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By Lynn VanDyke

Auto-responders can generate sales, increase customer satisfaction and save you time. You can get innovative ideas on using auto-responders and know why your customers will appreciate you more for it.

When you walk into a department store and the sales assistants are smiling, it creates a sense of camaraderie, which makes you want to return. Personalized attention is the best marketing strategy for improving sales. Everyone likes to feel important and like knowing his or her business is appreciated.

It takes more creativity to generate these kinds of feelings online. Computers and websites can be very impersonal. Auto-responders were developed to help you make sure your website customer knows how much you appreciate their business. They replace the smiles you would give them on a one-to-one basis.

Grinning With Success Customers can be very demanding. They do not like waiting and they want to know their order is being processed quickly. It is just a fact in the marketplace. If you own an online business or have a business where customers can contact you via email, then you probably know how quickly your inbox can fill up with customer emails.

You can pay someone to answer all the emails, but that may not be cost effective. Auto-responders are software programs that will automatically respond to emails with no intervention by you. When someone sends you an email or orders a product from your website, the auto-responder immediately sends a message of acknowledgment.

This assures the customer that he or she is not lost in cyberspace. The customer is smiling with satisfaction and you are grinning with success.

Auto-responders are used as web-based and non web-based programs. The web-based programs run on the server and usually have a specialized script written by the company. Auto-responders attached to email programs usually have programmed pre-set responses to make choices.

The auto-responder has an actual email address. It responds to the customer and gives the customer a way to answer with questions or concerns. However, auto-responders are used in a variety of ways to build business.

- Can send auto-responder emails at predetermined times to maintain contact with the customer

- Used as a way to distribute newsletters and articles to current and potential customers

- Creates mailing lists of email addresses

- Broadcasts advertisements, sales events, and special discount opportunities

- Distributes new product information

- Offer topical courses that are split up over several lessons encouraging repeated customer contact- Send reminders

- Send trial versions of a service you sell

- Use to transmit links that the customer can access and that lead to your website

- Email testimonials about products or services

Auto-responders are used to keep existing customers and generate new business. They are marketing and time management tools. They are also cost effective.

Beaming With Pride Choosing the right auto-responder depends upon your particular circumstances.

- Budget Limitations

- Desire to prevent spam emails being sent from your automated email address collection

- Need for multiple email responses

There are simple and free programs available online, but their capabilities are limited. If you can afford it, the best option is a web-based auto-responder program that offers a large amount of flexibility.

In between the free and web-based programs are stand-alone programs you run with your email program. Whatever program you choose Article Submission, auto-responders will help you create a customer friendly business whether it is online or not. They are a way to show your customers that you and your company strongly value customer relations.

Auto-responders are technology that can also create an opt-in customer base. An opt-in is when a potential customer responds to a pop-up or online form and requests to be added to your customer email list. The uses of auto-responders are unlimited. Anyone who needs to develop a satisfied customer bases should be using auto-responders.

Lynn VanDyke is a highly in-demand SBI Certified Webmaster. She creates web businesses that generate hot, targeted and free leads from all major search engines. Learn more about her and her services (http://www.lynnvandyke.com/).

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By Mike Gates

Social bookmarking is one of the hottest Web 2.0 online trends. The concept of social bookmarking is about 10 years old, but due to its recent explosive growth, it has just now become one of the new internet "buzz words". It is important for internet marketers to understand social bookmarking; how it can help them promote their products and services.

So, what is social bookmarking? What is the purpose of social bookmarking's? Why is social bookmarking important to internet marketers? What is Social Bookmarking? You are probably already familiar with bookmarking web sites, sites that you want to visit again, using your Internet Explorer or Firefox web browser. The bookmarks you create to these sites are for your personal use and are stored on your computer.

Social Bookmarking is the next step in bookmarking, where you and others can share bookmarks to web sites you think may be of interest to others. This is done via Social Bookmarking services. After you have signed up for the Social Bookmarking service, you will be allowed to register a website, site description and tags (keywords) with the service - this is a bookmark. You will also be allowed to share this bookmark, or you can keep it private (depending on the service). This information is stored by the Social Bookmarking service, and is not stored on your computer.

What is Social Bookmarking's Purpose? There are really two major purposes behind social bookmarking.

1. The main purpose of social bookmarking is to have people with like interests bookmark sites they think would be useful, or interesting, to others who have the same interests. For example, I love fly-fishing. Let us say I find a site that contains some great custom-built fly fishing rods for an inexpensive price. I would bookmark that site with one of several possible bookmarking services. I would give the site I am bookmarking a title, a description and tags (keywords) related to inexpensive custom built fly fishing rods. I would make sure the bookmark is set to public so others could find it, and would then have created a social bookmark.

Now when people search the social bookmarking service, using the tag words used to define the bookmarked sites, they are presented with a list of related sites. Using our fly-fishing example above. When someone searches for "fly fishing rods" they would be given a list of related sites, including the custom fly fishing rod site we bookmarked. Most bookmarking services also have a rating system so the most popular sites are at the top of the list.

2. Another great benefit of social bookmarking is, once you have social bookmarked your favorite sites, you can easily find those bookmarked sites from any computer connected to the internet. You simply log into the online social bookmarking service and find the website you bookmarked. This can be very helpful if you have many websites you like to monitor, when you are away from home and you are not at your primary computer.

Why is social bookmarking important to internet marketers? Social bookmarking sites are very popular sites that get a lot of traffic. They have high Google page rankings and are visited often by search engines. Submitting your site to the social bookmarking services increases the chance your site will be crawled by the search engines. I have seen my sites crawled by Google only one day after registering my site to social bookmarking services.

Submitting to social bookmarking services is also a great way to get one way, incoming, high page rank links coming to your website, which helps increase your page rank.

However, most importantly, if your website is seen as having value to a group of people, your bookmark can be rated highly and can create a ton of very targeted traffic to your website.

Social bookmarking is growing at a phenomenal rate and if you want to market on the internet Feature Articles, you need to add social bookmarking to your set of internet marketing tools.

Mike Gates is a home business entrepreneur, specializing in creating multiple income streams using information products, affiliate programs and network marketing. Mike Gates is the author of the popular affiliate marketing tips guide, AffiliatePayDay (http://www.affiliatepayday.com/). Mike teaches affiliate marketers how to earn residual monthly income from residual affiliate programs.

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By Dave Sherwin

Which is the better opportunity, Network Marketing or Affiliate Marketing? This article gives four STRONG differences between the two, and why, for the money, Network Marketing is the better choice for the average person.

The phase, "Not an MLM" is posted on affiliate web sites as a badge of honor, as if it gives legitimacy to affiliate marketing programs. MLM, or Network Marketing, received a bad rap over the years. There are MANY good Network Marketing companies out there that offer vastly superior opportunities for the average person than any affiliate program can.

Here is a head-to-head comparison of Network Marketing vs. Affiliate Marketing:

1. Infrastructure. Every good network marketing company has a head office, with many employees taking care of paychecks, product ordering and fulfillment, research and development, customer and distributor support, etc. A yuppie in a bathrobe administers the average affiliate program. Customer support? Tech Support? Go fish!

2. Product Line. Network Marketing companies usually have high quality products developed by expensive scientists and formulators. They often have third party laboratories or Universities test their products before they send them to market. Affiliate programs are info products created by a self proclaimed "Guru", and they are successful because a good copywriter creates a compelling sales page that gets sales. These programs come and go, and the "Hot Program" of last month is replaced by this week's sensational, "get rich quick" info product.

3. Assurance of payment. Network Marketing companies pay regularly, have great computer systems and accounting departments, and checks are accurate and timely. The average affiliate marketer has an online shopping cart system that occasionally writes them an e-mail that says something like, "Time to Pay Affiliate Commissions". In addition, I can tell you from personal experience that these checks often just are not written. Even if the marketer is using a reliable payment resource like Clickbank, affiliate commissions are still in jeopardy because affiliate links are not stable. For example, if somebody bookmarks your affiliate link and returns later to buy, but has deleted their cookies in the meantime, they do not go to YOUR site, they go to the PARENT site and you lose the commission. I was an affiliate for a very respectable, large company in the autoresponder business. Two friends of mine wanted to get autoresponder systems, so I sent my affiliate link and both joined the service within hours of getting the link. Yet when I logged in to check my back office, neither person showed. To their credit, the company believed me and paid me the commissions, but it made me wonder how many times that has happened, as I had marketed their system online for several months. I am sure I sent them a lot of business I was never paid for.

4. Training. In Network Marketing, your sponsor is motivated to GIVE YOU all their best stuff. The better educated you are, the more money they make. In Affiliate Marketing, the whole game is to SELL you the information you need to succeed. If you join a good Network Marketing company that is web savvy, you will get free training that any web marketer would charge you thousands of dollars for.

I have spent thousands of hours, and tens of thousands of dollars marketing affiliate programs in my Network Marketing business, and the bottom line is this: the e-mail that says, "Congratulations, a new distributor has joined your business" is much more satisfying than the notification letting you know you sold an e-book or online program.

In the battle between Network Marketing and Affiliate Marketing, there is no comparison. Affiliate marketing is, for most people, a flimsy business with a revolving door of "hot programs" that come and go on a monthly basis. On the other hand, Network Marketing offers growing residual leveraged income, marketing consumable products to a growing network of distributors and retail customers. For the average person who wants to create his or her own business from home, it is still the easiest, least expensive and most rewarding way to go.

Dave Sherwin is a master network marketer that has discovered how to build a massive global organization using little more than his computer internet connection. To learn more see:http://escapethematrix.net/x2o .

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By Graham Burt

Email Marketing can be a very effective way of getting leads or sales. In this article, Graham Burt explains the dangers of spam. How can it harm a business? It is a very important subject. Not knowing the laws of spam can indeed close down your business.

Advertise Yes, But Do not Spam

There is a big difference between advertising and spam. It is unfortunate that a high percentage of new internet business owners do not realize the distinction between the two. This is critical. While an interesting, adequately written Internet marketing campaign can help to entice new clients and have existing clients stay with you, spam is liable to distance both new clients and existing clients. This can be harmful to profit margins for a business owner.

Email campaigns can be effective tools in the business of Internet marketing. Email campaigns may incorporate mailing regular e-newsletters that contain useful information, as well as advertisements, short instructive email courses, or emails giving discounts on goods and services. Trusted clients who opt into your email list may not label these emails as spam. They may buy other goods and services from your business as an upshot of this marketing procedure. In addition, other internet users who have specifically requested more details about your products and services normally also find this kind of advertising to be useful.

Email recipients who did not ask for information are liable to see your emails as spam. Making use of email addresses is a deceiving approach and using such addresses to send out a hoard of emails will usually be considered spam. Take heed, if you are reported for spam on a regular basis, you are likely to endanger your business. Having said that, most companies will allow you to explain your actions and let you off with a warning. However, there are those who are much stricter and will just close your account.

It is in your best interest that you learn as much as possible about the laws of Spam. Many mail providers have built-in spam filters. It will automatically block certain words; stopping your marketing email from getting through. Purchasing a software program that can check your emails before you send them so that your efforts are not wasted.

Lastly, Focus Groups provide a marvelous possibility for business owners to promote their business. By taking part in a discussion, you will unearth a huge number of Internet users who probably have an interest in your market. You could consider including a link back to your website in your signature or posting the link to the dialogue. In all events, care should be taken to study the Focus Group guidelines to certify you are not carrying out anything improper. Replying to Focus Groups, you stumble on, and posting a message containing a link to your website at a time when it is not relevant to the discussion is liable to be construed as spam by other members. If they start to look at your posts as spam, they are not likely to look in on your website via the links you post and more likely, the administrators will exclude you from their Focus Group.

Banner ads are one of the utmost favorite marketing strategies, which go along with an Internet Marketing program. These ads emerge at the top of websites and they are displayed across the width of the website. It is vital to recognize how they can be overused and be labeled as spam. Randomly placing your banner ad on a few websites, which are expected to captivate visitors similar to your target market, is streetwise marketing Free Articles, placement of your banner ad on any website, which will advertise the ad heedless of the target audience, can be construed as spam.

Graham Burt is a very experienced Internet Marketer because he learned from the experts. It is well known that 95% of new online business entrepreneurs fail due to a lack of knowledge. This website: http://www.roadmap-to-millions.com has ample content provided by Internet Millionaires to give anyone wishing to be successful at Internet Marketing an advantage over most.

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By Mal Keenan

There Are three Strategies You MUST Follow in Order to Build a Profitable Opt-in Email List...

Ask any internet marketer worth asking; they will tell you that the money is in the list, email list that is.

You have probably read of online marketers making a small fortune from their own lists of eager subscribers; sounds like it is simply a case of buying a list or building it through web traffic and then cashing in through sending a series of emails. This is frankly not the case! Building a profitable opt-in email list takes time and effort mainly in building trust with your subscribers, enough for them to feel comfortable adding their payment details to buy your product or service. This does not happen overnight.

Here are three ways that will help you build a profit-pulling list of hungry subscribers:

1. Write and submit articles - There is no better way to build your reputation as an expert in your field than to write and submit articles to the article databases. The byline of the article is the perfect place to put a link to your opt-in form or straight to your product page where you will give your visitor an opportunity to subscribe to your list. If they see you as an expert, prospects are more likely to subscribe to your list. You have begun to build trust, as well.

Many visitors to my site put my name in Google to see exactly who I am. When they finds 1000s of references to my name built over many years online, mostly through written articles, then they feel a lot more comfortable dealing with me.

2. Know Your Product or Service - It is extremely important that you know your product in order to inspire confidence in your subscribers and compel them to reach for their credit cards. It is also essential that you are confident in the quality of your product or service. If you think you are selling crap, it will come across in your emails even if you write top class copy. Your subscribers will sense that something is not quite right.

3. Only recommend quality products and services to your subscribers - I am referring to products besides yours. One great way to build more profit into your list is to recommend other products similar to your own. However, beware, the quickest way to ruin your reputation and ensure the downfall of your email lists' ability to pull in profits is to recommend inferior products or services. I tend to stick to the maxim "If I don't use it myself and find it useful I won't recommend it to others". You cannot go wrong if you keep to this principle.

The idea of drafting an email within minutes, sending it to my list, and watching orders flood into my email inbox has always appealed to the lazier side of my character and is a dream come true.

Email marketing truly is the lazy mans way to riches BUT it does take a lot of work, Find Article, preparation, and care in maintaining a quality list of subscribers. By following the points above, it can help you make this a reality.

Mal Keenan is publisher of Home Business Tips Newsletter. Check it out for tips on how to get Started Earning a Full-time Income from Home: Work from home internet business opportunities Newsletter (http://www.home-business-tips-newsletter.com/) To Find Out What Was My Greatest Lucky Break in My Six Years of Frustration check out: New home based business opportunity (http://www.freeadvertz.com/)

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By Carol Solomon

If you want to market your business on the internet, building your business with email newsletters is an extremely important skill.

One reason that email newsletters are so effective is it keeps you, (and your service), in the minds of your potential clients. When your potential clients are ready, and they have a need for your service, they will contact you.

Connecting with people through email newsletters takes a special kind of skill. Email newsletters create familiarity and comfort with the readers. The main purpose of an email newsletter is to build a relationship with your subscribers.

REMEMBER: It is not your readers' job to remember you. It is YOUR job to make sure they do not forget you.

Since I like to respect your time (and follow my own advice), here are eight ‘quick tips’ to increase your success and profit in writing for email newsletters:

1. Spell it out. People want "step by step" instructions – it makes any task seem easier and more manageable. If you can tell someone "how to" solve a problem or manage a difficult situation in steps, your newsletter WILL be read.

2. Send it out often. Many coaches think they do not have time, (or words), to write a newsletter more than once per month. However, anyone who has survived to adulthood has enough material to write for a lifetime :-). Keeping it short and sending it out more often gives people more opportunities to contact you.

3. Give your readers a consistent product with a consistent format. Consistency builds trust and confidence. The number one reason people buy something is trust and confidence in the person making the offer.

4. Make many offers. Put an offer for your services in every issue and encourage people to contact you. Offer different products and services – for example, some clients want individual coaching, others prefer a group. I offer both.

5. Some people will never hire you, but they will purchase an ebook or a teleclass. Find out what your readers want and create it for them.

6. Offer something free (and valuable) – a free consultation, teleclass, or a special report. Even if your readers do not take you up on it, it is beneficial to offer something – your readers will remember that you offered a gift.

7. Don't forget how valuable your information is to people who do not have it. Most professionals underestimate the VALUE of what we know. Personally, I think that the work we do is BEYOND the value of money – how can you put a value on helping someone build a business or be more effective in their life and work?

8. Be patient. You are building a relationship with your readers. It can take about 1000 subscribers before you start seeing income. Once you get that first client Health Fitness Articles, you will never look back.

To get free (and short!) Tech Tips delivered to your inbox - go to Tech Tips for Coaches (http://www.techtipsforcoaches.com/). A few short years ago, Carol Solomon, Ph.D. (http://www.easycoachingwebsites.com/), had ZERO technical knowledge - in fact, she could barely send an email. She adopted the mantra "if other people can do it, then I can do it too." She now trains others who are challenged in the world of technology, but want to use the internet to catapult their businesses.

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By Wendy Maynard

Let us just start by saying that you MUST have a website, no ifs, ands, or buts. Without one, your prospects will not perceive you as a professional. In addition, you are missing so many potential sales and marketing opportunities if you do not have a website.

A website is one of the most powerful marketing tools that you can implement. You can update it immediately; it is unique to your business; thousands of people who are searching for EXACTLY what you have to offer can see it; and it works as your sales force 24/7. In addition, it can be expanded and changed over time.

A website is a crucial marketing tool that can do the following for your business:

-Increase your visibility and credibility.

-Provide instant information and answers to your prospects' questions.

-Show your prospects that "I know how you feel."

-Allow your prospects and customers the ability to see the full spectrum of your services/products.

-Give your site visitors a taste of your personality – you are already building a relationship with them before you ever talk to them!-Tie together all of your other marketing efforts.

-Offer a storefront to sell your info products including reports, books, teleclasses, e-courses, and digital videos.

-Expand your geographic reach to a much broader audience.

-Provide a place for referrers to send their friends and associates.

-Decrease the length of your sales cycle because by the time your prospects call you, they have had an opportunity to learn about your business online.

Ask yourself a question, "If your website were a salesperson, would you fire him or her?" If the answer is "yes," well…we have some work to do! Do not try to design your own website (unless you are a web designer). There is a steep learning curve and you should devote your time to revenue-making activities. In addition, unless you have a background in web design, your site will look like YOU designed it.

When you hire a firm to design your website, make sure you find a company that understands marketing, as well. There are some web designers who can make your website look pretty, but it may not be effective as a sales tool. You want a team who can make your site easy to navigate with a compelling design AND works for you to sell your services and products.

Key pages for your website include:

-home page: Your home page is the most important page – this is what people will see first. This must be a page that operates as a Sales Letter that explains what you offer, how you will solve your prospects' problems, and what action you want your website visitors to take.

-About: All about you, your business, your staff, company history, and philosophy. You can explain how you work and your approach.

-Services/Products: This is a place where your site visitors can go to find out more about what you are selling.

-Contact: Provide a place to give your contact information. Make it as easy as possible for people to get in touch with you.

-Other Key Pages: Other pages could include Clients (list of your customers), Case Studies (demonstrates who you have helped and how), Testimonials (your customers' raving reviews), Resources (things that your prospects and customers may find helpful.

People do not read websites as if they read a newspaper or book. Instead, they scan until they find a link that looks interesting and then they click on it. Therefore, it is crucial that you make your website pages compelling and make it obvious what a person is supposed to do next. For example, "Purchase now" or "Read more."

On your homepage, start with a compelling headline that speaks directly to your target audience. Next, create a series of "pull" marketing questions or statements for your home page. These are problem-oriented - your prospects should be able to read these and answer, "Yes!” Then, tell your site visitors that they have a way out. Explain exactly what your prospects can do to solve the problems you have just laid out. Always provide a call to action. Be sure to explain EXACTLY what you want your visitors to do. For instance, you may want to get them to subscribe to your ezine, go to a specific page, or to register for a seminar.

In your website, be sure to include pages in your website that give a comprehensive explanation of your services, products, or programs. Be sure to give visitors information about you and your staff, your clients, the way you work, and be sure to include testimonials. I also recommend that you provide a way to capture the names of your prospects. There are many effective online tools to do this. Otherwise, they can move on and you may never hear from them again. So, offer a free report and/or an ezine in exchange for your visitors' contact information.

ACTION ITEM: Do you have a website currently? If you do not yet have a website, what can you do to build an online presence? What pages will you include? If you already have a website Article Submission, is it working for you? What can you do to your current website to improve its selling power? What areas can you add to your website (or plan for a new site) to enhance its stickiness – how can you keep people coming back? Get started now as it can often take weeks or months to overhaul a website to make it a super selling machine.

Wendy Maynard, the Marketing Maven, publishes REMARKABLE MARKETING, a weekly ezine for business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. If you are ready to skyrocket your sales and easily attract customers, subscribe today at http://www.gomarketingmaven.com/ezine.html.

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By Elaine Currie

You probably think working at home, just you and your computer, in splendid isolation with phone calls diverted to message, would make it impossible for enemies to get to you and disrupt your working day. Well, this works with most enemies but there are two villains who can get past your defenses.

Starting your own Internet home based business can be the best career move you ever make. No other occupation, self-employed or otherwise, can give you the freedom and flexibility you get when you work at home online. You can relax and enjoy working at home in peace managing your time to suit yourself and just concentrate on the important goal of earning money.

Anyone working online from home will tell you, that you might spend all your working time completely on your own without speaking to another human being, you will still encounter enemies who will do their utmost to steal your most valuable commodity: time. Watch out for two particular villains; they are procrastination and loss of focus. If you let either one of them into your life, you will find time vanishing with nothing left to show for the lost hours.

Most people will admit to allowing procrastination to steer them off course. If you know you have to perform a task you do not enjoy, it is only human wishing to postpone it and do something more enjoyable. The Internet is full of enjoyable distractions just a click away from where you are working. If you want to succeed with your Internet home based business, you cannot afford to give in to the temptation to procrastinate. The unwavering exercise of self-discipline is essential for effective time management.

You can strengthen your self-discipline by creating a protective force field around yourself. Make a list of each task you need to complete during the day. Check off each task as you complete it. Allow yourself a small reward in the form of a coffee break, exercise break, or even just an imagined congratulatory pat on the back. Then continue with the next task. As long as you stay focused on the list, the force field will remain intact and procrastination will be unable to attack you or influence you in any way. Set one foot off the list, breach the force field, and that old thief, procrastination, will grab you by the ankle and drag you off into the deep dark Internet forest in less time than it takes to blink.

Procrastination is easy to spot but loss of focus is sneaky. Loss of focus pops out from behind trees and beckons you to make a detour from your planned route. Loss of focus wears many disguises ranging from irresistibly friendly to impressively businesslike. If you manage to catch the bandit and strip away the disguise, you will see the ugly little gremlin for what it really is. If you let loss of focus lead you off the path, you will find yourself miles from home without a trail of breadcrumbs to help you retrace your steps. The minutes will seem to flash by in fast forward. You hear a faint gremlin chuckle as your workday is devoured.

One sure weapon will keep you safe from the ‘loss of focus’ gremlins. It is not really a stun gun, but it acts like one against these gremlins. Fortunately, the weapon is free and you already have it in your possession - it is the bookmark button on your computer. Never make eye contact or try to negotiate with ‘loss of focus’. Immediately, when he pops up, zap him with the bookmark button and he will disappear from your working hours. Better still, he will be held captive until you have finished your work and are ready to deal with him when you choose. Don't be afraid to zap’ loss of focus’ any time he puts in an appearance, it won't hurt him and you will find that this enemy has been transformed into a useful ally through a few hours confinement in your bookmarks folder.

There is no substitute for self-discipline in time management when you are trying to earn a living online, but backing it up with a couple of free weapons Find Article, will help to keep self-discipline strong.

Do you earn money working at home? For more time management tips and useful home business resources visit Elaine Currie's Work At Home Directory (http://www.huntingvenus.com/).

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By Donna Gunter

Creating an effective series of autoresponders helps. You begin to develop a relationship with prospective customers, highlight your expertise, and ultimately convert prospects into customers. The autoresponder enables you to send a personalized automated reply to customers via email 24/7 without any intervention on your part, past the setup stage. Below I have listed the type of information you can include in your autoresponder series.

I often suggest to clients they use the power of business automation found in sequential autoresponders as an effective method of keeping in touch with their contacts. An autoresponder is an automated email response or series of responses that you have previously written and uploaded into an autoresponder service. The autoresponder enables you to reply to customers via email 24/7 without any intervention on your part past the setup stage. For example, you might send an automatic reply to a new newsletter subscriber, to someone who has requested a free giveaway on your site, or to a customer who has just purchased your newest information product.

Where do you find a sequential autoresponder service? Sometimes they are bundled with shopping cart software. Alternatively, you can purchase a stand-alone service in which you can set up autoresponders and send out your email newsletter, as well.

The two features that are essential to have in autoresponder software are personalization and tracking ability. For greater effectiveness, you should be able to personalize your autoresponders both in the subject line as well as in the body of the email. Do you open email more quickly when you see your name in the subject line or when the body of the email mentions your address or city of residence? This personalization feature permits you to send automated emails appearing personalized, especially for the person receiving the email. I constantly receive both phone calls and email responses from prospects who are the recipients of these automated emails, which leaves me with no doubt about how important it is to personalize your responses. The second feature, tracking ability, enables you to see how many and which recipients opened your email, how many emails were not delivered, and the ability to see how many recipients clicked on any links found within the email.

My clients agree to the use of sequential autoresponders, but then wonders, "What do I say in them.” Factually, you tell your clients the only limitation is their imagination. However, I generally recommend online business owners plan a sequence of 7-9 emails to go out over a series of 3 weeks. In this sequence, you need to check in with how the prospect/customer is doing with the call to action that got the prospect on your list. Point out other pieces of free information on your website that would be useful to the prospect. Recommend their own or affiliate products that would be of interest, and then request another call to action of your prospect.

Here is my outline of follow-up autoresponders I send out when someone has requested a report from one of my sites:

Immediate send: Confirmation of and thank them for their request, and remind them how to download the toolkit.

2 Days Later: Ask them what they think about the toolkit, point out some of the info they might check out immediately, and request a testimonial.

5 Days Later: Offer another gift. I give them the URL of my articles directory and info about how they can syndicate my articles on their website at no charge and the benefits of doing so.

7 Days Later: Ask them to complete a survey. I created a short 30-second survey through SurveyMonkey.com that I ask them to complete. This helps me better understand what problems my target market has.

9 Days Later: Recommend a product. I change this offering occasionally and either recommends one of my products or a product for which I am an affiliate.

16 Days Later: Offer another gift. I tell them about my podcast and blog. I tell them why they should subscribe and how to do so.

19 Days Later: Ask me a question. I give them the opportunity to personally ask me a question about online marketing and let them know that I will respond to it in my blog.

23 Days Later: Make a special offer. I introduce them to my coaching services and offer them a special rate to try out my coaching.

Other offers you could make in your follow-up autoresponders include inviting them to a discussion forum or a free teleclass, have them subscribe to your ezine, or send them to download or view a free audio recording or video.

Creating an effective series of autoresponders helps you begin to develop a relationship with prospective customers, display your expertisePsychology Articles, and ultimately convert prospects into customers.

Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps self-employed service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To sign up for more FREE tips like these and claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at Get More Clients Online (http://www.getmoreclientsonline.com/).

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by Michael Moshkovich

One strategy that works, if you work at it, is forum marketing. Here is an internet marketing strategy you can work at to help you earn money on the internet.

Perhaps you have heard of the KISS method for doing Internet marketing; “Keep It Simple Stupid”. Internet marketing does not require you to be a rocket scientist, but it does require you to work. Here is an Internet marketing strategy you can work at to help you earn money on the internet.

When it comes to Internet marketing, think about the market you are targeting. These people can use the product that you sell. One strategy that works, if you work at it, is forum marketing. An Internet forum is an on-line discussion group where people exchange ideas about a common interest. There are thousands of discussion forums on the Internet on every imaginable topic

The Internet strategy you are using here is to join a forum that relates to the product you sell. As a member, you will be able to establish a profile that you can include your website. Many forums will let you create a signature file where you can create a short classified ad about yourself or your business. In that, again you want to include your website address.

To use forum marketing, you will have to spend time in the forum asking and answering questions. What you are really doing is beginning to establish relationships with people. If you create quality posts in the forum, you will start to establish yourself as an expert. The value of this is when people read your posts they will be curious to learn more about you. As they read your profile or signature file, they will see you website address and click on it. You have just created a visitor to your site.

This is probably the easiest thing you will ever do. This Internet marketing strategy can make you thousands of dollars for years to come. Why? Because most forums archive their posts and search engines spider these for useful content. One good forum post can be picked up by a search engine and bring you website traffic repeatedly.

For this reason, you want to try to include keywords in your post that relate to the content of your website. Do not spam-write the same keyword repeatedly, but just write as if you were talking, and be mindful of an opportunity to work in a keyword when possible.

You can derive one last benefit from a good forum. You can get many good ideas. This is free training for you. You will very quickly be able to spot people in the forum who post good content who can teach you things. Over time, you will go from student to teacher yourself.

As an Internet, marketing strategy, forum marketing is one of the easiest. It takes time and effortArticle Submission, but is a long-term way to get traffic to your website.

Michael Moshkovich is a web developer and internet marketer who have written over 50 articles on SEO, shopping cart software and PPC marketing. To find out more information about WebCart's seo friendly shopping cart software visit our website (http://www.webcart.net/).

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By Steve Renner

One of the more important ways of increasing affiliate marketing bottom line and sales is with product recommendations. Many marketers know this is one of the most effective ways in promoting a certain product.

In affiliate marketing, you can increase your earnings in many ways. You can easily learn most of the techniques and tactics. No need to go anywhere, as everything you need to know, is available online, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

One of the more important ways of increasing affiliate marketing bottom line and sales is using product recommendations. Many marketers know this is one of the most effective ways in promoting a certain product.

When the customers or visitors trust you enough, then they will definitely trust your recommendations. Be very careful in using this approach. If you start promoting everything by recommendation, your credibility will actually wear thin. This is seen especially, when recommendations are seemingly exaggerated and without much merit.

Do not be afraid to mention things you do not like about a given product or service. Rather than lose any points for you, this will make your recommendation more realistic and will tend to increase your credibility.

Further, if your visitors are interested in what you are offering, they will be glad to learn what is good about the product, what is not so good, and how the product will benefit them. This is important; always mention the benefits.

When you are recommending a certain product, there are things to remember on how to make it work effectively and for your advantage.

Sound like the true and leading expert in your field. Remember this simple equation: Price resistance diminishes in direct proportion to trust. If your visitors feel and believe you are an expert in your niche, and trust you, they are more inclined to make that purchase.

On the other hand, if you do not show any confidence and self-assurance in endorsing your products, they will probably feel that same way and will go in search of another product or service, which is more believable.

How do you establish this aura of expertise? By offering unique and new solutions, they would not get anywhere else. Show proof that what you are promoting works as promised. Display prominent testimonials and endorsements from respected and known personalities, in related fields.

Avoid hype at all costs. It is better to sound low key and confident, than to scream and seek attention. Besides, you would not want to sound unprofessional and give your potential customers and clients, the wrong impression.

It is best to appear cool and self-assured. In addition, remember; prospects are not stupid. They are actually turning to experts and may already know the things that you know. If you back up your claims with facts and data, they would gladly spend hundreds, or even thousands of dollars on one of your promotions. However, if you do not, they may leave your site and look elsewhere. They may go to your competitors and see what they are offering.

While recommending a product at your site, it is also important that you give out a promotional item, like a free report. Most people are already familiar with the concept of offering freebies when promoting your own products, but very few people do this to promote affiliate products.

Before you give a recommendation to a product, it is a good idea to try to test the product and support yourself. Do not run the risk of promoting junk products and services. Just think how long it took you to build credibility and trust among your visitors. All it takes to destroy it is one big mistake on your part.

If possible, give recommendations of products that have your 100% confidence. Test the product support before you begin. Assure the people you are referring, when a problem suddenly arises, no one is left high and dry.

Have a look at your affiliate marketing and the strategies you are using. If you are not focusing using recommendations, you should be.

When developing your plan of action, consider using product recommendation and be among those successful affiliates who use this strategy to make a fortune.

Steve Renner (http://www.steverenner.com/) is a Best Selling Author and has been marketing online since 1998. He is the Director of Training and Marketing for The Affiliate Community, an Online Training and Resource Site for Affiliate Marketers of all Levels. He is a pioneer in the development of Hybrid Marketing and is an Expert in Internet Marketing and Affiliate Marketing. Sign up for a FREE Membership Today (http://join.affiliatecommunity.com/)! Get $1,000 in Training, and Resources.

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By Titus Hoskins

Videos are playing an ever-increasing importance in the completely online marketing process. Using videos will increase brand recognition, create buzz, and help you promote and sell your products or services more effectively. So are you using videos?

Most perceptive Internet marketers did not need YouTube or the cover of Time magazine to tell them video is the next big thing. Most web marketers were already using and benefiting from online videos long before Time and other pundits declared video and self-generated content to be having a profound impact on our daily lives.

Many online marketers have been using videos for years to promote and sell their products, mainly because the use of video as a marketing tool is cost-effective, and a very simple way to market. No online marketer can ignore one marketing trend. It is playing a major role in online marketing and will play an even greater role in the future.

Just look at how video is used by, Brock Felt and Buck Rizvi, to roll out their PipeLine Profits venture. These relatively unknown marketers are using video from the recent StomperNet event to introduce and gather buzz for their PipeLine (Co-Registration) Profits (www.pipelineprofits.com). You should also note how effectively blogs and podcasts are being used in this marketing product rollout.

More and more well known Internet marketers are using videos to create buzz, to promote and sell their products. From John Reese promotional video, standing at the Great Wall of China announcing his upcoming 'online training courses' (www.income.com), to Joel Comm, plugging his latest AdSense Templates package on Google Video, to Michael Cheney's tongue- in-cheek CMN Cheney's Marketing News (www.cheneysmarketingnews.com). Note how Cheney is offering these videos for placement on any site around the web, building links and brand recognition in the process.

Online marketers are exploiting the immediate connection and effectiveness of using video in their marketing. Videos are used to inform potential customers on different products, services or promotions offered by the marketer. These seasoned marketers know building a solid relationship with your clients is a main key to boosting your sales. The use of video is an effective and simple way to make this connection.

Most marketers also use blogs to update and connect with potential clients. Blogs and RSS feeds are perhaps the more important marketing tools, which actually gives videos their unlimited potential. It is the real power behind the throne. With the advent of the next RSS empowered Windows (Vista), one would expect Blogs and RSS to play an even greater role in the Internet marketing arena. Video has truly arrived in the online marketing world.

What we will see is every website on the net becoming its own broadcasting system, its own television channel catering to a specific niche or a broad topic depending on the subject matter covered by the site. A billion channel Internet powered by RSS and video. One only has to look at how a prominent site like WebProNews.com is using videos to see how this scenario will play out.

However, what is truly revolutionary, you do not have to be major players to get in the marketing game, even the smallest marketer can use and benefit from implementing their own videos. A simple video or digital camera can produce an informational video within minutes. These can range from the so-called 'poor man' Camtasia videos, to elaborate infomercials, and commercials. You can then upload these videos to your blog or site and distribute them around the web within seconds. Those concerned with bandwidth costs can always upload their videos to YouTube or Google Video. This simple video marketing system is available to everyone.

Current well-informed online marketers are using these videos as effective marketing tools. No reason why you cannot follow their lead and use videos to:

1. Introduce yourself or your product

2. Create buzz during a product launch

3. Build your list by offering free videos

4. Create video content to enrich your site

5. Build a more personal relationship with subscribers

6. Keep in contact with your clients

7. Create a video sales letter/pitch to sell your product or service

Nothing beats the personal and direct connection video or TV makes with your potential customers and follow-up leads. It's the infomercial personalized for the web. Soon marketers will be using video software that automatically inserts their subscriber's name in their videos for a more personal touch. Similar to what we see done now with AutoResponders with the field {first_name) personalizing all correspondence with our subscribers. Expect this personalized video marketing to be a big trend in the coming years.

Your own name is still the sweetest word on the planet. Most perceptive marketers will take advantage of this fact by personalizing their messages and building a genuine relationship with their clients. Personalized videos will help cement this relationship and make it stronger - all contributing to more sales for the marketer, of course! From a marketing viewpoint: videos, podcasts, broadcatching, web casting, and video casting are all phrases for the same thing: they are all ways to get your message in front of your customers. Obviously, video will help you reach more customers. Video will make it easier for you to promote your products or services.

Perhaps, more importantly, videos will make it easier for you to sell your products and services. It is one more tool online marketers should have in their marketing arsenal. Video is already the future of online marketingFree Web Content; you should be taking full advantage of it right now.

The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous niche websites, including two sites on Internet marketing. For the latest and most effective web, marketing tools try: www.marketingtoolguide.com for the latest Internet Marketing Strategies go here: www.bizwaremagic.com 2007 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

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By Graham Burt

Getting traffic to a website can be expensive. In this article, Graham Burt explains the benefits of writing and publishing articles, which is one of the most inexpensive ways of driving traffic to a website.

You can achieve marketing your website and product for absolutely nothing. Article writing is one of the easiest ways to promote your website in order to generate traffic and increase earnings.

How does this happen? Create articles relative to your website content and submit them to "free content" article submission sites. This is simple to do. It takes very little time and can very quickly increase your website visitors, sales, and in turn, your revenue.

How can article writing increase traffic and revenue? The article on the free content submission site contains a link connecting back to the website. Readers, after studying your articles, may opt to click on this link and pay you an unplanned visit. Having articles on the free content submission sites is also allowing these articles to be obtainable to many other webmasters who may choose to publicize that particular article on their website.

If they do, your article will still contain a link back to your website. Anyone who reads the article can choose to click on the link back, in order to look in on your website. As the amount of your published articles multiply in numbers, and even more and more of them are appearing on numerous websites, the increasing number of links to your website increases as well.

Main search engines are paying a lot of respect to incoming links to websites so they can judge the worth of a particular website. Search engines attach extra value to a website that has more incoming links. Some normally then increase your website's positioning in the search engine results.

If you website is marketing a particular product, the links that your articles have achieved may mean new potential business for you. If visitors skim through it, you never know if they could be in need of what you are offering now or maybe in the future. Many people may have particular information on their minds, but cannot choose between the numerous choices online. They read one of your articles, get attracted by the topic written, go to your website, and became enticed by what you have to offer.

Most search engines do not only index the websites, they also index published articles. They are likely to index any story written about your own site's subject. Therefore, when somebody searches for s specific subject, the list of results will probably have your website accredited, or may, display the articles that you have authored. In addition, you got this attention through no effort of your own, except for the submission, which took only a few minutes.

Innumerable webmasters are rapidly reviving their old essay styles. They are setting aside a part of their week to pen new articles relating to their website rather than carrying out alternative and more expensive means of marketing. Marketing a website to make it known is easier if you have articles multiplying the links and making it easy for visitors browsing the internet to find what they are looking for. The fact is that vast amounts of people are now bringing their buying needs online. Having your website on the search engines by virtue of your articles is one way of letting visitors find out about you and the type of business you specialize in.

The commendable thing about articles is you can pen about subjects that internet surfers would wish to learn about, achieving this in the lightest of moods, but still in a proficient way. If you stop to think about it, penning one article and submitting it to the free content websites only takes a few minutes of your day. In no time at all, the articles are distributed to more sites than you can imagine possible. Before you can grasp what is taking place, you are acquiring many more visitors than you had previously.

If you believe you are wasting your day creating these articles, think ahead to the future when you will see them printed and extensively broadcasted on the internet. Not to forget the immediate regard and scrutiny that people are allocating to your website and your goods or services. Try penning various subject articles. You should be guaranteed of a rapid gush in site visitors Science Articles, link value and attentiveness.

Not anything comes close to acquiring gains for something you got for nothing.

Graham Burt is a very experienced Internet Marketer. It is well known that 95% of new online business entrepreneurs fail due to a lack of knowledge. This website: http://www.roadmap-to-millions.com has ample content provided by Internet Millionaires to get anyone wishing to be successful at Internet Marketing an advantage over most.

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By Elaine Currie

Working at home gives you the freedom to use your time in a flexible way. With no boss to set deadlines for you, it is up to you to ensure no element of time wasting creeps into your flexible schedule.

If you are new to working at home online, one of the hardest things you have to do will be to learn effective time management. Time is too precious to be wasted. It is essential to remain focused on the task you set out to do and complete that task before starting another. There will be numerous distractions inviting you to wander off course spending a little time in some completely unplanned activity. For anyone working at home, there will be distractions; such as a ringing phone, a parcel delivery, a demanding child, a bright day that just begs you to wax the car, a dog that wants walking, etc.

When working at home online, in addition to all the normal domestic distractions, you contend with the Internet's own array of distractions. If you thought controlling domestic life while working at home was complicated, the early days of working online will seem like trying to perform delicate surgery in the middle of a three-ring circus. Offline distractions will quietly tempt you to wander off course. The distractions you will encounter on the Internet positively clamor for your attention.

Working at home provides the freedom to make your own schedule and the flexibility to work any hour of day or night you choose. The main attraction of working at home is there will be no boss breathing down your neck. In the absence of deadlines set by a boss, it is up to you to use self-discipline to get your work done.

When you work for yourself, you will undoubtedly start with every intention of managing your time sensibly and following a schedule that will enable you to balance work and family life. Working at home online involves more than just good intentions. It requires planning, determination, persistence, and unwavering self-discipline.

When you first start working at home online, you will be tempted to check your website at regular intervals. You will be tempted to check your sales figures several times a day. You will feel the need to check in at your favorite forums, and your email inbox will have an almost irresistible attraction. It is natural to feel like this. Each of these detours from your planned day will not take long on its own. If you add up the time spent on each one, you will be looking at an hour or more wasted each day.

Those self-inflicted time wasters are a danger in themselves, but the danger lurking within them is worse. Every visit you make to a forum and every email you read can contain a link that you will not be able to resist clicking. This is where working at home online has unique dangers you would not experience if you had an offline home business. Clicking any one of those links can lead you to a website full of information that looks as if it might be of benefit to you. There will be offers of tools to save you time, e-books to educate you, and advertising that promises to make you a fortune. Your decision to read just one email can lead you down a path that costs you another half hour in wasted time.

The problem with these online temptations is they tend to arrive disguised as something to help you in your home business. Ironically, many will claim to save you time while you are building your business. You will develop an instinct that enables you to ignore these offers because you have seen it all, (or something very similar) before, but the early days are a dangerous time. Your best defense in the early days is self-discipline. The solution is not always easy but it is simple: make a plan and stick to it. Have a list of things to do each day and make yourself work through the list systematically. The best way to do this is to use a system of small goals and rewards to keep you on the straight and narrow path until good time management replaces those bad habits.

If you fail to exercise self-discipline and resist the temptation to wander the Internet back roadsFree Reprint Articles, you will find yourself spending long hours at your computer with nothing to show for the time spent apart maybe from a touch of eyestrain.

Do you earn money working at home? For more time management tips and useful home business resources, visit Elaine Currie's Work At Home Directory (http://www.huntingvenus.com/).

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By Elias Georgi

As a business grows and matures, there are a number of stages that evolve.
Home business operations are no different in this regard, so it is important to understand these stages, prepare for them and avoid disruption to your customers as well as disruption to your revenues. We will review these stages briefly in this article.

A home business, or a business started within a major corporation develop through various stages. You can summarize these as follows - Business Concept, business evaluation, launch preparations and launch, start up and initial operations, and evolution beyond the entrepreneurial stage. Each of these stages is critical and be given the appropriate attention deserved to ensure success. In addition, different skills are required during start up, for example, compared to more mature operations and year over year revenue growth.

A company's life cycle is divided into two major activities. Initially the focus is on start up, securing funding, building initial services and products, and delivering those products and services. The search for customers can be all-consuming. Everyone in the company, whether it is a one-person operation or a company of five, must multitask and do what is necessary to launch and build the initial customer base. The skills required at this stage are more entrepreneurial and imply strong commitment and faith to the concept the company is built around.

Once the company or home business has reached year over year growth cycles and is well on the way to becoming stable and generating revenue, the entrepreneurs typically do not do well in this environment. Hiring professional managers with experience in the areas that your home business has decided to specialize in will ensure continuing success. By this time, your business has grown well beyond a home based business and needs to expand into regular business quarters.

This is also a major step for many businesses and be managed well to maintain excellent customer support to customers and ensure that revenues continue to grow. Entrepreneurs typically love to tinker with the business. Professional managers will focus on the processes and systems needed to ensure success. Most home businesses have also evolved from having several advisors to help them along to deal with a board of directors, especially if there are outside investors involved.

Recognizing these phases and knowing when to begin the transition from one phase to another is part of enabling your home business to evolve into a successful company. Failure to address the issues as you grow Free Reprint Articles, will often severely limit the growth potential of the company over the long term.

Elias Georgi is an experienced and successful sponsor, mentor and coach for many thriving, tested and proven home businesses. Elias offers proven Internet opportunities and strategies. Visit his Website: work at home business opportunities (http://www.eliasg.com/), he also runs the article directory (http://www.exclusive-article.com/).

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By Alicia Forest

As an online business owner, you know you must stay in touch with your email list on a regular basis to have a successful and sustainable business. Publishing an ezine is one of the most effective ways to do so, but sometimes that can feel overwhelming and cumbersome. This article gives you five alternatives to putting out an ezine.

I often hear from my clients and ezine subscribers that they are not sure they can commit to writing a regular ezine as a way to keep in touch with their list, even though they know they "should."

My response is usually something like, "if it's going to be an albatross, then don't do it!" They know they must stay in touch with their email list on a regular basis to have a successful and sustainable business. They are stumped. What are their options?

Here are five ideas I typically share with them:

1. Evergreen Ezine

I first learned of this concept on a teleclass last year, and it seemed so simple. I was amazed I hadn't thought of it myself - which is usually the reaction I get from my clients.

An evergreen newsletter is one where content is applicable all the time. It is not based on trends or on what's hot in your industry now. It is solid need-to-know information based on principles or strategies that rarely change.

To create an evergreen newsletter, you simply gather your content for as many issues as you plan to publish, create each issue, and then drop each one into an autoresponder system to go out automatically at whatever interval you set.

This method takes a bit of work on the front end, but then you 'set it and forget it' until you run out of issues. Then you can let it simply repeat or create a new set of issues by repeating the process above.

2. Ecourse

You can create an ecourse, which is simply a series of emails sharing valuable information with your reader over a time period.

This is a method I use myself. When you sign up for my mini-ecourse, you also get a subscription to this ezine. I could simply offer the ecourse as a stand alone, though, if I did, I would add more days to the series (say from its current 5 to 26) and send them out every couple of weeks as a way to stay in touch with my list.

You set up an ecourse in an autoresponder service, so it's another 'set it and forget it' option once you finish the initial work.

3. Audio Tip

If you prefer to talk than type, then consider an audio tip. When I coach clients who are just starting their written ezines, I remind them it doesn't have to be longer than one valuable tip for each issue.

The same is true if you prefer to create an audio keep-in-touch vehicle for your list. A colleague of mine sends out a 1-minute audio (and video) marketing tip each week and it's incredibly successful.

The easiest way to create and publish audios online is through an inexpensive service like AudioAcrobat.

4. Blog

A blog can be a great alternative to an ezine IF you love to write and are willing to post regularly, if you use search engine optimization to increase your blog's exposure to your market on a continual basis, and if you put a subscription form on your blog so your readers know when you add a new post.

You can start free blogging, at blogger.com or very inexpensively, with Typepad, (which is the service I use for my personal and business blog).

5. VIP List

Invite people to sign up to receive special offers from you. Many of us do this in our personal lives for places we frequently shop (a quick look at my inbox reveals offers from Eddie Bauer, Old Navy, Red Envelope, etc.). People will sign up to receive discounts and other special offers from you if you invite them to do so.

It's best to use this strategy with a group of people who have already gotten to know you, say from a live event or if you have a blog, where you stay in touch with people by posting on a regular basis.

BONUS TIP: If you're writing a regular ezine now, you can add one of these methods as another way to stay in touch with your list. Some people who are on your list may not always read your ezineFree Reprint Articles, but may listen to a short audio or may prefer to read brief posts at your blog instead. Giving your list options as to how they receive your message will increase your ability to connect with more people in your niche.

Copyright 2006 Alicia M Forest and Client Abundance

Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & Coach™ and creator of "21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success System™, teaches coaches, consultants, and other solo professionals and online entrepreneurs how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create abundance in your business, visit http://www.clientabundance.com/.

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By William Perkins

Getting a good domain name is important to the success of your online business. So before you take this big step and register your business name, let’s make sure you have all your ducks in a row. Here is what you should have done already:

- You have chosen one specific niche/topic for your business.
- You know the keywords you will be using in your business.
- You know some of the main products that you will offer.
- You have some ideas for possible names for your business.

Be sure you take your time when brainstorming a name for your business. Talk to people about your business name. Tell them you are starting an online business, and ask them for their suggestions. You will be surprised at the good feedback you will receive.

After you have some good ideas for your business name, you can search the register of existing online domain names to make sure your name isn’t already taken. Then you’ll register your new web business name! But before you do that, here are some things to take into consideration.

Choosing Your Domain Name

Your domain name, of course, is the name of your online business. It may be slightly different from your actual business name. But the main difference should simply be that your domain name will end in .com (dot com). Do not waste your time with any other kind of extension. Not .net, not .biz, not .org – USE DOT COM ONLY!

The .com extension is the mark of a serious business. You’re in business to make money. You must make decisions based on profitability. So who do you think your customers will trust and buy products from: Someone who is serious about their business, or a newbie who doesn’t know the first thing about doing business on the net?

Your domain name (or business name, same thing) must exude confidence, reliability, strength, and trustworthiness. Establishing credibility should be one of your first priorities when choosing your name. Remember, first impressions are lasting impressions.

Choose words that are straight forward and easy to understand. Words that represent the kind of business you’re in. Your name should be memorable, easy to spell, and easy to remember.

Short domain names are better than long domain names.

Do not use numbers in your domain name. For example: If my domain name is www.sevenwonderlust.com, somebody might think, "Does that mean www.7wonderlust.com?" Or take the domain name www.7to1odds.com. Does that mean seven2oneodds?, or 721odds.com? The same goes for percent (%), and plus (+), and any other characters that might be easily confused.

Be careful about being too clever or using gimmicks in your name. Remember, you want your business name to establish trust and credibility—especially on the net!

Your best choice for your domain name would include one or two of your keywords. Use broad keywords that cover a lot of territory so you can expand your business into new directions that you may not be aware of right now.

You should check the popularity of the keywords you’re considering before making any final choices. Use WordTracker or the Overture Keyword Tool to find out how many searches have been done on each keyword. Hint: Use the keywords with the most searches.

Finally, make your domain name easily readable. Choose words that can be read and remembered easily. For example, which is better: www.bigwillysite.com OR www.BigWillySite.com ?

If your business name is already taken, you might want to use dashes between the words. I do not recommend this especially, but more and more people are doing it now because there are fewer choices as more domain names are being registered than ever before. I recommend you keep brainstorming and add a new word, different word, or additional word to your domain name instead of using dashes.

Registering Your Domain with Your Host

I prefer and I recommend you choose your host first, and then register your domain name with your host. There are good reasons for this. First, it’s nice to keep all your information in one place, because it’s easy to forget URLs, dates of expiration, and passwords, among other things.

Second, why fill out a form more than once? If you register your domain name with one company and then host your site with a different company, you will end up typing the same information into the forms that you will be required to fill out where your site will be hosted.

Your domain name is your customer's first contact with your business. You must choose your name wisely. Take your time, know your keywords, use a .com extension, build your credibility with your business name, and try to be memorable.

William Perkins writes about how to start an online business, affiliate marketing, and making money online. He has packaged much of what he knows into a brandable ebook titled, "Fast Track To Internet Riches!" which you can get for free when you opt-in at his website. http://www.BigWillySite.com.

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By Madison Lockwood

We are quickly evolving from a digital world where information was THE marketable commodity to a communications market. New methods of communicating, networking, and socializing become the new consumers of online attention and time, introduced to us on a rapid-fire basis. Blogs, wikis, RSS newsfeeds, podcasts, video socialization are built around applications like YouTube...all of these are recently formulated methods of communication that seemingly overnight have developed millions of participants.

One of the networking methodologies evolving from Internet architecture is the phenomenon of "social bookmarking." One of the more popular sites is del.icio.us. On this site the notion is that you, the web surfer, share interests with others who have web access via your bookmarked URLs. It's the same concept as bookmarking favorites with your browser, but the collection of favorites has a coding system and is shared with others. You build a library of URLs that reflect your interests and you consider worth visiting. You add a personal "tag" with a keyword that characterizes the site.

You can "subscribe" to tags so you can see every new post with that tag. That in turn can take you to the poster's entire list of favorites, which may prove to be a new trove of information for you, and del.icio.us, allows you to go through the same exercise with podcasts, which are now scattered across the Internet galaxy like asteroids.

Others on the web have access to your library and to your personal interests. Utilizing a web based application (in this case, del.icio.us), participants are able to search through sites that others have bookmarked, using not only a standard search term but the tag that has been used to characterize the site. Tags form a collective body of URLs and thus, a body of knowledge - and collective access to those tags forms a community of people with common interests. Included in the process is an optional personal profile, which provides your email address and allow others to communicate with you personally.

The drawback to this format is that a tag search is going to get you every commercial website out there that has laid claim to the same keyword. It takes a lot of scanning and scrolling to find sites that have been tagged by individuals instead of search engines.

There are several platforms out there for social networking. Flickr (www.flickr.com) is a site that uses uploaded photos for networking purposes instead of URLs. You can upload your travel experiences, travel photos and travel interests along with your profile at www.43places.com. Wists (www.wists.com) is a "social shopping" exchange where the bookmarks are all about commercial shopping sites. The level of personal communication allowed by social networking sites is up to you: on 43 Places you can post your photo but refuse personal email. You can also hold the line at public access to your favorite’s library on del.icio.us.

Other social bookmarking platforms (or tools) as they are called, include:

- Backflip
- Blinklist
- blogmarks
- Connotea
- de.lirio.us
- feedmarker
- Jots
- Lookmarks
- Scuttle
- unalog
- Spurl
- Simpy
- Wists
- Yahoo! My Web 2.0

They all have an assortment of tricks and widgets that make their sites a little different. Some of them have fairly sophisticated search methods for their subscribed users; some allow you to "bundle" tags for search purposes; most provide lists of the most popular bookmarks and the recent posts. It's all an interesting experiment in 'distance sharing'. Making use of it for professional (research) or personal uses simply requires taking the time to become comfortable with the methodology and then learning how to get maximum usage out of the tagging system.

Madison Lockwood is a customer relations associate for http://www.apollohosting.com. She helps clients understand how a website may benefit them both personally and professionally. Apollo Hosting provides website hosting, ecommerce hosting, & VPS hosting to a wide range of customers.
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By Jane Wyvern

No matter the kind of job you have or business you own, it seems like meetings are a part of life. They are necessary to make sure vital information is shared and employees are kept in the loop, but they can be a major expense to the employer.

This is especially true for corporations that need to fly employees across the globe for face to face meetings with other employees or clients.

Thanks to the internet and the latest innovations in communications technology, meetings can now occur over the internet via web conferencing. Today’s web conferencing solutions are state of the art, thanks in part to the availability of high-speed internet access.

Corporations can hold meetings and the employees don’t even need to leave their offices. All they need to do is hook into their web conferencing application;--this works well—similar to face-to-face meetings.

The savings in time and money to business owners is quite substantial when you add up travel time, overtime, and person-hours away from the job to attend meetings in an offsite location.

Productivity and efficiency remain at peak levels and the company saves money at the same time. It is no wonder web conferencing has taken the business world by storm.

It isn’t only big business that benefits. Small businesses and startups who work from home can now compete on a global scale thanks to web conferencing and the ability to communicate instantly with anyone on the planet that has access to internet technology.

There are a couple of options to consider when it comes to web conferencing. The choice will ultimately depend upon the budget of the company. In any case, the money saved by utilizing the web conferencing solution will pay for itself in no time.

For higher end solutions, there are full featured stand alone video web conferencing applications. For most small companies however, initiate a simple web conferencing program over the internet, which saves the expense of purchasing equipment and dedicated communication lines.

Web conferencing is a particular boon to those who work at home. It is relatively inexpensive to set up a web conferencing system utilizing a home computer and high speed internet line. Web conferencing provides a link to employees who work from home and gives those with a home business a more professional outward appearance.

Jane Wyvern is an established freelance writer. You can find more of her writing at http://www.webtalkcentral.com and http://www.webhostmatters.com.
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by Mary Hanna

Successful free article submissions to directories on the internet are an effective way to market your article and get more traffic to your websites. Submitting to an article directory is a great way for people to find a free article written by you. There are a few problems with this system, but you can overcome them and become more proficient in marketing articles. The trick is to submit your articles without being considered a spammer.

The weakness of the article submitting techniques is; it is very time consuming. I have submitted articles in three different ways: by Hand, with Article Submitter, and Instant Article Submitter software. Many directories require a login, ID and password, so each directory must be visited and a login established before submissions are accepted.

When submitting by hand, you have to cut and paste each section of the article into the individual directories. There are a lot of sections; first the Title, then the Category (very important – I’ll get into this later), Author, Author email, Website Address, Keywords, Article Summary, Article Body, and About Author box. That is nine cut and pastes to submit to ONE article directory. If you wish to submit to 150-200 directories, a good part of your time is spent doing grunt work which does not allow you to pursue other avenues of traffic generation.

Now we come to the "semi-automated" submission software programs. Yes, they are easier, some more than others, but you still must go to each directory individually. It is crucial that you select a Category for your article. If this is not done, the article directories will know you are using automatic submitting software and will treat your article as SPAM. Many directories especially frown on the "Automated Article Distribution Services" for just that reason. Therefore, you will not be published and not only have you wasted your time writing your article but you may be classified as a spammer.

Within the "Article Submitter" Software, they have 138 auto-fills, and 25 manual-fill directories listed. A visit to a majority of the directories must be done first in order to establish a login. You have the option of adding other article directories on your own, which is a nice touch.

The software will open to a page with a form for "User Information". There are typical information requirements you would find in any sign up sheet like, name, company, email, website, etc. Then hit the tab for "Articles" where you will place the article for submission. You will fill in the Title Section, Article Body (including About Author), Summary, and Keywords. Then choose the "Websites" tab. You can "select all" or pick and choose. Click on "Auto Fill" and it will take you to your first directory. A flaw here is that you can only have one article posted in the article section at a time.

Sounds easy, right? Well with "Article Submitter" you must be very careful. Once you have chosen your Category, check each section. This software does not always put the right information in the right box and it leaves some boxes blank. Again, if the directories feel you are using software carelessly, they will delete your article. The manual sites are just that, manual top to bottom. It took me a full day for each article, so it is still a time consuming process.

Then my partner found "Instant Article Submitter" which I have tested thoroughly. It is by far the easiest and quickest available at this time. Set up is still a bit tedious. Once again, you have to establish your logins, but only once. I found them much more accurate in filling in the necessary submission forms. Yes, you still must choose your Category, but only once, for each niche.

They have 100's of Article Directories listed, but there is a tab where you can mark your "Favorites". At first, I was a little intimated, but it is easy to follow and saves you a lot of time. I submitted to over 150 directories in about 4 hours and that was my first time using the software, so I was on the learning curve. Be careful not to hit the "Next Site Button" until after you have the confirmation that your article has been acknowledged.

Therefore, that has been my experience with these three systems for submitting articles to an Article Directory. I do not recommend hand posting – it is much too difficult.

For me the most convenient and least cumbersome was Instant Article Submitter for getting my articles out there to many Article Directories in the least amount of time.

Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.

Mary Hanna writes eBooks, Software Reviews (for people who are technically challenged like her) and Practical Articles on Internet Marketing, Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at: http://www.WebMarketingReviews.com http://www.eBookSecrets-Exposed.com and http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.
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by Paul Williams

Are you looking for innovative ways to increase your ROI, your bottom line and downright save a ton of money on your IT costs? Let me answer that for you! Of course you are, you would not be a savvy business owner if you did not seek out ways to stretch your money. Drum roll please, introducing Open Source technology a new way for small businesses to even the playing field with their enterprise and big boy competitors.

Why is this important? You now have access to the same or comparable solutions that normally costs hundreds if not thousands to implement and deploy. Case in point, the Open Source version of SugarCRM, which is a Customer Relationship Management tool can be had for free while one of its proprietary and commercial competitors Salesforce.com cost about $1,000 to start per year for a five user license. Another quick example has Ubuntu, which is a full-featured Linux based operating system against Microsoft XP. XP Professional edition costs $299.99, while Ubuntu costs nothing and comes freely loaded with Office utilities that rival Microsoft’s Office software suite. You do the math. Remember to include per user and or per pc price and upgrades. Yeah, I know, you have been suckered for a long time and we didn’t even mention the server operating system and licenses. Ask yourself, why am I paying for something when I can get it done for little or no cost?

Using Open Source is like using “guerrilla tactics” for your small business IT needs. Does free mean cheap? Let’s take a look. Open Source software affords the user to have software developed by hundreds of developers instead of just a few. Most of the Open Source solutions mentioned here are tried and tested solutions. Did you know that you already use Open Source? Yep, in fact if you use a web browser or use email your using opens source software. The Internet is built upon open standards and runs on Open Source software. Who currently uses Open Source software? IBM, HP, Oracle, whole governments, Google, Yahoo and Amazon just to name a few.

So you might be asking yourself, what exactly is Open Source? Open Source software in its simplest form is software that freely distributes the source code along with the object code (the actual program that you install and use), so that any programmer familiar with the language can tweak, improve, modify or customize it without needing to ask anyone for permission or wait for a vendor to do it for them. For a more verbose definition, please visit http://www.opensource.org. The bottom line is, this model of software distribution can give you a freedom and a savings that compels you to at least become a bit more knowledgeable to its uses.

These are some useful links to help get you started on the Open Source road.

http://www.opensourceweekly.com (for the latest is Open Source technology for small business owners)
http://www.sourceforge.net (the world's largest Open Source software development web site)
http://www.freshmeat.org (Open Source software repository site)
http://www.theopencd.org (a collection of high quality Free and Open Source Software.)
http://www.ttcsweb.org/osswin-cd/ (a collection of over 100 free/Open Source software for home and business.)
http://www.itservants.com (Open Source Technology Consultants)

Top Open Source Applications for your small business needs.

http://www.openoffice.org (Great alternate to the Microsoft office suite.)
http://www.firefox.com (Open Source web browser, great alternative to Internet Explorer)
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird (Thunderbird email application, similar to Outlook)
http://www.tightvnc.com (for remote connection to your computers)
http://www.mysql.com (The worlds most popular Open Source database)
http://www.phpmyadmin.com (database management tool)
http://filezilla.sourceforge.net (Filezilla- ftp application to upload and download your web content)
http://www.joomla.org (Website Content Management System or CMS)
http://www.mamboserver.com (Website Content Management System or CMS)
http://www.apache.org (Very popular Web server application)
http://www.oscommerce.com (online shop/ e-commerce solution)
http://www.sugarcrm.com (the CRM tool mentioned in this article)
http://www.dotproject.net (project management web application)
http://www.gimp.org (Image manipulation program)
http://www.nvu.com (complete Web Authoring System)
http://www.gnucash.org (personal and small-business financial-accounting software.)
http://www.subversion.tigris.org (Subversion- Document management and revision control system)
http://www.k5n.us/webcalendar.php (WebCalendar- Online calendar program for single or multiple users)
http://www.openvpn.net (full-featured SSL VPN solution)

Desktop Linux Distributions

http://www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu
http://www.redhat.com Redhat
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki Fedora
http://www.novell.com/linux Suse
http://en.opensuse.org OpenSuse
http://www.slackware.com Slackware

You can also get the server versions to take care of your business client/server needs such as Email, file, print, FTP, Web, Database, Domain, Authentication etc., There are many distributions of Linux available please check http://www.distrowatch.com for additional resources.

This list is not at all exhausting and not meant to be. This should serve as a starting place on your journey into the Open Source realm. For general questions feel free to email me, if you have specific questions about any software listed here try posting to the respective forums. A good book to read is Open Source Solutions for Small Business Problems, written by John Locke. My definition of Open Source was found in this book.

What have we learned? Before you plunder hundreds of your hard earned or borrowed money into software seek out or find someone who is versed in this technology. Research and evaluate if an Open Source solution can fit your needs. Remember, Open Source Saves!

Paul Williams is a technology consultant, who teaches people how to save money by using open source software to solve their top 10 technology business problems. http://www.opensourceweekly.com.
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by John V. W. Howe

One of the first considerations in building a mailing list should be “how am I going to handle all those names that I will have in my list”. An autoresponder is the answer to this “nice to have” problem.

When you study successful Internet entrepreneurs, the most common theme that runs through the success of these individuals is building a list of customers who then become faithful repeat customers. You know from your off-line life that the businesses that you continually use are the ones that do a good job and treat you right. Once you gain confidence in them, you continue to go back to them. The same is true on the Internet.

An eBook called “The 30 Day Blueprint for Success” tells convincing stories of the importance of building a mailing list. The book is a compilation of articles from 15 highly respected Internet professionals from different arenas of the Net who were challenged with the following scenario:

“Dear Internet Marketing Expert,

You suddenly lose all your money, along with your name and reputation, and only have your marketing know-how left.

You have bills piled high and people harassing you for money over the phone.

Plus, you have a guaranteed roof over your head, a phone line, and an Internet connection for only one month.

You no longer have your big guru name or JV partners. Other than your vast marketing experience, you’re an unknown newbie.

What would you do, from day 1 to day 30, to get yourself back on top?”

(The above quote was excerpted from Volume I of “The 30 Day Blueprint for Success”.)

The most common method that these individuals used was to rebuild a customer list as quickly as possible so they could be effective in rebuilding the business they once had. Just as an aside, the book was very revealing about the thought patterns of these experts during their 30 day quest to restore the income stream that they once enjoyed.

I was fortunate to be able to attend a class taught by my friend and mentor, Jim Cockrum (author of “The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay”). During the class, he said that if his office caught fire the first thing he would save was the backup of his mailing list.

How to Manage a List - Autoresponders

Some might consider this a little backwards, but let’s plan for how we are going to handle the list before we figure out how to build it. We need to be able to capture basic information like name and email address. We need to be able to automatically send a reply to the person joining the list and verify that they were indeed the person who sent the request to join. (This is called double opt-in and it is vitally important so you can prove that you are not sending SPAM to the members of your list). We will need to send out emails to all the people on the list in the future when we start communicating with the customers on the list.

To handle this in any volume on your own is an impossible task, but there are services called autoresponders on the Internet that will handle all of this for you.

There are free autoresponders such as FreeAutoBot.com and there are paid autoresponders such as Aweber.com and GetResponse.com. Free sounds good for a start up, but the downside is the fact that the autoresponder puts its link and sometimes places advertising in the emails that it sends for you. This does not look as professional as a message from a paid autoresponder.

If you use a free autoresponder and then want to switch over to a paid one later, you face the conversion problems of converting your mailing list. This can be done with import features in autoresponders that allow for mass input of lists. However, this is additional work and the autoresponder will take a close look at the list since this is how large SPAM mailing lists are loaded into an autoresponder. This is your choice and should be carefully researched before you make your decision.

Let’s discuss the autoresponder, Aweber.com. The site has a 30 day free test drive that will allow you to experiment with it and decide if it is for you. Go to http://www.aweber.com look around.

If you decide to use it (and you will have to use an autoresponder to build a list of any size), one month of service from Aweber.com is $19.95 as of this writing if you start off with a monthly plan. Once you are satisfied that this is for you, you can save $60.00 per year with an annual plan.

After you have registered, log into Aweber.com and go to the “How to Get Started” page. This is very complete and has great instructions and tutorial videos to help you set up your first autoresponder.

Compose your email to send in MS Word or similar word processor. This will help you with spelling and grammar. Then open MS Notepad or a similar text editor. Notepad strips off the word processor formatting in preparation for copying and pasting your message into the Aweber input screen.

If you use MS Notepad , it is found under Accessories in Programs on your MS Windows. If you have not already done so, set up a shortcut icon on your desktop or on your systems tray for Notepad. It is very handy to be able to open this quickly. It can be used as a scratch pad for copying and pasting information from web pages to print or save for later use.

Each week when the weekly issue of Boomer eZine is being prepared for publication these are the steps that are followed:

1. Log onto Aweber and set up what is called a “Broadcast Message”.

2. Copy the newsletter from MS Word and paste it into Notepad.

3. Copy the text from Notepad and paste it into the input area on Aweber.

4. Check the formatting in Aweber.

5. Send a test email to myself to see how the email looks. This is a tool on Aweber.

6. If the email is acceptable, queue the broadcast message to send the Boomer eZine to all the names on the list.

The Aweber autoresponder automatically sends follow up emails. It is set up to send a follow up email 14 days after the initial sign up to thank a new subscriber to Boomer eZine for being a reader.

Now that we know there is a simple way to handle all those names that you will add to your list, go out and get started building your money making mailing list.

Good luck.

Copyright 2006 John Howe, Inc.

John V. W. Howe is an entrepreneur, author, inventor, patent holder, husband, father, and grandfather. He has been involved in entrepreneurial activities for over 40 years. He founded http://www.boomer-ezine.com and http://www.retirement-jobs-online.com to help Boomers (baby boomers) become entrepreneurs when they retire.
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By Aviva Brown

After you have a website, you start to learn a lot of tips and tricks for doing business on the web. One of the best marketing tools you have is on your server, and you would be amazed at how many people don't use it. That tool is your website statistics. If you have never examined your web stats before, you are missing a real gold mine of information. They are usually found in the control panel section of your web hosting company. Most web hosts will email them to you if you can't access them yourself.

Learn Important Pages Viewed Information

You are most likely familiar with your "hits" on your web stats for finding out how many people have visited your website. Most stats programs will not only tell you how many visitors you have had to your site, but what pages on your website they visited, how long they stayed on a particular page, and what page they last viewed on your website before they surfed on.

Valuable Keywords and SEO

If you're interested in search engine optimization for your website and you aren't sure what keywords to use for your site; there is usually a section in your web stats file that shows you what keywords a person entered to find your site and what search engine they used. You can put those keywords around your website on various relevant pages to increase the search engine optimization of your site. That will not catapult your website to the number one position on Google overnight, but it will increase your rankings if done correctly.

The Magic of Referrers

Another great feature is the referrer section. Know what sites or search engines are referring your website visitors. Referrals can come from other websites, news groups, clubs and forums, or even competitors - if people are being referred to your website, find out by whom. In many cases, someone who had a great experience with your firm will be referring your company to someone on a message board that is looking for a similar product or service.

Use Your Web Stats

If you notice people are leaving within a few seconds of hitting your index page. Look at it in a few different browsers because they are not all created equally. What loads like a champ in Internet Explorer may look like garbage in Firefox or Opera browsers; or it simply may take too long to load. If you notice people are leaving at a point in your shopping cart - either your shipping is too high or your program may be faulty. Find out what items are getting the most looks and promote those to bring in more visitors.

Now that you know how your web stats can work for you, jump-start your Internet business today.

Aviva Brown recommends that you promote your website by submitting it to http://www.avivadirectory.com/.

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By Donna Gunter

Listening to podcasts is not something I enjoy or take time for, frankly. I am a visual learner and prefer to read something rather than listen to it, as I find reading a much quicker way to gather the info that I need. However, with the proliferation of audio listening devices, like the whole iPod family and other mp3 players, I have to acknowledge that I am in the minority, I believe. The world is listening to a wide variety of audio files, much more so than ever before in history, and I need to get on the bandwagon or be lost in the dust.

What is a podcast, anyway? A podcast is an audio file that you create in .mp3 format. You can upload it with an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) file to your server for your target market to download any number of programs created to receive or subscribe to your audio file. You can listen to it at your leisure on the computer or a personal mp3 device.

Why should you create a podcast? I think it serves as a marketing tool for the solo service professional, who might want to do one of the following:

--create an Internet radio show, or talk show, in which you create content-rich broadcasts for your target market

--conduct a teleclass series in which you interview experts who have solutions to problems faced by your target market

--promote a printed book, ebook, or CD/DVD series by releasing promotional snippets to a wider audience

--provide short and valuable expert tips to your target market (my Get More Clients Online, podcast consists of the weekly article I write for my newsletter)

Many podcasts are about an hour in length, especially when they consist of recordings of radio shows or teleclasses. However, I think the listening threshold for most people is about 10 minutes. This means your podcast needs to be 10 minutes or less in length. If it is longer, you really have to grab their attention in the first 10 minutes to keep them listening for the full amount of time.

Good content and a good speaking voice are essential to maintaining interest. Do not make your podcast one long advertisement for your services or products -- share some useful information with your target market to help them solve their problems. You need to have a good speaking voice. Nothing is worse than listening to someone read a speech with a monotone delivery. So, for maximum impact when you record your podcast (especially if you're just recording yourself), get up and walk around, smile, gesture, or do whatever you normally do when you deliver a speech. Modulate your voice, much in the same way you would when you have a 1 on 1 conversation with someone -- put feeling and emotion into your words. I pretend like I am talking to my best friend, and that helps me with a livelier delivery.

What are the steps to creating a podcast?

1. Listen to a few podcasts to get a feel for what others are doing. To listen, you will need a podcatcher (podcast reader), which permits you to subscribe to podcasts in the same way you subscribe to blogs. I favor iTunes as my podcatcher of choice, which is a free online download. You will also need to find podcasts. The quickest way to do that is via podcast directories, which include the iTunes store. Podcast Alley, one of the most popular podcasting sites, has a large podcast directory, and Yahoo Podcasts has a podcast search. To find others, simply search online for "podcast directory."

2. Plan your podcast. Who is your target market? What do they want to listen to? How will your podcast be unique from others in your industry? What is your format (interview others, host a teleclass, or record yourself)? How long will your podcast be? How frequently will you deliver your podcasts?

3. Record your podcast. Many people choose to record their podcast with a free piece of software called Audacity. It has an easy learning curve and advanced features for more experienced podcasters. Mac users might want to check out Garage Band. For best recording sound, do not use the microphone that came with your computer or the one built into your laptop. You will want to get a more professional one, such as the ones offered at Plantronics or Radio Shack.

4. Save and upload your podcast to your server. Once you have created your podcast in an mp3 file, now you have to save it, and upload it to a server, via an FTP program (like CuteFTP) so that it is readily available. You can upload it to your website, or use one of the many podcasting hosting services available. The problem with uploading it to your website is that audio files are space hogs, and you can quickly exhaust all the storage capacity of your hosting account, not to mention your monthly bandwidth capacity if your podcast is popular and is downloaded frequently. That is why I use a fee-based audio service hosting company, Audio Acrobat, which offers me generous storage and bandwidth capacity for a semi-annual fee. Another popular podcast hosting company is Hipcast.com.

5. Create your podcast feed. You can create your podcast feed from scratch. However, I recommend you use a feed service to do so. If you use a podcasting hosting service, this feature is included in your service package. For everyone else, the quickest way to create your podcast feed is through Feedburner.com. This same service creates RSS feeds for blogs. The advantage of creating your podcast feed from this site is that you can create a browser-friendly feed, track your circulation, and enhance your feed with its SmartCast technology.

6. Publish and promote your podcast. If you use a podcasting hosting service, the service will publish your podcast and notify various podcast directories about the availability of your new podcast. Alternatively, you can enter the info directly into the major podcast directories. You will also want to promote the podcast on your website, blog, and in your email newsletter. One of the easiest ways to do this is to add feed subscription buttons (called Chiclets) to your sites. You will have to cut and paste the HTML code into your templates to create the chiclets. You can get directions on how to publish subscription buttons from the various podcasters you want to feature. Lastly, you will want to create "album art" for your podcast, or a graphic representation that many podcatchers upload with the mp3 file. Album art may be from 170x170 to 300x300 pixels square at 72 dpi. Any graphic designer can help you create this graphics file.

7. Make money from your podcast. Advertising on podcasts is still new, but some companies like Fruitcast.com or PodcasterAds.com are places to start. Another option is to place Google AdSense listings on all of your sites to list your podcast, or seek sponsors for your podcasts, just as you would for a radio show.

Do not let the audio world pass you by! Podcasting is a very inexpensive way of helping you get the word out about what you do and what you offer to the world.

Copyright (c) 2006 Donna Gunter

Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Business Coach Donna Gunter helps self-employed service professionals learn how to get more clients online. To sign up for more FREE tips like these and claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.GetMoreClientsOnline.com. Read about running an online biz at her blog, http://www.getmoreclientsonlineblog.com or subscribe to her Get More Clients Online Podcast at http://dgunter.audioacrobat.com/rss/get_more_clients_online_podcast.xml

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By Lynn VanDyke

Get the tips you need to know before hiring a webmaster for your small business. Lynn VanDyke explores several traits that a successful webmaster should inherit. Does your webmaster produce results?

Browsing is reminiscent of the cruising teenagers used to do in there 1954 Chevrolets. Cruising the downtown street was an opportunity to visit favorite places, say hello to friends, get current information of interest, and just enjoy the world in general.


Browsing, or cruising, the internet offers many of the same conventions while you sit in the driver's seat at your computer. On the internet are your favorite sites, instant messaging, and email for conferring with your friends, up-to-the minute information about any topic of interest, and a way to access the whole world.

Once you decide to join the crowd and build a website, many important considerations should go into your project. A webmaster can help you make sure the ‘drive' is safe and enjoyable! Building a Hotrod Website many hotrod restorations are called ‘frame-up' jobs. The car is stripped to its bare frame. Everything on the car is restored, one-step at a time, until completion.

Along the way are hundreds of important decisions that affect the final product – everything from custom exhaust systems to door handles. There are so many intricacies. Normally an expert is hired to assist with the project, especially for the bodywork.

Building a website is no different. When you decide to own a website, how to drive business or traffic to the site and the intricacies of the internet and are best handled by a professional webmaster.

What should you look for in a webmaster?

- Current in website creation methods

- Current in website enhancement techniques including video

- Clear on website ownership issues

- Experienced and has examples of work completed you can review

- Able to apply search engine optimization techniques

- Offers owner access for changes or input- Willing to incorporate owner written material

- Good communication skills

- Provides statistical analysis of website traffic

- Hourly or project cost fits within your budget

A webmaster has the big responsibility to satisfy your project requirements, within a budget, on time, and successfully drive business to your site. A webmaster is a professional. The company you hire will understand how to create an effective website that is easy to use.

It is extremely frustrating when you turn the key on your hotrod and nothing happens. It is just as frustrating to visit a website and not be able find what you want or is so convoluted it is impossible to browse. A webmaster insures that your website does not fall prey to these common mistakes.

Breakdowns!

You are cruising in your hotrod. Suddenly, smoke starts coming out the tailpipe. The inevitable breakdown occurs and you are stuck on the side of the highway. No need to panic because the expert who helped assemble the car will also help with the repairs.

Your website, once built, will always need maintenance. There will be upgrades, new additions, deletions, problems, and expansions needed on the site. The webmaster you choose should offer site maintenance. Some common needs include:

- Addition of new information about your company

- Changing graphics

- New pages or information

- Corrections

- Changes resulting from user comments

- Redesigns

Webmasters also have plans that include marketing your website. Naturally, just like taking the disabled hotrod to the mechanic for repairs, maintenance and marketing plans usually incur additional charges.

When you sign a contract with a webmaster, make sure the rates are ones you can afford and are consistent with market pricing. If possible, try to hire a webmaster that includes marketing in the initial quote.

Back On The Highway

You want your hotrod cruising the streets, not sitting in a garage. Your website is meant to be available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. An inoperable site is worthless to a business.

A webmaster can make sure your site is always cruising. Whether you need design, redesign, or maintenance, a webmaster is the best mechanic for the job.

Lynn VanDyke is an SBI certified webmaster. She is one of the fastest growing webmasters for entrepreneurs and small business owners needing to generate targeted traffic from search engines. Learn more about Lynn (http://www.lynnvandyke.com/).

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By Georgi Elias

Business people planning to set up a home business or home office have a huge variety of business systems to choose from today. Anyone starting out may be confused regarding which systems to purchase. Should they purchase service insurance? We will cover the basics of what every business should consider, focusing on Internet related home based businesses.

Working efficiently from home is an important element of any business, especially if you are planning to conduct any internet related business. Business owners should surround themselves with high quality systems to ensure they are efficient at what they do every day. Sufficient backup systems are needed to avoid lost time due to equipment failure.

A high-speed access line by cable modem or DSL is a priority, as is a router with a built in firewall, and Ethernet hub. The firewall will provide you with some protection against other users from the internet hacking into your own computer and network. The Ethernet hub will allow you to connect several computers, if needed, to the same access line. Many business owners are opting for wireless routers and hubs to allow them to place their computers anywhere in the home without having to worry about adding wiring. Users are cautioned to set up their networks with the security option enabled. Otherwise, your neighbors or even strangers near by can use your wireless network to connect to the internet.

A high-speed computer with the latest hardware and software is also recommended. It is amazing how fast technology is evolving. Six months after you made your purchase and set up your system, it will be outdated. Note that it will function and deliver service to you for many years; however, it will just not have the latest features, etc. available.

Depending on your business, you may need multiple telephone lines, a fax line, and several printers. Today for a relatively low price, you can purchase all in one systems that include a printer, copier, fax machine and scanner. Most printers that are ink jet deliver excellent quality and print a sufficient number of pages per minute, however if you will be doing a great deal of printing, you may want to consider a laser printer.

One final comment about the systems you purchase. If you cannot tolerate down time, many business owners will always ensure their data is backed up daily to avoid any significant loss of information. In addition, they will also purchase a service package Psychology Articles, which will guarantee repairs or replacement of their systems within a specified period. Finally, many owners will also have a second or third system available, so they do not lose productivity, if one were to fail.

Elias Georgi is an experienced and successful sponsor, mentor and coach for many thriving tested and proven home businesses. Visit his Website at http://www.eliasg.com/, Elias also runs his own exclusive-article directory (http://www.exclusive-article.com/).

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By Jeff Smith

You can now master the art of quickly and easily creating your own 5-10 page, viral special reports that will attract a mountain of high-quality partners, a truckload of traffic and a steady stream of sales for your online marketing business.

A technique we have used effectively for more than 5-years online is creating short, focused special reports turning them viral so that we leverage the effort of hundreds of list owners and website owners send us their traffic.

There are many advantages of writing viral special reports, but the best is that you spend hours to create a marketing tool that continues to send you highly targeted, hungry traffic months, even years, after release.

By releasing one viral special report each month for a year, you can be generating a stampede of traffic and sales to your online business.

You may have tried developing special reports in the past with limited success; here are five secrets that will turn your viral reports into red-hot traffic generators.

1. Have an exciting, attention grabbing and compelling title. When other people market your special report for you, the title is often the only link to your report they include, so it had better be good. Study great advertising, the top headlines

2. You have two customers - the end reader and your distributor. It's important that you write a report that attracts and offers value to your reader, but it's also important to remembe