<-- Back to How To Make Money Online, Chapter One
--> Forward to How To Make Money Online, Chapter Three
Written by Will Johnson, wjhonson@aol.com. Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved
Click here to subscribe to changes to my Knols (Public Activity Feed)
The next step up, on your own website, from simply displaying your product or service and connecting it to an email address, is to have a way for the customer to pay you, right now. How do we do that? And how do we that at no cost to you whatsoever? It's one thing to have a picture of your product, or some example of your service, and then say "send me a check or money order". Many people today however have become used to paying immediately, not by snail mail. There is an easy way for you to join this parade. It's called Paypal. Paypal works like a bank checking account, without any physical checkbook. Once you have set-up an account, you can transfer money into it from your current bank, or actually I believe, mail paypal a check or money order to start the balance, or even transfer money from a credit card. Once you have an account, you can then create links on your own website, whereby people can pay you immediately for some product or service you're advertising.
Here is what a "pay me now for xyz" type Paypal URL looks like, that you may use, on your website:
http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=wjhonson@aol.com&amount=15.00&item_name=Anna_Nichole_Smith_Fund
What this URL states is that you are going to pay wjhonson@aol.com, $15 for the item called "Anna Nichole Smith Fund". You would replace the email address, the amount and the item name with whatever you are trying to sell, and you're good to go. You can have as many of these on your site as you like, and for whatever you want to sell.
Your customers receive an automatic email receipt from paypal, and you receive an automatic email invoice telling you where to ship the product or service. That is, you get the customer's email address, and what they bought and for how much. It's then up to you to contact that customer directly to complete the transaction, that is, to give them what they ordered. Try it. You can go ahead and click on that URL above, it will not complete anything, not charge you anything. It will just display to you, the acknowledgment page, which you would then have to complete and submit, before you'd be charged anything. You can also make up your own URL's and try them.
In addition, what Paypal gives you by default, is a way for your customers to pay you with a credit card, or debit account as well. You do not need to know anything about setting up credit card payments, or processing debit payments. It's all done for you magically. Paypal takes a small cut, but it's darn worth it.
Paypal also allows the use of forms. A form is where the customer fills in a few fields or answers a few questions and then completes the payment. This would be used in the case, for example, where your product comes in multiple colors or sizes or some similar situation. A form also can make your website look a bit more professional. Forms can have multiple choice questions, so you as the vendor, can specify that your product comes in Red or Blue, or Size 12 or 14, without the buyer being able to put in Size 999 or something. Forms can also have free-form fields, so you can ask a vague question like : "Any special shipping instructions?" and the customer can answer whatever they want.
The answers the buyer gives to the form, are then forwarded to you, by Paypal, in the invoice that arrives in your email box.
Sign up for paypal by clicking the below button. Make certain that you sign up for a Merchant account, not a personal account.
<-- Back to How To Make Money Online, Chapter One
--> Forward to How To Make Money Online, Chapter Three
--> Forward to How To Make Money Online, Chapter Three
Written by Will Johnson, wjhonson@aol.com. Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved
Click here to subscribe to changes to my Knols (Public Activity Feed)
The next step up, on your own website, from simply displaying your product or service and connecting it to an email address, is to have a way for the customer to pay you, right now. How do we do that? And how do we that at no cost to you whatsoever? It's one thing to have a picture of your product, or some example of your service, and then say "send me a check or money order". Many people today however have become used to paying immediately, not by snail mail. There is an easy way for you to join this parade. It's called Paypal. Paypal works like a bank checking account, without any physical checkbook. Once you have set-up an account, you can transfer money into it from your current bank, or actually I believe, mail paypal a check or money order to start the balance, or even transfer money from a credit card. Once you have an account, you can then create links on your own website, whereby people can pay you immediately for some product or service you're advertising.
Here is what a "pay me now for xyz" type Paypal URL looks like, that you may use, on your website:
http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=wjhonson@aol.com&amount=15.00&item_name=Anna_Nichole_Smith_Fund
What this URL states is that you are going to pay wjhonson@aol.com, $15 for the item called "Anna Nichole Smith Fund". You would replace the email address, the amount and the item name with whatever you are trying to sell, and you're good to go. You can have as many of these on your site as you like, and for whatever you want to sell.
Your customers receive an automatic email receipt from paypal, and you receive an automatic email invoice telling you where to ship the product or service. That is, you get the customer's email address, and what they bought and for how much. It's then up to you to contact that customer directly to complete the transaction, that is, to give them what they ordered. Try it. You can go ahead and click on that URL above, it will not complete anything, not charge you anything. It will just display to you, the acknowledgment page, which you would then have to complete and submit, before you'd be charged anything. You can also make up your own URL's and try them.
In addition, what Paypal gives you by default, is a way for your customers to pay you with a credit card, or debit account as well. You do not need to know anything about setting up credit card payments, or processing debit payments. It's all done for you magically. Paypal takes a small cut, but it's darn worth it.
Paypal also allows the use of forms. A form is where the customer fills in a few fields or answers a few questions and then completes the payment. This would be used in the case, for example, where your product comes in multiple colors or sizes or some similar situation. A form also can make your website look a bit more professional. Forms can have multiple choice questions, so you as the vendor, can specify that your product comes in Red or Blue, or Size 12 or 14, without the buyer being able to put in Size 999 or something. Forms can also have free-form fields, so you can ask a vague question like : "Any special shipping instructions?" and the customer can answer whatever they want.
The answers the buyer gives to the form, are then forwarded to you, by Paypal, in the invoice that arrives in your email box.
Sign up for paypal by clicking the below button. Make certain that you sign up for a Merchant account, not a personal account.
<-- Back to How To Make Money Online, Chapter One
--> Forward to How To Make Money Online, Chapter Three