HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164 Home Business The Easy Way - CDo Update http://www.blogmoneymiracle.com en-us EasyRSS Online Business Opportunities
By Karl Stadler

If you are prepared to work hard and take a small risk, then an online business opportunity is waiting for you. Discover for yourself the possibility of creating additional income online.

You are reading this article because it just might be possible for you to make money online, or you might be considering a home based business. Either way, you came to the right place. If you are new to the subject of earning income online, read on and I will show you the basics of being successful on the internet.

I have felt the sting of starting up an online home based business. I know the pain of failure, but now I know the feeling of success. It required testing numerous opportunities, spending quite a few dollars, nearly throwing in the towel and returning to the day-to-day grind of nine to five, just before success came knocking on the door. I am glad I opened that door and pushed harder. The first thing to remember to be in the position to create a six-figure income online from your home is ‘too many secrets are not really secrets anyway’. There are opportunities for everyone. Creating an online income is not just for a ‘select few’.

You can make a very nice income the moment your online business takes off, but to start you need to be realistic in your approach. Allow time for yourself and allocate time for your business. At the beginning, it will take hard work and commitment from you, but when it starts to pay off, it pays handsomely. If you are faint hearted or looking for a get rich quick scheme, then a trip to the casino might be a much better idea than an online home business.

There are many opportunities on the internet for you to create your own business. The challenge, however, is finding the right online business opportunity. You are looking for an opportunity that is legitimate, profitable, easy to start up and just as easy to run and maintain.

Some of the best opportunities to make money online are becoming available as the internet expands globally. This is evident for searches that the major search engines are handling every day. With this growth, more and more people are eager to explore the new possibilities to supplement their income or create a full time income enabling them to quit their nine to five jobs.

The opportunities are just waiting to be taken by anyone willing to take a small risk and do a little hard work. The people who are making it are just regular people like you with a dream to create a better life for themselves and their families.

There are different models of online businesses and then there are the ones that work. Most of the internet sales are downloadable information products, information that people need every day. To the online business owner this means no stock and immediate delivery to the client and money in your bank account.

You do not even need your own product. Most of the online business owners are selling products as affiliates Business Management Articles. It is just a matter of learning and applying the basics.

The great news is that there are legitimate business opportunities available for you. Starting your own online business can be the best life choice you will ever make.

Explore legitimate work from home businesses. It might be the right opportunity for you to make your dreams come true online. Click on the link now to find out how you can start today. http://www.viralbiz.net/jobs.php .

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php Business Cards on Steroids - the Advantages of Prospecting Cards
By Sande Saimon

You're standing in line to check out at a store. You finally find the courage to strike up a conversation with the person behind you. You chat about life and, because you are a distributor for a network marketing company or direct sales company, you gently lead the conversation in the direction of “What do you do?” “Do you work outside the home?” “Are you happy with your current situation or are you looking for something more?”

You then hand your new acquaintance your business card and ask them to take a look at your website and/or give you a call.

These are business cards that you may have created yourself or you may have had them made up from a company like VistaPrint. These little pieces of cardstock tell people what company you represent – or the name of your business. It tells people your name, website address, phone number – and it may have a logo or a pretty graphic on it.

Your new friend is polite. They say, "sure I’ll take a look at your site" – they glance at your card, put it in their purse or wallet where it is generally forgotten until the next time they decide to clean out their purse. Then it’s usually dumped in the trash because they can’t even remember where they got it from.

Were they interested? Maybe ... maybe not. What happened? Why didn't they go to your site like they said they would?

Well, for starters – whether or not they were really interested at the time, they are not going to hurt your feelings by telling you they’re not. It’s much easier to agree and then toss your card. It’s human nature and you can’t fight that. But you can generate interest. How?

If you want people to look at your business card and pay attention to what you have to offer – tell them something they want to hear.

• What are you offering them?

• What are you going to do for them?

• What do you provide that they can’t get somewhere else?

• Do you want them to join your team?

• Do you want them to buy your products?

• Why should they spend their time going to your website?

In other words -- What’s in it for them?

Giving them a prospecting card instead of a business card tells them right up front what’s in it for them!

It’s the same basic card available from the same locations you buy your business cards from now – a prospecting card just has different information on it – it’s designed to pull people in the direction you want them to go.

Get your prospect’s attention.

• Ask them important questions.

• Are they happy with the job they currently have?

• Do they need more money?

• Wouldn’t they rather stay home with their children?

• Are they tired of the rat race?

• Do they want more free time?

• Are they worried about retirement?

• Are they concerned about their financial freedom?

Make them curious – what do YOU have that they don’t?

• More money?

• More free time?

• Work from home?

• Spend time with family?

• Incredible products?

Offer them something for Free! Everyone loves a bargain & you can’t get a better bargain than free.

If one-side is good, double-sided is better! Use double-sided prospecting cards. They may cost a bit more, but are definitely worth it. The back of the card is where you hook your prospect or customer. I’ve never seen a person look at a business card that doesn’t flip it over and check out the back of the card – a blank back is wasted real estate!!

• Go to my website for a free gift.

• Sign up for my business newsletter and I’ll send you “this & that” for free.

• Click here and I’ll send you my latest eBook that will show you how to make $$$ from home.

• If you are selling items – the back of the card is where you offer them % off their next purchase or a Buy 10 and Get 1 Free Special.

The above is truly important because while they are on your site you want to capture their contact information so that you can send them information periodically. You want them to fill out a form, sign up for something -- then you can start dripping information to them about your business & products.

Now that I've told you want to DO, let me make a couple of suggestions for what NOT to do.

Don’t use “free” business cards.

• Free business cards from some online printers will put their information on the back – “Get free business cards by visiting our website.”

• It gives the wrong impression. If you are doing so well in your business, why are you using free business cards?

Don’t use home printed business cards. If they look like you printed them yourself, don’t use them.

• Check to make sure your printer ink is waterproof. How many printers out there use inks that run.

• Flimsy, lightweight cardstock looks cheap.

• Perforations are a dead give-away that you printed them at home.

• Again, it gives the wrong impression.

If you want someone to join your team, etc., give the impression of wealth. Your potential partners are not going to know that you didn't realize that the free logo info would be on the back & you didn't want to waste them. Or that you created the cards yourself because you like creating them. They will just make the assumption that you can’t afford to buy cards from a printer.

So; to recap:

• Use a prospecting card instead of a business card

• Get your prospect’s attention

• Tell them something they want to hear

• Make them curious to learn more

• Give them something for free

• Give them a reason to come back for more

• Use double-sided cards

• Don’t use free cards from printers if they put something on the back saying that they were free

• Don’t print your own cards at home if your printer ink will run, your cardstock is flimsy or you can see perforated edges – it gives the wrong impression.

You will find that handing out these cards to prospects – or using them for guerilla marketing strategies -- will result in more calls & more visits to your website by people wanting to hear what you have to say!

Sande Saimond owns a successful Home Based Business with Scent-sations Mia Bella Gourmet Candles. http://www.MiaBellaGourmet.com. A self-admitted computer geek, she also owns & operates a web hosting company at www.WorkingFromHeartandHome.com, a website building company at www.GreatBigSmallSites.com & an autoresponder service at www.OnlineDistinction.com. When she doesn’t have her nose buried in a computer screen, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Tony, and their two "boys," rescued racing greyhounds, Phantom & Archer.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php The Difference Between Everyday Copywriting and Copywriting That Sells Millions
by Paul Speziale

Take your average super successful sales person, the person that has brought the most sales to your business (usually it is just one). Multiply them by a million, and send them off to visit one qualified prospect each...all at the same time. Do you think that would increase your sales a bit?

If you had answered yes, then you now realize the potential of a well-crafted piece of copy designed to sell your product.

The ability to write a letter to sell your product/service is an even greater skill.

So then, why do so many businesses send out copy, through advertising, mail order, telemarketing, radio or TV ads designed to be flashy, humorous and clever? When was the last time you bought from a person in a store when they were using all sorts of clever tricks on you? Tricks like, play on words, weird images, advanced humor etc... No... chances are you were scared of a salesperson that was so crafty. It raises the question, "Why are they trying so hard?"

We are going to call that flashy sort of copy: "Everyday Copy" because you see it so often...many times a day. In addition, the copy that sells your product, we will call "Copy that sells".

With your everyday copy, you have your English majors, freelance writers, and ad agency employees. Now, these people are brilliant, they can write so nicely, with such advanced command of the English language that they sometimes win prizes in literature, become legendary, and known throughout history as producing beautiful works of art and literature, often win awards, and widely recognized.

They use English devices like play on words, puns, humor, and other things in their copy.

They have not sold your product...

Don't believe me? Key your ads...put in a tracking mechanism to see if people are responding to your ads...you will be furious when you find out exactly how many people respond and buy your product. Try it!

Unfortunately, their advanced work is all but lost on the prospect that is:

1) busy with two kids
2) balancing both a full time and a part time job
3) has a spouse who is not holding up their part of the agreement called "marriage"
4) poor diet habits from lack of time
5) stressed out from work with employees backstabbing them
6) bosses criticizing them in front of their co-workers
7) parents telling them how to run their lives and won't leave them alone
8) aches and pains in their body
9) the stress of keeping up with their next-door neighbor who always seems to have the latest and greatest stuff
10)not to mention being bombarded by sales and marketing mail, signs, commercials, sales people, telemarketers up to 3000 times per day.

Do you think with all that is going on, they have time to figure out the "play on words" that was used in your ad? If they don't understand what you said the first time and figure out how they will benefit from what you offer, they will toss it.

You have 3 seconds to get their attention:

1...2...3... that's it.

On the other hand, copy that sells will most of the time look dull, boring, and mostly full of text. Why does it look this way? Because the effort is made to put in as many benefits and reasons to buy into the ad as possible in a way that isn't pushy and in a way that can be tracked to determine results.

Let's look at some examples shall we?

Examples of Everyday Copy.

Actually, there is no need to put up any. Just open your newspaper and look for them. They are the ones with just a few words, many pictures, and if you feel confused at, a) what they are selling, and b) how it may benefit you, then you have found some Everyday Copy.

Example of Copy That Sold Millions.

The Wall Street Journal Letter, which sells its subscriptions, estimates selling up to a billion dollars for the WSJ. In addition, Gary Halbert's Coat of Arms Letter (a simple one-page letter), has been in circulation for a few decades and sold millions of dollars of coats of arms. The advertisement "They laughed at me..." sold the home piano study course for decades and has made millions. David Ogilvy's Rolls Royce Ad, entitled "At 60 MPH, the only sound the new Rolls Royce Makes is the Electric Clock", that sold out the entire national supply of Rolls Royce's. David Ogilvy used these principles in advertising copy, to which he owes his purchase of a 14th century medieval castle.

Some big publishers like Agora and Philips pay their copywriters up to a million dollars a year because they want to keep them...they know that if they don't pay them well, they will walk.

Another example of copy that sells is the National Enquirer and Cosmopolitan. The National Enquirer is read by more people than the bible and Cosmopolitan is also a big seller...why? Headlines that catch a reader's eye, produced by the copywriters, that's why. Are they trashy? For some, yes, but the fundamental human behaviors that they are aiming for is the same as those SUCCESSFUL copywriters that aim at selling to doctors, dentists, engineers, big business etc.

The good news; translate those fundamental human behaviors to match whatever audience you're selling to.

In conclusion, choosing which type of copy you wish to have is largely dependant on what you want to achieve. If you want to win awards then hire an everyday copywriter, if you want to sell your product, then hire a copywriter that sells.

Watch out for my next article "How to Hire A Copywriter To Guarantee Your Product Will Sell"

Paul Speziale is a direct marketing consultant / entrepreneur based out of Toronto, Ontario. He has served all industries from manufacturers to retailers, from entrepreneurs to professionals. Besides helping clients, he is working on his own projects. He also volunteers his time for several worthy causes both local and global. You can reach him at http://www.AnelloSolutions.com: Growing Your Business Through Low-Risk, Optimized and Results Based Marketing

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php The Most Powerful Marketing Weapon Ever Used
by Jonathan Teng
http://www.TheMarketingCraze.com

"It's NOT another wave. It's a PERMANENT wave destroyer!"

I have to admit it...

Article writing is, hands down, the most powerful weapon in the marketing arsenal to date! I have always asked myself why very few marketers are taking advantage of it. It's so easy and so rewarding.

Just watch the article directories and announcement lists; you'll quickly see what I'm talking about...

...and you'll see the same names, over and over again!

These people are consistent in their work. They keep submitting articles, month after month, while they're establishing themselves as leading experts in their fields. They're building their credibility each day ... and their businesses? Well, they are simply thriving.

While most new Internet marketers will come and leave like a blink of an eye, these "article" guys have staying power. Their articles will be around years after they are gone -= a legacy that will outlast them.

Isn't this amazing?

(1) It's free. While other marketers are losing money on pay per click ads, article marketers promote their businesses for free. No hidden cost whatsoever. Their articles will be reprinted on hundreds of Websites, all bringing warm leads and pre-sold customers to their businesses.

(2) It's easy. They don't need to hold a PhD in order to be an article writer. It's as simple as writing a 300- to 500-word article a week, and they're done for the week.

(3) It appreciates. "Hey! I read your article ... It rocks!" "Great article ... I have bookmarked your site for other posts ..." "Fantastic ... I like what you write ..."

Only Article Marketers receive these types of messages in their inboxes. They are respected among their peers. They get their inspiration from the appreciation of other people.

(4) It sets them apart. What's the difference between an article marketer and other marketers? Simple ... Article marketers are smarter. They are a step above the average Joes in the business arena. They are problem solvers. They write for reputation and trust. And they write for profits.

(5) It's the center. Articles are the central part of an E-zine. They stand alone, with no disturbing ads. They get all the reader's attention and their words will gently direct them toward a link to their Website.

(6) It links to others. Articles are the ultimate linking strategy. Article Marketers don't need to beg for incoming links from Webmasters. Their job is to provide free content -- quality content that Webmasters will fight for.

(7) It's viral. While an ad will last only for a few days, articles will last for years. Great articles will be reprinted over and over again, reaching thousands of new potential customers. It's like planting a seed that will take root and then develop a life on it's own.

Article writing is the only complete weapon that a marketer should be equipped with because it's truly the only skill a marketer needs to master to succeed.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php How to Get On the eBay Super Highway How to Get On the eBay Super Highway
 
If you “Google” the term eBay, the result will be at least 14,900,000 listings. That’s a staggering amount of information and obviously impossible for any one person to wade through. What you need is a shortcut to eBay success, a sort of “German autobahn” laser targeted resource to help you reach your goal.
 
 EBay, the worlds’ largest internet auction website, is every serious marketer’s dream come true. More than 2 million people visit eBay every single day, searching for products to buy. And those searches result in over $2,000 in sales every single second!  (Translation: $86,000,000 spent on eBay every single day of the year).
 
In order for anyone to access a portion of those kinds of profits, they’d better know what they’re doing. For instance, they’d better know:
 
  • Where to find in-demand products that they can buy for cheap and resell for massive profits.
  • How to attract tons of bids and make huge profits on every single auction they list.
  • How to create listings that reach out and grab the eyeballs of their bidders.
  • How to rake in cash by establishing an extremely positive feedback rating.
  • How to eliminate 90% of all eBay headaches by setting up foolproof payment and shipping systems.
  • How to use effective techniques for driving 1,000’s of qualified bidders to their auction site.
 And if you’re nervous about buying and selling over the internet, eBay has an extensive security system in place for its’ users. In fact, here are 3 tips from its’ free tutorial:
 
  • If you receive an email from admin@eBay.com you cannot assume that the email is really from eBay.
  • The eBay toolbar can protect you from known “phishing” sites by giving you a warning that you’re about to enter one. (“Phishing” sites attempt to steal your personal information online.)
  • Emails that are sent to you via eBay’s “member to member” system are always copied in “My Messages” and always include your first and last name for confirmation purposes.
 Derek Gehl and his team of expert eBay “power sellers” have created an incredible laser-targeted resource that accomplishes all of the above and a whole lot more. For a free preview, you can go to: tinyurl.com/32orof and be like a Mercedes on the autobahn to success!
 
P.S. - By the way - eBay daily sales are now at $158,000,000! – That’s $158,000,000!
________________________________________________________________________
 
Marsha Sneed reviews quality business opportunities and online resource tools that can be used effectively by newbies and experienced marketers alike to reach their marketing and financial goals. She can be reached at jcsneed@onebox.com.
 
 
 
 
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php Know the Dangers of Spamming
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.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php Customer Segmentation Needn't Create Poor Customer Service
By Bobette Kyle

A popular way to segment customers is by revenue or profit generated, with "A-list" customers receiving more benefits and personal service than "lower" categories. There are right and wrong ways to do this.

Doing it right means cultivating customers so they all feel appreciated, by developing or improving products to meet each customer ‘segments' needs. Result: pleased customers and higher profit.

Doing it wrong creates risk of sub-standard service for "unimportant" customers, making them feel unappreciated and resentful. Result: missed profit opportunities and disgruntled customers.

Brand Image

When deciding how to service each customer segment, remember that every point of contact with a customer reflects on the brand, regardless of customer "importance." Over time, this has an impact on brand image and company reputation.

With the Internet so prevalent today, each individual has more power to voice his/her opinion than in times past, which directly affects brand image and goodwill associated with the name. Each mistreated customer has the means to tell the world of her/his experience on Web sites that allow reviews (such as bizrate.com and Amazon.com) and online discussion forums.

An Example of Bad Service from the Customer Viewpoint

The way each of my credit card issuers treats me is a prime example. I always pay my bill in full (often early) and belong to the "cash back" rebate programs, so I imagine I'm in a similar customer segment for each and would expect to be treated similarly by these three competitors.

Not the case. Two of the companies make me feel like a valued customer. The third made me feel so unappreciated I closed the account. How the three companies handle "suspicious" activity on my account demonstrates the varying degrees of service:

- Discover card has a fraud specialist, (or customer service representative), call me in person to ask that I review recent transactions with her/him.

- Citibank's computer calls me with an alert, asking that I call a number or go online to verify transactions through a computerized process.

- Advanta locks the account and sends a letter informing me they have done so. In my experience, the letter arrived a week after the incident and I was not notified by telephone (I called them when the "offending" vendor notified me of the decline). I asked customer service to allow future charges from that vendor, but they could not do so. Presumably, this meant an account freeze each time my authorized vendor attempted to process a legitimate charge.

All three of my card companies require that I take some sort of action to verify suspicious charges, which I can expect to happen. The approach, however, leaves a very different impression. Citibank and Discover both apologize for the inconvenience of transaction verifications, and -- while I have to go through an extra step with Citibank, -- both fall within my subjective definition of quality customer service. Advanta, however, does not apologize for the hardships of declined transactions and a frozen account.

To be fair, I do not know that my negative experience would have been handled differently, if I were in a more profitably customer segment. It could have been the result of badly trained customer service representatives, or perhaps this is standard procedure on all accounts.

Tips for Segmenting Customers without Sacrificing Service

Customer segmentation is a good thing. It helps you recognize how customers are different and it should draw your attention to needs of different segments, prompting you to meet those needs. Some ideas on successful segmentation:

- Segment by need rather than profit or revenue. A low-profit customer today could be high-profit tomorrow if you offer products and services to meet her/his needs.

- Look for ways some customer segments can effectively be”self-service," which cuts costs for the company while meeting customer service needs.

- Build in ways to create exceptions in automated customer service processes, so as not to alienate those with special situations (in my example, by allowing a way to preauthorize account activity).

- If offering promotions, rewards, or other incentives to some segments but not others, "spell it out" for customer service representatives. Structure your Web site and promotional mailings accordingly. By taking steps to assure customers receive consistent information across all channels of communication, you avoid exposure of customers to offers for which they do not qualify.

There are ways to segment customers without lowering customer service. By doing so effectively, you nurture business growth and reputation.

Bobette Kyle draws upon 15+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, online marketing experience, and marketing MBA as inspiration for her writing. You can find more of her free marketing planning articles at: http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php Ezine Advertising - Simple Techniques to Drive Traffic to Your Site
by Dave Starner

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

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

There are three types of ads that you can place in your chosen E-zine: a classified ad, a sponsor ad, and/or a solo ad.

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

A sponsor ad is placed at the top of the E-zine, often under a heading like: "Please support our sponsor." This ten- to fifteen-line ad will draw more attention since it is the first thing the reader sees when the E-mail is opened.

Sponsor ads are generally priced around twenty dollars.

The most effective, and naturally the most expensive, is the solo ad. This is not part of the E-zine, but instead goes out as an E-mail to everyone on the E-zine mailing list. The message is all about you and your product or service. This ad can be as long as 700 words, allowing you to go into great detail, and will cost in the neighborhood of forty to fifty dollars -- about twice the cost of a sponsor ad.

Some of the larger E-zines may ask for hundreds or even several thousand dollars for a solo ad.

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

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

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

Give them time, educate them, and they will buy.

Dave Starner is a former teacher and coach who markets E-books and software. Visit the Internet's #1 infoproduct site at www.ebooksnet.com and instantly download great E-books and software on Internet advertising and hundreds of other topics.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php Developing the Best Internet Marketing Strategy
By Theresa Cahill

After spending the past decade talking with individuals wishing to promote their products and web sites online, one theme appears to repeat itself and may be at the root of the marketer's problem.

Wikipedia states that:

"Real-life marketing primarily revolves around the application of a great deal of common-sense; dealing with a limited number of factors, in an environment of imperfect information and limited resources complicated by uncertainty and tight timescales. Use of classical marketing techniques, in these circumstances, is inevitably partial and uneven."

The average advertiser often perceives himself or herself as a full-fledged "marketer." This, too often, is far from reality. The quote above shows there is an abundance of misinformation and limited, trustworthy resources on which one begins to build a marketing base. Choose the wrong ones and you are running around in circles, with little to show for your efforts.

Developing the best internet marketing strategy can be difficult. It must encompass a wide variety of services, methods, and techniques to begin to show results. Often, the web site owner chooses one particular method, applies it to that task for a short period and then puts it on the back burner. They find that either the technique they decided upon was too hard to implement or too time consuming to pursue.

Then it is off to find the next "biggest and best" idea.

The lack of follow thru, compounded with life pressures, forces many to give up effectively working their online marketing strategy. Reviewing their plan of action, often it is discovered that there really is no method - just a hit and miss approach to try to gain web site recognition from a virtual world full of competitors.

Cost effective internet marketing and a solid online marketing strategy are key elements to your online business success. Following the latest and greatest fad becomes an all-consuming monster. Reality tells us there is just not enough time in the day to work a fully developed online marketing strategy... not if you are going it alone. To hinder one's efforts further, many try to discover the "secret" from one online source or another. This, too, can chew up time and money without shedding any real light on effective marketing.

Individuals, small businesses, and large corporations running successful endeavors online have one thing in common - a solid marketing strategy and effective ways to implement their plans.

Remember, there is a good reason sayings like "Rome wasn't built in a day!" remain true even today. Haphazard marketing brings haphazard (and frustrating) results.

Theresa Cahill has over two decades of online and offline marketing and puts that experience to use assisting businesses and store front owners in promoting their websites. FREE online marketing strategy analysis at http://www.market-for-me.com.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php How To Get One Million MySpace Friends Quickly, Easily And Automatically
by Lensmaster Lewis Smile and Citizen Squid

MySpace is one of the most popular Websites on the Internet and, if harnessed correctly, it can send more traffic to your Website than the search engines currently do -- and you can do this at very little cost and with surprisingly very little time commitment.

SEO was the buzz word of yesterday. Social networking and Web 2.0 are the buzz words for tomorrow.

Here is how to harnass it correctly and get 1,000,000 friends fasat:

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1. THE SIMPLE.

Join MySpace.

This is obvious. To get 1 million myspace friends, you must first join MySpace. It is free, and it's simple to sign up.

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2. THE BEAUTIFUL.

Create an attractive MySpace profile.

MySpace allows you to create a profile page for yourself. Having a MySpace profile which takes a full minute to load just won't cut it if you want to grow your friend numbers.

On your profile editing page, you are allowed to insert HTML code, in order to change certain aspects of the page, or to completely revamp it.

If you want to completely revamp it, you will need what is called a MySpace overlay. An overlay is the simplest way to make your page attractive, clean-cut, simple, and user-friendly. If you don't already know what an overlay is don't worry too much. If you do know what an overlay is, make use of one.

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3. THE SLOW.

Start adding the people you know.

If you visit the profile page of someone you already know, you will not only be able to add them as your friend, but you'll also be able to see who they have as friends and you'll be able to add them, too.

Add someone you know, then find one of their friends who you also know, add them, them add one of their friends, etc etc. Do this with only people you know until you get to between 30 - 50 friends.

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4. THE TURBO-CHARGED.

The problem with MySpace is that you have to add friends one-by-one. Trying to get a meaningful number of connections using this method is painfully slow at the best of times, so programmers have created numerous software applications which will speed up the process for you and allow you to type in the location, gender, age, interests, etc, of your target friends and it will add them for you. Automatically.

I recommend the application Badder Adder. You can get a free trial at http://www.bwcard.co.uk . The full version is $47. It gives you unlimited upgrades, and will let you "chain" accounts together."

This means, basically, that you can send more than the 450-friend-requests-per-day limit. You just set it to go, and it does the rest.

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5. THE COMMUNICATION.

The key to getting up to 1,000,000 friends is also by commenting on other people's profiles. A link to your own profile is then set up and people interested in your picture can click and add you.

You can use Badder Adder to send out comments to all of your myspace friends in bulk, so you don't need to do them one-by-one anymore. So long as you don't spam other users and you treat them with respect, this feature alone will get you incredible visibility on myspace and should provide a constant stream of friend requests.

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If you do each of these 5 points, your MySpace page will explode in popularity and will be seen by thousands of people every day.

What will this mean for you? More affiliate sales? More CD sales? More book sales?

You'd better get started!

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Lewis Smile is a Squidoo Lensmaster and Citizen Squid, and has written about how to get one million MySpace friends on his lens at http://www.squidoo.com/1000000-million-myspace-friends. His lens also features a Badder Adder Review.

To find out more (for free) or to contact Lewis, go to: http://www.squidoo.com/1000000-million-myspace-friends

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php So, You Want To Start Your Own Business? My Congratulations And Deepest Sympathy
By Suzanne Freiberg

So, you’ve just come up with the best one-of-a kind ideas since sliced bread and want to launch your own business. Congratulations, you are on the road to the American dream of becoming an entrepreneur! Now let me extend my deepest sympathies for the pain you will experience as you try to get your business started.

Hey, don’t stone the messenger; I’m not the only Negative Nelly on this topic! The facts are, as stated by the Small Business Administration, 80% of small business start-ups close within the first five years. But, maybe you and your idea are different and you are prepared to beat the odds. If you still want to give it that ol’ college try, read on. (My apologies to those of you whom I have completely devastated. However, keep in mind if you are still reading and I haven’t scared you off yet…you could have what it takes to start your own business.)

Have you ever wondered why we are in awe of the Bill Gates and Martha Stewart’s of the world? Have you ever wondered why they are one-of-a-kind kinda’ guys/gals and are so well known? Well, I think it has something to do with the blood and guts they had to donate to start, build, and be successful in their own businesses. Anyone can start their own business, but only 20% of those starters are still in business after five years and even fewer are actually running a successful business; that means making money. So, this journey definitely takes more than what 80% of us have. Are you still reading? Ok, you may have what it takes.

What it takes to launch your business (we’ll leave the part about actually being successful to another article) is what I refer to as the “Eight Steps to A Successful Start”:

1. Determine Your Niche,
2. Identify Your Ideal Client,
3. Develop Your Unique Value Proposition,
4. Create Your Brand,
5. Prepare a Business Plan,
6. Prepare a Marketing Plan,
7. Develop a Sales Strategy, and
8. Accept failure, learn from it and re-group

Please note that the first eight steps have nothing to do with what you actually want to “do” in your business. In other words, if your dream is to be a career coach, you won’t actually be coaching clients until you have been a marketer, sales person, financial expert, and strategist. Oh, and for those brave Internet entrepreneurs you will also have to become an Internet guru. Note: if you know what mega-tags are, congratulations you are well on your way! Back to my point, what is important to keep in mind is that for most business launches it takes a full two years before you are “doing” whatever it is your business is all about and before you are ever the business owner of your dreams. Still reading? You are already beating the odds!

Let’s take a look at Step One, “Determine Your Niche.” Your niche is determined by defining exactly what group of consumers will be your customers. This group will consist of people who have specialized interests and needs, and have a strong desire for your service or product. An example of a strong need would be an attorney who needs a well organized back office system to keep track of past and current case loads. The group in this case is “attorneys” and the specialized interest/need is all about well-organized back office systems. So, if your product is a well-organized back office system for attorneys, this guy/gal is in your niche.

Once you’ve identified a group with specialized interests and needs, now known as “your niche”, you have to ask and come up with answers to the following questions:

Will this group spend money for my product/service? Do they have the money to spend? A good way to tell is if they have spent money for similar products/services in the past. For instance, “moms” might be a great target market for a new type of stroller, especially since they have spent money on similar products. However, not all new moms have money to spend on a new stroller. You would then want to specifically target moms who have more disposable income – i.e. extra cash for your one of a kind stroller!

Can I easily find and then reach this group of people? Physicians are easier to locate than moms. Why? Physicians are listed as a group in the yellow pages. So, if your have a product/service that targets a professional group such as physicians you will have an easier time reaching your niche. Whereas, if targeting moms, it may be harder to find that group, since they don’t have their own heading in the yellow pages!

Is this group large enough that I can make money selling to them? If your product/service is eye patches for one-eyed pirates, you may need to expand your group. However, if you are selling a new bra to women who have had breast enhancement surgery, you might have a hit!

Is this group small enough that my competition would overlook it? Yes, your competition might have over-looked the one-eyed pirate market, but that is because this group is too small. However, if your product/service is directed towards a specific need that a specific group has; i.e. women who have had breast enhancement, you might just have the perfect small market.

Have you been a part of this group? You must know the needs of your niche market. The best way to know those needs is if you have been in that group and understand the group’s dreams and desires. If you have ever been an attorney, who had need of a well-organized back office, then you would be well prepared to create and offer this service to attorneys.

Is this a group you would enjoy working with exclusively? Perhaps, you were an attorney and that is where you came up with this great back office system. That’s great, but if you got out of the litigation business because you didn't like your peers…you might want to re-think your idea of selling your handy dandy back office system to attorneys.

Can you see yourself creating other product/services for this group? No one wants to be a one-hit-wonder, ala Billy Ray Cyrus and his ‘Achy Breaky Heart’! Once you have sold everyone in your niche one of what you have to offer – where do you go from there? If your price point is high enough, maybe you can retire to Hawaii. If you are selling a $1.99 product, you will need a way to expand your line as your business grows.

Are you passionate about your product/service?

The amount of time and energy, or as I mentioned earlier “blood and guts”, that it will take to launch a business is huge! You had better passionately believe in what you are doing and whom you are doing it for, if you want to successfully launch your business.

Well there you have it, the first step in launching your business: Determining Your Niche. Take some time and answer all of the questions outlined above for your product or service. You may find that you want to make a few modifications to fit your niche or maybe you need to change your niche to better suit your business. Either way, just by taking the time to complete this first step you are already on the road to the American dream of becoming an entrepreneur. Congratulations! (And, a little sympathy for your time and trouble!)

In the coming weeks look for “So, You Want to Launch Your Own Business? May I Offer My Congratulations and Deepest Sympathy? Part II: Identify Your Ideal Client”

Keep in mind that a career coach can help you through all of these business launch steps. Career coaches act as guides on a journey of greater self-awareness and clarity, to help you find your true passion. Your coach can help you create an action plan to get from where you are to where you want to be in your career and in your life. Once you are working in your strengths, you will find you are passionate about what you are doing and the journey is not as painful as if you had made it alone.

To find out how a coach can help you, contact SmartWork Career Coaching @ 805.376.1906 or e-mail @ sfreiberg@verizon.net. One of our Career or Executive Coaches will be happy to discuss your coaching options.

© Copyright 2006 Suzanne Freiberg. All Rights Reserved.

Suzanne Freiberg, with 20 years of executive experience, founded SmartWork Career Coaching to empower women in management and leadership to make the changes necessary to become break through leaders. She has received extensive training in emotional intelligence; leadership development; and managing stress for executives. She is a Certified Career Coach and a Certified Executive Coach, as well as a member of the International Coach Federation. http://www.smartworkcareercoaching.com.
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php Warming Up Your Cold Market -- Six Network Marketing Strategies For Success
By Tamara Esgoode

Are you finding that prospecting and working your "cold market" is getting chillier these days? I've noticed this, especially in the last year. When I contact people who had responded to an advertisement that my company ran, it is extremely difficult to establish rapport than it used to be!

I've been quite surprised to see how much more closed and suspicious people have been compared to when I made phone calls just a year ago. Perhaps the challenges in today's world have made their impact on people. They are more fearful, less likely to trust someone they don't know.

How do you build rapport and build your network marketing business in times like this? You will need a little more patience, but if you persevere and follow these five basic network-marketing strategies, you can warm up even the chilliest of cold markets!

First, I'd like to review the basic network marketing strategies that create successful organizations. It's important to understand that the people who excel in network marketing have a large circle of influence. A circle of influence means there are a lot of people that know you, who like you and trust you. If you don't already have a large circle of influence, and you want to succeed in network marketing, you're going to need to build one!

How do you build a circle of influence? One person at a time! It’s always best to start with people that you know. Contact them and ask them for referrals. Participate in your community, attend Chamber of Commerce events, and hold local meetings. You develop yourself into a leader both personally and professionally, to attract other like-minded professionals.

Online, you do the same in the Internet community. You build a presence on the Internet with a newsletter list or Blog-or both, or website, so that you can build a relationship with people. You provide a way so they can get to know you... like an online photo album, and a personal "Get to Know Me" page.

These are the basics of good network marketing. Once you've contacted the people that you know, you will want to expand your circle of influence even further and get to know some new people! You can do this through advertising or through hiring a network marketing ad agency to advertise for you. Now, how do you handle today's increasingly chilly cold market? Well, you need to take more time to WARM IT UP!!! Here are six network-marketing strategies for warming up your cold market.

1. Whenever possible, use offline advertising sources such as postcards, newspapers, radio or TV. These prospects see your ad several times before responding, and are usually MUCH more highly qualified. If your ad is credible, people will trust you more easily.

2. If you must use Internet advertising, be sure to use an established and proven leads source which includes the use of an e-mail auto responder. This will allow you to contact people via e-mail legitimately, without Spam complaints. If you are very serious about generating leads online, I recommend you create or purchase your own lead generating website. This takes time but is a lifelong investment if done correctly.

3. When you reach a person by phone, don't rush the relationship building process. Find out what they are looking for, ask good questions, and really listen. Don't be pushy, focus on their needs. If you're new at working your cold market, team up with a successful leader in your upline who is experienced.

4. Offer something of value that is free like a report, eBook or consultation, that will both qualify and educate your prospect and that will also introduce you as part of the process. For example, on your free report include a link to your online photo album and your biography or "Get to Know Me" page.

5. Follow up several times to build familiarity and credibility with your prospect. Use an auto responder to help you in this, but don't depend on it. There is nothing like a good, old-fashioned conversation to build trust. Sending a postcard in the mail also helps a lot!

6. Be a real person. Tell. Don't sell! Avoid sales pitches. Instead, share your own story. Network marketing is about being your authentic best self. Let your heart and your integrity shine, and people will remember you and trust you. When they are ready to try your product or join your team, they will call you!

Tamara Esgoode has been network marketing since 2001. She writes about http://www.homebizhearts.com.
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php How to Find a Fast Growth, High Profitability Business!
By Jim Hudson

Which company would you rather own: one in an niche industry or trade where more than half of business owners fail to make a profit, or one with 100, 1,000, even 10,000 percent growth over a period of three to five years, and stunning profitability?

Ask a group of unsuccessful business owners why their business ventures failed and most will probably cite “under capitalization.” There is often a more fundamental reason for business failure: selecting products, services and a business niche for which there aren’t enough paying customers! Of course such companies find themselves undercapitalized. In fact, one can never find enough capital to keep a company afloat if it has a shortage of customers!

Buggy whips aren’t the only product in low demand. Today, product life cycles are typically short, and getting shorter. Entering a market that has matured (and for which you don’t have a highly innovative plan to substantially increase demand, lower costs or differentiate your offering) likely will lead to financial disaster. So will entering a market that is over saturated with reasonably competent competitors.

Why do most business start-up books and business assistance specialists focus little, if any, attention on the most important question an entrepreneur will ever ask: What business should I be in?

In part, because most owners, often unwisely, have already made up their minds about the business they should start. Many entrepreneurs incorrectly assume this decision should be based largely on the specific technical skills, interests and experience they bring to the equation. Or they may know someone who claims, often inaccurately, that the business they own is a raving success, and simply decide to follow their lead. There are far better ways to plan for success.

An entrepreneur with 10 years experience working for someone else in the dog-breeding field may enjoy the work, have great technical skills, and love dogs. Before starting up a dog breeding enterprise, it is important to know that more than 65 percent of dog breeding companies are unprofitable. There are many popular small business categories that share a record of high risk and low profitability. Now, for an individual who is financially independent and for whom earning an income and a profit from their new venture is secondary, this may be fine. But few planning a new business enjoy that luxury.

Another reason most small business authors and specialists focus so little on business selection is that they know very little about the subject. Though vitally important, market research and analysis are topics most business authors, counselors, brokers and advisors have failed to study. Even some business planning consultants gloss over this key aspect of entrepreneurial success.

Our entrepreneur with the dog breeding background can use research to discover that there are many companies in the dog products and services arena that are experiencing dramatic growth. One sells dog biscuits containing only organically grown ingredients via category killer pet stores. A franchise operation teaches dog owners to manage their pets’ behavior, anxiety and frustration using behavioral science methods. A third company offers health insurance for dogs. Dogs bred and trained for explosives detection are also in high demand. Many of our dog breeder’s skills may readily transfer to an enterprise in such a niche area, where with thoughtful research and planning, opportunities for success should prove far better than those for a risk-plagued breeding business.

Does this mean no one ever succeeds in dog breeding? No, but entrepreneurs seeking high income and growth know which odds to defy and which to respect.

How do successful entrepreneurs brainstorm and research high demand, low competition, and highly profitable business ideas?

Many start by listing and analyzing their skills, interests and competencies. But they don’t hesitate to apply these broadly to business ideas they consider. For example, management experience is often transferable to many industries and niches.

Smart entrepreneurs also search for screaming success stories. More than a dozen business publications, including Inc. Magazine, Business Week, and Fortune, rank the fastest growing large and small companies in the U.S. Some target hot growth businesses in Canada, Europe, South America, Asia or other countries and regions. Deloitte Touche Tomatsu ranks companies with growth as high as 20,000 percent across the globe. Links to these high growth companies’ websites are typically listed, too. There are similar ranking sources for top selling products.

When an entrepreneur identifies a company growing as fast as 5,000 to 20,000 percent every three to five years, he or she considers how a new company might partner or piggyback on that white-hot growth. They may slice off a niche, or become a supplier, dealer, representative, distributor or reseller. They brainstorm ways in which their own new company can tap into this hyper growth. When I-Pods exploded on the scene a few years ago, smart entrepreneurs recognized the concurrent demand for accessories, and moved quickly to respond with highly profitable new products.

Wise business owners also study broad, societal trends, as well as trends within narrow industry and customer segments. They learn from futurists (management science consultants, about diverse global trends, risk management and emerging market) opportunities. Some of the best known futurists are Faith Popcorn, who wrote Clicking, Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock, and Patricia Dixon, whose website, globalchange.com, is read by thousands daily. Books, magazines (especially industry and trade publications) and websites offer a myriad of free and low cost on trends and the future.

After homing in on a handful of rapid growth industry niches, the entrepreneur’s market research efforts continue with searches for market analysis reports targeted to those niches (many are free and available from your public and university libraries). Successful owners also gather statistics on the product or service and its potential target customers. Much of this data is available from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the IRS, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Commerce Department and other federal agencies. Private sources offer data, too, usually more targeted, but at a price.

Available information includes national, state, county, city and other geographical area statistics on income, total wealth, gender, age, ethnicity, employment, number of companies in the same product or service category, number of stores per company, square footage and square footage costs per store, profitability of companies in the trade or industry, risk of failure, and benchmarking data (typical income and itemized expenses for companies with revenue comparable to your firm’s anticipated revenue), and more.

This information is recorded, logged, sifted and analyzed to determine the prospective niche’s and your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats before being incorporated into the owner’s business plan.

You’ll be amazed at how quickly you can build a wealth of information around one or two of your own favorite, highly profitable business ideas.

Before you race down to register your business name, complete a IRS form requesting an Employer Identification Number, or run to the store for office supplies, ask yourself this question: Am I satisfied that I’ve found a high demand, high profitability business, with costs I can control (or even cut below the industry benchmark), in a low competition niche that is suitable given a broad application of my skills, interests and experience?

Once you have a well-researched, positive answer to that question, you’ll be ready to realize your own screaming small business success story.

Jim Hudson began his research and writing career in 1969 as a Green Beret Magazine report-photographer in Vietnam. His firm, Blue Ocean Company, helps small business owners identify and exploit blue ocean markets (high demand, low cost, low competition, high profitability business opportunities), and develop their business and marketing plans. The Blue Ocean website, http://www.blueoceanstore.com lists over 50 links to sites that rank fastest growing companies, fastest growing new franchises, and top selling products. It also lists and links you to brainstorming tools, risk and profitability data, trends and futurist resources, free market research reports, and keyword niche-finding software. Most resources are free.
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php 5 Ways to Avoid the Biggest Bottleneck In Your Business
By Paul Speziale

What's the biggest bottleneck in any business? Besides sales, this often-overlooked feature of any business could be causing you lost sales and your long-term success. Use these tips to reduce the most costly (and annoying) bottleneck with businesses today.

Imagine for a moment that you have just spent a small fortune on marketing...you have a sale that you want to advertise and you have produced full page ads in the local newspaper setting you back $20,000 a day, sent out thousands of flyers, produced signs, sent out press releases and you even went on TV.

The big day arrives and floods of people enter your store. You look at the people clawing at each other to buy your goods, while you eagerly wait to count your profits.

Then something bad happens...

A cashier takes a break to talk to his girlfriend on his cell phone, and she breaks up with him. He returns 15 minutes later disgusted, not caring about anything, right into the heat of the crowded store. He starts being rude to the customers, taking his time and tells some of the customers off.

Appalled, your customers leave the store, and the profits you were counting in your head have vanished into the smoke they came from.

So what happened?

What happened is what many believe is one of the biggest problems of any business today...the people that interface with your customers.

Usually they are the most underpaid, under trained people in your business. They are relied upon to handle all customer inquiries, complaints, joys and questions and basically close the sales. It’s not just in retail either. Any business that has prospects phoning and asking questions or placing orders has this problem.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard a story from a disgruntled long-time customer of some business that was driven away because the customer service person couldn’t accommodate their request, I would have lots of nickels.

And you know, the people that represent your business, the ones that interface with the customer everyday ARE your business to the customer. If they are mad because of some “7 dollar an hour…can’t wait to get home to go drinking” customer service representative, they will lump you and your product right along into their mental state. If you receive a brick in the mail one day, you may be having this problem.

So how do you avoid this bottleneck?

First, isolate whomever is having any contact with your customers.

1. Who’s answering your phones?
2. Who is on the floor greeting your customers?
3. Who’s answering the emails?
4. Who is responding to your white mail?
5. Who is placing the order?
6. Who is making the sales?

Second, you need to be constantly educating them and training them as to your specials, new products, etc. Make sure you have a networked computer system to take notes for telephone operators. There is nothing more frustrating then phoning one-customer service person, only to have to retell your problem to another one 10 minutes later after they mistakenly hang up on you.

Third, educate them on how to deal with people. Once they know why certain customers behave the way they do, they might not be rude with them or they can adapt their behavior to build rapport and guarantee the sale.

Fourth, give them a little negotiating power. Some customers will try to negotiate. Give the person some room with that, just to appease the customer’s desire to “get a good deal”. Often people will warm up when there is some negotiating room.

Lastly, perhaps give the people that deal with customers a small reward for their excellent people handling skills (in other words, closing the sale). It doesn’t have to be money. In fact, chances are it will be material things, not money. Find out what your employees want the most. It can be an IPOD, or a trip, your own products, or something to encourage them. Use incentives so they make the special effort with your customers.

Paul Speziale is a direct marketing consultant / entrepreneur based out of Toronto, Ontario. He has served all industries from manufacturers to retailers, from entrepreneurs to professionals. Besides helping clients, he is working on his own projects. He also volunteers his time for several worthy causes both local and global. You can reach him at: http://www.AnelloSolutions.com: Growing Your Business Through Low-Risk, Optimized and Results Based Marketing
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php How to Start Video Blogging?
by Kanicen Nichathavan

Videoblogging is the next generation of posting ideas and products over the internet. Everybody knows about textblogging. Now they use videos for a better way of expression. This form of communication may entail a lot of resources, but it is all worth it. If pictures say a thousand words, videoblogging exceeds that by far.

A videoblog requires larger disk spaces on websites, a faster server, and a whole new set of programs to support it. Videoblogs can be fed through RSS. This is technology of syndicating your website to other RSS aggregators.

Videoblogging works with people on the internet expressing their selves. Now if you put this on a business prospective, you are up to a lot of benefits. Think of it as a powerful tool in making showing your prospective customers your line of products or your services. It’s just like showing a commercial all for free. And if you videoblog through RSS, then most probably you are getting your target market.

People like to see what they are going to buy. Some would like to see proof and be sure that they are getting their money’s worth before shelving their dimes on it. All of us know the influence of a thirty second commercial. The effect of videoblogging is similar to that. You show your product, people watch it. If they like it, they buy it. If you present it good enough, they’ll buy the product even if they don’t need it.

Now on the web, things are pretty much static, unlike in television in which all are moving. If you post something that is mobile, it would most likely catch attention. Now imaging your product parading in all it’s royalty through videoblog. You’ll get phone call orders in no time.

If your business is just starting up, you can create a videoblog right at your own home. All you need is your web camera, microphone, video software, and lights. For as long as you know how to use your camera, then you can create a videoblog.

Invest in a good web camera. The higher its resolution is the better the output. And you like to present your goods in the optimum way so get the best one possible. Make a short story, or just capture your goods in one go. Just make sure you are getting the best profile for each. Get those creativity juices flowing.

Lights are important in a production. Make sure you illuminate entirely the area you are going to use to create videoblog. The brighter the area, the crispier the images will be. You can also use lighting effects for added appeal to the presentation.

Should you require sounds for your videoblog, you need a microphone. Record you voice as a voice over for promoting the product and its benefit to consumers. Sounds are as important as videos on a videoblog. It is advisable to make your sound effects as enticing as the video.

Your video editing software can be any program. You need this to finalize your work. You can add sounds, delete some bad angles, or insert some still pictures in there too. Some programs are user-friendly and can be used even with zero knowledge on video editing. Even simple video editing programs should do the trick. Select your background carefully too. The light affects the presentation so make sure that the background and the light complements each other.

Videoblogging is a great tool but it also has it downside. It may slow down the computer so other may steer clear of it. Download time may also be time consuming especially if customer is still on a dial- up connection.

But don’t let those stop you. Let videoblogging be an alternative for you, though it is best to still keep the text and pictures present in your presentation to accommodate all possible viewers of your site.

Nowadays, the more creative you are in presenting your product to the market, they more you are likely to succeed. Videoblogging offers an interactive way of selling. You involve the customers. You instill in them the advantage of your goods. And at times, those are enough to make a sale.

Kanicen Nichathavan is the owner of Kanicen's Blog, Kanicen's Blog welcomes everyone who intends to share knowledge, interesting products, ideas and those who want to start Internet Online Business. You will find all kind of Internet Marketing Tools and resources. For Newbie and Internet Marketers this blog will be the best option for lowest prices of all kind of Internet Marketing Tools at http://www.kanicen.com.
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php Sell Your Knowledge Turning Your Hobby Into Profits
By Antonio Thornton

Everyone has a hobby of some kind - most people have several. There are people who collect stamps; people who make scrapbooks or create graphic designs with their digital photos; people who love horseback riding, hiking or bicycling.

Perhaps you do something that you don't even know is considered a "hobby". Technically, anything that you engage in for fun that is outside of your occupational activities is considered a hobby- so chances are you have lots of hobbies.

Have you ever considered turning one of your hobbies into a business? You may be surprised at how virtually any hobby can be converted to profits, and without tremendous overhead or ridiculously high start up costs.

What's even better, you aren't required to have a specific product to sell! In fact, you can make your knowledge your product to sell.

If you participate regularly in some sort of hobby, you are bound to know quite a bit about it. If you make scrapbooks of your family and friends, then you probably have extensive knowledge about where to get the best deals on your scrapbooking supplies, and how to create special effects on your photo album pages.

You refer to magazines and websites for inspiration. You have the personal knowledge of what it took to get started in the hobby. For example, scrapbooking requires that you have access to supplies like paper, stickers, glue, photo albums and scrapbooking tools.

Someone who has just learned about scrapbooking and thinks they want to start the hobby will need to figure out what you need to get started. You could offer this knowledge as your product to sell. Think people won't buy it? Think again.

Have you used a search engine to look up information? You know that it's time consuming to sort through all the data to find exactly what you're looking for. Often, you're given tons of information that does not seem all that reliable. You have to determine what you can use and what you need to avoid.

When you make your personal knowledge of a hobby your product to sell- you're helping everyone who wants to find that information without spending hours searching for it.

You do not need to have a physical product to sell in order to make a profit. In fact, having an inventory or having to create physical items from materials offers a lower profit margin than selling information.

Information products are among the top items to sell for a variety of reasons. They offer a low cost to get started, meaning you start earning a profit after just a couple sales. Informational products include eBooks, online courses or email courses, software, audio files, web sites- basically anything that can be downloaded from the Internet.

You aren't required to have an inventory. You can set up your business model to allow you to earn money by the work other people do for you.

Maybe you're thinking that this is all well and good- but you still don't have a product to sell! You haven't written an eBook, and maybe your writing skills are weak. Creating online or email courses are time consuming, and to create software you need special training. You can still sell your knowledge. Create a "package" of items that someone would need in order to get started in a particular hobby, and promote it as the "everything you need to know" about starting the hobby.

Contact someone who has written an informative eBook on the topic; find someone else who has made an online video or radio show regarding it, and request permission to sell the items in your package. If they have affiliate programs, you can probably sign up for the affiliate programs and earn commission that way. Include your list of great providers for supplies or information that you refer to regularly, and anything else you know a person needs in order to get started in the hobby. This is a product to sell: selling your knowledge.

Once you've earned money from this type of information product business, you can invest in the creation of your own products if you want, or start offering more informational products that allow you to sell your knowledge.

Copyright (c) 2006 www.hobby4profit.com

Antonio Thornton started with $37 and turned his "nerdy" computer hobby into a $500,000.00 per year business. Get the free Hobby For Profit Audio Report and discover how to turn your hobby into profit today! http://www.hobby4profit.com/freeh4p.
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php Advanced Uses For Myspace
by David Riewe

MySpace members can generate a website quickly through templates. These templates enable users to create a generic website in very little time. For those who are just interested in making new friends or keeping in touch with old friends, this may be all the member needs. However, those who want to offer more on their website or those who simply want to create a more detailed website may require some more advanced knowledge to achieve the desired effects.

Adding Background Music in MySpace

The majority of websites on the Internet do not have background music. This may lead many novice MySpace members to believe adding music to the background is a difficult process but it really isn’t. In fact MySpace makes it incredibly simple for members to add music to their profiles. The steps to add music to a MySpace profile are as follows:

* Log into your MySpace account
* While logged in visit this web address: http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music
* Listen to the music available and select a suitable song for your profile
* Click on the link that says “Add” below the song title
* The music is then automatically added to your profile

It is important to note that users can only add one song at a time to their profile. Clicking the “Add” link on a second song will result in the original song being replaced on the profile by the new song. Songs can be removed from a profile at any time by going to the “Edit profile” section of your account and entering the “Profile songs” subcategory. Here you have the option to remove your chosen song.

Adding Videos to MySpace

Adding videos to MySpace is also not as difficult as it seems. Even those with no HTML skills can add videos produced by other members or even their own videos to their MySpace profile. The steps to add a video to your MySpace profile are as follows:

* Log into your MySpace Account
* From your MySpace homepage, click on the “Add/Change Videos” link
* You are then taken to another webpage where you can either search through a database of previously uploaded videos or upload your own video
* To search the database, click on the search videos button and browse through the available videos
* After watching a video you can add the video to your profile in a couple of ways. First you can click on the “Add to my profile” button or you can copy the source code provided and paste this code into the desired location on your profile.

Alternately you can add your own videos to your MySpace profile by first uploading them to MySpace and then adding them to your profile. When uploading a video care should be taken to ensure the video does not violate the terms of service.

Creating Interactive Features on MySpace

Creating interactive features on MySpace is a bit more involved. Members can create features which allow visitor interaction but these features require more extensive HTML knowledge. The best way to acquire the information necessary to design these types of features is to research the subject of HTML code in books or on the Internet. However, if you find a feature on another MySpace website you would like to include in your own profile you can contact the member and ask them how to add this feature.

About The Author
David Riewe is the webmaster of http://www.daves-inforama.com and http://www.daves-inforama.com/myspace.
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php What Is RSS?
by Madison Lockwood

RSS is technology - a simple software program - that allows you to access web and blog content automatically. The acronym's most popular translation is "Really Simple Syndication. Once your browser or computer has an RSS reader on board, you can subscribe to any number of RSS "feeds." A feed is simply a way in which a reader may subscribe to website content - most commonly blogs or news sites. A news site, for example, may list their latest headlines or entire articles in their feed every time a new article is published. A blog would publish this feed as a series of recent posts.

Feeds are published by millions of publishers, from small individuals to large organizations like Newsweek. The value of a feed is that it brings the most current site content to you in a format that is easily scanned; further, you are spared the task of visiting each source site each day. This is typically done through the use of what is called an 'aggregator' or 'feed reader'.

Feed readers or RSS readers, are software programs that run on your computer (or PDA or phone); let you easily subscribe to feeds, and allow you to read through them efficiently. Some are relatively simple, showing the headline and summary. The fancier ones often work with (or in) your browser to make viewing the material look much like the source page. Once you have a reader on your computer, subscribing to a feed with is an easy click or drag from your browser. Sites that provide RSS feeds will usually have a button for that purpose.

There are several RSS feed formats as well as one with an entirely different methodology called Atom. Atom has become popular with some bloggers and blogging tools. Some aggregators can read both. The other acronyms you will see in "feedspeak" are XML, which stands for 'extensible markup language' and is the code standard for these simple text feeds. An 'OPML" file is a format for indexing hierarchical feed lists. If you dive into this web habit in a big way, your aggregator or reader may keep your subscription list in an OPML file.

An RSS feed is a great method for staying abreast of issues and topics that interest you. There are a number of feed "libraries," so to speak, from which you can learn what's out there in your areas of interest. Google has a built-in reader that makes the subscription process easy, as does Yahoo. Firefox has a downloadable extension for the purpose of aggregating RSS feeds, as well as a default ability to save RSS feeds as "live bookmarks" that update via the RSS feed. You can download a number of stand alone readers and aggregators; you can find them through a simple web search.

The whole RSS "movement" is a step towards utilizing the Internet more efficiently. The trick is to avoid overloading your email inbox with daily reports that you end up ignoring most of the time. For that purpose, there are sites like Feedster that will search millions of RSS feeds for articles that are relevant to your interests. Like any search tool, however, these services are hit and miss. They are still working off keywords and sometimes what they find is relevant, sometimes not. But if you want daily news broken into categories, it's great technology once you learn how to make it work for you.

About The Author
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.
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php Five Ways to Get in Front of Your Target Audience
By Kelly Robbins

It's worth the effort spending some time and energy figuring out whom you work best with. Once you've figured that out, then what? You feel good; you've chosen a niche. How do you find the people in your niche and get your message across to them? How can you do that without feeling like you are selling to them?

Here are a few things for you to think about...

1. Does this group of people, this niche, have any outside interests in common? For example, a large group of engineers in the Midwest that enjoy hunting in their spare time, or graphic designers in the Rocky Mountains that are avid rock climbers. Is there a better way to share a common interest and get to know each other in a relaxed environment than to join them on their excursions? Establish trust, build new friendships - it all leads to enjoyable work opportunities for you.

2. Do you help out with your kid's soccer team or are you on the PTA at school? When you do things YOU enjoy, it will naturally lead to meeting new people with like interests. Your co-volunteers could work in the niche you've chosen or they may have friends that do. Doing things you enjoy, especially if it is involves getting out and meeting other people, will help YOU meet new people and make new contacts. Don't like the people you've been hanging around with? Try something new and totally different. Put your self in a very different environment, meet totally different people, and have a very different experience.

3. Get involved in local networking associations. Be more targeted than the chamber of commerce, if you can. To meet more people involved in naturopathic medicine, find out what they do. Perhaps they attend trade shows on natural health, or are interested in yoga, or vitamins, or the natural food stores in your area. How can you have a presence there? Are there groups meeting that are rock-climbing enthusiasts? Roller-blading groups?

4. Are there any small, local publications that your target market may read? For example, there are a few free magazines and newspapers in my area that are often looking for content for their readers. Classified ads are very inexpensive because the publications are small. I've also found that these smaller publications are very open to bartering to keep their pages full. One publisher offered to run ads for me for free if I delivered the free papers to 20 or so places around town once a month. I am too busy to do that of course, but the point is to be creative.

5. Look at where your strengths and weaknesses are. If you're comfortable writing and doing marketing related tasks on the Internet, you may be doing enough of that already. Get away from your computer and meet some people. The same can be said if you are an extrovert. You need to balance your marketing efforts both online and off. I do get a lot of business from my online marketing efforts, but I also know that it compliments anything I do outside my office. Meeting people and having them experience you and your energy can't be beat.

Have you seen a common thread here? All of the tips I gave you involved you getting out and meeting people. As a writer, I admit I like to stay home and do stuff on my computer. I have an awesome system in place for marketing myself online, publishing articles, and even coaching and working with people on the phone.

Getting out to meet people means taking off my favorite slippers and actually moving - not what I always want to do. Looking over the successes I've had the past few years, there's no doubt that when I do get out and speak to a group or get involved in an organization, my business gets busier. The people that I meet in person who have felt my energy and enthusiasm give me more referrals, and bring me more word of mouth marketing than the clients I have online. We are more likely to become friends.

Copyright (c) 2006 Kelly Robbins

Author of Healthcare Copywriting Secrets Revealed, Kelly Robbins is a healthcare copywriter and marketing coach/consultant. She also publishes The Healthcare Marketing Connection (http://www.healthcaremarketingconnection.com), a free e-zine on healthcare marketing tips. Contact Kelly to receive her free report, "5 critical things you must know when writing for the healthcare industry" - info@KellyRobbinsLLC.com or 303-460-0285.
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php Starting A Photography Business from Home
By Roy Barker

You can search for hours and still not get the information you're seeking when you want to do something as important as starting a photography business. Keep in mind that some of the photography businesses that you can specialize in may have varying requirements. You would do well to remember this once you have read this article and want to learn a little more on each of the photographic areas. With this in mind, I have supplied a free report that you can access from my site later.

Almost anyone with the right camera equipment, and the necessary skills can set up a home business, marketing photography. You only need to convert a room of your house into an office, and then you can work immediately.

Because you have modern technology in the form of SLR digital cameras, you do not even need the space for a dark room. You need only to have a personal computer and a photo-editing program. The standard is Adobe Photoshop.

Don't clutter yourself with equipment you do not need. You can hire equipment on a ‘when you need it’ basis. You have the freedom to work part time for a while until you can devote yourself full time to photography. All you need to be is a serious photographer. There are two types of photographers that make their living from photography, the serious photographer and the very serious photographer. You can always bookmark this link and then quickly access just about all you'll ever need from here.

Whilst the technical skills needed to make a successful photographer have never been easier, other aspects have changed the business. The market for photographs of virtually every type has widened. The world seems to have an insatiable appetite for photographs. However, the price has fallen as the marketing net has broadened. Photographers are needed in many more fields. For instance, many people use car web sites, which did not exist ten years ago, to sell their products as a result of photography. Cameras used by scuba diver’s are now an excellent quality, and while they are initially expensive, they have forged a new market. People celebrate special occasions more with photography, than previously. The travel and advertising markets have a greater need for landscape, travel, and nature shots.

It’s now easier to turn your dream into reality and create a worthwhile business out of an engrossing hobby. However, in today’s modern world there is more to it than simply pointing a camera, and shooting a picture. You need to be aware of marketing techniques. Marketing simply means transferring ownership of a product, in this case, an image from a buyer to seller. Be aware of any local gaps in the market in your local area. Try to be on top of your competitor’s prices, to undercut an existing photographer is one choice, but to neglect to value your skills and not charge enough to cover your overhead is another matter entirely. Remember this, it’s an important point.

Use your skills to the best advantage of the business and define what you want from it. Writing a business plan helps to keep you focused on the areas you specifically want to exploit. A business plan helps you to define your goals and strategies. It will
Need to be changed and updated, helping you to keep things in perspective. You have it to refer back to it when things become confusing or complicated. Everyone’s business plan will be different, and every objective will be different, but there are certain common factors that make up a good business plan that will help your business grow. It allows you to develop a professional attitude to your business, which not only helps you to increase your earnings, but also help you to finance your business.

For the photographer it should include, your business name, or your own, with full details of the proposed location of the business, a copy of your logo, as well as details of your copyright notices. What is the form of your proposed business (sole ownership, partnership, Limited Liability Company or Corporation)? This should be followed by a table of contents, which focuses on a logical order. There are resources that will give you further details on such as http://profitable-photography.com

Then in complete detail, list the type of business you intend to pursue, and it should contain the services you intend to offer. This section should include any future goals or avenues you would like to explore, stating your objectives clearly. This is so you can check at a later date whether your objectives are on course, or if you have got sidetracked.

If you envisage at any time you may need financial help, then you should include your personal business history.

Include a clear and concise marketing plan that ought to demonstrate how your business would differentiate from the businesses of your competitors. Establish whom your customers will be, as well as where your market will be, as in wholesale or retail, or a combination of both. Be able to determine how long this type of market will be available to you.

The next section should clearly define your opposition, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. This should include the ways you may be able to exploit any gaps in the market in the specific area where you live. A section should follow this on how you intend to market and promote your individual services.

Include a financial segment showing how you intend to manage the day-to-day bills of the business, how you intend to price your services, and what factors influence this pricing structure, which includes a section on your competitor’s financial structures. Invest the time to do your homework, research, and the detective work to see the payoff. Get your friends to ask quotes from the local competition, or try a direct approach. Tell your competitor’s that you intend to start a new business, and that you do not want to undercut them, as this reduces the cake for everyone. They may well offer to help you construct a pricing structure that ensures everyone’s livelihood. It’s in their best interests to help. Not everyone will be cooperative, but it can mean you’ll get a truer picture of the market factors that govern your area.

Make a list of all the equipment you will need in your first year, as well as how and where you intend to purchase. Note any difficulties that may arise in obtaining your supplies. Note whether the prices of your supplies have a seasonal fluctuation. This may influence when to buy. Make a note of any local licenses that will be necessary, as well as any zoning restrictions, restricting the growth of your business. Check whether neighbors can restrict your services, as they may not be thrilled at the procession of customers to your door. Make a study of all your business insurance requirements.

The final segment should be devoted to how you intend to finance the growth of your business, as well as isolating what your financial needs will be. This should include a projection on your future earnings, as well as an accurate assessment of your outgoings’. Assess this on a monthly basis for the first year, and on an annual basis for the following three years. An important aspect of the financial statement is an assessment of the break-even point of your business, in other words the minimum you will have to take to pay your expenses.

The purpose of this documentation is to allow you to enunciate what the core elements of your business will be. Doing this should help you be able to quickly evaluate the success of your business objectives. If you are not clear on your objectives, then you cannot possibly make a plan to bring about the success of those objectives.

Roy Barker often writes and works closely with Start A Photography Business. This site is dedicated to coaching you in starting your own photography business but places a strong emphasis on profitability issues & guidelines. You can access photography resources (some free) from Digital Photography If you seek further guides, tips, articles and news, you can go to http://www.photography-business-tips.com that has a Photographers Forum for an exchange of views with other photographers.
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php Myspace Design Features
by David Riewe

Creating a MySpace website may seem overly complicated to those who have never done any HTML design in the past but it is really quite simple. Members who have advanced HTML knowledge can obviously incorporate more advanced features into their design but even those with no HTML knowledge may be able to create an attractive and functional MySpace website. This is possible because much of the design can be done through the use of templates. This article will focus on some of the most basic design features of MySpace to give beginners a basic understanding of the features they can incorporate into a new MySpace website and the types of changes which can be made to an existing website. This article will include information on changing the background, importing images, adding music to the website and posting quizzes for other users.

Adding or Changing the Background

The background color of a MySpace website is very important because it is one of the first things visitors notice when the website loads. If the background is garish and makes the website difficult to read, visitors may exit the page quickly. Conversely if the background is appealing it may make the entire website more appealing.

Basic HTML knowledge is required to add colors or background graphics to a MySpace profile. To add colors or background graphics go to the “Edit profile” section after logging into your account. Next enter the necessary code into the appropriate section. To get the background to appear on your profile you should include the code in the “About me” section of your account. If you are unsure of the code that is needed, there is a wealth of information available online for those who are learning HTML.

Importing Images

Many members of the MySpace community choose to post their picture on their website. Again the social aspects of the online community encourage this action because people who engage in online friendships often want to see what their new friends look like. Including pictures is the easiest way to let others know what you look like.

MySpace members are asked to upload a photo of themselves when they first sign up. This step can be skipped and done later. Photos which are uploaded to MySpace must be .gif or .jpg files. Additionally they must be smaller than 600k. The filename for photos should also not contain spaces or characters other than numbers or letters.

Adding Music to the Website

The addition of music to a MySpace website is a very common practice. This is used both by bands who want to promote their music as well as by individuals who want to let others know what type of music they like. The process of adding music to a MySpace website is incredibly easy. Members can visit the following web address to listen to music from MySpace artists: http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music. If the artist has granted permission for others to use the music, there will be a button that says “Add” next to the song. Clicking on this link, when you are logged into this account, will automatically add the music to the background of your MySpace website. You are only able to add one song at once to your profile but you can change the music as often as you like by adding a new song. If you already have one song and add another, the second song will replace the original song on your profile.

Posting Quizzes on the Website

Many MySpace members include fun personality quizzes on their website and publish their quiz results. These quizzes give visitors more information about the member. The members may also post a link to this quiz so other members can take the quiz and post their results in the comments page. Different types of personality quizzes can be found on the Internet and many of these quizzes give you the code necessary to add this quiz to your MySpace website or another websites. You can copy and paste the code into the “Interests” section of your MySpace profile.

David Riewe is the webmaster of http://www.daves-inforama.com and http://www.daves-inforama.com/myspace.
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php The Basics Of Putting Video On Your Website
by Gary Ruplinger

If you’re not using video on your website yet, then you’re missing out on a great opportunity to increase customer responsiveness to your website.

With the ever growing population of broadband users in the United States, video has become mainstream. You only need to look at the most popular sites on the Internet and see that http://Youtube.com is the 8th most popular website in the world. Youtube is a site that shows videos, so broadband is essential to using and enjoying the site. It is estimated that 65% of Internet users in the United States have broadband access, and that number is expected to grow to 80% by 2010.

However, putting video on a website can seem quite intimidating if you’ve never done it before. I know. I’ve been in that position. When I first started learning about putting videos on the Internet I didn’t even own a video camera or know how to use one.

Fortunately, technology has made putting your videos on the Internet far easier than in the past. Now you can relatively quickly film a video, add professional looking effects, upload it, and post it on your website.

What You’ll Need

•A computer with a firewire port and Windows XP (preferably a laptop – if yours doesn’t have one, you can buy an adapter)
•A digital video camera
•A firewire cable
•A tripod
•A well lit area

Those are actually the only essential tools. Now there are a lot of extra tools you can add to really add professionalism to your videos, but those are for another time. I just want to focus on helping you get your first video up.

Step 1 - Setting Up

Go ahead and put your video camera on the tripod. Setup your laptop next to the video camera. Now go ahead and plug in the firewire cable to the video camera and then to the firewire port on your computer. Your computer should automatically recognize the camera and ask you what you want to do. Click on the capture video icon. This will open up Windows Movie Maker on your computer – a free program installed on all Windows XP computers (I’m assuming your using a PC and not a Mac since Macs are a bit more intuitive for making videos, and you probably won’t need this guide) Make sure you’re area is well lit. You will want it to seem really bright in order for it to look good on video.

Step 2 - Recording the video

All you need to do is click on capture video in Windows Movie Maker and you can record your video. When you’re done, just push stop.

Step 3 – Editing Your Video

Once you’ve finished recording your video, you’ll see your clip showing in the collections section of Windows Movie Maker. Click on the clip and drag the clip to the timeline at the bottom of the application. Once it shows in the timeline, you’re able to edit the length, and cut out parts. You can also add music or add a title screen and credits.

Step 4 – Saving Your Video

Once you’ve finished editing your video, you’re ready to save it. Just click save, and tell windows to save it in the best quality for playback on your computer format. This will keep the file from becoming huge and will make it much faster to upload.

Step 5 – Uploading Your Video

Go to http://Youtube.com and sign up for a free account. Once you’re signed up, click on my videos and then on upload a video. Find the file you saved on your computer and upload it to Youtube.

Step 6 – Publishing To Your Website

Once you’re done uploading your video. Go ahead and watch your video. To the right of the video you’ll see a section labeled Embed. Copy that code and paste it to the website where you want you video to appear.

Viola.

You’ve just put your video online.

Gary Ruplinger is the owner and operator of http://www.AVICoach.com. His site helps people learn about all aspects of online video marketing. You'll find a variety of video tutorials and guides at his site. Also, be sure to download his free report on making your site sell more with video.
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php What Is RSS?
by Madison Lockwood

RSS is technology - a simple software program - that allows you to access web and blog content automatically. The acronym's most popular translation is "Really Simple Syndication. Once your browser or computer has an RSS reader on board, you can subscribe to any number of RSS "feeds." A feed is simply a way in which a reader may subscribe to website content - most commonly blogs or news sites. A news site, for example, may list their latest headlines or entire articles in their feed every time a new article is published. A blog would publish this feed as a series of recent posts.

Feeds are published by millions of publishers, from small individuals to large organizations like Newsweek. The value of a feed is that it brings the most current site content to you in a format that is easily scanned; further, you are spared the task of visiting each source site each day. This is typically done through the use of what is called an 'aggregator' or 'feed reader'.

Feed readers or RSS readers, are software programs that run on your computer (or PDA or phone); let you easily subscribe to feeds, and allow you to read through them efficiently. Some are relatively simple, showing the headline and summary. The fancier ones often work with (or in) your browser to make viewing the material look much like the source page. Once you have a reader on your computer, subscribing to a feed with is an easy click or drag from your browser. Sites that provide RSS feeds will usually have a button for that purpose.

There are several RSS feed formats as well as one with an entirely different methodology called Atom. Atom has become popular with some bloggers and blogging tools. Some aggregators can read both. The other acronyms you will see in "feedspeak" are XML, which stands for 'extensible markup language' and is the code standard for these simple text feeds. An 'OPML" file is a format for indexing hierarchical feed lists. If you dive into this web habit in a big way, your aggregator or reader may keep your subscription list in an OPML file.

An RSS feed is a great method for staying abreast of issues and topics that interest you. There are a number of feed "libraries," so to speak, from which you can learn what's out there in your areas of interest. Google has a built-in reader that makes the subscription process easy, as does Yahoo. Firefox has a downloadable extension for the purpose of aggregating RSS feeds, as well as a default ability to save RSS feeds as "live bookmarks" that update via the RSS feed. You can download a number of stand alone readers and aggregators; you can find them through a simple web search.

The whole RSS "movement" is a step towards utilizing the Internet more efficiently. The trick is to avoid overloading your email inbox with daily reports that you end up ignoring most of the time. For that purpose, there are sites like Feedster that will search millions of RSS feeds for articles that are relevant to your interests. Like any search tool, however, these services are hit and miss. They are still working off keywords and sometimes what they find is relevant, sometimes not. But if you want daily news broken into categories, it's great technology once you learn how to make it work for you.

About The Author
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.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php A Sure-Fire Shortcut to Competitive Advantage
By Paul Levesque

All businesses that out perform their competitors have two key characteristics in common: a highly energized workforce, plus hordes of delighted customers that keep coming back. Two nice things to have - but of course everyone knows the reason so few businesses enjoy a clear competitive advantage is because these two things are so difficult to achieve. If it’s really that difficult, shouldn’t those few businesses that manage to pull it off be absolutely exhausted by the effort? When you take a closer look, (as I have), at those rare businesses that consistently achieve both objectives - flashpoint businesses, as I refer to them - what you invariably see is just the opposite. Employees at all levels seem perpetually fired up, as if every day they’re engaged in some kind of fun group activity. Is there some big secret about "energized workers" and "delighted customers" that these flashpoint businesses understand, and everyone else seems to have missed?

There most certainly is. It has to do with what most people consider the basic difference between "work" and "play". The first step on a shortcut to competitive advantage is to understand the specific elements that make play so much more satisfying than work.

Play Element 1: Challenge

Achieving better bowling scores would be easier if the bowling pins were closer. On the other hand, who would pay to go to a bowling alley where anyone could knock down all the pins every time with ease? Knocking them all down over and over again would quickly begin to feel like the kind of repetitive, pointless activity most bowlers experience at their jobs, and go bowling precisely to get away from it. To be fun, it has to be a real challenge—that’s key.

In most workplaces, there is not one single well-defined “mission” that takes precedence over everything else. Instead, there are all kinds of tasks, objectives, and deadlines that often make workers feel they’re being pulled in a dozen directions at once. For many, the only real challenge on the job is resisting the temptation to quit.

Contrast this with flashpoint businesses, where the one crystal-clear overriding mission is to draw business away from competitors by attempting to delight every customer every time. In these businesses, the reason it looks like workers are having fun is because in many ways their work feels like a game with a single, challenging, shared objective.

Shortcut to Competitive Advantage, Part One: Challenge everyone in your business to think of -outperforming the competition through superior “customer care” as the primary objective that overrides all others at all times.






Play Element 2: Rules

Every play activity has it own elaborate set of rules. In a new game, even before play begins, all the rules are carefully spelled out. These rules add to the challenge, and keep the game fair for all.

In the work setting, the rules are often vague and unclear. They may even seem to shift and change from time to time, based on different situations as they arise. Workers often feel reluctant to take initiatives, unsure if doing so will later earn them praise (for “thinking outside the box”) or rebukes (for “breaking the rules”). They tend to adopt a play-it-safe approach.

By comparison, most flashpoint businesses spell out their values and their priorities—the rules—over and over again. “Your goal is to delight the customer, but not by doing anything that harms the organization in any way.” “We want to pull business away from our competitors, but never in an unlawful or underhanded way.”

Shortcut to Competitive Advantage, Part Two: Ensure that your workers understand how the game is to be played—how, for example, you will be giving them opportunities to come up with their own ideas for enhancing the customer experience. Clarify what constitutes a “foul” or a violation of the rules.

Play Element 3: Scoring

In play activities of every kind, there exists some sort of scoring mechanism that lets the players know immediately how well they’re doing. This immediacy is critical. How popular would bowling be if the pins were in the dark, and players never found out their score, how well they played, until it arrived in the mail weeks later?

This is what it feels like for most workers on the job. They don’t find out how well they’re doing until the “quarterly reports” come out, or until their annual performance evaluation meeting.

Things are different in flashpoint businesses. There, spontaneous positive feedback from happy customers becomes the number-one scoring mechanism. At the same time it also serves as the number-one employee motivator, the basis for endless internal celebration and recognition.

Shortcut to Competitive Advantage, Part Three: Harvest immediate positive customer feedback by every means at your disposal, (especially informal face-to-face conversation), and direct as much of this feedback as possible to your workers.






Play Element 4: Satisfaction

Bowlers know before every game that they won’t succeed in knocking down every pin every time. Players in every kind of game know they’ll never achieve a perfect score—but this does nothing to diminish their attempts to do so. When their score tells them their performance has moved closer to the unachievable goal, their feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment is profound. There’s shouting, ‘high-fives’ and every kind of exuberant victory dance imaginable.

Flashpoint businesses also know they won’t succeed in delighting every customer every time. When the feedback indicates they’ve moved closer to that unattainable objective, the same kind of cheering and celebration erupt. It’s something that’s almost never experienced in the majority of workplaces, and it’s something that’s almost routine in flashpoint businesses. They once again have beaten the opposing team, once again the dance of victory unites all of them in their shared accomplishment—and in their shared determination to repeatedly play the game, and strive together to win another round.

Shortcut to Competitive Advantage, Part Four: Create a culture of celebration that maximizes workers’ sense of accomplishment with every “rave review” from delighted customers. This is the motivational fuel that quickly gains the most powerful competitive edge in any business—and helps sustain it over the long term.

Customer-focus consultant Paul Levesque’s latest book is, Customer Service From The Inside Out Made Easy (Entrepreneur Press, 2006).

Copyright Paul Levesque. All Rights Reserved.

Paul Levesque is available for speaking engagements through http://www.keynoteresource.com 1-800-420-4155. Paul Levesque has more than 20 years' experience as an international customer-service consultant. He has helped hundreds of corporate and small business clients become more customer-focused.
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_CDo_164/user/index.php Why Do I Need To Write A Sales Letter?
By Stuart Elliott

"If You Are Going to be in Business, You Must Know How to Sell"

In his book, Automatic Wealth, Michael Masterson states that in order to achieve Financial Independence you need to master a financially valuable skill.

Selling is the number one skill you MUST learn if you are going to be in business. This applies offline too. If you do not know how to sell, you and your business will struggle financially.

Now, before you give me that stock answer "I don't know how to sell..." think about this: we are selling everyday, whether we sell ourselves, our friends, or the latest film we've just watched.

Look at this common everyday phrase: - "have you seen x?x?x. I saw it last night and I..."

Sound familiar?

Well, that is selling in a nutshell! Some people do it better than others, but we all do it. With a little bit of training and practice you can soon become a master at it.

If you do not know how to sell or HATE selling, how can you tell people about your product in a way that makes them want to buy it from you? If they don't buy from you - HOW can you make money?

Today, the Internet marketplace is jam-packed with plenty of fantastic ideas and wonderful products. Chances are that you have already located:

* A great idea that you think you can make money from

* A product that solves a specific problem, and/or

* An income opportunity to provide to people online

But the fact is:

"If you do not know how to sell your products, you cannot turn them into money-producing assets, no matter how great the demand or high in quality they actually are"

You can't – period!

Whether you are selling your intellectual asset, service, tangible goods, yourself, or whatever kind of product or solution you have, unless you have the ability to sell, your product or asset is worth absolutely nothing.

This may sound a little harsh but it is the cold hard reality. S