An online business is very much like an offline business. To earn some profit, you need to sell something. This may be in the form of products or services. But a business is not a charity institution. You will not be able to make people part with their hard earned money without providing something of equal value in return. You need to have a commodity, something which you can offer them in exchange for their trust and their cash.

On the Internet, there are only two kinds of commodities that you can sell. These are:

1. Information – bodies of specific knowledge that people need or are otherwise interested in. You possess such knowledge and you can share it with them for a fee. This knowledge can be enshrined in digital products such as eBooks, special reports, articles, audios, videos, and even executable programs.

2. Solutions – people encounter difficulties everyday, but some digital goods can make life easier for them. These solutions come in the form of software programs that they can use to help them deal with life’s challenging demands. Payroll processors, financial planners, diet calendars, and the like are just some of the examples of solutions you can sell.

You have to focus on these two commodities only. The reason is quite clear. These are the only things that can be delivered digitally. They are not physical products that will require storage and shipment. They can be electronically housed and delivered via appropriate downloads and emails. Yes, you can sell physical products online, of course, much like most of the goods on popular auction sites like eBay. But by doing such, you’ll just be using the Internet as an advertising venue that will help you find some customers.Most of the things that you need to do to bag a sale will still require some manual work. You’ll need to process the orders yourself. You’ll need to pack the items that will be sold. You’ll need to ship them to your customers.

By focusing on information and solutions, on the other hand, you’ll be using the Internet as a business in itself and not just as a marketing channel. Information and solutions are part and parcel of the cyber world, after all, and you’ll be able to position yourself as a prime player in the industry ever so quickly and ever so efficiently.