Home Business The Easy Way - LRi Update http://www.blogmoneymiracle.com en-us EasyRSS
By Keith Baxter

A common saying in the Internet Marketing community is, 'The money is in the list'.

Unfortunately, that is an inaccurate statement.

The line should read, 'The money is in what you do with that list'.

This all begins with a lead (otherwise known as an opt-in).

When you are building your business, you engage in marketing to entice people to become interested in your product.

These people become leads that either buy from you or do not buy from you.

The ones that do buy from you then become your customers.

While this is not rocket science, we are trying to establish your visitor value at this point.

Let us talk about how to determine your visitor value.

First, we want to know what your conversion rate is for generating a lead.

Do this by taking the number of people that opted into your site and dividing that by the number of unique visitors. For example... if you had 50 opt-ins and 1000 unique visitors, your conversion rate is 5%.

Next, if 10 of these leads (opt-ins) generated $10 each in sales, then you made $100... still with me.

If you made $100 and have 1000 unique visitors, then your visitor value is $.10 per visitor.

You are better off determining this value at the end of each month, as it will change month to month.

However, knowing this number is the key to your ad budget for future lead generation.

Let us move on...

If only 10 people out of the 50 leads became customers, then what do you do with the remaining 40 leads?

It is simple...

You get them to do what they have already done in an effort to boost your visitor value!

Confused? Fear not... all is explained shortly.

If you can get the lead to opt-in to another form, (which they have already been conditioned to do) and are paid on that opt-in, then guess what... you have increased your visitor value from a lead that was not going to convert into a customer.

This is the power of CPA Networks. They give you the opportunity to increase your visitor value by paying you on form submissions. An excellent way to promote a CPA offer is by simply adding it to the end of a follow-up sequence.

In this article, I showed you how the money is not in the list, but in what you do with that list... how to determine your visitor value... and how to increase your visitor value with CPA Networks. My goal is for you to determine your visitor value today, take the simple action of adding a CPA offer to the end of your emails, and enjoy the returns that come with this.

Keith Baxter is the president of http://www.ModernClick.com, the fastest growing CPA Network online. Modern Click is the perfect network to use when applying Keith's tactics.

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By: Elizabeth Gordon

Are you looking for ways to get people talking about your brand? An increasing frustration with traditional media has driven businesses and marketing firms to start employing more creative means of getting customers attention beyond the traditional media outlets. You may hear this referred to as viral, word-of-mouth or buzz marketing and this method is attaining broad popularity as an inexpensive and highly effective marketing method.

What is Viral Marketing, Word-of-Mouth, or Buzz Marketing?

Viral Marketing is a way of capturing attention of consumers and the media to the point where talking about your brand becomes interesting conversation. Generating a buzz is based on either customers' personal experience with brands or what other people have told them about these brands. When this experience becomes interesting, your brand and what your company is doing become a source of entertainment, and your brand becomes newsworthy.

Basically, it's unconventional, it's economical and it's powerful. Buzz marketing is about starting conversations. In a nutshell, buzz marketing is about getting people talking and getting the media writing about your brand. With Buzz Marketing, you stop talking at consumers, and start talking to them.

Why does buzz work?

Today's noisy advertising environment has forced marketers to become more creative and some say even slightly devious with their methods. Consumers are subject to constant information overload and are wary and distrustful of companies due to scandals and scams they have heard about or been victims of in the past.

All of that buyer's remorse from past bad purchase decisions has built up and created a wall of sales resistance that they psychologically throw up whenever faced with something that appears to be a marketing message or sales pitch. Conversely, consumers like to rely on friends and peers for product and service recommendations and will do less shopping around and are more apt to act based on recommendations of people the know. This has long fueled efforts to increase customer referrals for companies.

Another way to enter a customer's mindshare is through buzz marketing, which is simply the process of sharing information through the natural social networks of your target market that helps them in the decision-making process. That way, instead of coming from a faceless and distrusted corporation, the marketing message instead seems to emanate from the most powerful endorser possible: your coolest friend.

How is it different than traditional advertising?

Most marketing, advertising, and PR employs a push strategy, where you push your message out into the marketplace at people, typically when they are not seeking it. Many people do not enjoy or appreciate this approach. Good marketers know that using a pull strategy to market their products and services can result in close rates at least twice as high as a traditional push strategy. Doubling your marketing effectiveness is certainly worth paying attention to. Buzz marketing is powerful because it gets customers to seek you out.

Why is this a good time for Buzz?

Marketing today is in a state of turmoil. Industry leaders say traditional marketing campaigns, based on mass media advertising, are not working anymore. And the facts back them up. A 2004 study into advertising effectiveness by Deutsche Bank in the US consumer packaged goods sector found that only 18 percent of television advertising campaigns generate a positive return on annual investment, while the Harvard Business Review reports that for every dollar invested into traditional advertising for consumer packaged goods, the short-term return on investment is just 54 cents.

Marketing in the business-to-business sector fares no better. An astonishing 84 percent of B2B marketing campaigns actually result in a fall in market share and brand equity. Word of mouth connections are highly influential.

A 2004 UK survey of 10,000 consumers by consultants CIA:MediaEdge found that 76 percent cite word of mouth as their main influence on their purchasing decisions, compared with traditional advertising's mere 15 percent. In the US, NOP (now GfK) research shows that 92 percent of Americans cite word of mouth as their preferred source of product information. Studies show that when it comes to generating excitement about products, word of mouth is 10 times more effective than TV or print advertising.

Younger consumers, who are still forming their brand preferences, are among the most coveted by marketers. These days, they spend less time planted in front of the tube and are more skeptical about the messages they receive there. Therefore, a recommendation for a product or service from a trusted friend is more memorable and convincing than the cleverest television ad and more likely to be turned into action.

What are the benefits?

Many are saying that buzz represents the future and will surpass traditional ads in regards to maintaining consumer brand-interest. "If I can involve one person really deeply in my brand in 50 cities, vs. 50 people in one city, I'll take the former every time," says Mark Hughes, author of Buzzmarketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff. Jon Berry of research company Nop World, and author of The Influentials, argues that word of mouth is worth more than twice what it was in the 1970s in affecting consumer purchases, and it's 150 percent more influential than newspaper and magazine advertising or articles.

Another benefit of buzz marketing is the ability to break through customers' natural defense mechanisms that they typically have up when receiving marketing messages. Customers think of you more like a friend and less like a business trying to sell them something, and that is a great place to be.

You're speaking face-to-face, which gives you attention and mindshare. Another reason word of mouth works so well is credibility. When your friend, neighbor, co-worker or a family member tells you about a great movie, product or service, you believe them. They're not being paid to pitch the item and so you give them full credibility. That's why having a great product matters so much: If you can really wow people, they will tell their friends and neighbors.

Such face-to-face attention creates superior memory retrieval. In a study of two groups presented with advertising information with the brand removed, only 49 percent of people recalled advertising based on a visual cue, while 70 percent recalled advertising from a thirty-second musical cue. Given the right context of attention, audio stimuli can be far superior to visual.

Buzz marketing is one of the hottest trends in marketing today. By applying these 18 techniques in your business you'll see people buzzing about your brand.

Here's how to do it:

1. Start with your initial or existing base of satisfied customers. While enrolling new consumers, a successful buzz marketing strategy bases itself on the impact these consumers could have on the next potential customer. Providing a positive customer experience establishes trust. This trust is rewarded with consumers acting as buzz marketing agents, literally working for brands free of charge. The consumers who are first to climb aboard then become evangelists of your brand.

2. Pick a target market you can find. Where does your target market hang out? If you're selling hot pink lipstick, you might find that your main customers are at the corner of Pine and Main Street, wearing stilettos and pleather. Make them easily definable and be able to name the specific areas where they go, so you can target your target market.

3. Find the thought leaders. Every social culture has its thought leaders. Building a successful buzz campaign hinges on finding the right carriers for the message: influencers who are obsessed with staying one step ahead of their peers. You must find, connect, and collaborate with the people who influence your brand, lead opinions, and spread word of mouth. Look for opinion-leading individuals who frequently offer or are elicited for category-related advice. Thought leaders are the 10 percent of society that help influence the majority of all purchasing decisions. They are not necessarily the customers who spend the most money with you, but they are the most important people you can reach, because your target market takes their advice from them. They hold a social power that will amplify the affect of your word of mouth campaign.

After finding influencers, make sure that you develop ongoing, two-way relationships with them, from giving them a trial before the product is available to the mass market, to going back a step and getting them involved in your research and development. Try to give them experiences that exceed expectations. This will generate goodwill and advocacy that will go a long way toward kick-starting positive word of mouth and wider interest in your product, service, or campaign.

4. Again, find the influences and give out freebies. Think outside of the box. Rather than blitzing the airways with expensive TV commercials, give out freebies to select people who are trendsetters. Targeting the influential people you will get more visibility for your product or service by others who are their friends or assistants and who will buy based on the trendsetters. It is worth it to give out what you can for free that will allow customers to experience how great your brand is.

5. Use fake shoppers. One way to get closer to your customers is to show up right under their noses without them even seeing you. Often, buzz marketers cover their tracks, at least initially. Slip into the conversational pathways of the target market and those who heavily influence their peers.

6. Work at a grassroots level. Get out there and hit the streets. Buzz requires manpower, whether it's volunteers, paid representatives, or evangelists that just can't stop talking. Create a culture around your brand, something that people can stand for, support and be proud of. Get into their neighborhoods. The most successful buzz marketers start on the streets, in the places people live, eat, work, socialize, etc..

7. Piggyback off an existing trend or cause. Look for a trend that your target audience is currently interested in, such as environmentalism. If you can show them that you are interested in the same things that they are, you'll make fast friends and get them talking.

8. Go to the point of sale. Stage an impromptu demonstration, create a display that will attract your customers or have actors put on a show around your product. If you are going to get people talking, get them talking as close to the point of purchase decision as possible.

9. The more unusual and shocking the better. Traditional ad campaigns have lost some of their punch while quirkier campaigns have generated huge grassroots followings for their brands with laughably low marketing expenditures. Use what people naturally like to talk about by creating a messages that contain one or more of these 6 elements.

The taboo (sex, lies, bathroom humor, etc.)
The unusual
The outrageous
The hilarious
The remarkable
Secrets (both kept and revealed)

10. Be completely believable. When you have your consumer do marketing for you, it is credible, less expensive and enormously believable.

11. Make it personal. Using the viral strategy on a humdrum product category will not yield your best results. Buzz marketing still seems to work best for the relatively narrow range of products and services that consumers care deeply about because of their physical intimacy, technical complexity or status-enhancing potential.

12. Create a sense of scarcity. Lure those key consumers with coveted items -- whether hot news, loaner cars, or cool gadgets -- that are in short supply, and let the buzz begin.

13. Be bold and extreme. Companies that play on the extremes of being either totally authentic or blatantly unoriginal are memorable and different. Although a buzz campaign may have fictional elements, the premise should be true to the brand. Make sure your buzz campaign fits with your overall ad strategy. Similarly, being totally irreverent can get people talking as well; just make sure consumers don't feel duped. Be sure to test your humor out on a sample of your target market first.

14. Leverage the Internet and buzz with blogs. From large corporations such as GM and Microsoft to entrepreneurs, businesspeople of all kinds are using blogs as a tool to connect with customers and internal audiences in new ways. They're generating unprecedented buzz, and exponentially amplifying word of mouth marketing. A single successful blog can attract tens or even hundreds of thousands of visitors. Done right, they can give back loyalty, goodwill, and valuable feedback. The best part is they often spread that message to others within their sphere of influence through blogs, instant messenger or e-mail.

15. Don't overlook quality and customer service. Make sure that your product, service or brand is of a quality level that stands out next to competitors. The last thing you want is to have all this talk you generated turn into complaints. Customer service should be given extra attention while you are working a buzz campaign. Good service and superior quality are so unique they create an inherent buzz of self-propelling word of mouth and customer recommendations.

16. Do something innovative. Buzz is great for anything new and innovative, but if your product is not innovative in itself, then put extra creativity in the execution to generate that buzz.

17. Measure as much as you can. Connected marketing is not about control; it's about management. You cannot manage what you cannot measure. The initial contact may look spontaneous, but it's anything but, and the back end of your campaign should be meticulously planned and the results carefully measured. Marketers are even attempting to quantify how often their message will be passed along and how many downstream consumers they need to influence before a fad is born. Obviously, using online capabilities will make this kind of measurement more easily and precisely monitored. At the very least it will show you whether or not your efforts paid for themselves. Best case scenario: you can determine the exact ROI.

Figure out what types of data do you want to collect, the measurement of recommendation rates, what specific actions should be taken post-measurement, and what influences the recommended rate and how marketers improve recommendation rates.

18. Integrate the campaign with the overall marketing strategy. It is time to develop internal and external connected marketing strategies that integrate product development and marketing activities in innovative ways, enabling consumers and businesses to connect and collaborate with each other as respected partners in order to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. Don't fall into thinking that, if you get buzz, you don't need any marketing. Buzz marketing should be one part of an overall integrated marketing communications plan. Good buzz is the best thing you could wish for. But, in most cases, distribution, advertising, promotion and other traditional concepts are essential to translate the goodwill surrounding your product into sales.

The focus should be not on whether something is classified as traditional or guerrilla, mainstream or viral, but on whether it works. Focus on results, and don't get caught up in any single marketing ideology. It is best to start little fires in lots of places and fan them afterwards.

Implement these techniques and watch the buzz get started. For more information about how you can create a marketing buzz, visit www.flourishingbusiness.com.

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By Leonard Bartholomew

I have not been happy with my full time jobs. You may not have been either. Being of sound mind and judgement, you may be on an adventure to change your fortunes. You wonder to yourself about the prospects of starting an online home-based business. What led you to this decision and what course of action do you take to increase the chances of being successful online?

Let's start with me and see if you can relate to my circumstance.

I started working when I was twelve years old. Didn't make much money and spent what I made on anything I could get my hands on. I worked for fast food establishments as a teenager, because that is what we all do at that age. It's hard work. There is not much appreciation at the workplace. You can be replaced easily, even though you think you may not be easy to replace.

Keep working hard and you may keep your job. This just sets the precedent for the rest of your life.

I joined the military in my early twenties. They pushed the concept of NCO (No chance outside), telling you that you have the best job available for your skill set ... for about half what you would make if your were doing the same thing in a civilian job.

Even so, you join their clubs and socialize (in the 80s, we called this drinking).

I got out of the military and finished a B.S. in Computer Science while unloading trucks, and setting records, for the largest employer in the United States. I'm a big guy. I've worked on training applications for a sister company to a Fortune 500 engineering and construction company, data collection applications for the largest vending and food distribution company in the United States, and cardiology computer systems for one of the largest employers in the Carolinas.

I continue to work for these companies and find myself broke, stressed out, disenchanted, and desperate. Being computer literate, and having used the Internet for about 15 years, I asked myself the question: "Why have I not tried to start an online home-based business? Len, you're smart enough to do something like this and you are not happy doing what you are doing now, why don't you try doing something different?"

So -- I did do something different, part time. I love this online home-based business so much that my biggest hope is to make it a full-time venture.

My market is other people who want to do the same, and who are asking lots of questions about how to do it.

I spend most of my spare time -- about two hours a day -- researching and writing articles. You can find them all if you search hard enough (search for my name in Google and look at the top). I don't have a lot at this point. I'm still pretty new at this. The results of my efforts are evident though; because I am already on page one of Google and MSN for some of my keywords after only 5 months of work.

I'm sure I'm making some other online home-based business owners very angry, because now they have to work a little harder to maintain their placement in the search engines. Oh well!

I don't get real fancy about marketing my online home-based business. I'm not spamming with because I don't do any E-mail marketing. I don't do it because I don't like the spam I'm currently receiving. I'm more likely to stop an E-zine subscription just because I'm receiving the same message over and over again. I haven't been able to figure out the science of Google Adwords, so I don't spend any money on ads.

That's for later -- when my business is more profitable than it is now and I can afford it. I've never been able to generate the kind of traffic with Adwords that I get from articles anyway.

Here are the things that I do on a routine basis, so far:

1. Articles - Write original content for the article directories and use Article Submitter Pro to submit them.

2. Search Engine Optimization -- Brad Callen's SEO Made Easy is a guideline to optimize articles and Web pages (online and offline optimization).

3. Linking Popularity -- Research external link partners and link to as many as is humanly possible. I also do a lot of internal linking.

4. Blogging - This is a great source for content and internal linking. I always link my posts back to all of my Web pages.

5. Article Directory - Owning an article directory is the fastest way to get internal back links. Every article contains a sponsor link back to the main web page.

6. Directory Submission - Directory Submitter has hundreds of internet directories for both one way and reciprocal links.

7. Forum Posting - Here it is again with the one-way links. I think the search engines just like to see the online home-based business owner engaged regularly!

8. Looking at junk E-mail. Sorry if I step on any toes here, but I made the mistake of submitting my Website to the FFAs (Free For All). They sent me a thousand E-mails in one day!

I didn't know! This has tapered off now. Something about reporting it as SPAM to Yahoo (Oops!). I got banned from one of them, but that's OK. I don't like it when someone E-mails me saying that my ads are not working. I wish SPAM would go away.

9. Take lots of pictures - Used effectively, photos in your article directory profiles and on your own Web pages is an extraordinary introduction!

10. Relax and enjoy it - My main Web page got 399 visits yesterday. The trend is up. My Alexa rank is down, which is a good thing.

11. Start thinking - you know, this might just make it!

Expect no support from friends or family. Look at the surprise on their faces when your Web page shows up on page one of the search engines. The online home-based business owner looks for a rescue that can only come from within and is expressed in the design of something like a Web page or an article. That and their friends in the forums who are going through the same thing. Relief from the markets of drudgery and slavery could be just around the corner with all that great help.

Leonard Bartholomew, B.S. Computer Science. Satisfy your craving for a home based online business of your very own.

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By Delia Passi

Salesperson Rick escorts prospective customer Sandra to the door, and shakes her hand, then turns back to his office.

Rick (to himself): “That went great. I managed to hit every selling point and ask all the important questions. I am sure she is confident that we have what she wants. She will go home, get permission from her husband and probably bring him back, and sign the papers. If I don’t hear from her by the end of the week, I’ll follow up.”

Sandra (to herself): “What a waste of time, and like I have time to waste! I do not think he listened once to what I was saying, or maybe he was too preoccupied trying to get through his pitch. I hope I find someone soon who will be the right person to help me find the right car and the best deal. This is so frustrating.”

Selling is a communication process. Communication means the transmission of ideas or information. With women, the communication process becomes a bit more complex than just making your pitch or gathering information. It is apparent through my many years of training salespeople that selling to women is harder than selling to men. Women take longer, need more input, expect service that is more attentive, and require more follow-up. I have heard the same story repeatedly: Women are tougher customers to do business with, and they demand more service than men do.

So why bother? By now, you already know the drill. For one thing, anyone who succeeds in selling and servicing women customers will tell you that the extra effort will pay you back in multiples. You could say that 1 + 1 = 3. That means, sell well to one woman and she will reward you with her business, her loyalty (more business), and probably a large number of referrals to other women (and the beat goes on).

For another, there is an even larger payoff as well: Once you can effectively sell, market to, and retain women customers, you will have the tools to sell more successfully to anyone. Men may not need the extra attention—but will appreciate it. In addition, almost any target market you can name demands attentive adjustments to their way of shopping, deciding, and buying. Think minority markets. Think ethnic markets. Think Baby Boomers. Think seniors. Think about it: That means a lot of new business.

Now whether she likes the sales experience or not, eventually she has got to buy from someone. However, when given a choice, a woman will go out of her way to do business with someone who provides the experience she prefers.

What does this mean to you? As a salesperson, you can create an advantage for your product by providing an experience that cannot be found at your competitors.

Being the first one on your block to master the technique of selling to women is also more valuable than her business alone. Let’s face it: women talk. They like to share stories and compare notes. They care about sparing their friends or family unpleasant experiences.

The New Woman Customer

Women today have the discretionary and disposable income to buy more of whatever they want. They are the largest and best growth market out there—and they are never going back to the way things were.

The growing ranks of well-educated women are the ones who will go on to become the high earners in their professions. In addition, in corporate America, right now women hold the majority—50.5%—of management and professional jobs, according to Catalyst, even though they make up only 46.5% of the U.S. labor force.

That spells serious money to spend. Now that their lives have grown, women act even more decisively not only as buyers, but also as gatekeepers and deal-breakers. Clearly, we are well past the era of the dependent woman, whose access to financial wherewithal and purchasing decision-making was more passive and secondhand. The new breed of woman consumer today is educated, informed, and more empowered than ever.

Tips for car dealers:

1. Get your business in order first. That means making sure your showrooms and your environment/individual offices are women friendly.

2. Create a business and marketing plan to increase your business among women. Dealers who made the effort to create a plan have increased their sales among women up to 50%.

3. Put your active listening skills into high gear. Women claim that they are often “not heard” or understood.

4. Be patient. Recognize that women take more time in the sales process. Use this time to learn more about her.

5. Build trust with your women clients. That means returning her calls the same day, calling her quarterly just to connect, create anywhere from 5 to 10 points of contact throughout the year which can include newsletters, emails, holiday cards, etc. The more valuable the client, the more points of contact!

6. Be religious about the seven-step process to selling to women so that you will exceed her expectations and build your business through loyalty and referrals!

Delia Passi is president of MedeliaCommunications and former Group Publisher of Working Woman and Working Mother magazines. She is a nationally recognized speaker, sales trainer and author of the Winning Strategies for Marketing and Selling to Women, audio book series. For more information visit http://www.deliapassi.com.

Delia Passi is the nation’s leading authority on Selling to Women. As President and CEO of MedeliaCommunications, Passi supports companies in their efforts to be the very best in their industry at closing the deal with the woman customer and retaining that customer forever. Passi is a prominent speaker, trains thousands of sales representatives each year on how to better sell to women, and couples through a series of sales development, training programs that she has created. Passi is also the author of Winning the Toughest Customer, The Essential Guide to Selling to Women (Kaplan, 2006)

As a consultant to numerous Fortune 500 companies, Passi has had great success in forging strategic partnerships with corporations through sophisticated and unique programs that increased product/brand visibility, strengthened brand/product position, created greater credibility, and delivered a larger audience among women. Client companies include Washington Mutual, UPS, Xerox, Office Depot, HP and UBS.

Passi’s knowledge is complimented from a successful career of proven sales, marketing, branding, and entrepreneurial experience. Prior to founding MedeliaCommunications, Passi was the Group Publisher of Working Woman and Working Mother magazines. She began her career with the Xerox Corporation and quickly became one of the company’s top producers. It was when she switched to selling advertising that she recognized how a different approach worked so effectively when selling to women, who dominate the publishing environment.

Passi regularly speaks on Selling to Women, Marketing to Women, Target Selling, Target Marketing, Selling to Baby Boomer Women, Selling to Affluent Women, and Selling and Marketing to Women Business Owners across the nation. From 1998-2003, Passi sat on several advisory boards including Women in Communication’s Golf Matrix, Save the Children, NOW, and Boardroom Bound. She recently joined the New World Symphony in Miami as the Branding Committee Co-Chairperson for the Board of Directors.

Passi earned her BA degree in Psychology/Business and a certification in education, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the College of New Rochelle, NY. She resides in Aventura, Florida with her husband and three daughters.

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by Lawren Graf

I love taking pictures. I just can’t get enough. The more pictures I take the better I want to get. This also means that the more pictures I take; the more high quality equipment I want. It’s an addiction. Many photography hobbyists have the same problem I do. If you don’t want to pour all your money into your photography hobby, there is another option. You can turn that photography hobby into a successful photography business. A great way to get started doing this is through stock photography. Businesses all over are looking for pictures to use in brochures, websites, advertisements, and more. These businesses will happily pay for your pictures rather than hire a photographer to take pictures for them. Here are some tips on how to get started on making money from your photography.

The first thing you need to do to start your stock photography business is to decide if you want to sell your pictures on micro or macro stock photography sites. Micro stock sites (ie. istock, dreamstime, and shutterstock) operate on the premise that if you offer photography at a low price, you’ll get more sales (which they do). These sites sell pictures for as low as a dollar for small sizes, up to ten or twenty dollars for a large copy of your picture. They also offer other options like allowing prints, and exclusive license (they pay you a lot more but you can no longer sell the picture to anyone else). Photographers get a percentage of the sale, which can vary from 20 to 80 percent of the sale price. Many photographers don’t like these sites because they sell photography for much less than they feel it’s worth, but many small businesses rely on them for affordable stock pictures. The other option is macro stock photography (ie Alamy and MyLoupe). You will probably sell A LOT fewer pictures on macro stock sites, but on these sites you make significantly more per picture, usually around $250 per photo (as opposed to the 60 cents I made off my first micro sale). Most of these sites will only accept pictures with over 6MP, but if your camera has fewer pixels, you can learn to upsize your photo in an editing program. While it is your own choice which route to take, many photographers start out on micro sites and then start moving their best pictures over to macro photography sites as their skills improve. You should note that some macro sites will not do business with photographers who sell their work on micro sites, so be sure to check their policies before uploading.

Once you’ve started uploading pictures, you need to remember not to stop. The more pictures you have online, the more sales you will make. Most sites have uploading limits and if you can, you should try to put up as many pictures as you are allowed. You should also put your pictures on as many sites as possible. Many people have their favorite stock site and only look for pictures there. This means you can put shots up on multiple sites; although many sites will guarantee you a higher percentage if you decide to upload a picture to their site exclusively. I would try not to overlap picture on macro and micro sites since someone probably wont pay $300 for a picture they can get for $1.

The next key to becoming a top seller is to take pictures with content that sells. Whatever you’re subject is, you will almost assuredly sell more pictures if the background is a solid color. Black and white are the best, but any solid color will work. Generally people want a subject without a background. If the background is a solid color, it’s much easier to remove with an editing program. If you want to know what subjects sell best, most sites have a section where you can see their most popular downloads. Just remember to get inspiration from these photographs, don’t copy them. If all else fails, you can never go wrong with pictures of people. You will need to get releases signed ahead of time for pictures of people with recognizable faces and also of recognizable property.

Hopefully these tips will help you get started making money with your photography. Just remember that, just like getting the perfect shot, starting your business takes time. You just need to work hard and not give up, no matter how slowly it starts. Many people started out slowly and are now making enough on stock photography sites to take photographs full time.

Lawren Graf is a writer for http://www.digitalshotsguide.com/. Be sure to sign up for her informative and helpful digital photography newsletter at http://www.digitalshotsguide.com/.
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By Andreas Sundstrom

Running a traditional brick and mortar business with an online presence, is one very good way to make a part of your living online. However, for the purposes of this article, we are going to assume that you do not have your own business. Therefore, I am going to discuss two of the biggest online moneymakers right now: online business opportunities and affiliate marketing.

Network marketing

The typical online business opportunity built around a network-marketing concept, inheriting the basic qualities of the offline business model that has been available for many decades. The basic idea is that you recruit two or more people, who in their turn recruit two, and in this way your efforts, (at least in theory), are greatly leveraged.

The main difference doing this online is that, utilizing the power of the Internet, you as a network marketer can literally reach people all over the planet.

The problem with the network marketing, or "mlm", concept is it sounds so good on paper - excessively good. Most people who join with a company of this type tend to get a dose of Mr. Reality rather soon.

They discover that recruiting new people, which is what mlm’s are all about - even if they try to tell you differently -, is not at all a simple process. There have been plenty of fraudulent businesses in this niche, and people tend to stay on their toes as soon as they hear the words mlm or network marketing.

To further complicate things, this business model is also based on you paying a set monthly fee - whether you make any money or not, which means many people who start this kind of business actually end up losing money.

It is definitely possible to make a good living in network marketing, but it is definitely not for everybody. "Getting in on the ground floor" is allegedly not always as good as it seems.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is similar to network marketing, in the sense that you will be promoting a product produced by another company or person. This can make life simpler for you, as the merchant usually takes care of all shipping and customer support issues. Amazon.com is probably one of the most well-known (and respected) companies utilizing the power of affiliate partnerships.

As an affiliate, your task is simply to refer new clients to the merchant. When these people buy something, you receive credit with a certain percentage of the sale.

Contrary to network marketing, acting as an affiliate marketer, is generally free. There are certain companies that have a hybrid structure between network and affiliate marketing, which require you to pay a start-up and/or monthly fee to market their products. Most affiliate programs are completely free to join. I would personally stay away from those using their affiliate programs as an income generator, in its own right, or "affiliate sharks”, as one marketer aptly named them.

Affiliate programs are a great way that anyone can start to make money online, without having to invest a lot of money, if indeed any at all.

However, there are certain strategies and marketing methods you need to be knowledgeable of, if you are to make anything but peanuts with your affiliate marketing.

Choosing the right affiliate program, and promoting it to the right people in the right way is an art form in its own right. The people who are good at this, generally referred to as "super affiliates", make a very good living doing nothing else than selling other people's products.

If you are looking to make an additional income from the Internet, or eventually even replace your current income altogether, affiliates marketing is a great way to get started. To achieve the success you desire, you should study and learn the same techniques “super affiliates” use on a day-to-day basis.

Andreas Sundstrom has made a full time living online for the past six years, largely thanks to the power of free affiliate programs. At his website http://www.webhosting-tips.info/affiliate/ he will share some of the most important super affiliate secrets.

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When the internet started, banner advertising was one of
the most popular ways to advertise. However, once this kind
of advertising became popular, it dramatically reduced its
effect. People became blind towards banner ads and click through rates become as low as 0.5%. However, many top
internet marketers still use banner advertising as one of
their top-producing strategies. You will reap the rewards
with internet banner advertising once you know how to apply
the correct marketing strategies.

One of the most challenging aspects of banner advertising is to
get people to actually click on your banner. With all the
banners looking like adverts, people have become oblivious
to this. Design your banner so it doesn't look like an
advert. Make the background white, because this makes it
blend in and look like content. Then, use blue text to
denote the advertisement. People are conditioned by using
the internet to associate blue with a hyperlink and this
will make them click on it. Use a good attention-grabbing
headline, for example; "How To Lose 30 Pounds In 20 Days".

Once you have created your banner, you need to find good
places on the internet to advertise. I suggest you look for
websites related to yours and then contact the owners
directly. Use your negotiating skills to try to lower the
advertising rate until you are satisfied that you have a good deal.

Also, try to get at least a 30 day trial to test the effectiveness of the internet banner advertising on that peticular site before you enter into a long term contract.

You will also need to create an appropriate landing page for your banner advertisement. This could be in the form of a
squeeze page. I would strongly suggest that you do not send
your visitor to a sales page as a visitor usually needs to
see your offer at least 7 times before they will consider
buying.

Follow these internet banner advertising tips and you will
find that you can produce substantially more traffic to
your website as well as increase your profits.

Would you like to know more about the traffic techniques have helped me to drive thousands of visitors to my website? I have just completed my new guide.

Download it free here: http://www.secretaffiliatetips.com

Mark Abrahams is a full time internet marketer who has helped others to earn a living online.]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_LRi_316/user/index.php
By Jo Han Mok

If you're ever bored and want to stir up some trouble, go to an Internet marketing forum and post a question asking how well E-zine advertising fares in comparison to other marketing methods.

The answers you get are likely to be diametrically opposed. This is not only because each marketer has his own product to sell and it is in his best interest to justify the purpose of that product, but it is also because there has been a genuine debate raging for the past few years about the effectiveness and direction of E-zines and E-zine advertising.

There are those who posit that E-zine advertising is dead or is near the bottom of a very steep decline. They see the average person as being overwhelmed by superfluous emails on a daily basis, some coming from friends and others coming from businesses and E-zines.

In their eyes, this amounts to a continuing decrease in attention paid to any emails that look business related, even if they specifically subscribed to them.

Additionally, they argue that many people forget that they joined lists and eventually begin to ignore emails coming from that address. And all of this is true, which is precisely why it is important to take it into consideration when you are conducting E-zine advertising campaigns.

So -- how can you affectively advertise in E-zines and reap a profit from affiliate products?

There are a number of different ways, of which, I will cover three below:

1. Target E-zines that are related to your specific affiliate product.

Create a viral report that is related to your affiliate product. Purchase sponsor ads in reputable E-zines and send all of those interested to a page where they can download your viral report for free. This report will have an embedded affiliate link, which will generate sales on your behalf.

2. Create a persuasive solo ad.

Again, start off by purchasing solo ad space in cheaper E-zines -- ones that are responsive, but have a low subscription count. Test your solo ads to determine your approximate conversion rate with the given affiliate product. Once you have a rough handle on your profit margin, attempt to market your solo ads in larger publications, including e-zines with subscriber bases of over 100,000. Keep in mind that this will be expensive, but it will also pay off, if you did your homework in the previous steps.

3. Last, consider targeting high-end online publications with your ads.

These will include ones that don't normally include their sites in E-zine directories, such as authority sites that publish a monthly E-zine in PDF format. These often have high response rates and will similarly draw the best response if you use them correctly.

Jo Han Mok is a #1 bestselling author and frequent featured speaker at Internet Marketing bootcamps and conferences. Visit his website for a simple step-by-step plan to profit online in 21 days or less! http://www.SuperFastProfit.com.

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By Dali Singh

Having greatly benefited from my relationship with Google within the past several years, I thought I would take the opportunity to dedicate this article to the search engine superstar.

I have to be brutally honest and relay that our friendship has not always been rosy. I happen to know her, (Google), several years back, when she was just a small fish in a big pond. I started to analyze her every move and realized that she is a fickle, clever, and extremely mysterious being. Regardless of her ways, I decided to be more acquainted. Here are a few things I learned along the way:

When it comes to logic, she is the queen.

In other words, avoid participating in anything that may blacklist you from this search engine, including keyword stuffing, link farms, and hosting 50 "sister" sites on the same server. Keyword stuffing does not simply refer to the content of your site, but also within the alt tags, headers, URLs and any additional areas of your web site.

She likes to stay focused.

When optimizing the individual pages of your web site, try to hone in on 1-2 relevant keywords per web page. Analyze each page and identify which keyword would be most suitable. If you decide to optimize for two keywords per page, make sure they are similar in context. For example, if you are optimizing for the key phrase "insurance leads", you may also consider optimizing for "insurance sales leads" within the same page.

She loves to travel.

Google loves links, whether they are inbound or outbound. Lots of research has focused on inbound links, but little has focused on the number of links on an actual page. Google has not published this theory in the academic papers; it appears that Google favors sites with several internal and outbound links over pages without links. If you have any doubts about this theory, simply do a search on any high volume keyword or phrase within this search engine, and analyze the first few sites that come up. Notice how the majority of them have numerous internal links on the main pages of their web site.

She is in popular demand and expects the same from you.

The more popular your site is across the Web, the more Google will favor you. Obviously, having several high quality inbound links to your site is key in achieving higher rankings. When identifying web sites for inbound links, target the ones that are highly relevant to your site. For example, if you run a jewelry site, look for websites that are purely informational on the topic of jewelry or gemstones. Also, make sure that the sites you decide to collaborate with have a good PageRank (at least a 5) and online presence.

To save yourself a lot of hassle, conduct a keyword search relevant to your business and target the web sites that show up on the 1st and 2nd pages (weeding out the competition) of Google. Contact the webmasters of those sites, tell them about your company, and find useful ways to compensate them for adding your company's information on their site. If you have an affiliate program, do not be shy to pitch it. If you have an online advertising budget, offer them a Pay Per Click deal or monthly advertising fee for promoting your web site. Please note that collaborating with these sites or purchasing ads should complement your overall marketing & business development strategy and not be useful for getting link value.

She gets bored easily

Regardless of whether your site is informational, e-commerce, or just a sophisticated version of a business card, having quality content is crucial. Adding to that factor is how often you update your site's content.

If you run a site that has new content added on a daily basis then eventually the Google "freshbot" will start visiting your site on a daily basis and indexing your new content into the database (hence the popularity of blogs). When you update content, Google will visit your site and index it quicker.

If you have not already noticed, keeping pace with Google is not an easy undertaking. It takes a certain level of knowledge, skill and creativity to truly benefit from this relationship. The rest is up to the stars.

Dali Singh is the managing director for Blueliner Marketing (www.bluelinermarketing.com), a full service marketing and Internet consultancy specializing in internet marketing and web site promotion strategies, public relations, and corporate branding.

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By Elias Georgi

One of the fundamental choices many new successful home business operators must deal with is how to continue growing their income levels once they have found their way through the initial stages of start up and growth. Expansion of your operations usually involves more space and hiring people to assist in growing their business.

A decision to expand operations cannot be taken lightly. You have been very successful operating your home business out of your home and income has met your expectations, yet you feel there are more opportunities available. These are fundamental decisions every successful entrepreneur must make since it involves more responsibility.

One of the most significant items to consider is the increase in overhead costs; rental of space, additional equipment, additional supplies, and inventory, as well as employees to pay. These are a few of the items to consider as part of your decision to expand your work at home income level.

The increase in sales and revenue must be able to carry these expenses. The first step is to evaluate how much additional revenue must be generated to cover the increased cost. Margin levels may change, so it is important to assess this level as well. Many entrepreneurs fail to ensure there are sufficient levels of margin to cover their expenses and provide them with profit.

Leveraging your business with increased sales is definitely the way to go. With the proper levels of assessment and planning, entrepreneurs will be able to facilitate the success of their initial business to evolve into a large business operation. As you expand, there are items you overlooked that were not factored into the cost of operation.

For example, training of new employees or subcontractors is also considered overhead and missed by many. Training materials, as well as, time to learn the various tasks need to be allocated and paid for. Many employees are there to earn a living, not to build a business. When quitting time comes, they leave their jobs even though there may be customers waiting for service or work piling up. Entrepreneurs who are invested financially and emotionally often have a very difficult time adjusting to these attitudes.

Finally, you may decide to use a bank loan to leverage your business and grow it. Your bank may request income statements and you must be able to show progress financially month over month towards profitability, in addition to paying your loan. Neither the entrepreneur, nor the bank relishes this role as investor; they will sometimes become quite involved in daily operations from a financial perspective.

Managing these types of issues takes more and more time from daily operations and productionFind Article, which also must be accounted for as you expand your home business income levels.

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

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By Steven Gerber

Computers are one of the most amazing inventions ever made by man. Because of this gadget, many improvements have been made. Moreover, it does not end there. The introduction of the internet enhanced the use of the computer. Communications were vastly improved, and different businesses are finding the net a very useful tool in conducting their business.

Affiliate programs are making their way in the internet world. It is a great business opportunity for any individual who desires to earn unlimited income. It does not matter if you have a present job, or if you are just staying at home. As long as you have an internet connection, you can be an affiliate.

Is there an exact way to master affiliate programs? There are many sources on the internet, which say they can teach you ways to master affiliate programs. However, do not believe in those deceptions, oftentimes they are too misleading. Look for a good source, one that is true, and already tested.

Affiliate programs are great because you do not need an initial investment to start such a venture. People with no business capital are easily attracted to this kind of business opportunity. You will be part of a particular company's sales force, and you will be working on a commission basis.

E-commerce sites run affiliate programs to enable them to increase sales figures. Affiliates usually have their own websites where they place banner/button ads and text ads on email messages that promote the products of the e-commerce site. The affiliates are paid with a certain percentage of each sale they are able to make.

Affiliates program is a practical business. You can do it part time, or if you are serious about it, you can do it full time. If you exert your efforts on it full time, you are guaranteed to earn more money than the casual affiliate.

Before deciding to become an affiliate, you must first establish your own website. This is where you will display all promotional information of your 'mother' company. Casual affiliates use email newsletters to get leads for the company but having a site is much more advantageous, especially to the serious affiliate.

The next step is to find an effective way to drive a large number of possible subscribers to your site. You might consider purchasing a list of emails or ads to increase traffic to your site. If in the real world, you are always avoiding traffic, well on the net, you will be looking forward for it. You can also combine traffic and newsletters. However, make sure that you follow the company's regulations regarding email marketing.

Hundreds or even thousands of companies offer affiliate programs. There is a need to choose one particular affiliate program that catches your interest. In any venture that you undertake, you must love what you are doing. In addition, if you know the products that the company offers, then it will be easier for you to sell it to other prospects.

The business opportunity that you have been waiting for may lie within these affiliate programs. Do not be scared of the competition on the net, if you can survive the challenges that you are about to face, then it means you deserve the money that you are earning. If you are competitive enough, you will earn a great deal of money.

Steven Gerber is a professional copywriter & marketing consultant. He is a student of Dan Lok, the World's #1 Website Conversion Expert, & in Steven's totally biased opinion simply THE BEST. You will find the latest internet marketing techniques & tricks at: http://www.websiteconversionexpert.com.

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By Karl Stadler

Is AdSense Arbitrage just an old hype revisited for the profit of a few or does it have a future as a successful online business?

'Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.' Henry Ford. This quote holds true for anything you attempt. It is all about the belief you have in yourself to achieve success.

When speaking about the subject of AdSense arbitrage, you will find eyebrows rising. It looks upon it as a 'black hat' method of making money as an online business. This is due to a bad name it acquired from people who misused the system.

Fortunately, this is now behind us largely, thanks to the Google slap down on landing pages.

AdSense arbitrage has become a viable business model for a sustained online income, provided, of course, you know what you are doing and don't go against the system but work toward the betterment of the system.

AdSense arbitrage is not a new concept or secret idea that has just arisen; it has been around for a while. The concept behind AdSense arbitrage is simple, you buy advertising from adwords or another PPC engine, and you send the traffic to a landing page of your own with AdSense advertising. People click on the AdSense ads and you are paid. Your profit is made up of the difference between what you pay for the click and are paid for the click on your page.

This may seem relatively easy to achieve, but there are some points you need to consider very carefully before placing your ads and landing pages.

1. You have to research your keyword and make sure it will be profitable. To get an indication of the profitability factor of your keyword, make use of the Overture bid tool. Type in your keyword and look at the difference in the bid prices between ad one and ad ten. The higher the difference in bid prices between the first ad and the last ad the higher your chances of success. This is not a clear indication that it will be profitable, but it is a good indicator of what is going on in that specific area of the market linked to the keyword. Based on this information, you should then research the keyword further.

2. Target your landing page to the visitor who clicked on your ad. Optimize the page for the keyword you chose, or else the wrong AdSense ads will be displaying on your page.

3. The content of the landing page should be no less that 300 words and must be relevant to the keyword and adwords ad you placed.

4. The AdSense ad placement is of optimal importance to ensure a high click through rate and successful AdSense arbitrage.

Like in any business online and off line there is a risk factor. It is the same with AdSense arbitrage and there are many who have gotten it wrong and given it up as a bad business idea.

Then of course, there are those who persisted and believed in what is possible and now are reaping the rewards of a good monthly income from AdSense arbitrage.

I would like to go back to one more quote, and it holds true for every thing you do.

'Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently’. Henry Ford. He built cars and made it happen, you can make your business happen Free Articles, and it is entirely your choice.

Find the underlying cause of the business and see how AdSense arbitrage will benefit you and your online business with a sustained long-term income. Visit http://www.yourenterprize.com/adsense/adsense-arbitrage.html .

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By Mal Keenan

Increase Your Google AdSense Income with Simple Two Minute and Highly Effective Changes...

I have been adding Google AdSense to my websites for a couple of years now with great success. It is amazing how AdSense earnings can turn into another significant monthly income stream with little effort on your part. Once the ads are added to your site, there is little or no maintenance.

Some internet marketers are earning $100s and even $1000s per day with AdSense. Although I have not reached that level, I have learned a little over the years to make the most profit from the AdSense ads on my pages.

Here are my five most effective ways to maximize your AdSense earnings:

1. Blend the Ads in with your Site - Create colors for your ads that will blend in with the colors on your website. The idea is to make the ads look less like ads and more like another part of your site. To do this, make the AdSense ad border and background the same color as your website background. Also, make the link text the same color as your website link text. This small change should significantly increase your AdSense click thru rate.

2. Place the Ads Correctly - Place the ads in a prominent position on your website, no point placing the ads where they will not be seen by the vast majority of your websites visitors. The most effective places to position your ads are at the top centre of your site and at the top right hand-side. Website visitor eyes tend to move from top centre to top right so anywhere in this area is good and of course, you can find the most appropriate ads to fit well in these areas.

3. Choose the Most Profitable Ad Format - Through testing it has been found that the most effective Google AdSense format is the (338x280) large rectangle. This ad will outperform all the others, but do not sacrifice the design of your website by squeezing one of these ads in where it will not look right. Placing a large rectangle in the centre of the page is more preferable to putting it in one of the side columns where the layout will be affected.

4. Wrap Your Content - Through proper formatting, you can wrap the content of your site around the ads. This is especially effective when wrapping a website article around a (338x280) ad. If you visit any of my sites that have articles on them, you can see how this looks. For instructions on how to do this, go to Google, and search-("wrap text around Google AdSense").

5. Maintain Relevant Content - Although Google's automatic script for targeting ads to the content of your site is often first class, there are times when it does not match the right ad to your content. The way to avoid this is to place good quality targeted content on your pages. If you are creating websites specifically to earn from Google, then make sure to focus the keywords around one topic. Placing various keywords on a variety of unrelated topics will result in untargeted ads on your site.

The most important point when placing Google AdSense on your websites is to stay within Google's terms of service, which you can find on their site. Many people have lost their AdSense accounts through flirting with dodgy practices in order to increase earnings. This may pay off in the short term, but Google will always catch you in the end.

Mal Keenan is editor and publisher of Home Business Tips Newsletter: Latest home based business ideas (http://www.home-business-tips-newsletter.com/). To Find Out What Was My Greatest Lucky Break in My 6 Years of Frustration, check out: Real home based internet business (http://www.freeadvertz.com/).

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by Michael Moshkovich

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Donna Gunter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Steven Gerber

If you want to produce a profitable web site, then affiliate programs are the ideal approach.

Certain affiliates of companies or corporations are looking for help regarding their marketing. The affiliates' money weighs greatly on the commissions taken from the players’ registrations, and most often; these affiliates do not know how to carry this alone. Thus, they need an instructor to get the proper methods in affiliate programs.

This instructor is the internet itself. The affiliates, who study the procedure, simply visit the web sites and search on the programs concerning affiliate marketing. These web sites along with the programs are presenting the various schemes of marketing that the affiliates can apply to boost their lower commissions.

These affiliates expect to widen their knowledge regarding marketing, if they will search the web sites further, and the affiliate marketing programs.

For instance, the use of a banner is the largest element of affiliate marketing programs. Then, the web sites and the affiliate marketing programs will detail everything to the affiliates.

The affiliates can utilize a banner on other web sites to employ traffic to the site of their mother company where they are an affiliate employee. This is the main thing covered by the affiliate marketing programs and sites.

These web sites and programs are stressing the use of banners because it performs a vital function in employing traffic on the sites endorsed by the affiliates.

The assistance of banners in employing traffic is very effective, though this is not the sole scheme to augment the affiliates' commissions. The web sites and programs cannot deny the fact of the success it brings compared to the others.

These affiliates are always searching for possible ways to boost their earnings and turn it into bulk profit, to increase their commissions as affiliates. Likewise, they are also finding ways to learn the strategies in marketing their works as affiliates.

Hence, when these needs occur, they immediately search for the offers on the internet that could help them. This occurrence directly means a profit for the websites and affiliate marketing programs owners.

The affiliates, on their own, utilize these affiliate marketing program web sites as an advantage as they look for guidance in boosting their incomes.

There are numerous ways to boost the affiliates profits; ways that are not entirely familiar for the affiliates. These designed web sites increase their knowledge and help them to grasp a deeper understanding, and with this knowledge, they were able to generate more money.

These programs and web sites instruct the affiliates on various things that are concerned in increasing their profits. Through this, it is not impossible for them to accumulate commissions as gambling affiliates.

These web sites and programs have been a great help in boosting the affiliates status in marketing. Even today, these programs and web sites earn more income as they assist these affiliates into profitable commissions.

It is a give and take process, as the web sites and programs feed the minds of the affiliates about the competent marketing strategies and skillsScience Articles, which later turns into revenues or their commissions. These web sites and programs likewise earn them turnovers.

Steven Gerber is a professional copywriter & marketing consultant. He is a student of Dan Lok, the World's #1 Website Conversion Expert, & in Steven's totally biased opinion simply THE BEST. You will find the latest internet marketing techniques & tricks at: http://www.websiteconversionexpert.com.

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By Steve Renner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Titus Hoskins

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Introduce yourself or your product

2. Create buzz during a product launch

3. Build your list by offering free videos

4. Create video content to enrich your site

5. Build a more personal relationship with subscribers

6. Keep in contact with your clients

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

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

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

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

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

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By Alicia Forest

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

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

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

Here are five ideas I typically share with them:

1. Evergreen Ezine

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

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

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

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

2. Ecourse

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

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

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

3. Audio Tip

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

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

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

4. Blog

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

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

5. VIP List

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

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

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

Copyright 2006 Alicia M Forest and Client Abundance

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

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By Elias Georgi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Steven Gerber

Selling is one of the best ways to earn money. Actual selling can be difficult, especially if you need to go to different places, carry your products, and offer it face to face with your customer. Some are even ashamed to do the actual physical selling, because they do not want to face rejection.

Selling, nowadays, is done through physical product selling, and through affiliate programs. Have you heard of that term before? If you are new on the net, it simply means selling a product or service through commission basis. However, this involves online selling, unlike the physical selling that most people dread.

If you have your own website, it is much easier to start an affiliate program. It is an opportunity that you must not ignore. It can offer you a considerable sum of money, if you know what it is all about, and how it works

Here are important things that you should know before you join an affiliate program:

1. There are different types of affiliate programs; including the pay per sale, pay per click, and pay per lead, bounty, and two-tier.

Once a customer buys a particular item, you will be paid a commission by 'pay per sale'.

The 'pay per click' type pays you every time a customer visits the site, and it does not matter if the customer made a purchase or not, however, you will earn more if the customers purchase something. With a PPC type, companies pay at the range of .05 dollars to .15 dollars.

You are paid a one-time fee only for each customer that visits the site; the payment is usually between two dollars to five dollars. If a customer signs an application, you will get the higher yield.

If you refer a customer, you will get a finder's fee. In the future, if the customer makes any purchases, you will no longer receive a commission, and this is called a bounty.

If you make direct sales, you get a commission; and if your sub-affiliates generate sales, you will also obtain a commission out of their sales, this is called two-tiered.

2. The benefits of an affiliate program include: Bringing prospects to visit your site. You will not deal with people such as wholesalers, brokers, customer service, employees, technical support, process orders, warranties, and many more. You do not need to stay on your computer to keep track of the site. You are free to go for a vacation, rest, etc.; and you can do it from anywhere as long as there is an internet connection.

After weighing all these factors, it is time to decide if you will join an affiliate program. Once you decide to join, the company will give you a URL or a link. This links are used to gain access to the company's website.

This will allow the company to monitor your website, and the payment or commission that should be given to you.

Affiliate programs make money, so why not join the force. The internet is just there waiting for interested people who are willing to venture into different business opportunities. If you are capable, and can become an effective affiliate Computer Technology Articles, act now and join.

Steven Gerber is a professional copywriter & marketing consultant. He is a student of Dan Lok, the World's #1 Website Conversion Expert, & in Steven's totally biased opinion simply THE BEST. You will find the latest internet marketing techniques & tricks at: http://www.websiteconversionexpert.com .

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By Alicia Forest

Did you know almost every person who visits your website would leave without buying? However, there are things you can do to get the most from your website visitors that can make a big difference in your bottom line. I share four of them in this article.

Did you know almost every person who visits your website would leave without buying? I know that sounds disheartening, but it is true. Just think of all the sites you have been on yourself and you have not bought from, right? However, do not be discouraged. There are things you can do to get the most from your website visitors, which can make a big difference in your bottom line. Here are four of them:

1. Use Pop-Ups...or use pop-unders…or use pop-up-tomorrow, or use whatever latest 'pop' technology is available today. Yes, they do annoy some people, but internet marketing stats tell us that they work. In addition, the one that works the best is the "exit pop", those ones that say, "wait! before you leave... take advantage of this...”

If you do decide to use pop-ups, use them sparingly so as not to annoy your visitor. You can also use pop-ups to implement any of the following strategies:

2. Invite them to be on your list...

Most people will not buy from you on the first pass. You need to build a relationship with your prospects in order for them to feel comfortable investing any of their hard-earned cash with you.

Give them an opportunity to join your list so you can build that relationship. Invite them to receive a free taste of what it is that you are offering - ezine, special report, checklist - so they get on your list. You then have the opportunity to market to them over time, which will build that relationship which will lead to more sales.

3. Find out why they are leaving...

Ask them why they are leaving your site. Not everyone will tell you, but the feedback you do receive is gold. You can then make any appropriate adjustments to your website to increase your sales and opt-in conversion rates.

4. Make another offer...

If they did not purchase on the first pass, make them another offer. Offer them another product or program of yours that's at a lower price point, or send them to someone else's site whose offering might benefit them instead, preferable one of which you highly recommend and are an affiliate of so you can earn a small commission for your referral.

Pick one of the aboveFree Web Content, test it, and see how it works for you. You are sure to increase your list numbers and your sales numbers if you start implementing even one of these strategies today.

Copyright 2007 Alicia M Forest and Client Abundance

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

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By Alicia Forest

Leverage the page your website visitors see after they sign up for your list or make a purchase. This article shares four ways to utilize this space to increase your marketing and sales without having to do more work.

I have a question for you: When people sign up to receive your ezine or other Free Taste of what it is you are offering, where do they end up? Do they see a polite thank you page from you? Do they see the default confirmation page from your list service? Do they see nothing? Are left wondering if the registration went through? People who are signing up for your list expect to see a page afterwards as a normal part of the transaction. On that page, it is important to thank them for signing up and make them feel good about their decision. Also, if you are using a double opt-in for your list, let them know they need to confirm their subscription before they will receive the information they requested from you.

There is more you can do with this page, so why not leverage it? Here are a few ideas on how to accomplish this:

1. Add, Tell-A-Friend. Most people are happy to refer you to someone else they know who might benefit from what you are offering, if you will just ask them.

You can do this easily by simply asking them to point others to your sign-up page, or by using a simple referral software program, like TAFPro, which creates a simple form to fill in with a name and email address of the person whom they are referring. Once they hit send, an email goes directly to the recipient and a copy comes to you. This is a great way to add new subscribers to your list without you having to do more work.

2. Make another offer. The best time to make an offer to someone is when interacting with you. Someone who just signed up to receive information from you is likely to be interested in something else you have to offer. Use this page to make an offer on one of your lower ticket items in your funnel. By doing so, you will gain sales you would not otherwise.

3. Ask a question. This is a prime time to gather a little market research from your readers. Ask a simple question, like "What's your biggest challenge with X?" (X represents your niche, what it is that you are offering). Add an email link where they can send their answer, and then use this information as you continue to develop offerings for your target market.

Doing this also helps in starting to build a relationship with your readers, and it keeps you up-to-date as to what they are struggling with right now so you can offer the solutions they want.

4. Refer them elsewhere. Hook up with a colleague to start trading some thank you page traffic. On your thank you page, say something like, "I know you'll also benefit from (name of ezine), published by (name of publisher)." Then give them instructions on how to sign up. Your colleague would do the same for you on their thank you page.

I implement all four of these strategies on various thank you pages, which are helping me build a stronger relationship with my readers, find out what it is that they want my help with, build my list faster and easier, (while helping a handful of colleagues build theirs), and make more sales by making more offers.

I encourage you to leverage your thank you pages this way in your own business. Making them work double-duty for you will absolutely create the same results for you that I'm enjoying, Computer Technology Articles, so pick one and start working it today.

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

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By Elias Georgi

Maybe you have just retired or perhaps you been laid off from your company. Now you have lots of time to pursue other activities and you are wondering if you should look for another job or try to develop something at home. Many people have difficulty coming up with ideas to work at home, and there are thousands of ideas to choose.

We cover a few approaches you can try in this article.

Anyone who has just retired or been laid off goes through a transition of emotions which can include shock at not having somewhere to go in the morning, to boredom, to significant concern about how they are going to pay the bills for themselves and their families. If you have decided to look for a job, there are specific approaches people use to find work, which include developing a resume, sorting through job openings, and most important, networking to let people know they are available, as well as, hear about openings that may be available.

Use these same skills and approaches in the quest for finding ideas to work from home. Although you will not need to have a resume, it is still important to develop an inventory of your skills, which you can use to assess any idea that you may consider. It is also useful to assist in deciding what additional skills you may need to make your work at home endeavor successful.

Networking with people who are already in the work at home area is very useful. You will obtain ideas, and pick up many useful hints and tips that may assist you in developing and starting a work from home business. Networking with people in person, and online, can be equally important. However, in both cases take care to protect your privacy and find legitimate ideas. There are many scams on the Internet. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is so consider each one carefully.

Successful entrepreneurs in every field usually start by asking what problem my solution will solve for the customer. Many people are willing to spend their money on solutions that solve problems for them and your trick is to find the one that does this for a large number of people. The key acid test for considering any work at home business idea is to ask yourself Science Articles, what problem I solve for my customer and how much is it worth to him.

Lastly, carry pen and paper with you at all times and jot down ideas as they come to you for consideration later. Sometimes the most amazing ideas will come to you as you are sitting enjoying coffee in your local coffee shop.

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

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By Karl Stadler

Some AdSense sites are performing well and others just exist in the abyss of cyberspace. Make sure your AdSense site is the successful one and keep it out of the abyss.

What makes AdSense work? There are many ideas, as there are theories. Some maintain it is the placement of the ad on the page, some say integrate it into the page, and it must have the look and feel of the webpage. It should be at the top, in this format, and so the secrets continue.

There is only one secret to AdSense success; it is nothing more than traffic. Without substantial traffic, your AdSense pages will not make you money. There is proof of this statement, just look at the click through rate you are receiving on your current pages. You will immediately notice that it takes many visitors to generate a click.

If things go really well, you could have as high as fifty percent and upwards CTR. This is possible, has been done and proven, but it will not just happen on any old page.

Placement of the ad does play a role but it is not as big as many would like you to believe. Information on the best placement of AdSense code on your page is no secret and is free information on Google. It is called a heat map. It will show you exactly where to place your ads for maximum exposure and CTR.

The problem with most AdSense driven sites is exactly that, they are AdSense driven. Nobody seems to care about the visitor landing on the page, becoming click machines supposed to make you money. According to most AdSense sites, they are there for you and not the other way around. No second thought is given to the surfing experience of the visitor.

You have been made to believe that you need a multitude of sites and use all sorts of templates and secret positioning tactics for maximum income. Therefore, every second some would-be AdSense millionaire is putting up thousands of crappy pages all over the internet to get those AdSense clicks that will elevate them to the illusive four and five figure AdSense earners. They tend to forget the internet marketplace is probably the most dynamic market there is, and changes every day. Certain elements remain the same. You have to be able to broaden your thinking and think out of the box.

Let us go back to the least important person for most AdSense publishers, the visitor to the page. These poor souls land on your pages through either generic or PPC traffic. Either way, you have the possibility t they might be clicking on one of your AdSense links. The only driving force for the visitor to click your link is he found the information on your page that related to his search. After going through your page, he will click on one of your links in AdSense to further his search.

Now AdSense displays relevant ads on your page based on the content of the page. If the visitor is not finding what they are looking for, how do you expect AdSense to find related content ads to place on your page?

By considering your visitor and actually providing for them, you are also insuring for yourself that the correct AdSense ads will be displaying on your pages, and hence will deliver a good CTR. Just putting up one thousand new pages with some template or other automatic page-creating device will certainly not hit the mark.

You would probably be better off with ten well designed and optimized pages, not only for the search engines, but also for your visitors Business Management Articles, and you might be able to ensure a profitable AdSense campaign.

There will always be elements that remain a constant no matter how dynamic the market. Utilize these to their best effect, and change with the dynamics and be as profitable as you can. To get the real information visit http://www.yourenterprize.com/adsense/adsense-secrets.htm

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By Juste Gnimavo

There are two types of marketing: unsolicited e-mail (cold selling), and opt-in selling. Keep them in mind when you create your messages and build your subscriber list. I highly recommend you do not engage in cold selling. This is considered spam. If enough people report your address as spam, you will be banned from ISPs and search engines. The occasional sale you see from cold selling will not be enough to compensate for you being blacklisted on the internet.

On the other hand, building an opt-in list is a perfectly acceptable and highly successful method that will keep you from being labeled, bad business. With an opt-in list, people ask to be added to your subscriber database because they are interested in your topic. Opt-in subscribers should always be given the option to opt out.

However, you would be surprised how many people do not bother clicking the unsubscribe link, and eventually make their way to your site to investigate your product further.

When preparing your autoresponder messages, it is imperative to strike a balance between excitement and hype about your product.

You must avoid wording your messages so they look, feel, and smell like spam, even if they have been requested. This means following the rules of creating direct and simple messages. For example, no writing in ALL CAPS, or putting seven exclamation points at the end of every paragraph.

Here are also a few other deadly spam sins to avoid:

Just about every e-mail program has built-in spam filters that route unwanted messages to a separate folder, often called a "bulk" folder, whose contents are routinely deleted by either the program or the owner of the account. Following the suggestions above for avoiding spam-type messages will go a long way toward ensuring your autoresponders is not diverted to an early grave.

Here are more tips on beating spam filters and verification programs:

1. On your "Thank You" pages, remind your subscriber:

- His must check his email for a confirmation message from YOUR NAME (or your email address) and must click on the activation link in order to receive YOUR OFFER.

- If he is using spam blockers such as SpamBully, SpamArrest, Earthlink, KnowSpam or FilterMy, and did not get your email: it may have been blocked by his computer's, or ISP's spam filters, or trapped in his spam (or bulk) folder.

- If he does not receive your welcome email, indicate to him to check his trash or spam folders.

2. 4 steps to follow in sending your messages in the mail box of your subscribers.

- Never, begin your subject line with ADV: or include the word "advertisement".

- Never use the word "free" in the subject line-especially in all caps.

- In fact, never use the word FREE (in all caps) anywhere in the message. If possible, avoid using all caps altogether.

- From address: When you set up your web site and associated e- mail accounts, do not name any account sales@yourdomainname.com - this guarantees you an automatic trip to the bulk folder.

- Within the message: Never say "for free? (!)" or use the words "extra income" in the body of your message. Recently, many internet marketers attempting to bypass spam filters have begun breaking up the word "free" anywhere it appears in their sales copy: f-ree or fr.ee are the most commonly used methods.

3. Formatting your autoresponder messages.

Every e-mail program is different, allowing different line lengths for their viewing windows. If your e-mail program allows 75 characters per line, it may look fine on your screen-but when you send it to someone whose program allows only 70 characters per line, those last five characters get moved to the next line and break up your message with those pesky > signs.

Another potential problem is the font you choose.

Fonts like Courier New are fixed-width: every character takes up the same amount of space. However, fonts like Times New Roman and Arial have varying width according to the character.

Do not write your message in 16-point Impact Red or other "flashy" font styles and sizes.

This does not draw attention to your product. It draws attention to your inexperience. For the most part, keep your entire message in the same font and type size, (10-point size is best in nearly every case) and make sure each line is 60 to 65 characters long. When you reach the limit, use a hard return to start the next line rather than allowing your word processing program to wrap the text.

Use emphasis like color, bold and italics sparingly for effect.

4. Structure your messages and make sure you easily keep reading.

Do not stuff your messages with "cool" graphics, animated smiley’s, or a dreaded Flash presentation. This slows down load time considerably, and many people will not wait for your incredible pictures to appear on the screen. Tell them exactly how they will benefit from it, and put substance in your send-outs. People want to know that you know about what you are sharing!

5. Do not use chat language in the text of your message.

Even to people who know what LOL, IMHO, or IOW stand for.

This is not professional and does not score you any "friendly" points. In addition, if your subscribers do not know what these abbreviations stand for, they will be quick to dismiss you as inept. In case, you do not know yourself: LOL=laughing out loud, or laughing on line; IMHO=in my humble opinion, or another meaning.

6. Do remind people that:

1. They are receiving your message because they requested more information, or a friend suggested they would like to receive the information.

2. They can opt out of further messages using a link you have provided at the end of the message.

Keep your messages out of spam oblivion by adhering to these guidelines, and you will see your sales and response rates climb.

Juste GNIMAVO is an Internet Marketer and Owner of http://affiliate-internet-marketing-tips.com. To find Advanced Internet Marketing Secrets and email marketing software visit => http://affiliate-internet-marketing-tips.com internet-marketing-tips.com

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