Ok, unless you live under a rock and get you news by carrier pigeon, most people know the USA currently teeters on the brink of recession.

Though I maintain my own opinions about what this will actually mean to the average person, there's no denying that the economy may slow down and sales may slack off a bit.

So, in order to prevent this possible downshift in the economic engine from affecting you, I offer the following advice to help recession-proof your online business.

*See It To Believe It*

No matter what you sell, you can use video to demonstrate either what you sell or the results customers should expect.

Product, service, software - it doesn't matter. You can either use full motion video or screen capture video to "show and tell" people why and how your offering helps them.

In a down economy people try to make every dollar count. Thus, consumers will spend more time on research and comparison before buying just about everything.

Use video to set your business apart as every online playing field gets more competitive.

*ASK What They Want*

Ask the people who buy from you, or are considering buying from you, what they want most right now - then figure out a way to sell it to them!

Too many online businesses assume they know what their customers want and need. But in a down economy you must maximize the value of every customer for your business.

You can do this quickly and easily with a survey via email where you ask them about what they need and want as it relates to your area of business. I personally use www.OneMinutePoll.com to conduct my surveys.

*Become Invaluable*

Find a way to go beyond just selling a product, service, or software.

Become invaluable to your customers. Become the last thing they would ever throw overboard if their economic ship started to sink.

You can often do this by combining whatever you sell with information and news they can't easily obtain elsewhere.

The easiest way to do this is to include special reports, ebooks, videos, or articles on your website, with purchases, or in an email newsletter.

If you sell the same thing everyone else does, you're just a commodity judged on price.

If you provide added, demonstrable value to your customers, you transform into a "resource" they can't let go.

*Stuck In Traffic?*

Most online businesses lapse into one or two main sources of online traffic generation (no, this doesn't include "hoping" for traffic).

Whether using pay-per-click, banners, email or some other method, we all tend to gravitate towards what "worked in the past."

Unfortunately, in a down economy, those traffic sources may dry up, increase in cost, or stop converting (or all of the above). But, as the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens somewhere else.

You must constantly look for and test new sources of traffic because you might just find one that could revolutionize (or save) your business.

Make it a priority to find and test at least one new source of traffic per month.

Recession-proofing your online business is easier than you think.

It simply comes down to discovering what enough people want, effectively demonstrating you provide it, and making yourself an indispensable part of their lives.

Copyright (c) 2008 Jim Edwards