Kathryn Lively

It’s nice to be able to walk into a store and buy exactly what you want, when you want. However, with some products that isn’t always the case. Specialty items like gourmet foods, regional delights, and organic health and beauty aids might not always be readily available at your local grocer. Those handmade crafts and dolls you admired on a recent trip to the country, too, more likely not be found at Wal-Mart. So what do you do? If you want more, you go to the Internet to find it.

More and more, businesses turn to the Internet as a means of increasing customer base and global brand awareness. Consumers, too, turn to major shopping portals and smaller, specialized stores for unique items and gifts. If you have something to sell, but don’t have it in your budget to distribute through major department stores, an online boutique and shopping cart provides an affordable solution.

If and when you do decide to set up an online business, you want to be certain you have all the proper elements needed to succeed. As you shop for a designer or web hosting, take care to note the following essentials for your store:

Custom Storefront Design - If you have an existing color scheme and branding for your retail business, make sure a designer can integrate your logos seamlessly into an attractive storefront template. Logos and graphics should also be updated to celebrate your store’s emergence as a virtual storefront, satisfying regular customers and drawing in new ones.

Your front page is also your big sell page, what attracts buyers to the product. Highlight what you sell with crisp photos and detailed description, making point of sale links easy to find.

Search and Structure - Your store should offers categories and subcategories for products, allowing you to set products to multiple categories and increase their visibility. Look for shopping cart software that will allow you to automatically create category pages with ease, and give customers search functions to find what they want without having to browse extensively. Side navigation menus offer the user easy access to your entire inventory, so be sure to offer them.

Individual Inventory Pages - Showcase each item in stock with its own web page. Offer an extended image gallery for displaying color and size options, and allow customers to submit reviews. Individual pages may also allow for sections to display similar items for products that come in a set, so you are continuously selling to your customers. Look for a shopping cart software that allows for “smart URL” functionality, too; unlike other online carts where the item URL is an endless string of jumbles and suffixes, each item in your store gets a unique URL for easy off-site linking. Great for affiliates!

Discounts, Gift Certificates, Coupons - Just one click of the mouse allows business owners to set closeout prices on any item in their stores. Find a program that lets you set special promotional codes for newsletter subscribers, offer buy one, get one free incentives, sell gift certificates and accept coupons online.

Customer Database - Keep track of customers. Use a software that records information on all customers, so you can create opt-in newsletters and direct mail promotions. Offer incentive coupons and sales for returning customers with ease.

Affiliate Programs - Turn customers into salespeople by offering an affiliate program through your online store! Affiliate marketing counts for a large number of Internet retail sales; website owners act as third-party e-tailers and receive commissions for every sale made through their own sites (Amazon.com Associates is an excellent example). With the right software, you can customize your own affiliate program and allow other webmasters to sell your products for you. You pay a small percentage per sale, and in return your brand visibility and link popularity explodes!

To be a good salesman, you must first be a good shopper. Find the proper software to meet your e-commerce needs - user-friendly and functional, and compatible over many browsers - to help your online business succeed.

Your book is written, edited, published, and all of your relatives and friends have been informed. Right now you estimate everybody within your small universe is thumbing through the pages right this minute, admiring the cover art and complimenting your austere portrait on the back of the jacket. You’re working to get reviews in the local papers and industry magazines, and maybe you’ve contacted a few local bookstores for signings. You’re on the right track, but eventually you will need to consider putting in some travel time to promote and/or learn how to promote your work.

Depending upon your chosen genre, you may benefit from a number of annual writers and readers conventions held all over the country - some with static locales and others held in different cities each year. Mystery authors, for example, would do good to connect with readers and booksellers at Malice Domestic in DC and Bouchercon, the location of which varies. Romance authors should definitely attended the Romantic Times convention and select smaller conferences held by chapters of Romance Writers of America. Science fiction and fantasy writers may find new fans at the multitude of themed cons held around the United States.

Once you have decided to attend a convention, however, it is important to be prepared for whatever role you plan to play there. Whether you are attending as a featured author or panelist, a vendor of your own books, or are just going to soak up the atmosphere and take notes, applying some helpful travel tips can make your trip much more enjoyable. Here are just a few ways to reduce headaches and lighten your load as a traveling author.

Whenever possible, send material in advance

This is especially helpful if you plan to sign books at an event. If your publisher is unable to send books in your stead, or if the venue is unable to get them from their distributor (most events are done in conjunction with a bookstore in the area, so if they can’t get your book through their channels you will have to bring your own), you may be stuck with extra luggage. You can relieve the burden by arranging a package to be sent to your hotel or to the venue. Make sure all labels are clearly marked, and confirm with the convention with regards to sending materials so they don’t get lost or returned.

Cut costs with a roommate

While host hotels offer discount rates to convention goers, it may still prove costly for some to travel. Larger conventions may arrange for roommate options, so it may be to your advantage to go that route and save some money on lodging.

Always keep some material handy

The moment you leave the house, you have opportunity to promote yourself. Even if you pack everything, make sure to at least carry a pack of business cards with you to hand out at mixers and panels. If you’re on the plane and strike up a conversation with a passenger, why not hand out a few? You never know that the person sitting next to you is an avid reader.

Choose manageable promotional materials

If you check in luggage, you do run the risk of having your promo stuff bounced around a plane. Try to avoid bringing promotional items that may damage easily. Nothing glass or filled with liquid that might leak. If you have posters, make sure they are laminated or rolled tightly in a cardboard tube to avoid wrinkling. Candy may melt or spoil, so you might want to scout your venue for a nearby store so you can buy some fresh the day of the event.

Above all, talk to other authors who regularly attending conferences and learn from their experiences. Getting there is half the fun, and the last thing that should concern you at a conference is your luggage. Take care of the travel in advance, and focus on exposing your book for a successful conference trip.