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June 2008

Tip of the Month

Ever noticed this in Microsoft Word - your cursor has suddenly become half-size so that now it's hard to see? Here's how to fix it.

In the Zoom box where you can choose how to view the page, type in 100% - don't just select it from the drop-down menu.

Getting Started in E-commerce

Decided that you'd like to sell products (including downloadable e-products) online, but not sure where to start? This month's article will give you the basics on selling on the Web.

What You Need

If you want to sell products over the Internet, your web site will need a shopping cart. Shopping carts can vary widely in complexity. They can be as simple as a few buttons on your website that link to a full-fledged e-commerce platform that allows you edit and add thousands of products into a database. It mostly depends on:

How many products you're selling
How often you need to add or change products

For even the simplest of carts, if you want to accept payments online you will also need a payment gateway (or 'transaction processor') and merchant account. A payment gateway is the equivalent of a physical point-of-sale terminal that you would find in most retail businesses. Its main job is to encrypt the sensitive information, like credit card numbers, that are sent to you as the merchant.

A merchant account is not a business checking account; it is a special arrangement with a credit card-clearing bank that allows you to process card transactions through their facilities. Those payments are then deposited into your business bank account. In many cases, you will also have to pay somewhat higher rates than offline businesses such as restaurants that obtain a signature from their customers.

Where to Find Them

You can find payment gateways and merchant accounts combined into one convenient service through companies like Paypal or CDG Commerce, so that you don't even have to get a merchant account through your bank (payments are deposited into a designated checking account). But for more complex e-commerce platforms I would recommend talking with your own bank first - they can often make recommendations for you as far as payment gateways.

Some of the largest payment gateways are Authorize.Net, Verisign, and Cybersource, but there are many choices with varying fees and rates. E-commerce platform software will usually support a number of payment gateways.

Whatever you do, don't ever have your cart send you payment or other sensitive information via email. This is completely insecure and can get you into a lot of trouble!

What If I'm Only Selling E-books?

If you're only selling downloadable items, there are a few options for you as well. Paypal offers Payloadz, an easy-to-use system where you upload the files you want to sell, and once the purchase is completed the system sends the buyer a secure link to access it. You can even set a time limit on access. This is an inexpensive option that's worked well for one of my clients. Other companies offering a similar service include ClickBank and Cerizmo.

Resources

Here's a good guide for beginning merchants from Authorize.Net: http://www.authorize.net/files/ecommerceguide.pdf

A blog from an online business owner: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/blogs/a-day-in-the-life/

June is Red Kite's third anniversary! To celebrate we're offering two specials during the month of June 2008:

Get one hour free with the purchase of any block of maintenance time.
Get 25% off one year of hosting, any level hosting account.

Contact me for more information - and be sure to mention the anniversary specials.

If you have questions about this month's topic, please email me at dac@redkitecreative.com, call 970-372-2125, or visit my site at http://www.redkitecreative.com. I'll be happy to help you!