire?

A few prospective clients have started with this motivation, and unless they work hard and work smart to get it they will be disappointed. To make the web work takes a lot of effort, dedication and commitment. However, if you tackle your online business in the same way as any business, you have the chance to make a mint.

The starting point would be to do your research. If you’re selling something, make sure you know who else is selling it and how, what their unique selling points are, their prices, their market – does this sound familiar?

It is! You’d do the same for any business and the fundamentals still apply. Research, research, research until you have a set of products, and know their unique selling points to market them.

Pricing is important. If your item is in a quality/unique market then you can charge a bit more, but if it’s competitive what’s your value add on the product? What will make people choose you and not the other guys? You need to get into the minds of your customers, your market. It’s easier said than done but it’s crucial to your presence online and offline. If you haven’t got a name then now’s the time to get it.
So you have your products at the right price, your unique selling points, your message, a logo even – an identity. Then you need to build an internet strategy. The e-commerce web site is one part of this – the tool to sell and deposit the cash into your account.

But how do you get people to know about you and your website? PR, search engine positioning (SEO), Pay per click (PPC), email marketing – they are all good ideas, but why should you use them? You need a strategy to tie it together, so they are all moving with the same message at the same time.

Some web companies can help to draw this information into a plan for the future, and then work with you through the plan and ensure you can monitor the growth of your online business. We have been working with one client continuously for 12 months, and they have grown from nothing to thousands of pounds worth of sales. This has come from a small team that has now doubled in size.

They have achieved this because they have done their research, they have secured funding and capital, and utilized this through constant development of their online business. And they have also built a team of great partners, that can react and be proactive to develop and support the growth of the business, and have worked incredibly hard to achieve this. This has not come without cost but if you look at everything on price then you’ll often get cheap advice.

Thankfully in Stoke our business overheads are lower than many other parts of the country, to some degree thanks to the business support available in this area, and still to some degree lower cost of living than the south. Also, Stoke has some pretty smart creative workers, who are doing well in the new media world. So if you have a great idea that you really are committed to building, you have the connections in your locality to make a difference.

Jellifish won Best Agent Website of the Year at Carphone Warehouse’s annual awards. For further details or to discuss web development contact Amanda Bromley or Angela Hassall at info@jellifish.co.uk or 0870 6260023


GETTING ONLINE: Some of the business websites making a splash from the local area

Burslem Antiques – fully searchable and very comprehensive, it has a clear purpose and encourages further interaction through an email
collectors’ club

Vinila - a really stunning website out of Queen Street, Burslem, that nails its target audience and takes them straight to their credit card. Your editor is fighting to resist.


Tunstall Garden Buildings get special credit for being the only retail site that comes up if you type ‘Tunstall’ into Google. It also does very well on a search for ‘sheds stoke’, the sort of vague language with which online browsers expect to find you. Another clear, well designed site.

Junction 15 - If you’re going to
be down with the kids and make videos for them, you need to be on Myspace. Your editor despises this messy corner of cyberspace but she can see why Junction 15 are there, showcasing all their cool videos and picking up more work in the process.