Accepting credit cards offers your customers convenience, while projecting an image of reliability, credibility, and professionalism. It says to world that banking establishment has put its trust in you, and recognizes you as a responsible entrepreneur. In many people's eyes, if you're good enough for bank, then you're good enough for them.

By accepting credit cards you will be able to cater to two specific types of customers: impulse buyers and international customers. Each has their own motivations and goals, but both are looking for same thing: a way to make extra money, just like everyone else. Whoever or wherever your customers are, your immediate goal should be to get them to buy now.

It is a proven fact that people purchase more with credit, online or off. Money is easier to spend using credit, since you don't have to pay for it right away. Customers like fact that they can buy today and pay tomorrow. As old expression goes, out of sight out of mind.

Remember, web surfers want instant gratification. That means paying online with a credit card and instantly receiving their merchandise. No waiting around. That's what Internet is all about, and that's what makes it so powerful. But you have to accept credit cards to take advantage of all it has to offer.

It is much easier to accept credit cards than most people think. It was true a few years ago, that most entrepreneurs were turned down by bank when they applied for means to accept credit card payments, but all that's changed thanks to Internet.

The most dramatic change has been relaxing of strict banking rules regulating an entrepreneur's ability to accept credit card payments. The privilege that was once exclusively reserved for "brick & mortar" businesses is now available to everyone.

As with any business, key to success is advertising. You may have best product anywhere, but if no one knows about it, you'll never be able to get it off ground. This is especially true on Internet. With a "brick & mortar" business, you may get by if you have a great location that gets a lot of foot traffic regardless of how much you advertise. On internet, however, if you don't advertise you won't get any hits at all.

The good news is, there are many different ways to get word out about your site, some for free. The bad news is not all of them work. The most popular form of advertising on Internet is through use of banner exchanges. This kind of advertising may have been effective in past, but today it is perhaps least effective way to advertise.

The biggest downside of banners, aside from fact that they have very low click-through rates, is that many of exchange programs force you to place a reciprocal banner on your site. This is a bad idea for two reasons. First, it cheapens look of your site, and second, you have no control over what your customer sees. Besides, you should never give your customers an opportunity to click away from your site before they've made a purchase.