We don’t mean to intrude, but you’ve just landed on the perfect blog post for such a state of mind.

If you’ve had enough of punching time cards, having your meal times determined by a scheduling program, and answering to middle-management, then perhaps there’s no better time than now to turn those daydreams into reality.

There’s a lot to consider and plan for when becoming your own boss and starting an online business — like what kind of business will you start?

How to Start an Online Business

We live in a connected world, with the internet and technology enabling ample opportunities to start successful businesses online. If you decide to give up the office or retail life and become a digital entrepreneur, you’ll be in good company.

Online, home-based businesses are on the rise and are valuable sources of income for many. Depending on your needs and goals, your business may be a part-time side hustle or it could be your full-time venture.

Is starting an online business a good idea? Online businesses may require fewer investments as compared to brick-and-mortar businesses that require external facilities or a hired staff, and they offer a flexible work-life balance as it’s dictated by you. However, keep in mind that you may need to convert part of your home and living space to support your business, especially as it grows.

Let’s explore some online business ideas that you can launch with a little business planning and a website (and that aren’t MLMs.)

15 Online Business Ideas

Ready to be your own boss? With these business ideas, you can be.

1. Web designer

Web designers are in demand.

As brick-and-mortar businesses convert into online retailers, they all need websites. Business owners often don’t have the time to create and design beautiful, functional websites. Even with the advent of easy-to-use website builders, they seek outside counsel and assistance.

And it isn’t just small businesses that need web design help, large companies frequently hire design consultants to assist with their needs.

Web design is all about creating an intuitive, beautiful experience for the end-user, so if helping others and designing are your passions, this is a great business idea to consider starting from home.

2. Personal fitness trainer

The pandemic has shown us that traditionally in-person businesses can be successful online. You may be accustomed to going to a gym or studio to learn and instruct, but there’s nothing stopping you from doing that online, too.

A website, camera, and open floor space are all you really need to get started if you’re knowledgeable about proper exercise, motivation, and healthy living. Once you build your reputation and your business grows, you may find that you’ll want to start making house calls or letting your clients come to you.

Before starting a personal fitness training business, make sure to research local guidelines to determine if any special licensing is required.

3. Copywriter

Do you have a way with words? The ability to sway people by pen or keyboard? If yes, it’s time to give serious consideration to becoming a copywriter.

Great copy helps convert website visitors into customers, so website owners everywhere seek help writing content like FAQs and blog posts.

To attract those website owners and convince them to hire you, you’ll need to put your skills to work. Start by creating a website to showcase your strengths. Make sure to include an “About” page where prospective clients can learn about you, samples of your work, and make it easy for them to contact you — a “Contact Us” page is great, but your contact information should be discoverable from every page.

4. Interior Designer

Some people have an eye for style, and some don’t. If you do, why not help others create the living or workspaces of their dreams?

Someone, somewhere, doesn’t understand that houndstooth can’t be matched with plaid, or what color walls best pair with their flooring. Your stylistic expertise is what they need and they’ll be happy to pay for a consultation.

As with any business, social proof is important, so you’ll want to showcase your work on your website. Consider adding a blog to your site to keep your readers up-to-date with trends and inform them of what you’ve been working on.

5. Dropshipper

Have you thought about starting an online retail business, only to abandon your dream because you don’t have the funds to invest in a large inventory of products?

Dropshipping solves that issue for you. With dropshipping, you can sell products on your site without worrying about stocking and inventory. It works like this: When you sell a product on your site it’s purchased from a third party who fulfills shipping, so you never have to touch the product. These third-party sellers are normally wholesalers or manufacturers, and you’ll still make a profit from the sales.

Dropshipping means low overhead. You don’t have to purchase any products unless you’ve made a sale and it’s been paid for by the customer. This also gives you great control and flexibility when it comes to testing new products in your market. 

6. Personal chef

Does everyone rave about your cooking? Perhaps now is the time to turn your culinary prowess into a profitable business.

Depending on local regulations and guidelines, you can use your home kitchen to create nutritious, enjoyable meals for your clients. As your business grows, you may need to find a commercial kitchen and hire helpers, but the majority of your marketing, planning, and business work can be done from the comfort of your own home.

Happy clients and referrals will help your business grow, so don’t hesitate to create a website to show off your delicious meals and share information about your offerings.

7. Grant writer

Non-profit organizations rely on donations to fund their goodwill initiatives. There are many opportunities for them to apply for grants to receive funding, but oftentimes, the people behind the scenes are juggling many roles, and don’t have the time to write the incredible grant proposals they need to secure funds.

This is where you come in. Are you a master of pen and keyboard? Do you have a knack for laying information out concisely and persuasively? There are so many organizations vying for a limited amount of grants, that it’s imperative for proposals to be well-formatted and well-written.

There are many free resources online that can help you learn how to write the perfect proposal. Once you’ve nailed it, pitch your services to different organizations and create a website where people seeking grant writers can contact you.

8. Life coach

Does everyone in your friend group rely on you for advice? Do they seek you out for your sage wisdom on love, work, and any other number of personal and professional issues?

Sounds like you might already be a bit of a life coach. Life coaches aren’t therapists, but they do help individuals focus on the life they want, provide guidance and counsel, and help people to achieve their goals.

Some life coaches prefer to coach and speak to big crowds, but it’s a career that can easily be done from your home. While life coaches don’t technically need a license to operate, there are programs designed to help you become a life coach that offer certifications. As with any business, you’ll need to invest in your online presence to build your audience of prospective customers.

9. Blogger

Blogs and websites have democratized the information age, letting anyone who has an interest or is an expert on a topic hold court. Blogging is one of the most popular ways that people share information, and you can manage your blog from home or anywhere!

To be a blogger, you undoubtedly have to have your own site. To be successful, you’ll need to create fresh, interesting content that appeals to your audience. Encourage your readers to share your posts with their friends and on social media to grow your following.

As your blog gains more and more engaged readers, you can offer advertising space on your blog for additional income. If you’re seriously considering becoming a blogger, check out this post about what you need to know when starting a blog.

10.  Virtual assistant

Are you an organizational powerhouse? Have you been called “Type A” more than once? A virtual assistant position may be perfect for you.

Busy executives and business owners can reach a point where they’re inundated with responsibilities and don’t have the time to manage all their tasks. Appointments, emails, video calls — all of these things add up and are time-consuming.

As a virtual assistant, you’d be stepping in to provide the help and organization they so desperately need. You’d carry your tasks out at home, from scheduling meetings and appointments to replying to emails, fielding phone calls, and managing documents. And all of these things are easily achievable using cloud-based solutions. 

So, if you’re the type who plans everything from morning to sundown, you can have a lot of fun and find fulfillment as a Virtual Assistant. 

11.  Consultant

Someone, somewhere, needs your expertise. Consultants are experts in their fields, and they are paid to advise others in their field or to address specific issues others are facing. It’s not the same as a coach, who provides advice and motivation so you meet your goals.

Usually, consultants offer their services to businesses, although individuals sometimes seek out consultants, too. As a home-based consultant, you have the flexibility to determine your own schedule and rates, and there isn’t much overhead when starting your business. However, it takes time to build your clientele, so make sure you highlight your expertise and other relevant information on your site and include social proof where possible. 

12.  Instructor/Tutor

Covid-19 has changed the face of education, and now is a great time to start an online tutoring business. Parents everywhere are struggling to run their households, manage their careers, and act as secondary (or primary) teachers as their kids attend remote schooling.

If you’re knowledgeable and have a gift for teaching, why not help out in this time of increased need and get paid for it? All that’s required are a computer, a website, and a camera. You can conduct online lessons and tutoring sessions, and add helpful content to your site.

If you do well, your students’ parents will be your best advocates — touting your expertise and sharing your information with other parents in similar situations, and word-of-mouth is a powerful marketing tool.

13. Podcaster

Podcasts are insanely popular. In fact, almost 60% of U.S. consumers listen to podcasts.

If you like the sound of your own voice and think others may, too, then consider starting a podcast. All of us have stories to share and knowledge that we can impart to others.

To get started with podcasting, you’ll need the following:

• A quality microphone
• Software or tools to record audio
• Audio editing tools
• A website

To gain more listeners, try partnering with other more well-known podcasters or thought leaders as you get started. And don’t forget to encourage your listeners to leave reviews!

14. Domain Investor

You’ve heard of real estate investors, but did you know that domain investing is a thing?

Just like real estate properties, domains are great investments because a good domain name will only increase in value. Domain investing means buying domain names and then selling them for a greater amount.

Good domain names have to meet certain criteria, like being short, memorable, and brandable. Business owners will pay for the right domain name because domains are the core of a business’ digital identity. You’ll need to do your research before jumping into the world of domain investing, as you’ll be using your own funds to get started, and you don’t want to lose your money.

Luckily, there are many online resources that can help you get started with domain investing, and there are plenty of sites, like BuyDomains.com, that offer reasonably priced premium domain names which you can resell.

15.  Freelance Editor

Does the thought of correcting someone’s diction and syntax excite you? Do you have fond memories of red pens in the pre-digital era? Are you the person your friends rely on for reviewing and improving important documents?

Sounds like you’ll make a mighty fine freelance editor. Freelance editors take on many roles, from editing grammar to content, and even SEO.

To get started, you’ll want to create a site to showcase your work. Ask friends and family that have relied on you for editing services to provide testimonials, and reach out to businesses you think could benefit from your services. Your work as a freelance editor can be done from anywhere — at home, while traveling, or in a rented space, whatever you prefer.

Ready to start your online business?

There’s no better time than now to launch an online business. We hope these ideas have inspired you to get started and pursue your dreams!

Before investing your time and money in a new venture, it’s always a good idea to take the time to validate your business idea and create a business plan. This way, you’ll know exactly who your audience is, and the best way to conduct your enterprise.

Do you have any other online business ideas you’d like to share? Comment below!

Your brand is what makes you and your business unique — if it could be distilled down into something tangible, we’d venture to call it your “special sauce.”

Your brand is a first impression — the first impression that customers and potential clients will have of your business. You don’t get a second chance at a first impression, so make it count.

The good thing is, you don’t have to go at it alone. We’re here to help you understand what it takes to craft the perfect brand and take it to market in our two-part guide to branding.

What Is a Brand?

Your brand comprises many things: It’s your business and website colors, your logo, the products and services you offer, and the way you present your business online. It’s the feeling someone gets when they hear your business or domain name, and it’s what they think of you as they browse your site. And yet, that still doesn’t fully capture what your brand is.

In essence, your brand is the summation of every single touchpoint a person can have with your business and what they think about you. That includes your site, social media, products and services, logos, your business’s mission and values, the way you speak to your audience on your site and in your blog, and how you provide customer service.

You can build and work on elements of your brand to influence it; however, keep in mind that it’s just as much what someone thinks of your business as it is the elements you can control, like your logo and colors. Ultimately, your brand lives and dies in the eyes of the consumer.  

To get a bit more technical, let’s look at how Merriam-Webster defines “Brand.” They say it’s a “class of goods identified by name as the product of a single firm or manufacturer, a characteristic or distinctive kind, and a public image, reputation, or identity conceived of as something to be marketed or promoted.”

Why Are Brands Important?

Your brand sets you apart from the competition. When all else is equal, a customer’s brand loyalty is the deciding factor in where and with what business they choose to transact. Jeff Bezos once said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

So, what do you want your customers to say about you? And how can you influence it? Let’s explore different elements of branding that you can work on to craft the perfect brand identity.

Elements of Branding

Your brand isn’t entirely within your control. You see, it’s a living, evolving thing. You set the foundation upon which it grows: Deciding on a domain and business name, your logo, your colors, and your typography. Then, it evolves as people and customers interact with you, get to know your products and what type of service you provide, and when they buy into your mission and values as a business.

Business and Domain Name

Names affect brands, but how?

A good name lends trust and credibility to your business, to your brand. A good name is one of your company’s most valuable assets, and if you don’t believe us, you need only look to one of the largest businesses of our time, Starbucks, to find out why.

Starbucks co-founder, Gordon Bowker, tells us how Starbucks got its name in an interview with The Seattle Times. He says, “We were thinking of all kinds of names and came desperately close to calling it Cargo House, which would have been a terrible, terrible mistake. Terry Heckler [with whom Bowker owned an advertising agency] mentioned in an offhand way that he thought words that begin with ‘st’ were powerful words. I thought about that and I said, yeah, that’s right, so I did a list of ‘st’ words.

Somebody somehow came up with an old mining map of the Cascades and Mount Rainier, and there was an old mining town called Starbo. As soon as I saw Starbo, I, of course, jumped to Melville’s first mate [named Starbuck] in Moby-Dick.”

There you have it — Starbucks was named, in large part, due to the perceived strength of the “st” sound that begins its name.

“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

Jeff bezos

Words can indeed cause people to feel different things depending on the sounds in the word. Christopher Johnson, Ph.D., a verbal branding consultant known as “The Name Inspector,” discusses these sounds or “rhythmic contrasts” in words in his book MICROSTYLE The Art of Writing Little.

Did you know that business names can be thought of as either feminine or masculine depending on the sound or rhythm of the word?  He uses the examples of Chanel, a “feminine brand name”, and Black & Decker, a “masculine brand name”, as explained below.

The name Chanel is an iamb, meaning it consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one (shə-NEHL or chaNEL.) “Iambs tend to sound lighter and softer,” Johnson writes, while “… trochees tend to sound heavier and harder.” Black & Decker is an example of a trochee; those consist of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable (BLACK & deck-ER.) He notes that “Most people ‘feel’ this difference even if they find it hard to pinpoint.” Keep in mind that means people will feel a certain way about your business name, probably without realizing it, so put some extra thought into naming your business.

Choosing the right domain name should be part of the process of selecting your business name. Both will support your brand, and for consistency, they should be as similar (if not exact) as possible. Successful businesses in this day and age require having an online presence, so a website (and therefore, domain name) is a must.

Here’s what else you should keep in mind when deciding on the perfect domain name for your brand:

• Does it pass the radio test?
  • If someone were only to hear your domain name in passing on the radio and never see it written out, could they navigate to it? If the answer is no, consider going back to the drawing board and choosing another name.
• Avoid unique spelling, punctuation, or excessive numbers.
  • For starters, it won’t pass the radio test. Do you really expect people to remember that instead of the letter “I,” you use the number “1” in your domain name? Or that you have approximately five hyphens and three numbers in your domain? No, you can’t reasonably expect that. And if people can’t remember or spell your domain name, the chances of them getting to your website are slim.
• Make it memorable.
  • Try to keep your domain name short. The longer it gets, the more chances people have of mistyping and never reaching your site.
• Buy alternate misspellings of your domain name.
  • This helps in two ways:
    • If there are common misspellings of your domain name, purchase them to ensure you get any traffic from people who mistyped your correct domain.
    • It prevents competitors from purchasing misspellings of your domain name. If your competitor owns those misspelled alternates of your domain, they can redirect traffic from there to their own site.
• Consider a new domain extension.
  • Is .com really king? It’s well known, and people recognize it, but nowadays, there are thousands of domain extensions that can help you get the perfect domain name.
  • Starting an online store? Try .store. Opening a yoga studio? Try .yoga. There is a domain extension for just about everything, and these TLDs can help add context and memorability to your domain name.

Business and Brand Logo

Humans are visual creatures, so hook their attention with a good-looking logo.

Why are logos important? Just like with domain names, a good logo is a calling card for your brand. Your logo should be memorable and unique enough that when people see it, they instantly think of your brand and don’t confuse it with another.

There are various types of logos, ranging from strictly visual (think abstract logos like Chase Bank) to mascots (used by many sports teams), emblems (law firms or universities), and lettermarks and wordmarks (like CNN or Google, respectively.)

Domain.com uses a variety of logos, like you see below, to help support our brand. 

When designing your logo, keep the following tips in mind:

• Leverage white and empty space. 
  • Your logo doesn’t need to look “busy” to communicate your brand.
• Rely on your business’s color palette. 
• Where will your logo be displayed? 
  • You’ll likely need different versions or sizes so that it looks good on your website, in your emails, and on social media. 
• Relevancy is key. 
  • Your logo is representative of your brand, don’t forget that. 

With Domain.com, it’s easy to create a professional logo to support your brand. All you need is a name, and Domain.com’s LogoMaker will instantly create hundreds of logo options for you to choose from. Then, you can customize everything from colors and fonts to icons and more. 

Sign in to your Domain.com account today and select “Business” at the top of your control panel to leverage the power and design capabilities of LogoMaker. 

Color Psychology and Branding

Designing a website can be a lot of fun, especially when you use a tool like WebsiteBuilder, which does all the heavy lifting for you. That gives you more time to focus on the creative aspects, like the color palette your business and site uses. 

Your brand’s color palette can affect the way people interact with you. This is due to color psychology, or “the study of hues as a determinant of human behavior.”

Certain colors lend themselves to specific associations. In Western culture, we say that green is the color of envy and think of blue as relaxing and meditative. The color black, for example, is believed to represent wealth and prosperity in Eastern cultures and is foreboding and threatening in Western cultures. 

Domain.com’s primary color is Carmine Red, as you see below. We chose it to help us create a strong, bold, and energetic brand expression that helps us stand out and build recognition. 

From there, we selected an accompanying functional color palette — one that’s monochromatic and leverages greyscale to add a stark contrast to our primary color. 

Go into your color selection with an idea of what you want those colors to exemplify. For Domain.com, we embrace a minimal and clean color palette to allow for deliberate emphasis on bold visual elements. Our colors are meant to inspire and drive action, to help the Doers out there get more done. 

Font and Branding

A successful brand understands that different fonts send different messages to their audiences. So choose your fonts carefully — no one wants to send the wrong message to their audience accidentally. 

There are hundreds and hundreds of fonts available to you, some you can find for free, and others require purchase. However, most of the fonts you’ll want to use fall into the following categories:

• Serif
  • Serif fonts are distinctive due to the flourish or decorative stroke at the end of the letters (both horizontally and vertically.) These fonts generally give your site and brand a more formal tone. 
• Sans 
  • Sans fonts add no serifs, or decorative strokes, to their letters. In fact, in French, “sans” means without. These fonts give off a modern and straightforward vibe. 

Domain.com uses Lato for its branding, choosing it for its flexibility and bold, modern style. 

What are you thinking about using for your brand? Why? Let us know in the comments!

Customer Service, Values, and Branding

A consistent customer experience is at the core of your brand. To put this into perspective, let’s look at Starbucks again to see what they’re doing right. 

Whether or not you’ve had their coffee (and with over 28k locations, we’re betting you have), the odds are good that you’ve heard of Starbucks. How did they get to be so big and such a well-loved brand?

The intelligent minds at Starbucks realized that their brand, their business persona, was in the hands of their customers. Understanding that, they’ve since done everything they can to enhance the public’s perception of them positively. 

Starbucks trained its partners (what they call their employees) to greet you when you walk in the door and know that it should only take 3 minutes from that moment until you get your drink. I don’t know about you, but a cheerful greeting and expedient service are likely to make me think more fondly of a business.

Starbucks provides a consistent experience. You’ll find similar menus across most of their locations, all of which are easily identifiable by the green siren logo. Not to mention, that logo is one of the world’s most recognizable logos. Their locations are comfortable, inviting, and positioned as a “third place” — a place between home and work that’s welcoming and relaxing.

Starbucks’ mission statement is, “To inspire and nurture the human spirit — one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” They live this mission in their stores, and it’s reflected in the materials they choose to share on social media. They do such an excellent job of living their mission statement, and so it’s how their customers think of them — it’s the heart of their brand.

What would happen to the Starbucks brand if they decided to double all their prices, increase the wait time for drinks, and hire only surly service workers? Those wouldn’t be changes to the material goods they offer, but changes that affect the customer experience. Their brand would undoubtedly suffer because it lives in the eyes of the consumer.

Have you ever been to the Starbucks website? In our original definition, we said that “Your brand is the summation of every single touchpoint a customer can have with your business and how they think about you.” Websites are customer touchpoints, and Starbucks’ site is designed to reflect their commitment to their mission statement and ease of use.

We understand that you may not have a Starbucks-sized budget to run and market your business, but you can still cop a few of their tactics to grow your brand. Put your customers first, provide a good and consistent experience, and live your mission statement.

A Successful Brand Is a Successful Business

Take the time to focus on building and crafting your brand before launching your business in the market. 

Structural elements like your logo, color palette, and typography and fonts keep your brand consistent and robust. These core pieces work together to make your brand recognizable wherever it appears. 

Once you’ve nailed your structural elements, you can approach your brand’s more flexible and creative elements, like selecting what photography and illustration to use on your site. All of these things help communicate a broader range of emotions, showcase your products, and create clear points of view for your customers. 

Ready to work on your brand and bring your business to life? Domain.com has all the tools you need, so get started today. 

Now comes the hard part (as if leaving behind the security of your regular job wasn’t hard enough). Along with the thrills of being your own boss comes the burden of having to manage everything on your own. 

Suddenly, you’re a CEO, a designer, a social media manager, a customer service representative, and an office administrator. Throw in client meetings and chasing vendors for payments and you’re cruising toward burnout.

The good news is you don’t have to do it all on your own. With the help of technology, you can take your mind off mundane tasks and get some free time to focus on making your solopreneurial venture profitable and scalable. 

Online Tools for Solopreneurs

Here are some tools you need to make your solo journey a smooth-sailing one.

Create a Website 

First of all, you need a website to create an online presence to help prospective clients or customers find you and connect with you. 

Creating a website doesn’t have to be an expensive affair but it’s definitely one that needs thorough research and attention to detail. Start by thinking about what purpose you want it to serve and then assemble the tools you need to get it up and running.

If you find the prospect of creating a website intimidating, relax. Creating a website is an easy process when you use WebsiteBuilder. To start, answer a few questions and Domain.com’s AI-powered WebsiteBuilder will select the right layout, along with initial images and content for your site. If you’d prefer to work with a professional to create your site, Domain.com can help with that, too. 

Website Hosting

Domain.com offers powerful and reliable hosting plans ranging from your basic hosting to more complex plans for eCommerce and high-volume sites. Additionally, they offer WordPress hosting, which is among the most versatile tools offering various templates for different kinds of websites. 

Domain Name

Next, you will need to register a domain name that people can use to find your website. An ideal domain name is:

• Similar to your company name so as to strengthen your online branding.
• Short and simple enough to be memorable and easy to type.
• Indicative of your industry or nature of business.
• Creative enough to stand out from competitors.
• Readily available to use and free of trademark protections.

Consider using new domain extensions that can not only be more affordable but can also make your domain name more meaningful and contextual. For instance, you can use .store for an online store, .tech if you are a coder, programmer, or web designer, .online if you are going to take online classes, or .space if you need an online space to display your art.  

Analytics

You will also need tools to provide data that measures the success of your website in terms of the traffic it is receiving from different sources, conversions, and bounce rates. Google Analytics is a free tool that offers most services that a solopreneurial venture would need, but you can also opt for paid tools such as Ahrefs and SEMrush that can provide more complex data such as in-depth competitor analysis and backlink monitoring. 

Task Management and Communication

Being a one-person army is never easy. You need tools that can help you plan and organize your tasks, track workflows, track the amount of time spent on different jobs, and set up reminders. Fortunately, there is no dearth of online tools to help you in this department. Here are some of our favorites.

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 offers all the tools you know and love to help you establish and run your business. Need to reinforce your brand with a professional email address that matches your domain name? Microsoft 365 has you covered. They also offer the tools you’re already familiar with, like Outlook, Word, Skype, and more. From cloud-based document management to virtual meeting software, you have everything you need to manage your business when you use Microsoft 365. 

Google Workspace

Stay on top of all your tasks with Google Workspace. Whether you need to stay in touch with your customers and clients or share documents with partners and employees, you can do it all with the tools they offer. And there’s no need to worry about confusing set up, domain verification, or toggling between Domain.com and Gmail. Google Workspace is completely integrated with your Domain.com control panel, allowing instant access so you can get down to business, fast.

Todoist

Todoist offers a host of features for different types of workers from creative professionals to freelancers to techies to business owners. It allows you to list and prioritize tasks and subtasks, segregate them into different categories, and set deadlines and reminders. You can also track your progress through productivity charts and earn points for completing tasks. 

Monday

Monday can easily be integrated with other apps such as Google, Dropbox, and Slack to set up automated workflows and help you save time. It also offers different viewing styles such as kanban, graphs, and charts so you can pick the one that you find easiest to read and understand.

FreshBooks

FreshBooks is particularly useful for freelancers as it also provides tools for managing finances, time-tracking, and setting up estimates and timelines for projects. The invoicing tool ensures that you get paid on time while its collaborative project management tool makes it easy for clients to share feedback, so you can be on the same page at all stages of the task.

Accounting and Invoicing

Managing your business accounts can be the most daunting task for solopreneurs, especially if you’re not from a finance background. Hiring a bookkeeper may not be within everyone’s budget. But there are a number of online tools, from simple to complex, that you can use to take the load off your hands and learn a thing or two about accounting. 

Wave

This free software offers simple yet useful money-management solutions, making it ideal for small solo businesses. Its best feature is easy-to-create invoices, but it also helps you visualize your cash flows and stay on top of payments. If you want to manage your credit card payments through the app, it charges you a basic fee of $3-4 per transaction.

Xero

For more complex accounting needs, especially for those pertaining to online stores, Xero offers all of the services that Wave provides along with seamless integration with other apps that can help you automate workflows. Other useful features include inventory tracking, bill payments, bank account connections, tax calculations, financial reporting, and file sharing.

Social Media

As a solopreneur, you may not have a big marketing budget, but you can harness the power of social media to build your brand, connect with your audience and even sell your products. However, managing multiple social media accounts is no mean feat. 

That’s the reason why big companies have teams dedicated purely to social media. Not only do you need to understand the platforms well, but you also need to know your audience behavior, post on multiple accounts, and have the design and writing chops to create beautiful creatives and catchy captions. Sound intimidating? It doesn’t have to be, we’ll explain below. 

Analytics Tools

The best part about using social media platforms is that you can use their native tools (Facebook Ads Manager, Instagram Insights, and Twitter Analytics) for gaining useful target audience insights, such as demographic information, learning when they’re most active, and to discover how they’re engaging with your posts. You can even estimate the reach of your ads based on the cost and the time frame of your posts. 

Social Media Management Tools

Instead of setting up multiple reminders for posting on different accounts, you can use apps such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Buffer to run multiple accounts from a single platform, schedule future posts and receive advanced analytics.

Content Creation Apps

Social media is nothing without stunning visuals, but don’t fret if designing isn’t one of your strong points. You don’t even have to enroll yourself in an online Photoshop or video-editing course (although those skills are always useful in the long run). With the help of apps such as Canva, Wordswag, and VSCO Cam, you can create beautiful content with pictures, text, and other design elements to take your social media game to the next level. 

Start Your Solopreneur Journey Today

Don’t let the burdens of being a solopreneur dissuade you from taking the journey. Armed with the right tools, hard work, and willpower, you can enrich your life with meaningful work that resonates with your passion, reap the benefits of well-deserved rewards, and live life on your own terms. 

Author Bio

Alisha is a Senior Content Marketing & Communication Specialist at Radix, the registry behind some of the most successful new domain extensions, including .STORE and .TECH. You can connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter. 

If you’ve found this post because you’re thinking about starting a fashion blog, we’re betting that you know a thing or two about the art of dressing. Want to share your style and expertise with the world? We support you, and we’re here to help.

Follow along with us as we discuss what it takes to create your fashion blog. We’re starting with how to identify your ideal audience and niche, we’ll talk about branding and owning your content, different website and hosting options for your blog, and dive into marketing and monetization.

Starting a Fashion Blog

We hear a lot of people say that starting a blog or site is intimidating. “I don’t have the technical know-how,” and “I don’t have the time to devote to building a blog,” are two common refrains.

Well, folks, we’re delighted to break it to you: Your blog can be up and running in half an hour. The tricky part is learning how to grow, market, and monetize your blog so that you see a return on your efforts. And we’ll address that, too.

We’re confident that you can launch a successful fashion blog and stand out among the 600 million blogs published online. Use the following tips to craft an exceptional blog.

• Identify your niche
• Choose the perfect domain name
• Select your hosting provider
• Decide what to include in your blog
• Create your content and content schedule
• Market your blog
• Monetize your blog

Identify Your Niche

Fashion is a broad term that means different things to many people. Someone who’s into a post-punk look might not find a preppy style fashionable and vice versa.

The more you’re able to narrow down your niche, the better your chances are of connecting with the right audience. 

Think of fashion as an umbrella term. Where do you fit in? Are you an expert in grunge? Maybe haute couture? Once you’ve condensed your aesthetic to its core style, look at other blogs similar to what you want to create. 

How is your sense of style different from those bloggers — what makes you stand out? That’s your unique twist and something you can capitalize on to differentiate yourself from your competitors.  

Search engines, especially Google, want to serve people with the best and most helpful result for their inquiries. So, if you’re a cottagecore enthusiast, use that term to describe yourself and your blog. As tempting as it may be to say you have a “country and farm-inspired style” to cast a wider net and get more visitors, it’s a tactic that will end up backfiring when those visitors bounce from your site. And search engines will take note of that, deeming your blog less helpful than others and potentially lowering your position in search results.   

Once you’ve distilled your fashion sense into your core style and identified your unique interpretation you can create targeted content and messaging that appeals to the right audience.

“Fashion is only the attempt to realize art in living forms and social intercourse.”

Francis Bacon

Choose the Perfect Domain Name

You’re into fashion, so you know presentation matters.

Think of domain names as a representation of your brand. It’s the first impression someone will have of your blog, before the page loads and they see your stylings. What do you want that impression to be?

If you want to be seen as legitimate, own your domain name. 

Owning your domain name gives you credibility and helps you brand yourself. There are plenty of sites that offer free domain names when you host a blog on their service, but spoiler alert: When your domain name starts with the name of another company, it’s not really yours. 

Your domain name is a brand asset, why use it to advertise for someone else?

The best thing you can do for your blog is to plan for its growth, and your domain name is a small investment in a big future.

Here’s how to choose the perfect domain name for your fashion blog:

• K.I.S.S. – Keep it short & simple.
  • Your fashion might be memorable, but long and convoluted domain names aren’t.
• Avoid unique spelling, hyphens, and excessive numbers.
  • Your domain name should pass the “radio test.” If someone were to hear your domain name on the radio and never see it written down, could they find your blog?
• Be descriptive.
  • Your domain name speaks to your blog and what type of content people will find there. A relevant, descriptive domain name can capture your desired audience’s attention.
• Get creative.
  • Have you heard that .com is the king of domains? It’s an incredibly popular domain extension and likely the one you’re most familiar with. But familiarity doesn’t necessarily equate to “best fit.” If you’re dead set on acquiring a .com domain name, be prepared to invest in it as it may already be registered to someone else.
  • There are thousands of domain names that you can choose from that are relevant to your blog. Some to consider are .blog, .fashion, .style, .clothing, .art, .shop, and .online. You can find hundreds more here.

Select Your Hosting Provider

Once you’ve registered your domain name it’s time to find the right hosting provider for your fashion blog.

With a variety of hosting options available, it can be hard to determine what works best for you. Should you get a free domain and hosting from a blogging service? Do you purchase your own hosting? Here’s what we think of the former option: 

Pros:

• Free.               

Cons:

• The domain isn’t yours, you have a subdomain that belongs to the service.
• Can’t control ads shown on your blog.         
• No customization beyond a selection of templates.
• Difficult if not impossible to monetize.

If you’re hoping to monetize your blog and potentially earn a living from it, find a hosting provider and self-host your blog. Many blogging platforms won’t allow you to put ads on your blog; instead, they run ads on your blog and you don’t see a dime of that money. 

Do you really want your hard work lining someone else’s pockets, just to save a few dollars upfront? Let’s look at some self-hosted options.

WordPress Hosting

WordPress hosts about 60 million blogs and is an authority in the blogging sphere, so, naturally, you’d be interested in learning more about it.  

At its core, WordPress is a platform for creating and managing all kinds of websites and blogs. They’re known for providing free, open-source software that can be installed on any hosting platform and entirely customized to suit your needs. It’s a great solution for people of all skill levels because you can either build your blog working directly with the code or by customizing an existing WordPress theme.

Here at Domain.com, we offer two WordPress hosting plans to help get your blog up and running quickly. 

These hosting plans are designed to make blogging easy and come with pre-installed plugins for optimal functionality, curated selections of mobile-friendly themes, and a customized, user-friendly control panel.

And right now, you can even get a free domain name for one year with the purchase of a WordPress hosting plan. For more details and a coupon code, check out our WordPress hosting plans here.

Website Builders

Blog creation doesn’t have to include the whole blood, sweat, and tears thing, so let’s finally do away with this pervasive myth that building a site is difficult.

If you’re short on time or don’t consider yourself technically savvy, website builders are the perfect solution as they’re engineered to be intuitive and user-friendly. You don’t have to worry about code when your builder offers a plethora of customizable features and drag ‘n’ drop functionality.

Whether you plan on creating a simple blog or want to include a store so people can shop your styles, we’ve got you covered. 

Domain.com offers three WebsiteBuilder plans to suit your specific needs.

Begin by answering a few questions about your blog and our AI-powered builder will start your site, including initial images and content, and then customize it to make it truly yours. And don’t worry, our built-in design protection makes sure that your blog always looks professional across different devices.

“Fashion is part of the daily air and it changes all the time, with all the events. You can even see the approaching of a revolution in clothes. You can see and feel everything in clothes.”

Diana Vreeland

What Pages to Include in Your Fashion Blog 

After settling on your blog’s domain name and where to host it, it’s time to build your fashion blog. As with any project, it’s best to go in with a plan, so let’s discuss the different pages and elements your blog should have.

About Page

Every good blog includes an about page. No need to be bashful, this is where you get to tell your readers all about yourself to build credibility and relationships.

Use this page to tell people about what inspired your style, how you got into fashion, share your values, and let them get to know the person behind the screen. If you want to set expectations about what people will find on your blog, do it here. 

Contact Page

Dreaming about becoming the desired influencer that brands and fashion houses want to work with? Make it easy for them to contact you by including a form that can quickly be filled out. If you choose, you can also include your email address and other contact information. 

Homepage

When people find your blog through search results, they’re likely landing deep in your blog on a post page. But that doesn’t mean you can neglect your homepage. Your homepage should make clear what your blog is all about and support your branding. If you’d like, include some links to your most popular posts on this page.   

404 Page

No one enjoys clicking links only to land on broken pages, but instead of losing your readers when that happens, turn it into an opportunity. By creating a custom 404 page, you can educate your customers on what to do or include a selection of popular posts to keep them engaged and on-site. 

Gallery

If you’re going to start a fashion blog, you need somewhere to showcase your looks. In addition to including your stylings in blog posts, consider creating a gallery where people can quickly find and view your aesthetic. 

Privacy Page

This page exists to inform people about the data you or 3^rd parties may collect on your site and how it’s used. There are many free privacy policy page generators online, or you can take a look at privacy pages on other well-established blogs and use them as a guideline. 

eCommerce Shop Page

Want your readers to shop your looks? You can send them to external retailers or keep them on-site by creating an online store. (It’s easier than you might think if you use a website builder and dropshipping model.) This leads us to the next must-have page…

Terms of Service

If you sell goods or services on your blog you’ll need to include a Terms of Service page. Just as with privacy pages, you can find templates to help you craft your Terms of Service. Keep in mind that this is a legal document, so you may want to seek professional legal help in drafting this page. 

Content Pages

Your content pages are the heart and soul of your fashion blog. Here is where you get to share your two cents with the rest of the world, exemplify the ins-and-outs of your aesthetic, and really build relationships with your audience. 

Creating Content and a Content Schedule for Your Blog

It’s time to write another blog post… about what?

Searching for blog topics every time you need to create a post is exhausting — you can spend hours perusing competing blogs or scouring through your blog to find topics to expand upon. 

Add that to the other hats you wear as a blogger: editor, SEO researcher, social media manager, graphic designer, and marketer, and you’re likely to become overwhelmed before the first word hits the page.

The biggest favor you can do for yourself is to sit down and create a content calendar before starting to write any posts.

For a basic calendar, all you’ll need is a list of blog topics and the dates you intend on publishing them. However, we recommend including additional information such as targeted keywords so that you have the information at hand when you’re ready to write.

To make your posts as SEO-friendly as possible, check out our complete guide to blog post SEO below.

Consider including other types of content in addition to blog posts. You can create online quizzes to help your readers determine their personal style, or design infographics explaining how to put together the perfect outfit. Many free online tools can help like Canva. 

“I firmly believe that with the right footwear one can rule the world.”

Bette Midler

Marketing Your Fashion Blog

What good is a blog without readers?

Marketing and promoting your blog is essential to growing your audience. Here’s what you can do to increase awareness and readership of your blog:

• Include links to your blog in your social media profiles.
• Share blog posts on your social channels.
  • Don’t share it just once and expect big results. Test sharing posts at different times of the day and different days of the week to see when your followers are most engaged with your content.
• Make blog posts easy for your readers to share by including social share buttons.
• Perform a technical SEO audit
  • Odds are good that most of your readers will find you via an online search. Make sure your website is SEO optimized to give yourself a better chance at ranking high in search results.
• Create an email newsletter.
  • Keep people coming back to your site by notifying them when new posts go live.

Monetizing Your Blog

Including ads on your blog posts is a great way to earn money from your blog. You can do this by working directly with advertisers or by creating a Google AdSense account.

If you choose to work directly with advertisers, you’ll need an ads page that includes information about your blog (traffic, views, demographics) and that details what ad spots you have available. We advise including your contact information on this page so that advertisers can quickly get ahold of you. 

Ready to launch your fashion blog?

Blogging is a fun hobby with the potential to become so much more. With careful planning, you can grow your fashion blog into a business that helps support your dreams.

Once you’ve launched your blog make sure to share it in the comments below, we’d love to see what you create!

Our current state of digitalization has allowed customers to have endless choices. For them, moving to your competitor is as easy as clicking a different link. However, it is this competition in the business that makes it so exciting. Even more so in the eCommerce landscape. If you’re looking for ways to one-up your competition, then this article is for you.

10 Tactics to Succeed Online

1. Know your unique selling point.

Your unique selling point (USP) is what differentiates your brand from others. It’s a trait–like product quality, competitive pricing, exceptional customer service, being conscious about the environment — it’s something you have but your competitors don’t. In short, your USP is your competitive advantage.

Identifying your USP is the first step toward standing out from the crowd. It’s what makes potential customers choose you over your competitors. 

To find your USP, ask yourself the following questions:

• Why should a customer buy from your business and not from your competitor?
• What is that one thing that you do differently? 
• What does your target audience truly care about?

Once you’ve identified your unique selling point, showcase it on your website, ad copies, and all the places where you can catch your customers’ eyeballs.

2. Understand your audience.

The only way you can beat the competition is by truly understanding your target audience, especially their needs and pain points. You need to gather as much data as you can about your customers and their purchasing behaviors. There are plenty of marketing tools available that can help you better understand your users.

Apart from these metrics, you also need to know what motivates them, what scares them, and, more importantly, what makes them click the “Buy Now” button. Having a clear understanding of your customers will help you speak their language and communicate how you can make their lives better as clearly as possible.

3. Establish your niche.

Establishing your niche in a crowded marketplace and clearly communicating with your audience what you do can give you an edge over your competitors. One of the ways to do this is by looking at finer details such as your domain name. 

For example, look at these two web addresses and guess which one might be an eCommerce store:

1. www.bettergardens.com
2. www.bettergardens.store

The latter immediately establishes that you’re selling supplies that help people make their gardens look beautiful. Domain extensions such as .STORE help you add more meaning to your domain name and your overall business. They give you credibility against competing generalists and help you focus on the right segment of a larger market.

4. Engage with your customers.

It’s important to create a continuous, two-way dialogue between your brand and your users. Be active on social media and get involved in conversations that your prospective customers are passionate about. Focus on platforms where your prospects and customers are likely to hang out and provide value whenever possible. The key is to stay authentic and true to your brand’s values. What is important is building relationships that are meaningful.

Also, send out feedback forms regularly to find areas to improve and focus more on the things that keep your customers happy. It will communicate the fact that you listen, understand their needs, and acknowledge their opinion.

5. Provide great customer experiences.

When customers have a great experience with your business, it’s likely for them to come back. It also increases customer satisfaction levels. They will become your promoter and refer you to other people, improving your word-of-mouth marketing efforts. 

Think about the unspoken needs of your customers and address them.

What can you do to make this purchase a wonderful experience?

Use quick delivery, hassle-free billing, and flexible return policies to delight your customers and create great customer experiences. It’s the little details such as these that set you apart from your competition.

6. Study your competitors regularly.

If you need to stay ahead of your competition, you need to understand and analyze their strengths and weaknesses. Actively studying them and learning from their best practices is crucial when it comes to running a successful online business.

You need to go back to the drawing board periodically and have an active strategy in place to keep track of all your competitors.

Here are some of the things you need to stay updated on:

• Website and advertisements
• Shipping policies
• Product price
• Product range and quality
• Social media presence
• Online reviews and customer grievances

You can use online tools, like G Suite or Microsoft 365, to track and manage this information. 

7. Experiment often.

Any business that doesn’t innovate is wiped out by new disruptors. Innovation is key when it comes to standing out from the crowd. 

Try to keep up with trends and see if you can apply anything to your business. Make brainstorming a regular team activity and come up with radical ideas. If you get it right, your audience will love you for it.

You can also experiment with your online storefront and the whole customer experience. Start with small, incremental, and measurable changes and see if it makes a difference. 

8. Be aggressive in your marketing.

To stand out, you’ll need a holistic, all-around marketing strategy to reach a newer audience and upsell to existing customers. Use content marketing, SEO, PPC, social media, email marketing, and affiliate marketing to leverage all marketing channels. You can give some of these a spin in the beginning and focus on the ones that give you the most bang for your buck.

A combination of both inbound and outbound tactics create brand awareness, produces loyal customers, and ultimately increases your bottom line. Some of these strategies might require outside help from marketing agencies or consultants, but it’s easy to get started on your own.

9. Optimize your web-store for mobile.

Providing a great mobile experience is one of the key ranking factors in SEO. 

Most website builders automatically optimize your website for mobile, but the job isn’t done. You need to make sure that your web pages load fast, and the entire shopping experience is as seamless on the phone as it is on a desktop.

You can check your page speed with a free tool like Google’s PageSpeed Insights. 

10. Stay up-to-date with trends.

You always need to stay up to date with market trends, especially the ones in your niche. Most of the time, your competitors will have put in the work to identify new trends. Following them will help you anticipate market shifts and make informed decisions. 

Be active in communities and forums where your users are discussing this trend. Follow and establish relationships with key influencers in your niche. Staying connected through these channels will give you a headstart on upcoming trends.

Ready to level up and beat the competition? 

This constant rise in the number of online businesses is only increasing the competition. On the bright side, the crowded field proves the demand for such businesses is also on the rise, making eCommerce an exciting place to be.

Launch your eCommerce store today with Domain.com!

Author Bio

Alisha is a Senior Content Marketing & Communication Specialist at Radix, the registry behind some of the most successful new domain extensions, including .STORE and .TECH. You can connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter. 

What you may not realize is that you should put just as much effort and care into each decision you make when building your business’ website and digital presence.

As your business name and signage draw foot traffic to your shops, domain names attract visitors to your e-commerce website. And as the number of visitors to your site increases, so does your potential to make more sales.

The thing is, not every domain is a great one. So, how do you choose a domain name for your e-commerce business and site AND feel confident that it’s a good choice?

That’s what we’ll figure out today. By the time you’ve read this post you’ll know exactly how to land the perfect domain name — and avoid the duds.

Tips for choosing an e-commerce domain name.

Launching an online business is an exciting venture. But before you can build your website, add your wares, and start selling, you have to purchase a domain name.

Juliet may have said that, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” but we’d have to disagree. There’s a lot to a name, and some resonate with people better than others. 

Here’s what you need to know about choosing a domain name to create a strong, branded e-commerce business.

Look for your exact match domain name.

If you already have a business name that people know and trust, it’s in your best interest to find the matching domain name. Your business identity should be consistent, both online and off, so you don’t want to use two different names if you can avoid it.

However, it isn’t always easy to find a domain name that exactly matches your business name, especially if you’re only searching for a .com domain name.

But don’t get disheartened! Just because your exact match domain name isn’t readily available, doesn’t mean all hope is lost. Here’s what you can do about it.

Expand your domain extension search horizons.

If you know anything about domains, you know .com has long been considered the king. Why is that?

The .com domain is one of the original six domain extensions, or TLDs, created in 1985 with the inception of the DNS, or Domain Name System. Much of .com’s notoriety has to do with the fact that it’s familiar to people. But familiarity isn’t what you’re after with a domain name — relevancy and memorability are.

For the most relevant, memorable domain name, you might need to think outside the .com box. Instead, consider using a newer domain extension, or nTLD, to create the perfect domain name.

By choosing an nTLD for your domain name, you can get a more descriptive domain name that clearly imparts the purpose of your site and business. Here’s an example of what that looks like in practice.

Gary owns a coffee shop in a small town outside of Buffalo, New York. He loves seeing his customers every morning and afternoon, and business is booming. With such great results at his shop, he decides to take his products online and start selling coffee by the pound.

He searches for his desired domain name: GarysCoffee.com, but alas, it’s taken! Instead of getting discouraged he sees another domain extension, .online, and thinks, “Could this be it?”

He searches and it’s available! What a perfect domain name for him… it has his business name front and center (GarysCoffee) and his selected domain extension (.online) is descriptive of his growing, expanding business and intent to sell online. 

Other great domain extensions to consider for e-commerce businesses are:

• .store
• .biz
• .shop
• .boutique
• and thousands more can be found here.

Need some more convincing?

Top name brands and businesses are getting creative (and memorable) with domain names like kindle.store and alexa.online.

Consider purchasing a premium domain name.

Perhaps when you first searched for a domain name you saw the one you wanted in the results, but it was more expensive than the others. Why is that?

Chances are it was a premium domain name. Premium domain names have been registered in the past. They’re keyword-rich, which can help give your site’s SEO a boost, and they’re often shorter and more memorable. All of these characteristics serve to make them brandable and increase their value.

And if the premium domain was previously used for a website, it may even come with established website traffic which could help any new website owner!

Premium domain names are a great investment in your e-commerce business, so don’t overlook them.

Avoid hyphens and extra characters in your domain name.

It happens all the time…

Someone can’t find their desired domain name, so they decide to add a few hyphens and a couple of numbers, and perfect! Right?

Not even a little bit.

Let’s revisit Gary’s Coffee Shop and see what would’ve happened had he done this when choosing a domain name. If instead of selecting “garyscoffee.online” or “garyscoffee.shop” he’d selected “garys-coffee-736.com,” he would’ve made a big mistake.

Take your customers and site visitors into account when choosing your domain name. The more random characters and numbers you have in your domain, the less likely it is for them to remember it. And that means they could misspell your domain name and end up on a competitor’s site, or assume your website is no longer functioning and you’ve gone out business.

Unless your business name is hyphenated and has numbers, and your customers are very familiar with it, don’t include them in your domain name.

Stop with the unique spelling.

Everyone is unique and so are businesses.

In fact, you must have a differentiator that sets you apart from your competitors. Just don’t make that differentiator a uniquely spelled domain name. You might think that having an interestingly spelled domain means it’s memorable, but that’s usually not the case. Hyphens between every other letter and random numbers at the end of your domain name are difficult to remember.

If you want your domain name to be memorable, make sure it passes the “Radio Test.”

Can you pass the Radio Test?

A lot of domainers will refer to the Radio Test as a way to test the quality of your domain name.

For your domain name to pass the test, pretend that you’re running a commercial or advertisement on a local radio station. At the end of your promo the host reads your domain name aloud and directs listeners to visit your website.

If someone can easily spell your domain name based on how they heard it pronounced, then congratulations! Your domain name has passed the radio test. If not, you’ve failed and should go back to the drawing board. You can try the radio test at home with friends and family. 

There are many letters and combinations of letters that sound alike, like “ph” and “f” — so make sure you’re spelling your domain name in the most common fashion instead of using the most interesting spelling.  

Your domain name should be strong and branded.

Your domain name will oftentimes be the first point of contact someone has with your business and brand.

By making your domain name meaningful and leveraging the 1000s of new top-level domain extensions that exist, you can create a relevant, contextual domain name that drives more visitors and business to your site.

Domain names aid in brand identity and recall, so remember to make yours pronounceable and easy to spell.

Ready to find the perfect domain name and launch your e-commerce business? Get started with Domain.com.

Benefits of a .ONLINE domain name.

One such domain extension is .online. It is a versatile domain name that comes with multiple benefits such as:

• It is available.
• It is globally understood – the word online is understood in more than 25 languages.
• It is meaningful.
• It is brandable.
• It is relevant.
• …and many more.

Here are 10 businesses or industries that can use this highly adaptable domain extension to create a memorable online brand.

1. Architecture

Even an engineering and design-oriented field like architecture, which is dominated by blueprints and scaled models, cannot afford to ignore the importance of a strong online presence.

With a domain name on a .online extension, you can craft your unique online brand that mirrors your offline style in terms of color scheme, design elements and other aesthetic aspects.

You can use your .online website to showcase your credentials as an architect or architectural firm, introduce your team to potential clients, upload blueprints and other plans of your best projects and provide contact information. For example, www.architectscollective.online or www.buildingblokes.online.

2. Interior Designing

The word ‘online’ is a universally understood and accepted term, which makes it the perfect choice for the web address of an interior designer or a design firm, especially if it wishes to find clients in multiple geographies.

With a well-designed website on a .online extension, you can not only showcase your best projects but also get into the details of your thought process, your inspirations and aesthetic understanding. Your favorite works can truly come alive in the form of a story when presented online.

You can take the visitors on a virtual journey of how you transformed your client’s vision into a beautiful cafe, restaurant, home or office space. Examples of meaningful domain names include www.bestinteriors.online or www.designbydavid.online.

3. Real estate

Real estate deals are only sealed after in-person meetings and site visits but that doesn’t mean that a real-estate company should ignore being online.

A website that states your company’s history, property listings with photographs, 360-degree views and videos as well as client testimonials can enhance the legitimacy and reputation of your business.

A domain name that includes your company’s name and the .online domain extension is a great way to establish your online presence. For example, www.youradobe.online or www.malikestate.online.

4. Agriculture

The penetration of the Internet is no longer restricted to urban areas. Farmers in almost all countries heavily rely on the Internet for gaining useful information regarding weather conditions, new methods of farming and irrigation, agricultural technology, market trends and new products.

By creating a website on the .online extension, an agricultural company can create a unique online brand that stands out but still resonates with its offline work. For instance, your website can be an important tool for highlighting your CSR work, case studies and promoting any technological or product innovation that your company may have created or contributed to.

It can also be a source of information, not just for farmers but also for people who ascribe to clean and organic food consumption. This is especially beneficial for an agricultural company that wants to establish itself as an industry expert. A few examples include www.agricare.online or www.agrotalks.online.

5. Advertising

If there’s one industry that has truly been revolutionized due to the digital revolution, it is marketing and advertising. New digital-only advertising agencies are mushrooming at a rapid rate to cater to the new businesses.

Veteran firms that earlier prided themselves on their TV ads and witty print messaging are creating and expanding their digital footprint to stay in the game. For agencies with digital at their core as well as those looking to expand from traditional channels to digital, the .online domain extension provides the ideal base for building a memorable brand.

Firstly, it gives you an easy and relatively inexpensive opportunity to create a brand-new website that still resonates with the name and reputation you have already created in the industry.

Secondly, it lends greater credibility to your passion and expertise in all things digital by its mere definition. For instance if you are an advertising company called Vibgyor and are now getting into digital marketing, your domain name can me www.vibgyordigital.online. In fact, an Australian digital marketing agency called Louder Online has a similar domain name at www.louder.online.

6. Music

Music is the universal language and there’s no reason why your musical creations shouldn’t transcend borders. Whether you’re an amateur musician or someone who has already garnered fame locally through live performances, you should consider taking your music “online” with the help of the .online domain extension.

You can use your website to post recordings of your music, studio sessions to give fans a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes, stripped-down acoustic versions of your favorite tracks, tour dates and so much more. For example, you could have www.learntrumpet.online (if you’re a music teacher) or www.martinsings.online (if you’re a singer).

7. Healthcare

Thanks to digitalization, healthcare is now literally available at one’s fingertips. Whether it’s finding practitioners in the area, booking appointments, ordering medication or seeking advice and information, every kind of healthcare brand or company benefits immensely from being online.

The .online domain extension can help you create a digital presence that exemplifies how digitally-savvy you are. It can help you become a useful and reliable source of information for both patients and healthcare professionals. For example, www.healthytalk.online or www.findadoctor.online.

8. Food

Having an online presence offers a wide range of branding and expansion opportunities to anyone in the food industry. For standalone restaurants, bakeries, home chefs or family-owned food businesses, a website is the perfect platform to showcase your legacy and expertise.

For those companies that are new entrants to the digital world, the .online extension is a short and sweet way of letting patrons know that you are now online.

Moreover, with the trend or ordering food online on a drastic rise, every food establishment needs a strong online presence to allow people to place online orders and to manage them efficiently. For example, www.veggietreats.online or www.expressfood.online.

9. Beauty

Whether you’re a beauty blogger or a well-established beauty brand, there is a lot you can do with a domain extension as versatile as .online. Consider the following names for creating a personal brand out of your blog: www.beautyonduty.online or www.allmadeup.online. All make for fun, catchy and creative domain names that are sure to entice beauty enthusiasts to click on your website link.

Beauty brands can use the .online extension to create their brand website or microsites for new products or campaigns. For instance, if you have recently come out with a revolutionary product, you can create a standalone page for it that includes the product and/or your brand name followed by .online. You can also create domain names for campaigns and giveaways using .online, such as www.getpouty.online (for a lipstick giveaway) or www.freemakeover.online (for a free online makeup consultation).

10. Sports

Sports channels can use the .online extension to create a web presence that’s different from but still relatable to your reputed name, such as www.allforsports.online. This online platform can be used for showing live scores, clips from tournaments and reviews by experts.

Sports enthusiasts and experts can also use the .online extension to create blogs that post exciting content on sports analysis, predictions and highlights, for instance, www.yourtopsport.online or www.matchpointbygreg.online.

Get .ONLINE today.

With an easily available and versatile domain extension such as .online, there is no excuse for you to put off creating an outstanding online brand for yourself with immense potential for growth and popularity.

Author Bio

Alisha is a Senior Content Marketing & Communication Specialist at Radix, the registry behind some of the most successful new domain extensions, including .STORE and .TECH. You can connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter. 

Getting online is a critical part of successfully reaching the people that matter most when you’re looking to promote your business, showcase your work, or raise funds for an important cause. An online presence is how your audience will find you, learn what you have to offer, and potentially become loyal customers, fans, and supporters. 

What is a niche?

One of the very first steps of marketing yourself online is picking a niche. A niche is the industry or genre that you specialize in and the types of products or services that you offer. Some popular niche markets of 2019 are alternative health and diets, environmentally responsible living, and the latest modes of transportation. Essentially, it’s a particular market that you know you can serve over and over again. 

Why finding your niche is important. 

Finding your niche will help you to strategically concentrate your efforts in one direction. If you’re clear on what you offer and who your audience is, you will be able to best determine how to entice them. 

A new business that attempts to market itself to the masses often results with a watered-down message. Creatives often seem more experienced when they have a distinct specialty, and non-profits can seem more trustworthy when known for benefiting a specific cause. 

Marketing with focus will help you build expert status in your space. You will be able to bring value to your potential audience by identifying and meeting their unique needs. Starting with a small, well-defined niche doesn’t mean you can’t expand into other spaces as you grow. Take notes from contemporary culture online publisher, Milk.xyz. They have been able to expand beyond writing about innovative brands to rolling out their own collaborations and podcast due to the growth of their community.

How to pick your niche. 

1) Explore the possibilities.

Start defining your niche by making a list of possible ideas. Some questions to ask yourself are:

• What is my biggest passion or interest? 
  • Think about your hobbies and the ways you like to spend your free time.
• What problem can I help solve? 
  • You may want to review questions on internet forums to find what people are asking.
• If I won the lottery, how would I spend my days?
  • Consider what you might find fulfilling if money was not an object (after the shopping spree and around-the-world trip is over).

This is exactly what Chicago Tribune reporter, Louisa Chu, and WBEZ’s Monica Eng did when they started Chewing.xyz. The pair combined their shared interest in food culture to create a podcast and website that explores the intersection of good food, good health, and good policy. 

2) Determine value and public interest.

Next, pick the top three ideas and narrow them down by general interest and profit potential. It’s important to know if there is an audience out there that can benefit from what you have to offer, and there are a few ways that you can determine this. 

A useful way to gauge general interest and profitability is by checking keyword search query reports online. Generally, focus on keywords with at least 10,000 search queries in order to find a niche with a substantial audience. A high level of competition is not necessarily a bad thing, as competition means there is a market interested and ready to buy. A low level of competition may mean that there are not many interested people out there. 

Another way to measure the market size for niche topics is by checking the amount of books, articles, and papers written about it. If there is a substantial volume of work on your topic out there, then that means publishers have deemed it to be a profitable subject, publications consider it to be newsworthy, and researchers find it to be important. A low amount of published work on the subject could mean that there’s relatively low public interest on the subject.

3) Decide how to stand out.

After determining which topics have an interested market, it’s time to research the competition. Search the keywords associated with your niche and see what and who comes up. Start logging all of the major competitors and defining the characteristics that make you stand out in the crowd. 

Key differentiators may be the pricing, level of quality, and innovation of your product or service. 

Fashion tastemaker, JovelRoystan.xyz, stands out from other influencers by catering his content towards ambitious young professionals, and sharing on-trend style sharp enough for the office.

One way that anyone can instantly differentiate themselves is with content and design. An expertly branded website with clear navigation and functionality can be the ultimate decider for a new customer or supporter. 

Get a domain name that is the exact name of your business, or your first and last name, so your audience can easily find you online. An .xyz domain is generic yet memorable, so it’s perfect for any niche market.

Register your .xyz domain today to start building your online reputation! 

9 High-Growth Niche Terms

¹Source: Google Trends

No matter where you look, design is all around you. It’s central to everything — from the way we navigate a commute to work all the way to every aspect of the technology and software that we interact with. There’s no doubt that design informs everything that we see or experience. Many companies, cities, and individuals have made design their unique differentiator, thinking about and planning around details that others do not. Just one frustrating shopping cart experience online can remind us that successful modern companies have prioritized user experiences to survive and grow.

More “traditional” designers might be folks working in graphics, web design, UX design, fashion design, landscape design, and others that wed the practical with the artistic. But “design” has become such a catch-all word that if often means that your services are intentional and easy to use. For example, a stay-at-home mommy blogger may consider herself a lifestyle designer, helping others navigate their own paths with intention and elegance.

Given that design is so pervasive in our lives and such a powerful commercial differentiator, it should be no surprise that .design is one of the most widely used new domain extensions. It’s also obvious that the sites and brands using .design tend to hold themselves to a higher caliber, showcasing truly inspirational work and unique visions.

Why use a .design domain name when you could use something like .com?

When the .design TLD was created in 2014, design was THE most popular word in .com domain names. Imagine taking a long, clunky domain name like DeesDaringDesign.com and turning that into DeesDaring.Design — it’s shorter, catchier, and makes the words on both sides of the dot work for you. Indeed, the .design makes your branding pop, using the dot to separate who you are (your chosen domain/brand name) and what you do (.design!). It looks great on resumes, business cards, and is the first building block for a professional and unique email address.

Despite what you may have heard about a certain domain name being “king,” it’s not about what others are doing and using, it’s about having the most memorable, relevant domain name. And with .design being a newer domain extension, chances are, you’ll have better odds of scoring the exact name you want.

Get your .design domain name today!

Build your brand and showcase your talents with a .design domain name.

Of course, .design is the perfect domain name for your online portfolio. Looking for a new career? Or perhaps you’re not actively looking, but want to keep your work public for potential opportunities? Use a .design domain name to display your accomplishments, what you’ve created, and what you’re capable of.

But remember, when launching your portfolio, don’t make perfect the enemy of good. Sometimes, all you need is one great image or rendering with a professional .design email address to look credible. When beginning a career in design, people feel they need to show every project they’ve done, when in fact the best and most successful designers know that their work and their portfolios are all about curation and editing.

A .design domain name may be the kick in the pants you need to create an engaging website.

Sometimes just picking up the perfect domain name (before someone else does!) is the first bit of momentum you need.

The word design lends itself to creative thinking and problem solving. What part of over-used stock images and blasé text is creative? What about that is inspiring? Using a .design name will challenge you to live up to your domain name’s and website’s potential. Starting with the right domain name and brand vision will inspire you to flesh your site out with thoughtful content and engaging copy.

What are you waiting for?! Get your .design domain name today!

Whether you’re a graphic designer, UX researcher, or work-from-anywhere blogger, a .design name may work for you. They’re catchy, they’re relevant, and they’ll challenge you to create the best-looking website around.

Don’t wait too long though, .design domain names are catching on — in fact, it’s the only new domain extension “to have major adoption by household brands.” Major companies known for their smart design and marketing are showcasing it on .design, giving their design departments a platform and making themselves that much more prestigious. There are more than two dozen brands like airbnb.design, uber.design, and even tacobell.design leading the way! Take a page out of the big players’ books by posting interesting content on your .design site and building a community of your own dedicated followers.

Get your .design today!

• .tech
• .space
• .actor
• .yoga

New TLDs provide novel territory for individuals and businesses who want to distinguish themselves among other websites. Some of these domain extensions have incredible utility by offering companies a more niche website or a creative take on their original TLDs.

What Are the Original TLDs

The old TLDs are the original domain extensions that are still commonly in use today. Each has a specific purpose and a certain domain space to which it is connected. A few of the most well-known examples are:

• .com – Often used for commercial businesses and individuals who are marketing themselves.
• .net – Short for “Network,” these are commonly associated with internet providers, emails, and umbrella sites that are connected to various smaller sites.
• .org – Nonprofits and charities will often use the .org domain extension. Other organizations like sports teams, community groups, and religions will often use .org.
• .edu – “Education.” Most schools, universities, and other learning centers will use this TLD.
• .gov – This is a restricted TLD used by the U.S. government. Any government site must have a .gov domain extension.

For a long time, these sorts of top-level domains were considered sufficient for covering all the subsections of the internet. But, of course, as the internet expanded, so increased the necessity for new TLDs.

It all starts with a great domain. Get yours at Domain.com.

ICANN and its Role in New TLDs

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (or ICANN) is a non-profit that helps maintain the Domain Name System (or DNS). ICANN is the organization responsible for the decision to expand the internet domain space, by allowing new TLDS to operate.

Back in 2012, ICANN decided to allow businesses to apply for new top-level domains to promote growth. Some of the earliest applied TLDs included:

• .art
• .app
• .love
• .shop
• .baby

Since then, more than a thousand new TLDs have entered the public domain. Now the question is, which one should you choose?

6 Considerations For Choosing a New TLD

While these new TLDs are unconventional compared to the standard .com or .net, they have many benefits. Maybe you’re looking to stand out creatively from the other websites in your competitive space. Or maybe every domain idea you’ve had has already been taken. However you want to use them, new TLDs have incredible potential to boost your web presence.

• Modernized TLDs

Every so often some new technological advancement will come along that shifts the way something is done. In this case, what’s changed is the possibility of a new and innovative web address. Businesses have always evolved and by using these new TLDs, companies can stay ahead of the curve.

New TLDs — A Fresh Take

Therefore, it’s important to have perspective. Sure, right now certain traditionalists consider anything but the core group of gTLDs to be less desirable (.com, .net, .org, etc.). But as these new TLDs become more commonplace, this view is changing and having an up-to-date domain will save time. Companies who lag might later change their opinion too late and find out their desired domain has already been taken.

Of course, use this perspective with caution. How a business is perceived is always essential. Be sure to understand your audience and take them into account when registering a domain.

• Knowing Your Audience

Not all businesses are created equal. Different demographics will be attracted to different facets of a company. Marketing strategies toward senior citizens, for example, will be much different than marketing toward millennials.

Understanding your audience can help push you toward the right TLD. As a yoga center, one option is to register a .com domain extension. However, it would also be appropriate to register a .yoga TLD. This would generate authority within the yoga space. Some other new TLDs that fit a niche market are:

• .coffee
• .tennis
• .pizza
• .toys
• .photography

Each of these domain extensions hits their target market with a certain exactness.

• Specificity

Knowing what sort of business you run or what kind of service you are providing can help narrow down the TLD you want. The perfect domain extension indicates precisely what to expect when users stumble upon your website. Not only this, using a more specific domain extension can reduce the length of the website URL.

Some new TLDs that can help specify your web address are:

• .tech – With the increasing number of tech start-ups out there, having a .tech TLD can set your website apart from the pack.
• .design – Spice up an artist portfolio page with a .design URL. Or use this new TLD for any number of design professions like interior decorator, web designer, graphic designer, and more.
• .luxury – Fashion brands, high-end accessories, car companies, furniture, these are all services that can succeed under the .luxury domain extension.
• .restaurant – This TLD can separate your restaurant from all the other .com eateries. It allows the name of your restaurant to exist as the domain name and leave the “description” for the domain extension.

These are just a few of the numerous TLDs available on Domain.com. Each has its own space where it provides value. It’s all a matter of finding the right one and getting creative.

• Increased Creativity

With the sheer number of available TLDs nowadays, it’s possible to use them to upgrade your web address and boost it to the next level. Some examples of new creative web addresses include:

• [Your Name].cool
• [Clothing Brand].fashion
• [Cooking Site].recipes
• [Anything].pizza

As you can see, these are just a few examples of possible combinations. With over a thousand of these new TLDs, it’s hard to imagine not finding the perfect domain that is both creative and descriptive.

• Brand Protection

For those companies who already have their generic TLD domain name, it can be beneficial to scoop up similar TLDs that are available on the market. If a coffee business owns its brand name with the .com domain extension, they might also wish to purchase the .coffee domain extension as well.

The Necessity of Brand Protection

Unfortunately, with each new TLD, it becomes harder to protect a brand from those trying to benefit off of it.

• Brandjacking – Individuals will purchase relevant domains based around a popular website and use its popularity to drive traffic away from the intended website. An example of this would be trying to register starbucks.coffee before Starbucks does in order to exploit them or drive traffic to an opposing site. (In this case, Starbucks is a trademarked entity, so this would not be possible. It is more of a problem for smaller companies.)
• Typosquatting – Another form of brand protection that becomes harder to manage is typosquatting. This is when individuals will purchase web domains based on common misspellings of certain words. If enough traffic is driven away from the main site, companies are often forced to buy out that individual for the rights to the web address.

More companies are having to purchase additional domains despite already owning their business website.

• Availability

With each additional TLD available, the domain space grows and more companies can purchase a short, memorable and descriptive web address. This is incredibly useful as almost half of all domains are registered under the .com domain extension while the next few TLDs don’t quite scratch 5% usage.

With Availability Comes Variable Pricing

Because there are so many TLDs available now, there are multiple organizations who monitor different domain extensions. This means that there is no one standard price for registering a domain name. Which is great for those domains that happen to be cheap. Others, however, can be quite expensive depending on how in-demand they are.

New TLDs vs Old gTLDs

So far, the focus has been on new TLDs, but how do they compare with the old, standard gTLDs?

• Benefits of gTLDs – Traditional TLDs are tried and true. There’s a reason .com still reigns supreme in terms of how many sites are registered each year. Having a domain extension .com, ensures a certain quality and reliability. Everybody knows and understands what’s involved when accessing a .com site.
• Downside of gTLDs – That being said, it is much harder to generate a desired web address with a gTLD. It’s then equally difficult for your website to stand out among other websites.
• Benefits of new TLDs – New TLDs are creative and fun. With new TLDs, it’s possible to express more than with the older gTLDs. The level of specificity achieved is more significant than what can be provided by standard gTLDs like .com and .net, and there are a lot more domains available.
• Downside of new TLDs – Because of how many new TLDs are being created, the demand for particular domain extensions can be significantly high. This pushes the prices up in an unpredictable way. Those who happen upon a popular TLD might end up paying considerably more than a traditional gTLD (whose prices stay relatively even throughout time).

It all starts with a great domain. Get yours at Domain.com.

Registering New TLDs

With each new TLD, there is a procedure they go through before they’re available to the general public. Domain.com does offer their members to be a part of the early access group and pre-registration groups which is great for businesses and individuals seeking out highly-contested domain names.

Here are a few different methods of registering for new TLDs:

• General Availability (GA)– This is the list of new TLDs and gTLDs that are currently available to the general public. Of course, these can be purchased if no other entity has secured the domain already. You can search by domain name on Domain.com to see if the desired name is available.
• Early Access – The Early Access Period (EAP) is usually during the first week that a new TLD is available. As the week progresses, domains with this extension decrease in cost. This allows individuals and businesses to spend more in order to purchase a domain earlier. The time length generally doesn’t exceed a week.
• Pre-Registration / Priority Pre-Registration – There is another way to gain a new TLD earlier than general availability. This is by pre-registering (or paying a premium with priority). This gives users the best chance to acquire hotly-contested web addresses.

Trademarks and the Sunrise Period

The earliest possible time to register a domain under a new TLD is known as the sunrise period. This is a period of 30 days where an entity with a registered trademark can register early for a new TLD (trademarks must be registered with the Trademark Clearinghouse—an international trademark database).

By trademarking part of a business and incorporating it into the web domain, companies can further protect themselves against brandjacking.

Other Types of TLDs Available

There are some other types of top-level domains available that cover a different angle of web addresses. These include:

1. ccTLDs – These are known as “country-code top-level domains.” They signify websites that are associated with a specific country. Common examples include:
   • .us – United States
   • .uk – United Kingdom
   • .eu – Europe
2. gTLDs – These are generic top-level domains. There are over twenty of these common gTLDs (.com, .net, etc.).
3. sTLDs – Or “sponsored top-level domains.” Private organizations manage these, and in general, are not available to the public (.edu, .gov, etc.).

Conclusion

New TLDs are a fun, creative way for businesses to express their identity with the perfect website address. By sprinkling in some spice with a new domain extension, companies can upgrade their website and stand out among the countless number of sites around today.

With how many new TLDs are available, the options are starting to seem unlimited. If you’re looking to use the perfect new TLD for your web address, know that Domain.com has over 300 new TLDs from which to choose!

Sources:

LinkedIn. (2017, Jan.). Brandjacking: What It Is and How to Avoid It. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/brandjacking-what-how-avoid-wink-faulkner/
Domain Name Stat. Domain name registration’s statistics. https://domainnamestat.com/

ICANN. (2011, June). ICANN Approves Historic Change to Internet’s Domain Name System | Board Votes to Launch New Generic Top-Level Domains. https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2011-06-20-en