What is the first step in creating an online business strategy?

I think the first step depends entirely on the goal. I made this mistake way too many times and now I have learned my lesson.

Regardless of your focus the first step will always be understanding the target customer. You want to have a deeply intimate understanding of who they are what characteristics they show.

You should be able to articulate how they think and what drives them to make a decision. Knowing this is the foundation of your entire strategy.

The next step is to then find high density areas where your target customers hang out and live online. This may be Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest or some niche community.

The where does not matter as the tactics are universal. The rest of your strategy then becomes infiltrating the community with value.

If you do this well, you will never have to sell your product it will happen naturally.