Internet Marketing Square

How Search Engines Have Changed Public Relations

2009-03-03T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joseph Pratt

When it comes to Public Relations, the driving philosophy that underlies even the most minute aspect of a campaign is that perception equals reality. This is as true as ever in the Interactive Age because anyone with Internet access has the ability to voice his or her opinion on the World Wide Web. Internet users now have the ability to present their opinions for public consumption on blogs as well as websites. Thanks to the advent of search engines, websurfers may access any perspective of the online debate (be it positive, negative, or indifferent) ranging in topic from iPods to real estate.

Google has profoundly changed advertising on the internet as well. What distinguishes search from other online marketing strategies is that search provides each individual user with specific information based on their initial inquiry. Often, this information comes from obscure corners of the Internet, thus giving strength to voices that may have gone unheard.

This democratic media revolution brings new challenges for Public Relations- the art dedicated to communicating a business's message to its audience. No longer is PR concerned with the relatively sparse inlets of effective television, radio and print now, thanks to the Internet, Public Relations has to actually contend with gulp the public!

So it makes sense that PR efforts must now encompass the expanding world of search and, in order to survive in the marketplace, your business needs the PR benefits that come as a result. Search Engine Optimization should be utilized by Public Relations professionals to ensure the standards of their client's image. A comprehensive PR strategy must incorporate search as a means of building or maintaining a client's image.

The survival of conventional PR then becomes a question of updated technology. When choosing a Public Relations company to help your business maintain an image, it is no longer a question of who has the longest track record, but who has the longest reach. If your PR company doesn't have a search division of its own at its fingertips, don't expect your campaigns to extend beyond the traditional paper and print. In this sense, it was a natural extension of ICMediaDirect.com to announce its Public Relations division after the successes of its Search and Research divisions. Finding that much of the work performed for SEO and SEM was already inherently related to the new Search-influenced PR, the launching of a PR division in a company long familiar with the details of this industry is no surprise.

How do they relate?

Let's take an imaginary attack on Sunshine Widgets. A disgruntled entity could simply start "blogging" against it. They could harp on a single unfortunate incident, or flat out tell lies about Sunshine Widgets, and its corporate ineptness. It wouldn't take much.

Perhaps Sunshine Widgets runs TV and print ads. These efforts would be undercut by some chap with a blog running a disinformation campaign. Unfair accusations or charges would appear every time someone searches for 'Sunshine Widgets'. No company, big or small, real or imagined, can afford bad press that pops up with every user search. At this point, the necessity for a comprehensive Public Relations strategy becomes clear.

Sunshine Widgets could, through a practice commonly known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), be proactive in asserting its corporate voice, thus re-asserting its sterling brand image. The variety of interactive channels to engage in allows Sunshine Widgets greater ability to define its desired message. Here are the ways in which it would benefit from a search oriented Public Relations campaign in the face of these random blog attacks:

Blog search engines, like Technorati.com and Delicious.com, are growing rapidly in use and popularity. This suggests that online users, when looking for "what the real story is", are curious not only as to "what people think" but also "when they think it." For example, there were a lot more 'Sopranos' searches on the day before the season premier than there were six months before and blog searches give you the latest on what bloggers are currently writing, as opposed to search engines which may not take the information posting date into account. Therefore, through Search Engine Optimization, anyone searching the internet for 'Sunshine Widgets' would be returned information that is not only accurate with regard to content, but up to date as well.

Sunshine Widgets could issue press releases to announce company undertakings, strategies for the future, as well as past successes. Press releases are the most widely used means of communication employed by a company and are integral in shaping public perception of your brand. By distributing press releases online, a company has the ability to communicate its immediate message to millions of consumers instantly.

Sunshine Widgets could engage in a paid search (PPC) campaign to drive searchers to landing pages of Sunshine's choosing. While driving sales numbers becomes secondary to building brand image, a paid search campaign also fuels greater traffic to a company's website, and the company that drives more users to its site helps shape its own reputation and reputation, it bears repeating, is very important.

These campaigns would all use different tools to achieve the same goal, better public corporate messaging. The benefits brought to the company would vary too. For instance, all of the content published on the web will not only "put the word out there", but crowd out any negativity from some renegade's message. A single, angry blog will not be able to cloud a business's message provided that company maintains an effective PR campaign. The many different messaging formats should insulate from this danger.

While traditional media outlets are still the cornerstone of any successful PR campaign, The internet presents an unprecedented opportunity to reach consumers directly, and on an individual basis. Through an internet campaign, a company may not only protect its brand image against attack, but strengthen and widen its consumer base.

Consider the following statistic: a consumer is four times more likely to recount a negative experience with a company than a positive one. Now consider that a disgruntled consumer has had a negative experience with your company. Now, let us suppose that they write a daily blog encouraging other consumers to boycott your business. Finally, let us imagine that putting your company's name into a search engine brings up said disgruntled consumer's blog as the first search result. Now, ask yourself, would you launch a traditional campaign (print, tv, radio) to reverse the damage done to your brand image, or would you stop the problem at its source through an online campaign?

The answer is obvious, and any company that does not take the internet into account when formulating its PR strategy may as well post negative consumer criticism on its website- that's practically what's happening anyway.

Joseph Pratt Media Analyst ICMediaDirect.com http://www.icmediadirect.com e: joseph@icmediadirect.com

The Why Seven Real Reasons To Own An Online Business

2009-03-02T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joseph Pattison

I'll be blunt with you. You don't own an online business to make money. Don't believe me? Just hear me out. The real reason you own an online business is to do the things that money allows you to do. Life is short. It is precious. We really want the time to do the things that deep in our heart feel right for us. Here are seven real reasons to own an online business.

1. To live a life with a purpose. There is so much power, and so much joy in knowing that your life means something, and that others are better off because you lived. In what ways do you want to live a purposeful life?

For each person it's different, but rest assured that everyone possesses this desire, even if many people have all but forgotten about it.

2. To leave a legacy, and to give your descendants the opportunity to live extraordinary lives. Maybe this doesn't make sense to you, and maybe it does. But your actions today will effect people for many generations to come.

You have the blessed opportunity to provide people that you'll never meet with a better quality of life. This is probably an article in itself, and I'll stop here, but if this hits home for you, use it to your full advantage, and to the advantage of others.

3. To develop human relationships. For you, this could include the chance to be an awesome father, son, mother, grandmother, or granddaughter, and so on. The most important thing, and in fact the only thing that really matters, is our relationships with others.

4. To develop as a human being. I haven't met you, although I hope I do someday, but I know that you have a deep longing for a number of things. One of these desires is the desire to do things that you've always loved doing, and that you were good at doing, but haven't been able to do because you were bound by a job.

I'm not knocking jobs, but if you have a deep knowing that jobs aren't for you, then you really have no choice to go after your dreams, and what's really important to you in life.

5. To have the time and money to do things that you may have never dreamed of doing. With each passing day, you probably discover more and more things you would like to do if you were able, such as travel to exotic locations, and take up new and exciting hobbies. Visit thebluefish.com and you'll see exactly what I mean.

6. To be able to relax. By relax, I don't mean get two days off a week from your job. I don't consider that real relaxation. Personally, I don't even like thinking about going to a job. And until I'm financially independent, I don't believe I'll be completely free to relax. That's just me though.

7. To enrich the lives of others through your online business. This is a no-brainer, but it never hurts to remind oneself that one of the main reasons to own an online business is to better people through its operation. In what way are you bettering the lives of others through your online business?

I hope these seven reasons help you to maintain and continually develop a successful business online. The life you've always wanted is waiting for you, and I wish you the best of luck in your journey toward financial independence!

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Feel free to substitute your referral link in place of mine in the resource box. Thanks!

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Profitable Newsletter Advertising

2009-03-01T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Constantin Chersin

Your newsletter is not only a powerful list building tool it can also be used as a highly effective and profitable advertising tool. As you develop and build your list you will make a nice income when you advertise with your newsletter.

There are 3 ways to advertise with your newsletter.

Your own "in house" ads-your products/services

Third party ads-paid ads

Ad swaps

"In house ads" are ads you place for products/services you are selling. These can be your own or affiliate products/services. You will build good relationships with your subscribers, by your quality newsletter and prompt answers to questions. You will over time be selling your products and services. The trick is to always keep your offers highly targeted to your subscriber needs.
Third party ads: when you have about 1000 subscribers you can accept 3-rd party advertising. These are people who pay to advertise in your publication. Ads you can offer are:

Classified ads

Top/feature Sponsor Ads

Solo Ads

Classified Ads: small punchy little ads that are usually 5-6 lines (60 characters) in length
Usually placed towards the bottom of the newsletter.
Top/feature Sponsor Ads: these will be a little longer than classifieds, with more benefits. These will be placed before the feature or main article in a publication and will get more exposure.
Solo Ads: are sent out alone to the entire database of subscribers and will be usually 3 times as long as the Top Sponsor Ad.
Ad Swaps: are ads you will swap with other publications. This is a good way to build your list for subscribers or any free offer. Again wait until you have 1000+ subscribers before you do this. Take care ehat newsletters you swap with has an equal or greater number of subscribers.

Advertising to your list: Your newsletter subscriber base is critical to your business. Always remember even if your newsletter is a free publication to treat your readers like the VIP's they are. They have made a positive decision to join your newsletter and have put their trust in you as an editor to deliver a good quality publication. They are your potential customers and nobody is more important than them. Here are some points to keep your subscribers happy and not make them feel like dollar bills:

Create trust - credibility: It is critical to your business to maintain and build your credibility with your subscribers. You will do this by building relationships with them by publishing a quality publication and advertising responsibly. Do not put too many ads in your newsletter as this will annoy readers and give less response for your advertisers.

Do not over advertise: Nothing is more annoying to your subscribers than a daily barrage of ads in their mailboxes. This makes them feel like dollar bills and is not a respectful way of advertising. One or two solos a week are enough. You will get better response this way and cut down unsubscribes.

Do opinion Polls/surveys to find what subscribers like: always be in tune with your readers. Like any editor of a publication you should always give your readers a chance to voice their opinions. In this way you will know what your subscribers are interested in and advertise accordingly.

Target your advertising: Advertise according to your market (readers) needs. Advertise products and services that they can use and you will get better response and a more loyal readership.

Keep your advertisers happy: here are some tips to keep your advertisers happy and encourage them to return:
How to get return advertisers: Find ways to get your readers to open the email.
>Contests;
>Eye catching subject line;
>personalize;
>Email analyzer to go thru filters;
>Do not use the word solo ad in the subject or as a heading;
>Put your disclaimer at the bottom not the top.
These methods will ensure a better open rate and encourage a higher click through, better click through = happy advertisers. Great click through = return customers.
Try to target the Solos for your subscribers, put some suggested topics on your ad page, to encourage advertisers to send you ads that will target your subscribers. This will greatly increase click through, and return customers.
>Specials: Everyone likes a bargain and your advertisers are no exception. Here are a few suggestions:
2 for one solo ads:Always a favorite. Another variation is "buy one solo and get the other at ½ price." For repeat advertisers you can give a loyalty bonus or discount%
Discount packages: Groups of ads at a discount price or packs of ads at a special price are always popular with advertisers.
Advertising with your newsletter can bring you some additional income but do not expect a large amount. Advertise responsibly and understand your obligation to your readers. Always remember the value of your readers and the fact that they are your potential customers. Keep in mind the old cliché "look after your subscribers and they will look after you."

Author: Constantin Chersin
I was born in September 20, 1955 in Romania, and I am a Romanian citizen. Married, 2 beautiful daughters 18 and 20 years.
I graduated Faculty of Automatics in 1983 becoming a System Engineer, with a full degree. I worked in Ultra Sonic and High Frequency Power Supply Converter research institute in Bucharest, Romania until 1990.
After the fall of Ceausescu's regime, I have worked in sales since 1994. I now run my own company FOX I.E. in Romania. Starting in 1997 my company has dedicated its whole efforts to internet software activity.
In 2003 I founded my own US based corporation IT PRO VISION, Inc. Both companies have their own websites at

FOX SOFTWARE and IT PRO VISION, Inc.
More articles can be found at http://marketing.itprovision.net.

Is Your Business Fully Exploiting The Wonders Of The Internet Part 1

2009-02-28T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Bill Ritchie

Most businesses are aware that financial success stems from gaining strong, positive visibility and recognition from your target audience.

Some global corporations have exploited their brand awareness with huge success, and have developed their image over the years, to become some of the most widely recognised and respected brands on the planet.

However, few companies can boast that degree of success and smaller businesses lack the funds to be able to follow in the footsteps of their industry leaders.

Advertising is undoubtedly instrumental in helping well-known brands to develop their profile. Many leading organisations grew alongside the boom experienced by the advertising industry thanks to developments in mainstream broadcast technology such as television.

However, unlike television - which took nearly fifty years to filter into practically every household in the modern world, the current media trend has exploded in less than a decade. The media in question is, of course, the Internet.

Since the Internet boom, small businesses have found it almost impossible to keep up with the huge range of options that are available to them.

Currently there are so many marketing, branding and advertising options that it is difficult for the average small business to decipher exactly how they can benefit from it.

Although the web is continually developing, one thing is clear - it is the fastest-growing marketing channel today due to the power of its results and the sheer volume of people spending time online.

Lack of awareness and understanding of how a business can attain success from the Internet, is the problem.

However, choosing the right Internet service for your business is not as clear-cut as organising a newspaper advertisement; it has to be tailored correctly to that business.

Businesses need to see tangible results from any advertising spend, so if Internet marketing activity is to be successful, it is vital that businesses fully understand all of the various ways of advertising and promoting online.

You have a website - now what?

Having a website alone is not enough to increase brand awareness and profitability.

Although most companies have realised the importance of having a website, it goes beyond that - having a website is pointless if it can't be found.

There are millions of websites and paying special attention to how particular audiences should be targeted is vital in enticing them to your domain, rather than to your competitors.

Research has shown that the Internet provides a higher advertising recall than magazines, newspapers and TV.

It is essential that a business creates a strong internet presence before they lose out to those competitors that do.

Being such a huge part of everyday life, exploiting the Internet to its full potential makes perfect business sense.

However, make sure you understand your target audience first!

Bill Ritchie helps with developing small, and home based businesses, startups,providing business ideas, giving tips on Internet marketing, plus writes the occasional article. He also runs a useful, informative website at: http://www.thehomebusinessprofessor.com

You're welcome to reprint this article online, as long as it remains complete and unaltered, including the "About the Author" info at the end.

Six Internet Marketing Trends

2009-02-27T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ed Hutchison

Marking the 10th anniversary of wdfm.com, publisher Larry Chase has picked top trends for the next 10 years in Internet marketing:

* Pay-Per-Call Advertising: Why? Because the chances of closing a lead or prospect on the phone are many times higher than someone who simply clicks through to your website.

* Podcasting: Why? Because people like time-shifting. They do it now with TiVo's, DVD's and for the past 20+ years with VCR's. They're downloading MP3 audio segments into their MP3 players and iPods. People even download MP4 videos into their PlayStation Portables. This trend is not limited to music and the consumer space. Look for B2B content downloads to pick up momentum.

* Reverb Marketing: Why? Consumers are experiencing media saturation. So they're now consuming multiple channels simultaneously. Research already shows a large percentage of Internet users have TV playing in the background while on the Internet. They're using TV like radio now. Tip: People are apt to miss the 800 # shown onscreen at the end of a TV spot because they're only listening and not watching the tube. The media planners' term "road blocking" will be redefined to mean hitting the target audience with two messages simultaneously using two different media channels.

* Multimedia Blogs: Blogs are not only here to stay, they're going multimedia. Audio and video blogs will be commonplace shortly.

* Email Marketing: The spam problem will get solved. Why? Because it has to. Business and consumers alike now rely heavily on the email platform. Even if email postage is the solution, email marketing will still be faster and more cost-effective than most other competing channels.

* Vertical Search Engines: No one wants to deal with "4 million relevant search results." Focused search tools will help users find what they're looking for faster and command higher ad rates due to their specificity.

How many of the top trends can you afford to be sitting out?

Ed Hutchison is CEO and President of the North American Boxing Council (NABC.net). He works with pro athletes, trainers & managers at all levels. He writes daily on his personal website http://www.winrz.com - Winrz.com Home Page for Winners about self help, leadership and success.

3 Ways To Make Money Off The Internet

2009-02-26T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jose Miguel Poza

1. Build a website on a niche subject that you know about and are interested in and write original content for it. You can make money by placing Google advertising on the web pages that you produce. When someone clicks on one of the Google adverts on your web page you make a small amount which is usually a few pence, although it can be up to a pound a click depending on what your subject matter is. Of course if you get a good stream of visitors to your site, then this may add up to a worthwhile income stream. The Google advertising program is called Google Adsense and you can find out more about how it works and join the program for free by visiting http://www.google.com/services

Make sure that you place the Google Adsense adverts in prominent areas of your web pages as this will greatly increase the number of visitors clicking on your Google adverts.

2. You can also make money off your website from affiliate programs. An affiliate program is where a company will pay you a commission for a sale or a lead generated from your website. For best results it is best to put links to affiliates that sell products and services that are related to your site's subject matter.

There are some third party companies which look after hundreds of companies affiliate programs making it easier for you to find, join and administer your affiliate programs. Three of the main ones are Commission Junction, Trade doubler and UK Affiliates. It is free to join these and they will give you access to hundreds of affiliate programs so you will be able to pick out the right affiliate programs for your website audience.

3. Set up a blog on a niche subject that interests you and write posts to it regularly and make money by placing Google Adsense ads on it and affiliate programs. This is a similar business model to building a website on a niche topic except that it easier to set up, maintain as you do not need to know how to build a website and can be done completely for free if you use a service like blogger.com. This is because they will host your blog for free, you just have to post regularly to your blog to produce the content that will attract your target audience.

Jose Miguel Poza is the author and if you would like to find out more about making money online, affiliate marketing and affiliate programs please visit http://www.affiliatebusiness.co.uk

Make Money Online Through Advertising

2009-02-25T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Hector Milla

You don't need to have a full time ecommerce business to earn a little extra money through your website. You don't even need to be there all the time. All you need to do is wait for the day your advertisers will pay you.

However, this is not as easy as it seems. You can't expect to just make a website and watch the money roll in. You have to exert first the effort to make the site popular and produce a huge traffic flow.

Advertisers would only post their banners and ads on sites where they know there are many people who will see them. The more traffic and visitors you have the likely the chance that advertisers will want their ads on your site.

You can also have pay-per-click advertising in your site. As each visitor clicks on an ad, the advertiser will pay you for those redirects. Google's Adsense and Yahoo's Search marketing are some of those that offer this performance based marketing strategies.

They can provide a way to make money online by simply placing ads on your site. These ads are also links to the sites of the advertisers. The advertisers pay Google and Yahoo for every clicks done to their links and in return you get paid by these search engines if those clicks were done on your site.

The best way to make a better profit is to ensure that there are lots of people who will click on those links. Make sure that your site gets many visitors by making your site informative as well as entertaining. Your site must concentrate on a certain niche so that you can laser-target your market.

Article written by Hector Milla editor of http://www.bigmoneyteam.info , a website pointing ways to make money from the internet , visit their new weblog about bulk email marketing at http://www.bigmoneyteam.info/bulk-email-marketing/ , thanks for publish this article in your website or ezine keeping a live link.

The Power Of Buzz

2009-02-24T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Susan Friedmann

How did Hotmail gain over 12 million subscribers in 18 months? How did the very low budget movie "The Blair Witch Project" become such an incredibly successful phenomenon? The answer lies in the power of "buzz."

Buzz or word-of-mouth marketing influences more people to buy, or not to buy products and services, than most other forms of marketing. Why is it so powerful? Basically, we have a need to share information as a means of communication and also as a way of understanding the world around us. Often, we base many of our purchasing decisions on information gleaned from friends and well-respected associates. We tend to listen to them more readily then most mass-media messages.

In his book "The Anatomy of Buzz," Emanuel Rosen states, "most marketing today ignores the power of buzz and tries to influence each customer individually." He believes that "buzz travels through invisible networks that link people together. Noise, skepticism and connectivity all influence today's buzz."

As exhibitors you need go no further than the tradeshow floor to find a network that creates a real buzz. It starts prior to the show, gathers momentum at the show, and then slowly dissipates after the show ends. Every exhibitor has the power to influence the buzz. It all depends on product/service quality, marketing savvy and the decisions made.

I recall visiting a telecommunications show a couple of years ago when the buzz on the show floor concerned a Fortune 100 company and major player in the industry, (who shall remain nameless). The talk centered around the image of their booth which wasn't quite up to expectations. The buzz went like this: "The ABC Company has gone cheap. They must be having financial problems." It's gossip like this that starts the wheels of the "rumor mill" turning and can even create havoc on the Stock Market. Remarks like this often have very little bearing on reality, but people make assumptions and decisions based on what they see and hear. Obviously, the originating source of the buzz plays a key role in its basis for truth.

I'm sure that you would much prefer any tradeshow buzz to be positive. Since talking about products/services makes economic sense, how can you use the buzz to add to your existing marketing efforts? I've put together ten guidelines for you to consider:

1. Brainstorm all possible groups of people who might be interested in your products/services. Consider including the media, opinion leaders, influencers, lead users, politicians, analysts, etc. Don't forget chat rooms and newsgroups although buzz still spreads primarily by personal interaction.

2. Research how information spreads among your customers. Ask them how they usually learn about new products/services. Who are their major information sources? Who's information do they value? You're primarily looking for groups of people rather than individuals. However, don't discount individuals, as they may well be a powerful opinion leader.

3. Develop a clear and concise message highlighting the product/service benefits you want to filter through these different groups. Zero in on your product's uniqueness and what it can do, for example, to help save time and money two basic elements most people seek.

4. Think about ways to tap into these groups to spread the word about your products/services. Use these in addition to your existing marketing efforts. Never rely on just one means of connecting with you target audience. Your credibility is enhanced through different marketing mediums. For example, exhibit marketing could include pre-show advertising, at-show sponsorship and post-show, a trade publication article. The more ways people can hear and see you the better.

5. Offer prospects easy ways to try your product/service. For example, the makers of Pictionary gave demos in parks, shopping centers and other gathering places. The tradeshow floor presents excellent opportunities for this.

6. Come up with other creative ideas to enhance tradeshow show demonstrations. What can you give people to take away to remind them of your company, products and positive show experience. Think about something that will help create the buzz. It'll have to be more creative than a keychain or stress ball. The more product-related the better. You want people to remember and talk about you positively!

7. Look at special groups whom you might offer a product discount, a loaner or even for free. You're looking for groups/individuals where the direct product experience will help spread the word. For example, when FedEx started out, it offered free shipping to show people how their program worked. America Online continuously finds ways to offer hundreds of free hours of trial usage to entice new users. I recently saw a display of free CDs at WalMart.

8. Use press conferences for major announcements, new product introductions, but only if they are truly new or improved, or general industry trends - what's hot and what's not. Realize that editors are interested in timely newsworthy information; industry trends, statistics, new technology or product information. The media get very upset attending a press conference which is poorly organized and where there's nothing newsworthy.

9. Use sneak previews at tradeshows to build anticipation and help create a buzz on the show floor. Give people a fun experience and a behind the scenes view of what's coming. TV and the movies have got this down to a fine art with their coming attractions. Siemens just did this extremely successfully at the recent CTIA show in Las Vegas. They organized a live marketing presentation with a futuristic theme that featured a digital phone prototype. They certainly created a buzz, which had people, including myself inquiring about the product's availability.

10. Make use of tradeshows to educate your target audience. People are hungry for information. Investigate opportunities to speak either during the workshop sessions or incorporate an educational session into your display.

The power of buzz far exceeds many conventional marketing vehicles. It is probably the oldest, most well-used and valuable one out there. Look at how you can make it an integral part of your existing marketing plan to influence the voices in your industry.

About The Author

Written by Susan A. Friedmann,CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: "Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies," working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and training. Go to http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com to sign up for a free copy of ExhibitSmart Tips of the Week.

To Survey Or Not To Survey

2009-02-23T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dave Weeks

I have learned over the years that when it comes to online marketing as I know it, it's not about what I want in my business. It's really about what people who visit my website want. For awhile I didn't understand that philosophy. How do I find out what people want?

Finding out what people want is not something you, I or anyone else for that matter can pull out of thin air. If we are going to be successful online, even offline in the brick and mortar world, we have to take our eyes off of ourselves and put them onto our potential customers.So how do we do this?

The answer is quite simple yet complex.That is to conduct a survey or surveys.Conducting surveys is simple. On your website you can create forms for people to fill out. If you are going to put a form on your website, I would limit only one form. You do not want to bombard people with forms.Keep it simple as the saying goes.

Do not get too personal in your form. In other words only ask for first name and email. That is it when it comes to their personal information.

Now, from their you can use your own imagination on the rest of the form makeup. Whatever it is you want to sell, make your survey easily accessible on your website. The number of visitors visiting your site will determine the number of surveys filled out and sent to your emails inbox. Its all numbers anyway....whether its marketing a product or service and conducting surveys. This is an excellent way of building lists specific to what people want to buy.

Notice how I said whatever it is you want to sell. What that means is, you don't know yet if you have what people really want. That is the purpose of the survey. To find out if they want what you have. Once you collect the data and you are ready to sell, you have in your hand a ready made list of names specific for that product or service you are offering.

Not too long ago, this year as a matter of fact (2004 currently), I learned what not to do in a survey. I will give you my experience of what not to do and how to remedy this situation.

I recently got married and five of my family and friends took me to dinner two days prior to the wedding. As we were finishing our meal, the manager came to our table and told us that we have been selected to participate in a survey. She told us that if we participated, we would receive $3 off of our next meal. Come to find out, our bill which totaled over $120 collectively, the $3 off was for the entire group at the table. Ok, I think its nice that they offered this, but lets look at the reality of this situation. First of all, $3 off of over $120 does not get anyone too excited nor does it want to make anyone go through the hassle, yes hassle of filling out a survey when they are enjoying a night out with family and friends.

Secondly, the odds of us getting together again and eating at this particular restaraunt are slim to none. So what does that tell me? That tells me one of two things. Either someone did not take their eyes off of themselves and put them onto their customers or, they knew the odds of us coming back as a group were slim and it works completely in their favor.That is disturbing to me. Now for my input on a remedy.

What would I do in this situation? Well first of all, everything I stated in the above paragraph, all of my family and friends after we were "selected" kind of looked at each other in amazement and disbelief. We all knew that it was a silly thing to do to come up to us and play us like we were born a few days ago. First, If I am going to get a group to fill out a survey, especially if I have been "selected", and I am going to give them something in return to do so, I would offer the table, say, free desert now. Why do I say this? remember, you are marketing your business....make it work.Make people who just enjoyed the meal and the service go out and tell someone else.

Stand up and believe that the way you are conducting your survey is for your customers, not just you alone. Don't try and fool people, were not fooled.If you are going to have a couple fill out a survey, how about buy one meal get the second meal half off. After all, it appears this is a random selection. Not everyoneis doing this. Now, I am not looking for free handouts. As a matter of fact, I would have rather given the manager (and no disrespect to her) $5 to leave. It's obvious to me in this circumstance that this particular establishment does not want to give away anything. They want it to only benefit themselves.But if you are a business and you want true success in surveys, do it right.

The final approach? Instead of offering anything, put surveys out on the table and let people make up their own minds. People like to be left alone and not annoyed. Its ok to ask for the sale, but no means no. If you continue to push someone, they won't come back. After all, would you?

About The Author

Visit Dave Weeks' website at http://www.etypewriter.com or write to info@etypewriter.com for any comments you may have.

One Year Later I Still Generate Thousands Of Dollars From This Single Advertising Article

2009-02-22T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Christopher Kyalo

Turning a boring description of what your business does into a valuable, useful article to be eagerly read by your prospects is without doubt one of the most powerful online marketing strategies that any business can use today.

Why is it so effective? The answer is simple. Folks are seeking information whenever they come online. If the information you offer is useful and works for them, they don't mind one bit if it points to a certain product or service that makes the whole thing work. However they will react very strongly and negatively to any effort you make to advertise or selfishly promote your product. Unfortunately this is exactly what most people do, more so in their online articles promoting their enterprises.

They would be well advised to change tact. Never show the fish your hook, you'll never catch them. Instead they will violently swim away to safety. The truth is that if an article does not pass the advertising/content mix test, then it is almost useless and will make very little impact in promoting your business and generating valuable leads to your site.

I have proved in tests using my own articles that a single article can generate thousands of leads to a site every week while another will generate two or three hits a week. The difference is tied to a single factor. Namely how convincingly the content is integrated to your advertising or marketing.

Some of the articles that I have written to advertise my online business are over a year old. However they still generate thousands of dollars in business for me. That's how effective the advertising/content mix is.

In other words it is all about producing an article that is useful information that at the same time doubles up as a lengthy advertisement for a product or service.

Impact on Traffic and Adsense Revenue

Everybody knows that the amount of traffic generated is very important to any site. Very few people pay attention to the mood of that traffic you have generated when it arrives at your site. In most cases, a huge percentage of visitors to a site arrive there out of curiosity more than anything else. Even when they are lead there by well-written articles.

The correct mood that you should be looking for in traffic that arrives at your site is excitement and anticipation. Excitement at discovering the information that you have to offer, anticipation of more valuable information to be found at your site. This is the sort of traffic that will end up spending more time at your site. The longer they spend at your site, the higher the chances that they'll end up buying something. When they spend a longer time at your site, chances are also much higher that they will end up clicking at your Adsense ads.

In other words your online revenue boils down to how convincing you are in linking your valuable content to you marketing or advertising. So how does somebody do this effectively? There are a number of very important factors that you should take account when creating your content or your advertising article.

Christopher Kyalo is a successful online entrepreneur. Read the second part of this article in his free email newsletter. To get a copy send a blank email now to articlesrgold-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Looking For A Successful Market Online

2009-02-21T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Cheryl Hammer

There are some very useful tools one can use to find popular products or topics online.

One tool, is Alexa. You can use this to find out how popular a site is, by how much traffic it gets. Alexa rates sites, and as the alexa rating goes down, the better the site is. If there are a lot of sites with low alexa ratings, then your product or topic should have a good market available.

You want a market that will expand, so you need to think of something that has a lot of closely related markets, and how much traffic those related markets have. You will want a list of at least a few thousand people to target, so you need to expand your original product or topic to include at least a couple of other product or topics that those same people may be intersted in. Because then you can have those people promote you, and you can promote them, and your range widens.

There is also something called a keyword map tool. This allows you to survey how widen your circle of clients is. One would use this tool by doing a keyword search, and then the keyword map tool will show you what else people are searching for, besides your keyword. For example, if you enter the keywords, "internet marketing", it will show you that the same people who are searching for "internet marketing" are also searching for "network marketing" and "online marketing" as well.

If you have decided on a product or topic already, this is the perfect tool for finding paralled ideas, and related markets. But if you are still trying to evaluate your product or topic for a market, then you have a way to consider some other possibilities. You want to remain open to new and expanding ideas. The keyword map search tool will search for anything you are interested in, and will show you graphically, all the parallel markets, so that you may widen your circle of prospects.

For more on how to use the awesome tools, and tricks, you can either go to my website, Hammers Internet Profits, that has a link to this info, or you can go directly to the place where these tools are described in detail. The link for the site is at the end of this article. So, until then, here's to your success!!

Author: Cheryl Hammer

For more tools, tips, free ebooks, and over 1200 videos, go to INTERNET PROFIT MENTOR! they are located at http://www.internetprofitmentor.com

Free Internet Marketing Information

2009-02-20T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Bruce Chambers

New Yahoo Site Explorer:
Site Explorer allows you to explore the entire pages index by Yahoo Search. You can view the most popular pages from any site, site map, and pages that Link.
http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/

When Searching Yahoo News:
You can also search through video, audio, syndicated news, blogs of Corporations or various individuals.
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/news/beta/beta-o8.

Ask.com, has come up with some great features, including a "Toolbox". Icons allow direct access to more than 20 search tools, including maps, images, weather, dictionary, local and desktop Encyclopaedia is another feature providing content from Wikipedia and Columbia encyclopaedias right at the top of result page.
http://www.ask.com

EBay List Of Providers:
A free list of some of the top Providers of ebay's, including name buyer's, seller's addresses, plus information on each. http://developer.ebay.com/certifiedprovider/catalog.aspx

Auctions Top 20:
Brings you the most popular and highest rating auctions, free. http://auctions.nettop20.com/

Top 20 Ezine Sites:
Gives you access to the world's best Ezine directories free on one page. http://www.dropship-review.com/

Copy From a PDF Document?
Yes. You can change the cursor into a Select Text tool. Look up in the toolbar next to the hand icon and you will see a vertical line with a "T" next to it. Click it and you are now able to highlight text.

If there is a picture you want to copy from a document, click the arrow, choose "select image".

If your Acrobat does not have this feature, you should download the latest version (it's free)...
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Here is the link to E-Bay:
http://developer.ebay.com/certifiedprovider/catalog.aspx

Better Business Bureau:
http://www.bbbonline.org/cks.asp?

Other auction sites available to you:
http://auctions.nettop20.com/

If you want your own website click here and learn more:
http://www.turnkeystorebuilder.com

Review of different drop shippers:
http://www.dropship-review.com

My good friend Keith Wellman gave me exclusive permission to give you this special link. It will allow you access to some extremely advanced viral marketing tools. Check it out. http://www.viralfx.com/onetime/go/

Genie:
A man walking on a side street in Vancouver stumbled across an old lamp. He picked it up,rubbed it, and out popped a genie. The genie said, "OK, You released me but I am old, getting tired of granting 3 wishes..you can only get one wish!"

The man said, "I have always wanted to go to Hawaii, but I am to scared to fly, and I get very seasick. Could you build me a bridge to Hawaii so I can drive over there to visit?"

The genie laughed and said, "That's impossible!! Think of the logistics of that! The supports, concrete steel!! No, think of another wish."

So the man said, "I have been married and divorced four times. My wife's always said that I don't care and that I am insensitive. I wish that I could understand women, know how they feel inside and what they're thinking when they give me the silent treatment. Know why they're crying, know what they really want when they say "nothing", know how to make them truly happy."

The genie said, "Do you want that bridge to be two lanes or four?"

1America Mall:
Currently experiencing over 1000 hits/hour.
http://www.1americamall.com
----------------------------------------
You can post an instant FREE AD for 30 days with their
partner classified site: TopClassifieds.com
http://www.topclassifieds.com

FREE America Mall Business Directory Listings:
Just click on the link and post your FREE 30 days AD.
http://1second.com/multilinks2.htm

FREE American Business & Opportunities ads at:
http://www.1second.com/abo.htm

FREE submission of your website to major search engines,
Yellow Pages and Internet Directories at:
http://www.1second.com/submit.htm

SEARCH ENGINES:

GOOGLE:
Free Submit Link:
http://www.google.com/addurl.html

GOOGLE VOICE CHAT:
Google Voice Chat now ties in with their Gmail interface. A real helpful bonus allowing you access from anywhere you have Internet connections. No need to have the program install on any machine you may be working from.

Another great feather is, because of the large email storage space with Gmail you can tie in any other email account you may have.

GOOGLE VIDEO has a selection of TV Shows, Viral Clips, Movies freely available on Internet. They also have some which need to be purchased.

Yahoo is coming out with a similar Voice, Chat, Mail set up. At present it is in Beta.

OVERTURE:
Now Yahoo Search Marketing Products.
http://www.overture.com

INKTOMI:
To be considered for inclusion in the Inktomi Search Index,
MSN WebPages section. Free submit link.
http://submitit.bcentral.com/msnsubmit.htm

HOTBOT:
Hotbot is powered by Inktomi & Overture. Free submit link:
http://submitit.bcentral.com/msnsubmit.htm

ALTAVISTA:
Free submit link:
http://www.altavista.com

Want to know what other people are searching for?
http://www.prefound.com/

Over 50 Pro safe lists, drop ship lists in next article. Please watch for it.

Bruce Chambers sold his printing, publishing, and mail order business and retired in 1980. He came on the Internet in 2003. He researched for 1 year, and then started a free monthly Internet marketing report, plus free monthly recipes, bar mixes, tips newsletters. At present he resells from his website. You can subscribe to either or both free newsletters by going to his web site. Please visit: http://www.cbestbuys.com/

Top 10 Directories To Submit Your Website To

2009-02-19T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Anik K. Singal

Adding your new site to the major directories is a key task if you want to build traffic and page ranking. While the list below is not exhaustive, it will get you well underway in your directory listings.

A few points to keep in mind as you add your site to these directories:

Directories are not search engines. Directories are edited and managed by human beings, whereas search engines are programs that troll the web looking for pages. Your site might be recommended to a directory by one of the site editors, or a very enthusiastic fan of your site, but most likely you will have to introduce yourself if you want to make a directory's list.

Be sure the directory is indexed in the major search engines. A quick search at Google, Yahoo & MSN will do.

Be sure the directory is not banned by Google. You probably won't get flagged by Google if you are listed there, but the risk is too great there are hundreds of other places for your link.

Page Rank isn't everything. Don't skip sites just because they have a low page rank. While Page Rank is extremely helpful, it changes over time. A directory with a PR of 3 this month could jump to 6 next month. Also, take note of the Page Rank of the specific page of the directory your site will be listed on. Just like it says, Page Rank is for pages, not for sites. A directory could have a PR of 7, but the page your link appears on might be a humble 1.

Directories are not overnight traffic. Look around the submission guidelines and to see how long the editors will take to review your site. Free sites can take up to four months to get approved.

Go after the older directories first. Google values a site's age, and you should to.

Review the directory's guidelines and don't abuse them. Don't submit your site every week. Don't add an unrelated site to a niche directory. Don't try to trick the editors into adding your site to more than one category if that goes against the guidelines.

Now that you know the basics of evaluating and submitting to directories, here's a short list of the top sites:

General directories:

1) Yahoo http://submit.search.yahoo.com/free/request
The world's best-known directory. This free listing form may take months to result in a link back to your site, but it is well worth a try.

2) DMOZ www.DMOZ.org
This is the granddaddy of all directories, and is greatly respected by Google and the other major search engines. Listings are free, but the wait can be long. According to the DMOZ site, expect your site to appear in the listings at Google, AOL and other major engines about 2 weeks after you're listed in DMOZ.

3) Zeal. www.zeal.com
A free listing after you register. Zeal is owed by Looksmart.

4) Best of the Web www.botw.org
Requires a $49.95 yearly fee, or a $149.95 one-time fee. Online since 1994. Listing pages usually have a page rank of 4.

5) Directory World www.directoryworld.net
Requires a reciprocal link, but is otherwise free. Good page ranks for listing pages.

6) Clickey www.clickey.com
A free link. Also sorts companies by country.

7) Seoma www.seoma.net
Requires registration and a $15 paypal fee for a link, but the high page ranks make it a bargain (compared to buying a text link).

8) ExactSeek www.exactseek.com
A free link at an established site. You can also upgrade to a "top ten ranking" for $12.

9) What You Seek www.whatyouseek.com
Standard submissions cost $24.99 and will be posted in eight weeks. Velocity submit takes two days and costs $49.99.

10) Really First www.reallyfirst.com
One of the largest directories with over 40,000 links. Poor navigation, but a free link if you add their link to your site.

This not an exhaustive list, but a great start. Also, remember, if you have a new site, getting listed here will help your website get indexed by search engines.

This article has been authored by Anik Singal, an extremely successful and young internet entrepreneur and affiliate marketing consultant. Anik has developed his own affiliate marketing system that helped him earn over $10,466 in 60 days Enroll in his FREE course today... http://www.AffiliateClassroom.com/free-course.html

Internet Marketing Give Me Good Content

2009-02-18T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Virginia Bola, PsyD

If you peek into the esoteric world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you will be greeted with a vast array of speculations, rumors, and theories of how the major search engines determine which sites get included in their listings and how a site moves to the top of its category.

If you want to take ten years of your limited time on earth to truly understand this stuff, that's your prerogative. You can learn all about keyword selection and density, one way and reciprocal linking, anchor text, metatags, and fictional scenarios on how the algorithms work - until they are suddenly changed and a mad webmaster scramble ensues, trying to figure out what changed.

Beyond the debates on when and when not to link, and how frequently keywords should appear, there is always the age-old (in cyber years) adage that "Content is king."

What does that mean?

It means that I, like every other one of your customers, go on the Net looking for something. I want to find information that is helpful, interesting, entertaining, or illuminating. I don't care about keywords or page ranking or whether your site is cleverly optimized. I want meat!

We truly live in the information age. Everyone on the Internet is busy communicating with everyone else. It may be music or pictures or video although the written word still predominates. They are called browsers because that is exactly how we use them. Instead of walking down mainstreet or through the local mall, peeking into enticing windows or rummaging through the sale merchandise so prominently displayed, we meander through a world market, pausing as something catches our eye and then moving on in search of something new and different.

We want to be amused, enticed, rewarded, flattered, and entertained. We want to read articles that help us solve our problems or make us think about the world in a new way. We want opinions and challenges, and dialogs. Most of all, we don't want to be bored.

Have you ever considered how much boring, poorly written, superficial, and totally uninteresting stuff there is in those billions of web pages floating in the ether? Have you ever spent hours clicking your way through subterranean caverns of words to realize that your time was completely wasted because you found nothing of value? It is rather like the hundred plus television cable channels we now possess, filled with infomercials, endless reruns of syndicated shows, and sports videos of long-ago teams fighting to win a game that no longer matters.

So use your content wisely. Whether your goal is to instruct, inform, or amuse, make sure that it is interesting to me. No matter how extravagant your claims, nor how strident your demand for attention, I will click away faster than a speeding bullet if there is nothing worth my time. I don't want to slog my way through those ubiquitous links to emerge from the journey exhausted and frustrated with one lingering question: where's the beef?

Give me content that I can sink my teeth into. I want my brain and my senses and my emotions to be engaged and engrossed. Speak to me honestly and personally, like the better blogs that have risen to such prominence because they are written from the heart.

I'll be polite. I'll listen to your voice. I'll interact with you. And if you can really touch me, I'll even give you my e-mail address. But you have to earn my trust. Give me your knowledge, your opinions, the value of your experience. I may not always agree with you but if you deal with me honestly, I'll give you the courtesy of hearing you out.

Don't insult me or insult my intelligence. Don't try to impress me with name dropping or boasts of how much money you make from suckers like me. Don't try to flim-flam me with gifts "worth thousands of dollars" when I know the same freebies are available all over the Net, hoary with age and completely outdated, their relevance long dead.

I want to know what you've got that will do something for me. I'm pretty well open to anything. I relish new information: facts I don't know or things I've forgotten. I love new approaches to age-old problems and a personal perspective that will increase my understanding. I adore thought-provoking essays that expand my vision of the world and other people. Make me laugh, or cry, or feel something deeply. Give me the chance to reply, respond, or comment.

I will amply reward you with my interest, my trust, and a long lasting relationship. I'll even spend money to continue that relationship if I think you have my best interests in mind.

Dr. Bola, a clinical psychologist, sometime marketer, and consistent consumer is offering complimentary copies of her book "Seven Super Simple Tips: I Am Your Customer" from which this article is taken. Feel free to download at: http://www.dietwithanattitude.com/SuperSimpleTipsCustomer.html

Think And Grow Rich The Things You Need For Success

2009-02-17T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jim Mack

When I started my business career, I started in sales and marketing. I found that after trying to teach school and coach baseball, I was a good teacher and a great baseball coach. But I could not stand dealing with the parents. I loved working with the kids. The one thing I was always able to do was sell people on my ideas. It was either belief or sales ability or a combination of both, but I always got my ideas accepted.

I then figured sales was my avenue to success. Actually, I was right. I have been a top producer for a yellow page company, an advertising company and the top annuity producer for an insurance company. I have taught people to be better sales people and make more money. I have turned sales organizations from bottom feeders to kings of the hill. How did I do this? Read on.

I began to study long ago the art of using NLP or Neuro-Linguistic Programming. It is the art of speaking using embedded commands, voice inflection, and reading your prospect. When you master the art of using NLP, you will master the art of selling and get VERY FEW objections. I have studied under the masters of using NLP. Tony Robbins, yes that Tony Robbins, was my first introduction to NLP. I have studied, Marshall Sylver, a hypnotist and success trainer that uses what he calls "Hypnotic Selling", Duane Lakin, PhD, a master at NLP training for management, salespeople and telemarketing, and Bill Twyford, a real estate investor that is an expert at writing scripts and using embedded commands. These people have taken me to a new level of sales and sales training.

Napoleon Hill when he wrote Think and Grow Rich studied 500 of the richest people in the world and found 17 characteristics of success. Five are so important that you need to know about them. The most important thing is that none of the people were born with these elements of success. Everyone developed these. The first was:

1. A burning desire to succeed. You must have a passion an inner drive that makes winners out of ordinary people.

2. Specialized Knowledge. You can not be a jack of all trades and a master of none.

3. Be decisive in nature. We are trained to think about it. But successful people see an opportunity and they jump on it.

4. Be goal oriented. You have to know where you are going and the process of how to get there.

5. Assemble a mastermind team. Surround yourself with like minded people. They will help mold you and light a fire under you. Check out the next paragraph and see what you think about this mastermind team I have at my disposal.

I studied under master sales trainers, entrepreneurial trainers and internet marketing trainers such as Matt Bacak, Charlie Golick, John Childers, Armand Morin, Tracy Childers, Katarina Chase, Paulie Sabol, Donna Fox, Jeff Mills, Larry Goins and many more. These people are my mastermind team. Check out these names and tell me I have not been mentored by the best of the best! Do an internet search and see if these people aren't top notch.

I am originally from the Kansas City Metro area; I have lived there my whole life. I love baseball, martial arts, football, basically I am a sports junkie. I am a sales trainer and internet marketer that has been and is successful. I am a coach, teacher and business mentor Visit me at http://www.passivecashcow.com
http://www.whoisjimmack.com
http://www.coldcallingstinks.com

Help Your Online Customers Feel Confident Even If Theyve Never Heard Of You

2009-02-16T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Tim Phillips

The Internet world is truly exciting there is no limit to what you can learn or how much you can earn. Every day, thousands of new people are staking their claim on the Internet, and putting up their own personal online storefronts, proudly displaying their wares to millions of potential customers.

Sounds great, doesn't it? It's the Internet dream. But there's one very big problem.

If your company or website is a new one - and many internet companies are relatively new because the Internet itself is still in its infancy then how can your potential customers trust you when you have not been in business long enough to build a track record?

And as a consumer, how do you know when you can trust what you see on a website? Anyone can put up a snazzy webpage these days. How can we as buyers know if we are just taking on headaches when we entrust our hard-earned dollars to an online merchant?

When you're considering spending your money online based on red-hot sales page, it's often a tough call.

I found two versions of what you might call the "online police" both of which have excellent reputations. One is the Better Internet Bureau, an organization based in Canada (http://www.better-internet-bureau.org), and another one is i-Cop, based in Louisiana (http://www.i-cop.org). In both cases, the organizations' names say it all.

Both groups exist to provide unbiased scrutiny of member websites, as well as to alert people to scams; and both provide their own seals as validation that a website has met their criteria for membership. The cost for the Better Business Bureau is $35 per year, and for i-Cop, it is $19.95 per month. i-Cop membership includes a private members site and hosting, and the Better Internet Bureau has a public forum open to all.

Becoming a member of a well-known internet organization such as these can greatly increase your credibility in the eyes of your customers. You know you're honest, but how does anyone else know when they just stumbled onto your website during an internet stroll? You can't go wrong considering membership in the online watchdog group of your choice it's just good for business. Increased customer confidence means a bigger check for you at the end of the month. I have seen some websites which are members of more than one group.

The more online businesses become members of similar groups, the more unusual it will seem when a commercial website does not display a membership in a group that holds it accountable for its dealings.

Watchdog organizations exist to benefit people, and for the online marketer, this will produce a win-win situation for the merchant and the customer.

It's all about credibility. Your customers need to know they can count on you and they need to know where they can turn if a merchant can't be trusted. Join a reputable online watchdog group, and ease your customer's mind about dealing online with you.

Tim Phillips is a marketing consultant who writes about Internet Marketing and other topics. His articles have appeared all over the internet. He is writing his first ebook based on what he has learned from http://www.ebookin7days.com.

Making Money In The Online Dating Gold Rush Of 2004

2009-02-15T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Weisenberger

Have you noticed the explosion of Websites related to love, sex, matchmaking, relationships, etc.? They're popping up all over the place. Why the sudden popularity you ask? Well, the reason for this "gold rush" towards Online Dating & Relationship Oriented Websites is really quite simple: people are making a lot of money with them!

So how can you claim your share of this exploding marketplace?

Well you could go off and start your own Online Dating service to compete with the likes of eHarmony and Match.com (if that's your idea of fun) but that's really not the best way for small business owners to make money in this, or any, new marketplace.

In reality, the easiest and surest way to make money in any gold rush is selling tools to the prospectors! I think you'll see what I mean in a moment.

In the Beginning...

Consider, if you will, that whenever any new industry begins there are always hundreds of other businesses needed to support it and make it truly complete. For example, just think of all the businesses that are now connected with the automotive industry. Tire companies, glass companies, mechanics, insurance agencies, driving schools, etc..

Your very own Dating & Relationship oriented website could be one of the complimentary businesses supporting the new Online Dating marketplace while generating thousands of dollars of profit in the process.

Complimentary businesses such as relationship advice sites, personal matchmaking services, astrological compatibility testing sites, personal appearance "make over" sites, background checking services, etc., etc., are all possible product or service "tools" needed by today's "romance prospectors" searching for love on the Internet. I'm sure you'll be able to come up with other product and service ideas too if you think about it.

So what other types of relationship oriented businesses are springing up based on the technologies and business models pioneered by the Online Dating sites?

New companies such as Friendster.com and Linkedin.com are two good examples of a new generation of non-dating, non-romantic, relationship building Websites springing up to connect people for business relationships or other social activities. Others will surely follow their lead into this adjacent marketspace and your online business could be one of them.

Setting Up Shop.

Okay, so now that you know the best way to make money online is to sell tools, the next big question you'll need to answer is whether your new Website will be a general store carrying all types of tools or a specialty store providing some type of specific expert service or product. Let's talk about the general merchandise store first.

The General Store

Imagine if you will an 1849's old west general store loaded with canned goods, clothing, kerosene lamps, picks, shovels; everything the local prospectors needed. What would be today's Online Dating equivalent to the general store? Well in our analogy it would be a Dating Directory Website. Here's how they work.

Dating Directory Websites provide a service to their customers by collecting information about all the various Online Dating services in one centralized location. This allows their visitors to comparison shop among the various dating service companies while also making convenience purchases of advice eBooks, romantic gifts, sexy lingerie, etc., while they're browsing the entire "general store." Dating directories make their money from the affiliate sales commissions they are paid by the producers of the products they carry.

If you're thinking of getting into the Online Dating & Relationship Marketplace, setting up your own Dating Directory general store is probably the easiest way to get started. All that's required is the construction of a "store front" Website and then registration with multiple affiliate programs for the products that you want to sell.

Dating Directory startups are easy, low cost and can be built up over time with products you really enjoy selling. In addition, no product development expertise is required because you are essentially just the "shop keeper" selling someone else's products.

However, before you decide to open up your own Online Dating & Relationship product general store, you may what to consider specializing in one particular area of the market where you can carve out a niche of your own. Let's talk about this strategy for a moment.

The Specialty Shop

When it comes to the Online Dating & Relationship marketplace everyone's an expert. Including you!

It's true. Whether you're young or old, single or married, gay or straight, everyone has their own special knowledge about Dating and Relationships that can provide you with the background and knowledge needed to write a newsletter or eBook of your own.

And while I'll admit that writing an entire eBook and setting up your "specialty shop" Website is more work than running a general store Website, the potential rewards are much greater due to the uniqueness of your specialty product and the value you can deliver to your customers. So whatever you do, don't underestimate the power of the knowledge you have to offer. Get started on that newsletter or Ebook today!

Bottom Line...

If you're thinking about starting your own online business, check out this fast growing marketplace. It could be right for you. And remember, if you want to make money without risking the large amounts of capital required to compete with the big guys, don't try to start your own Online Dating "gold mine", sell the dating & relationship "picks and shovels" instead. That's where the little guys win.

About The Author

John Weisenberger is the author of "Making Money with Dating & Relationship Oriented Websites: The Facts, Statistics and Ideas You Must Know to Succeed in This Fast Growing Marketplace. For more information visit http://www.RomanceBiz.com/402

John Weisenberger is managing director at RomanceBiz.com -- The global source for Online Business Insights, News and Tools designed to help both new and experienced Dating & Relationship Website operators succeed.

Web Site Promotions 10 Proven Secrets To Increase Your Online Sales Like Magic

2009-02-14T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by E Strauch

1. Increase the number of visitors that revisit your web site by publishing a free course right on your site. Just release a new lesson once a week or once a month.

2. Make sure your graphics load correctly. Broken graphics or the x box will make your business look very unprofessional.

3. Avoid using scrolling marquees on your web site. They take the attention away from your ad copy and make your web page load much slower. Those were great in the 90's, but obsolete today.

4. Make your web site writing exciting to read. You can use emotional words, descriptive wording, highlight keywords with color, etc.

5. You must allow your visitors to sign up for your services. When your visitors give you offline contact information, if you have the funds, send direct mail when possible.

6. Guest books are old. Take them off of your site. Use forms instead. The shorter the form, the better off you are. Allow them to add comments.

7. Submit your url to Google. To find it, just go to Google and type in ADD URL. This will bring you to the right page.

8. Our hosting is $50.00 a year. Structure your price over a period of time to make it sound less. Offer a payment plan or show the per day price. For example, "Only 14 cents per day!"

9. If you have a tangible product, make sure you include pictures, functions, and the benefits of the product. There are millions of websites out there. Keep there attention.

10. Update the content on your web site regularly. You'll want to add new content and update the old content. If your content is obsolete, remove it.

E. L. Strauch is the marketing director for 10000mb.com

Website Hosting

Building Your Profitable Content Website

2009-02-13T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Constantin Chersin

Your website is an important part of your business. Not only for your online but also for many offline business. Your online presence means that you can tap into the huge and growing market of the Internet. Many people think that having your own website and setting it up is complicated and expensive but it is not necessarily so. Here are some tips to have you up and running with ease.

A. Planning your website

Analyzing your desired visitors

How to attract them and warm them to the sale

Writing good content

Your sales letter

Your domain name

Optimizing content

Before you build a website you will need to put some thought and planning into it. Your first step will be to decide who are your most wanted visitors. Analyze them carefully, who are they? What interests them? Where do they go? Make a thumbnail sketch and write it down for reference.

Then list all the ways you will attract them and make them stay at your site. What info content are they looking for? What sort of newsletter will interest them? Most important of all find out their needs and wants, so that you can build your product/service to fulfill these needs. List all these and keep record of them.

Make a list of all the info articles that will interest them and warm potential buyers for the sale. Put a couple on your website and keep the rest for future newsletter material.

Your sales letter: This is the heart of your business and should be done right. If you are an experienced copywriter then go ahead and write a warm persuasive personal sales letter. If you do not have experience then it is worth hiring a professional to write one for you. You can hire professional writers at www.elance.com for a reasonable price. You should place your sales letter on your home page and have your info articles link into it.

Your domain name: Should have at least 1-2 keywords or even be made up of your key phrase for your business. This will help with Search engine placement and will help to brand your business in your visitors minds.

Ideally your content should be optimized so that you can be placed well with the search engines.

B. Choosing an HTML editor.

Which one is right for you?

How to get a free one with hosting

Do it yourself VS having a website designed

There are 2 major HTML editors that are used commonly, Front Page and Dreamweaver. They can run you about $300-$400 but if you want to work on your site yourself will be worth it. Front page is a basic HTML editor but if your site requires PHP scripting is a little hard to work with. Dreamweaver does allow PHP scripts and is also easy to use. Do a comparison check and see which one will work for you.

If you have Yahoo hosting they provide a free HTML editor, which is quite easy to use.

If you have the funds you may want to have your site designed, especially if you have a service, where credibility is very important. Making your own website can be quite time consuming and although rewarding is not for everyone.

C. Designing your website

Your content-Preselling points

Free give a ways

Layout/Presentation

Use of graphics

Forms instead of email

Basic web promotion

Newsletter

When you write your web content you can use a couple of your best articles about your subject. Visitors will enjoy this and see you as an expert in your field. This boosts your credibility, wins trust and warms your potential buyer for the sale.Product reviews are also good selling points. Landing pages for direct advertising is always good; these can and should be optimized for search engine traffic.

Free info can be offered in the form of reports and e-courses. These can be given as a bonus for subscribing to your newsletter.

Your layout is important. Navigation should be simple and easy for your visitors, usually on the left hand side. Keep your layout professional and businesslike with normal font (Times Roman, Ariel or Veranda in normal size font). Black on white background is good for a business site. Try to use just 2 colors at the most to keep it looking businesslike. A simple template looks good for a business website. Try to find one that matches your topic.

Use graphics sparingly. Business websites should always look sober and professional. Small graphics are good to emphasize a point and book covers help to sell e-books and software.

Use forms instead of email addresses on your website for the contact us and about us section. This will cut down Spammers harvesting your email address.

Basic web promotion includes search engine submission, Pay-per-clicks, Google ad campaigns, and linking to related sites. Article distribution is also a powerful way to get targeted traffic to your site.

A free newsletter is a must for capturing visitors email addresses and building your business list.

Building your website can be a fun and rewarding task. However it does take time and good planning. With these few points you will be able to build a profit pulling website, that will continue to make you money for years to come.

FOX SOFTWARE and IT PRO VISION, Inc.
More articles can be found at http://marketing.itprovision.net

The Ugly Truth About Resale Rights Part I

2009-02-12T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Liz Tomey

As information marketers we continually keep buying products with resale rights, and wonder why they don't make us any money. If you know what products to look for then there is no reason why you shouldn't be making money with resale rights products.

They are great for list building purposes, back end sales, product packages, and many more profitable ventures, but there are down sides to resale rights products, and if you don't know what you are doing, you will lose money!

This is Part I of a series of articles I will be writing to help people understand the truth behind making money with resale rights. Today I will be discussing Ugly Truth #1 - Low Quality Resale Rights

By doing a search on any search engine you'll find thousands of offers for different resale rights products and/or packages. The only problem is that most of these products have been around forever. You can't give them away much less make money from them.

When buying products with resale rights, there are a few things you need to look for as far as the quality of the products. I've created a short check list you should look at each time you go to buy a product with resale rights.

1. When was the product published?

If the product is over a year old, I usually wont buy it. Many things change within a year, and I only want to provide up to date information to my customers. So before you buy, ask how old the product is.

2. I do a search for the product on the main search engines to see how much competition there is for the product.

If 20,000 other people are selling the same resale rights product as you, then how are you going to be different from them with the same product? There are millions of people online, but you still have to stand out from the crowd. Don't buy resale rights products that everyone and their brother is trying to sell.

3. Does the product come with a marketing package?

When I buy a resale rights product I usually wont buy it unless it comes with graphics, and a ready to go sales letter that I can edit. I do make changes here, and there, but to save me time to get me quickly profiting with a product, I want a sales letter that's ready to go. If this isn't stated in the sales copy for the product, ask the owner of the product if a marketing package comes with the product. If not, then I would look else where.

4. Can the product help your customer in some way?

We all want to make more money, save time, and solve our problems. Make sure that the resale rights product can help your customers in some way. We all like to make money, but it all starts with making a customer happy. Be sure that you are helping them!

5. The price of the product.

It is easy to understand why there are different prices for different brands of a physical product. The price tag can easily determine the quality and contents of the product. Information products are no different! To make money with resale rights products, you have to spend a little money. Don't buy a product just because it's cheap. Usually the more expensive resale rights products sell better because there is less competition. Most people wont spend money to make money.

If you had to pay $197 for a product that only 400 other people were selling and could make $3000 from that one product, why would you pay $20 for a product that 4,000 people are selling and you may only make your investment back?

These are the top five things you need to be watching for when it comes to the quality of a resale rights product. You are sure to make more money off of resale rights products that provide good information, that doesn't have a lot of competition, and that can help your customer. Use your head and follow this advice and you should do well with profiting with resale rights!

Liz Tomey is the owner of http://www.MyOriginalEProducts.com which provides brand new never before released resale rights product packages each month. The packages are always limited! Hurry over and see if you can grab one of these packages, so you can start increasing your income today!

Debunking A Website Cash Scam

2009-02-11T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Meredith Castles

With, quite literally, thousands of websites promoting get-rich-quick theories, it's completely understandable that the average net user will be sucked in at least once. Most people have seen one, some people have bought one. But not many people know how to spot one.

Yes, I'm talking about the big evil internet scams.

Just as there are honest producers in the 'physical world' selling their merchandise, there are also many honest internet merchants trying to make their living selling to the public online. The World Wide Web has opened up a whole new marketplace for the general public to buy quality e-produce. And, like everywhere else, there are those few dishonest scam-artists who prey on the paying public. The biggest breeding ground for scams is, of course, the niche market of 'making money online'. Surprisingly, my own research has concluded that the scam-to-kosher ratio is a startling 50/50. Simply meaning, there are just as many scams as there are real online products. This brings me to the main point of this article, which is how to tell the difference between these often well presented sites.

Firstly, you need to have a good look at the appearance of the site. Most good sales websites look alike in their formatting. All the information is usually positioned in a vertical frame down the centre of the page. This is to ensure that the search engines can read it properly. This does not necessarily mean that the site is advertising a scam, as even honest merchants have to make a sale. What you are looking for is what kind of information you get from the site content itself. Promises of massive sums of money and typical sales hype are not unusual for any sales copy, but from reading the text do you know without a doubt what the site is asking you to buy? A 'make cash online' website may offer you a 'Money Making System' and provide you with screen prints of the sales they are making as proof. Good sales text on top of this may be enough to get some people to but the product. But what does the merchant really mean by 'money making system'? In one instance, I bought one of these products that promised unlimited money-making ability, a program that would run by itself and said you didn't need to pay a cent other than buying the system. Not only was this system nothing but a one page website with point-form instructions, you had to buy the hosting, domain name and custom website for the system. You even had to pay them a monthly fee for advertising. The text of the website needs to tell you what you are paying for. If a money-making system is a book, then the site needs to say that it is a book. If a website states that they are offering a book in electronic format that you download after paying for it, you can be rest assured that is what you will get. A merchant would face many legal issues, at the least they could face false advertising charges, if they didn't provide what they advertise. But a merchant who made no promises about what you get for your money doesn't face the same legal hurdles.

The price of the product is the next thing to look at. What is too much or too little to pay? Have a look at the product. You wouldn't usually spend hundreds of dollars on a book, neither would you expect to pay $3 for a software program. The only advice I can give you is don't pay a price you find unreasonable. If you really want to try the product you can always email the merchant and try to negotiate a price.

Finally, check there is some form of contact information on the site. Even an email address qualifies. An honest merchant will always give a prospective customer a chance to ask questions or negotiate the price.

I hope this article gives people something to think about when they next go to buy an online money making product.

Meredith Castles is a published author and internet entrepreneur. She has written many online novels and has recently put together an eBook format step-by-step guide to making money online using only free web services titled 'Free Website Cash'.

Visit the site at: http://www.FreeWebsiteCash.here.ws

My Wacky Test Marketing Experiment Succeeded

2009-02-10T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jim Green

In a previous article I recounted engaging in a wacky piece of test marketing and now I'd like to provide you with a progress report.

I set up a temporary website with a sales pitch for a product which I had yet to create - and cheekily signed off with a visitor survey request instead of the customary options to purchase.

The questionnaire went like this

1. Does the sales message tempt you to buy?
2. Would you download the product for evaluation?
3. Would you pay $... for the standard version?
4. Would you pay $... for the deluxe version?
5. Will you subscribe to my newsletter?

Simple but loaded questions coupled to a device for capturing opt-ins.

Did it work?

You betcha!

1. Within 72 hours of submission the web page zoomed to No.1 on Yahoo!, AltaVista and AllTheWeb with corresponding high positioning on Google, MSN, AOL, Ask Jeeves, etc.

2. Completed questionnaire forms flooded in supplying me with what I needed to know before pressing the button on production.

3. Both versions of my new product were generated in 24 hours and the website doctored to include ordering facilities.

Net result:

1. 43 pre-paid downloads on 60 days evaluation.

2. 459 new subscriptions to my newsletter.

So what have I learned from my wacky test marketing?

Just this:

1. Doing what you've always done before doesn't necessarily make it right because rules are there to be broken.

2. Listening to your intuition even when you think it is way off beam sometimes pays off.

You may view the fruits of my idiosyncrasy if you wish at the website featured in the resource box below.

Jim Green is an online enthusiast and bestselling author with an ever-growing string of traditionally published niche non-fiction hard copy titles to his credit. View his test marketing experiment at this website: http://howtobecomefamousonline.howtoproducts-xl.com

Articles As Wmds Weapons Of Mass Distribution

2009-02-09T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dana Wallert

Article marketing is a fairly new, very effective internet marketing tool that allows you to promote yourself, your product, website or service. But, this seemingly simply marketing technique can have explosive results!

As a business owner or marketer, you simply write articles about your product, service or website. In other words, you write about what you know. Once you've written your article(s), you start to submit those articles to directories and sites that accept them. From that point, your articles will be spreading across the internet like wildfire...wildfire with your name, site's name and usually a link to your site included! You see, whenever you submit an article, you include an "author resource box" that includes any information about yourself, your experience, your business and your site's URL. Anytime that article is published, including on the directory sites, your information must appear along with it!

As a webmaster or publisher, you know that one of the keys to keep your site popular with search engines and to keep your visitors coming back is to have fresh, new, relevant content. Article directories can be the answer to your prayers! You simply search the articles or browse the site and you will find as many articles as you could want to add to your site or publication. All articles submitted to these directories are free to re-print as long as they are reprinted exactly as presented and include the author's information. There can be site-specific conditions on the reprinting (so be sure to check the terms of each site), but for the most part just stick to the article as presented with all author info included and you'll be safe!

Some people can get put off by the idea of actually writing something for publication. It can send them back into freshman English class-like anxiety attacks. But, don't worry most people that use article marketing aren't Pulitzer Prize worthy writers! In my experience, the best articles and the ones that are picked up and spread the most are the ones that are written in a very reader-friendly manner. Yes, grammar and spelling are important, but what's most important is that your information is easily accessible and helpful or interesting to potential readers.

If you simply don't have time or really dislike writing, you can always hire a copywriter or ghost writer to do the work for you. Just make sure that the terms are very clear from the beginning as to whose name will appear on the article, the links to be included, the keywords you'd like the articles to focus on, etc.

If you're looking for a new marketing strategy, and you don't have a huge budgetwrite a few articles! Get your name out there and start getting recognized as the expert that you are. And best of all get mass distribution of the all-mighty links to your website.

Dana Wallert is the owner of a free article directory - DW Articles Directory. Find more about Dana and sign up to receive her free monthly newsletter at DW Office Solutions - Virtual Assistant Services

5 Power Packed Viral Marketing Strategies

2009-02-08T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Michael Tee

How would you like to have other people promoting your website and giving you additional traffic, with little effort on your part? You certainly do, right?

This is called Viral Marketing and here are some proven strategies.

Grant permission to others to reprint your articles on their website, ezine, newsletter, magazine or ebooks. Many publishers and webmasters are constantly on the hunt for fresh content. Write a good article, and many publishers will pick it up and use it for their content. Remember to include a resource box at the bottom of the article that includes your name, URL, and an interesting ad that entices people to click on the link provided. This way, you will get tons of readers clicking on your links.

Allow people to use any of your freebiesAllow people to submit their link to your free website directory. Just make sure that they return a link back to your website.

Allow people to place an advertisement in your free ebook if, in exchange they give away, pass on, or endorse that ebook to their web visitors or e-zine subscribers. This is a good idea because nobody likes to promote someone else's products in return for nothing. Allowing people to place an advertisement generates free traffic for both parties. A Win-Win situation.

Use E-signatures. Emails are frequently forwarded. You don't know where they will end up. Your strategically placed e-signature will get you extra visitors, and potential buyers.

You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your E-book or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author bylines are included.

Michael Tee is the author of E-Biz Wiz Blog. Visit E-Biz Wiz Blog for proven ideas, tips and information on starting your own Internet Business and subscribe to the E-biz Wiz Newsletter at http://ebizmodelsyoucancopy.blogspot.com

Discover how you can build multiple low-cost, high-profit internet businesses within 3 days. http://www.ebizmodelsyoucancopy.com

The Internet And Niche Marketing Quotwhats It All Aboutquot

2009-02-07T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Paul Legge

What's one of the latest new things to hit the Internet? You probably guessed it, Niche Marketing.

Thousands of people join the Internet community each and everyday. Millions from all around the World are already surfing the Net and considering the possibility of starting a new business from home. Why would anyone want to pursue such an interest? Well, for one, building and earning some extra residual income, of course.

From my experience, I'm sure one of the main reasons would be, they're tired of working for someone else in the work a day World. How about YOU? Believe it or not, Internet marketing has become the #1 method for average people, guys and gals, young and old alike, to finally achieve a level of success running a business from the comfort of their own home. Even those less educated with the right guidance, training and support can acheive success now a days. Incredibly enough, armed with the power of a PC and combined with an Internet connection, there are unlimited resources and options available today.

Being one of the latest crazes, Niche Marketing has had a lot of attention lately. If you have ever considered joining the ranks of Internet marketing, then this may be for you. Why? The main reason being, you can choose a market about something you already love and enjoy doing. That's what makes it so powerful. You already have a good understanding and knowledge on a subject that basically you are sharing with others which helps them learn from your experience.

For example, if I was going to buy a pet guinea pig for my kids, I would simply search for some articles written by people who already actually have owned one and see what tips, tricks and suggestions they have to offer to get me started and help me out. This is priceless information as it is compiled from real peoples experiences and that is what makes it so useful.

With so many offers floating around on the Net now a days, one should definitely take some time to research and do their homework before joining or starting any program or business on the Internet. That way you know what you're getting into and what to expect. Do you have a Niche?

Paul is an average person who worked in a local factory for many years. He got started on the Internet in 1995 and has created a web site, http://www.cash2burn.com. Here you'll find a free list of 10 simple steps that one can follow as a guide to getting started in niche marketing.

Ezine Advertisingads And How To Use Them

2009-02-06T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by David Starner

The beauty of ezine advertising is that it's the most targeted form of advertising on the internet. If, for example, someone has subscribed to an ezine about fishing, then they are expressing a strong interest in fishing equipment, tips on improving their skills, travel packages, and an endless list of other possibilities.

This is why ezines are such a good choice. As long as your ad relates closely to the theme of the ezine, the person reading your ad is already halfway toward buying what you have to offer.

There are three types of ads that you can place in your chosen ezine: a classified ad, a sponsor ad, and a solo ad.

The classified ad is the smallest and least expensive. This three to five line ad is often run in a block with other classified ads, one on top of another, similar to a page of classified ads in your local newspaper. This contains just a brief description with an email or link to your web site. This costs a few dollars, generally about half the cost of a sponsor ad.

A sponsor ad is placed at the top of the ezine, often under a heading like: "Please support our sponsor." This ten to fifteen line ad will draw more attention since it is the first thing the reader sees when the email is opened. This is priced around twenty dollars.

The most effective, and naturally the most expensive, is the solo ad. This is not part of the ezine, but instead goes out as an email to everyone on the mailing list. The message is all about you and your product or service. This ad can be as long as 700 words, allowing you to go into great detail, and will cost in the neighborhood of forty to fifty dollars, about twice the cost of a sponsor ad. However, some of the larger ezines may ask for hundreds or even several thousand dollars for a solo ad.

Once you've written your ad and chosen an ezine, the best way to proceed is to think like an educator. The most effective teaching method is repetition. Experienced teachers will cover the same information in several different ways. They might lecture one day, followed by a reading assignment and discussion, and then an essay, all on the same topic.

Very few people learn something thoroughly the first time they see it. And few people respond to an ad the first time they see it. Since you are trying to educate and motivate your target audience, you want them to see your ad more than once.

This is best done by first running a solo ad, then running a sponsor ad in the next two or three issues of the same ezine. Finally, for the next five to seven issues run a classified ad. The readers will see your ad for many weeks and begin to understand the message and warm up to your offer. They need time to mull it over, compare products and prices, and decide if they really need it. Give them time, educate them, and they will buy.

Dave Starner is a former teacher and coach. Visit http://www.ebooksnet.com for additional resources on Internet advertising and marketing.

How To Be A Web Entrepreneur With No Capital

2009-02-05T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jon Evans

With the advent of the technology age, the Internet has been used for everything from research to shopping. Record number of households is signing up for internet access all over the world and a surprising number of individuals look to the internet to purchase goods or services. The ease of use and flexibility of the internet makes this technology an excellent forum for entrepreneurs to start their own web business. The thought of starting your own business may be overwhelming, as many individuals do not have any business experience. With the advent of the web business, anyone can easily and successfully begin their own business. However, money is a major factor when starting your own business and individuals wonder how they can become a web entrepreneur with no capital.

The beauty of a web business is the lack of start-up costs. Instead of a traditional brick and mortar business where you need to rent a space, pay utilities, and provide other necessary elements, all you need to begin a web business is a computer and a website. A web domain can be purchased for a minimal cost and many online hosts offer web domains for free. Additionally, you can run your business from the comfort of your own home, allowing you to tailor your business to your schedule. Many individuals choose to begin a web business while keeping their current employment until the business can get off the ground and running. Also, many individuals who have responsibilities that keep them close to home can bring in an income without compromising their lifestyle or responsibilities. Furthermore, beginning a web business can save you money associated with going to work, including car maintenance, gas bills, and childcare costs. However, with all the benefits of starting a web business, many potential entrepreneurs are sidelined by their lack of business knowledge. The process can be a stressful one, especially for entrepreneurs who are juggling responsibilities. When asking the question, "What can I learn about entrepreneurship," many individuals will find a wealth of information, including e-books and websites dedicated to the topic.

Whether you decide to sell your own hand-made creations or provide a much-needed service, the internet is an excellent place to base your business. In addition to reaching a phenomenal number of clients all over the world, internet businesses are easy on the budget. Many entrepreneurs prefer to start a web business for this very reason. They have learned over the years the amount of capital necessary for a beginning business is tremendous and out of the reach to many would-be entrepreneurs. Instead, every aspect of running and web business is economical. Most businesses can be started with little to no funds necessary and no capital needed. You may choose to register a domain name in the name of your business or utilize one of the many free host websites on the World Wide Web. Additionally, advertising and marketing for your business is also quite economical, as popular website search engines such as Yahoo! and Google offer advertising for a minimal fee. Communication is essentially free, as web hosts include numerous accounts with the cost of registering a domain name or choose between one of the many various free e-mail websites such as Yahoo! or Hotmail. Money transfer is not a problem with many entrepreneurs electing to use payment services such as PayPal for payment accounts. This service is quite popular and totally secure, in addition to being free of charge. Finally, many entrepreneurs have learned online marketplaces such as Ebay prove to be an excellent resource. In addition to gaining the reputation and clientele of Ebay, entrepreneurs have a well-advertised forum to sell their goods. Whatever your type of business, starting a web business with no capital is a viable option.

Jon Evans runs http://www.SuccessAlert.com and has written the book Success Alert - Conversations with Successful Internet Entrepreneurs which has been widely acclaimed. If you want to Learn How to be a Web Entrepreneur with No Capital this book is a must-read!

Top Seven Strategies To Help You Market Your Local Business Online And Market Your Virtual Business

2009-02-04T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Donna Gunter

Roughly 75% of the business owners I speak with in any given town or city see little, if any, need for an online presence. They believe in doing business the way it's always been done, with local advertising, foot traffic, telephone book listing or advertisement, special promotions, and word-of-mouth marketing, and assume that local residents will find out about their business in these same ways.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with these promotional methods, but it does create a tunnel vision view of marketing in this day and age. In September 2004, a Kelsey Group-BizRate.com study found that more than 74% of respondents said they had conducted local searches and confirmed that 20% of all searches among respondents was local. Whether business owners acknowledge it or not, the Internet is here to stay, and using the Internet to find local businesses has now become mainstream, and will only continue to grow as today's children and teens, who have been online almost all of their lives, become adults.

I know that when I do a search for local businesses, I am often taken to one of the local city directories, where I am given the address and phone number of the business, and if I'm lucky, the website URL, if they have a website. Most days, I search out the website of a local business to "check them out" before deciding to do business with them.

One of my most frustrating times comes when I want to place a takeout order at a local restaurant and don't have a takeout menu handy. I'll go online to find the menu of the restaurant, and unfortunately, unless it's a local chain with multiple locations, I don't typically find what I'm seeking. That restaurant usually ends up losing my business to one in which I can scope out the menu online and call in a takeout order.

If you have a brick-and-mortar business, how much business are you losing because you don't have an online presence, or your website doesn't contain enough information to help someone decide to do business with you? Or, if you have a virtual company, what if no one can find you when they conduct a local search of businesses in your industry?

I do no marketing locally, as there is little demand for the type of services I provide in this area. However, I began to wonder if I were losing out on what little local business might exist for my virtual company, so I did some research to find what websites would help my company website show up in any local searches.

1. Local Portal Sites: Search Google, Yahoo, and MSN for your city name and see what comes up. Are there any sites on the list with which you can exchange links, buy advertising, purchase a membership, submit articles, etc.? If you live in a small city, as I do, you might also search for larger cities that are close to your location, or search for a regional name that your area might have. For example, I found more portal sites by using "Southeast Texas" as a search term, rather than an individual city name.

2. Search Engine Directories: Search Google Directory, http://directory.google.com for your city name and look for a category that ends with "Guides and Directories". When you click on that, you'll see the directories listed by importance, as determined by Google's Page Rank feature (you'll need to download Google's toolbar to see this info. The toolbar can be found at http://toolbar.google.com. The higher the rank (10 is high), the more traffic the site has. Or, you can manually search Google as follows: Regional Directories (by continent/country): http://www.google.com/Top/Regional/ By state in the US: http://www.google.com/Top/Regional/North_America/United_States/

You can also search Yahoo Directories, http://dir.yahoo.com. To suggest your business for inclusion, see Yahoo's guidelines here: http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/dir/suggest/index.html Yahoo's regional directory listing can be found here: http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/ and listing for the US states is found here: http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/U_S__States/

3. Yellow Pages Sites: There are a number of bigger city options here: YellowPages.com (SBC and BellSouth): http://www.yellowpages.com/guide/cityguides/ Super Pages (Verizon): http://www.superpages.com

4. Nationally-Based City Guides: The largest of these services, CitySearch, http://www.citysearch.com/, drives content to many other city guides. Other city guides include AOL CityGuide, http://www.digitalcity.com, Area Guides, http://www.areaguides.net, Online City Guide, www.onlinecityguide.com, and Associated Cities, http://www.associatedcities.com/

5. Newspaper-Based Local Sites: If you live in a larger urban area, your local newspaper may sponsor a site for your city, like Charlotte.com, sponsored by the Charlotte Observer) or Boston.com, sponsored by the Boston Globe.

6. Locally-Based City Guides: Again, in larger urban areas, your local chamber of commerce, convention and visitor's bureau, or a private business may operate a local portal for your city. Here in Southeast Texas, our locally based site is SoutheastTexas.com, owned by a private business. Others, like FortWorth.org, is sponsored by the Ft. Worth Convention and Visitor's Bureau.

7. Association Guides: Your membership to your local chamber of commerce, convention and visitor's bureau, professional association (by industry), general business groups (networking groups, men's or women's business associations, civic groups) may pay off if the association has an online membership directory where your listing might be found. Make sure that the listing includes both your contact info and a link to your website.

I've only scratched the surface of the local possibilities available for both virtual and brick-and-mortal companies. In doing the research for this article, I discovered there are thousands of businesses who aren't listed in these directories. Don't let yours be one of them. Get your business listed locally so you local customers can find you!

Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps self-employed professionals make more profit in less time online. To sign up for more FREE tips like these and claim your FREE ebook, TurboCharge Your Productivity: 50 + Tools To Help You Automate Your Business and Make More Profit in Less Time Online!, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com.

Get Paid To Surf The Next Big Thing

2009-02-03T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ron LeBlanc

The latest concept for the internet entrepreneur is pay to surf. Do I mean you get paid to sit on your butt and surf web pages? Yes, absolutely! I know many people would think it impossible to get double digit returns on their money daily, but that is in fact what is promised by these sites.

How do they work? The concept is very simple. You establish an account with them and then start surfing. They display pages that others want advertised on a timer of anywhere from 15 to 60 seconds per ad. You can either look at them or go get a coffee, but after a certain number have displayed you get paid!

Each pay to surf program has a time span that they hold on to your money. It may be 7 days, it could be 60 days, you decide what's right for you. After that time period, they transfer your earnings to whatever service you use. Each program has a favored processor on the idea of Paypal it's hooked to your credit cards and/or bank account.

My advice is to investigate them thoroughly! A good sign is a corporation owner that is traceable and in the same country as you, or at least in a country that will hold them responsible. You should look at the actual payout percentages, and the number of participants. The Alexa ranking of a page is also a good indication if they have as many participants as they claim.

Many of the pay to surf programs are affiliate based as well and you can get a percentage of the funds that people you refer put in. Be sure you know what qualifies you for the referral bonus and how many levels deep you get paid. Even one level can be a whole lot of money if you refer serious people!

Look for some kind of track record, meaning that they have been in business for more than a week. This is a fairly new concept to the mainstream internet, but there are some companies that have been in business for several months, maybe some for a year, but I haven't seen any yet.

As with any new concept especially one that pays out at that level buyer beware! Obviously, this is a high risk enterprise, but my attitude is that if it crashes and burns in three months, at least I will have made back MUCH more than my initial investment.

I would definitely like to hear good and bad about these programs. They are certainly going to get a lot bigger before they go away. The Internet certainly had its detractors in the beginning and there was also the dot-bomb situation of 2001, but it doesn't mean that there won't be a lot of these pay to surf site around for a long time. I'm diving in!

Ron LeBlanc, PE spent 20+ years in science and engineering when woke up to his true potential and began working from home. He lives in Boulder, CO and works out of his home. He enjoys helping other people learn to do home based businesses. Get his tip-filled newsletter and some special offers at http://www.be-do-have.com

5 Essential Elements For Effective Marketing

2009-02-02T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Mehrmann

The purpose of marketing is to ultimately generate sales. Whether you are building a brand or coordinating a one time sale, it is important that you cover all the bases to be effective. If you are selling a product or a service, on the web or over the counter, the five essential steps for effective marketing is a check-list to make sure that you are maximizing the return on your efforts.

1. Features
Define the features of the product or services that you are promoting. Be specific, concise and accurate in your summary of the features. Imagine that you are developing your list of features like the list of ingredients for the side of a cereal box, or the list of hardware requirements for a software application. The list of features should be easy to locate and easy to understand. The list of features should not be flamboyant or contain promotional "puffery". It should be concise and contain substantive information. Demonstrate respect for your customer's time by being direct and easy to understand.

2. Advantage
Identify at least one, but no more than three, key advantages of the product or service that you want to promote. Unlike the list of features, statements of advantages are intended to generate excitement. The advantages are typically a subtle comparison between the 'before and after', or a comparison to competition. Do not disparage the competition. If you are effective in stating your advantages, the customer will make their own conclusions. Some examples of phrases used in identifying advantage are "fewer calories", "every day low prices", "longer lasting", "less filling" and "fresh scent". These advantages may or may not be the related to the primary features or functions of your product or service, but the advantages can set you apart.

3. Benefit
It is important to identify the customer value to be realized by the advantages of your product or services. The list of features details the item. The advantages identify why yours is superior. The benefits statement makes it personal. In some cases the benefits may be implied, For example, "fewer calories" implies weight loss, an obvious benefit for many customers. If the customer benefits are not inherently obvious, then it is good practice to state the benefits. This is especially true if you are selling services. For example, help the customer identify that "training and educating employees" may result in benefits like "better sales" or "increased productivity". Keep the customer perspective, "You can buy at low prices here" is better than "I can sell to you at low prices".

4. Image
If your marketing includes advertising or web content, it is extremely important to use appropriate images. The text of your marketing material creates an impression and an emotional response. The images or pictures used in your marketing will be remembered. To be highly effective, use images that portray your product or service with complimentary text (features, advantages and benefits). Some common mistakes are not including a picture of the product, or using cartoons in conjunction with professional services. An effective method is to use pictures that convey lifestyle associated with your product. For example, pictures of athletes for sport drinks, cityscapes convey large scope, images of people enjoying the use your product. Proper use of images can gain immediate attention and make a lasting impression.

5. Offer
Also commonly referred to as the "call to action", make sure that your marketing material entices the customer to follow-up by asking for the sale. Effective Offers typically include a price, a place to purchase, and a compelling reason to 'act now'. Limited time promotions, coupons, "while supplies last" and "for a limited time only" are compelling reasons to take advantage of the benefits promptly. Your marketing material may be your one opportunity to reach that customer, so use it wisely and ask for the sale.

Make a personal checklist and review your marketing material, brochures, ads and web content. Once you have reviewed your own materials, compare to your competition and commercials to see who is using the Five Essentials to Effective Marketing. Once you have successfully covered all of the bases, you will see your marketing efforts and web site transform into self-fulfilling sales.

For more suggestions on marketing, leadership, management skills and organizational development, please visit Executive Blueprints and the Institute for Advanced Leadership

John Mehrmann is President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. http://www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, educational articles and references to local affiliates for consulting and executive coaching.

Marketing Trends From The Digital Frontlines

2009-02-01T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lee Traupel

The web and ways to market on the web continue to evolve at warp speed - we see some positive and negative changes occurring - our observations du jour:

1. Publishers are finally starting to charge for branded content. It's still difficult to do, but we are seeing many newsletter publishers charging from $30-100 per subscriber per annum. And, most importantly, many people are finally starting to accept the need to pay for quality content.

2. Contrary to popular opinion, the web's epicenter is not San Francisco, Tokyo, Washington D.C./northern VA, Seattle, London or Austin. There is no epicenter ... it's everywhere. We now have over 427M (Dataquest & Nua) people using the web and its truly become a global medium/marketing venue/information highway.

3. More good news for e-commerce enabled business models. Recent published reports (Boston Consulting Group & eShop) indicate customer acquisition costs have dropped from $45 per individual customer in Q-4 of 2000 to $18 in Q-1 in 2001.

4. Adobe continues to push PDF format as a web standard. Over 32% of corporate web sites today have Acrobat PDF-enabling their web sites. Why we will never know (?), as it isn't an HTML standard but was originally developed to facilitate printing of documents. And, it doesn't work well on many web sites, especially for those coming in with slow connections or when you are trying to view more than a couple of pages.

5. Surprise, surprise! Splash pages are still increasing in popularity, with an estimated 18% of web sites today incorporating them. Let's be clear: we think they are really lame (to use a technical marketing term). They slow down the user experience and cause many people to click away from a web site in annoyance with no bookmark and no return visit.

6. Opt-in e-mail continues to grow in popularity and to reflect the web's ability to handle rich media content. The HTML format is rapidly becoming standard in many e-mail campaigns and we are starting to see streaming audio and video plug in components (running in the background) and even integrated voice mail, as just announced last month by YesMail. But, watch those conversion rates fall; opt-in e-mail is in danger of becoming this year's banner advertising.

7. Newsletters have become mainstream ways to communicate with customers, generate revenue via ad inserts and drive a brand into the marketplace. Now there are ASP (application service provider) solutions being brought to market by Microsoft and many others than enable a small or large company to manage all aspects of newsletter marketing via a browser.

8. No secret the web is maturing. There's been a media firestorm the last few weeks about how only four companies (AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo and Napster) commanded approximately 50% of the overall traffic on the web. Most disturbing to those of us not with the aforementioned companies (Sidebar: am sure Steve Case and Bob Pittman are very happy), eleven companies commanded this percentage about a year ago.

9. Traditional media is experiencing the same market downturn that interactive ad agencies have been getting. Look at your recent Newsweek, Der Stern, Time, Business 2.0, Upside, Fast Company, or Wired and you'll see they would do Jenny Craig proud - they've lost a lot of ad weight.

10. Popups, popovers, popunders - whatever the term you want to use for those annoying interstitial types of ads are still continuing to be deployed on more and more web sites. We think they are just bad marketing and are being used by sites or companies that can't figure out how to generate revenue with content (see #1) or, dare we say, real services!

About The Author

Lee Traupel has 20 plus years of business development and marketing experience - he is the founder of Intelective Communications, Inc., http://www.intelective.com a results-driven marketing services company providing proprietary services to clients encompassing startups to public companies.

Lee@intelective.com

Is Complex Equivalence Hindering Your Online Success

2009-01-31T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jo Han Mok

It's tragic.

Statistical data from survey results have shown that the No #1 problem that people face in Internet Marketing is "getting started".

And what's really sad about this is that the people who are actually "getting started" are getting it all wrong!

As a coach and featured speaker at Internet Marketing events, I've seen and heard it all firsthand, and sometimes people can be as stubborn as mules.

Here's the typical mindset of a person getting started:

"I'm starting out, so where do I get my domain name, hosting, autoresponders, how do I design a webpage and get it live on the Internet, how do I process credit cards"

Then this misguided individual will go all out to find out how to do all these things, and still go on to fail anyway.

And my definition of "failure" in this case, is simply being unable to bring home the dough.

There is a good reason behind this

Misguided individuals like are simply asking the wrong questions. If you examine the nature of their questions, you'll understand that they have a "quest" and burning desire to become what Michael Gerber, the author of the E-myth calls "technicians".

They're interested in the whole "technical process" of running an Internet business. The nuts and bolts, and this spells D-E-A-T-H for the entrepreneur, because a technician works in the business, not ON the business.

Does a world class chef necessarily know how to run a successful restaurant?

Does a hairstylist necessarily know how to run a successful hair salon?

Does a "web competent" person necessarily know how to create a successful Internet business?

A technician is NOT an entrepreneur.

The entrepreneur works ON the business. The technician works IN the business.

Whatever happened to the building blocks of a world class business like vision, leadership, management, lead generation, customer retention and most importantly, the MARKETING?

It's just common sense. Anyone looking to become a successful Internet Marketer, should get the "marketing" part right first before even THINKING about doing anything else.

If you do not know how to market effectively, if you do not know how to go about generating revenue for your business, why do you even bother to think about stuff like autoresponders, hosting and all those knick knacks when you do not even established a framework for them to fit into.

So if you're reading this article and you're "guilty" of trying to become a technician, reinvent your business by asking yourself the CORE business questions instead.

Questions like:

* Have I worked my business around my lifestyle?

* Is there room for growth with the business model I've conceived?

* Have I identified my target market?

* Do I know their biggest problem?

* Have I created a unique web position?

* Have I done research for setting up potential strategic alliances?

* Have I created a proper funnel and lead generation mechanism

* Have I done the proper keyword research?

* Have I outsourced enough to allow me to concentrate on revenue generating activities?

* Have I developed or at least figured out CRM issues like offering adequate support, and how to increase customer retention?

* What kind of ancillary products can I offer to my customers?

Make a commitment to the process of entrepreneurship, think like one, and entrepreneurship will commit to you.

Your goal is to build an Internet business. It is a business. You run the business. Don't let it run you.

Ask the right questions, get the right answers, and you'll build the right business.

Jo Han Mok is a frequent guest and featured speaker at Internet Marketing bootcamps and conferences on subjects such as copywriting and Joint Venture Marketing. Visit his website to find out how he can help you turn mere words into cash! http://www.MasterWordsmith.com

Basics To Internet Marketing

2009-01-30T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Chet Holcomb

The internet is a place where people often throw darts into the darkness hoping that someday, somehow they'll hit a bulls eye. Most people nurture a mistaken notion that huge amount of traffic can eventuate good business without paying any attention to what sort of people are coming to the website. This is the worst sort of Internet Marketing.

No matter how revolutionary your product or service is, unless it is backed by a well-thought-out Internet Marketing strategy, it is as good as being non-existent. You have got to be as sure as any of the conventional brick and mortar businesses.

Breaking the great wall of non-presence is the biggest challenge one faces while trying to set up an online business. When you set up your online shop, you don't know them and they don't know you. You need to make your presence felt; you need to set up an identity for yourself that tells your visitors that you are not an unemployed weirdo trying to dupe visitors from your dark and unheated basement. Your website should seem to represent a genuine business that can really deliver. How can you do that?

==> HAVE A WELL-MADE WEBSITE <==

A good website is quintessential to your online presence. It is your online office; people come there and draw an impression. Even the first glance can make or break a great business transaction. Your website should be neat and clean, It should be accessible to people of all abilities and it should have a well-structured navigation system. There should be no broken links and all the essential pages should be there.

==>> CONTENT IS, OF COURSE, KING <<==

If having a decent website is important, then so is having the right kind of content on your pages. As mentioned above, your website represents you amidst the din of the World Wide Web. Since you are not there to directly talk to your visitors, your website accomplishes that task. Make your content -- whether graphic or textual -- as convincing as you can. Utmost care should be given to the language and the tone to make sure your visitors get all the right information they need to take their visit to the next level.

==>> KEEP PERSISTENT CONTACT <<==

Establishing an identity takes time, and this is not just unique to the internet. Companies invest millions of dollars on establishing their brands. On the Internet, you need to establish your identity, you need your name to sound familiar, and you need to be there almost all the time. You should be accessible to your present and future customers and clients; you should always be in a constant conversation. A good way to carry out a regular conversation is publishing a regular newsletter (ezine) or blog where you post regular updates about your business.

Finally, although there are numerous "killer" methods being sold as the ubiquitous reports that claim to make you millions, there is no substitute for a thing called good old hard work. As in any form of business, hard work is need to build trust, to initiate a two-way communication, to render a countenance to your online presence your customers can relate to, and to deliver goods and services that set you on a path of long-term profitability.

Chet Holcomb of http://www.internetpromotions.biz is a successful marketing expert providing advice for web marketers and webmasters on how to promote your website, or product.

Using A Shotgun To Build An Empire

2009-01-29T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mark Choy

In my quest to become internet savvy and to create an online income I came across this cool ebook that describes an overall business structure/strategy that would allow you the best chances of success. This is probably one of the best ways to create an empire through careful planning of your internet venture. This method is slightly different from what I've been preached to but I like what I've been reading. It goes like this - if you want the best chances of success, you use a shotgun to hit your target. Let me explain.

With a shotgun, there are many pellets in a shot and it sprays when it is fired. The concentration of pellets is closer to the centre and it thins out as it goes further away from centre. If we use the analogy that our product is the shotgun and the bulls eye is the target market, then the main area of damage of the pellets (or your efforts) will be the centre. You have to realize that not only will the centre be hit and targeted but you will also hit some of the surrounding areas.

What this means is that from your efforts of the shotgun approach you will have different levels of markets that will be interested in your product. They will range from intensely interested, interested, have a passing interest, to almost no interest whatsoever.

For example if you were to have a French bread making product:

- people that were visiting a French bread making site would be very targeted traffic and most likely intensely interested. They would be centre of the target

- If you had traffic that was coming from just a normal break making site then they would probably have a healthy interest in your book as they are in the next level of the target

- In the 3rd level out and further away from the middle of the target, the traffic may come from a cooking website. They may need some education about the joys and benefits of French bread as a compliment to different types of food and occasions.

- The last area, also the furthest area away from the middle of the target includes the rest of the marketplace. These are people who are probably not interested in cooking or French bread at all.

Now to get the best effect of this shotgun effect would be to add additional shotgun splatters so that the different target markets can get an overlap and therefore you can have cross promotion happening. Using the French bread making example, you could add continuation lines like French desserts, French soups, French roasts as shotgun splatters surrounding the original.

Another offshoot to the original French bread making splatter could be Italian breads and its relevant extensions. Could you see how these could all interlink and your customer could be interested in your later products? I think the potential is endless and I could see how you could build an empire starting from a single product.

Mark Choy

For more outstanding and powerful concepts like this go to http://www.internetprofitmentor.com for your FREE 120 page e-book and FREE 12 hour video course.

Mark Choy is an aspiring internet marketer that is looking for the best opportunity for an income online.

** Attn Ezine editors / Site owners ** Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site so long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include our resource box as listed above.

Online Networking Could This Be A Valuable Alternative For Your Business Needs

2009-01-28T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Geoffrey Ponder

Some people like Networking, others don't! Some people enjoy interacting on a face-to-face basis: but many find this awkward, stressful and unproductive.

What about you? Do you enjoy meeting new people, and chatting in a friendly and welcoming manner? Do you derive real benefits from Networking? Do you wish there could be another way of developing business contacts other than by having to force a conversation with someone you can tell you have nothing in common?

Online Networking could prove to be a very valuable alternative to face-to-face interactions. If you subscribe to a good Online Networking service you will probably find you can make many more contacts with people which prove to be worthwhile for both of you.

Let's compare the advantages and disadvantages of both types of Networking. When you are interacting face to face, you get a much better 'feel' for the personality of the person you are talking with. You can develop a mutual respect, and maybe an ongoing business relationship will result. This is not so easy with Online Networking, where your communication is usually in electronic form, via emails.

So are there any advantages in Online Networking? Well, for a start you can be more selective as to who you want to 'meet'. At a Networking event you tend to be spending time with someone who has approached you, or else with someone you thought (judging just from the way they look) might be of interest. When you network online you can usually learn a lot about the person from the Profile before you make the decision to contact that person or not.

To be sure, often the online contact you make won't lead anywhere. You might exchange several emails, and then find that you or the other person doesn't bother to respond any more. But then, how many of the people you meet at a typical Networking event do you stay in touch with afterwards?

Another advantage of Online Networking is that it is more efficient, simply because it takes up much less of your valuable time. At a Networking event you need to spend time getting yourself ready; then you need to travel to and fro; and you might only have meaningful discussions with a few people there anyway.

With Online Networking, it will only take a few minutes to send off a friendly and enticing email to someone with whom you already know you have points in common. And, providing you write the email in an appropriate manner, the recipient will probably feel mildly flattered that you have made the effort to get in touch.

This is assuming you have subscribed to a networking web site which makes these kinds of contact easy. Go to the Networking Knowledge web site to learn more.

Of course, you don't need to make any decision to join right now .. but don't let that stop you if you are already convinced of the benefits. Over the coming weeks I'll be delving into some of the distinctive features and advantages of Online Networking, and there will be lots of interesting points to make.

Geoffrey Ponder is an experienced Technical Writer who has worked on contract for some of the leading Investment Banks, as well as Consulting firms such as PwC and KPMG. Recently he has been involved in Property Investment, and has built up a substantial portfolio of rental properties.

Now he is concentrating on helping people network more effectively, in order to build their business. In particular, he feels that Online Networking has a great deal to offer any business, anywhere in the world. This is often the best way of developing numerous contacts for mutual benefit.

You can learn more by going to - http://www.Networking-Knowledge.com

If you subscribe to the free newsletter you'll receive regular articles to further improve your understanding of Networking, and help you gain more from Networking.

Getting Successful Leads For Your Website

2009-01-27T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Robert Thatcher

A company, no matter how big or small, will not be complete without an official web site. Millions of people all over the world visit the world wide web everyday, and what better way is there to promote your business?

However, if nobody visits your web site, it will not serve its purpose - which is to inform people about your company.

On the other hand, if there are a lot of visitors on your web site but nobody is enticed to buy your products or take advantage of the services that your company offers, then the web site will still be useless.

The key ingredient to a successful web site is getting leads. The purpose of leads is to guide the customers and prospective clients to your web site.

Here are some tips on how you can get successful leads to your web site:

1. Review the design and content of your web site. Once people are led to your place on the Internet, then the next thing that you need to do is keep them there.

- Make sure that the site tells people about the products and services that your company offers.

- The web site itself should be user-friendly. A visitor will be annoyed and will browse away from your company's web site if it has a lot of useless information and the links are not organized.

- More importantly, the web site should be visually pleasing and have eye-catching graphics, helpful articles and easy-to-follow links.

2. Conduct a study of your target market. Learn about their age and social group and location. If your customer base is mostly teens, check out their online forums to find out about their likes and dislikes, and their opinions.

If most of your prospective customers are regulars of this kind of web sites, you may actually join their online forums and give out your opinions but do not directly advertise.

What you can do instead is give your e-mail address and other contact information while posting on such forums.

You can also contact the creators of the web site for the online forums and ask them about your advertising options.

3. Build a mailing list to make your advertising campaign more effective.

You may employ paid and unpaid methods when building your list.

With the unpaid method, you are making an effort to convince people to give out their e-mail address.

Here, you would have a solid mailing list to make up your customer base because when people volunteer information, it only means that they are interested with your company.

On the other hand, there is a "paid" method of building your mailing list. With this, you actually shell out advertising money for your products to be promoted on popular web sites.

There are also "partner" web sites that would let you advertise for free, in return for a service or product that your company may provide. This is how affiliations are built towards a mutual, beneficial gain.

You may also convince your current customers to refer your company and web site to their friends and relatives to increase your mailing list.

Freebies, discounts, and coupons may be given out to customers who can give you a friend's e-mail address.

This should be an additional incentive, aside from the free mailings that they will receive from your company.

Follow these steps and you will be able to promote your business, find local and national customers and help your company grow through targeted advertising online.

Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides business lead resources on http://www.all-your-leads.info.

Finding The Right Product For Niche Marketing

2009-01-26T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joseph Then

You've done your research and now understand that your best shot at success as an internet marketer is with niche marketing. By finding underserved niches and providing them with a good product, you'll be able to reap significant financial rewards. Niche marketing is a wonderful opportunity, just waiting for you to take action.

But what action should you take? You know what kind of sales strategies work best online and probably know enough about niche marketing to have a general technique in mind. But, in addition to finding the right niche, you will need a product. In order to take full advantage of the opportunities you may discover, you are going to need a very good product.

Ebooks are often the perfect product for sales within a niche. They are easy to deliver, can be customized to your exact niche, cost nothing to reproduce, and can be "ready for market" quickly. Selling quality ebooks to niche markets can be an incredibly lucrative endeavor.

Where can you get the ebook you need to exploit that perfect niche? You could write it yourself. This will require extensive research, solid writing skills, and a significant time investment. You'll need to be able to find a profitable niche on your own, as well. As a professional marketer, you may determine your time is better spent working from your strengths and may opt to find your materials elsewhere.

One could attempt to assemble an ebook from freely available articles or to resell an already-existing ebook. This approach, though less time consuming than writing the product from scratch, is also rife with problems. The articles you find or the book you intend to resell will probably not come with complete rights. Thus, you will need to frequently acknowledge others and their sites. Additionally, your ability to customize the content to your audience's specific needs will be limited. You will have to work with what has already been producednothing more. Again, with this strategy, you are still left to find the right niche alone.

Instead a marketer could rely upon the services of Easy Niche Product. Easy Niche Product produces well-researched high-quality ebooks targeted toward specific niches. Easy Niche Product doesn't just turn out ebooks. They also provide you with top-notch sales copy and articles you can use for promotion. Easy Niche Product also relinquishes all rights to the ebooks to its subscribers. That means you are free to tweak, edit and take full ownership over your producta significant advantage. Easy Niche Product also takes the guesswork out of finding the right niche. You won't be left to your own devices, hoping to luckily discover a potentially profitable niche.

Easy Niche Product, which can be found at www.easynicheproduct.com, goes even deeper, offering ebook packages in thematic groupings. By providing you with extensive themed material, you'll be able to offer multiple products to the niche and will be well positioned to maximize your profits.

Understanding the power of niche marketing is the first step toward success, but that understanding alone is not enough. Perhaps the greatest way of harnessing the potential power of niche marketing is by partnering with Easy Niche Product. Easy Niche Product provides the marketer with all the tools he or she will need to take advantage of the opportunities presented by niche marketing.

Joseph operates a Niche Product website that offers Niche, THEMED product line that users can upsell. You can check out his website at: http://www.easynicheproduct.com

Advantages Disadvantages Of Internet Marketing The Good The Bad And The Ugly

2009-01-25T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Stephen Warren

The Advantages Disadvantages Of Internet Marketing are many.

A few Advantages Disadvantages Of Internet Marketing are:

* It's on the internet so it's low cost

* Very fast

* And you can reach a global audience

However it:

* Can leave the businessman feeling isolated

* Hard to tell if people are lying because you can't see their face

* And you can be overloaded with information.

There are more Advantages Disadvantages Of Internet Marketing, but I wont cover them all in one article. However I will focus on a few important ones.

Positives:

Low cost:

The internet is made up of electrons, so there is not really anything physically to grab hold of like in a brick and mortar business. This considerably reduces your costs as you don't really need many materials or buildings. Just a computer with world wide web capabilities : )

Very fast:

A great advertisement I saw once said "If you were an electron, you would be there by now". This was an ad at an airport. It's referring to the internet. It's made up of electrons so it's VERY fast. Click a link, and you could be looking at an Australian website, click another one and you could be in America. If you wanted to get information any other way from these countries, you may end up having to go there.The world wide web eliminates the need for this. Go any where you want with the click of a button.

You can reach a global audience:

By this I mean, you don't have to set up shop somewhere and sell to the locals. You can set up an online shop, and sell to anyone in the world. This means a huge increase in potential revenues and a fraction of the cost it would take for you to set up shops all over the world.

Negatives:

Can leave the businessman feeling isolated:

This is very common. Because the world wide web is faceless (In most cases), it can appear cold and inhuman. This can leave you feeling isolated and very inward. Not a nice feeling at all. Everyone likes to socialize and meet people, but in this case, its quite difficult to, in business anyway.

Hard to tell if people are lying:

There is so much information on the world wide web now, it's sometimes hard to tell the difference between crap and quality. A lot of the crap is targeted at newbies. Here's an example "Make money fast by doing NOTHING", sound familiar? I bet you've had a ton of emails saying something similar.

Information Overload:

Once again we get to the part of there being a lot of information on the world wide web. There can be too much good information too. There can be a lot of competition for an industry, this can leave you more confused than if there were presented with loads of crap. You might not be able to tell who to chose. If you are a veteran of the net, you wont have much to worry about, however if you're a newbie then this is a problem.

The above are the positive and the negatives. Overall, I would definitely say that if you can do business online, then definitely do it.

Stephen Warren is the creator of http://www.makeagreatsite.com Learn how to make a great site and turn it into a money making machine in no time. This article is free to republish as long as it is republished in full and the link back to MakeAGreatSite.com is clickable

Explanation Of How Marketing Takes Place In A Virtual World

2009-01-24T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Alastair Harris

If you are new to the net and interested in making money ethically then this article will educate you in the various methods of making money online.

It uses a blog as an example of various types money making paths. Blogs cost nothing and are provided free to build a community on the internet.

First of all you can sell a product directly. Have a website and sell as you would have in a mail order catalogue, except thanks to the internet you can automate most of the process, other than shipping and handling. You also still have to stock a product. However this becomes limited when compared to your traditional shoppping mall because while Wal-mart, K-mart, Big-W or whatever can have thousands of products on display, attempting the same on one website becomes very difficult. This is why most people to sell products direct online have a limited number of products for sale. I do participate in a variation of this same theme and you probably have as well, selling on auction on ebay is a type of direct product selling, courteousy of a third party provider.

Next go to the resource box and you will see examples of all the rest of the things I am going to be talking about. (just copy and paste the address to your URL - thats the address bar)

Firstly, you will note that there are no direct products for sale. I don't want to ship hundreds of items, I want to leverage my time, so the first thing for sale is a product available through an affliliate. At this stage it doesn't matter who it is for, its the concept that is important here. You don't have to sell a product directly to make money on the internet. You can become an affliliate member which gives you the right to advertise a product and if a sale is made you get a commission - kind of like your old door to door salesperson, but this time the door is via the customers internet. In order to succeed here you need traffic to your website, the more targeted traffic the better. (by targeted I mean something that the customer is looking for, you don't want someone who wants to buy a dog to come to your cat website, as its unlikely to result in a sale). Eventually given enough traffic the sales will come. Remember the higher the cost of the product the less sales are likely, most people are on a restricted budget, but the higher the cost or the product normally the large commission payout. This is a balancing act, if one thing pays out $500 dollars you would only have to sell one a week, if another paids you a $5 commission then you would have to sell hundred to make the same money.

It is important to understand that as an affliliate you are provided with a code embedded into your links which tracks you are being responsible for bringing the company the sale. Hence in any banner, links, code to put in, make sure its your own.

The second item for sale is a viral type of product or similiar to the old MLM's. In this case GDI - Global domains International, which has the rights over the .ws web address ending (in this case .ws is advertised as standing for website). What they are selling is a hosting service provider as well as a domain name and a variety of other internet services, quite cheaply really considering what your getting. But the real money making deal here is that by signing up others you make a $1 per person per month, and you make another $1 for each person they sign up and so on to five levels deep. Why would a company do this. Because its cheap advertising for them and explodes their growth. In the case of GDI they have made it very clear that they want be the dominant website address .ws, in order to accomplish this they are willing to share money with anyone who helps them grow. By clicking this link the company knows you brought them another customer and your share in the profits. I call it viral because like a virus it catching from one person to a few more to many more, to hundreds, well you get the idea. $1 dollars is not alot, but $1 times 5000 is. Once again you are not selling a product, you are as an agent, and you are not selling a tradtitional goods but in this case a service. This is a viral type or MLM type of system. Often MLM gets a bad rap, but I believe it is because people buy the SYSTEM, instead of buying the PRODUCT, whatever you buy make sure you are happy with the PRODUCT.

The third one is an ebay link. Once again this earns money through affliliate program. It is easy to sign as an affliliate, just look on any web home page and your will normally find a link to "affiliates" In this case the affliliate it run through a third party - commission junction, who acts as an independant company to make sure affliliates are not ripped off, paid on time, etc. This isn't even directly selling a service - its straight out promoting another website.

The four one is EPI - Emerald passport Inc. which is a total online product, namely financial education materials, self improvement, hours of video and audio, information store on line. Its an example of selling INFORMATION online.

Don't think information is valuable consider this short piece of information for anyone who has sold on ebay. Do you list a product at $20 or $19.99. Which will make you the most money?

The $19.99! how you ask, because the listing fee difference between $20 and $19.99 is 25 cents (don't tell ebay I told you this, that might lose some of your money). Hence if you list and sell at $20 you earn 24 cents less than the person who listed and sold at $19.99.

How much is this information worth - well at least 24 cents, but to those who sell hundreds of items, much more if they are making this basic mistake and costing themselves money.

Obviously quality information that saves money, creates money or increases your knowledge is important.

Finally you see an short article on clickbank. Like comission junction they act as an afflitate provider and users. This link sells NOTHING yet still makes money. HOW? because anyone who travels down your link to clickbank and joins in makes you a small commission. Once again its a company paying you to advertise, in this case to help them advertise.

A similar thing is google adwords where you are paid to advertise and then pay a small amount per ad click through.

Some other links are included as examples, but you get the picture. Some links make NO money but are their to try and generate traffic, see instantBuzz.com, traffic swarm, etc.

I hope this article and the website at http://www.getfinancialfreedom4u.blogspot.com have help you increase your knowledge of how business takes place on the internet. There may be other ways I haven't yet covered, but this is a good base for you to start.

(This article is written by Alastair HARRIS and is the property of the HARRIS family, you have permission to copy the article and share it as much as you want, but do not modify the article in any way. I will respond to criticism, but remember I'm new to writing articles so don't be too harsh)

The author may be contacted at anhharrisandsons@primusonline.com.au

Happy netting.

Author is an Internet Marketer and has an interest in how the internet is evolving its business development.

Joint Venture Marketing

2009-01-23T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joe Clinton

I'm writing this article to address a powerful concept that I learned in a very educational online video. The concept has to do with internet marketing strategies and focuses on instantly directing traffic to any website. The particular strategy that I wish to explain is "Joint Venture" marketing.

Joint Venture marketing is both very simple and very powerful. To do this, you simply contact other websites, which offer products and or services that are similar to those that you sell on your website. You'll offer the other site owners a deal wherein you will help them increase their profits. The way you do this is by using an already existing asset belonging to the other site owner. Many business owners have never realized that their customer list is a very powerful asset that they have already created and can use repeatedly to increase profits. By referring their customers to your website, your new Joint Venture partner will create instant sales for you, especially if he/she has established a positive relationship with his/her customers.

By selling your own products and/or services to your JV partner's existing customers you will receive an instant rush of income (and profits.) Your JV partner will then receive a percentage of the profits from you. Don't forget, they're in business to make money so make this as lucrative for them as you can to increase your chances of getting them to Joint Venture with you. Also, keep in mind that the site owner may be quite busy with other things, (remember, you'll want contact the experts in your field) so you'll need to have already prepared a letter that is to be sent to the customers to serve as a letter of referral sent from your JV partner urging his/her customer base to visit your website.

This strategy is a wonderful way to create instant sales on your website and produce (otherwise unrealized) profits for other site owners.

As a side note you can also use a little creativity and collect the email addresses of these new visitors and in effect build a large list of contacts who are interested in the very product and/or service you provide.

As you can see, Joint Venturing will serve as an invaluable tool for your business, both for immediate and long term healthy profits.

My name is Joe Clinton. I enjoy helping others with valuable information that I've learned over the years.

For priceless and truly informative details on internet marketing, go to http://www.gogetgold.com Don't forget to sign up for the free course that teaches you completely and thoroughly how to create your own internet business that creates money for you while you sleep.

The Different Types Of Resale Rights

2009-01-22T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ken Mathie

Resale Rights. Some people have a pretty good clue of what that means. Others are totally in the dark. But very few realize that resale rights are kind of like Heinz Ketchup. There may not be 57 different varieties, but there are enough to make the average marketer scratch his head and wonder where to begin when it comes to either creating his own product with resale rights or getting involved with an already existing product. What's the difference? Well, this article is going to try to answer that question as simply as possible, though this is by no means a simple subject.

Resale rights products come in all different shapes and sizes. Some come in the form of a great number of products bundled together and then sold for some ridiculously low price. Others are a single product sold for a four figure sum. On top of that there are the different types of rights mentioned above.

For starters, there are your basic resale rights. These only give you the right to sell the product and nothing else. You can't claim that the product is your own and you can't grant another person resale rights for this product. These rights are usually the cheapest to get. This makes it easier to get into the black. In many cases the rights are free. These rights usually have a fixed price and terms for sale. In other words if the product sells for $10 you can't sell it for more or less money. If you're buying rights to the product, make sure you understand it well enough before you sell it as there are bound to be support questions coming your way.

Master resale rights are a little more involved. These usually come with a web page to go along with the product. They'll give you the right to sell the product and also to pass along resale rights of this product to your customers. The products with the best master resale rights are the ones that contain a zip file that has everything you need to put on your download page.

Then there are private label rights, of which there are basically two kinds. The first type is where you are given resale rights for the finished product and also allowed to put your name on it as author of the product. However, you are not allowed to change the product in any way. All you are allowed to do besides sell the product is put your own name on it. But it must stay absolutely unaltered from its original state.

The second type of private label rights is what is called source code rights. The product itself is not finished and ready to sell. It is actually the raw source code that you can use to produce a finished item. If it is a program, like an ad blaster, it will be in source code format. If it is an informational product, like an e-book, it will usually come in the form of a Microsoft Word document or some other word processor format. This product can be changed in any way you like, including turning it into a product that grants certain resale rights of any of the type mentioned. You are limited only by your own imagination.

Now that you know what the different types are, it's time to decide which ones you are going to pursue in order to make some money with.

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Discover How To Gain Instant Access Right Now Today To: 200 + Very Unique Master Resale Info Products You Can Sell Starting Today - Don't Leave Money On The Table! Make More Money From The Same Number Of Visitors By Offering Unique New Product Each Month! http://www.homebizniche.com

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Pixelselling And The Million Dollar Home Page Boomtobust In Internet Time

2009-01-21T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gary U

Sometime in the fall of 2005, a British lad by the name of Alex Tew sailed into a perfect storm. As the web world watched, his "Million Dollar Home Page" quickly lived up to its audacious title and left its mark on internet history. Armed with uncanny marketing instincts and a good dose of luck, Alex took his novel idea, added a personal back-story, and sold a million dollar's worth of advertising in a matter of months.

Understandably, countless copy cats have gone online, but success has proven difficult to duplicate. A quick survey of these so-called "pixel-ad" brings up a large number of woefully blank screens. The uniqueness of Tew's website was what drew the crowds and justified the value of his site. The second generation of pixel pages is struggling to create the same excitement.

One problem is that the concept for the Million Dollar Home Page is so simple that there is little room for technical improvement. Not that people are not trying. For example, website http://www.izoomzoom.com touts the ability to display a thumbnail image of the target URL as the mouse cursor rolls over a pixel ad. This feature is interesting, but it is unclear whether the thumbnail images will encourage or discourage viewers to click-through to the advertised site.

Another site with a twist is http://www.millionpixelsart.com. Instead of the standard rectangular billboard, the pixel blocks are arranged in different shapes (including a beer mug and dice). Again, the idea is interesting, but the lack of sold blocks should serve as a warning to others that success will require true ingenuity.

One of the more successful pixel-ad sites can be found at http://www.pixmeup.com. This website takes a multi-level marketing approach to pixel selling, innovating the business model rather than the format. PixMeUp currently features several densely populated pixel pages, proof of its ability to find customers.

Just as the general stores of the American West profited from the California Goldrush, it may be the suppliers of the prospective pixel sellers that are reaping the greatest rewards. Domain registrars and domain hosts are also profiting from the uptick in websites coming on line. Tool developers are cropping up left and right, offering would-be millionaires the picks and shovels needed to stake their claims. Other sites exist for the purpose of providing news and links related to the pixel-ad phenomenon.

The pixel-ad market appears to be saturating, as evidenced by the going rate for these tiny squares of advertisement. How far has the market fallen? I found one answer on a humorous site http://www.ihatethemilliondollarhomepage.com. Its author nicely captures the jealousy and dejection felt by entrepreneurs who have failed to come close to the success of the MillionDollarHomePage. And, to spite Alex Tew, these pixels are being given away free of charge!

In time, the pixel-ad concept will continue to evolve. A mere months after Alex Tew's financial trajectory shot through the stratosphere, creative descendents of the original concept are already heading off in new directions. Affiliation pixel-ad sites, such as http://www.christianmilliondollarhomepage.com/, cater to specific causes or audiences. The pixel-selling concept takes a creative turn at http://www.WorldWideArtStudio.com, where artists can participate in the creation of art by buying the right to control portions of a "digital canvas." Furthermore, WorldWideArtStudio.com turns its back on the marketing roots of pixel selling by prohibiting the display of advertisements in its artwork.

With recent Internet news coverage centering on large companies like Google and AOL, I had forgotten how easy it can be for the individual to leverage the power of this global communications network. Thank you, Alex Tew, for rekindling the flame of youthful innovation that was once the dominant force on the web. I confess I've got one or two million-dollar ideas bumping around my brain at this very momenthow about you?

Gary U is envious of Alex Tew and frets that the BillionDollarHomePage domain has already been taken.

Internet Marketing For Small Homebased Businesses

2009-01-20T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Todd Lavergne

Small home-based businesses battle to stay on search engine listings and gain the advertising and marketing exposure they deserve. Small home-based business owners typically don't have the money for expensive advertising and marketing. It is for this reason that popular big name companies seem to have taken over the online market by advertising on television, in magazines, and at the top of almost every search engine listing. Small home-based businesses should not be discouraged. It is possible for small home-based internet businesses to move up the ladder of success through effective and creative internet marketing. Small home-based internet businesses are able to gain the exposure they deserve, but they must use strategies other than standard marketing and advertising methods used by big name companies.

Small home-based businesses striving for marketing and advertising success need to grab the attention of potential customers. After grabbing the attention of potential customers, it's critical to keep their attention. Home-based business owners should consider offering potential customers and those looking for information on the internet the high-quality information they are looking for through opt-in newsletters.

Small home-based business owners can bring in new customers and keep customers coming back by giving them the information or news they're seeking online. For example, if a small home-based internet business sells craft items, the home-based business owner can offer valuable free information on craft projects. Those seeking craft project ideas and instructions through a craft project newsletter will find links to materials and supplies. Marketing small home-based businesses through newsletters can greatly increase earnings.

The owner of a small home-based internet business doesn't have to be a great writer to develop an internet newsletter full of valuable information. There are a number of helpful internet programs to assist owners of small home-based businesses with developing and marketing products and newsletters. Offer people the information they are seeking, and they will sign up to receive the information. Before long, newsletter marketing efforts will pay off through ever increasing sales.

Home-based small business owners who don't have time for newsletters should consider joining one of the many popular link exchange programs. Marketing small home-based businesses becomes effortless, and home-based businesses literally begin marketing themselves. Link exchange members assist each other with marketing, and they help increase website traffic. Potential customers gain access to small business websites they otherwise wouldn't have found.

Marketing efforts can be increased by directly exchanging links with otherbusiness websites. Small home-based businesses can offer their banners and links in exchange for banner and links from other small business websites.There is no cost for this type of marketing, and small home-based business websites can increase traffic and sales considerably. Choose link exchange partners wisely to gain the most marketing benefits and exposure for your small home-based internet business.

To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.EarnBonus.com

Using The Internet As A Realtor Marketing Tool

2009-01-19T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by James Christensen

This article illustrates how in just a few short years, real estate agents and brokers become savvy Internet market

According to the survey, an Internet web presence has become the most important method for generating real estate sales leads, after hanging a "For Sale" sign on the front lawn.

Survey respondents, however, say they rely on the Internet for far more than a web site to promote their real estate services and sales inventory. More than 50% of respondents are already using an online referral network to increase sales opportunities, and 50% of those who do not, say they are considering joining a referral network. In fact, agents and brokers cited Internet lead generation services as one of the top four most popular marketing techniques.

The complete survey results are available at the web sites of AgentConnect.com and RealtyNow.com. (The survey was fielded Summer 2005. Questionnaires were sent to over 10,000 registered agents and brokers. A total of 200 agents and brokers from every region of the United States answered the survey.

"Real estate professionals are quickly becoming sophisticated Internet marketers who understand the importance of a multi-faceted approach to the Internet to reach buyers and sellers," said Payam Zamani, founder and CEO of Next Phase Media, parent company of AgentConnect.com and RealtyNow.com. "In fact, more than two-thirds of the agents we surveyed are either using or considering an online referral network to capture qualified leads."

Only 7% of respondents say the Internet hasn't affected today's real estate business. Meanwhile, 72% agree that an Internet campaign is critical to remaining at the top of the market in today's business environment.

Generating client leads is clearly a major business and marketing concern for the industry. Increasing client leads and home sales were virtually tied as the top marketing objectives of respondents.

Business concerns cited most often in the survey were 1) state of the economy, 2) supply of area homes, 3) level of professionalism among competitors and 4) lack of qualified new client leads.

Agents and brokers say that because of the economy, buyers and sellers are more particular than ever and there are more real estate agents competing for business.

However, despite concerns about the economy, some 65% of respondents expect the real estate market in their area to be "very strong" or "strong" over the next 6 months.

The new survey study by AgentConnect.com and RealtyNow.com offers sound advice to consumers about choosing a real estate agent, buying a home and staging a house for sale. These buyer seller tips are vital food for thought to any savvy realtor. Among the Study findings:

Knowledge of the local area, personality and compatibility, and energy and dedication are the top three characteristics, respectively, cited as criteria for choosing an agent.

Spring is by far the best time of year to sell a home.

The kitchen, by far, is the most critical room influencing the sale of a house, followed by the master bedroom and then the family room.

In descending order of importance, the top five improvements sellers should make before selling a house are: remove clutter, paint the interior, paint the exterior, deodorize the house and make general repairs.

Beige, followed closely by white, is the best color to paint a house going up for sale.

For sellers, the biggest hurdle to a successful transaction is coming to terms with the true market value of their home.

For buyers, the biggest hurdles to success are (1) finding and concentrating their efforts with a single agent who they trust and (2) being realistic about price.

Written for http://www.e-realestatelicense.com By James Christensen Real Estate Expert and educator. Our training site http://www.e-realestatelicense.com offers a valuable service to individuals looking to get into the Real Estate industry.

Income Producing Tasks And Quotthe Fluffquot

2009-01-18T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Tamra Forde

Think about everything you can do in your business that would contribute to bringing money into your bank account.

The most important thing is 'Building Your List!

* Running split tests to see which one attracts more opt ins.

* Doing direct email campaigns.

* Weekly newsletters to your list with upsells in it.

* Writing sales letters for a particular offer or campaign.

* Going to meetings and industry seminars to make contacts.

* Sending Joint Venture offers to people on the Internet.

* Putting ads in the paper or online e-zines and comparing the results.

* Making follow up phone calls or emails to prospects that have not yet bought.

* Putting on your own teleconferences or webcasts.

* Getting reciprocating links to your website.

Etc,Etc,Etc!

Now lets look at all of the things that are 'essential' to your business but aren't as important as bringing in the money.

* Organizing your desk and papers, again.

* Flicking through training manuals and not filling in the Action Steps.

* Surfing the net for hobbies not listening to tutorials.

* Waiting for everything to be exactly right, like having business cards or logos.

* Watching what other people are doing instead of working on your own business.

* Rewriting the training material after having found a few spelling mistakes.

* Creating products for months and months without testing if there's a market.

* Organizing the business and tax structure before there is an income coming in.

We've All Done It!!

When I first started in business I was rewriting my newsletters and web pages first by hand, then again into the computer so that it would "Help Me Learn It".

All I was doing was delaying having to take action, and if there is anything I have learned is that Massive Action is the only thing that counts.

As Zig Ziglar says "If you wait for all the lights to turn green before you go to town, You'll never leave the house."

Business will never be perfectly right but what really matters is that you get into the game for real. Make some mistakes and spend some money on further education so that you have all the ammunition you can get to become successful.

True Entrepreneurs ask themselves "How Can I?" Not "Why Can't I?"

Focus on what matters the most and that is bringing money in the door. The rest can wait.

Become obsessed with your business and look at every person you meet as a prospect.

You'll find customers in the most unlikely places.

Tamra Forde
Director of Marketing
Freedom Business Opportunity
http://www.freedombusinessopportunity.com

Online Viral Marketing Is Your Business Worthy

2009-01-17T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gerri D Smith

"There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. That little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative. -W. Clement Stone.

Viral marketing works on the premise that your service or product is popular enough to advance through a word-of-mouth process. Whether this gets done in the real word by physical means, or whether it is done online, the method is usually the same. Viral marketing happens when word of your business or product is able to move through a "grapevine" without you having to do any paid or "free" advertising to spread the word about its benefits.

The word spreads more quickly from person-to-person-to-person when it is done via the internet. This happens quite frequently when your clients find worthy benefits from using your products or services and tells the "world" about them. Using the internet is one way of getting the word spread out to a global market. One email message sent to thousands upon thousands of people at a time with just one click of a button is awesome. Now the internet is the newest and quickest way to introduce viral marketing about up your business products and services.

The internet has many, many sites and forums available for posting new ideas and services. A new product can become enormously popular when endorsed by others who spread the word on your behalf. When you offer freebies that can be immediately downloaded online, like a special report or an ebook, give them permission to forward your ebook or report to others. Make sure it is of value or has quality content so they will want to forward it to others and they forward to others and on and on. In the ebook or special report your business resource information stays intact and gets passed around.

When someone voices their opinion, whether it is positive or negative, about a product, business, or service to others, and they pass it along to others, that is an endorsement and viral marketing in action. This happens all the time with a movie. One person goes to see it, tells another about it, they go to see, and tells more people about it, the word gets spread around and builds the popularity of the movie resulting in more ticket sales.

The important goal of viral marketing is to promote your idea, business, product or service over and over until it reaches thousands of people. The same with any free samples you offer. Set a goal and do it over and over again with a free quality sample until it reaches a maximum number of people. Then offer a second item to sell to those same persons. If a small percentage of the ones who liked the free sample purchases the second item, you will have a good number of sales from the free endorsement.

This method is done often by businesses both on the internet and offline with retail businesses. Even though this form of marketing takes a bit of effort, it can work wonders when you introduce your new ideas and products to the public. Is your business, idea, service or product worthy of the test?

Author, Gerri D Smith. If you liked this article, subscribe to an inspirational newsletter with articles just like it and more. A resource that unlocks the doors to your business success. And it is Free. http://www.distinctivebusinesswomen.com

4 Ways To Make Money From People Who Are Leaving Your Site

2009-01-16T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Alexandria K. Brown

Oh no... are people leaving your site without buying?

Get used to it! In fact, an average of 99% of your first time visitors to your sales pages will leave without buying or even contacting you.

But don't get upset. Get richer!

Use what's called an exit pop. Now, I know pop-ups can be incredibly annoying. But they WORK. Almost all the people I know doing over $1 million each year online use exit pops in strategic ways to seriously boost their bottom lines. Here are four ways to make money from people leaving your website, using exit pops:

1. Get them on your list.

Because most people will not buy from you at first visit, it's extremely important to have a way to follow up with them. After all, they're already interested in what you have. That's why they're at your site! So these people are worth their weight in gold to you.

But how to follow up? Well, here's where your ezine comes in. Your ezine list is your key to ongoing income and guaranteed future earnings.

One of the best places to get people on your list is actually as they're leaving. It's kind of like the "Columbo" strategy of your website. (What did he used to say on the way out the door? Something like, "By the way..." or "Oh, one more thing...")

These exit pops often work BETTER than a pop-up that appears as soon as someone lands on your site. Why? You give the visitor a chance to get to know you first, before you ask them for their email. Let them take a look around, grow to trust you and your website.

One of my exit pops says, "Congratulations... You've Won a FREE Subscription!" It has an eye-catching graphic representing my ezine and gives a raving description of it as well. Also the opt-in form is right in the box, which you always want. Don't make folks have to click around to sign up. If you'd like to see what mine looks like, go to EzineQueen.com. You'll see it when you leave.

From what other marketers are sharing, the "congrats" exit pop is one of the all-time best performing exit pops for building your list.

2. Ask them WHY they're leaving.

Why not find out the reason they're leaving in the first place? For example, one of my exit pops says, "WAIT - Can I ask your advice? Please tell me the biggest reason you're leaving without giving my 'Boost Business With Your Own Ezine' system a try. I'd really appreciate it, and your answer is completely anonymous. Thanks."

I looked for the most popular answers and then made some adjustments to my sales page. For example, several people said, "I don't have a website yet." So I revised my sales copy to include the fact that you don't need a website to get started publishing an ezine.

Knowing this kind of information will help you make a LOT more sales down the line!

There's a great tool that makes doing these exit surveys super easy, and you can see a demo at their site: www.askmyezine.com

3. Offer a down-sell or alternative.

Yep, that's right. Offer me something for less money. After all, I'm leaving anyway, with my wallet! Example: My "Boost Business With Your Own Ezine" system is a physical product, but for several months I tested a down-sell of a digital version at a lower price with less bonuses. I also configured the exit pop to appear only if the person had been on my sales page for at least 30 seconds, so I knew they were serious about the product and not just on my page to take a peek.

The tactic did pretty well, making me about an extra thousand bucks a month that otherwise I would not have gotten! That won't make me rich, but it sure helps cover my take-out sushi habit. I'll be testing some other down-sells like this one too. (Remember, it's all about trying new things and seeing how they work for YOU. That's what's so fun about Internet marketing!)

4. Send them to someone else's site.

Really! But not just anyone's site. Send them to a site with products or services that are related to yours, AND that will give you commission on any referred sales! That's called an affiliate program, and there are millions of companies doing it on the web. If you don't know of any websites that are related to yours and have an affiliate program, search the two biggest directories: ClickBank and Commission Junction.

Just remember to check out any company before you start sending people there. You don't want to taint your reputation by sending folks to a site with shoddy products or lousy service.

I've made several thousand dollars a month simply by referring my readers and web visitors to other websites. It's just one of my tactics. But some internet marketers make all their revenues with affiliate programs - they don't sell any of their own products! It really works.

Don't Get Blocked!

It's a fact that almost half of all Internet users now have some type of pop-up blocker. The good news is, whenever a new technology comes out, there's one close behind it that will make it obsolete.

There are several scripts for making pop-up boxes that cannot be blocked. Of course, they have to keep evolving to keep up. Right now, my friend John Reese, who makes millions of dollars each year online from dozens of different websites, recommends this one.

Just remember to please use these tools ethically! Don't drive people crazy with 10 different boxes appearing as they leave.

Choose one, use it strategically, and test, test, test. I guarantee if you try just ONE of these tactics above, you'll see your income rise!

Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," is creator of the award-winning 'Boost Business With Your Own E-zine' system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for her FREE how-to articles and FREE audio class, visit http://www.EzineQueen.com

Affiliates Should Read About His Products

2009-01-15T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Peter Garant

At the moment an entrepreneur decides to join the affiliate marketing business, he searches in an affiliate marketing directory and he is immediately presented with a very wide range of products and services, and with various affiliate programs. The affiliate marketing business is indeed a flourishing business as indicated by the numerous online merchants who are offering affiliate programs.

With so many options before him, an entrepreneur may opt to step back and research more about which products he should promote, which affiliate program he should sign-up, and which merchant he should affiliate with. He is buying himself time and he wanted to be more prepared before actually setting up his affiliate marketing business.

On the other hand, an entrepreneur will be so excited that he will sign-up with the first affiliate program that he finds interesting. There is nothing wrong with such eagerness and such action. The only thing that the new affiliate has to deal with is his lack of knowledge about the products he has chosen to promote. Should the affiliate step back and start all over again?

If the new affiliate will retrace his steps, he will only be putting off the day when he will be enjoying financial success. Therefore, he must forge ahead and continue with his chosen affiliate program and deal on his lack of knowledge along the way. Besides, dealing with such a lack of knowledge is not as difficult as obtaining a doctor's degree. The new affiliate simply needs to read.

When the new affiliate has decided to read up on his products, he should first pose questions that he wanted to know about the products. These questions will be his guide in choosing his reading materials. For example, if the products are ceramic items, maybe he wanted to know first how the ceramic industry came about. Then he must know how ceramic items are created. And he must also know what makes ceramics different from all other craft items.

The answers to these questions will provide good content for the new affiliate's website. The information that the affiliate has collected, in order to answer his questions will be the focus of the articles that will be posted in the website. The beauty of such informative articles is that they contain the facts that the target clients would like to know. Because, when the affiliate asked questions, he was placing himself in the shoes of his target clients.

Another perk to reading about the products is the acquired ability of the affiliate to authoritatively and immediately answer the questions that the visitors will post in the website. When the target client is satisfied with the quickness and completeness of the answers, he will most likely patronize and purchase the products that are recommended by the affiliate.

Peter Garant's affiliate marketing site offers unique website content to webmasters who wants to maximize traffic and revenue on their affiliate sites.

The Power Of Taglines Take My Tagline Test

2009-01-14T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Debbie LaChusa

An effective logo/tagline combination can be one of the best ways to successfully brand your business. But you don't have to take my word for it.

Do any of the phrases below ring a bell?

See if you can identify which companies each of the following taglines belongs to. You'll find the answers at the end of the article. But before you read ahead to get the answers, take a few minutes to test the power of taglines yourself by naming the brand each of these top-ranked taglines belong to.

1) Have it your way

2) Is it in you?

3) The quicker picker-upper

4) Just do it

5) It's everywhere you want to be

6) Drivers wanted

7) When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight

8) Finger lickin-good

9) Because I'm worth it

10)Let your fingers do the walking

So what exactly is a tagline?

When it comes to marketing, one of the most powerful tools you can use to build your brand is a tagline or slogan. The two terms are pretty much interchangeable. I tend to use the word tagline. Following are definitions for both terms:

Tagline: an often repeated phrase associated with an individual, organization, or commercial product.

Slogan: a phrase expressing the aims or nature of an enterprise or organization.

The two most important parts from each of these definitions are:

1) an often repeated phrase

2) expressing the aims or nature of an enterprise

The power of a great tagline

Think about the taglines you know and remember. They communicate something unique, valuable and memorable about the brand they represent. And they are always included in any communication about that brand. You see the logo and there's the tagline right there with it. They are often catchy. Easy to remember. Descriptive. Clever. Fun. Short and sweet.

Best of all, they help you remember a brand and the ONE thing that company wants you to remember about that brand. And that is the power of a great tagline.

Taglines make you top-of-mind

Your goal as a marketer should be to achieve what we call in the marketing world "top of mind awareness." Simply put, this means you want your product or service to the be the FIRST one thought of by your prospects when they are considering a purchase in your product or service category. Because odds are, if they think of you first, they'll buy from you.

The logo/tagline power combo

I love logos and taglines, especially for small business marketers because when you combine a great logo with a great tagline, you have a powerful marketing combo that can communicate a lot in very few words in a very small space.

And, because you can use them on every piece of communication about your business you have the opportunity to imprint them into your prospects' minds by repeated exposure that doesn't have to cost a lot of money.

Great taglines are possible on a small budget. Granted we think of big-name advertisers when we think of memorable slogans, but you don't have to spend big bucks to get a great tagline.

The first step is to create a strong, strategic marketing foundation for your product or service. You must also truly understand what is unique and valuable about your product or service. And, you must have a very clear picture of what you want to communicate about your product or service to your prospects. With this information and some creative brainstorming you too can have a memorable tagline.

Once you have one, USE it everywhere!

Include your tagline with your logo on every piece of communication or marketing you put out and you too will be able to create top of mind awareness among your prospects and customers.

Here are the answers to the Tagline Test:

1) Burger King

2) Gatorade

3) Bounty Paper Towels

4) Nike

5) Visa

6) Volkswagen

7) Federal Express

8) KFC

9) L'Oreal

10)Yellow Pages

How'd you do? Pretty amazing how many of these you knew, isn't it?

For more top-ranked ad slogans, visit www.adslogans.com. It's a great way to see what a good slogan is so you can model yours after success. After all, one of the quickest, easiest ways to succeed is to model those who already have.

Debbie LaChusa created The 10stepmarketing System to make marketing your own business as simple as answering 10 questions. Learn more about this unique, step-by-step system and get a free 10-week Marketing E-Course when you subscribe to the free, weekly 10stepmarketing Ezine at http://www.10stepmarketing.com

Focus The Overlooked Difference Between Success And Failure

2009-01-13T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Richard Adams

How many elements are there to building a successful Internet business?

- Search engine optimization
- Pay per click advertising
- Banner advertising
- Affiliate marketing
- Email marketing
- Building an email list
- Viral marketing

... and they're just for starters. The point is that there are literally *hundreds* of elements that can make your online business a success.

The problem is that this "range" can lead to procrastination or worse - total business failure.

One of the most important disciplines you can adopt in your online business is that of "focus".

Learn to focus on just one element of your business and doggedly keep working at it until you become really, really good.

Until it becomes second nature.

Until it's just so easy for you.

Then, and only then, are you ready to move onto the next element and start trying to focus on that.

This focus doesn't just apply to marketing your business either. It applies to the everyday running of your business. Even creating new sites and products.

The best way to maintain focus on a large project is with planning.

Break down a project such as launching a new project into tiny bitesize pieces - writing an email to be sent out to your mailing list when your product launches, creating pay per click ads, building the sales page, linking up your shopping cart and credit card processing and so on.

Then set a plan of action that will lead you through to your desired result without too much thought. Set yourself targets of what you will achieve when.

In doing this you can simply glance at your plan to decide where you need to focus today then apply yourself 100% to that task.

Only when the task is completed to a satisfactory level do you move onto the next stage.

In doing this you don't need to be thinking or worrying about other tasks you need to accomplish, nor do you need to be filling your brain with a to-do list of other shores to do "sometime".

Your plan is on paper so you can forget about everything else except that one step you promised yourself you'd finish today.

Establishing this focus has been the biggest lesson I have learned over the last few years and has had a massive result on my productivity and consequently my results.

My business is now growing at a pace I could only have wished for just a few short years ago.

One of the biggest mistakes I see new Internet entrepreneurs making is just "treading water". Making an advert here. Writing part of an article there. Creating half an ebook there. Starting a sales letter but not finishing it.

This unfocused time will never bring the results you crave.

One completed job will bring infinitely more profit than 100 half-finished projects.

So adopt this policy today and watch your results go through the roof.

I know it's hard when you first start, but trust me - once you start seeing your bank balance swell you'll never look back.

Richard Adams is the founder of Merchant Account Forum, the world's most visited site on the subject of accepting credit cards online. Take a look today - http://www.merchantaccountforum.com/top_merchant_accounts/

Ways That You Can Make Money From Your Online Business Model

2009-01-11T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Evelyn Lim

If you are convinced by now that you wish to do an online business and would like to find out which business models are available, this article is written specially for you.

The different avenues that you can make money are:

1. E-bay model

Got junk or an interesting product to sell? No problem! Hop on to http://www.e-bay.com. There are millions and millions of visitors each day to the site. Just create a free account and you are ready to start.

2. E-Affiliate/network marketing programs

You earn a commission if you are successful in selling affiliate books, programs or network marketing programs. This business model has advantages in that you do not have to create your own product or write your own sales letter. You also get a replicated website as an affiliate. All you need to do is to actively refer your friends and market the product or program.

Go to http://www.clickbank.com for an extensive range of affiliate programs that you can represent.

3. E-Shopping model

In this model, you are interested to sell your goodies online. Here, your website will feature pictures and clear descriptions, shopping cart and a payment processor. However, if you are selling physical products, you have to be address issues like warehousing and delivery.

On the other hand, there is no need to create a product yourself, if you do not have one onhand. Simply go to directories such as http://www.mydssd.com , http://ww.ownawebstore.com and http://www.bizwarehouse.com . These sites will even handle the shipping and delivery for you.

4. E-directory model

Here you create a free directory of various resources and links. Your job is to drive traffic to this site. You make a revenue from businesses who wish to advertise on your website.

5. E-Create-a-product Model

This can be in the form of either a digital book or software product. There are lots of advantages of doing an e-book. An e-book is low cost to produce as you just need to write it once and update the contents as and when necessary. You also get to keep all the profits as there is no need to go through a publishing house

Similar advantages also exist for producing a software product. The difference between producing an e-book and a downloadable software product is that you can charge more for the lattar due its higher perceived value and thus earn a higher profit.

6. E-Membership Model

In this business model, you create a high quality, content-rich site and charge your members a subscription every month in order to use your site's resources. This is a good business model to follow as it helps you earn a recurring income. However, you must be able to continually update its content; otherwise, your members have no incentive to stay.

7. E-Professional Services Model

Here, you offer your skills to people who are looking for solutions to their problems via the internet. For instance, if you are a graphic designer, you can offer to design other people's websites for a fee. If you intend to freelance, you can always advertise your expertise at http://www.elance.com.

8. E-Zine Model

In this model, you are publishing a content rich newsletter for your subscribers in a particular interest group. You either earn revenue from promoting on the related products advertised in your newsletter or charging your members a subscription fee.

The models mentioned above depict the main ways that you can earn money. However, they are not the only ones available. It is good to spend some time analyzing on how you would like to make an online living. Happy hunting!

Evelyn Lim is an Online Business Entrepreneur. She publishes a free newsletter "Mapping You to Success" for aspiring e-biz owners. The aim of her publication is to equip readers with skills to acquire multiple sources of online income. To subscribe, please visit http://www.e-BizMap.com

Your Front End

2009-01-10T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Tim Whiston

While surfing for traffic or browsing your safelist emails, you are sure to have noticed the very large number of networkers promoting similar, if not identical, programs. Empowerism and Profit Rally are everywhere, as are health related and telecom based MLM opportunities. This is an incredibly competitive time for net marketers. It's difficult to stand out among thousands of other people when everyone is promoting basically the same thing, albeit in slightly different "packages".

Two years ago, a networker could collect daily sign-ups for their favorite biz-opp by simply driving lots of traffic to a nice splash page. While splash pages are still a highly effective form of advertisement, they are less likely to pull sign-ups directly into an opportunity.

Disclaimer: I am not saying you can't build referrals directly through a well built splash page. I am only suggesting that it is more difficult in the year 2005 to grab a surfer and bring them directly into your opportunity than it was in 2003.

We network marketers can be a stubborn lot. Why would we want to join someone else's health related MLM when we are already promoting a very similar program?

Or, from another perspective:

Why would a surfer, who has seen 100 ads for Profit Rally in the past hour of clicking, decide to join from your splash page instead of any of the previous 99? Sure, it could happen. But are the odds of catching that stray surfer good enough to wager your time and/or money on traffic credits?

"Aw Tim. You're full of it. I get loads of active, paying sign-ups into my opportunities every day directly from my adverts."

Fantastic. Thanks for stopping by. The rest of this article is for the folks who are frustrated from clicking their butts off and falling short of any kind of decent results.

In these highly competitive times, a smart network marketer will employ a free front end product or service that allows him/her to meet prospects and share information without coming across as just another cyber recruiter. This "front end" can be anything of value that allows you to make and maintain contact with other networkers. The idea here is to avoid "pitching", and simply give them something they can use and enjoy. Build relationships with people through your front end, and the process of building mutually profitable networks will take care of itself.

Here are just a few examples of front end products you could use to help you network.

- Host your own forum. These resources are very popular, and they are a terrific way to meet like minded people.

- Run your own safelist or banner exchange. This is an easy way to attract a fairly large number of people, because you will be offering a valid form of promotion.

- Build and advertise a resource site that reviews and recommends your favorite marketing tools and resources. Run a mailing list from this site, so visitors can stay informed of any updates or changes you make.

- Start a Yahoo group. It doesn't have to be another "marketing experts" type group. It can be focused on any aspect of this business you feel comfortable with.

- Set up your own chat room and advertise weekly or monthly conferences. You might even think about lining up some cool guest speakers to add some appeal to the events.

By focusing all your promotions on a strong front end product, you can build a large list of contacts and promote any number of programs passively on the "back end". This approach will separate you from the mass of desperate clickers, and put you on the road to quality networking.

Tim Whiston is a full-time entrepreneur and internet marketer. He publishes a monthly ezine, and is the author of a popular e-book entitled From Zero to Profit.

Setting The Best Price For Your Ebook For Maximum Profit

2009-01-08T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by David Hennebery

Your eBook has been written and compiled. Now you have to decide how much you are going to charge the public for the eBook. It is absolutely essential that you find the right price for your eBook. If you don't charge enough, people will think it's of little value, and they won't purchase it. If you price it too high when compared with your competition,you will have to start lowering it, believe me this can lead to some big problems. For example, if you sell your ebook for $27.99, and later reduce it to $22.99, don't you think the people who bought it for $27.99 are going to be a little annoyed.

Choosing the right price for your ebook is one of the most critical parts of the marketing process. The one thing you should never do is under price your eBook. You should first determine, what would be the highest price your potential customer would pay for your ebook, and then if it doesn't sell, reduce it accordingly. Before you take that step, make sure you are promoting your book like crazy on the Internet and on websites. When trying to set the price always remember that the customer will rate the quality of your eBook according to the price. So what you need to do is start with the highest price and then you should start your launch and marketing campaign.

You must remember when considering your price, that eBooks are not hardcopy books. Let's look at the difference between a book in print and an ebook. A printed book is an object you can hold in your hand. It is priced on factors such as paper stock, design and production costs, and marketing. It is the IDEAS that are valuable! That is how you determine the cost of your ebook.

What should I charge for my ideas?

There are all different formulas and methods for determining the correct price for your ebook. Decide if your goal is to get wide distribution and maximum exposure. This goal is aimed at drawing customers to your business or service, or to establishing the credibility of your reputation. If this is the route you want to take you should aim to price your ebook on the low side. This is an excellent pricing strategy if you are looking to acquire long-term customers. Long-term customers are extremely likely to buy from you again and again as long as the first ebook they buy is of exceptional quality and benefits the customer.

However, if your book contains valuable information and more importantly NEW information, references, or techniques, then you should aim to price it higher.

After you figure out your goal, you must figure out what your audience's need is for your ebook. For example, does your book solve a particular problem? If it does, and solves it in a way that hasn't been written about in one hundred other ebooks, you will be able to achieve high sales at a high price. If your book solves a problem or answers questions in a new and unique way, you should price your book as high as you can go. You will achieve larger profits this way, but bring in fewer customers. Just make sure the question or problem that your book solves is one that is important and relevant to the majority of your market audience. If your ideas are not common knowledge, or you are presenting a brand new technique, you will be able to sell books at a high price. Just be prepared for your competition to undercut you on price as soon as they hear about your book.

Marketing Strategies

There are several other strategies that can help you sell more books. One is to give something away for free with your book, such as a valuable bonus item. Or bundle several ebooks under one price, which lowers the price for each ebook if they were sold separately.

An effective technique for figuring out a price is to send out a survey to your current customers. If these customers have already bought an ebook from you, ask for their opinion in terms of price. Do this by creating a sales page for the new book, but don't include a price on that page. Instead, add a number of links to survey questions that ask pointed questions to aid you in assigning a price to your ebook.

Another strategy is to test out prices by creating a number of duplicate sales pages with different prices on each page. Make sure your sales copy is exactly the same on every page, and includes your selling-handle sentence. Then figure out for each page the conversion ratio between visitors to your site and sales of your book. This will tell you what your optimum price is.

Ultimately, if you've written a book that solves a problem or presents a new technique, your book will bring in both traffic and profits. So be sure to write that selling-handle sentence that sums up what problem your book solves and what the benefits of your book will be to the customers who purchase it. And then watch your market come to you!

David Hennebery is the owner and creator of a very successful ebook called ebookprofitmaker. He is regarded as an expert in eBook marketing and selling. To contact him email support@ebookprofitmaker.com or http://www.ebookprofitmaker.com/articleoffer.html

You can start with a few dollars and a good idea to make lots of money online writing and selling your own ebook! I did and I'll show you how. To find out more and receive a 35% discount on my new eBook for reading my article visit http://www.ebookprofitmaker.com/articleoffer.html

**Attention ezine editors/site owners** Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your website so long as you leave the links in place, Do not modify the content and include our resource box as listed above.

The Fastest Way To Explode Your Sales

2009-01-07T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Larry Potter

What's the most important part of your web site?

Successful online entrepreneurs work on their headlines all the time -- they're short, they don't take a lot of time, and nothing improves your sales faster than a better headline. In fact, in one of our own tests, we found that rewriting our headline increased sales overnight by 714%!

Your headline is literally the "do or die" part of your site -- a good headline can turn thousands of visitors into customers and a bad one can drive them away in a matter of seconds.

After all, your headline is the first thing people see when they come to your site, and more people will read it than any other part of your sales letter.

So how can you create a headline that will grab each visitor's attention in just seconds... and convince them to keep reading? You need a headline that works, and works fast.

Six Secret Formulas You Can Use to Create High-Voltage Headlines Effective headlines follow simple, proven formulas. They work, and more importantly, it's easy to make them work for you. Think of these formulas as "fill in the blanks" tools -- just plug in the benefits your own product or service provides, tweak the copy to suit your site, and you'll have a personalized, effective headline.

How-to Statements: "How to TRIPLE Your Income in Three Simple Steps!"

How-to headlines work because the Internet is all about people looking for information. Headlines that start with "How to..." are made for people who want to learn. They get your customers' attention and compel them to read on to find the information you've promised.

Commands: "Submit Your Web Site to the Top 200 "Big Player" Search Engines -- Automatically!"

A command headline focuses on the most important benefit your product or service has to offer. It instantly demands your potential customers' attention and tells them what they will find if they keep reading.

News: "Incredible New Pill Burns Off Body Fat While You Sleep!"

News headlines build excitement around new products or services and show your readers how they can benefit from them.

Questions: "Are You Sick of Being Ripped Off by Sleazy Car Salesmen?"

Question headlines are very effective because they appeal to our emotions. When people read a headline written as a question, they answer the question in their mind. If the question identifies a specific problem that your target audience is actively seeking answers for, they'll be sure to read on.

Testimonials: "Emily S. Needed Her Kids to Turn On Her Computer -- Now Her Web Site Makes $7,000 Every Month!"

A testimonial can establish credibility by showing how people just like your customers benefited from your product and are happy with the results... and how they can benefit too!

Personal Success Stories: "Learn EXACTLY How I Made $16,000 Overnight With This One Simple Strategy!"

A personal story is proof that your product or system works, and that you have the expertise to show others how to get the same results. Three Common Mistakes That Can Sabotage Your Headline! Many people have trouble with headlines. If you have put time and effort into creating a headline that sells but you're still not satisfied with the results, then chances are, you are making at least one of these three common mistakes that ruin the effectiveness of headlines all across the Internet!

Mistake Number One: It doesn't explain what's in it for them.

Your headline needs to instantly communicate the biggest benefit of your product that attracts the most attention of your visitors -- you need to let them know as soon as you can what's in it for them. That's the only way to get them to read your carefully constructed sales copy!

It is crucial that you understand the difference between a benefit and a feature. A feature is something that your product does. For example, Mailloop e-mail management software can automate your customer service, send personal e-mails thanking customers for their orders, schedule follow-up e-mails automatically, and manage all your e-mail lists and newsletter subscribers. These are just a few of its basic features, or what the product is designed to do.

The benefits are the potential rewards a person would receive from using those features. Some of the benefits of Mailloop include: increased profits from repeat customers, more word-of-mouth referrals due to professional and personal communications, hundreds of hours no longer wasted replying to individual e-mails, and many others...

Mistake Number Two: There's no incentive to read more.

The number-one most popular reason people go online (after checking e-mail) is to find information. Your target audience has a particular problem, so you need to offer them a solution to that problem. Promise them the answers they're looking for -- right in your headline!

Make sure your headline offers a compelling reason to find out more. Studies show that if people don't find something that interests them in the first ten seconds or less on your site, they WILL leave -- so grab their attention in those first few seconds with a powerful headline!

Mistake Number Three: It's too hard to read.

Remember that "10 Second Rule?" Readers need to be able to absorb your headline as quickly as possible. For this, readability is crucial.

First of all, everyone needs to be able to see your headline instantly. It has to be big enough for your visitors to see, but small enough to read.

Black text on a white background has been proven time and time again to work best. Don't let your visitors be annoyed by too many fonts, images, and colors.

That said, the main words you want to emphasize can be highlighted with bold, italics, or color -- just keep it limited to one extra color.

Also try to create a good balance on your page. Too much white space will look empty, but too much text will look crowded. As long as it's easy to read, people will read it!

Headline Clinic: How to Rewrite Your Headline for MAXIMUM Results! Ineffective headlines are everywhere and they're driving away customers every day. Let's look at one and rewrite it using our powerful new headline writing secrets.

Men's Barbering Services performed by Philadelphia's #1 Image Consultant and Grooming Expert! Unique, personalized, and by-appointment only. My GUARANTEE to you is that you will NEVER wait for service! You'll leave here, looking and feeling great!

There are several problems with this headline. In fact, it's making all three of the most common mistakes.

First of all, there's also no clear benefit to the customer, other than not having to wait, and that's not exactly thrilling stuff. Since the writer is an image consultant, he needs to provide a benefit associated with improving your image.

Mistake number two is that there's no reason or incentive to read more.

And third, the blocky text and dark background make it unattractive and difficult to read.

We wanted to make the headline easier to read and show concrete benefits for the customer. Here's what the improved version looks like:

"How to create a professional, confident, sexy image that commands respect and attention and draws women, money, and success to you like flies to honey!"

The improved version has a key benefit -- women, money, and success -- highlighted in yellow. It's written in a "How to" statement that excites curiosity and lists several desirable results (respect and attention from looking so professional, confident, and sexy) emphasized with an underline, red text, and italics. This headline really pops now!

Final Thoughts

If your headline is not working, then it just doesn't matter how good the rest of your web site is. You may have the best sales copy in the world but if people don't get drawn in by your headline, they won't read it! Your headline is your first -- and best -- chance to "hook" people into your sales process. It needs to motivate visitors to read your sales copy, so you need to make sure it's exciting.

Don't be afraid to do a little online legwork. Surf the web and try to find as many headlines as you can and see how they measure up to these key points.

If you find yourself halfway through reading someone else's sales copy when you were just looking for good headlines, go back and look closely at the headline. The headline worked on you and got you to read more, so try to analyze why. Keep testing and learning and soon enough, "You Too Can Increase Your Sales By 714% In 24 Hours Or Less -- Guaranteed!"

If you want to skip the failing actions and get a personal tour of REAL PEOPLE making REAL PROFITS on the Internet, then go to...

http://advancedinternetwealth.50webs.com/index.html6.htm

... and take advantage of the invaluable tips and tricks that these Internet successes reveal so that you can start applying them to your business today.

Use Photos As Part Of Your Marketing Arsenal

2009-01-06T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Soren Breiting

Photos should be important parts of your marketing. The photos are useful

- to document your offers

- to achieve positive acceptance of what you are displaying

- to function as eye catchers

- to bring the buyers in a general positive mood

- to create identification with the use of your product.

In such a way photographic pictures have other functions than creative art and illustrations that aren't photographic pictures.

At the same time it is important to acknowledge, that pictures are not selling your offers isolated. It is your copy that sells your service or goods.

In many cases you will need professional looking photos of your products. If possible go for a professional photographer. These photos will enhance your product much better than your own photos.

If you have to do your own photography, use a good digital camera and take plenty of pictures with a simple background. White or blue is often the best background with smaller items. Only use the very best photo of each item, and keep a unifying style of photos displayed at the same webpage.

In between these options you might know a friend or a young person who is much occupied with photography. Such a person might be able to do the job for you with a better result than yourself and at a much lesser expense than the professional photographer.

If you can get good looking models to show the use of your product, include such photos. If you can't get such persons avoid such pictures.

Your marketing will often benefit from other photos than the product photos, too.

In some cases the so-called free clip art will do the work for you. Especially with small print runs and local distribution of your advertisement. But in larger professional work you should definitely go for stock photos from pro picture agencies and photo libraries.

There are many advantages of the photo libraries:
- The pictures in a photo library are not used by 'every' business, so the money spend on each photo give your work some image of exclusivity.
- You will have access to huge quantities of high quality photos.
- You will have professional support for your requests and ideas of the images in mind.
- You will have the possibility to contact specialist picture agencies when an expertise in the field of your products is needed.

Nowadays many stock agencies have online picture galleries. Some offer licensed stock photos, other offer royalty-free photos, and some stock photo agencies offer both.

Be aware of that the typical picture agency only has a limited selection of the pictures online accessible for your search. So supplement your picture research by asking the picture editors of the photo agency to help expand your choices.

In conclusion, be critical aware of the function of your copy, your product photos and the other photos at your website and try to make the best interaction between these tools in your marketing arsenal.

Get help from Soren Breiting to find ideas for your online marketing at http://www.ALLeMarketingTips.com and receive the latest really useful tips at http://www.StockPhotoNews.com (about pictures and marketing). Soren has written more than 20 printed books, and countless articles in journals and magazines about his special fields of interest. He is widely published on the web, too. Enjoy Soren's wonderful stock photos at: http://www.azFOTOS.com

Making Money Online When The Prospect Names His Own Price

2009-01-04T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jim Green

I'm a plain man when it comes to making money online; I just do what I do and try to make an honest buck wherever I can without upsetting anyone.

Now and again though fate steps in and sends you a prospect where you have to figure out for yourself where he or she is coming from and where in fact they think they're heading.

I got one such prospect a few weeks ago in the shape of Rocco, a gentle giant from Brooklyn.

How do I know Rocco is a giant?

He emailed a picture of himself towering over his significant other and some friends.

How do I know he's gentle?

Read on

Rocco emailed me expressing interest in three of my products but he didn't want them in digital format (which would have cost him $107 in total) he wanted hard copy.

I suggested CD formatting.

He got back to me saying, "No, I don't want CDs, I want hard copy. I'll pay a grand"

So now I thought, loony tunes, but I emailed Rocco back intimating that if he deposited $200 in my PayPal account I'd give him what he wanted; hard copy on all three products

I reckoned I would hear no more but the following morning on checking my PayPal account I discovered to my astonishment that one thousand dollars had been deposited.

I can't take this man's money I protested and I told him so.

Rocco got back to me within the hour.

His brusque message read, "I said a grand, I meant a grand, so take a grand".

So I took Rocco's grand.

Wouldn't you?

I mean who wants to be emailed to death

The moral:

Never assume you know better than prospects or what they are prepared to pay and why. Maybe Rocco has a sight problem beyond my ken or maybe he finds it difficult to read from a computer screen. I will never know for sure but this I do know. Rocco is delighted with the hard copy he craved.

He told me so in yet another email.

Jim Green is an online enthusiast and bestselling author with an ever-growing string of niche non-fiction hard copy titles to his credit. You can view one of the products that captivated Rocco at his website

Jim Green is an online enthusiast and bestselling author with an ever-growing string of niche non-fiction hard copy titles to his credit. http://makingmoneyonline-xl.com

Internet Marketing 10 Ways To Tell If You Are A Guru

2009-01-03T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Casey Byshop

Over the last few months there has been an incredible number of new "guru's" appear in the world of internet marketing. Amazingly this has coincided with a whole host of very poorly though out products that offer very little or no value to purchaser. Coincidence? I'll let you decide.

It could be that you are already an internet marketing Guru and you don't even know it yet. Just to help you out here is a list of 10 things that will help you work out if you are in fact an Internet Marketing "Guru"

10. Every family event, Birth, Wedding, Christening or Funeral is seen as a potential source of sales and the Ideal opportunity for an impromptu Seminar.

9. You approach the local paperboy and offer him 50% of sales to your new product in return for use of his "list"

8. You start to use words and expressions like "skyrocket" and "Explode your Income" in day to day conversations

7. You write your wife a note to tell her you've taken the dog for a walk and it stretches to 8 pages

6. You phone your local Wal-Mart and ask If you can get your shopping "even if it's 2am"

5. You and your friends' idea of fun is seeing who can get a poorly written book to no1. in Amazon

4. You get embarrassed in the showers when you find your friend has a bigger list than you.

3. You decide to sell your car but won't tell anyone the price until they are in the bank and ready to pay

2. You take your youngest kid to a new school and then try to up sell to your oldest kid and tell the headmaster that he will never see this offer again

1. You can't see the irony in the last 9 reasons

Casey Byshop is a veteran of the Internet Marketing Business and currently runs a number of Websites including the somethimes controversial but always entertaining Guru Watch

Affiliate Internet Marketing Making A Success

2009-01-02T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Karl Stadler

So there you are sitting in front of your monitor while the others are all watching the latest soaps. Ad's are filling your screen as you click through them one by one looking for that perfect business opportunity that is going to make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.

Each sales page promises more than the previous and it is really becoming a difficult decision as to exactly how rich you want to be. The headlines scream at you, "Make One Million In 6 months", "Write Your Own Paycheck", "The Secret Of Earning Multiple Streams Of Income" and so it goes on.

You become so exited with your new found wealth that you give the dog your prime fillet which you bought an hour ago, knowing that after starting up you will never be looking back while the money pours into your bank account.

If this were true we would have a awful amount of extremely happy dogs not knowing the meaning of dog food, but in reality affiliate marketing is not what it seems.

However that which is stated is not entirely untrue. You can achieve all or many of what is mentioned, but you are not going to do it in 15 minutes per day and on autopilot.

Now, back to reality. How do I do it?

The easiest way starting out as a internet marketer is by being an affiliate for other peoples products. The reasons are quite simple and obvious, you do not need your own website and all the technical jargon associated with it and you don't have to spend money and time creating your own product. All you need to do is drive traffic to the affiliate site, they make the sales, you just pick up your cash.

To find products to promote as a affiliate is not difficult. There are thousands available for you to choose from. Some will charge money to join but most will be free.

As an affiliate marketer the aim is not promoting one product only, it's like putting all your eggs in one basket. Choose about 5 or even more in different areas, ones you find interesting and which you think might be good sellers. Take your time when choosing and read through everything, remember at the end of the day it will be your money driving traffic to that site, make your money work for you.

Here are a few things you need to keep in mind when choosing your affiliate products.

Have a look at when and how they pay you your commissions.

The percentage commission they will be paying you.

Preferably choose ones that pays a high commission and pays into your account as soon as the sale is made. That will keep you from losing money from sales because in many instances you will not be able to track any sales activity.

All that said and done you are now armed to the teeth with affiliate links, the dog is happily eating a prime fillet, so lets get on with it.

The most common way to generate traffic fast is PPC (pay per click). Google adwords is the big dog in town but there are a few others which you can easily find doing a simple search. It's quite easy to sign up and then you are ready to go.

Now the kind people from the affiliate programs you joined have possibly given you keywords that you can just copy and paste into your Google adwords. Now all you need to do is copy and paste them, make your bid and the money will start rolling in.

Here is the bad news, unless you are in business to lose money, this is all you will be doing and the dog will have to revert back to dog food and you to bread and water. Your advertising is going to cost you much more than your income.

This said, you can make it as a affiliate, and you can make a lot of money, you are however going to have to do some work.

Your main aim is to find cheap and underexposed keywords. Lets take a example of Google adwords.

If you copy and paste the keywords given to you, the chances are good that a lot of other affiliates are also using the exact same keywords. So for you to get ad into the top 10 or first page you will need to bid high. Let's say you end up bidding 50 cents for a pretty broad keyword. The product you are selling is selling for $47 of which you receive 50% commission, $23.50 less banking charges. In effect that means that for every 47 clicks you receive you must make one sale to just break even. I can tell you now on a broad keyword you will get 47 clicks but you will not get one sale. To find out how a keyword is performing and converting into sales is to base it on 200 clicks. When reaching that target take a look at the conversion rate, how many clicks per sale. If you have made no sales, or just one, you need to refine your keywords because you are hitting the wrong target market.

Where and how do you find and implement these seemingly elusive keywords. I mean there are only so many words in the English language!

Step One

Take a good look at the affiliates website you joined, and see what it is that makes this a unique product that customers should have. Now please this answer does not lie in the first words you read on the page, the headline or sub headline. Read through the entire affiliate sales page and find your own unique ideas, be different.

Step Two

Now that you have the idea clearly in your mind, think up a few keywords that fit this idea and will relate well to the product you are trying to sell. Come up with a few single words and some two word phrases. Write all of these down until you have about ten or fifteen.

Step Three

You have your adwords account, open the Overture keyword tool and use both of them. You can download Good Keywords for free and it will provide you with an enormous amount of information.

Take your single and two word phrases and combine them into three and four word phrases. Test these in your tools to see how many searches take place and test different combinations of these words until you find the right combination.

Once you have determined good combination keyword phrases, add them to your keyword list in your account. Chances are that you will be able to get into the top 10 easily with the lowest bid.

Target your market with specific targeted 3 and 4 word phrases, they will get you quality clicks, cheaply, with the target market generating sales.

You have heard the term find your niche over and over, but believe me if you are going to try to hit broadly you are going to lose money.

You can be a successful affiliate, but you need to put the time and effort in finding the right target audience for your product. Getting the balance right is the ultimate goal of your business.

Happy Marketing!

Karl Stadler is a internet marketer and author. Need some new unique products with Resell Rights to sell. Visit http://www.yourenterprize.com

What Is The Mysterious Niche Market

2009-01-01T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mike Lindley

The Niche Market is a shy creature. It hides away, watching for the opportune moment to leap into your spotlight when its name is called. Then it comes arunning. It's very friendly and loyal when you get to know it. But treat it like any other creature or call out the wrong name and it runs away again into the shadows.

If you think of a supermarket as the big sell-all-market, then to seek out a niche market, you walk your trolley along several aisles to the supermarket's Bakery Department. There you seek out the nan bread packs. If you're buying a red plastic hair comb you've come to wrong place.

Your journey to the fabled Red Plastic Hair Comb Niche Market is not pie in the sky, it's not even in the Bakery Department.

The red plastic hair comb buyer, bows a head in disappointment and shuffles from the Bakery Department in search of the Niche Market, far away in Aisle 4. How could so much time and effort be wasted seeking out nan breads? You can't comb your hair with a nan bread.

A Niche Market is a well defined cluster of individuals with broadly similar interests, needs and desires who buy specific items for specific reasons. Don't confuse hair combs with nan breads.

Suppose you are selling nan breads online. To increase your visitors numbers, you will need to research the websites where those individuals interested in eating nan bread visit. Get to know this nan bread eater. Research the key words and the essential information that excite nan bread eaters.

Now describe your perfect nan bread buying customer to discover what a Niche Market is. Use this information on your website.

Article by Mike Lindley.

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Mike is a national IT education prize winner. He holds an Advanced Professional Diploma in Business Innovation. Many regard Mike as a blank-page expert.

Perpetual Profits From Your Own Website

2008-12-31T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by C. E. White

How many times have you asked yourself "How do I make money on the internet?" I have asked myself that question several thousand times.

I am about to reach the age of retirement and Social Security will not be enough income to live the lifestyle that I had hoped to live.

Selling products over the Internet seemed like a good idea, but that limits me to being home and check for orders each and every day. This definitely is not what I wanted.

Searching long enough has led me to a way to make money on the Internet with my own website, selling information such as ebooks that will give me perpetual profits. That means making money while I am home, on vacation, and even while I sleep.

It's just a matter of finding a niche market. This is not hard, as there are thousand of ideas on the internet with a little searching. Book stores, magazines and even TV commercials are good places to get ideas. Of course, you may already have that cool idea and just don't know how to get started.

Well, I have found a site that has over 12 hours of video instruction and information that will lead you from step 1 through the entire process that will help you got started making money on the internet and the best part is it is FREE. Yes, FREE. I could not believe it, but it is true.

There is only one thing you must do "TAKE ACTION." If you do not take action, you will remain a part of the majority saying "that's just too much trouble." You must believe in yourself and focus on your vision. You will make mistakes, try things that just don't work, but don't give up. You will be surprised if you just keep focusing on your goals and believe in yourself.

C. E. White (author)

Learn more - Take Action and get FREE information about internet marketing training at http://www.internetprofitmentor.com

Power Linking To A Powerful Marketing Campaign

2008-12-30T23:00:00.000-08:00

Writen by Dirk Wagner

As the old cliché goes, change is inevitable. This statement holds true for practically anything and everything in this world, including business and marketing strategies.

In this increasingly connected world, people who work in the field of marketing have had to adapt to the change, so online marketing was born.

One of the current buzzwords in the online marketing world is power linking, but what exactly is power linking?

There's really no one definition of power linking, but it is usually described as a marketing strategy employed by some webmasters to increase the number of people going into their respective websites.

How exactly they do that, we'll discuss later.

Now, what are the benefits of power linking?

Well, there are a lot actually.

First of course, is increased inbound traffic for your website. Power linking helps get more people to visit your site, which of course is essential if you want your marketing campaign to be successful. Increased traffic is the single most essential thing for a good marketing campaign.

Second is improved quality of your traffic. You've already got more people visiting your site, but through power linking, you'll get more people who are interested in your site's content to visit it more often. Through power linking, you are able to target consumers very easily.

Lastly, you will see a dramatic improvement in your search engine rankings. Watch your pagerank go higher and higher by power linking. This is a big help for any website, let alone a business website.

Now, how exactly is power linking done?

Well, one way is by exchanging links with other sites. But it's not just any other site you should exchange links with. There are certain guidelines to follow to really gain more benefits through power linking.

First off, you should only trade links with sites that share a similar target audience. That way, both your site and the one your trading links with benefit from increased traffic.

Then, you should make sure that the site your trading links with has a clearly visible text link that will be easy to spot not only for site visitors, but for search engines as well.

Next, the site your exchanging with should not have over 50 links in a single page. Most search engines ban pages with too many links in it, so it won't do you any good if you have your link posted there, and that's not how you make power linking work for you.

You also have to make sure that your power linking with a site that has a static html link page, so the page doesn't move around much. This way, search engines can keep track of it.

There is also etiquette when power linking, so there are some things to remember when power linking.

One is that you should place a link before asking for an exchange. It's simply rude to ask for a link when you haven't linked yet. You should also give out exact URLs when power linking to make it easier to link directly. Also, never ever spam for link exchanges. Most webmasters will just ignore it, and it's quite rude as well. Lastly, never delete a link for no good reason. It's just not the proper thing to do when power linking.

Now that you know how power linking is done, nothing should stop you from reaping all of its benefits. So go ahead, and power link your way to a successful marketing campaign.

Dirk Wagner is the CEO of http://www.internetmarketingoasis.com a powerful resource for needed marketing tools and creator of the #1 IMO Marketing Toolbar. He also is the publisher of a free home business online course at http://www.team4success.biz.

A Letter To Santa From An Internet Marketer

2008-12-29T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Halstatt Pires

Yo, Santa! How's it going in the great white north? Seeing as it tis' the season, here is my letter about what I want for Christmas.

Been Good

Santa, I know you do that whole good versus bad thing. I promise I've been a good internet marketer this year. I haven't spammed the search engines with mirror sites, link farm purchases or little tricks to tweak your friends at Google. Now, while I've been good, I would like a few bad things for Christmas. No ponies here, I want the good stuff.

Dear Santa, I want:

1. A lump of coal to be given to the bad person or persons at Yahoo who've been deleting my pages from their search engine results.

2. A lump of coal to the same people at Yahoo who came up with the Site Match nonsense. Feel free to let the reindeer relieve themselves while on the roofs of these peoples' homes.

3. To meet a person from Google who handles the ranking updates in a bar late at night after they've been drinking for four or five hours. I only need 15 minutes. Pleeeeasssee! I've been so good.

4. Five minutes in the Ultimate Fighting Octagon with Bill Gates.

5. A few hours with your list of bad people who will get coal for the holidays. Don't worry, I can figure out which ones are fraudulently clicking my PPC ads.

6. Please send the Santa virus to the people who keep sending me the phishing Pay Pal emails.

7. Same thing for the bad boys and girls sending me pharmaceutical spam.

8. The opportunity to beat each dmoz volunteer editor over the head with my keyboard just once. Okay, maybe twice.

Now I realize you are a master of being subtle. When I visited you at the mall, you acted like I was a lunatic and you didn't know what I was talking about. I really didn't appreciate you calling security and the FBI, but I guess everybody has a bad day. I'm sure I can count on you to come through this year.

Oh, I forgot something. Angelina Jolie. Definitely Angelina Jolie. Leave her short dork boyfriend at home.

Now that isn't much to ask is it? Is it?

Halstatt Pires is a search engine optimization specialist with http://www.marketingtitan.com - an Internet marketing and advertising company in San Diego offering internet marketing services such as meta tag optimization services and link popularity services.

Don Quixotes Post Humous Virtual Expedition Filling The Black Holes In Cyber Space

2008-12-28T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Angelique Van Engelen

Perhaps the online community today is not so different from Don Quixote chasing after windmills, mistaking them for giants. Excessive web browsing might yield more or less similar symptoms of lunacy as those displayed in Quixote's mad adventures.

If the web were to appoint godfathers, Michael Saavedra Cervantes, Don Quixote's inventor, would be a very appropriate candidate. Already the founding father of European literature, his one and only book's structure is not too dissimilar to the myriad of modern cyber texts.

For starters, you often don't know where Quixote and his squire Sancho end one adventure or where they begin another. Also, Don Quixote offers an abundance of contradiction, imagination beyond what is ordinary, subplots here there and everywhere. And this is not where the comparison ends. There's even interaction between the author and the characters without it seeming to be a violation of the characters or of the story itself.

It's a bit ironic that despite high technology and the 500 years or so that have gone by since the book was published haven't made us invent a clearer concept of interactivity. Today, people interacting with their search engines are having a hard time actually finding efficiently what they are looking for. At the same time, companies run huge financial risk if their websites fail to secure high rankings in search engines. Where's the interactivity that actually connects efficiently all the time?

To stand out from the crowd in cyber space, you need a well-thought out concept. But where to begin? Researching the status quo of internet marketing is a good starting point because the marketing guys are there to bridge the gap between companies and customers.

The main theme of marketing studies at the moment is customer research. A lot more money gets spent on consumer behavior than before the deflation of the dotcom sector. The trend is driven by companies turning to quantitative analysts to find hard and decisive numbers about their actual consumer markets.

Here goes, the more you can fragment a market, the better one's chances (of controling it). Nothing new. What is new is the way marketers are devouring the data, dissecting it like biologists would owl droppings. Hopefully, interpretations of the findings are not exactly stomach turning but contributing to better interactive patterns.

So this is where we are - at the beginning of an understanding-based approach of customers. The trend has been termed 'new marketing' or 'behavioral marketing'. Wonder how companies are dealing with this? If you may believe the experts, companies are aiming to gradually reach higher click/sales conversion rates from their marketing campaigns, rather than going for quick sales. Apparently, the focus is more long term and on an increased understanding of what brings buyers to their decision.

Marketers say it's back to the drawing board throughout the bank. The very beginnings of the buying funnel are now researched in greater depth. This is good to keep in mind when you are getting to grips with cyber culture. Search behavior is the focus of a lot of market research, if only because so much information that comes out of this has yet to be capitalised on.

But marketers have a hard nut to crack here. Our search behavior is very difficult to describe in words, let alone pour data on it in models and derive a sensible meaning from it. "Searching has become such an intuitive function, we tend not to give the actual search process much thought", writes Gord Hotchkiss from Enquiro, a US firm that specialises in people's search behaviour.

The company's research into the way people browse for stuff is so simple you would think most of the findings would have been included in assumptions some five years ago. Yet many marketers were reported to be astonished at the findings. It appeared that it is very unlikely that two people perform identical searches even if they are looking for the same thing. Other firms confirm Enquiro's experiment. iProspect conducted a survey that pointed out that search engine click through behavior can only be categorised by a few, very vague, denominators; gender, education, employment status. The study also underlines that frequency of internet use and internet experience are factors here.

It makes the frantic hype around getting the search engine top rankings on a handful of keywords look a bit expensive. Yet, half the competion battle is won by being somewhere first. So companies, even though they don't know exactly where they are, will monopolise all those keywords they deem useful. Huge portions of marketing budgets are spent on the purchase of search keywords.

The result is the commercialisation of search engines. This is going on with rapid speed, and they are increasingly seizing significant portions of companies' marketing budgets.

Pay Per Click-only engines are starting to attract large numbers of listings. The main risk is failure of conversion of the increased traffic into sales.

Not everyone is convinced of the merits of Pay Per Click campaigns. Garrick Saito who is one of many small business owners on the web says his company Respree.com, selling reprints of art works, largely abandoned his campaign. "I still use Pay Per Click today for a very limited purpose, bidding on terms that I will only pay $.01 per click on. Of course, the traffic is not nearly as great as if you were to bid $.25 or $.50 per click, but then again, the advertising dollars don't add up nearly as fast either", he says.

Saito is one of many small business owners that are looking to optimise free organic listings by changing search keywords. It is his experience here that enables him to do that somewhat effectively and without the help of an outsider. "I am trying to optimise my pages so my products, categories and artists rank well", he says. Saito is not sure if his own company is representative of his branch. "I can see competitors with deeper financial resources spending money (perhaps a lot of money) on PPC campaigns and other placements. However, [...] the larger players are more the exception than the rule," he says.

So the commercialisation of search engines might not necessarily be succeeding in attracting small to medium size businesses, the vast bulk of the internet population. But the free lunch is probably over very soon come what may. Search Engine Trends reports that demand for free listings has recently risen in relation to what the engines offer; demand for free listings is 80% and what is offered is 75%.

Companies wanting reasonable visibility might soon have to fork out. Further evidence to this point is this; 44% of search engines offers paid listings, whereas demand is merely 4%. Pay Per Click advertising is a similar story with 33% of the engines offering this and demand at 4%. This looks meagre, but if you think of it as a new trend, the 4% is quite convincing.

Meanwhile, one wonders what good the newly emerging order is to customers. How are we going to see the forest amid the trees? A recent study into the various kinds of searches people type into their browsers are indicating consumers still are somewhat overwhelmed by what they are offered, despite some five years or so of experience with the medium.

Apparently, the more questions you type into your browser, the more autonomous a user you are, according to the sponsors of one such study, ComScore Media Metrix. So called 'sophisticated' markets include (in descending order) the UK, Canada, the US, France and Germany. But even in these countries, people are not overfacing their browsers with innumerable questions. In the UK, people entered on average 40 queries per month. And this is the highest scoring country of the list.

Perhaps everyone wonders where to start. Or maybe we've taken the web for what it offers with most of our information sources safely bookmarked and ready for use independently from the search engines.

It's another question whether companies are actually ready for intensified relations with their customers. JupiterResearch found that only one out of five companies that have access to statistics on consumer behavior actually also optimise their targeting.

Perhaps Don Quixote was not so totally outlandish, trying to slay windmills - at least he spotted them, went after them and changed his approach rather than gave up when he discovered he was totally mistaken!

About The Author

Angelique Van Engelen

contentclix@contentclix.com

Top 10 Ways To Make Your Website Sell 247

2008-12-27T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Donna Gunter

I've spent more hours that I care to count attending networking functions, and I continue to be amazed at all the people I meet who don't have a website. Many entrepreneurs love what they do but hate marketing and selling themselves. A well-written website is one of the most effective tools at your disposal that will sell for you 24/7, provided you have written compelling copy for the site.

Here are ten ways to make your website your unpaid sales force:

1. Networking. A website permits you to pass out your business card to thousands of potential clients and lets them know how to reach you and what you sell. If, in your sales copy, you tell your story of why you're in your business, write a bio that accurately reflects your voice and style for your site, and upload your photo, your potential customers will begin to get to know you, without having to meet them one-on-one. Nothing is more amazing to me that to walk into a networking event and have total strangers come up and begin a conversation with me as though we were long-lost friends. They think we are. Why? Because they've visited my website or read my email newsletter or blog to the extent they have begun to get to know me, like me, and respect me.

2. Make Business Information Available. Help your customers find out more about you. What are your hours? What methods of payment do you accept? Where are you located? Being the "Internet snob" that I am, I go online first to check out a business before deciding to do business with them. Sometimes it's to check the menu, if it's a restaurant. Sometimes it's to see if they offer a discount coupon. Other times I just need to find their hours of operation or driving directions. If I can't find their website, I'm apt to find their competitor's site that contains precisely the info that I'm seeking.

3. Better Serve Your Customers. Make doing business with you as easy and effortless as possible. With an online presence, you could make forms available to pre-qualify clients for loans if you're a mortgage broker, enable your clients to upload their files for typesetting and printing if you're a professional printer, or allow your customer to see if the coat he wants is in stock if you're a clothing store. My sister is a "shoes horse" and desperately wanted a particular pair of shoes from a nationally-known department store in Houston. She checked their website to see if the shoes were in stock in her size at the store closest to her. She discovered they weren't, but was able to find another branch that did have them in stock and was able to swing by and pick them up. When your clients are over-committed and trying to squeeze another hour out of the day, how much more will they appreciate your online presence if you can help them save one of their most valuable assets -- their time?

4. Release Time-Sensitive Materials. You may have a service business that relies on appointments to make your money, like a hair salon or a chiropractor's office. You walk in on Monday morning and discover that only about half of your appointments are taken for the week. Do you decide to take part of the week off? You could, if you needed a vacation. Or, you could email the customer list you've built through your website and let them know that you're taking appointments at a special discounted rate this week only, or on certain days of this week, or that they'll get a free widget if they book an appointment by a certain date or time. How quickly do you think your customers would take advantage of this time-sensitive offer?

5. Be Open All Night, 365 Days of the Year. Internet surfers don't go online to buy--they go online to find free information. However, we live in an immediate gratification society. If you have a product for sale that fulfills a need to a particular problem, you can add a shopping cart with credit card purchasing ability to your online product catalog and enable someone to buy something from you at 2 AM, for example, when most of us are in bed. If your shopping cart permits immediate delivery of an electronic item, like an ebook or audio file, all the better, as your customer can have the information he has ordered within minutes after purchase. How many sales are you losing because your prospective customer has to fax or phone in an order or wait for your office to open to talk to you? Your e-commerce-enabled website can be your 24-hour automated salesperson.

6. Make Pictures and Sound Files Available. What if your widget is great, but people want to see it in action? Your website permits you to add sound, static images, and video to better explain who you are and what you sell, or to demonstrate use of your product or service. No brochure will do that. Additionally, audio and video testimonials from enthusiastic customers are now becoming more commonplace on websites. If you hate to sell, have a happy customer tell your website visitors how wonderful you are and how well you solved his problem. People believe enthusiastic testimonials from others who've successfully used your product or service.

7. Answer FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions). Every business has questions that customers ask again and again. Do you have the staff, or want to dedicate staff time, to answering these questions? Instead, post the questions and answers to your website and remove another barrier to doing business with you. Or, if you have the staff to do so, install a "live help" program on your website so that your site visitors can click and log-in to ask their questions right away while the question is fresh on their mind.

8. Offer Special Membership Access for Current Customers. If you're selling a service on your site, you may want your current paying clients to have access to certain information that is generally not available to the public. With your website, you can create a password-protected, clients-only section, or special membership section, for certain groups of clients. And, as website visitors are always curious and will try to get into private areas for additional information, you can use the "authorization required" page as another opportunity to tell them about the benefits of your product and service and how their lives will be better and richer for purchasing it. And, upon purchase, they will then become a member of this "special clients" club and have all the information and privileges associated with that membership. American Express is right -- membership has its privileges!

9. Open to National or International Markets. For most of my adult life, I've lived in parts of the country that have never recovered from the mid-1980's recession. Because I've had a virtual business with a website, I've never had to rely on the local economy to make a living. If you have a product or service that won't sell locally, or you have a brick and mortar operation and are trying to break into new markets, a website can help you open up a dialogue with nationwide or even international markets as easily as with the company across the street. Can you stand to make more money in your business?

10. Test-Market New Services and Products. Got an idea for another line of products for your business, or an additional service you'd like to add? Create a special page on your website and see how your current customers like the new offering. Ask them about price, appearance, and usability. They will let you know what they think faster and easier than any other market you may reach. Take their feedback, make necessary changes, and then roll it out to a larger market.

If you don't currently have a website for your business, get one! If your website only serves as a pretty brochure instead of bringing you qualified customers or sales, perhaps it's time to hire an expert to bring it to the next level. What difference would it make for you to get 95% of your clients online? I bet that would make your marketing efforts much more streamlined, and who doesn't want to make more profit in less time?

Why This Internet Marketing Quotmonkey Mazequot Secret Can Make You A Lot Of Money Fast

2008-12-26T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Michael Senoff

One of the best ways to get a lot of people to your site buying things is to put so much content on there people basically get lost.

For example, I have a website with 120+ hours of audio content, reports and other business and marketing information. I call it the "monkey maze."

Because when you go to a local fair or carnival, there's a fun house and there's a little thing you go in and it's got all the mirrors facing different ways and you can't figure out which way you're going.

My site -- as well as many other wildly successful sites -- is kind of like that.

People get in there and they get lost in the site and they're bouncing around and they see a headline that may attract their attention and they go to it. Then they see another one and go to that and so on.

Now, there is a method to this "madness."

Because, you see, I've got these audios positioned in places on the site where I want to lead people to stuff that I want to sell them.

The audio content is to set them up for the sales pitch. It gives them a chance to taste the information free, without any obligation. They get to know me, we bond, and eventually they trust me as an authority. At that point, they see a sales letter on my site and it has ten times the impact. The claims, the benefits, the information is readily believed and they are more likely to buy.

In other words, first I give, then I receive. Very simple. Very powerful.

And you know what?

No matter what you sell or who you sell to, you can do the same thing.

All it takes is content. Good, useful, powerful content people can use.

Put in the time and energy to put the content up (I like to use audio because it's fast and cheap) and people will not come just once -- but over and over again, money in hand and ready to give it to you.

Michael Senoff is a sought-after Internet marketer, interviewer and business coach with more than 50,000 students on four continents. For a limited time he is giving away free over 120 hours of in-depth audio interviews with some of the richest and most successful marketers, copywriters and business experts in the world at his famous website http://hardtofindseminars.com

How A Change In Perspective Can Help You Make More Holiday Season Sales Pt One

2008-12-25T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Tinu AbayomiPaul

Some sites are perfect for the Christmas season - their products fit easily into the idea of gift-giving. But what if the products and services you offer are for small business owners?

Or, as many of my clients ask, how do I survive the holiday season if I sell intangibles?

When a couple of people brought this question up to me in early fall, my answer was that I'd probably make enough money in October not to have to worry about November and December at all. Prevention made sense to me at the time as being the best cure, but it also doesn't mean that I've resigned myself to slow sales during the holidays.

On the contrary, I think that most people who have businesses that offer intangibles such as ebooks, downloadable software, or marketing services can just as much, or more money as the rest of the year by changing tactics slightly.

In other words, just because much of the world is more focused elsewhere doesn't automatically mean that there is a smaller pool of available customers.

True, part-time small business owners may be more mindful of gift-giving and planning family gatherings right now, and anyone with family may sacrifice a new widget for themselves to get that special someone the gift of their dreams.

However, it's important to remember that this doesn't mean no one wants or needs your services right now. It may just mean that you need to think a little differently to make sales this time of year. There's a number of ways that a few subtle changes in your thinking can bring you into a solution-oriented perspective.

For example, I'm an American. This constantly leads me to a tendency to forget that this isn't the only nation on the planet.

If, like me, you are constantly forgetting that you can market to people worldwide, one small way you can attract more business is to think bigger. Instead of falling prey to the thinking that there isn't any money to be made again until January, think about how your site can serve a wider audience.

For example, maybe you can make your site easier for people to translate into other languages using Alta Vista's free Babelfish tool at http://babelfish.altavista.com/, or a link to Google's Language Tools page at http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en - check your server logs and see if you have a significant amount of traffic that originates in a country other than yours.

This is just one of many ways you can widen your audience.

If you have a news or content feed, maybe you need to add a newsletter for the portion of your audience who has not yet started to use news readers. Or if you blog, maybe you need to promote your feed as much as your blog. If your site is mainly text, it could be time to add audio. Or maybe all the flash you put on your site for hi-speed users makes you miss out on dial-up visitors.

Just one small change can put you in front of an cross-section of potential clients you may not have had access to previously.

You can also use a study of the demographics of your current audience to get ideas for affiliate products that might help them. If you're not studying who your audience is from afar through surveys, or even better, getting up close and personal and talking to them directly, you should be. Knowing what their needs are is invaluable information in helping you to help them.

An example: If you mostly cater to women who are small business owners, with a little more investigating, you might find that they have a common need.

Many of them may be newly successful in their endeavors, and might be thinking about making a large purchase, like a house. You could join an affiliate program of a mortgage loan company and bring the two groups together. You've done your audience a favor, the loan company is happy with the feedback, they pay you per lead, everyone is happy

Another way you might want to think differently is to use this time of year to focus in on one earlier step in the process of making a sale, instead of focusing more attention towards the later steps that are closer to a purchase.

While most merchants worry a little too much that advertising and marketing in the last few months of the year is a waste of time, there are some people who see this as true from experience. Although past experiences don't necessarily have to translate into present expectations, I'll agree that maybe if you sell one ebook about painting Easter eggs, that Christmas season sales really are a foregone conclusion.

However, even in cases like these, you can still isolate one step in the sales process and just say hello. Even if you make most of your sales from on-the-spot buyers, communicating with new arrivals at your site several times can help you increase the number of people who end up purchasing down the road.

Some studies show that most online sales, particularly of ebooks and software, are not impulse buys, and may take up to seven contacts before a purchase is made. So why not make those repeat visits occur as informatively - and as quickly - as possible?

You may find that simple well wishes, and the show of a sincere desire to help builds rapport between a you and your potential client. Touching base during the holiday season doesn't need to be a formal or long communication either.

For instance, you can send a quick email out to your list, just saying hello, or offering them a coupon against future sales. Perhaps you've been on the receiving end of such a gesture. I know I have, and I always appreciated it.

A lawyer I used to work for sends Thanksgiving cards. He doesn't ask for any business, he just updates us on how his family is. As a result, he is hard-coded into my brain every Thanksgiving, and I look forward to his letters.

He's also always at the top of my mind when people ask me to refer them to a good attorney. Sure it's because he's great at what he does - but his effort to keep his name at the top of my mind didn't hurt either.

In Part Two, I'll tell you about what I noticed about the subscription site model that helped me triple my income in one month, and how you can use what I learned to help you make more money this holiday season.

About The Author

Tinu AbayomiPaul

Read part two of this article at http://www.freetraffictip.com/perspective2.php or visit the Free Traffic Tips Blog for search engine news and more cost-effective ways to bring targeted visitors to your site.

Internet Marketing Strategythe Advertising Coop

2008-12-24T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Robert A Kearse

The advertising co-op is an Internet marketing strategy that should bring sustained financial success.

Benefits from a well run advertising co-op include:

(1)Responsive highly targeted advertising

(2)Low cost

How An Advertising Co-op Works

Members of the same program pool their money to pay for advertising. Typically, a co-op group will consist of 3-12 members.

The best advertising buy is often a solo ad or top sponsor ad in an ezine. Let's say for example that a top sponsor ad in an ezine costs $120 (US). If 10 members participate in the co-op, the cost per individual is only $12 (US).

Suddenly, highly targeted advertising is within reach of everybody. The members should be advertising a program where each member has his/her own individual referral url.

To organize the co-op you'll need:

(1)an URL (website) rotator

(2)ad trackers

For a comprehensive list of FREE URL rotators visit:

http://100FreeWorkAtHomeTools.com/freeurlrotators.html

For a comprehensive list of FREE ad trackers visit:

http://100FreeWorkAtHomeTools.com/freeadtrackers.html

When the ezine ad is run, the ad will contain the URL of a rotator. Inserted in the rotator will be the referral URLS of the co-op members. As ezine readers click on the URL in the ad, the referring website URLS come up in rotation for the co-op members.

To insure the integrity of the co-op each member should convert their referral URL to an ad tracking URL and submit this second url to the co-op organizer.

Each time the ad tracker URL is clicked a hit will be recorded by the ad tracking program. All co-op members can be assured that the ad responses are distributed evenly since they can compare number of hits with other co-op members.

It is an advertising axiom that TARGETED ADVERTISING brings the best results. By TARGETED I mean you are advertising directly to a group that has demonstrated an interest in essentially the area you are promoting.

Such as advertising a search engine submission service in an ezine devoted to website promotion.

With over 300,00 online ezines in existence finding an ezine that covers your target market should be easy.

To find appropriate ezines for advertising these are two of the best ezine directories available:

http://ezinelocater.com/

http://www.topezineads.com/demo.html

Final thoughts:

(1)Do not advertise in any ezine you have not subscribed to.

You want to make sure the ezine offers QUALITY information and is being read by its subscribers.

(2)Distribute a list of co-op participants with name and email address to all co-op members.

(3)For network marketers the advertising co-op is the perfect promotional choice.

(4)If you are a member of a free-to-join multi level advertising program, where you can contact downline members, organizing a co-op can have long term benefits for a very modest cost.

Even though you are doing paid advertising for a program that does not give an immediate cash reward to co-op members via 'sales', THE LIFETIME BENEFITS FROM INCREASING YOUR ADVERTISING FIREPOWER CAN BE DRAMATIC!

Robert A. Kearse is editor of The Tax Torpedo Newsletter. Each issue features FREE tools and resources vital to the success of your work at home business. "The FREE stuff that works! Not the free junk." Plus, a powerful source of aricles on Internet marketing strategy. Plus, extraordinary bonuses for new subscribers! Published every two weeks. http://100FreeWorkAtHomeTools.com/freenewsletter.html

The 7 Best Internet Marketing Solutions Without Overspending

2008-12-23T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mark Williams

The Internet has created a truly global marketplace. It has become important for companies to further expand their market and their consumer targets. In order to take advantage of the growing demand for online business you need to look at your different internet marketing solution opportunities.

To insure that most of your target consumers will acquire your product you need to consider the best products for your niche that captures the interests and needs of your customer base. This means that you need to identify who these people are, where they are located, and their financial status. It takes marketing knowledge and skill to achieve your goals in the Internet marketing arena.

Presently, you can use a variety of internet Marketing Solutions that are being offered by several different online companies. The important thing is to determine which internet marketing solution is right for you to meet the needs of your customers. This solution maybe email marketing, search engine optimization, or creating web pages or sites. Since your goal is to maximize your return on investment, you need to choose Internet Marketing Solutions that will help you achieve this. These marketing techniques will not cost much since they are very self-explanatory, thus, easily learned. Below is a list of cost-effective internet marketing solutions.

1. Email marketing is a common internet marketing solution. This is a cost effective way of communicating and interacting to your consumers, driving them to visit your website to check out your products.

2. Writing and submitting articles related to your niche is a great way to promote your online business and drive hordes of traffic to your web site.

3. Developing a newsletter or ezine is a classic internet marketing solution that is a proven profit earner. The great thing about a newsletter is that you can develop a huge list of subscribers that is permission based. Therefore, you can market to them on a regular basis.

4. Develop a web site focused around your niche or service. It is vital to create your own web site if you are going to be serious about using the internet to market your business. An online presence is vital to a successful business, just ask Wal-Mart, Bass Pro Shop, Target, and the list goes on. The point is that all the big boys of business utilize web sites and so should you.

5. If you are going to create a web site as an internet marketing solution then you must optimize it for the search engines. The highest quality and cheapest visitors are those that come from free search engine listings. In order to receive a high ranking from the search engines you must have a site that is optimized for the search engines.

6. The use of viral marketing tactics is another great internet marketing solution. Give away a free report or e-book about your niche or service. People love free stuff! Give terrific free information and you will see a dramatic increase in traffic to your web site.

7. A new and often overlooked internet marketing solution is the use of press releases. There are several sites on the internet that will post and distribute press releases for you. This is a terrific way to promote your web site and online business.

Well there you have it, 7 hot and proven internet marketing solutions. By implementing these solutions you are sure to see an increase in traffic to your web site and a higher volume of online sales. If you have an offline business creating an online presence is a great way to cost-effectively increase your sales.

Mark Williams is an expert Internet Marketing Solutions author. Check out his site for Internet Marketing Solution tips and resources.

Double Your Ebay Ebook Sales With This Tip

2008-12-22T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Thornhill

Picture a storefront that is bare as an empty pool with no water. The window has no showcase pieces, no sale signs, no glaring merchandise begging to be sold. Instead it sits empty more likely to send people away, then to invite them in to shop. This is a situation that doesn't just happen in the physical world, it often occurs in online shops as well. Not just any online shops, but eBay listings to be specific.

The way your listing looks to others is a sure tell sign of the type of salesmen you are, and what type of quality products you are offering. Never so true has this theory been then when it pertains to eBooks, and other information products. You must know that selling eBooks online takes trust building efforts to a new level. There are many sellers of eBooks that peddle useless information like it was the secret to life. Selling eBooks on eBay should be a trust building experience that starts with having a quality product to offer, and ends with a proper listing.

Spicing up your eBay listings for eBooks is not hard to do, and can be done once, and reused over, and over again. The more repetition you have creating quality listings, the easier it will be for you in the long run. EBook eBay listings should consist of at least three items to make your listings pop; cover picture, your picture, and a preview of the text.

Most eBook products that are allowed to be resold on eBay will come with a cover image file that you can use to promote your product with. If you don't have a cover image file, you can create one easily with some basic photo editing software, of you can buy a cover for as little as twenty dollars. The cover image will help make your listing official looking, and give the customer a visual image to put with your product title. This image should be used as your gallery photo when listing your eBooks on eBay.

Your picture while not as important as the cover photo, is still very important to help enhance your listings looks. A picture of yourself will add authenticity to the product, and give the listing some much needed emotional appeal. The picture of you should be dignified, not you at last summers beach barbeque, but you in a suit, or a button down blouse. Having a picture of yourself will give the buyers more confidence to buy when looking at your eBook eBay listings.

Finally include a preview of the eBooks contents in your listing. Don't just give the eBay members a table of contents; try to give them a sample chapter, or two to help them understand why they must own your product.

John Thornhill is an eBay powerseller and trades on eBay under the username planetsms. If you really want to succeed on eBay with information products visit http://www.planetsms.co.uk

Entrepreneurs 3 Ways To Profit From Your Website And The Secret To Long Term Wealth

2008-12-21T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Yaro Starak

I've had numerous conversations with web entrepreneurs about this topic and many of them agree that the revenue models for web business are often poorly thought out and depend too heavily on advertising for success. Back in the DotComBoom it was accepted that you didn't have to worry too much about your revenue model, it was all about investment capital and IPO's. Of course this eventually led to a crash and nowadays web business, like normal business, has to show sound revenue models and profit forecasts. They need a sustainable way to make money - who would have thought that!

The Internet has largely been driven by free information. Users expect services and information to be provided for free and are very reluctant to spend. Previously entrepreneurs used the logic that they could capture the market benefiting from network effects and then worry about making money either from advertising or by charging for services.

Unfortunately many web businesses quickly realised that advertising revenue sometimes wasn't enough to even cover costs let alone make a significant profit and as soon as they started charging for their services their audience quickly ran off to the nearest copy-cat free service provider out there.

So what is a web entrepreneur to do? You have a brilliant idea that will likely find an audience but how can you make money from it?

Before I go on I want to state that I do believe advertising revenue is a viable business model if you can balance your costs, establish a niche market and use innovative delivery methods. I know because I have made money from advertising myself. However it's probably not the ideal method to become really wealthy because generally the labour and resources required to feed your audience tends to grow proportionally with the amount of advertising revenue you can generate. There are exceptions to this rule of course, I just suggest you carefully monitor your real results and don't invest heavily expecting advertising revenue to make you a millionaire.

Here are a few alternative strategies you can employ to generate cash:

Sell Something

An obvious solution is to sell something. Look at your audience, or if you are at the business planning stage, your potential audience, and think about products or services they would be interested in. You might have an idea for a product or service you can produce yourself and then sell directly from your website. Alternatively buy wholesale products from a supplier and then ship them yourself, or if you want to keep start-up costs down use a drop shipper.

Key Term: Drop Shipping. A drop shipper is a supplier or wholesaler that provides products to resellers. As a reseller you advertise the products for sale on your website, mail order catalogue, newsletter or other means. When you make a sale you don't have to ship anything, you complete the order with the drop shipper and they send the product direct to your client. This means you don't have to hold any inventory. This is a good method to start with if you are new to the industry or want to test your market's response to products without heavy investment.

Affiliate Programs

There are literally thousands of affiliate programs out there that offer products or services (courses, eBooks, software, anything really) that you can resell to your audience. You earn a percentage of the fee from every sale you make. Some programs will simply pay you for sending traffic to their website.

The benefit of this method is you can search for products ideally suited to your target market that have proven value. Often affiliate programs give you direct links to professionally produced and tested sales pages, all you need to do is drive your targeted traffic to these sites.

Key Term: Affiliate Marketing is a widespread method of promoting a website, in which an affiliate is rewarded for every visitor, subscriber and/or customer provided through his/her efforts. Compensation may be made based on a certain value for each visit (Pay-per-click), registrant (Pay-per-lead), or a commission for each customer or sale (Pay-per-Sale).
Affiliate programs are extremely powerful methods to sell products or services. Many of the web's most successful entrepreneurs leverage this method to increase the exposure of their information products. When this system works it's a win-win situation, affiliates make money and the seller increases sales and exposure. As an affiliate it's not too hard to test a product or service on your market, send a few links through a newsletter, write a review piece that links to an affiliate program or just stick some links on your site and see what happens.

A word of warning though, you must have a targeted audience and it has to be of significant size (try 1000 uniques a day at least) before you should expect good results. Let's say you do some conservative math - 1% of your visitors will click through an affiliate program, and then perhaps 1% of those visitors actually make a purchase. If that calculates into some reasonable moolah based on your traffic numbers then perhaps you have a potentially reliable revenue stream. Of course you may experience conversion rates much higher than that and you should always aim to improve conversion rates through testing different methods and sales copy, but by planning conservatively you know what to expect in worst case scenarios.

Premium Content and Subscriptions

Over the years I've seen many of my favourite hobby sites I frequent go through a genesis. They start off small and provide quality content which is updated daily. Their audience expands. Costs start to get prohibitive and they need to generate more income because plain old advertising banners are not cutting it anymore. The next step? - offer a paid premium service for members only. They still provide some free content but those willing to pay have access to extra articles and other special features. This is not a bad option if you believe you can provide something of value to your members that is worth paying for above and beyond the free services. The good thing is you won't necessarily loose your existing customer base because you still offer free content and hopefully you can convert a reasonable number to paying customers. The trick is to meet needs in both areas - the free customers and those that want more and are prepared to pay for it. You can't offer too much or too little in the free area, it's a fine balance. Take a look at one of my favourite tennis sites for an example, www.TennisReporters.net, which is run by a tennis journalist. It's a good example because the division between subscription and free content is clear and the site itself is hardly professional looking. It's all about the content, that's what brings in the moolah.

A possible problem is how to implement a membership system on your website. The simplest way is to set up a password protected area on your site with the premium content. This is easy to do on most hosting accounts and if you don't know how ask your hosting provider. Once you have the password protected area you simply set up a purchase link and then send the new member the appropriate password and username. Using an autoresponder/shopping cart such as Marketer's Choice makes this process completely automated and simple enough. You could also just have a Paypal.com purchase link and then manually send out the password as each purchase is made. The only problem with this method is your members can share the login details with each other rather than each buying a subscription each. Alternatively you could investigate hiring a freelance programmer to build something custom for you or search online for a subscription management system. The InvisionBoard.com forum system has an inbuilt subscription upgrade package which controls subscriptions using member groups. The problem with this is you have to manage your content via the forum, which if your site is intended to be community driven may be a viable option.

The Secret - Multiple Streams of Revenue

I'm sure you can see where I am going here. The smart entrepreneurs don't plan to make money from just one channel of income, they employ many. You should provide advertisers with comprehensive campaign options including different banner positions and text links. Offer a newsletter and eCourse, sell your own products and services, sell other people's products and services and join affiliate programs. Mix in a subscription based service and/or premium content and you have a collection of 4-5 sources of income from your audience. You must skilfully interweave all your content with these different advertising methods to create a seamless revenue generating machine AND valuable service to your clients. You maximise the return on your audience and are not dependent on one stream of income. Best of all most of the income methods I've mentioned can be systematised which means once you have the systems in place you just sit back and feed more traffic to your site. You spend your time working on growing your audience which will runoff into revenue growth as well.

By Yaro Starak
http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com

Do you want to profit from your own successful home based Internet business?

Learn from Yaro Starak, a young entrepreneur from Australia. He works part time from home on several web based business that generate between $2,000 and $8,000 per month. Get your free articles and audio now - visit his Internet Business Blog.

How To Reach Millions Of People With Your Product Or Services

2008-12-20T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Bhakra Gani

The key to reach millions of people with your product or services is start writing your article right now and distributes it to hundreds of ezine publishers online. Currently there are tens of thousands of ezine publishers online and they are all looking for good content to publish in their ezines. If you write good article and not a sales letter that promoting your business, then your article possibility publish in their newsletter or web sites.

If your article publishes in their newsletter or web site, these will give exposure to your online business because every article you write you are free to include your business info in your resource box. So treat your resource box very useful.

Once you have your highly informative article ready to go, submit it to the online article directory. Go to search engine and type, free article directory or article directory.

Here are a few list of major article directory available on the net. ezinearticles.com, goarticles.com, articlealley.com, articlecity.com, webpronews.com, ideamarketers.com, certificate.net, netterweb.com, articlecentral.com, articlefinders.com, xongoo.com, zinos.com, addme.com, amazines.com

Go to search engine and type, free ezine directory or ezine directory. Click on each ezine you search and browse for ezine accept article in their publication. Collect their name and contact emails. If you cannot find their name, try whois their web address. Alternatively, go to godaddy.com, type their ezine URL address, and click whois.

Send emails to these ezine publishers with a short cover letter and personalized paragraph at the top of your emails. Include your article in your email after your personalization. Personalization your emails are very important because most ezine publishers receive hundreds of these emails every day. Therefore, you must make your emails interesting and let these ezine publishers happy to read your emails and then take action to publish your article.

If it is hard for you to find those ezine publishers, use article announcement lists or groups. Announcement lists is a groups of ezine publishers and editors that subscribe to these lists and they are in double opt-in method. Each of these publishers is looking for good content in their ezine, e-books, or web sites. Currently each of these publishers and editors has subscriber or ezine reader between 1,000 - 10,000 readers. These subscribers or ezine readers are growing every each day. That is mean your articles are expose to millions of ezine or newsletter readers.

Go to search engine and type, article announcement lists. Here are a few lists of article announcement lists available on the net. To post your articles to these lists you must first be a subscriber.

http://topica.com/lists/freeezinecontent/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aabusiness/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aainet/ http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/aahealth/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aahome/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aageneral/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article-distribution/ http://lists.topica.com/lists/free-reprint_articles/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce_list/

Good luck with your advertising campaign.

Bhakra Gani is the owner of http://www.angelnewsletter.com Top 100 article submission sites and article announcement lists. Articles distribution to over 20,000+ publishers and editors. Free ezine ad services to over 1,000,000 + readers.

3 Steps To Effectively Increase Your Marketing Response

2008-12-19T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Eva Browne-Paterson

It's well known that internet marketers are in the business of marketing. To become successful in business, it's crucial to actively promote your business to gain new customers. Let's face it... No promotion, no new customers. It's a simple as that.

If you've ever spent money on advertising before, you will know that it can be a costly process. Whether the cost is measured in time, effort, money or a mixture of all three - the one thing that counts the most is the results. A lack of results from a marketing campaign can be a real disappointment.

More often than not, it is a case of hit-and-miss which leads to frustration and a wasted advertising budget.

This article will explain three steps that you can take to gauge how effective your marketing campaigns are and to rapidly improve the response rates of future campaigns. It also brings to light some relatively unknown tactics that some advertising companies are employing to rip-off their customers. I hope you're not one of those customers... But you might have been already without even realizing it.

Step 1: T&T

You may or may not work out a proper campaign for your promotions, but let me make a suggestion to you if I may? You really should be Tracking and Testing. If you don't know how responsive a particular ad is, how can you possibly gauge the ad's effectiveness? Not by guessing, that's for sure! It is essential that you T&T because this keeps you in control of your earnings.

If your campaigns aren't creating the desired outcome - signups, sales, opt-ins etc., something needs to be changed. By T&T, you can make changes, retest and gauge the results to repeat the process until you do generate the necessary effect and therefore increase your profits.

Step 2: Tweaking

What areas need looking at? Here is a short list of questions you can ask yourself. The answer to these questions should be " Yes". If the answer is "No", then simply tweak the item and T&T to produce a better response.

Ad Copy:

Does it have an eye-catching headline? Is it well written with the correct grammar and punctuation? Have you edited it over and over to create what you'd consider a perfect advertisement? Does it use hypnotic words and phrases that grab the interest of the reader? Does it make the reader want to click through to your web site while pulling out their credit card? If you wouldn't respond to the ad yourself, a rewrite is a must.

Product Demand:

If you truly aim to make sales, your advertising needs to be put in front of the people who will want to purchase your product. Have you carried out or have access to market research data on the product you are offering? If it's a niche-target product, are you targeting the appropriate audience? Have you polled your list or web site visitors to find out what they really want? Feedback is precious and should be taken into serious consideration.

Sales Page:

Does your sales page load quickly? Does it look good to the naked eye without making you frown or close the site in pain? Does it have an eye-catching headline? Does it appeal to the reader's sensibilities and rouse their emotions? Have you used short paragraphs? Have you included bullet point lists? Have you refined the copy over and over again to make it as sharp as possible? Have you made it so there are no unanswered questions for the customer to ask?

Order Page:

Have you included a guarantee that removes the risk taken by the customer? Have you provided several payment options where applicable? Have you made the purchasing process as quick and simple as possible? Have you included your contact details?

Price:

If everything else appears to be set correctly but you're still not receiving the response you need, consider revising the price and T&T. Use a split tester if possible to see which price receives the better response (and it's not always the cheaper price surprisingly). 100 is a good number to use for split-testing. ie: If you're testing two pages, the first to receive 100 responses is the one to adopt.

Step 3: QA

Usually QA stands for Quality Assurance and it still does, but in this instance, it also means Quality Advertising. T&T and Tweaking can be an ongoing process that you continually carry out using free or paid advertising.

There are many forms of advertising available on the internet. Free advertising methods are excellent for T&T because they can illustrate how well an ad pulls through an ezine or solo ad. You can also gauge how effective your sales page is by click-thru statistics in traffic exchanges etc. But for now, let's concentrate on the effective, paid advertising methods. Why? Because paid advertising brings results... Well it should -- but it doesn't always!

It is imperative that you gauge the effectiveness of the advertising vehicle that you are utilizing through T&T. If you don't, you could be throwing your hard-earned dollars straight down the drain.

If you have paid for an advertising campaign through a company and the results are less than you hoped for, you need to look into why the results were dismal. How do you do that? It certainly pays to ask questions and dig deeper to see exactly how your advertisement is being delivered.

In fact, I can save you some time and really open your eyes to some marketing methods that you probably didn't even know existed! These are methods that are being used quite frequently by some online companies who provide traffic and advertising services.

You really need to know about them now so you don't fall into that trap. Most of us have already and didn't even know it, until now...

Click here to download my free report, "What Every Marketer Should Know Before Paying for Advertising".

=>> http://www.add2it.com/services/advertising/

If you utilize the 3 steps I've described above, you'll discover that your hard work really does pay off. Increased profits can indeed be yours with the right work ethic and the right quality advertising vehicle.

Looking for Quality Advertising? EQQU Ads are a NEW, Highly Targeted & Responsive form of advertising. Hundreds of thousands of members will see your ad beneath their email display and receive $0.01 per click-thru to view your web site for 60 seconds. Full statistics provided. Click here now: http://www.add2it.com/services/advertising.shtml

Resources:

Link statistics, forwarding and split-testing system:

Add2it Go-To Pro - http://www.add2it.com/scripts/go-to-pro.shtml

About The Author

Eva Browne-Paterson lives in Australia and has been marketing online for over 12 years. She has been publishing EvieB's New-Z since 2001, is the CEO of InstaPay and partner in the JVMoneyMakers.com group.

Surefire Ways To Pack A Punch With Your Ezines Amp Newsletters

2008-12-18T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Diana Ennen

Newsletters, or ezines, can be an extremely effective marketing tool for your business. It puts your name in front of your potential clients, regular clients, and peers while showing your expertise and professionalism. It's an excellent means to both market and grow your business and also show your existing clients your creative abilities.

What's an ezine? It's short for electronic magazine. It's those e-mail newsletters that you receive on a regular basis. If you are not sending one out now, seriously consider doing so. It can make a big difference in both your business and your bank account. For example, I know one life coach who sends out regular ezines. Lately she acknowledged that she started getting 30+ people signing up every day! When you think about those 30+ new potential clients a day, doesn't it make sense to utilize this as a regular part of your marketing?

Now the only drawback is to ensure your newsletter is worthy of being read. I subscribe to a lot of newsletters, but find I regularly only read a few upon their arrival. When I decided to create my own newsletter, one of the first things I did was to look at those newsletters I regularly read and determine what it was about them that made me want to read them. What sets them apart from the rest? One of the most important things I discovered was that they provided me with valuable information to help me in my business. They often provided information I didn't already know. For example, some newsletters provide tips on search engine optimization, affiliate programs, or software shortcuts. Since I'm always looking to grow my business, this information is valuable to me. You normally have knowledge in a given field that others don't, when preparing your newsletter, think about what expert knowledge you have or can obtain that would interest your targeted market. Now that's what you want to add to your newsletter.

In writing your newsletter, keep the following points in mind:

Your Readers

Know your readers and what they want.

Ask your readers for feedback and how to improve.

Talk to your readers. Don't just put information in your newsletter; think about that audience out there reading your newsletter. How do they feel after reading what you've prepared?

Your Writing Style

Use short, simple sentences; keeping paragraphs short.

Write clearly and avoid slang or profanity.

Use humor and keep a refreshing tone to your writing.

Keep your tone friendly, but also professional.

Have white space between the paragraphs.

Use small graphics whenever applicable.

Include your logo for business recognition.

Use bold or italics for emphasis, but don't underline.

Use plain text. (12-14 point)

Headings

Entice the reader with your heading to ensure they read the article.

Headlines should be slightly larger than the other text.

Use bold or italics and a good font, but don't use all caps.

Content of Newsletter

Content is king! Just like on your website, it's vital to have your newsletter or ezine packed full of useful information.

Provide articles written by you and other experts.

Provide any new services or features you've added to your business.

Provide links of relevant press releases, articles, other sites, etc. This gives readers more information that they can review.

Provide case studies, facts not known, etc. Sign up for Google News so that you can get information your clients might not have seen.

Provide a collection of valuable small business tips, testimonials, etc.

Provide a personal message from you. Many enjoy hearing how you are doing and what's new happening in their life and business.

Provide humorous quotations or jokes.

Contests / Polls / Freebies / Quizzes / Games!! Let the fun begin. Why not include something that makes the reader look forward to taking a break from their busy day to read your newsletter?

The Final Step -- Proofing

Make sure everything is 100% accurate with no typos.

Make sure you have permission for any copyrighted material.

Make sure if you have sources, you have credited them correctly.

Most ezines are "opt-in," which means that everyone who receives it has actually registered to receive itthey want it already. Now the only thing you need to do is provide them great information that keeps them wanting it every month.

Diana Ennen, Author: Virtual Assistant the Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA, Words From Home: Start, Run and Profit from a Home-Based Word Processing Business, and the Home Office Recovery Plan (co-author: Patty Gale) http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com, and http://www.publicity-VA.com

Your Own Internet Business

2008-12-17T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Matthew Glanfield

The other day I picked up a Reader's Digest magazine (a very popular Canadian magazine) and glanced at the cover. The designers of Reader's Digest are very good at catching your attention and making you want to read whatever they have in their magazine.

There on the front I noticed a headline on the left side of the cover page - "Your Hobby and Your Computer = Money."

Even though I already had an Internet business and was quite happy with its progress I was curious to see the contents of this article. I opened up the magazine and read the article within about ten minutes.

It talked about a woman who started selling teddy bears that she made from fur coats on eBay for $200 - $300 a piece. It also talked about someone who started a Blog (short for web log or online journal) and started making money from advertising. It also mentioned a man who started doing Internet consulting and made a small fortune.

The only problem was that after reading the article I had no further information on what I would need to do to start an Internet business.

You see right now this whole "work from home" and "start your own online business" craze has got a lot of people interested. There is a lot of money in Internet businesses. However, most people don't even know where to start, and to others the words "web host", "html", and "Adwords" are from another language.

This is the problem that we find on the Internet - there is an information overload. Everybody is telling you that you can do something but most of the time they will either not tell you how or they will require you to pay for the information. If you have to pay for the information then it is hard to choose who will give you information that you can really act on.

For example, if I told you that you needed to find a niche market and then build a website in order to be successful but then don't tell you how to do either of those things how likely are you to succeed?

You might be able to figure it out, but then again, there are a lot of mistakes that most people (including myself) make when starting that delay any income from being earned. I was in the Internet Marketing business for over two years before I finally started to make money.

Do you want to take that long? Or can you afford to take that long?

The optimal solution instead would be to find someone who has made all the mistakes that you want to avoid making and who has actually made money online. You also don't want to pay hundreds of dollars just to start learning what to do.

I have learned that, as strange as it may sound, the best way to make money online is to give away a lot of free, excellent quality content!

People are hungry for it. Millions of searches are performed every day looking for it. Everybody wants good quality content but nobody seems to be able to find much of it! And what happens when you finally find that gem of a website that gives such great information on what you are looking for? You tell everybody else about it!

You send people emails; you post it on forums; you rave about it on your website (if you have one) or on your blog. Soon others will go based on your recommendations.

What does that mean for the website creator? They get even more traffic, free of charge! Who wouldn't like some free traffic?

The point is, by using the proper formula for building your Internet business you can succeed online, and I can guarantee that!

Here's to our success,

Matthew Glanfield

Matthew Glanfield is the owner of http://www.internetbusinessformula.com, a site that is dedicated to helping people start their own Internet business. The free information on this site will show you how Matthew made over $100,000 in sales in the latter half of 2005 using his Internet Business Formula.

Coffee Shop Loyalty Truly Tested By The Obvious

2008-12-16T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Paul Hathaway

Introduction

Coffee shops have so many lessons for those of us who want to make a success online or, indeed, in bricks and mortar. They are usually small, the operation is simple and the whole set up easy to observe and make notes on.

Once again a visit to a local coffee shop stimulated thoughts of mistakes we fail to see when we set up our online stores and other services. Offline/online we consistently make the same mistakes. It was my own fault. I missed all the signs. I should have known better. There were few patrons (3 as I recall) at this shop when others nearby were bustling. It was in a great location on a beautiful sunny day; all reasons to expect people to be out and about enjoying a cup of coffee. We went into this particular shop because it was near a play area so my friends could supervise their children.

Experiencing customer service and business communication

Walking up to the counter and asking for coffee we were confronted with 'the sign says go to the other end'. What sign? Ah, there it was on the counter drooping down at just below belt buckle level. Now, I'm not tall but I missed it completely. Why should I even be looking for it? We moved to the 'other end', about 2-3 meters, and ordered. We were the only ones at the counter. There were two staff. Either one could have taken our order. That's probably called 'Customer Service'. Customers should take some sort of priority. They are very important to business success. It seems that service reflected the apparently obvious sign. While we waited 20 minutes for three coffees to arrive, three more unfortunate customers were drawn in. Our coffee was warm, not hot. Why didn't I take notice of the pending signs of disaster and move on to another shop? There are many in this mall, all close by. I will never go back to that shop although I visit this mall quite often. Would I come back to experience what you have to offer again? Or would I stay away?

Frequently reflect for success

The shop is at an entrance to a large shopping complex, on a very busy mall with a lot of food outlets and a large pedestrian traffic flow. It should be bustling with clientele. The shop on the other side of the entrance always has people at its tables. So the location is great, passing foot traffic is heavy and consistent, and the weather ideal for sitting under an umbrella for coffee and a chat. Other coffee shops nearby are crowded. The management has some serious reflection to do or they will do poorly.

What are the lessons for us; online or offline?

Signs are key communications

Make important signs truly obvious; place them in plain sight. Make them large or brightly colored, especially if they are a crucial part of communication to your customer. Does your site have any hidden (to the customer) messages that are important to smooth flow and operation? If so, move them or highlight them somehow. Signage must be ranked to allow for priority positioning.

Test and trial

Get someone to visit. Let them browse and buy to test your systems. Sit with them and ask a few pertinent questions about what you wanted their experience and learning to be (what color is ?, where was ?, how much is ?). More importantly, get their comments and observations (ease of use, ordering, finding information, sense of quality, sense of trust ). What you think you have and what the customer experiences may be very different. Make sure the customer experiences what you expect them to. Make sure your systems are as good as you think they are. Make frequent checks of everything to see if it still works.

Live up to your claims - deliver

Customers should get what they expect; more if possible. Anything less is failure. Do you serve coffee at suitable temperature (meeting expectations) and of style ordered (order fulfillment) and within suitable time frame (delivery promise).

In most retail situations customers have pre-conceived expectations. Customers are quick to remind us if any expectations are not met. If we want to do things differently we must tell our customers or educate them so they are not taken by surprise. Online we need to tell customers in detail all that we supply, all they can expect in terms of service and quality and any guarantees we are able to give to them. Then we need to do all this and more.

Paul Hathaway is a co-owner of the site http://www.welcometothemall.com which has a massive range of quality, well priced goods arranged in easily searched departments, designed for the convenience of busy online shoppers as well as browsers. His passion is making sites profitable and/or popular.

Internet Marketing Tools Part Seven Text Editor Basics

2008-12-15T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Shelley Lowery

If you've spent any time exploring your computer, you've probably noticed a program called Notepad. To be honest, I never really used the program prior to developing my Internet business, as I simply used my word processing program. Now, I don't know what I would do without it. Notepad is an excellent text editor that has a variety of uses such as writing HTML, editing scripts, and writing ezine articles -- just to name a few.

Writing HTML

When designing a web site, most Internet marketers prefer to use an HTML editor to write their HTML, as it can greatly simplify a somewhat difficult process. However, using an HTML editor has its disadvantages, as they have a tendency to add a lot of unnecessary coding and may not support the latest technologies. For this reason, many Internet marketers prefer to write the code themselves with Notepad.

Although writing HTML code with Notepad will certainly be more time consuming, your code will be much cleaner and can reduce your file size considerably.

Editing Scripts

When managing a web site, scripts are used to add interactivity. They're used to perform a variety of tasks such as form processing, message boards, and database management.

When using scripts for your web site, most of the time, you will be required to edit portions of the script such as the location of Perl on your server, paths to files and variables. Any editing you do must be done within a program that won't add any special formatting. Notepad is the perfect solution. You can simply open your script within Notepad, edit to suit your needs and upload it to your server.

Writing Articles

Writing ezine articles is one of the most powerful promotional methods used on the Internet. When formatting an article for publication, you should avoid using your standard word processing program, as they do not allow for proper formatting.

As there are many different types of email programs, writers must format their articles to accommodate the majority. Some email programs automatically wrap text at a certain number of characters -- while others won't wrap the text at all. If an article isn't properly formatted, many email programs will either force a portion of the sentence to the next line, or even display each paragraph as one long line.

Articles should be formatted to 65 characters per line or less, including spaces, and written in short paragraph sections. This guideline has become the standard on the Internet, as it is a safe line-length for a majority of all email programs.

Notepad is the preferred program used to write and format ezine articles.

Although Notepad is a great little text editor, it can't handle large files and is much better suited for small jobs. You may find that you'd like an editor that is a little more powerful. I use a great program called NoteTab Pro. This powerful editor will enable you to edit large files, format your text, convert your text to HTML, and even includes a spellchecker and thesaurus.

NoteTab Pro
http://www.notetab.com/

NoteTab is available in three different versions:

* NoteTab Pro - A full version text and HTML editor. Cost $19.95

* NoteTab Light - The freeware version of NoteTab Pro. It's completely free with no ads or nag screens

* NoteTab STD - Identical to NoteTab Light, except it includes some additional features such as a thesaurus, multilingual spellchecker and more. Cost $9.95

As stated at the NoteTab site, the NoteTab family of editors is composed of three variants. Below is a short list that explains the main differences:

The main advantages of NoteTab Light over NoteTab Pro:

100% Free (no ads and no nag screens)

Can use variable-width fonts

Better support for non-Roman alphabets (e.g. Chinese, Hebrew, etc.)

Main advantages of NoteTab STD over NoteTab Light:

Spell checker and thesaurus

Clipbars -- user-made toolbars

Can read and write outline-type documents

Command for reformatting and justifying lines

Modify and save EBCDIC files

Can search/replace text in disk files

If you've been using your standard word processing program to perform simple editing tasks, consider using a text editor. You may be surprised how easy and convenient these programs really are.

About the Author:

Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, "Web Design Mastery" (www.webdesignmastery.com) and "eBook Starter - Give Your eBooks the look and feel of a REAL book" (www.ebookstarter.com)

Visit www.Web-Source.net to sign up for a complimentary subscription to eTips and receive a copy of Shelley's acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing Strategies."

You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook, or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author bylines are included.

Keyword Research Keyword Marketing Keyword Development

2008-12-14T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Bradley McCollum

Keyword Research and Keyword Marketing

Developing an accurate Keyword List is a critical step if you are creating a Web Site that will rely on Search Engines for generating either "organic" or pay-per-click search engine traffic to a Web Site. Keyword research also plays an important role in a Web Site's design, navigation, and overall content.

What are Keywords?

These are the words and phrases used by browsers when using Search Engines. Search Engines then use those keywords to generate a list of results with links to web sites where those keywords appear most relevant.

Keyword Popularity

To find out which keywords are being used by your target audience, you can use tools like Overture's Keyword Selector Tool. Enter keywords you believe your audience would use and Overture will let you know how many times over the past month that keyword was used. More importantly, they will provide you with similar keywords and keyword phrases. Following this trail can often lead to categories of keywords you may have overlooked.

Regional Keywords
Be aware not only of "how" browsers are searching, but also from where they are searching. In an effort to receive more targeted results, browsers will often include geographic keywords in their searches. Developing a keyword list that takes into account regional keywords can effectively cut the number of web sites you are competing with for SE results and at that the same time deliver more qualified traffic to your Web Site.

Keyword List Development

Once you have determined which keywords and phrases are being used, you can develop a hierarchy of keywords and phrases. This keyword list should be used extensively throughout a Web Site for things like Search Engine Optimization and Pay/Click Campaigns, developing Web Site navigation, design, and content, and for determining Web Site success.

Vertical Keyword Categories
Seldom will one category of related keywords cover all the ways your target audience may be trying to find you. For this reason it is important to identify the vertical categories (regional categories are the most common) and develop areas on your Web Site specific to each. Combining these categories on one page will only cut the relevancy of each category in half when indexed by a Search Engine.

Know How Browsers use Keywords to Search

Combining keywords is a powerful technique in Search Engine Optimization. Most browsers (81%) are using more than one keyword when conducting online searches. 49% of browsers are entering 3 keywords or more. The trend seems to be that browsers are getting more sophisticated in how they conduct their searches. They are realizing that one word searches do not deliver very specific results and quickly discover how to get more relevant search results. Source: OneStat.com

Please visit our website to learn more on how to develop a keyword list for your website:

http://www.salmonroe.com/1b_keyword_research.html

Successful Internet Marketing Is Invisible

2008-12-13T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Amy Durham

What is it about your favorite website that you love so much? What keeps you coming back time after time to the same news source or online retailer? Chances are that you have never really noticed what makes these sites so great. Sure, they may have excellent products or services, but if you had trouble using the website, you would simply shop in person. The truth is that a large part of the most successful internet marketing is done on an invisible level. So next time you visit your favorite site, pay attention to what it is that draws you back time after time.

Ease of Use

The most important aspect of successful internet marketing is ease of use. You can have the best products on the face of the planet, but if your website makes it impossible for your customers to find what they need, you might as well be selling out of your garage. The key is to go out of your way to make their internet shopping experience a simple, uncomplicated one every time. This means that a large part of your marketing efforts will go completely unnoticed by the people you are trying to please. So don't expect any thank you notes. Do expect increased profits.

We have all been to websites that promise great products but have endless dead links and ill-conceived pages. If you helped to design your own website, keep in mind that you will be somewhat biased in respect to its usability. You might think that those menu options are perfect, but a customer with no knowledge of your product or service might not be able to find what they want using your directions. Ask the opinions of people outside of your field. Remember that your best bet is to consult with a professional web designer.

Quality Copy

A large part of successful website design is web copy that will grab your reader's attention and answer their concerns, while portraying you as an expert in your field. Hiring a professional copywriter to give you some web content is one of the best things you can do for your customers and for your bottom line.

Contact Info

Your contact page is an essential part of your website. Remember that not everyone who finds you online wants to communicate with you via email. Always list your mailing address, phone and fax numbers, as well as an email form for comments or questions. In addition, including your picture on the website personalizes the company and makes you more approachable.

FAQ

When most customers have a question, however, they consult a frequently asked questions page, so be sure your site has one that is complete. Again, the help of a professional copywriter is essential here. This person can address the answers to people who are not experts in the field and translate your information into an accessible format. Be as detailed and specific as you can in your FAQ page, directing customers to other pages in the site.

Targeted Audience

Finally, target your audience. You know to do this in your outside advertising, but you can also target the visitors to your website. For example, if you run a site for pet products, create a section entitled "Attention Bird Lovers" or "Ideas for Large Dog Owners." These areas should feature products specifically for these customer categories. You can also include professional articles here for added content.

If you use these invisible but effective techniques for creating a user-friendly website, visitors will turn into customers without knowing what hit them.

Moo Juice Media offers a professional copywriter for all your business needs. Amy Durham is an Emmy Award-winning freelance writer specializing in business, marketing, IT, home design, and finance. She writes expert articles for websites, magazines, newsletters, blogs, and ebooks. Visit http://www.MooJuiceMedia.com for a free consultation today!

Ten Simple Tips To Create A Money Magnet Web Site

2008-12-12T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Valerie Mills

Staying awake at night wondering how to pump up your sagging Internet sales?

After all, your reports say you're driving the right audience to your site. AND your sales pitch appeals to these visitors. AND you sell high-quality product(s)/service(s).

But few visitors are buying. Why?

Consider How Your Site Appears To Visitors

Consider the possibility that your web site is turning visitors away. Forever!

Internet visitor turnoff happens every minute of every day. How do you minimize it?

Well, suppose you're a customer in a "real" store. You want to buy a light bulb. But the store is so big that three employees can't give you directions to the right aisle. Maybe you can't even find someone to give you directions! Is this how your site navigation appears to visitors?

Another example: Based on the length of the checkout lines in the supermarket, you know it's going to take at least 15 minutes to give away your money. Will you walk out? Your web site visitors can just click out of your site!

Hey, My Site Is Perfect!

You say these "real" store situations don't apply to your site? Do you think you're objective?

With a wee bit of effort, you can create a money magnet web site! Check out this list of tips for keeping visitors at your site so they WILL buy or contact you.

Ten Tips Plus One Bonus Tip

1. Use a popup to ask if your prospect's visit satisfied their reason for clicking to your site.

A few visitors find this annoying. Others will be happy to comment. Trial a popup, and remove it if it is unpopular. Success depends on how quickly visitors can answer your questions.

2. Survey past visitors.

3. Ask ten people in your target audience to test drive your site.

4. Click on the home page. Where does your eye go first? Is this location the FIRST item you want visitors to see?

5. Test the site using several different browsers. Your software might give you this option. Sometimes there's a flaw you won't see in your own browser.

6. Encourage your visitors to contact you and make it simple for them to do so.

Turnoffs are addresses like webmaster@site.com, email@site.com, and customerservice@site.com. The address should contain a person's name.

7. Your site's purpose needs to be clear and easily understood by the visitor.

If you want a customer to contact you for more information, say so. If you want a customer to buy, say so. Keep visitors guessing and they'll exit quickly. And PERMANENTLY.

8. Check out the structure, copy, and look of your competition's sites. Take advantage of other people's web knowledge.

9. If your site has links, check them often. There's nothing worse than a visitor clicking on a link and getting an error message. This includes internal as well as external links. Again, the software used to build the site checks for certain links. Use it regularly!

10. If you have a FLASH intro or other cutesy gimmicks, remove them. Why risk losing visitors who might be offended? These gimmicks are way different than the popup question mentioned before. The popup is a feedback mechanism. Gimmicks are more than annoying -- they're unprofessional.

BONUS Tip:

Consider revising site design based on your findings from the previous ten tips.

Most people start with a small site and then add pages gradually. Sometimes the site size gets out of hand, or the site loads slowly, or it navigates like a boat taking on water.

Find the problems and change the design!

Happy web site creation and revision. Make your site a money magnet!

Valerie Mills,a copywriter/designer specializing in direct mail and web advertising, has written sales letters, web sites, and brochures for the finance, self-help, and technology areas. She also audits sites for usability, sales appeal, structural integrity, and readability. In addition, using her experience as an educator and corporate trainer, Valerie has written several articles and a parents' guide to coach kids of all ages about money and personal finance. Contact vmills@teachyourkidsaboutmoney.com Refer to web site http://v.mills.home.att.net

Finally A Matrix System That Works

2008-12-11T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Marige OBrien

Our Power Forced Matrix (OPFM) is a revolutionary new matrix system of e-marketing that is unlike any that has come before.

Why? Because, unlike other matrix systems, this one ensures that every active member will earn a good income in a relatively short period of time and with little or no investment.

Most matrix systems rely on an ever-increasing membership drive. The problem is, if the membership does not continue to increase, whenever it loses momentum, those who bought in last lose whatever they've invested.

But, Thomas Thompson, founder of Our Power Forced Matrix, has come up with a solution that prevents this from happening. Even more, he has revolutionized the matrix system by analyzing all its weak points and building them up.

The weakest points of any matrix are:

-- If the promotion itself does not create enough excitement

-- If the matrix is uneven (one segment, usually the more established marketers, grab all the traffic)

-- If the matrix loses momentum

If any or all of these factors exist, a matrix is bound to either fail completely or "peter out" relatively quickly. But Mr. Thompson has found a way to combat each of these and has employed it for the first time in Our Power Forced Matrix. In it, he:

-- Works with a stable internet company (Empowerism) to create a solid foundation in the first build

-- Offers a great promotion (free sign up to Empowerism)

-- Offers the revolutionary "Flip" concept in matrix marketing

-- Follows up with plans for future Matrix Promotions

With all these factors in place, the members are given the real tools needed to make marketing this promotion a dream. Many marketers have reported success in as little as 2 days. But the most exciting and revolutionary portion of this system is its "Flip" concept.

*A FLIP* is a contest within the matrix in which members are given a chance to improve their ranking simply by entering the contest. In the first flip, the contest was based on response time-- the first ones in, won the highest rankings. But there was a second flip, still (at the time of this writing) in progress in which the LAST to enter ALSO win high ranking positions.

The reason this is so exciting is that, theoretically, a person who joined the day before the first flip began could achieve a top level (and the income it garners) within the matrix. And, too, someone entering late can achieve a high-level ranking.

SHARE THE WEALTH

But the ultimate objective of the flip is to equalize all the incomes so that NO ONE is left at the bottom. (See illustration, http://www.frantomgroup.com/OurPowerForcedMatrix.php?UID=14506#h1/) The top marketers are willing to invest in this concept because, they realize that by doing this, they can encourage more growth and, ultimately, earn more in the long run.

PROFIT THROUGH TEAMWORK

Another factor to strengthen this system is the plan for the entire group of Our Power Forced Matrix marketers to move on to new promotions on a regular basis. This allows the marketers to develop multiple streams of income, plus uses the best assets of team-work for the whole group to profit.

Though still in its first months Our Power Forced Matrix has generated enough excitement so that (at the time of this writing) nearly 20,000 people have joined. With approximately 500 new sign-ups a day, this promises to be the most dynamic e-marketing promotion in the history of the internet.--mo

Marige O'Brien is a writer, web designer and internet marketer. Her website, Tracker Mo's Den, can be found at http://www.trackermo.com, where you will also find more information about Our Power Forced Matrix.

7 Tips For Purchasing And Using A Microphone For Recording Audio On Your Website

2008-12-10T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Cathy Linderman

Tip One

You have a lot of considerations for choosing a microphone for recording audio. First, decide whether you need a dynamic or condenser microphone. A dynamic microphone is rugged and good for handling noise. It is great for webcasts (live audio and video). A condenser microphone is more sensitive with better frequency response and is better suited for a studio type situation.

Tip Two

You have to decide if you want a omnidirectional or unidirectional (cardioid) mic. Omni directional mics are good for recording seminars, lectures or meetings, where cardioid mics are more sensitive to sound thus better for recording one voice and interviews.

Tip Three

Determine your usage for the mic. Do you need a handheld mic for the speaker(s), or is a lavaliere (clip-on) mic better for the presenter(s). Wireless mic's are great in that you avoid cables and are easier to use. Desk-top mics are great for panel discussions and for one person usage also. Good headsets with microphones also have high quality for computer usage.

Tip Four

Be careful of cordless headsets for computer usage as you can get interference and ground hum from a lot of equipment in one location. This can cause poor audio. If purchasing a headset determine if you need sound blocking, as that will determine how light or heavy the set is on your head. Be sure a headset microphone is adjustable on your head, and try moving the mic above and below your mouth for quality of your voice pitch. Plantronics is a leader in microphone headsets.

Tip Five

Determine what features and supplemental supplies you need along with the purchase of your microphone. A popshield (foam shield) can help deter those annoying 'p' and 's' sounds. Stands are great for speakers and panel sessions. Determine if a magnetic shield needs to be purchased to reduce interference with computer or other equipment in the room you are recording in. Use balanced cables for higher quality audio.

Tip Six

Listen carefully to your audio, and determine the quality. Have others critique it also. If the audio sounds hollow or like you are in a tunnel, try moving the mic closer to the speaker. If the audio sounds distorted, then move the mic away from the speaker.

Tip Seven

Purchasing locations for microphones are numerous. Local stores around the country include locations like Best Buy, Office Max, Office Depot, Circuit City, and Radio Shacks. Online stores are numerous and be sure to do a search on Google or Yahoo for reviews of microphones. You'll get some great comparisons of purchasing sites for online purchase.

Conclusion

Do your homework when purchasing a microphone for recording audio on your website. There is nothing like quality audio. Experts have even said you can have a lower quality video file, but if the audio is bad, you have lost that customer totally! They expect nothing less than quality audio recordings.

So take the time to do your due diligence before purchasing a microphone for recording audio for your site. Of course, your budget may dictate some of that purchase to begin with, but in the long run don't sacrifice quality for a few dollars savings now. It will pay down the road!

Cathy Linderman currently works with internet audio and video and her business provides related resources, practical training and products for all websites, whether personal or business. Cathy and her business associate, Komee, are known for their simple, practical, easy-to-learn techniques for using audio or video on websites. Editor:Komee Carpenter http://www.GlobalInternetBroadcasting.com

Blog And Ping A Search Engine Traffic Bonanza

2008-12-09T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Jantsch

Everyone is talking about blogs these days as the magic money-making marketing tool. Some of the hype may actually be true, but I suggest you cut through most of what you read about blogs just long enough to understand why every business needs a blog.

Right now, that's not to say this won't change, search engines are in love with real blogs. By real blogs I mean blogs that are set-up and run by businesses that offer useful content on them. Like every successful marketing method there are people out there setting up fake blogs and dumping garbage, but keyword rich, content into them in order to trick the search engines into ranking the content highly. [Please resist the urge to add to this form of search engine spam as it may actually get you banned by a search engine.]

When you understand a little about how blog software works you get a better understanding about why search engines love blogs. Here are the top reasons that business blogs and search engines go hand in hand.

Lots of Pages

Each blog entry is shown in chronological order on a blog's homepage but, each entry is in reality its own web page, with its own unique URL and title. So, an active blogger can create hundreds of keyword rich web pages in a matter of months.

Change Is Good

In order to claim your place at the blogging table you must commit to making posts often4 or 5 times a week perhaps. This commitment means that you are creating, updating, changing some portion of your site several times a week. The typical small business web site is lucky to receive an update several times a year. Search engines like change.

Wake Up Call

Because search engines love changing content, they are ever ready to visit a site when it is updated. One feature unique to blog software is something called a pinging. Basically, what you are doing is sending out a message to various blog directories to come and visit you site because it has been updated. Once a search engine has located your site, this is like a personal invitation to come back and get the new stuff. I use a site called Ping-O-Matic to send pings to multiple services. Some blog software can be configured to do this automatically.

RSS Directories

Blogs also have a built in distribution method known as RSS. This allows you to push your updated content out to people who subscribe through an RSS reader such as Bloglines or FeedDemon as well as Yahoo and MSN. This ability allows you to communicate directly with subscribers but it can also help get your main site noticed and indexed by the major search engines. Yahoo, for example, allows people (including you) to subscribe to your blog's RSS feed. On the day you create your blog, you can subscribe to it via a free MyYahoo account and Yahoo will visit and index your blog for free. It has no choice.

Linking Is Key

Part of the blogging culture is the predisposition to link to and from quality content that relates to the subject your are blogging about. In other words, bloggers like to link. Links from other high quality blogs will send traffic and get your blog and web site noticed.

So, your blog marketing strategy a little like this: Set-up a blog and start posting. Ping each time your make a new entry. Submit your blog to the major blog and RSS directories. Start looking for link partners. Repeat

In the last few weeks I set-up blogs for an attorney, a label manufacturer, and a remodeling contractor. In each case, the blogs were indexed and spidered by the major search engines within 48 hours. Traffic to the main web sites for these businesses (although a bit meager to start with) has already doubled or tripled. Traffic from each of the major search engines is now showing up for a large number of important search terms and phrases.

Who knows how long this blog traffic bonanza will last but at this moment a blog has never made more sense.

If you're convinced that you need a blog but don't want to hassle with setting it up and learning how to promote it properly, check out my basic blog coaching package. I do the work, you're up and blogging and promoting your blog in a matter of days.

John Jantsch is a marketing consultant based in Kansas City, Mo. He writes frequently on real world small business marketing tactics and is the creator of "Duct Tape Marketing" a turn-key small business marketing system. Check out his blog at http://www.bloggingbusiness.com

Avoid A Summer Sales Slump

2008-12-08T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Marty Dickinson

Did you ever see the movie "Terminator 3" by Arnold Schwarzenegger? Remember when the machines took over the controls and began to terminate society as we know it?

This is exactly how it feels every Summer for many business owners.

As if your computer somehow sneaks in during the middle of the night and takes over by putting a "Closed for the Summer" sign on your business.

You wake up on July 1 wondering where all the customers are.

My business is no different.

I've just learned to expect it every year and I do something about it before I can be sabotaged.

So, when the beginning of June comes around, I start ramping up for the Summer months to keep business steady and even on the increase.

And, here's what I do:

1) Find something in your industry that's timely and write an article about it. I'm doing just that with this article as an example. The fact that sales slump for more small business owners in the Summer than any other 2-month time of the year is timely since July is right around the corner.

The article doesn't need to be extensive, maybe 600-800 words, and write as if you're just talking to a friend sitting next to you.

2) Create a signature line at the end of your article that invites readers to visit your web site. Use mine below as an example to write your own.

3) Send your article to your clients or customers by e-mail or even regular USPS. They will appreciate hearing from you and they will be thankful for the timely courtesy.

Plus, any time you can get your name in front of an existing customer, you stand a chance of getting additional business just by simply reminding them you're still around.

4) Get your article posted on other peoples' web sites and in their on-line newsletters. This might sound like "old hat" if you've been doing business on-line for a while, but the fact is that people still turn to the Internet to find information.

5) Submit your article to other peoples' BLOGs. BLOGs are easy to find because web site owners are always adding them to the front page of their sites so that you can't miss them.

The challenge of owning a BLOG is contributing to it every day. It's easy to do for the first couple of weeks but then that dedication slips.

So, approach a BLOGger with your article and suggest they include it to their BLOG if they ever get in a bind and can't make a posting of their own one day. Chances are, you'll see your article posted within the week!

6) Submit your article to RSS feeds. RSS stands for "Real Simple Syndication," which essentially means you add your article to the list once and it will appear on potentially hundreds of other peoples' web sites. Search Google for "rss articles submission" to get you started.

7) Have something ready on your web site to inspire any new visitors to get more involved with your business. I'm not saying put the hard sell on them. Just offer some way for them to discover more about how you can help them.

Provide more articles for them to read. Maybe add a sound file or two. Have a newsletter subscription area. Offer a free tele-seminar or webinar. Be creative but captivating. Have a definite answer to the question, "How can my new web site visitors benefit from being on my web site for another couple of minutes?"

Follow these seven steps and there's a good chance you will not only increase your web site visitors with targeted traffic, but that visitation could happen more quickly than you might expect.

So, don't allow your potential sales for this year's Summer months to be "terminated" before they even have a chance to happen.

Take action this week and July and August could turn out to be two of your best sales months yet.

Marty Dickinson started the company HereNextYear in 1996 and has helped hundreds of small business owners to use the Internet to increase sales through web site design and on-line promotion. He is also a national speaker and author of the book, "Winning the Internet Dogfight." Visit HereNextYear.com, for more timely tips by Marty.

Internet Marketing Secrets From The Grave

2008-12-07T23:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Michael Senoff

One of my favorite quotes is the one that says "the graveyard is full of good ideas." Maybe that's not the exact quote, but the idea is 100% true.

Every day of the year people with brilliant ideas and breakthroughs go to their graves without ever having developed, marketed or shared those ideas with the world.

There are many reasons for this -- fear, inexperience, ignorance and, worst of all, procrastination.

Maybe they thought they had to get investors lined up, lines of credit from banks and surround themselves with various "experts" before getting started.

And yet, nothing could be further from the truth.

Nobody starts with a million dollar Internet marketing business. They start small. They start with what they have -- even if it's in the garage or basement with an old rotary phone and a computer that is 10 years old.

Most people I know making money online started out with a little ebook or newsletters.

From there, when they get their feet wet and see what works and what doesn't, then they lead into more expensive products and services -- sometimes even full fledged seminars that sell for $5,000, $3,000, $10,000, $15,000. What's the difference in these products?

The difference is in the value. Money moves in direct proportion to value.

So don't worry about if you only have a five page report or ebook to start with. Just do what you can and build from there.

Build the value, build the content and build your experience from there and you will be fine.

Michael Senoff is a sought-after Internet marketer, interviewer and business coach with more than 50,000 students on four continents. He is also an expert on showing people how to create their own high ticket information products from scratch using just your telephone. For a 100% FREE REPORT that reveals how you can take your own ordinary book, e-book or even a concept and turn it into a information product you can sell for up to $3,900 or more go to: http://hardtofindseminars.com/Audio_Marketing_Service.htm