Before you decide to get a web hosting shopping cart merchant account and sign up for a storefront shopping cart service, you must first decide what to sell.

But what should you sell? A quick search of best-selling items on the net will tell you that books, airline tickets, CDs and DVDs have been some of the best-selling items for years. A little more research will also tell you that there’s no point going down that road as certain established names have already got those products completely covered.

So best-selling items aren’t necessarily the best items to sell. What then are the factors that one needs to consider before deciding on what to sell? Read on to find out…

Do you know what Social Networking sites are? Did you know that they aren’t just for fun and are now considered an essential online marketing tool by many Internet marketing experts (just like good online shopping carts). And just like with a store, a healthy “client base” is also important in social networking.

The Lowdown On Social Networking

Social networking websites are made up of online communities of Internet users. These users are brought together by common interests – sports, religion, products, hobbies, etc. – and form groups to discuss these common interests. Some of these sites have become so immensely popular that Internet marketers have grown to realize the potential of social networking as a marketing tool.

In mid-June 2009, computer maker Dell announced that it earned $3 million in revenue from using Twitter, a popular micro-blogging facility. It took 18 months to make the first million but only six to earn the rest.

Find out how social networking can benefit your store as well…

There was a survey recently that highlights something that may be a little surprising: the real reason people use Twitter is for business, rather than social purposes. For some time now, many online marketers have been pushing the use of Twitter for business. More than eight in 10 people tweet for business. If 80 percent of people are using Twitter to increase brand awareness and their bottom line, then businesses that have yet to embrace tweeting are falling behind their competition, and potentially losing out on possible revenue as well.

Twitter lets you write and read messages of up to 140 characters. Twitter messages are usually public, and Twitter is a recipient-driven information network, so you decide what sort of messages you want to receive. You can also receive Twitter messages, or tweets, equally well from your desktop or your mobile phone.

So why is everyone all a-twitter about Twitter? What exactly does Twitter offer online businesses? …