Home Business The Easy Way - MCl Update http://www.blogmoneymiracle.com en-us EasyRSS
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 Ernie Zelinski

All things considered, word of mouth is still the most important means of marketing any product or service. Word of mouth is created by getting your product or service in the hands of people who will appreciate it and will talk to friends and associates about it.

The best way to get people talking is to give your product or service to key individuals, including talk-show hosts, columnists, celebrities, and chat-line addicts who are going to mention it to many people, who will mention it to even more people.

With the right product or service, the more you give away, the more you end up selling. I have now spent approximately $40,000 giving away over 12,000 copies of my books. There is no doubt in my mind that this has played a big part in helping me to sell hundreds of thousands of my books.

But let's not dwell on my own case, because I have one that is much better. A few years ago, Marlo Morgan self-published a book called Mutant Message Down Under. Three years later, Morgan had sold 270,000 copies.

This is a remarkable figure for any self-published book, but the most extraordinary fact was Morgan had given away over 90,000 copies of her book in three years. She donated the copies to prisons, women's shelters, and other institutions.

Giving away almost one hundred copies each day for three years straight is not something even major publishers would consider, but it paid off for Morgan. Her impressive sales were a result of the word-of-mouth advertising generated from the copies she gave away. Better still, when the book finally came to the attention of HarperCollins, the publisher paid Morgan a $1.7 million advance to take over publication of Mutant Message Down Under.

Giving away your product or service for free may seem like a silly way to try to make a living. There is no better way to create word of mouth, however, as Marlo Morgan proved. Many people end up buying your product or service after hearing about it from someone. The key is to give your product to the influencers of this world. By influencers, I mean the "big mouths" of this world who know a lot of other influential people and will recommend your book to everyone they talk to.

If you can't get word-of-mouth advertising happening after giving a lot of your product away, likely your product is not distinctive enough. Do whatever it takes to make your product more distinctive. The subsequent word-of-mouth marketing from giving a lot of it away will do wonders for your bottom line.

NOTE: This article is adapted from the book Real Success Without a Real Job (Ten Speed Press) by Ernie J. Zelinski.

Download the free E-book (in PDF format) with the first chapter of Real Success Without a Real Job at: http://www.real-success.ca/free_ebooks.html

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By Sande Saimon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• What are you offering them?

• What are you going to do for them?

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

• Do you want them to join your team?

• Do you want them to buy your products?

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

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

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

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

Get your prospect’s attention.

• Ask them important questions.

• Are they happy with the job they currently have?

• Do they need more money?

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

• Are they tired of the rat race?

• Do they want more free time?

• Are they worried about retirement?

• Are they concerned about their financial freedom?

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

• More money?

• More free time?

• Work from home?

• Spend time with family?

• Incredible products?

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

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

• Go to my website for a free gift.

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

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

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

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

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

Don’t use “free” business cards.

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

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

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

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

• Flimsy, lightweight cardstock looks cheap.

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

• Again, it gives the wrong impression.

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

So; to recap:

• Use a prospecting card instead of a business card

• Get your prospect’s attention

• Tell them something they want to hear

• Make them curious to learn more

• Give them something for free

• Give them a reason to come back for more

• Use double-sided cards

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

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

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

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

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by Big Mike McDaniel

Your business card can be your most powerful advertising and marketing tool. Get your card into the hands of people who can do business with you and profit is sure to follow.

This little card is often taken for granted and not given the thought it deserves. Since it plays such a big role in the impression you make, it, and you, should not make mistakes.

Here are some common business card mistakes:

Printing them yourself.

It's not much cheaper and it looks like you did it at home, no matter what kind of printer you use. All it is, is faster.

Not carrying them with you.

Pocket, coat, briefcase or purse, you should have a number of fresh, clean cards ready to distribute. And you should be able to get your hands on one quickly and easily.

Searching all over for them.

You should be able to "whip one out" without digging out your wallet and thumbing through pics of the kids, or plunging to the bottom of your purse past the hair spray. "Let's see, I've got one here somewhere, no, that's a card I got yesterday, no, that's my kid's picture, here it is, no, that's not it either.." You should be able to quick-draw your card faster than an old west gunslinger.

Saving a buck with the magic marker.

Blotting out a changed phone number, address or email and hand writing in, or worse, cutting up computer labels with the new information is bush league. Yet, every day, some hapless wannabe loses a sale by acting like Donald Duck's Uncle.

Handing them out recklessly.

The exchange (business relations are TWO-way) of cards comes after some degree of conversation. Beware the boob walking about the room handing out his card like Santa's gifts at the lodge meeting.

No system for retrieval.

Once you get 'em back to the office, you must have a system to find and use the information when you need it. Customers and prospects should go into your computer without delay. The others require some thought. Develop a system to store them so you can find them again. (hint: think categories!)What about that one from the guy with one blue eye and one brown?

© 2007 BIG Mike McDaniel BIG Ideas

Group BIG Mike (http://bigideasgroup.com/) is the Small Business Advertising Expert and author of "Business Cards -- Front to Back," the book that explains how to make your business card the most powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. To learn more, visit Business Card Book (http://tinyurl.com/j6ol3).

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by Shrinivas Vaidya

Do you know that all you need is 95 characters to survive on the Internet? The online world is not at all different from the usual offline world -- what we call the real world. Google, the busiest search engine on the Internet, started to sell advertising space on the search engine result pages in March, 2002. Instead of talking about this system, I'd like to try to answer a few questions.

* How does the system work?

It's very simple to understand. You go to Google.com, do a search and, when the search results show up, apart from the normal search results, Google also shows the ads of those advertisers who have decided to pay for that particular keyword to Google. The "paying" process in this case is a "bid" because pricing and position are determined on an auction basis.

* How much are the bids on keywords?

This is very difficult to answer. It's like real estate rates ... they entirely depend upon demand and supply of information for which the keyword is associated to.

But, one very important point here is that Google AdWords is a Pay Per Click system. This means it costs nothing to just show your ads on the Google search results pages. But, if someone clicks on your ad, Google will charge your credit card the bid mount that you have selected.

* What kinds of ads can I write?

These are normal text ads, limited to 25 characters for the title, 35 characters for the first description line, and 35 characters for the second description line. These total just 95 characters (including spaces). That's it. You get just 95 characters to show your creativity and drive traffic. Below these words, Google will also display the Website address you're advertising.

* How much time does it take to show up the ads on the search result pages?

Instantly. The moment you save your ad in the account panel, your ad becomes "active" and, depending upon the demand for the keywords you have selected, you start receiving traffic to your Website.

* How many keywords can I bid on for a given ad.

It entirely depends upon how much targeted traffic you want to your Website. It's quite obvious that bidding on more keywords will expose your ad to more search results and, thus, you can expect more traffic.

The AdWords system has a facility to create ad groups within your account and each ad group can take up to 1000 keywords.

This was a simple overview of the Google AdWords system for beginners. I hope it will help encourage you to study, in depth, more AdWords strategies that can create wonders for your online business.

Copyright, Shrinivas Vaidya

AdWords is the registered trademark of Google Inc.

Learn how ordinary people are earning a loads of cash with AdWords. Subscribe to a FREE 5-day FREE e-course and get the insiders secrets that can double your Website traffic by spending less even on highly competitive keywords. Visit http://www.PayPerClickWonders.com to start TODAY.

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by Mike Potter

"The domain name is 21st century real estate," says Warren Adelman, president of GoDaddy.com, the world’s largest domain name registrar. "The economy is being increasingly driven by the Internet sector." The smart investors with big money are now jumping into this market. Major investors like Ross Perot and Howard Schultz (Chairman of Starbucks Corp.) are investing millions of dollars in the domain market.

You know these guys are not going to put millions of dollars into some fly-by-night idea. How can the average investor get started in domain investing even when it looks like all of the “good names” have already been bought up?

The secret to investing is not buying up domain names hoping that someone is going to type your name into their browser window. Instead, to make money with domain names, the secret is buying expired domain names.

Every day, around 30,000 domains expire, for one reason or another. Often, the Webmaster just doesn’t have the time to update his Website, or he's just lost interest. Sometimes, the Webmaster simply forgot to renew.

Many of these Webmasters have put considerable work into developing their Websites and domains. They've created a large link structure with thousands of links, they've achieved Google page rank, they've listed with Yahoo or DMOZ, or they've invested into other forms of off-line marketing.

The average investor is able to leverage the work already put into a domain to create large profits.

One place to find expiring domain names is etrafficwiz.com. Here, you can find traffic indicating information about the domain (links, Alexa rank, etc) and register to purchase the domains in a private auction before they go into the public market. The program is easy enough that the average person is able to evaluate and purchase these expiring domains and turn them into cash!

There are several ways to make money from an expired domain that gets traffic. Redirecting targeted, profitable traffic to other sites you own is one. If a domain name has traffic already, you can redirect it to one of the sites you already own.

Buying domains relevant to the topic and keywords of a previously-made site is a quick, easy, and cheap way to increase your Website traffic.

Or, you can use parking services for passive income. If you don’t have an existing Website you can still make money from domain investing. The parking services host your site for free and display ads on your site. When a visitor clicks on an ad, you get paid. It's that simple. One example is Sedo.com.

You can also resell domains for fat profits. Just like in real estate, you can buy a domain name under market value in a private auction, then sell it for a profit in the open market. Find a great name like FunnyAds.com and you could be cashing in on a $100,000 paycheck.

Another trick is to build a site to take advantage of the current traffic. Imagine how much easier it is to launch a Website when you are already receiving traffic from an existing link structure or a domain that is already listed with the major search engines. You would be able to save a ton of time, money, and energy.

Another way to cash in: redirect traffic to affiliate programs. Affiliate programs will supply you with links to existing Websites. When someone makes a purchase, you get paid. Just redirect the traffic the Website is already receiving to an affiliate program and watch the cash roll in. Commision Juncion (cj.com) is one of the top affiliate program directories and it's free to join.

Or, you can hold onto domains while they increase in value. You can simply hold onto your domain while you watch prices, demand and value rise and supply go down. Don’t forget to park your domain in a free parking house, to make money while you hold your domain.

The fact is, domain names are becoming a limited resource. Domains are like virtual real estate: as the supply goes down, the value of the real estate goes up.

Smart investors are buying domains that have great potential and are making a nice paycheck while waiting for the value to increase. Check out etrafficwiz.com for more information of how you can invest smartly in domain real estate.

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By: Paul Wolbers

Here is a simple guide for getting started with PPC advertising. You should find it to be complimentary to your overall marketing program and a good start to finding traffic while you continue to build your natural search engine placement.

- Research Your Keywords -

Don't waste your money bidding on words or phrases that will attract the wrong audience or too broad of an audience or you will quickly go through your advertising budget with very little return on your investment.

Use a program like Wordtracker that can assist you in creating a list of keywords and phrases that will relate to your topic. You can easily find out which words have a large amount of competition as well as the current bids for those words.

When you have made your keyword and phrase list, develop a simple Ad that is both clear and descriptive. Use proven advertising copy words like "How to..., "Discover", "Save", "Free" and "Easy" in your description. Create curiosity while providing enough information that you will not attract under qualified traffic.

Use each keyword or phrase you are bidding on in its own description rather than giving the same ad copy to every word. Test your campaigns and stick to your budget.

Figure out how many customers you need in order to make a sale and based on that figure, you can work out how much you are willing to spend to attract customers through pay per click advertising.

If your product sells on average for $20 and it takes 100 visitors to make a sale, you can afford to spend 20 cents per visitor to make a sale. Obviously you would want to spend less in order to make a profit, so by bidding 10 cents per key phrase, you would spend $10 to make a $20 sale with a $10 profit. This is just a rough example.

Remember, PPC is only one piece of your marketing strategy, so while you may spend more using pay per click when you first start, eventually your content and hyperlinks will attract free visitors organically, which will offset your cost per sale ratio.

Paul Wolbers is an Affiliate SEO Marketer. Visit his website for more great tips, tricks and tactics designed to help you succeed online. http://www.PaulWolbers.com

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By Ken Mathie

There is only one 'right' way to use email lists for marketing purposes and that is to use it with a list of prospects who have contacted you first. This is what is called an Opt-In list. What it means is the consumers have opted to include their email address in a mailing list which means that your mails are not considered spam because they were 'opted' for.

Here's why:

Your contacts will not complain about receiving valuable information from you. They welcome the opportunity to receive many different types of emails such as:

* last minute' reminders
* special offers
* hot information about new products
* news 'from the very hub' of their industry
* product/website updates
* even links to affiliate 'like' sites

Here are some more key tips to keep in mind when trying to build your own email hot list.

1. Capture Addresses

You can only email your customers if you have their addresses, so start collecting them now. Make sure there is a prominent place for an email address on all customer response forms you use both online and offline. It helps when you use software that is designed to hold multiple email hot lists, so you will only have to input the information once.

2. Use ASCII Text Only

Keep it simple. Include lots of white space in your messages. Use headlines and sub-headlines. Don't overuse words that are in all capitals. Make it easy for the readers to scan and to read.

3. Use Wide Margins

Limit yourself to 55/60 characters or less per line, because it is simply more attractive to the reader and it helps you to point out anything that you want to draw attention to.

4. Deliver Your Most Important Information First

Key benefits and sales points must be communicated in the first screen people read because many readers do not read an entire email, whether they opted in for it or not. If you save the good stuff for the end of the email, or try to capture a reader's attention by leading into it, you will do nothing except lose business.

Think about it; would you want to have to hunt around for the best part?

5. Make The Subject Line Your Headline, Too

This is what people are going to see first. If your headline is strong, crisp, and compelling, they'll open your email. Concentrate on this all-important element. For example, if you are offering a free gift with purchase, your subject line could read "FREE gift for you!" I don't know about you, but this would get my attention if it is from a web source that I signed up for.

6. The Shorter the Better

Unlike other kinds of sales writing, where long copy outsells short copy, the standard for email sales letters are different. Think about the way you sort through email, especially when you have a backlog of messages. The time you spend online is generally short. Respond to this new business medium by keeping your emails just as short.

7. Test

Keep a good record of your responses by testing one element of your email at a time. Start with the subject line. Test headlines, body copy, layout, and the PS at the end. Successful marketing copy is always tested, one element at a time, to make sure those things are running smoothly and to get rid of the stuff that is not working.

Today, the largest companies online,including Apple, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo! and many, many more are using acceptable and responsible commercial email. If they can do it, YOU can do it too.

Start building your opt-in email lists today! I would suggest that you keep it simple to begin with, and build a growing text file of email addresses. But, ultimately, you will want to personalize your messages, because it substantially increases your response. Gather as much information as you can when people contact you, such as the reader's name, and apply it
to the email, but, at a minimum, capture their name and email address. In time, this list will become highly profitable for you. The list is the most important aspect of any successful email marketing campaign.

8. Use Autoresponders

When you are contacting your clients through emails that require a reply from the reader or a sign up or order form etc. you should be sure to include an autoresponder that will let your client know that their email was received. You can find many different types of software that will do this for you. If for no other reason; than so that you can free up some of your time.

Writing an Autoresponder Message that Gets Results!

The autoresponder is fast becoming the hardest worker of Internet marketing. With theautoresponder, you can deliver your sales message or other information to all of your clients very quickly. And you can deliver it 24 hours a day to any Internet email user in the world. This must sound awesome, right? But, you might be wondering how you can create an
autoresponder message that gets real results.

Here are some methods of power communication that will give you the success that you crave. I know this because I have used them. It is great for emails, letters, mailbot copy, World Wide Web content, ads and more.

1. Focus on the reader, not yourself

Your message should be about the customer's needs and how your product will fulfill those needs, not about how wonderful you are and how great your product is, because, in the end, it is all just your own opinions and it turns people right off.

Don't focus on yourself and your life too much. Take a look at my first few paragraphs above. How many times did I talk about "you" and "your" as opposed to "I" and "me"?

2. Make it personal.

As with any sales letter, you have to write your autoresponder message as if you were having a one-to-one conversation. Pretend you're sitting down to talk to a friend. Allow your message be friendly, animated and informal. You can even use some slang, if it's appropriate.

3. Be sure to Emphasize the benefits.

Rather than thinking of yourself as selling a product or a service, think of yourself as providing real services to your clients. You want to know what the benefits to these services really are here. This is what you should be asking yourself:

"What does the customer get out of my product?"

The answer should be something like "more time," "more money," "more fun," "an easier life," "better health," or "greater safety."

Benefits and features are two different things. Feature are: "This computer has a Pentium 4 processor." A benefit is more like this: "Lightning-fast Pentium 4 processor means you get more work done in less time."

4. Include a "Call to Action" in your response

You need to know exactly what you want the reader to do after reading your message and then tell them to do it. Ask yourself these questions:

What do you want? Do you want a reply by email? A visit to your Web site? An order called in to your toll-free number?

Let the user know what responses you want, and let them know in a compelling, urgent, benefits-oriented way. Include complete contact information, and triple-check it for accuracy.

5. Offer useful information.

One good autoresponder strategy is to offer a free report that offers useful information but including a sales message and an "advertorial" approach.

For an example, distribute a report, "10 Tips for Selling on the Internet and the Web." Tell the user how to order your book on the subject, etc. You can even include an order form. Readers will not resent your pitch because they got so much value from the report.

6. Use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation.

You tell the world whether you're a professional or an amateur by the quality of your marketing communications. Take the time to edit your autoresponder message for errors. If you're terrible at grammar etc. get someone who can edit it for you.

7. Create a better layout to make it easier to read.

Since a mailbot message is delivered in plain ASCII text, your design capabilities are going to be very limited. Here are a few tricks you can use to make your message a bit more readable:

* For a headline, use ALL-CAPS and insert a blank line before and after it.

* Use short paragraphs, say 5-7 lines at the most (100 words).

* Set out all of your material in bulleted lists -- its easier to read.

* Use "white space with catchy headlines" to center important material and call attention to it, like the following does:

Now available:
Solid strategies for "Affiliate Marketing"!
Send any message to ken@profitdot.net

Warning: Don't get fancy with your script fonts because not all computers are the same.

8. Don't Break the law.

False advertising is still illegal, even if you're on the Internet. In many countries, pyramid schemes (MLM) and chain letters are illegal. You should assume that all tax and licensing laws in your town, state, province, country and so forth still apply. If you're not sure about something, check.

9. Read feedback people send to your autoresponder.

A good autoresponder system will send you a copy of the request every time someone sends for your report. With most systems, the user doesn't have to type anything in the body of their message when they send in the request; however, they usually do. By reading the message and replying to the user personally, you may increase your chances of selling to that person because it shows that you are listening.

If you create a strong, well-written, persuasive message, your autoresponder can help you increase your sales and fulfil any and all of the goals of your email marketing effort, which will certainly make it a whole lot more worth while.

PMCezine.. Home Biz News & Tips. Weekly up-to-date powerful strategies to outsmart, out market and outsell even your toughest competition. Receive your six free egifts when you subscribe. http://www.pmcezine.comet/

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by Kirk Bannerman

Working at home in your own home based business has sort of a natural appeal for an ever increasing number of people.

The reasons people express for wanting to work from home are many and varied, but most home based business owners cite the ability to set their own hours as a major factor in their decision to work at home. However, many people that have work at home businesses often fall into a trap that flies directly in the face of their stated desire for time flexibility.

The strong growth in home based business activity continues and, according to the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, fifty-two percent of ALL small businesses are home-based.

Some home based business owners have been known to become "workaholics" because their office is so accessible. Don't become a slave to your business ... get out of your home office regularly to renew and revitalize yourself.

Close the door to your office or otherwise remove yourself from your designated "work area" and go into your "home" area to live your personal life. If your business involves the use of the telephone and you find it difficult to ignore a ringing phone in the office, simply turn the ringer off and turn the volume on the answering machine way down. If your business is Internet-based, just turn off your computer (or at least get away from the monitor and keyboard).

As a work at home business entrepreneur, you certainly aren't required to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week just because your business is located in your home. After all, your office or workspace is just an area in your home ... its not your home itself!

Working and living under the same roof has a host of advantages, but it can present some challenges (in addition to the workaholic syndrome mentioned, above) and stress factors.

Here are four ways to create a less stressful home business environment:

1). Remember why you wanted to become involved with a home-based business (i.e. more time for family, work schedule flexibility, etc.)

2). Have discussions with your family members and get their input about the working arrangements and the amount of time they want with you.

3). Use good time management techniques. Keep a list of tasks by order of importance. There are many low-cost and effective "day planners" or "organizers" readily available today.

4). ALWAYS take a little time to "smell the roses."

While not experiencing the negatives common to a corporate office working environment, the home-based business owner may occasionally experience stresses and frustrations that are unique to working at home. Networking with other home-based and small business owners provides an opportunity to connect with others who may be experiencing the same stresses/frustrations that you are. Sharing stressful and/or frustrating issues with someone else in the same situation can relieve your stress and may bring you good advice from a different point of view.

As a final note, remember to observe Home-Based Business Week each year (it is always the week of October that includes the second Tuesday).

Kirk Bannerman operates his own successful home based business and also coaches others seeking to start their own home based business. For more information, visit his Website at Legitimate Home Based Business (http://www.business-at-home.us/) .

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by Stone Evans

Many people think that starting an Internet home business is hard. In fact, there is no business in the world that is faster or easier to launch. If you have 15 minutes and a connection to the Internet, I'll show you how to launch your own Internet business right away.

Before you launch your first Internet home business, you need to understand the basics. The first step of having a business on the Internet is having your own Website. This is the major stumbling block for most people. They think getting a Website is expensive or difficult. It's neither of those things. Actually, it's free and it's easy. In fact, let's go ahead and get your first Website setup right now.

To do this, I recommend using a free tool called Blogger. Blogger is used for creating blogs on the fly, but a blog is nothing more than a fancy name for a Website. To set up your blog Website now, visit: http://www.Blogger.com

Once you arrive, click the "Create Your Blog Now" button on the page. On the next page, enter a user name, password, display name and email address. Then click "Continue." On the next page, enter a blog title and blog address. These can be anything you want. Then enter the word verification code and click "Continue." On the next page, choose a template for your blog (this is what your Website will look like) and click "Continue."

Voila... Your blog/Website has been created!

Next, click the "Start Posting" button. A new page will appear giving you the option to add content to your new Website. Write a title for your page in the "Title" field and then write whatever you want that page of your Website to be about in the larger data entry field below the "Title" field on that page. You can use the tools on that page to change your fonts, make links, format your text, add pictures, etc.

When you're happy with what you've entered into the page, click the "Publish Post" button. You just created a new page on your Website! On the next page displayed, you'll see a link that says: "View Blog". Click that link and you'll see your Website live on the Internet. Pretty easy, right?! ;-) Now you can wash, rinse, repeat and create as many new pages on your Website as you want.

But, let's turn your Website into a business first. After all, Websites are a lot more fun once they are making money for you.

Here's how:

Get back into your Blogger account and click the "Template" tab. Then click the "AdSense" link near the top of the page. AdSense is a simple but powerful program that allows you to earn advertising revenue from your Website. Follow the easy instructions on that page to launch your AdSense account instantly. On the next page, click the "Save" button to save AdSense into your Website. Then, on the next page. click the "Republish" button. Your Website will instantly be rebuilt, now showing a Google AdSense ad at the top of each page on your Website. Every time someone visits your Website and clicks one of those ads, you earn money from AdSense.

You now have a moneymaking business setup on the Internet. How long did that take? 15 minutes! ;-)

The only thing you need to do now to start the cash flowing in is get people to visit your new Website. One way to do this would be to tell your friends and family about your site. Here are two more easy things you can do to drive an unstoppable flow of traffic to your new Website:

Traffic Strategy 1: Tell all the major blog directories about your new blog/Website. To do this, visit http://www.PingoMatic.com and enter your blog name, blog URL (that's the link to your Website generated by Blogger), check all the boxes on that page and click the "Send Pings" button. This will tell all the blog directories about your new blog/Website and you'll start getting some traffic from interested visitors to those directories. Do this each time you add a new page to your blog.

Traffic Strategy 2: Go back to your blog URL/home page and click the "Next Blog" button at the top of the page. This will take you to another blog of another Blogger user. Read through a post or two on that person's blog and look for a link that says "Comments" and click it. On the next page, you'll be able to type your comments and a link back to your blog inside a form. Once you've added your comments, click the "Login and Publish" button; and a link to your site along with your comments will be added to that blog. Repeat this process as many times as you want with other blog Websites. This will "link you in" to a network of sites all over the Internet helping you drive a steady stream of traffic to your blog.

Blogger is a great tool to launch your Internet home business, but it's not the only tool you should be using. To build a solid Internet home business that you can rely on, you need to register your own domain name and Website hosting account. A domain name is your unique home on the Web that you own and control. Example: domain names are yahoo.com, ebay.com, google.com, etc.

You could either register your own name as a domain or a keyword of something related to the topic of your business. Either way, if you are going to have a legitimate long-term home business on the Internet, a domain name and Website hosting account are required. When choosing a domain name and hosting account, it's important to select a company that has a track record for success. The company I host all my Websites with is at: http://www.PlugInProfitHost.com

This top-rated Website hosting company also provides several turn-key Internet home businesses called "Plug-In Profit Sites" such as the one described at: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com which is a very popular and easy way to start earning multiple streams of income on the Internet. In fact, in addition to the blog you launched a few moments ago, you can get a Plug-In Profit Site setup in the next 24 hours and add another 5 easy streams of income to your Internet home business.

Alternatively, there are other turn-key Internet home business systems such as the one described at: http://www.HomeBusiness.org which provides a proven formula to start making money online within minutes of signing up. In fact, I earn an extra 5-figures every month using the above mentioned system myself.

As you can see, starting an Internet home business is actually a very fast and easy thing to do. Now that you know this, there should be nothing stopping you from earning a little extra income from home on the Internet. Persevere and you can make it your living just like myself and countless others have done.

Stone Evans (articles@home-business.com), The Home Biz Guy, is an Internet home business authority who has helped thousands of people launch a successful Internet home business. To learn more about Stone Evans and find an Internet home business that is right for you visit http://www.Home-Business.com .

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by Willie Crawford

One of the newest buzzwords in the Internet marketing niche is co-reg leads (short for co-registration leads). The recent release of a very good product called Pipeline Profits has started a lot of open discussion about something that seasoned Internet marketers have long known about, but also rarely openly discussed.

My definition of generating a co-registration lead is "capturing the permission to send someone more information on a topic in the process of them doing something else."

Examples of generating a co-registration lead include:

1) You register a piece of software and, in the process, you check a box on the form asking for information on the products and services of the company or its associates.

2) You download a free piece of software or other gift and, in the process, you check a box requesting any of several ezines offered on the order form.

3) You enter an online drawing or prize contest and, in the process, you check a box requesting more information on building an online business.

4) You sign up for a free email account, or to use an online service and, in the process, you check boxes asking for more information on a variety of niche topics that can range from business, to health, to pets, to... “you name it.”

5) You subscribe to an ezine on a webpage and, in the process (or on the confirmation page), you are invited to subscribe to any of several other related ezines.

Number five is a technique that I have used with success. You and your partners jointly grow each other’s lists.

All of these are examples of generating a co-registration lead. In the process of taking one action, your prospect can also "co-register" for something else.

The process has been in-place for a very long time and is used by some VERY big companies. The recent product release that dealt with the topic focused on using co-reg leads to generate Website traffic. In that system, leads are generated using techniques similar to the ones outlined above, and then, in the follow-up process, the person who obtains the leads drives them to a Website and, eventually leads them to make a purchase.

The recently released Pipeline Profits is something that I checked out thoroughly, and saw as worth adding to my Web business arsenal. They have eight different videos posted on their Website that do a great job of explaining what their system is. You can watch all of those videos via "inner circle" connections at: http://TheInternetMarketingInnerCircle.com/co-regs/ Scroll to the very bottom of this page for the links to each of those free videos.

My first in-depth understanding of the nature of co-reg leads was from conversations with Edward Thorpe. Ed is now an old and treasured friend. Ed wrote an ebook, that he most recently updated December of 2006, which is entitled "Co-reg Secrets." Co-reg Secrets is available at: http://CoregistrationMasters.com

In his ebook, Ed asserts that "all co-reg leads are junk." That's a pretty bold statement in an ebook that teaches you how to use co-registration leads to build a list and grow your business.

Ed explains that this is true because, until you build a relationship with the individuals behind those "leads," they are worthless. They don't know who you are, don't trust you, and aren't even certain how you got their names and email addresses.

As Ed explains in his ebook, and Buck and Brock explain in Pipeline Profits, there are different qualities of co-reg leads. Some of the factors that distinguish one batch from another are:

1) Whether or not the box confirming that they want to receive the additional information was pre-checked. If it's pre-checked, realize that, since no conscious opt-in action is required on the subscriber's part, they may inadvertently subscribe.

2) Whether or not they are incentivized to join as many lists as possible. If they get some kind of points or prize just for joining lists, then there's a higher probability that they have no real interest in the topics of the lists.

3) How fresh the co-reg leads are. There are systems that deliver the leads to your autoresponder system as soon as the form is filled in. This is what is advocated by Pipeline Profits. There are many "list brokers" who sell lists that are anywhere from hours old to MONTHS old.

Generally, the older a list, the more "dangerous" it is for an online marketer to use it. The problems with older leads are that the person may not remember having requested information on the topic, AND the person has probably been contacted by so many others that they are now ready to "choke" the next online marketer who contacts them.

There are numerous other factors that determine the quality of co-registration leads and how useful they are in building your online business. There are numerous ways of using them in your business, and some of them can very quickly cause your business to get shut down, or can generate lawsuits from businesses that feel you have tarnished their images.

Seeing all the confusion in the marketplace on the topic of co-reg leads, I tracked down Ed Thorpe, who is semi-retired, and talked him into doing a recorded teleseminar with me. In the teleseminar, I grill him on a topic that he first wrote about at the turn of the century :-)

Like me, Ed has spent a decade online building a very successful business by teaching others what actually works. Like me, Ed believes that you benefit the most by giving. In fact, one of Ed's email signature files reads, "He who helps the most people - wins." That's the person I want in my corner, and when it comes to a topic as confusing as using co-registration leads in your online business, he is the person you should learn from. I consider him "the grand master of co-reg leads knowledge."

You can access the teleseminar with Ed at: http://CoregMasters.com

Hopefully, we have cleared up the confusion of exactly what a co-reg lead is, how it might fit into your business model, and where to learn more on this fairly complex topic.

co-reg lead, co-registration lead, lead generation

Willie Crawford (http://www.WillieCrawford.com) has been uncovering and teaching real internet marketing insider information for more than 10 years. Don't miss his in-depth recorded discussion of co-registration leads (or "co-reg leads") with Ed Thorpe, author of "Co-Reg Secrets." Get the truth about co-reg leads at: http://CoregMasters.com .

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by Ken Chee

WIIIFM stands for "What Is It In For Me?"

This is an extremely important marketing concept when you want to market or sell yourself, an idea, a product, a company, a partnership or whatever you wish to sell to anyone. Here's the truth -- with compassion, because no one cares about what you do or how good your concepts/products are but, rather, how can you benefit them.

Let me show you two real-life examples:

1. I received this email from a blog, in my mailbox, earlier this week,

"Hi Ken,

Long heard about your stories from rags to riches. I'm very interested in your way of skills, interested to share some experiences with me. I'm interested in getting rich myself and being a speaker/presenter.

Any means of contacting you apart from email?

Thanks

Regards XXX"

Notice how this person phased the question? "I am interested to...", "I want to...", "I'm interested in getting rich myself..." etc.

I'm happy that this particular individual has such aspiration and desire. Great! But, where is the win/win situation here? WIIIFM?

Seriously, why should I help, apart from humanitarian reasons?

One of my young friends, Adam Wong, understood this marketing concept. Instead of asking his mentor, Adam Khoo, to coach and guide him to become a millionaire, he went to Adam Khoo and offered to help him market his IP materials online, because Adam Wong is keen in Internet Marketing himself.

In the process, he gets private time with his mentor and observes and models after his mentor, while making money online for his mentor and for himself. Smart chap.

Warren Buffett understudied and worked for his mentor, Benjamin Graham, to gain mastery on value investing.

One of my ex-staff, Jimmy Han, came to me one day and said this, even after I told him that we are not hiring because of budget: "Ken, I'm willing to work for you for $500 a month plus commissions, for a year, because I want to learn about marketing and advertising." He did. Now, he's running a start-up business using his new-found marketing and advertising insights, with another EAP graduate, Mike Sim, dealing with laptop computer accessories.

This is his email to us:

"...I would like to thank both Azhar and you for being my mentors during my stay in Just Media. Thank you and I have learnt a lot from you guys.

Cheers, Jimmy Han Qiyong"

2. I receive a phone call and an email marketing proposal today!

Happy new year.

I'm a EAP graduate of Executive Directions 2006. It's great to know you at the boot camp.

I've set up a company named XXX International Pte Ltd. We conduct events, such as conferences, forums, seminars etc., that build on 'People' through engaging people in the public, private and people sectors.

We are planning to launch a 'people action forum,' to kick off the platform for people in the corporate and community to learn, network and exchange, to further develop in their own organisational and community initiatives.

XXX International will be featuring presentations by professional speakers or trainers, keeping with the theme 'People for Success.' Speakers are invited for presentations that share real insights,experiences, knowledge and expertise. We aim to promote people engagement to foster and strengthen community relations and engagement with corporate groups in furthering organisations' objectives through the network exchange platform.

The program includes an opening performance from people sector at the forum and a dinner after the forum, to bring light moments to participants.

The event is targeted to see a gathering of 200-350 performance managers and leaders from corporates (public and private) and people sector.

As this is a newly incorporated company, I would be pleased to have your views or suggestions of how we can work from here with your expertise and resources.

The areas that we're looking forward to besides, event organisation are: a. sourcing for speakers, invitation of Guest-of-honour. b. marketing communication or advertising to carry messages across effectively, in reaching public, speakers, potential partner organisations. c. building up of teams and subsequent programs and activities.

More information of the company is at website: www.xxx.com.

I would be glad to answer your queries moving forward and any recommendations.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you.

Have a good day.

Best Regards

XXX XXX International Pte Ltd tel: XXXX XXXX>

Now, my intention is to support EAP network and we grow together. One of my key secret of securing big deals successfully: I ALWAYS LISTEN AND ASK QUESTIONS FIRST!

In fact, ask good marketing and personal questions. I will explore and understand the pain/ desire/ challenges that my partners and clients are facing. I will then evaluate whether my company service or marketing/advertising expertise can add value to them.

I am sorry to say that this particular graduate email did not trigger my interest, however, because he/she did not even attempt to understand my needs! The above email is what I call features/data dumping.

Now, before you approach and market your great idea/product to your partners or clients, next time, pause and ask: What Is In It For them? I'm sure you will achieve a better result!

Ken Chee is the Group CEO of Integrated Media Group Pte Ltd. The companies specialize in ROI (Return on Investment) marketing and have spearheaded regional and local campaigns in Asia. Visit www.kenchee.com for IDEAS THAT SELL!

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by Chiun Masters

It's the 21st century, and you're already aware of the rapid changes and development that your industry is going through, almost on a daily basis. It's becoming more and more competitive, and you need to grab every advantage that you can possibly get over your competitors.

The Internet seems like a good way to reach out to more customers and close bigger sales, but how would your small company stack up against the hundreds, or even thousands of companies selling products and services similar to yours online?

If you want to grab yourself a piece of real estate on the Web, you basically start by creating your company's Website. Your Website serves as your company headquarters, in a virtual sense, and just like in the real world, it is where your potential customers go to visit and learn more about your company and what it has to offer.

It's also commonplace for businesses to closely monitor their competitors' Websites, to see what they're up to and to learn anything they can.

In short, it's all about information. The Internet isn't called the "Information Superhighway" for nothing, you know.

But, having a company Website is one thing; promoting your business and marketing your products and/or services is a whole different matter. People need to know that your company is on the Internet; otherwise your Website would be pretty useless. Even so, you need to remember that almost everyone, from billion-dollar Fortune 500 conglomerates down to a tiny florist in Idaho, is bent on making its presence felt on the Web.

So -- how can a small company like yours compete?

One of the most widely-used and most effective methods that Webmasters and Net-savvy businessmen use is link-building. Used effectively, it can be one of the single best techniques you can have for getting people to your Website, and thus promoting your company's products and/or services.

First, it's important to know that 85% of the people looking for a particular type of business look for it using a search engine like Yahoo!, MSN and Google. It's like the equivalent of a phone directory. And -- those people usually don't bother looking for companies beyond the first three to four pages of the search results. That's why it is most critical for a company to be listed in the first few pages following a keyword search.

Because major search engines now consider link quality and link popularity as part of their ranking algorithms, link building has become more critical than ever. Simply put, if you don't have links, you won't rank well for competitive keywords.

Links are one of the most useful, and therefore one of the most important ways, for visitors and potential customers to find your site. With quality and efficient link building, the search engines can find your company faster and rank you higher on their search results, so people can find you easier.

It's all about getting traffic to your Website. By traffic, I mean people.

If a Website is new and needs immediate traffic, they can get advertising with one of the three biggest search engines, Google, Yahoo! or MSN. Each search engine offers a unique program in which Websites appear in search results for specific keywords. This is the fastest way to get immediate traffic.

But, just getting advertising on these search engines won't be enough to get you the results you need. If you're serious about getting the most out of link building, it's recommended that you find a good, reliable SEO or link building company to handle these jobs for you. These companies already have the experience and the expertise to produce quality links for your Website, and some of them also provide advertising for the major search engines as part of their package, so you'll be getting the most out of your money.

Another good reason to outsource this part of your online business is the savings. Companies routinely outsource payroll processing, accounting, sales and marketing tasks -- just to name a few -- in order to cut costs. Outsourcing converts fixed costs into variable costs, releases capital for investment elsewhere in your business, and allows you to avoid large expenditures in the early stages of your business.

Aside from reducing labour and training costs, companies can also get new projects started faster with outsourcing. Experienced businessmen already know that companies who do everything themselves -- research, marketing, manufacturing, distribution -- have higher expenses, all of which have to be passed on the customers.

To sum it up, link building is one of the better and more reliable methods of getting traffic to your Website. However, more traffic doesn't necessarily mean more sales. It all depends on the quality of the links you have. Outsourcing link building jobs to reputable and experienced companies will help your company get permanent, legitimate and relevant links for your targeted traffic, and will also help your site achieve higher search engine rankings.

All this for a fraction of the cost it will take for your company to handle the job on its own, plus the obvious benefits of having knowledge and expertise on the job. If you're serious about putting your smaller company on a more even stage with the big guys, this is one great way to go.

Chiun Masters is a contributing writer and researcher for MaxWeb, www.HelpWeNeedGifts.com, and other assorted Websites. He loves searching the Net for unusual gifts, aside from spending time with his other interests such as blogging and lurking around in forums.

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by Kirk Bannerman

For reasons that I no longer remember, I kept sort of a diary during my first full year of working at a home-based business. It was nothing close to being a complete daily diary. It was more just a collection of scribbles about things that I felt were worthy of note at the time.

Since several years have passed since I wrote that diary, I decided to revisit these notes, out of curiosity.

In no particular order, here are some of the things that I made note of:

Choosing the path...

in the beginning, my enthusiasm was very high (perhaps too high?) and I was chasing off on several different home-based business opportunities at the same time (exhibiting the "dog in a meat market" syndrome, I suppose) and not focusing my efforts enough to be successful at any one of them.

I finally reigned myself in and focused on a single work at home business opportunity.

In other notes, I find reference to emotional and/or psychological issues that I experienced and are probably typical for most people when starting a home based business. When working at home a person can, at times, experience a feeling of isolation which is probably brought on by the lack of interaction of a work force environment.

There were also periods of doubt in the early going ... did I pick a viable business opportunity? ... am I doing the right things to develop my business? ... when will I start making a profit?, and
so on.

Many of the entries in my so-called diary had to do with the proverbial "two steps forward and one step backward" thing and the ever-looming temptation to become discouraged. Although I
didn't appreciate it at the time, it is now obvious that as long as you have more steps forward than backward, you will eventually get ahead!

Isn't hindsight wonderful?

Other entries reflect the fact that relatively minor events can seem huge in the early stages of developing a work at home business and can really contribute to an emotional roller coaster ride. For example, if you are just starting out and you have two customers/clients and you lose one ... that's a 50% drop! However, if you fast-forward in time to the point where you have hundreds of customers/clients and you lose one ... that's just a mere fraction of 1%! Same event, just at a different point in time.

Looking back on it now, some of the stuff I recorded now seems humorous, but I'm pretty sure that was not the case at the time I made the notations.

Kirk Bannerman operates a successful home based business and coaches others seeking to start their own home based business. Visit his Website at http://www.business-at-home.us for more details.

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by Maria Markella

One thing is certain in this cruel Internet marketing world: Competition is huge. Especially when trying to write that classified ad to promote a sale, or that adwords ad. Here are some things to keep in mind when writing ads. Follow these rules and make your ad stand from the rest.

Before I begin, I'm sure you've heard that you've only got a few seconds to capture a prospects' attention and make the sale.

Is that enough time to convince someone that your product or ad has something special about it? It's not. That's why you should be extra careful when writing those small ads. Not only do you have to capture your reader's attention, but you have to convince them that your ad will lead them to what they're looking for.

Here are some tips:

Writing killer ads tip#1: The headline.

Maybe you've heard that when it comes to small ads, the headline is the most important part of your ad. Try to keep your headline to 6-8 words. Try to present what your product will help the customer do in a clear and concise way.

Do not capitalize your headline or you'll scare your customer. Many people will even think you yell at them. Instead, capitalize the first letter of every word. Also, use descriptive words to make a clever call to action through the rest of your ad.

Writing killer ads tip#2: Do you have something free to offer?

Maybe a report or an ebook to help you grow your prospect list. This is important. Try to use this free offer to grab your reader's attention. Mention the free offer when writing your ad.

We all like free stuff. I don't know about you, but when I see a small ad with a free offer, I could easily click on it. That's also the case for most Internet users.

Writing killer ads tip#3: Unless you are a successful copywriter or Internet marketer or someone who is otherwise exceptionally talented at writing ads, you need to imitate the successful players.

There are thousands of ads all over the Web. Almost any Website utilizes Google adsense. Those ads are Google adwords ads and they have been approved by the Google staff. Take some time to look at what others are writing and how they choose to promote their products. Pay attention to those ads that are pointing to popular Websites or big companies. How do they write their ads?

Writing killer ads tip#4: Always test the results of your ads. Over and over again.

Don't just write an ad and wait for customers to click and purchase the product. Sometimes, ads needs revising. Try to make small changes and re-test. If you get better results, then use that change you've made to revise your other ads, too.

It's a good idea to test and make changes to one ad at a time. That way you'll easily spot the magic change that made the difference.

Writing killer ads tip#5: Always proof-read what you write. Also, make sure the links are working correctly.

We all hate careless spelling mistakes and non-working links. Even if your ad is really eye-catching and convincing, there's no way to disappoint a reader more than to send him to a "Page Not Found" link and, even more, to the wrong address. Always pay attention to those small details.

Detail matters.

Happy ad writing! I hope you write the killer ad that will make you stand from the rest of the millions of ads out there.

Here's an unusual way to create and test your ads without going through the pain of proof-reading, revising and testing over and over again. This unique ad writing software (http://www.digitalstarproducts.com/star/-detail-60.html) will help you write killer ads and instantly test their effectiveness. It will help you proof-read your ads and allow you to compare them in milliseconds with thousands of other similar ads written by others. It will then tell how much your ad scored. That way you'll know how your ads will perform before you even publish them!

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by Wendy Betterini

Have you ever had a really great idea and then later saw someone else putting it into action? Even more perplexing is when you never told anyone about the idea, yet somehow, someone discovered it and acted on it before you could.

Maybe you had an idea for a blockbuster new ebook that would make all your financial dreams come true, or you came up with a great home business model that would have had reps flocking to your door - and now someone else is sucking up all the glory.

It's an awful, sinking feeling to see someone else profiting from your idea - I know, I've been there! However, don't let it discourage you into hanging up your entrepreneur hat. Here are three ways to turn the situation around:

1) Vow to take action. The worst thing about seeing someone else put your idea into action is knowing that you could have done so too, if only you'd been more proactive. Maybe you were struggling with an overloaded schedule so you put the idea on the back burner for awhile, or you were uncertain about your own ability to do a good job with it - and someone else saw the potential and swooped in on the opportunity.

The first step to salvaging the situation is acknowledging that you could have done better, and vowing to do better next time. While it's impossible to act on every single idea you have, you can make a stronger effort to take even small actions on the really good ideas. Remember that small actions done consistently add up to great results.

2) Take a different angle. Even if someone put your idea into action, they probably didn't do it exactly the way you would have. Give some thought to different angles you could take on the same idea. This works especially well with information products, because there are so many facets to each topic. Open your mind and think about opposing views and unique perspectives you can use to turn your idea around and make it fresh again.

3) Make it bigger and better. Think about ways to build on your original idea and expand it. Think about great sequels to best-selling ebooks (or print books, for that matter). Think about improvements and modifications that could refine the idea and take it to a new level of success. Consider alternative marketing techniques that could make all the difference in the popularity of your product or idea. Whatever you do, don't limit yourself. Push past your doubts and be willing to aim higher in your goals.

The truth is, there are limitless numbers of ideas just floating around, waiting to be realized. If you open your mind, more than a few good ones are bound to fall right in. Begin keeping an idea journal so you can record the great ideas as they come. Engage in frequent brainstorming sessions to see if you can either come up with more ideas, or improve upon the ones you already have.

Create a detailed plan for the ideas you want to work on first, so you won't feel overwhelmed or confused by how to proceed. A good way to do this is by considering the outcome you're trying to achieve, and then working backwards. Which action steps will be needed to accomplish the outcome? Make a list of these steps, and put them in a logical order of progression. You'll then have a detailed roadmap leading to the success you're trying to create.

Finally, and most importantly, begin taking action! Even if you can only spare 15 minutes a day, you will feel more productive and make steady progress on the tasks you've set for yourself. Simply focus on taking one step at a time and, before you know it, you'll be the one sucking up all the glory, while someone else slaps their forehead and says, "Hey, that was MY idea!"

Wendy Betterini: learn more about home business, telecommuting, balancing a career and family under one roof, and all aspects of working at home at http://www.CreativeWorkAtHome.com .

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By Tim Spencer

Private Label Right's articles, ebooks, and software are products that the original creator has decided to give up their copyright to and sell in such a way that the buyer can modify them in any way they like, and pretty much do what they want with them. This gives the buyer virtually endless ways to make money.

Private label rights products, also known as PLR, are also a great way for the novice marketer to make money on the Internet.

So what are some of the ways to make money with private label rights products?

Here are five to get you started.

1) Create an ebook from related articles. Paste them into a word processor, each article forming an individual chapter. Add some nice graphics and a table of contents and you have a saleable product. You can also monetize it by putting in links to affiliate products or your own website. You can sell your new ebook either from your own site or through auction sites like eBay.

2) Create individual web pages for a website. Search engines love relevant content on web sites and by modifying the articles slightly, your content will become unique to you and help with your rankings, drawing people to your website. If on your pages you have links to related products, the visitors will look and possibly buy.

3) If you bought a PLR ebook or two, you could take each chapter out and create an autoresponder ecourse with them. You can then use this to entice people onto your mailing list, and over the course of time build your own credibility with prospects, and building trust with them to the point where they will trust your recommendations on products to buy.

You could also strip out the content of PLR ebooks to create web pages for your own blog or website.

4) You could use PLR articles to create a short report that you give away, and allow others to give them away too, creating a viral marketing effect, increasing traffic to your blog, website or affiliate links. If you also made parts of your report rebrandable, you will increase people's willingness to pass your report on.

5) PLR software is a bit more difficult because if you do not have software experience you may have to hire a programmer to do the branding for you. Having said that though, if you branded the software correctly, you could easily use it to draw traffic to your own website by getting it listed in many of the download site that are available online.

These are just five ways to make money with private label products. You can profit from private label rights products in hundreds of ways. The only limitation is your own creativity!

Discover why many people do not find ways to make money with private label rights products. Free report shows you why and how you can http://www.create-an-income.com/info/plr

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By Ed Turner

You have probably heard about the benefits of working in a home-based business. No need to worry about daycare, if you are not feeling well you do not have to call in to work and maybe the best part is no Boss, or hectic commute to the office. Therefore, what can you do and how would you get started. Well, the answer is simple.

Why not try sending out custom-made greeting cards. There are tons of greeting cards out there. The last time you went to buy one you could not find what you were looking for. Alternatively, maybe you needed a card sent to a secret admirer and need a carrier service. Wouldn't it have been nice if there were someone who could help? Now there is and it is you.

Greeting cards have been around since ancient China, and come in a variety of styles and designs. Such as the ones you see at your local store; anniversaries, baby showers, condolences, congratulations, friendship, get well, happy birthday, holidays, I'm sorry, thank you, thinking of you, weddings and wedding anniversaries, and, of course, Love.

Let's face it; the greeting card industry has come up with a card for every occasion and every need. However, sending out these mainly generic cards sometimes does not express our true feelings. This is where a custom greeting card business would come in handy. You would simply go on line, select your card, insert your greeting and with the click of the mouse, you have sent a card.

Some of the better home-based businesses rely heavily on the Internet. Just think of it, sitting at home in your pajamas if you want and working, while enjoying your favorite drink with the radio playing your favorite music in the background. Oh, now that would be the life.

If you are wondering if it is truly possible to run your own greeting card business and make money at it, the answer is simply, yes. This is where the old saying, "What you put into it, is what you get out of it," comes into play.

When it comes to creating these unique cards, you determine what occasion it is for, or who will be getting the card. Once you know that, then you jot down what type of design you want the card to have. This in turn leads into what the card needs to say or what you want it to say. If you know to whom it is going and what it is for, then the design and any ideas you have, you can take care of later.

So imagine that one of the cards you send out is touching with a kind word to get someone through a tragedy or help celebrate a wonderful anniversary of senior citizens. In addition, of course, these individual orders are one of one kind of deals. What about the big orders though? Well, this is when you get a chance to shine. You take that email or phone call that says I need a hundred and fifty cards for a specific function, and you follow the same guidelines as before. The big difference here is that you have everything you need online to send out cards, and you do not have to go to the Post Office. You can send out any number of cards with the click of the mouse. These are real cards with a stamp and envelope.

Now that is truly a home-based business. So why not give working from home and the greeting card business a chance! You have nothing to lose!

Ed Turner is an independent distributor of Send Out Cards. He is working to build an on-line business to improve retirement or speed it up. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Please visit his website for more information (http://www.edlinsales.com/).

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By David McGimpsey

Imagine you want to open your own bricks and mortar department store. How much money do you need?

You tell your friend and he offers you an empty building in the best part of town. You ask how much rent he wants and he says, "Don't worry, it's free for as long as you need it." Now you have the premises, no money down, any money to spend.

You call the credit card company. You ask how much will it cost for merchant facilities. They say, "We will give them to you for free, just give us a small bit of money when you sell something."

This process goes on for some time.

Now you have a rent-free department store, credit card facilities and staff that will work for nothing. All you need is stock. This will be hard because the department store is big and you do not have much money.

No Problem.

You find some wholesalers that will loan you display stock. They even let you pay for each order after you make the sale, and they will handle customer delivery for you. What nice guys! It does not get much better than this.

Then you wake up.

If only life was really like the dream, you just had. Wait a minute, it is.

You can do all this online. In fact, you could have your own online department store up and running in a few short hours.

In addition, it gets better. The customers are already out there looking for you. No worrying about location for you.

This is how it works:

1. Set up an eBay account.

2. Link your eBay account to a PayPal account.

(So far, we have not spent anything, but we already have our premises in the best part of town and merchant facilities.)

3. Locate some wholesale drop ship companies.

4. Create your eBay listings and your department store is complete (you probably already have customers).

Life is simple after all.

For further reading, visit our Drop Ship Companies and eBay resources (http://www.online-home-business-advisor.com/drop-ship-companies.html).

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By Zachary Scott

If you have a home based business, there are chances you also have a website or a blog. The key to making money with these is generating traffic. The more traffic, the more you will get money. Here is some information on how you can get that traffic. I wish I had read an article like this when I was starting out. It would have helped me to start making more money much faster.

The first way, but mind you, it takes a long period, is to use SEO. What is SEO? SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization. In other words, you have to optimize your website, so it will be Search Engine friendly. You want search engines to pick up you site and be in the top results when someone searches something specific to your content. To do so, you must do the following:

-Use META tags
-Use a keyword rich content
-Registering to search Engines.

There are other steps to SEO, but for a beginner's guide, they are not of importance yet. I do not want to give out too much information and loose you. So let us take apart the different things I named. First, the META tags. In your webpage code, you have (...) .In is between these to elements of code that you will put your Meta tags. The two most important being:

1-

This is where you will put the description of your website. Put some keywords that have to do with your site, but it still has to be a readable description. This brief text shows when your website comes out on Google to describe your website.

2-

This one is also very important. It contains all the keywords you can think of that can be in your site. What I mean, is that you put every search phrase or word, you think a person might type in Google that might relate to your site content. Once you have found your list of keywords, put them, as much as possible, in your website. The more your keywords are present on your site, the better ranking you will get.

Do not forget, to make sure your website will be crawled; you should register it with most search engines. Search Google, with the term "Add Url" and you will most surely find at least where you can add a URL to Google. Do this with Yahoo, MSN and any other search engines.

Another way to get traffic to your website is to use traffic exchange. Traffic exchange is simply what is says, an exchange of traffic. Every time you visit a website through the traffic exchange program, they will send someone to your website, and vice versa. This is another great way of getting free traffic; most of the time you must sign-up, usually with no cost, except to receive a newsletter occasionally. I suggest this method, since it is not expensive at all, and if done effectively, you can get plenty of traffic.

The final way, I will suggest for you to get traffic to your website is quite simple: forum advertising.

All you need to do is find forums on the net that have to do with your website. In those forums, start participating, talk to as many people as you can. Try to get some credibility. At the same time, in your signature (You can update this in your user profile on most forums), just put a link to your website. You will see, the more you get implicated and credible, that more people will visit your website.

In conclusion, I just want to make sure you do not forget some important information. When you get some traffic for your website, you are using some bandwidth. Inform yourself with your host what your monthly-allowed bandwidth is, because if you do not, you might get a bill that is higher than you expected. Bandwidth is chargeable when you surpass what you are allowed to use. I just thought a heads-up was of great importance.

Do not forget, this is only an introduction to different ways for beginners to get free traffic. If you have some income to spare, there are other ways to get traffic; such as, buying mailing lists, or buying guaranteed traffic, and such. This is not the subject of this article, so I will not get into them. Most paid services have customer support that will be more than glad to help you out!

The author of this article runs http://bloggingto-thebank.blogspot.com/, which is his blog that is intended to help people make money online.

He has been making money online for some time now, make sure to read all the articles for their content and you might want to sign-up for the free ebook that develops more on the subject of this article.

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By Calvin Woon

Have you ever wondered how the rich manage to acquire so much wealth? The secret of the wealthy is not that they have more money but that they have more time and freedom. Because many of their streams focus on building a residual income, they have more time to spend on anything they want.

So what is all this comparison between linear and residual income? Income paid once for every hour you work is linear. Hence, income from a salary is linear. You only are paid once for your effort. However, with residual income, you work hard once and it unleashes a steady flow of income for months and even years. You are paid repeatedly for the same effort. You are paid while you are sleeping, while you are watching a movie, 24 hours a day.

Now doesn't that idea sound nice to you?

So what are the various forms of residual streams of income?

Here's a list of the many types of residual income you might want to explore:

1. Savers earn interest

2. Songwriters earn royalties on their songs

3. Authors earn royalties from their books.

4. Insurance agents get recurring commissions from their sales

5. Investors get dividends and interest from their stock.

6. Game designers and software creators get royalties.

7. Entrepreneurs get business profits.

A residual income is the recurring payment, which is received at intervals. Residual income (also called passive income) is normally a recurring income, which continues to be paid to you as time progresses for all your efforts that you have taken long before.

You can tap into tons of other forms of residual income Question is: 'How many of them do you already possess?"

If not, how much exertion are you willing to put into the effort to achieve them? Now personally, I feel that the Internet provides numerous opportunities for us to create for ourselves residual income streams.

There are a number of methods for generating residual income on the Internet. Some among them are creating a product and selling it repeatedly using an automated system, forming copyright materials, revenue creating assets, and network marketing. A residual income allows a person to get away from the worries of spending 8 hours a day in the office. It also provides financial stability.

Hence, one should always seek to create residual streams of income for oneself in order to attain the financial freedom that everyone so desires. In addition, the Internet is one platform, which provides many residual income opportunities

Calvin Woon is an online entrepreneur who is dedicated to helping others earn money online too. To claim your Million Dollar Interview Report plus other gifts and obtain more information on building a residual income, visit http://7WaysToEarnMoneyOnline.com/success.htm

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By Deon Plessis

If there is one subject not nearly enjoying enough attention in online marketing, it is the art of choosing a niche market. The niche market you choose to work in will make or break your online business. It is as simple as that. The challenge, however, is in choosing a niche market. Although, there are no real cold facts, good guidelines can serve as a first-rate guide when choosing a niche market for your online business.

There is nothing worse than spending months building a website or developing a product that was doomed from the start. What I mean by this is that if you start a website, a newsletter, or a product in a niche that is not profitable, you simply will not make any money from it. A profitable niche does not only rely on the fact that there are customers who are willing to buy the products, but also on the fact that there is a demand for what you have to offer.

Most affiliate marketers are after the 'golden nuggets' - those niches with high demand and very little competition, and although there is nothing wrong with this, it is not the only consideration when choosing a niche market. Here are some of the most important factors to consider when choosing a niche market and some suggestions for actually finding it.

- The niche must be profitable.

This means there must be a big enough market of people willing to spend money on the products and services in that particular niche. You also want to make sure there is not too much competition in that particular niche, as this makes it harder to turn out a profit. Ideally, you want competition, but not too much. Competition is a sign of profitability in that particular niche and it is a healthy factor. A simple way to seek out a niche that fulfills this requirement is to do keyword research and to match the most profitable keywords to the most profitable products.

- The niche must interest you.

Although there is nothing wrong with jumping into a profitable niche on curing athlete's foot, the challenge in any niche is longevity. In most niches, your success will rely on your persistence and staying motivated long enough to keep on keeping on until you succeed. Finding the inspiration to build a website on athlete's foot can proof to be more challenging than you think. When you are interested in a subject, your enthusiasm reflects in very subtle ways and building a business based on a subject you love seems almost effortless.

If you build a niche business based purely on profitability, it is only a matter of time before someone will come along that actually loves the subject and who will eventually kick you off the top spot. A very useful course of action is to come up with five to ten things you really love; markets that you would love to work in. Do this even before you start doing any of your keyword and profitability research. Start looking in these markets for profitable niches. You are bound to find something that is not just interesting, but also highly profitable.

- The niche must be scalable and have a decent lifespan.

As you do your niche research, you will most certainly come across some extremely popular niches that, at first sight, would seem like 'golden nuggets'. Before you jump in though, it is well worth a closer look at the lifetime of that particular niche. If you are building a niche about the Soccer World Cup in Germany, you should know that it is bound to lose popularity as soon as the event is over. Similarly, many niches based on specific products have a limited lifespan and even though they would do well for a while, they might die an early death and along with that, your paychecks would die.

When choosing a niche market, look for something that has the potential of long-term success. Similarly, you want to make sure that your niche has the potential of growing. Most niches do and there are always related products you can add and attach to your niche. If you are in very competitive markets this might be quite difficult. It typically happens when you find a very tight niche with only a couple of keywords in a very busy market. If it is too tight, you can really smother yourself and hamper your potential future growth.

Choosing a niche market really is an art and it takes experience to anticipate which niches have real potential. There is no surefire way of knowing before hand whether a niche will be profitable, but you can get very close and at least make an educated guess. Many private label sites actually specialize in doing the market research for you and apart from sniffing out the profitable niche markets, they also give you the content with which you can easily build a website or even compose your own ebook. Not only does this take a lot of the guesswork out of it, but it also takes a lot of the work out of it. You can build a site in no time and even if the niche turns out to be a dud, at least you did not spend weeks working on it.

Article by Sincere-Advice.com For more information on discovering highly profitable niches and getting all the research, product creation and website content done for you, please visit http://www.sincere-advice.com/nichemarkets.html for more information.

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By Mohd Sharulnazeri Bin Mohd Ali

Do affiliates really make money just promoting the affiliate program using the adwords or other PPC service? That is the most frequently asked question when the newbie enters the affiliate marketing business and wants to promote the product or business using the adwords or other PPC service. They have heard many stories about the affiliate's success using PPC.

When we research this question on the internet, we will find much discussion regarding this matter. Some are making money and some of them are losing money. The truth about PPC is to help the affiliate or other business to make money, not lose money, provided they have some knowledge in PPC campaign and planned strategy. Many of them lose money because they are blindly using the PPC without any study or necessary preparation, such as keywords and ads.

One question always asked by the internet marketers is, "Do the affiliate marketers make more money from the vendors?" The answer is "YES". Affiliate marketing business provides flexibility and freedom to the affiliate marketers so they will not be limited to one niche only. They can select from several niches that suit the markets. By this factor, the affiliate marketers can generate multiple sources of income from several niches. However, one of the advantages of being the vendor is having a huge pool of affiliate marketers helping you to promote your products. However, let us not forget the commissions they have to pay to the affiliate marketers. The vendors earn from quantities and bear most of the cost of creating and maintaining the business.

You need to ask yourself these two questions:

a.)Do you want to be in this business?

b.)Do you want to work for someone else? With most jobs in the world, there are a learning curve, and remember, learning and practice will make you perfect.

Sharul is one of the successful marketers. Learn more about affiliate marketing business at http://www.affiliate-marketingtips.blogspot.com and get the free adwords coaching at http://www.intincome.biz

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By Patrick A Chan

Why do we want to start a Home Based Business, not only a home-based business, but via the internet? The Internet has indeed allowed us to do many things from the comfort of our own home or anywhere in the world with internet access!

Thus, more and more people are asking themselves what they should not do at all if they ever get involved in a home based internet business! Why do they ask? Like any science experiment, we would all want to know the certain precautions we need to take in order to do them safely and correctly... Who decides on the precautions to take? Well, it would be someone who cares enough to ensure that the experiment would yield the expected results!

Being an ex-teacher, I understand the value of taking precautions... Usually precautions are given in the Teacher's Guide by the relevant authorities. However, there will be times when extra precautions not mentioned in the guides need to be raised by the teachers themselves so that the students are aware of any potential hazards or self-sabotages...

Now, here is a list, not an exhaustive one, which according to me needs to be observed by anyone who is serious about starting a home based business online. There are apparently much more that cannot be sufficiently covered because the Internet serves a Global community... Anyway, I just hope that this basic list would set you thinking and headed on the right path towards success!

1. Do not pretend to be an expert in every area! There are so many aspects to be taken into consideration when it comes to running an internet business. We seriously need to be humble about the things we do not understand or know and employ the assistance of those who have the expertise!

2. Do not jump into any business opportunity without first doing a thorough check on the company's profile. This is not an easy step to take, especially so, when even legitimate companies may be misrepresented or abused by scammers! I have received many emails offering me opportunities by "myself" too! LOL Get yourself a well-informed mentor/advisor to guide you.

3. Do not be distracted and mind your own business! There are so many opportunities offered online! Many people will Try This and Try That... Have you heard of Jack who is into all trades? Yes, he is no master... Just a slave in the making! Distractions offer you chains unseen by the naked eye if you are not careful... Decide on your primary business! Look after your own business and you will prosper! Are you thinking of multiple sources of income? Sure, if you are ready and have built yourself a good foundation! If not, be wise about things and do one thing well at any one time =)

Replying to anonymous spam emails can be a distraction. Well, most scammers just need a response from you to start a whole army of emails marching your way until your inbox needs changing! These test emails are usually not addressed to anyone in particular or are addressed to a hidden list that has been collected using "spydees" etc. You will probably not be able to find your email address in the recipient's field. So, why reply and invite distraction?

When you are doing anything that is not helping you market and grow your business... it is a distraction!

4. Do not send an email when your computer is infected by a virus, trojan, spyware, adware and the like. You would not want your sensitive information to land in the wrong hands. Get yourself protected using an antivirus/internet security software!

5. Do not forget to track what you are doing. This is especially vital prior to each marketing campaign you run... This will ensure that you know where to spend the best dollar and where not to spend at all!

6. Do not be discouraged! There will be people who will try to steal your dreams or trample upon them! Your loved ones especially! You need to be focused in what you do. Every setback sets you up for more success! To know what works and what does not is the key to doing only what works for success! Simple enough?

7. Do not limit your mindset! I chose this to be seventh on this list because it is very important! A mindset limited by any situation, opinion, or anything is going to generate limited or no success... E.g. if you are desperate to earn an income and all your bills are piling up... being desperate stems from a limited mindset. Learn to see new possibilities out of your situation instead of allowing yourself to be depressed and defeated! Overcoming negative emotions is not easy, but it is possible! Anyway, entertaining negative emotions will not move you in any positive direction! Manage your emotions and a better mindset can emerge to help pull you through any tough spots!

Another area of a limited mindset is often manifested in the amount of time, energy, or money we are willing to commit in order to succeed. Sometimes, the opportunity of a lifetime does not come "cheap"! A limited mindset would view a golden opportunity as time-consuming, energy draining, and "expensive"... It does not allow us to see beyond those limiting factors into a future that will reward us with success unlimited! Thus, we have people that regret during their dying moments not taking enough risk in their life... most people statistically regret that!

8. Do not give up on yourself! You are your own worst enemy... When you quit on yourself, you quit on everything! Sometimes, we cannot see any fruit of our labor being produced... Be patient! Persevere! People may give up on us, but we must never let what they think of us become our reality! We create our own future! We just need to fix our vision, work consistently towards fulfilling it, and never give up! Having said all that, we need to recognize what we need to quit thinking, doing, or saying anything that works against our vision and core desire!

9. Do not reinvent the wheel especially when you are new. Reinventing systems takes time, energy, and money... It is wiser to stick with proven systems especially when you are just starting out fresh. Sometimes, having a lousy looking website up quickly can profit you more than having a painstakingly reinvented website up after a long time! Use existing systems that work! Simplicity is the key!

10. Do not be ill prepared. This is the last on this list, but it is definitely not the least! Do your due researches first and always check your business processes before you implement it... Doing research and checks before implementation helps to minimize a lot of headaches! If you like headaches, then ignore this last item. ;-)

Well, I hope this list will help you move quickly in the right direction! Remember this: Only you can slow yourself down...

Patrick Chan who has been making money online since 2002 is willing to help anyone who finally wants to succeed in every aspect of life. Join his successful Singapore team in the quest for success from the comfort of your home via the internet (http://success.homelysuccess.com/). Also, check out his buddy Ewen Chia's Autopilot Profits System In A Box (http://auto.homelysuccess.com/) that can definitely enhance anyone's online business!

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By Carol Stack

Working at Home is Not for Everyone

One of the most difficult aspects of working at home is to focus on what really needs to be done for the business. There are many things needing done, like yard work, laundry, and childcare. Some days you realize the day is gone and you did not get anything done for your business.

How can you work at home and focus on your business when there are interesting things to watch on television, or snow to shovel off the driveway, or the phone is constantly ringing?

Some people are not able to work at home, and the only choice for them is to get a small office somewhere away from home, as soon as they can afford it. However, for those who can get work done, there are things to do to minimize distractions.

First, set a certain time each day when you will focus on your business. Let the family know that this is your time to work and that you must not be disturbed.

That can be hard for children to understand, especially young children. One woman was able to make a game of it.

She told her children that if they let her focus on making sales calls from her home office, that every time she made a sale she would put a quarter in a jar. When there were enough quarters in the jar, the entire family would go out for pizza or to a movie.

That idea worked great for her. It was a reward for the entire family. It got to the point where the children could hardly wait for their mom to go into her office and make some calls.

However, what do you do with a phone that hardly stops ringing. You do not want to miss a call. It might be your child trying to get hold of you for an emergency.

The simple solution is to get an answering machine or voice mail. That will take care of 99% of the calls.

For family emergencies make sure your children and spouse know your cell phone number, and then keep your cell phone with you. Also, let them know that during your work hours they should only call for emergencies, the same, as they would do if you had an office job.

What About the Neighbors?

Neighbors and friends can pose problems, too. They often think that because you are home you must be free to be involved in all sorts of activities or to chat.

This can be one of the hardest things to deal with, but you must somehow make them understand that you are working at home and that you are not retired. Most people can understand that, especially today when more and more people are working at home.

Are You the Type to Work at Home?

It takes a certain kind of person to be able to work at home. Not everyone can do it. You have to be able to view it as if you were going to an office job and diligently be able to guard your work time.

You have to be able to forget all the other things that need to be done around the house. Focus strictly on what needs to be done to grow your business for a certain number of hours every workday. If you cannot do this, do not feel bad. As soon as you can afford it, go out and rent office space.

Grab lots of free reports and information on starting your own online publishing business at http://www.selfpublishinghelper.com.

Carol Stack was once stuck working in a cubicle like millions of others around the world, but now enjoys working at home online. She lives with her husband and three children. Carol enjoys home schooling, internet marketing, and writing. Visit her site to discover how you can make money at home.

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By Zachary Scott

If you are reading this, it is probably because you want to start Affiliate Marketing, or because you have heard it is a good method to make money online, or you have already started and tried but have not figured out how it all works.

What is affiliate marketing? Affiliate Marketing is to market via promotions, websites, ads, and other vehicles of promotion, products for other companies, and to receive commissions for each sale these promotions have directly caused. This may seem complicated but I will give you a classic example, which will clarify things for you.

Example case of an affiliate Marketer You put a banner ad for a television on a website. A person clicks on that ad, and is redirected to XYZ Company, on the product page of the television. The person then buys the television. Since you have an affiliate agreement with XYZ Company, you get Xpercentage of the sale.

It is simple really! You get commissions for sales you give to vendors.

Now you are probably asking yourself a great question that I would love to answer!

How do I become an affiliate marketer? There are two ways to become an affiliate marketer. The first is searching the net for different companies, and looking for an affiliate program on their sites. You can then register with them. Some of them will require a phone call to verify your identity and such, others not. It is an effective way, but it is harder to compare.

Another way to get into the Affiliate Marketing business is to register with a third-party website such as Clickbank or Commission Junction. These are great, because they will let you choose from hundreds, if not thousands of different products relevant to what you want. You can even search in these products to find what you want and choose between competitors. If you think this will cut into your commissions, you are wrong. You can get up to 75% commissions on sales from these third-party websites. Therefore, I personally suggest this option further, at least for beginners.

Why should I use Affiliate Marketing? Affiliate Marketing is great because you only have to promote and wait, really! Of course, the more active you are in promoting, the more money you are going to make. Truly, the best thing about this though, is that you do not have to worry about a lot of the "back end" stuff. I am talking about customer support; billing issues. In fact, you do not have to know a thing about the product you are selling, except for the basics to be able to promote it well.

I hope this helps anyone asking oneself what Affiliate Marketing is, and others who were wondering where to start out.

The author of this article runs http://bloggingto-thebank.blogspot.com/, which is his blog that is intended to help people make money online.

He has been making money online for some time now, make sure to read all the articles for their content and you might want to sign-up for the free ebook that develops more on the subject of this article.

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By Bob Crane

Ok, your spouse has orders to relocate again, and now you will have to leave your job and find a new one at your new destination. When you first started moving around it was exciting seeing new things and making new friends but sometimes it gets hard to get back on track, especially with finding another job. You just never know what the job outlook is in the area that you are going to and if you will be able to find something with the hours, you still need to take care of your family.

A portable internet based network marketing opportunity would really work great in that situation because it can be operated from anywhere in the world which has an internet connection, and a telephone, if possible. Getting started in your own network marketing business is easy. Just find one that offers a product that you like and can believe in and has international exposure. Once you find a product and a company that you like, then you have to find a sponsor in that company that you would like to work with. It would be up to the sponsor to train you on the workings of the company and get you started on marketing the product and business yourself. In the event they transfer you to a place where making phone calls was prohibitive, you would need your sponsor to help you with that until you were able to get back to an area where you could make your own calls. It is important to find a sponsor who understands your situation and is willing to help you out when you need it. That is really the essence of network marketing, people helping people.

As your network marketing business grew, you would begin to receive a decent income from your business to help you no matter where you lived. You could also work with other military dependents and show them how to have their own business, also. If they decided to come on board with you, then you would become their sponsor, and so on. Much of the company communication is done through conference calls that could be e-mailed to you if you were outside of an inexpensive calling area, and then you could listen to them when you had time.

Building your own network marketing business with your friends on base would allow you to keep in touch with them long after you moved again. When I was in the military, I made several friends, but after several moves, we just drifted apart. If we had been working together on a network-marketing project, we probably would still be keeping in touch now. There are many benefits to starting your own network marketing business. Start exploring them today.

Bob Crane is a Nutrition Consultant/Trainer involved in developing a one of a kind new Internet Work at Home Goji Juice Business System. http://www.1vitalityavenue.com Check out the Goji Super Juice. To Find Out How Bob Can Help You Get Started In Your Own Home Business You May Contact Him at: http://www.domesticbiz.com

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By Calvin Woon

Have you ever wondered why some people are able to make money online while most struggle? There are actually some reasons why people fail to make money online and I have compiled some of the reasons below:

1. They get distracted easily and lose focus. In other words, people cannot stick to what works. Instead of having and focusing on a few affiliate programs that work for you, they simply hop from one work at home business opportunity to another. That really should not be the way to go about it, if you seriously want to make money online. You need to focus all your efforts and resources on one good solid program in order to make the most out of your internet business and make serious money online.

2. They do not apply the information they have learned. Most people read book after book and attend seminar after seminar. Most have lots of information stored in their heads. However, knowledge without action is useless. However, applied knowledge is power. So you have to apply what you have leaned about making money online to your internet business. Keep taking action and you will soon achieve your goals and start to make money online.

3. They misunderstand the concept of 'working from home', thinking that they can just relax at home and make money. Undoubtedly, the aim of owning a home based internet business is to free up your time in the future so that you can accomplish the greater things in life. However, it does not mean you can just sit back, relax right from the start, and expect to make money online. You have to work, and put in both time and effort. Over time as profits start to kick in, then can you spend less time on it?

4. They are not passionate in their business. Now, we are bound to face obstacles and failures in our quest to make money online. Without the passion in what one is doing, one will easily lose the focus and motivation once the going gets tough. Hence, you have to find a niche market you are passionate about in order to truly be able to make money online.

5. They have not fully grasped all aspects of the business. In other words, these people do not know their business well enough. People never get to know their business inside and out. They do not know what differentiates them from the rest, how their business helps to serve the public and what strategies to use to make it better. If one does not know his/her business well enough, it is going to be tough to sustain the internet business and enable one to make money online.

Bear in mind the above five reasons which cause people to fail to make money online. Avoid them. You could be well on your way to making serious money online.

Calvin Woon is an online entrepreneur who is dedicated to helping others earn money online too. To claim your free gifts and more information, visit http://7WaysToEarnMoneyOnline.com/success.htm

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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 Robert Wilkinson

If there's one thing that makes direct mail a reliable method of drumming up new business, then that would have to be the ability to test if different versions of a mailing pack achieve a better return on investment. Having processed many mailings over the years, I can attest that, more often than not, clients don't test at all.

Not testing is commercial suicide. In today's competitive climate, if there is anything that can be done to reduce the cost of acquiring a customer, then it must be done. It's a no brainer.

You decrease your direct mail costs by the application of a little common sense and by testing, which produces the best response.

We'll take the example of a direct mail pack that comprises five parts in all.

The parts of the pack are as follows:

1) Envelope
2) Personalized letter
3) Brochure
4) Leaflet/Order form
5) Business reply Envelope

Looking at this, you might think it's complete -- but we've forgotten the most important part of all:

6) The data

Experience shows that the most important part of the mailing is the data, so we must test this part. A badly-produced, but well-targeted letter will almost certainly produce a better return than a well-written, badly-targeted letter.

You may have a particular target audience already decided ... for example, lawyers. You will be able to get lists of lawyers from more than one source. Those sources can be tested. You'll also have the option of mailing to a named individual, or to a job title, so you can test that too. So far, that's at least four permutations, provided you only use two data suppliers. It would be six if you used three suppliers.

If you didn't narrow your field to one sector, then the choice of tests to run could be massively increased -- but there really isn't any need to take it to the extreme.

Looking at the envelope, you have a huge number of choices here. You can send plain with a stamp, or printed with a message. You could make the material from an unusual paper, print in full color, or use different sizes. You could print different designs, or use different taglines.

Depending on how your envelope is made, you may be able to run multiple designs for a minimal charge. The nature of some jobs is that they are printed 2 or 3 or up on a sheet, so you will be able to produce equal quantities of more than one design. Even if it's not free, chances are that it won't be that expensive for a plate change.

For the letterhead: you can change the paper. Studies by paper merchants have shown a 20% increase in response just by changing to a textured paper. The copy itself on the letter can be changed. Offers can be changed.

The number of options to test here is almost limitless.

With the leaflet, the same applies as for the letterhead. Copy, material, imagery; they're all fair game for testing.

Last but not least, we move on to the BRE (Business Reply Envelope). There's not a huge amount you could test here. White or manila envelopes, perhaps? Maybe even a colored BRE? If it isn't going to cost a lot, why not try it?

Using these methods, over time, you can increase the effectiveness of your mailings. Always test, even when you think you have the perfect maling pack, continue to run a test campaign against it, even if the difference between the two is really quite small. If you continue to do this, your costs to acquire a customer will continue to fall steadily.

There is an almost infinitely large and limitless opportunity for testing if you look. Maybe it's this huge scope for testing that puts people off, but I think it's just a lack of awareness of what you can do.

You don't need to complicate things. Just run two mailing packs with one difference between them and continue to replace the poorest performer.

Robert Wilkinson is the owner of http://www.arhiann.com , a print, design and direct mail business specializing in direct mail and envelope production for small and medium sized businesses.

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By Mark Seyster

I must admit that I have been playing a bit of hooky, lately. I guess I just needed a little bit of "mental" as well as "physical" rest. To do this I escaped to the wilds of New Hampshire during the past week to do some skiing. I brought one of my daughters along to make it a father/daughter trip, also. The conditions and the company were excellent. As they say, "Just what the doctor ordered".

The point behind this story, I believe most of us can relate to the fact that our lives are much faster paced, hyper-paced, than they used to be! The reasons for this are varied, but the fact remains that they are. Many of us are overworked and stressed out with what seems like a million things to do and not enough time to do them. Can you relate to this? Does this describe your life? Unfortunately, it seems like this is the norm for us. One area that highlights this frenetic, fast-paced life is the in-box of your email account. This is the new home (vs. the nightly dinnertime phone calls) where constant bombardment with all sorts of solicited (non-spam) and unsolicited (spam) information arrives.

If you are like me, most of the time you probably do not bother to open and/or read the majority of these emails. You quickly reach for the delete key and poof - they are instantly gone!

My advice to you, as hard as it may be to take with the limited time we all seem to have, is to take a couple of extra minutes to screen these emails. The reason I am recommending this to you is that buried amongst the majority of plain old garbage can be some real gems. Just like the old-time miners sifting through tons of dirt to get to the small bit of gold. I have discovered a few of these gems that contain excellent, quality information, in just this manner, when I was not looking for them.

Below are a couple of the ecommerce advice gems that I have come across in the past few months, by following my own advice, that may be of interest to you:

Practical Ecommerce

Kerry and Joy Murdock in Grand Junction, Colorado, USA launched practical eCommerce magazine in July 2005. Its mission from the start has been to provide down-to-earth articles and advice to help smaller businesses succeed online. This editorial content was originally delivered primarily through a monthly, printed magazine, but it now (2007) includes this website, podcasts, and an email newsletter (EcommerceNotes), as well as the printed magazine, which is now bi-monthly.

Real folks are behind this company. We are a small business ourselves, and we take seriously the notion of helping other small businesses decipher the complexities of migrating online or improving their online operations.

Web Marketing Today

Dr. Ralph Wilson formed Wilson Internet Services at the very beginning of the commercial Internet in 1995 to help small to medium businesses and organizations learn how to use the Internet effectively.

For a complete ecommerce solution see:

I wish you the best in your success!

Mark@original-new-england-enterprises.com

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By Leonard Bartholomew

Publishing an e-zine, often thought of as a great Internet marketing tool, can also be your best internet home based business opportunity. An e-zine can make money online. While an e-zine is not necessarily the same as an electronic newsletter (the latter is generally longer) for the purposes of what each of them can do for your bottom line and your Internet networking, we are going to assume they are identical.

Publishing an e-zine can be a very enjoyable internet home based business. To know that you can write about yourself and your business, you can work at any hour of the day and night, and you are imparting your wisdom to people who have actually asked for it, and will benefit from it, can be a very satisfying experience.

We are all experts at something. Take stock of what you have done over the years and what you have learned. Think about what you enjoy doing and what you do well. Surely, there is something you do better, and that you know more about than anybody else does. That is the focus of your new e-zine or newsletter.

As an internet home based business, your e-zine will take some patience but there are few businesses, of the thousands and thousands out there, which make any money right off. This is true despite some of the hyperbolic stuff you read on the Internet about spending a few dollars to buy someone else's internet home based business opportunity and then all you have to do is sit back and watch the money roll in from day one.

No matter what the internet home based, business opportunity is - unless it is some sort of scam - that is just not going to happen.

With your e-zine, you will spend several months building your subscriber base. Once it reaches about 1000, you can start selling advertising, or sponsorships to relevant businesses. They will probably jump at the chance to tap into your highly targeted market for their products. Of course, you can also sell your own products and services as well. What you want to be very careful about is not selling advertising or sponsorship to a competitor. The advertisers on the ezine should enhance, and not compete with your internet home based business products and services.

Once you have a steady following for your e-zine, you can start charging for a subscription. Alternatively, you might run two ezines, one condensed free one, and another paid one that offers more help, more advice, more resources, and so forth.

The message is that if you have an expertise, a product, an opportunity, an idea, an industry, or a service, then you know more about it than most other people. If it is a product or idea or service that enough people want to know more about, you can make a lucrative internet home based business out of publishing an ezine and helping others learn.

Leonard Bartholomew, B.S. Computer Science. Leonard is a Cardiac Computer System Administrator for a large hospital chain in the Carolinas. He invites you to investigate the best internet home based business opportunity (http://www.moxie-drive.com/) the internet has to provide today.

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by James White

If you're reading this article, there is a big chance you're part of the 95%. The good news is -- you don't have to be. The problem is, most people don't PAY ATTENTION.

Let me explain.

When you surf the Web, you click on sites that catch your eye. Even when you surf for credits, when you come across a site you like, you may opt in for their E-mail newsletter.

This is were you should be paying attention!

What was it that made you click that link, opt in for the newsletter or even join up? Take note of what phrases they used. What message did they portray to get you interested?

Then, create your own slogan or cover letter portraying the same message, but written differently. Doing this will help you become a better marketer and create better ads for whatever purpose you need -- for opt-in lists, E-zine ads, articles, cover pages, etc.

It is almost impossible to market something online unless you offer a free product, special offer, or a free E-mail course.

Where most people seem to fail is getting at their target market, such as Internet marketers or people already searching for a product to buy.

Trying to covert Internet marketers into your down line for any System is extremely hard. The reason for this is that they most likely already have a system that they are promoting and have their hands full. When marketing, try targeting a different market other than Internet marketers. This would include people new to Internet marketing or looking for an opportunity that really works, with testimonies or a free trial offer.

This sort of thing applies in ad words. This is something you will have to think about for yourself.

Another marketing technique is to relate to your customers or potential downline members. Slogans such as, "I was a broke loser, sound familiar?" "I tried this technique, now I earn 2000+ a day."

This WAS a good marketing strategy, but it has been overused lately and a lot of people have seen it. Now, a lot of people do actually make that much money online.

Letting people know how easy the system is and a brief honest overview of how it works and why it will work for them usually does the trick. Making things sound too good to be true doesn't usually work, as a lot of people are not easily convinced.

Say you actually have people in your downline, but it's not really going anywhere. This problem has a simple solution -- but it will also take a little work on your part.

Get in contact with them and I don't mean make an awkward phone call. E-mail is fine. Tell them one of the things that helped you build your downline then, at the end of the E-mail, say, "If this helped you, or if you need more assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me at example@emailsite.com.

Helping your prospects and customers succeed is the best possible thing you can do.

Sure -- you're giving away free information that may have taken you years to learn. The point of this is, by helping them succeed, you are improving your downline's success rate, ultimately increasing your own success.

This technique is very important and will keep people in your downline and hopefully increase their recruiting ability.

Hope this helps you break out of the 95% barrier.

This site brings me in a full-time income -- a realistic proven opportunity. Join now, and I will personally coach you http://www.recruitprofits.com/pips.html . After you join, just E-mail me at support@recruitprofits.com I will be more than willing to help you.

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by Tyler James Ellison

The first thing you need to do when writing a press release to help drive targeted traffic to your Website is to put away your advertising glasses and put on your journalism cap. If your release sounds like advertising, it will not be read by many people and will be accepted by even fewer distributors.

You must sound like an objective third party as you write and it needs to sound like you have nothing to gain from the people who choose to visit your Website.

You should also tell an interesting story. It is a bad idea to go on blabbing about the features of the product or service on the Website you're promoting. That just doesn't qualify as interesting news.

What does qualify is a success story? Telling how a real person had a real problem that your product or service solved is very interesting and is way better than any ad you could buy.

You should also use statistics in your release as much as possible. Keep it simple, unless you plan to submit it to a technical journal, but showing real numbers does a lot to back up your claims and win you credibility.

Compare two example headlines for a moment. The first one says, "Lives saved in burning building." The second one says, "47 lives saved in burning building." It's obvious that the second is much more interesting. The number allows people to understand the scope of the event in much greater detail.

There is a right way to slip a little advertising into your press release. This sounds like I'm doubling back on myself, but not really. Don't include promotional language in the main body of the press release, but do include it as if quoting an expert on the subject.

Quoting somebody else does nothing to hurt your reputation as a writer and, if the quote is relevant, then it deserves to be included. Quote yourself, if you have to, but include quotes as the subtle way of getting a little advertising into your press releases.

Finally, when you write press releases online, usually the company will want to charge you to include clickable links with keywords embedded. You can save money by giving up the keywords in your clickable link and simply state somewhere, in the body of the release, the full URL of the Website you're promoting.

This will often (although not always) get your link, clickable, on the publication pages, without having to pay. You sacrifice the benefits of having keyword backlinks for Search Engine Optimization purposes but, if your budget is tight, then this is an excellent workaround.

There are plenty of places to submit for free, such as ArriveNet, I-NewsWire, Free-Press-Release, and OpenPr. Do some searching on your own for publications that are specific to your niche and you can submit there.

You should avoid getting your hopes up with this method, but persistence will get you one or two chances, which you can later refer to for credibility purposes. This will enhance your Website conversion ratio dramatically and you will start attracting links and traffic you never even tried to target!

Tyler Ellison is a successful entrepreneur who teaches automated marketing strategies (http://www.youcanworkthenet.com/) and encourages others to join the community at Little Guy Co-op (http://www.littleguyco-op.com/).

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by John Hirth

You know this one ... you've identified what they need, maybe even found out how much they are willing to pay. Now it's time for that infamous "trial close."

"If I can show you a way to solve your problems, will you buy my product?"

They answer "yes" and you believe you've got the deal. Then, you come back and make your presentation and, when you ask, "so -- are you ready to buy?" the prospect says, "I like it, but I'm going to have to check on some other options."

Now you ask, "what went wrong?" Weren't they listening, or did they just out-and-out lie?

Think about it... when you asked, "if I can show you a way to solve your problem, will you buy my product?" what was the prospect thinking? Usually, they're in one of two positions: ready to buy and favorably disposed to your offer (in which case, you would have gotten the deal), or not ready to buy -- still needing more information.

I believe that, by asking that closing question, you often end up forcing your prospect to "lie" -- a strategy that, half the time, will back-fire!

Here's why.

If they were really ready to buy when you asked for the "trial close," I think you would have gotten the order. However, in this situation I don't think they were that far along. In fact, they probably needed more information, hoping that your presentation might provide it.

What they would really like to say is, "I'm not sure I'm ready to make a decision," but they're afraid if they tell you that, you won't give them the information they need. So they lie and say "yes," to get what they want.

It's not that they are "bad people" -- it's that you're a "bad" sales person!

What will work much better is what we refer to as an "open close." Your question is a closed-ended question, only giving the prospect two choices.

Use an open close like, "If I show you a solution to your problem that you believe will work, what would you feel comfortable doing next?" With this open close, there is much less pressure and the prospect will more likely tell you the truth. They haven't been put in a corner, forced to pick one of only two answers.

Now can tell you anything.

The true "sales master" understands that, "to close or not to close," is really the prospects' choice and, by giving them more options with an "open close," you will raise your winning percentages!

Now that I've shown you a better way to close -- will you use it?

Instead of thinking about closing business, think about "opening" new business. With that thought in mind, "open closing" should be much easier!

John E. Hirth is President and founding principal of Selling Dynamics, a sales force development, sales training and sales process consulting firm dedicated to increasing sales revenue and corporate profits. Email: jeh@sellingdynamics.com Website: http://www.johnhirth.com .

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by Amit Kothiyal

Social bookmarking is a new trend in search engine optimization, which has gained recognition as part of a new type of Website optimization, termed "social media optimization (SMO)."

Social Bookmarking, also referred to sometimes as "social bookmarketing," is the term used for bookmarking sites on the Web and sharing them with friends. It is similar to bookmarking a site on your pc, in the "favorites" of your Web browser.

There are an increasing number of Websites available that provide this as a free service for bookmarking your favorite sites or blogs on the Web. These sites are known as social bookmarking sites. Once you have created a free account, you may begin adding bookmarks to your account.

The advantage is that, once you have bookmarked any site, then you can access them from anywhere on the Web -- and also share them with friends.

These are some popular social bookmarking sites:

del.icio.us, Digg.com, Simpy.com, blogmarks.net, feedmarker.com, myweb2.search.yahoo.com, lookmarks.com, bluedot.com, furl.net.

So -- how is social bookmarking useful for SEO?

Social bookmarking sites are "tag based" - which means you can "tag" them with keywords, so your visitors that bookmark your site can find them easily later. Search engines index these tags, as well as the link, so you are essentially getting free one-way links from high-traffic sites, with all of your keywords attached to them!

It's a great way to get your Website visitors working for you. However, choosing proper tag names is critical and plays a very important role, if you want to truly get social bookmarking to work for you in your search engine optimization process.

The interesting thing is that there are no limitations for the number of tags you can attach to your link. The extent to which you declare tags will allow for your site’s information to be stored. Additionally, when someone bookmarks your site, the bookmarking site checks the tags to see if the link already exists.

By periodically changing your bookmark tags, you can get multiple links with different tags on the same site. In other words, your site will be stored in different pages and you will get links from the different pages of the same sites.

Because these sites are regularly crawled by search engines, your site will most likely also be crawled more often by having bookmarked links on these Websites.

Amit Kothiyal is a Website marketing executive for Phoenix- and Las Vegas-based Web design & marketing firm Vision Media Corporation. Vision Media specializes in rich Web application development (http://www.vizmarketing.com/), search engine optimization (http://www.vizmarketing.com/web-marketing-and-search-engine-optimization-i-8.html), custom Website design, multimedia production and other rich Web applications.

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by Helen Hecker

With careful planning you can market, promote, and get (free) publicity (publicity is always free) on a limited budget; you can take the cheap and easy way to success. Whether you've just published a book, or have a book that isn't selling, now is the time to get to it; start marketing today!

Send out the same press release to the editor of your local daily newspaper every week until you are called for an interview or are written up. Your book press release should not be written as you would a sales letter or flier, it should be written for the editor and tell about your book in a factual way. No opinion or glowing remarks. Make sure your press release spells out the 'who, what, where, when, and why.'

Make sure you have at least one good press release, written in AP style, that you can send out for the lifetime of your book. Mail a press release to all the trade journals in your field over and over again; you can use the same release. When picked up by wire services, a press release can easily end up generating hundreds of mentions for your book.

Press releases can generate thousands of dollars in sales when picked up by national trade or print media. Don't underestimate the value of a good press release for making book sales.

Find a non-exclusive distributor with a good reputation to carry your book for the book store trade, as well as for other retailers. Contact any companies, corporations or organizations that might use your book for promotions; offer significant discounts for volume orders or, for thousands of copies, offer them for a small amount above your book production costs.

Place free ads periodically for your book's Website on Craigslist, in different categories, to drive even more free traffic to your Website.

Contact non-bookstore booksellers and offer to leave books on consignment. Be your own publicist and send a press release along with a review copy of your book to publications in your book's genre and to book review magazines. Offer to trade writing a monthly column in a trade publication in your books' genre, in return for display ads on the same page.

Your sales letter or flier should include an eye-grabbing headline, the benefits to the buyer, the book features, book sales information and testimonials.

Remember to make sure your book is listed in Books-in-Print; don't assume it's already listed. Every day it's important to focus on a variety of marketing approaches.

Make sure not to overlook the Internet; get yourself interviewed or profiled for sites both about writing, publishing and about the topics covered in your book. Market your book to your number one market first, and then go after the secondary markets. Try giving away one of your books in a raffle at a local function to get more book recognition.

Get as many testimonials about your book as possible, from experts in the field relating to your title, not customers; use on your fliers and back of books. I've seen publishers lose a lot of money paying for expensive display ads, so beware if you do this; I don't advise it in the beginning -- get your feet wet first so you know what you're doing.

Make sure to promote and market your book each and every day, both online and offline. Create an online contest and list it in online contest directories to drive traffic to your Website.

Use your book promotion and book marketing dollars wisely; go after the free and cheap resources daily. Make sure to test, test, and test some more before you lay out large sums of money. The success of any book marketing effort depends on a good book and just plain hard work; its been done many times before and you can do it too.

For more book marketing tips (http://www.twinpeakspress.com/) and information on selling more books, go to http://www.TwinPeaksPress.com , founded in 1982, specializing in help for authors, self publishers, E-book and book publishers with tips, advice and resources, including information on media, library and other mailing lists, and press releases - online, wire service and offline distribution (http://www.twinpeakspress.com/)

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by Lensmaster Lewis Smile and Citizen Squid

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

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

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

***************************************************

1. THE SIMPLE.

Join MySpace.

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

***************************************************

2. THE BEAUTIFUL.

Create an attractive MySpace profile.

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

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

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

***************************************************

3. THE SLOW.

Start adding the people you know.

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

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

***************************************************

4. THE TURBO-CHARGED.

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

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

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

***************************************************

5. THE COMMUNICATION.

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

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

***************************************************

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

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

You'd better get started!

***************************************************

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

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

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by Johnny Albertson

Establishing yourself as the expert in your field will help you gain both recognition and respect. That recognition and respect transfers directly to your company. If people trust that you truly know what you're talking about, they will feel good about investing in your product.

How to Gain Recognition

There are countless vehicles through which you can brand yourself as an expert. Budgets tend to limit what most companies can do, however. While television and radio appearances will reach the greatest number of people and are also the most personal, most companies can't afford such an endeavor.

Newspapers, magazines, and other publications are a more cost effective way of gaining exposure.

The Internet has become an increasingly popular place for business owners to showcase their expertise. The opportunities for brand establishment on the Internet are countless.

A Website is the best place to start. Build a professional looking site with sound and informative content and you'll have a source of expert information to direct customers to. It is wise to upload a variety of self-written material to that Website. Whether it's E-books or articles, good writing commands respect.

Remember that it is okay to give away some of your precious knowledge free of charge. Offer the customer something useful up-front and they will label you as a legitimate source to go to for whatever your company may offer.

Branding on the Internet

Once your Website is in good shape, it's time to attract some visitors. Article marketing is one way to do this. Appearing as an expert in these self-written articles, published on various sites, will give readers the option of linking back to your site.

Article marketing is an especially effective way to gain expert status because it gives you the ability to dispense a small number of articles to a huge number of content-rich sites. The more places your name pops up, the more people will be exposed to your site and product.

You can be assured you have risen to an expert level in the eyes of consumers once these associations are made.

Another way to display your expertise is through online forums and blogs. This is a bit more casual than article writing. It allows you to remain in the first person and talk candidly with interested Web surfers. The conversational tone used in such settings will put many potential customers at ease.

Not only will they view you as an expert, they'll also feel connected to you as a real human being. Similarly, such an environment gives customers the chance to ask questions as well as giving you the opportunity to back up your product in the face of criticism.

What to Highlight

While the language you use and the information you present is most important when it comes to branding, there are other things to consider. Perhaps most vital are your credentials. Related degrees, certifications, licenses and accreditations that you may have are always good to highlight.

For instance, at the bottom of an article you have written about your clown entertainment business for a circus magazine, you might include a small blurb that says something like the following: "Tom Jones received an M.A. in the Creative Arts from Bozonion University. He is a licensed Balloon Animal Artist as well as being certified in professional stilt-walking. Mr. Jones has been successfully entertaining for over twenty-five years."

Find the right places to gain recognition. Put yourself out there and command respect through that exposure. Highlight your achievements and successes. Branding yourself as an expert is all about getting other people to recognize something about you that you already know.

It's your business and you know your industry. Get out there and showcase your expert talents!

Johnny Albertson is a musician, blogger and writer. Visit his blog, Beatin' the Blues (http://www.beatintheblues.blogspot.com/) for more insights and pearls of wisdom. Johnny is a big fan of Article Marketer (http://www.articlemarketer.com/), an online article distribution service.

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by Joe Thompson

It is important that you conduct your due diligence before settling on one particular merchant credit card processing account provider. The reasons are obvious. You certainly don't want to be stuck paying high monthly fees. Plus, I'm sure you wouldn't want to overpay on a processing solution.

Don't let price be the only deciding factor, though! We'll look at this in a minute.

Never hurry through when trying to find a merchant account. If you move too fast, you will surely miss out on a really great deal. I can't stress this enough. Don't wait until one week before opening your doors to customers, to find a merchant account provider. Not only would you miss out on a good deal but, in some cases, it can take up to a week to approve your application once its been submitted.

Three main factors should be considered when choosing a merchant account provider (in no particular order):

* Integrity of the provider
* Price
* Customer Service

We'll look at each determining factor, in detail, so you can get the scoop on what to look for.

Integrity of the Merchant Account Provider

Don't automatically assume a provider is legitimate, just by what they have posted on their Website or what they might have conveyed to you over the telephone. The merchant account industry has a number of ruthless and greedy sales representatives who are more interested in themselves then helping you.

Here are some red flags to watch out for and suggestions to test a providers integrity:

* Repeatedly getting an answering machine every time you call.
* Representative seems to give you the run-around every time you ask them a question about rates or their agreement.
* If they use one of those free Web hosting services for their Website and/or a free domain name (i.e. www.xyz.com/user/4876/5thave/index.html), look the other way. If they can't afford a real domain name and website then they shouldn't be in business.
* They don't post all their rates and fess on their Website.

Scrutinize their merchant agreement, go over it with a fine tooth comb and question anything that appears "loose" or suspicious. You certainly don't want to get caught in a loophole.

Make sure their Website clearly shows what bank(s) they represent. It is unlawful for a merchant account provider not to show what banks they represent on their Website. Visa and MasterCard crack down hard on those who don't.

Search the Better Business Bureau, consumer reports, or online newsgroups for any unsatisfactory remarks made about the company.

Top Notch Customer Service is Paramount

Don't get carried away by great rates and forget about customer service. Customer service is king for long-term success and smooth transaction processing. You don't want to be plagued with busy signals and long hold times. Your time is precious and downtime will cost you money.

Before signing up with a company, try out their customer service number. Give it a ring and ask them a few questions. Take note of their attitude -- do they seem interested in wanting to help you? Are their answers fully-detailed, yet easy to understand?

Some aspects that should be met for superior customer service:

* Reliable availability (and yes, even on holidays, if possible. Definitely if your business operates 365 days a year!)
* Hold time of 5 minutes or less
* Friendly, courteous representatives who are knowledgeable
* A toll-free number

One last note before we move on -- don't get conned by providers who say the reason they charge high rates is because of the superior customer support they give, that other companies don't. Sure -- a slight price increase (most likely, never), but don't go overboard. Customer service is important, but shouldn't cost you hundreds more than with another provider.

This type of scam is just so they can fill up their pockets more.

Joe Thompson is founder of Thompson Merchant Services - http://www.thompsonmerchant.com, a Chase Paymentech Strategic Partner and provider of credit card, debit card, check, and gift card processing services.

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by Graham Jones

Every day, you can read stories about people who have made a fortune online. Being an Internet entrepreneur is clearly attractive. You can work at home, you can choose your own hours and, so it seems, you can take truckloads of cash to the bank.

Yet, in spite of the successes we hear about, most people who try their hand at being an Internet entrepreneur fail.

They buy all the E-books and audio CDs that contain instructions from the "gurus." They attend teleseminars, Internet marketing conferences and even sign up for one-to-one coaching programs.

Yet, in spite of the thousands they spend on their own education, they still don't make the millions their mentors achieve.

So -- why is that?

Why is it that only a tiny proportion of would-be Internet entrepreneurs actually make the grade? It's been estimated that only 2% of people who try their hand at Internet marketing succeed. The rest keep trying, without any real success.

The factor that marks out the top entrepreneurs from the rest is one of attitude; that's all. What the millionaire online entrepreneurs do is treat the entire activity as a proper business. They have meticulous plans, they engage in detailed market research and they monitor every aspect of their online work, so they can improve on their results each day.

In other words, the top Internet marketers don't just "play at it;" they take it very seriously.

Yes, some of them don't work full time. But, when they do work, they work hard. They don't just tinker at things, trying an E-mail campaign here, an ad there and the occasional request to add a link to their Web site. Instead, they have specific targets they wish to achieve and then they write detailed plans about how they will go about achieving that goal.

Furthermore, the successful Internet entrepreneurs are focused on what they do. They don't try and sell one E-book today, an audio on a different subject tomorrow and a report on something else next week. While they may have several different products, they will focus their efforts, one at a time.

If you're trying to make money online and don't have the same success as your Internet marketing heroes, you could try the following:

1. Focus on what you really want to achieve
2. Choose just one product or service
3. Set targets for your sales on an annual, monthly and weekly basis
4. Work out the ways you will reach those targets
5. Do one thing at a time in your list of activities designed to achieve your targets
6. Monitor your results and adapt your work accordingly
7 Learn from what you achieve and use that knowledge in future projects

Working on just one product at a time may seem time-consuming, but it will pay dividends in the long run. Further advice can be found at http://www.magicformulabook.com

Graham Jones is an Internet psychologist who helps people make more money online. http://www.grahamjones.co.uk.

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by Martin Lukac

Most of us been there when it comes to duplicate pages. You may have news, or articles from news companies that provide you with the news feed. Or you might have your Website designed by a third party that uses the same tools on all of their clients' Websites.

But, did you know that this duplicate content can LOWER your search engine rankings? In today's SEO (Search Engine Optimization)-driven Website world, it is important to avoid duplicate content as much as possible.

What are duplicate pages for search engines?

It is obvious that duplicate means the same as something else. For search engines, this means the same exact page, the same exact title, the same keywords etc. Search Engines send spiders -- for example Google's spider is called "googlebot," Yahoo has "yahoo slurp" -- to crawl your Website looking for and gathering content or information.

These spiders look for certain information: What is this page about? Is it relevant to your Website? etc.

If any of these search engines find the same content on a different Website, they start to compare the content. First they look when this content was indexed and from which Website it was submitted first to the search engines.

Then they start to look for links.

Are there any links on these pages that point to the same source? This way, search engine can determine who is the priority Website and they assign a higher rank to that site.

But -- what about rest of the Web-sites? What will happen to them?

If you have articles or news that are duplicate content, you Website will go lower in search engines. It may take some time until the search engines actually visit your Website and assign a duplicate content filter. But, eventually, the search engines will simply filter your Website out of their search.

What if you pay a licensing fee for these articles?

The only way for search engines such as Google to understand this, is when you E-mail them and explain your content. To do this, you will need to do a re-inclusion request.

What if you like free articles published on different article sites?

No matter what you do, the search engines will hit you with duplicate content, however, you can teach search engines about your content.

First, reduce the number of articles that you have copied. Get some new fresh well-written articles. Make sure that the majority of your content is your own and the rest is articles from other sources.

Second, articles must be related to your field. If you write about real estate, make sure you stick with real estate and finance articles only. Show search engines that you have categories and your readers benefit from these articles.

Third, do a re-inclusion request and wait.

In few weeks, you should see some movement in your site rankings. If it is not improving, reduce the number of articles again.

With free articles, it's a cat-and-mouse game all over. It's hard to figure out as how the algorithms are set in Google, for example, for duplicate content, in addition to the way Google deals with re-produced articles that you can freely post anywhere.

What if you have a Website that was designed by third party company?

Most Website companies use the same templates or similar templates. That's what they give you and rest of their clients -- the same and exact FAQ pages, About Us pages, etc.

You want to avoid this as much as possible. Always re-write these text blocks by yourself. This way, you will create unique pages for your Website.

Duplicating content is one of the biggest mistakes many Webmasters make when it comes to creating their Websites. Always try to create your own posts and, if you really want to expand your article base, make sure you provide valuable content to your users, not just another article Website.

Engine Promoter, (www.EnginePromoter.com) is a search engine marketing Website for search engine optimization and Website submission. Promote your Website and get top rotating positions on over 250+ search engines, including a niche Website submission. Engine Promoter also operates #1 Shopping Online and www.RateEmpire.com.

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by Trenton Moss

A higher search ranking is what many Website owners dream of. What they don't realize is that optimising their sites for the search engines, if done correctly, can also optimise it for their site visitors.

Ultimately, this means more people finding your Website, increased sales and increased lead generation.

But -- are search engine optimisation and usability compatible? Aren't there trade-offs that need to be made between giving search engines what they want and giving people what they want?

Read on and find out!

1. Keyword research carried out

Before you even begin building your Website, you should carry out keyword research to identify which keyword phrases your site should target. Using publicly available tools such as Wordtracker (http://www.wordtracker.com), you can discover which keywords are searched for the most frequently and then specifically target those phrases.

Doing keyword research is also crucial for your site's usability. By using the same keywords in your Website that Web users are searching for in search engines, you'll literally be speaking the same language as your site visitors.

For example, you might decide to target the phrase, "sell toys", as your Website does in fact sell toys. Keyword research would undoubtedly show you that Web users are actually searching for, "buy toys" (think about it - have you ever searched using the word, "sell", when you want to buy something?). By placing the phrase, "buy toys" on to the pages on your Website, you'll be using the same words as your site visitors and they'll be able to find what they're looking for more easily.

2. 200-word minimum per page

Quite simply, search engines love content - the more content there is on a page, the easier it is for search engines to work out what the page is actually about. Search engines may struggle to work out the point of a Web page with less than 200 words, ultimately penalising that page in the search rankings.

In terms of usability, it's also good to avoid pages with very little content. A page with less than 200 words is unlikely to contain a large amount of information, so site visitors will undoubtedly need to click elsewhere to find more detailed information.

Don't be afraid to put a reasonably large amount of information on a page. Web users generally don't mind scrolling down and, provided the page provides mechanisms to aid scanning (such as employing sub-headings - see point 6 below), it shouldn't be too difficult for site visitors to locate the information they're after.

3. 100kb maximum HMTL size

If 200 words is the minimum page content size, then 100kb is the maximum, at least in terms of HMTL file size. Anything more than this and search engines may give up on the page as it's simply too big for them.

A 100kb HMTL file will take 20 seconds to download on a 56k dial up modem. Add on the time it takes for all the other parts of the page to download, such as images and JavaScript files, and you're looking at a highly un-user-friendly download time!

4. CSS used for layout

The Website of Juicy Studios (http://www.juicystudio.com) saw a six-fold increase in site visitors after switching from a table-based layout to a CSS layout. Search prefer CSS-based sites and are likely to score them higher in the search rankings because:


* The code is cleaner and therefore more accessible to search engines
* Important content can be placed at the top of the HTML document
* There is a greater density of content compared to coding

Using CSS for layout is also highly advantageous for usability, as it leads to significantly faster download times.

5. Meaningful page title

If you know anything about search engine optimisation, you'll know that search engines place more importance on the page title than any other attribute on the page. If the title adequately describes the content of that page, then search engines will be able to more accurately guess what that page is about.

A meaningful page title also helps site visitors work out where they are, both within the site and within the Web as a whole. The page title is the first thing that loads up, often quite a few seconds before the content, so a descriptive, keyword-rich page title can be a real aid to help users orientate themselves.

6. Headings and sub-headings used

Search engines assume that the text contained in heading tags is more important than the rest of the document text, as headings (in theory at least) summarise the content immediately below them.

Headings are also incredibly useful for your human site visitors, as they greatly aid scanning. Generally speaking, we don't read on the Web, we scan, looking for the information that we're after. By breaking up page sections with sub-headings that effectively describe the content beneath them, scanning becomes significantly easier.

Do be sure not to abuse heading tags, though. The more text you have contained in heading tags within the page, the less importance search engines assign to them.

7. Opening paragraph describes page content

We've already established that search engines love content, but they especially love the first 25 words or so on each page. By providing an opening paragraph that adequately describes the content of the rest of the page (or the site, if it's the homepage), you should be able to include your important keyword phrases in this crucial area.

As Web users, whenever we arrive at a Web page, the first thing we need to know is whether this page has the information that we're after. A great way to find this out is to scan through the first paragraph, which, if it sufficiently describes the page content, should help us out.

8. Descriptive link text

Search engines place a lot of importance on link text. They assume that link text will be descriptive of its destination and as such, they examine link text for all links pointing to any page. If all the links pointing to a page about widgets say 'click here', search engines can't gain any information about that page without visiting it. If, on the other hand, all the links say, 'widgets' then search engines can easily guess what that page is about.

One of the best examples of this in action is for the search term, 'miserable failure'. So many people have linked to George Bush's bio using this phrase as the link text, that now, when miserable failure is searched for in Google, George Bush's bio appears top of the search rankings!

As Web users, we don't generally read Web pages word-for-word - we scan them looking for the information that we're after. When you scan through text, you can't take any meaning from the word 'click here'. Link text that effectively describes its destination is far easier to scan and you can understand the destination of the link without having to read its surrounding words.

9. Frames avoided

Frames are quite an old-school Web design technique and, although they aren't as commonplace as they once were, they do still rear up their ugly head from time to time. Using frames is one of the worst possible things you could do for your search engine ranking, as most search engines can't follow links between frames.

Even if a search engine does index your pages and Web users find you through a search engine, they'll be taken to one of the pages within the frame. This page will probably be a content page with no navigation (navigation is normally contained in a separate frame) and, therefore, they will have no way to navigate to any other page on the site!

Frames are also disadvantageous for usability as they can cause problems with the back button, printing, history and bookmarking.

Put simply, say "no" to frames!

10. Quality content provided

This may seem like a strange characteristic of a search engine optimised Website, but it's actually crucial. Search engines, in addition to looking at page content, look at the number of links pointing into Web pages. The more inbound links a Website has, all other things being equal, the higher in the search rankings it will appear.

By providing creative, unique and regularly updated content on your Website, Webmasters will want to link to you, as doing so will add value to their site visitors. You will also be adding value to your site visitors.

Conclusion:

Optimising your Website for both search engines and people needn't be a trade-off. With this much overlap between the two areas, you should easily be able to have a Website that Web users can easily find in the search engines and, when they do find it, they can find what they're looking for quickly and efficiently.

Trenton Moss is crazy about Web usability and accessibility - so crazy that he went and started his own Web usability and accessibility consultancy (Webcredible - http://www.webcredible.co.uk) to help make the Internet a better place for everyone.

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by Pete Grundner

Let me first say that Google Adwords (Google pay per click), when done correctly, will give you the best return on your money compared to other online advertising options. At the same time, if you don't know how Google evaluates your campaign, it could cost you a fortune.

Let’s first examine how Google is different from other search vehicles.

Most search engines base the placement of your ad on how much you pay per click, i.e., the one who pays the most for a specific keyword will be positioned in the #1 spot.

Not so with Google. In an attempt to deliver more relevant content to its readers, Google uses several parameters to determine the order in which it serves up its ads. Not knowing or ignoring these parameters can cost you big! And, unless your enterprise has very deep pockets, it can even mean the difference between success and failure.

When doing a pay per click campaign on Google, your ad position will be based on keyword selection, ad relevance to those keywords, bid price, average click rate, how long visitors stay on your site, and even the match of your landing page to your ad and keyword.

Essentially, you could be paying the most per click and be listed in the #5 position! Or, vise-versa, you could be paying less than the top 5 bidders and be in the #1 spot!

When setting up your Google Adwords (pay per click) campaign, all these elements will affect your position in the ranking, so make sure that:

• Your keywords are not too broad
• Your ad relates to your keywords (keyword grouping is important)
• Your bid price is at least competitive
• Your click rate is good (above 1-3% is great, below 0.5% is a killer)
• Keywords you choose match the content on your landing page
• You use text instead of Flash. This is very important…using Flash landing pages without text will affect your ad position in a negative way (Google perceives pages with no information the same as pages with non relevant information).

The more you adhere to these parameters, the lower your cost per click and the better your conversions will be.

I appreciate Google's well thought-out ranking policies. When searching online for info, I hate nothing more than clicking on an ad that sends me to a page that has little or nothing to do with what I am researching. If I don't see relevant information within a few seconds, I'm gone, and irritated about the waste of time!

Look for our next article, where we’ll cover "The biggest mistake when doing Google Adwords." Sign up for our "Marketing Insight" E-zine and be the first to view it.

This article is brought to you by Peter Grundner at P&T Enterprises.
For more information, please visit www.how2succeedonline.net and www.myedconline.com

Peter Grundner, a top advertising and marketing professional for over 20 years, has been responsible for the success of many companies, including a recent stint as Director of Marketing for a Website that was acquired by a large publisher for tens of millions of dollars. He is now a full-time Home Business Entrepreneur and founder of www.myEDConline.com & www.How2SucceedOnline.net.

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by Donald Lee

Have you ever wondered why your perfectly fine classified ad fails to attract the attention you desire? There should be dozens -- no, hundreds of perspective buyers swamping your E-mail inbox with offers. After all, you are offering a mint baseball card, a vintage coat, pristine used car, those wholesale-priced sporting goods, and whatever other attractive items are in your inventory.

Instead, you only have a slow trickle of questions, a handful of sales.

What gives? More than likely, your sales are slow because you have not mastered the three techniques of writing a classic classified ad.

Give yourself credit for recognizing one important facet of today's selling world. You decided to sell your stuff at an online classified site. As anybody in the business knows, online classified ads get you more privacy, a broader selection of buyers, and a wealth of tools to help you keep tabs on your transactions.

When compared to a newspaper, cyberspace is also a wee bit more spacious. There are billions of pages on the Web, and only a few dozen in your typical neighborhood rag. For you, that means a lot more space for your ad to say the least.

With that space, however, comes great responsibility and great potential. The extra room gives you the freedom to include as much product description and sale copy as you want. You can't just slap together a whole bunch of information, though. You need to use the three special ad writing techniques that will attract buyers and seal the deal: attention, interest, and action.

Attention

Make sure the buyer stops at your ad instead of the thousands upon thousands of others out there in cyberspace. Your ad's title is the first lure to grab his or her attention, and the first component of a catchy title is the item's best feature, whether it's the price, the item's rarity, or its popularity.

Next, be sure the title includes keywords or other synonyms for your item that a buyer might use in a search. For instance, a buyer could search for "automobile" instead of "car," "pullover" instead of "sweater."

Interest

Once you have the buyer's attention, hook them with details. There is a direct relationship between the amount of information you provide and the number of sales you'll make. Describe the item as completely as possible -- size, color, material, designer, model -- and provide a clear, digital photo to finish the job where your words leave off.

Offer your prospective customer the item's history, if possible.

Also, try to list as many possible benefits that your sale item could offer the buyer. Come up with some that the buyer probably wouldn't think of on his or her own. And zone in on specific benefits.

Use what you already know about your target. For instance, if you were selling a car, you know that whoever is looking at your ad is in need of a vehicle. If your car is compact, perhaps the buyer is in search of great gas mileage. Or perhaps it's power he or she wants, if your car is a sports model.

Action

Finish your ad strongly. Don't just suggest to the buyer that you offer a great deal. Tell them it's a fantastic offer that they can't pass up. Use phrases like "Call me now, before someone else does" or "Buy now, this opportunity won't last long."

Be cordial while you're pressing the issue. Thank them for reading your ad and make sure they know you appreciate their business.

Most importantly, your customers will also value your honesty throughout the whole ad. Whether it's the attention, interest, or action you're shooting for, never lie or exaggerate. Go so far to include any defects, if your product is not in mint shape.

Your honesty will build trust, and trust, above all else, makes an ad work. What's more, it makes for repeat customers.

Remember, if you use all three of these elements -- or four, if you include honesty -- when you're finished with it, it should read something like the two examples below.

Example 1:

Discover the beauty of a Forest Hill Home
2500 sq. ft. home, 4 bedroom, 3 baths, double garage, upgraded kitchen, 12 ft. ceilings
This open concept house is situated in a historical landmark district of Rhode Island. It's a wonderful neighborhood to raise your family, with nearby schools and amenities.

(Insert your image or photo here.)

Call for an on-site appointment. Thanks for looking!

Example 2:
Looking for an inexpensive used car that drives well? Only $4,950.
2003 Honda Civic, Limited Edition, 65,000 miles, manual transmission, CD, AM/FM radio, power steering, low maintenance. Great on gas - this car will save you $$$ on high gasoline prices.

(Insert your image or photo here.)

Send me a message now. Thanks for looking!

Donald Lee is the public relations manager for Buysellcommunity.com. Buysellcommunity provides free classified listing services for individuals and businesses to market their products and services online. For global and localized classifieds, please visit http://www.buysellcommunity.com -- Free Buy and Sell Classifieds.

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by Robert Boduch

Postcards can be valuable marketing tools for any business. Here are a few ideas that will help you get the most from your own postcard marketing campaign.

The magic of these eye-catchers is that they deliver short, concise messages in the minimum amount of time -- perfect for the "time-poor" society we live in today. They get the important information across rapidly, with a quick and easy flip of the wrist.

You can take your idea from concept to distribution within just days. Since they can be produced in any quantity to suit any budget, postcards are great for businesses of all sizes. You could save a bundle on your marketing expenses by utilizing these simple two-sided pieces, instead of other more costly tools.

Currently - at least in the U.S. - postage costs are considerably lower for postcards vs. first-class mail. Unfortunately, this advantage is not available to marketers in other countries such as Canada. Full rates apply. Even still ... these attention-grabbers offer tremendous marketing opportunities to entrepreneurs and small business owners -- at any rate.

Postcards are most effective and profitable when used to:

* generate new leads
* follow-up with prospects as part of a campaign
* make an announcement to your existing mailing list
* thank customers for their patronage and invite them back with a special offer
* draw traffic to your Website

The key to success is to deliver instant impact. You've got to make your piece command immediate attention in your prospect's crowded mailbox. Catch the eye ... pique curiosity ... and unload your magnetic marketing message as quickly as possible.

Every card has two sides -- a front and back. Use the front side as leverage with maximum appeal to compel your prospect to flip the card over and get the full impact of your complete message.

Use the back of the card to unveil all the key benefits of your product or service... provide an strong offer to trigger action... and list prominently your contact information. You've got to make it lightening quick and unquestionably easy to respond. Eliminate any obstacles that might be in the way to getting the results you want.

As with any type of advertising, be sure to include a powerful headline. Your headline is key. It's the most important part of your postcard and should be featured prominently on the front side.

When you're sure you've got a headline that works, try enhancing it visually to make it figuratively jump off the card. One method is to use reverse-type (white text on a dark-colored background). Always use a larger font size, preferably in a bold typeface. Make it clear and unmistakable ... so prospects are sure to understand the message.

Consider employing graphic options such as cartoons only if they assist you in getting your message across. Use topnotch color photographs (like popular tourist postcards) when you can clearly tie the visual to the message in your headline.

The text of your postcard should be benefit-laden. Communicate to your prospect in clear, vivid detail all the advantages that s/he will enjoy by taking advantage of your offer TODAY. Stress the unique benefits unavailable elsewhere.

Include a few testimonials -- even if you have to shoehorn them in. Actually, this can be extremely effective as the eye is naturally drawn to anything on the page that is a little out of the ordinary.

Testimonials act as proof of your claims and help build your credibility as a reliable supplier. They also help overcome the fear many people have in trusting a vendor they haven't done business with before.

One absolutely essential ingredient of successful postcards is the offer. It must be promising and compelling. Give the reader an incentive to act now. Be clear and specific. Make responding a simple, one-step process.

If your postcard is sent as a "thank-you" to new customers after their first purchase, entice them back with a 17% discount on the next purchase. This approach transforms your postcard into a valuable coupon that's worth something in terms of redeemable value. Since recipients have already bought from you, most would be happy to do it again at a substantial discount.

The mission of your postcard is to inspire a positive response. Always keep that objective clear in your mind as you plan your strategy.

To maximize results, craft a targeted message and make it easy for recipients to take action. This means providing clearly legible contact information -- whether it's a telephone number, fax, mailing address, or Website.

Keep in mind that everyone has a preferred method - people like to respond in different ways.

Providing various response options eliminates another cause of inaction. The more of these objections you address, the more likely it is your postcard campaign will be a rousing success!

Interested in lauching your own profitable postcard campaign? Drop me a line right this minute and I'll help you get the results you want - guaranteed!

More resources at www.makeyoursalessoar.com

Robert Boduch is an author of dozens of best-selling books, reports and articles on the art and science of selling. A free newsletter targeted at anyone interested in selling more of anything is available at www.makeyoursalessoar.com .

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by Chad McDonald

Successful businesses have many things in common. Let's look at the big 'R' of recognition and how a digital advertising network may help.

Recognition can be illustrated by two individuals entering a crowded room at a party. Both walk to the far side of the room. One of them slips through the crowd easily and unnoticed as they reach the far side. The second person takes much longer to reach the far side, because they are engaged in conversations along the way as they continue to meet acquaintances and friends down the path.

Which type of person would you like to model your business after?

Your business is in a continual battle for your customers' recognition, whether you know it or not. If you happen to be fortunate enough to be in a marketplace with very few competitors, that will not last for long. You need your business to be at the forefront of your client's minds so, that when they require your products or services, you are the go-to people.

Marketing your business is a necessity. Putting your name and logo out there and keeping it there is a must. This lets clients know that you are "still around" and in business. Frequency is a good way to achieve the "stand-out factor" in recognition.

I'm reminded of television and radio ads I've heard or seen in the past. They run continually, with a catch phrase or musical jingle, over and over again on the radio or television, until you are absolutely sick of hearing it. You also cannot get it out of your head.

Although this type of advertising is expensive, it can be very effective, and the recognition factor is quite high. Television and radio can reach a large audience, and they are broad in their appeal. In a brief sentence, you are paying to market to both those that are your potential customers and to a large segment of those who are not now and probably never will be your customers.

There are more economical ways to pursue frequency. The point is to define your target market demographic, and invest your marketing funds into the locations that will best be seen by them.

Another factor to consider: "Can I market myself in a place where I will stand out from my competition, or where my competition does not have a presence?" Why would you market yourself in a flyer or newspaper right beside your competition and risk blending into a crowd, and ultimately being ignored?

Another issue to look at is diversification. As the saying goes, "don't put all your eggs in one basket."

When you look at your advertising budget for the year, try to find the affordable solutions that will continue to reap during the full year of your advertising budget. An expensive radio or television promotion may give short-term gains for that weekend sale, but what about the rest of the year? Your clients may end up wondering, "Where did they go, I haven't seen or heard anything about them for so long."

Don't always look for the old stand-bys in marketing, but keep your eyes and ears open for the latest and greatest ways to market your business. With the costs of technology coming down dramatically, new options such as digital advertising on LCD and Plasma screens are becoming more and more affordable, and the paper billboards and posters are becoming a thing of the past.

With the flexibility, and curb appeal of full color and motion video footage with computer-generated graphics available to you, this is an option you don't want to pass by without a good look.

Ultimately, recognition is required if you want to get people "in the door" of your business (or on your Website for the new E-businesses). This is going to cost you money, time and effort up-front, any way you look at it. But, if you have successfully reached your target market, the payoff will be worth it.

Chad McDonald of ETA, a Canadian dynamic signage business with a digital signage advertising network (www.procontentsite.com/Digital_Advertising_Network.html) of LCD and Plasma screens.

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by Dave Starner

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

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

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

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

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

Sponsor ads are generally priced around twenty dollars.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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by Julia Gulevich

You own an online business and you know that, to make money, you need a list of people, a list of passionate buyers who are hungry for your offer and will devour it when you send it out.

How do you create such a list? And, even more important, how do you maintain your list of prospects? It's not as easy as you probably thought at first.

You must have a "squeeze page" where people opt-in to your list. On that page, you should tell your prospects that the information they provide will be kept private and that they will receive only the newsletters they subscribe to, but not a whole lot of spam from different sources.

Don't forget to use the double opt-in model, because people may not remember that they opted in to your list. Using the double opt-in method, you ensure that all people on your list gave you the permission to send them your E-mails.

Your auto-responder E-mail messages should be mini-sales letters, including a solid content, to keep your list subscribed. And, finally, you want to send the E-mails at a regular basis, but not too often, so your subscribers don't forget who you are or get overwhelmed by your messages -- even worse!

It requires time, testing and measuring to choose the right E-mail marketing strategy and set it up in the right way, but it is well worth the effort in the end.

Here are three simple-but-incredibly-important rules, to set you on the right path with an E-mail newsletter:

1. Keep the line width up to 65 characters.

Most people read many E-mails every day. Your purpose is to compose your E-mail message so that it is not boring or fatiguing to read. The last thing your recipient wants to do is scroll his eyes from one side of the screen to the other. No matter how good your content is, if it is fatiguing to read, it risks being abandoned after just a few lines.

The optimum width of the line is around 65 characters.

You just type 65 symbols, for example, asterisks or dashes, across the top, and then measure your text returns against this. MS Outlook Express, NoteTab and some other E-mail programs allow you set the line wrap to any character width you require, so you don't have to hit "enter" every time you think you need to.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some E-mail programs force line-wrapping at 60 to 65 characters on E-mails received. So, if you send an Email wrapped at 100 characters, your reader will receive an E-mail that is broken down and looks strange. This makes it look unprofessional.

2. Don't write in ALL CAPS.

It's bad E-mail etiquette. It's like you're shouting at your reader. Nobody likes to be shouted at and, if you are trying to sell something at the same time, you won't make any sales. Even worse, you may lose some subscribers.

Some caps, underlining and bolding is necessary -- but don't abuse it! Too many caps, exclamation points, underlining and bolding work against you. An E-mail all in caps would destroy the reader's confidence very quickly.

3. Check your spelling and grammar.

Have you ever seen a Website, sales page or E-mail with spelling mistakes? What do you think about the professionalism of the owner or E-mail sender?

Some people may not pay attention to the mistakes, but for some people, one spelling mistake will completely destroy the credibility of the message.

It is very important to spell check your messages before sending them. If you have someone else to proofread your message before you send them out it's even better. A fresh look always helps discover the slips and mistakes that you might miss.

Your reputation and sales are in direct proportion with your messages. The better your message is, the higher the credibility of your readers and, thus, more sales you make. So, take the time to get it absolutely right.

Julia Gulevich is a technical expert associated with development of email marketing program: Email Marketing Utilities. Did you find those tips useful? You can learn a lot more here HTML Email Newsletter Guide (http://www.htmlemailguide.com/).

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by Deon Melchior

Have you been thinking about breaking into the online business world? Don’t yet have a product and aren’t sure what products you should carry? Have you thought about becoming an information publisher on the Web?

Maybe you're wondering what the heck an information publisher is. It’s exactly what it says. It’s a Website that publishes information, quality information that is a valuable resource for your readers.

The problem with starting a product site is that they require a great deal of your time and the investment can be rather high since you will need secure checkouts, and a method of processing credit cards. The learning curve for this type of site is also rather steep. It can be difficult to choose a product that will do well online. You're going to have to spend some time doing your research if you take the physical product route.

It is generally believed that the products that do best online are products that consumers do not need to see, touch, or smell in order to make a purchase. So -- products such as books, CD’s, or DVD’s will usually do better than clothing.

But why not skip the whole hassle of product Web pages and become an information publisher? But you might be wondering how you choose a topic and how you're going to make any money.

The first thing you need to do is figure out what you are an expert in. By expert, I don’t mean you need to be a doctor or an engineer. I mean what subject do you know lots about? Do you have a hobby that you are a real pro at -- perhaps your job or career has made you an expert on a specific topic.

If you are an expert in more than one area, then you have options and you should do some research to see which topic generates the most traffic or interest. To make money, you need targeted traffic and, in a minute, I’m going to explain how you're going to make money.

Once you’ve decided what your site is going to be about, you need to design it. The layout you choose should be easy for your readers to navigate and it should use colors that are easy on the eyes. You’ve probably come across those psychedelic sites that make your eyes hurt and quickly hit the back button. Your Web site needs to provide an environment that is inviting and comfortable for the reader.

If you have no Website experience, that’s okay. Most Web hosts offer a range of templates that you can use to design your site and they also do not require you to have any html programming skill. You type it like you want it and the software converts it to a language that computers can read. It’s really quite simple.

You still could be wondering -- what the point of information publishing is and how you are actually make any money. After all, that’s what this venture is all about right?

The answer to your question lies in two words – Google and Affiliates.

Providing you design a site that is rich in content and keywords, you’ll be able to make money using both Google and affiliate programs. Of course, you’ll need to be patient. It takes some time to earn your page rank and to get traffic to your site, but once you're rolling, you’ll be generating income.

Google offers a program called Adsense. You need to sign up for the program and then you need to place some code on your Website that will allow Google to display ads that are related to the topics on your site. When visitors arrive at your site, if they click on one of the ads being displayed, you get paid.

You’ll want to take some time to learn what ads work best, what type of flexibility you have, and how to earn the most income. There are some excellent free resources online and there are some very good E-books available.

Affiliate programs are a little different. You need to look for companies that offer affiliate programs that you think would do well on your Web site. Each affiliate program offers its own set of rules and commissions that it pays. When you find an affiliate program that you think would do well, you need to apply to their program. There are Web sites like Linkshare or Commission Junction that host many companies that offer affiliate programs. They are a good place to start.

Make sure you read all the terms and conditions that the affiliate program has set out. Once accepted, you will be provided with both text and banner links that you display on your Website. If a reader clicks one of your affiliate links and purchases a product from that company, you earn a commission.

An information site is a lot less work than a product site. Don’t get me wrong -- an information site still needs your time and attention. Contrary to what you may have heard, you don’t get rich on the Web just by putting a Web site up.

But -- why not work smarter rather than harder? An information site allows you to do just that.

Before you begin, you should also take some time to understand how keywords work and their relevance to your site. The result will be success in generating good ad placements and income. You’ll be a pro in no time.

Deon Melchior is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - http://www.articleclick.com .

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by Judith A. Wentzel

Do you have all the money you desire? Are you just making ends meet, living from paycheck to paycheck?

You can have a life of abundance. It can easily come to you, if you know how.

Having a job I adore, a loving relationship, and the life I desire allows me to lead through example. It enables me to show you how to attract what you desire into your life, just as I am doing in mine.

My life wasn’t always this great. I have had a lot of hard times and experienced more than my share of tragedy and heartache. It wasn’t until after my children had grown and moved away that I would discover what many other people already knew.

If you desire abundance, you must see abundance already in your life. Sound a bit ridiculous? It really isn’t. Let me explain.

In order to attract abundance, you must first have an abundance mindset. If you change your thoughts, you can change your life.

You may be thinking that you have an abundance mindset and have been focusing on more money, landing a better job, etc. Have you been thinking about having enough money to pay your bills off or get out of debt? If that has been your focus, it’s no wonder you haven’t attracted the money you desire. I’d bet you have continued to struggle with bills and incur debt. By simply placing these two negative thoughts (bills, debt) into your focus, you have subconsciously attracted more of the same types of issues/events to you.

An abundance mindset focuses on the lifestyle you would have living with abundance. Instead of thinking about the lack, focus on having plenty of money to manage all of your needs. Focus on having more than enough money for the things that you want.

Perhaps one of your desires is to be able to take a vacation. Focus on taking that vacation. Feel how wonderful it would be to do the things you desire. By thinking about taking a vacation and having more than enough money for the entire trip, you are focusing on what you truly want and developing a mindset that is in harmony with your desires.

Developing an abundance mindset may not be easy at first, but with a little practice, it will become your normal way of thinking. You will soon begin to see little signs of abundance coming into your life.

I suggest you take note of everything you experience, no matter how small, and be appreciative of it. For example, finding a penny on the sidewalk or getting a great parking space would be two examples of abundance. Having someone treat you to lunch is another.

When you begin to notice and appreciate the small things in your life, it will also help place you in a more receptive and allowing mindset. Keeping an abundance or gratitude journal is a great way of reminding yourself of all the abundance in your life.

Besides, if all of us would take just a few minutes out of our day to reflect on the nice things we have experienced, we would soon realize the abundance already present in our lives. It would brighten our outlook, raise our emotions, and allow us to be more of a magnet for attracting more of the same things to us.

Having a life coach can be extremely beneficial when it comes to learning how to attract your desires -- especially if they are trained in the Law of Attraction. Even Tiger Woods has a coach. Many coaches, myself included, offer complimentary consultative sessions so that people can experience the many benefits that working with a life coach has to offer.

Why not take that next step? Discover for yourself how easy it is to change your thoughts and change your life. You won’t be disappointed.

©2007 Judith A. Wentzel – Law of Attraction Coach, Life & Business Coach, EFT Practitioner & Image Smarter Marketing Specialist. Assisting individuals and small business owners to unleash the power within and skyrocketing their lives and business since 1997.
http://www.JudithWentzel.com
http://www.UsingLawOfAttraction.com
http://www.ImageSmarterMarketing.com

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by Jeff Mulligan

The other day, I was talking to a guy at the health club I just joined. (Never had time when I was working for someone else.)

We started talking about our personal trainers. If you aren't familiar with the term, these are fitness experts who are educated to design work-out routines based on an individuals strengths, needs and goals.

Anyway, Rick said something that struck me right between the eyes. "I got so confused reading all the books and fitness magazines. Everyone has a different opinion of what works the best. I finally figured if I was going to work out, I might as well pick one expert, listen to them and follow their program."

Later, as I was driving my sore body home, I thought about how appropriate Rick's comment was to Internet Marketing.

Everyone's an expert. (Even people who have yet to sell their first eBook.) And there are a million programs, books, secrets, techniques and tactics that will work for you.

The problem is, you can easily fall into what my favorite business school professor called, "Analysis Paralysis".

That's where a lot of people are stuck.

They keep reading, and it gets in the way of actually doing something.

***** I was guilty *****

I was guilty of this, too. I must have bought several hundred dollars worth of books and courses before I found what worked for me.

Fortunately, the expert I decided to follow was, in hindsight, an excellent choice. And by following his advice and listening to his ideas, I have built up a couple of successful income streams.

My point isn't that my "guru" is the right one for everyone.

The point is to pick one or maybe a couple of people you really respect, and model them. Of course, make sure they are actually successful in their own businesses first.

But, when you find someone you respect and whose style you like, listen to their advice and follow what they recommend in their writings.

***** Save Your Brain *****

Following this strategy can save lots of brain cells that you would spend switching strategies and tactics. It avoids confusion and gives you a good point of reference from which to work.

You don't have to keep reading and searching for the latest eBooks. Assume your guru knows the latest tactics and will advise you of how well they work.

I'm not saying you never look at another eBook or eZine again, but, when you have one primary star you follow, it's that much easier to find your way.

Jeff Mulligan has an MBA and 20+ years of marketing experience as an ad agency Senior VP and VP Marketing for two software companies. Jeff owns CBmall, a site that provides 15 different ways for ClickBank affiliates to earn income on 1,997 ClickBank InfoProducts. http://www.myownmegamall.com .

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by Karen Hurd

If you are marketing online, it's essential that you know how to write effective ad copy. If you can string two sentences together, you can learn to write effective ad copy.

Best advice -- "Enter the conversation already going on in your prospect's head."

People don't care what you're selling. They care if you can solve their problem, or meet their need. Talk about what they want to buy, not what you want to sell.

1. Use a hand written letter on your ad copy instead of text. Write the ad on a piece of paper, scan it and publish the ad on your Web page. Adding a personal touch will always increase your sales.

2. Publish a list of famous and respected customers who have bought from you on your ad copy. People are more likely to think that, if these people bought from you, they should also trust your business and purchase your products. Make sure to get their permission first. Local personalities and celebrities count!

3. Show "before" and "after" photos for your products on your Web page copy. Show the problem picture and then, beside it, show the picture of the resolution to the problem when they use your product.

4. Need more testimonials? Hold a contest: the top five people with the best testimonial get their product order for free. Boost your sales!

5. Include an article or review that has been written about you or your business with your ad copy. This will show people that your business is respected and will increase your credibility. To get the article, send press releases with pictures to the local paper. Make sure your press release is in the paper's best interest, not yours!

The paper won't do a story on your business, unless they think it will matter to their readers. Getting published will get you the publicity you need.

6. When you offer free bonuses in your ad copy, also list the dollar value beside each bonus. People will feel they're getting a good deal and it will increase the value of your product. Keep it honest. The good feelings and excitement of the bonus will turn to cynicism and distrust if your customer feels the value of the bonus was inflated just to get the sale. Would the bonus truly excite you?

7. Include your own picture on your ad copy. This will show people that you're not hiding behind your ad copy and will increase their trust. Also, include your contact information below the picture and a brief statement or quote. Got kids and pets? Include a family picture too.

8. Tell your potential customers on your ad copy that you will donate a percentage of their purchase price to specific charity. This will show them you really care about the people. They may just buy your product to donate to the charity.

Speaking of donating to charity, set up a program where customers can refer charities.

9. Ask your potential customers plenty of "yes" and "no" questions in your ad copy. The questions should remind them of their problem and make them think about what will happen if they don't purchase your product.

10. Tell your potential customers they will receive a free prize if they find the five words in your ad copy that are misspelled or spelled backwards. The longer you can keep someone reading your copy the greater chance of them purchasing.

And -- test, test, test. Keep making adjustments until you are getting the result you want. You can write the cleverest copy, but if you ain't getting the action, the copy is a waste of time. You'll be surprised at how the simplest changes can sometimes increase results significantly.

Karen Hurd is a former Marketing executive. She's been a top producer in network marketing since 1988. She is a writer, teacher & wellness educator. She lives in Virginia, with her husband & 5 children. Karen built her business while her children slept, and now she makes money while she sleeps. Home business ideas (http://www.squidoo.com/ezmoney) MLM Maniac:

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by Matthew Hesser

It sounds too simple to be true, but it really is ... A well-targeted and timely PRESS RELEASE to the media is the most powerful form of marketing and advertising on the planet!

A high quality press release, with the proper targeting and distribution to reach the correct media members, could have many businesses sailing on a sea of new sales and profits. Just one feature or a mention in a popular or targeted business publication has the potential to cause some business's phones to literally be ringing off the hook!

The next big question that arises, "How do you go about writing a quality press release that will grab the attention of the media and your particular audience?"

Here are some tips to help you succeed:

* Pick a "Newsworthy" Angle.

Press releases are not an advertisement. Do not try to sell your product or service. Do not use "hype" in press releases. Instead, give the media what they want and they will give you what you want.

What the press and media really want is a story! Just provide the "Who, What, When, Where" and "How" with regards to the uses of your products and/or services in a story format. Show examples of ways that people have used your products and services to their benefit. If you can include some emotions in your story, all the better.

Ask yourself: "Would this be something that I might read in a newspaper?"

* Get a Good Start.

The headline and the first few sentences of the first paragraph are the absolutely most important part of the press release. If you don't catch the reader's interest here, you will lose your audience. The best way to do this is to use your most hard-hitting information FIRST rather than build to a climax. This may be opposite to what you would normally do when writing other material - but it does work! What follows in your press release are the details that SUPPORT your story or theme.

* Write to the Media.

Remember, a journalist, editor or reporter, not necessarily a client, is reading your press release. It's not your job to sell them your product or service. It IS your job to give them an interesting story or piece of news that they will be happy to share and announce to their audience.

* Keep your release short and to the point.

It should contain no more than about 500 words and no more than two pages.

Include your contact information. Provide full contact name, company name, full address, phone number, E-mail address and Web site URL. The contact name should be someone who is knowledgeable and available to answer any questions by media members, such as editors, reporters and journalists.

Targeted press releases to the media have helped thousands of companies succeed. They are the most powerful form of marketing and advertising on the planet!

Remember: One article is all it takes!

For more information on how you can get a quality targeted press release written or have your press release distributed to the targeted media contacts in our 600,0000 press and media contact database, please visit our Advanced PR department at Majon International.

Matthew Hesser is President and CEO of Majon International, one of the most popular Internet marketing and advertising companies online, located at: http://www.majon.com . To get a high-quality targeted press release written and/or distributed to the press and media, as well as get GUARANTEED media and press coverage for your business please visit: http://www.advanced-pr.com

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By Wendy Cardona

You have your home business and your ads are being shown over the internet, newspapers, etc. You are now waiting for something to happen. You want results from all the work you have put into your web site!

Reciprocal Links

One way to get results is by reciprocal links. This means that another website will have a link page where your web site appears. People can click on your link and it takes them directly to your web site. You also have a link page set up where the other site's name can be clicked on to go to its site. Alternatively, you can have one-way linking where their web site only appears on your link page. Linking also helps the page rank of your web site. Page rank measures not only how many links point to a web site, but the "quality" of the sites providing the links. I use the LinkMachine. I have been quite pleased with the results. Best of all, the LinkMachine is free and easy to use.

You can keep track of your link popularity by downloading the Link Popularity Check. This free tool will show you how many links your website and/or blog are getting. You can see the results of all the work you are doing as your link popularity grows. This will help you persevere with your home business and give you incentive not to give up.

Blogging

Another way to get results for your home business is by blogging. A blog is an online publication where you post your thoughts and business articles. At the bottom of each article you provide a resource box to direct the readers to your web site. Make sure you also have a link on your web site going to your blog. If you have interesting articles and information on your blog, potential customers will return repeatedly. Do not forget to "ping" your blog each time you post your articles and information. Pinging your blog will alert blog search engines that new material has been added to your blog. A popular pinging service is pingomatic.

Use the search engines (Google, Yahoo and MSN) for more information on any of the topics I have mentioned in this article.

Owning a home business is a day-to-day commitment. This is your business and its success depends on you.

Wendy Cardona is a stay-at-home mom. Go to her website for the best home business ideas and opportunities at http://www.HonestHomeBiz4u.com For information and articles on how to succeed with your home business visit her blog at http://www.HonestHomeBiz4u-homebusiness.blogspot.com

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by Kevin Gibbs

Using the Internet to its highest potential when it comes to indexing and promoting your Website is vital to your business. No matter whether you provide a service or a product, getting the word out about it is your primary goal.

Google, being the world's most popular search engine, is naturally going to be one of the places you want to submit your Website URL to, and Google offers free submission opportunities.

However, merely submitting your Website isn't the answer to instant rankings and visitors. It takes hard work, patience and search engine optimization know-how to achieve a top ranking with Google. The easier your Website is to find by Google "spiders," the more chance you'll have of reaching better positions in the Google ranking index.

Google is the most popular search engine in the world today, and earning a top ranking there is definitely a feather in anyone's cap. Taking advantage of several different options will help you to obtain your goals. Determination is the key when it comes to achieving high rankings in Google, and it's not an endeavor for the weak of heart.

One of the most important things a Webmaster or Web business can do to enhance rankings is to write and distribute articles relating to your topic, service or product to article directories throughout the Web. Embedding links to your article, called back links, will get your Website noticed by Google spiders, but don't overdo it. Try to limit your back links to one per article.

Articles should be written well, grammatically correct and include keywords or keyword phrases that relate to your product or service. (These keywords should also be listed in the Meta Tags used to design your Website).

When writing SEO Google content, keep in mind the following factors for success, not only in obtaining ranking with Google, but with the success of your content in its ability to do what you have designed it to do; inform and get people back to your site.

When searching through Google's ranked pages, certain factors become immediately apparent. The most successful written content has these things in common:

1) Content is comprised of paragraphs that are fairly brief, with between 3 to 5 sentences each. White space around paragraphs and content allows for easy reading and addresses short attention spans when it comes to reading on the Internet.

2) Proper grammar and spelling is used in the content. As always, make sure that you proofread your work before submitting to article directories and banks. Make sure that use of punctuation, quotations, and sentence structure and flow are correct and proofed. If you are aware of your own shortcomings in the writing department, have someone else proof your material.

Content that is poorly written is more damaging to your reputation and that of your Website than no content at all.

3) Many articles submitted to Google, and to other search engines, are written with bulleted lists. This serves to break up large areas of text as well as to provide precise information related to a specific topic.

4) Most highly ranked pages on the Internet are updated regularly, and by regularly, that means ideally about once a week, or at least twice a month.

5) Sentence structure is varied, which means that short and long sentences are mixed together.

6) Keyword density is over-rated these days, but using keywords in your content is desired.

However, don't stuff articles with keywords when their usage doesn't add flow to the text or is too obvious. Make sure that the keywords you are using make sense within the overall focus of your article.

Choosing the wrong keywords, or choosing highly used and common keywords or phrases won't help you much, so it pays to be knowledgeable about how to go about determining how popular or unpopular particular keywords are before you even start writing.

Keyword stuffing, or overusing certain keywords in any given article, will only defeat your purpose, as search engine spiders, especially those launched by Google, seem to know every trick out there.

Bottom line: have a professional look over your text before you launch your Website. Be aware that having someone write SEO content for you doesn't mean they will do it correctly, either. Good SEO writing means more than focusing on keyword density, placement and catchy article titles. Good SEO content should contain useful, correctly structured sentences with proper grammar and spelling.

Google itself offers a terse explanation of how to get your Website content highly ranked: Good content. It's so simple that most people don't believe it's true.

A Website owner can sit down and research keywords, keyword density and Google algorithm factors until they're blue in the face, and it won't make a difference if the words don't make sense or the spelling is so atrocious that visitors will take one look, laugh and click away.

Submitting articles to article directories and providing free articles, with your Website back link in them, of course, is a great way to get noticed, but keep in mind that sometimes dozens of articles or more must be written and submitted before you're going to get noticed.

This doesn't mean just writing about anything, it means carefully choosing and selecting appropriate keywords that will get your content noticed by search engine spiders and thereby bring you the results you're looking for.

Website HTML coding and proper use of Meta tags is essential in creating Google SEO results and, as it is with anything worth having, it takes time, patience and determination to learn. There are no easy shortcuts when it comes to creating SEO content that will fly with Google and gain you a coveted page ranking.

Take advantage of the opportunity to submit your articles to free directory listings, especially at Google, as well as writing numerous, free articles for submission purposes and properly using back links. This will get you started on your way to success.

Utilizing Google tools and accessing their news, site directory, helpful hints and forum boards will help hopeful Webmasters achieve their goals when it comes to obtaining a long and enduring, and hopefully beneficial relationship with Google, whose influence reaches to the far corners of the globe.

Kevin Gibbs is the founder of articlestamp.com a successful article directory that provides user's the opportunity to improve their traffic performance. You can contact Kevin at kevin@articlestamp.com for more info on article writing.

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By Bridgitte Williams

Prepare to learn and get real facts about online moneymaking.

1. Make sure that the program you join is a reliable one. This means checking to see if the company has been in business at least a year or longer. See if they have a better business rating, been paying, been a paid list or a paying program seal of approval or certification. These are awarded and displayed on the pages of the website of the business. If the business has them, you will know. They will want you to know. This way, at least you know they have a record of paying.

2. Start with programs that are free to join and promise to pay you, with no money investment required. This will insure that you will make money without losing any of yours. You can start by joining free get paid to read email programs and surveys. You will quickly learn which programs pay and which ones do not. These sites do not give out your personal information or email address. They are bound by law not to do so.

3. Look for websites that offer free advertising. These are sites and search engines that will advertise your personal or business website free. You submit your website link. It is that easy. If you do not have a website yet, be sure and create one, after you find a few good programs that have made you some money. Many websites offer you a free web page that is easy to make and promote. Make a site and keep it simple. On your web page, include the links to the sites of your favorite programs. This will be your link given to you by the program to promote the program. This will make you more money with less work, since you get a percentage of the money others make if they join your program under you. Submit your website link to all of the free submission sites you can find. You can post the site as a classified ad, on message boards, in forums and write articles about your site to submit to article sites. There are many free forms of advertising to be found online. They are well worth it.

4. Make a simple business card with the name of your website and the link to it. You can give these out to the many people you know and to the ones that you meet. Some businesses even have a free place to post or leave your business card, especially if you are already a good customer of theirs. You can print out these business cards on your own computer for almost no cost. This is your home business. It can be as profitable as you make it.

5. You can have a few shirts made up to promote your website. Give them to anyone you know that visits malls, restaurants, Wal-Mart, and very populated areas. Kids are great for this. They love amusement parks and like wearing unique clothes. You may want to wait to do this until you make some money from your program and have a small amount to invest in advertising.

6. Get a PayPal account. It is easy to do and well worth it. Most reputable sites will pay you by PayPal. You will receive your money easier and faster. The only information you have to give to the one who is paying you is an email address.

7. Visit some of the get paid, been paid and are paid to forums online. Read what programs people like and they say are paying them. This can give you an idea of what the best paying programs are.

8. Be aware that some programs do not allow AOL members to join. It usually is noted on the site. Most programs do allow AOL members to join.

9. Making money online takes some time. Any person that tells you any different is probably not telling the whole truth.

10. Realize that any program that is free to join and actually pays you is a rare gem in an online world full of frauds.

Thank you for reading. I have some more information to help you on your money making journey. Visit the resource links for a start on your way.

Bridgitte loves writing, reading and finding free ways to make money online. Please visit these websites for more information. http://beep.com/members/bridgitte/index.htm

http://all4webs.com/i/3/bridgitte/home.htm

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By David McGimpsey

There are home based business opportunities everywhere. Some of them are worthwhile, while others... well, not so.

Before you consider anything, you need to ask yourself, what you are looking for. If you want overnight riches, then you would be safer buying a lottery ticket. If you are in the market for something that can start small and grow, then the opportunities are there for the taking.

Consider the top four home businesses.

Why only "top four" and not "top five"? This is a list of the best available, not the most round number. Check them out:

Online Paid Surveys

I know, I know-- you cannot make millions with paid surveys (please refer to the second paragraph).

Online Paid Surveys are as likely to make you rich as Antarctica is of winning all the gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. However, paid surveys are a great way to supplement an existing income or generate a small home based income to expand upon later.

Consider it a fraud if you think you will earn millions, consider it an opportunity if you want to earn a small, regular income. You can then grow the income later with other opportunities.

EBay for affiliates

EBay has to be the best affiliate program out there.

There are hundreds of ways of earning affiliate cash with eBay. One of those ways is simply to direct customers through to eBay to bid. Some of the eBay affiliates are earning in excess of $100,000 per month from eBay-- no joke. Go to eBay and read some affiliate case studies to find out how they are doing it.

If you are ready to move your home business to the next level, then this is definitely the way to do it.

EBay for e-tailers

The great thing about eBay is that there are customers out there now, just looking for products to buy. To make a fortune with eBay you just need to find out what they want and give it to them. There are some excellent software products out there that will help you identify what those customers are looking for.

If you want to get started in e-tailing then you can't go past eBay for security and fast business setup-- if you have a picture of what you want to sell you can be marketing in minutes.

General Affiliate Programs

Affiliate programs are another, great way to begin a home business. Why are they great? Because it is another business that requires no startup capital (and you can be up and running in minutes).

There are several excellent guides available. They will lead you systematically through setting up affiliate campaigns.

Overall, if you are just starting out, get your feet wet with online paid surveys. If you have already entered the world of home business and are looking to expand, you really need to look at how you can work with eBay.

Compare Online Paid Surveys here

Read about starting an online home business with eBay and eCommerce here (http://www.online-home-business-advisor.com/business-ebay-ecommerce-home-online.html).

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By Bob Crane

Home-based businesses require very little money to get started. You can find some for as low as $12.00 with no membership fee. Ones that do charge a membership fee usually give you a starter kit for the fee. The kit can include some forms and brochures on doing the business along with some CD's and DVD's.

There are many advantages to working from home, the flexibility in the daily schedule being the most important for me personally, so I can take care of family needs as they arise. You do not need to make a large investment to start and operate a home based business compared to a traditional bricks and mortar company. If you are working with a network marketing company, they do all of the heavy lifting for you, such as, fulfillment of the orders that you send them, operating and maintaining a website that you can use to run your business, creating a product to sell, etc. The most you would need to spend on equipment is a computer, high-speed internet connection, and a long distance service that allowed you to make three-way calls.

When you have made up your mind that you want to do a home-based business with network marketing, first you have to decide what type of product you want to sell. Do you like nutritional products, kitchen products, etc? It is usually best to pick a product type that requires re-ordering on a regular basis, such as a nutritional product so can develop a steady income stream from your commissions. There are many reputable home-based networks marketing businesses to choose from.

A good place to begin your research is to look at the Better Business Bureau and the Direct Selling Association; they usually list the better companies. Do not overlook newer companies that may not yet be listed by those organizations. With a newer company, there is a little more risk that they may not last, but there is also the chance that they will and be very successful. You just have to check them out more thoroughly.

There are many work at home opportunities available to you, so take your time reviewing them and interviewing potential sponsors. With a network marketing opportunity, you can use your creativity to its fullest to promote the product and opportunity both online and in person. Once you see how much fun it can be, you will never want to do anything else.

You just have to pick the opportunity that is right for you. If you like to talk to people and do not mind making phone calls, then a network marketing opportunity may be right for you. You may be a little apprehensive at first because you are not sure what you are supposed to be doing, which is normal; it is your sponsor's job to train you. Make sure you pick a sponsor that you can work with. Just do your research and become knowledgeable about the home based online business opportunities you are considering. When you finally decide on one, put all of your efforts into making it work and you will eventually join the ranks of fortunate entrepreneurs who earn extra money at home with their computers.

Bob Crane is a Nutrition Consultant and involved in introducing an extraordinary new Internet Work at Home Based Goji Juice Business System (http://www.jaxeagles.com/). Check out the new Goji Juice Storefront (http://www.luvmyheart.com/) Contact him online at: http://www.domesticbiz.com

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By Anthony Harris

In today's world, it seems that almost any topic is open for debate. While I was gathering facts for this article, I was quite surprised to find some of the issues I thought settled, still being discussed openly.

The more authentic information about marketing you know, the more likely people are to consider you a marketing expert. Read on for even more marketing facts that you can share.

To know why Adsense is essential for your content sites is to know first how this works.

The concept is simple, if you think about it. The publisher or the webmaster inserts a java script into a certain website. Each time the page is accessed, the java script will pull advertisements from the Adsense program. The ads that are targeted should therefore be related to the content that is contained on the web page serving the ad. If a visitor clicks on an advertisement, the webmaster serving the ad earns a portion of the money that the advertiser is paying the search engine for the click.

The search engine is the one handling all the tracking and payments, providing an easy way for webmasters to display content-sensitive and targeted ads without having the hassle to solicit advertisers, collect funds, monitor the clicks and statistics, which could be a time-consuming task in itself. It seems there is never a shortage of advertisers in the program, from which the search engine pulls the Adsense ads. In addition, webmasters are less concerned by the lack of information search engines provide and focus more in making cash from these search engines.

The first reason why Adsense is essential for content sites is that it already has come a long way in understanding the needs of publishers and webmasters. Together with its continuous progression is the appearance of more advanced systems that allows full ad customization. Webmasters are given the chance to choose from many different types of text ad formats to better compliment their website and fit their webpage layout.

The different formatting enables the site owners the possibility of more click through from visitors who may or may not be aware of what they are clicking. It can also appeal to the people visiting, thus making them take that next step of looking up what it is all about. This way the people behind the Adsense will get their content read and make profits in the process.

The second reason is the ability of the Adsense publishers to track, not only how their sites are progressing, but also the earnings based on the webmaster-defined channels. The recent improvements in the search engines gives webmasters the capability to monitor how their ads are performing using customizable reports that has the capacity to detail page impressions, clicks, and click-through rates. Webmasters and publishers can now track specific ad formats, colors, and pages within a website. Trends are also easily spotted.

With the real-time reporting at hand, the effectiveness of the changes made will be assessed quickly. There would be time to sort out the contents that people are clicking on the most. The ever-changing demands would be met while generating cash for the webmasters and publishers. The more flexible tools are also allowing webmasters to group web pages by URL, domain, ad type, or category, which will provide them some accurate insight on which pages, ads, and domains are performing best.

The last and final reason is that the advertisers have realized the benefits associated with having their ads served on targeted websites. This increases the possibility that a prospective web surfer will have an interest in their product and services, and all because of the content and its constant maintenance. As opposed to those who are not using Adsense in their sites, they are given the option of having other people do their content for them, giving them the benefit of having successful and money-generating web sites.

Adsense is all about targeted content, the more targeted your content is, the more target the search engines ads will be. There are some web masters and publishers who are focused more on their site contents and how best to maintain them rather than the cash that the ads will generate for them. This is the part where the effectiveness is working its best.

There was a time when people were not yet aware of the money to be achieved from advertisements. The cash generated only came into existence when the webmasters and publishers realized how they could make Adsense be that generator. In those days, the content was the most important factors that are taken quite seriously. It still is, with the allure of money, of course.

Knowing enough about marketing to make solid, informed choices cuts down on the fear factor. If you apply what you have just learned about marketing, you should have nothing to worry about.

Anthony Harris is an ex store manager turned marketer of perfect home based business opportunities- The internets top home based business opportunities free information resource.

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by Caroline Melberg

If you are an avid reader of Blue Chip Tips, you’ll know that I spend a good deal of time on the water, and a portion of that time on the water is spent fishing.

Living in The Land of 10,000 Lakes makes this not too difficult to do, but I also enjoy fishing everywhere our travels take us (hence our recent fishing and photographic expedition to Alaska).

Over the course of my lifetime, I am pretty sure I’ve reeled in just about every type of freshwater fish available in our northern lakes – except one. The Musky.

Walleye and bass and northern pike – all day long. Sunfish and crappie and bluegill – no problem. But muskies? Not one.

I’ve had what is referred to in fishing parlance as "a follow" – where you look down at your lure as you reel it toward the boat just in time to catch a splash and hear the water ripple as a giant musky is tempted by your lure – only to turn and swim away at the last minute.

But I’ve never reeled one in.

Muskies are a sport fish – they can grow to be huge – the world record muskie, caught in Hayward, Wisconsin, was 63-1/2” long and weighed 69 lbs. – and just in case you aren’t into fishing - that’s a big freshwater fish. But you wouldn’t want to eat one.

Muskies don’t just bite at anything you throw at them – they take work. While you can go out and catch walleye with little effort, the musky is the fish of 10,000 casts. If you haven’t put in your time on the water, you won’t catch one. Muskies take sweat equity.

Advertising headlines are a lot like the elusive musky. While writing body copy comes fairly easily, the most important element of your ad or direct mail piece – the headline – takes hard work. You’ve got to put your time in "on the water" to nail one – and even the experts consistently write over 100 unique headlines for each promotion before they settle on the most compelling choice.

Fortunately – just like fishing pros use all sorts of "special tricks" to improve their musky-catching odds – copywriters use secrets of their own to consistently craft powerful, arresting headlines.

That said, here are 5 secrets you can use immediately to improve your headlines and improve your odds of reeling in your prospect:

1. Keep it Simple!

The best headlines are difficult to write because you must eliminate every unnecessary word and focus on one compelling idea – one and only one. Too many ideas will confuse your reader and you’ll lose your prospect.

2. Focus on Now

Your headline needs to create a sense of urgency to break through the clutter and get your prospect to focus on what you have to say. Something isn’t going to happen – it IS happening.

3. Benefits

By reading your ad or direct mail piece, your prospect should learn something they didn’t know before. By providing an inherent benefit in your headline, you build trust with your prospect which encourages them to read further.

4. Useful

Make sure the information conveyed in your headline is useful to your prospect – implying or referring to information that they need or want to know.

5. Specific

Tell your reader what you are talking about – what will your product or service specifically do for your prospect that your competitor’s product or service will not? Tell your prospect and watch your sales grow!

Entrepreneur and outdoor photography adventurer Caroline Melberg is President and CEO of Small Business Mavericks, a division of Melberg Marketing. She has over 20 years of experience creating marketing communications materials and writing copy for some of the largest and most successful companies in the world. Her small business columns are syndicated online, and she publishes the popular eZine, "Small Business Maverick Secrets." Learn insider Maverick Marketing secrets you can use immediately to find new customers and increase your sales. When you subscribe, you'll also get a FREE copy of her e-Book, "Local Small Business Internet Marketing Secrets" - learn insider secrets to marketing your local small business on the Web today! Get your FREE subscription at www.SmallBusinessMavericks.com.

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by Phillip Davis

Naming a business is like laying the cornerstone of a building. Once it's in place, the entire foundation and structure is aligned to that original stone. If it's off, the rest of the building is off, and the misalignment becomes amplified.

If you have that gnawing sense that choosing a name for your new business is vitally important - you're right. With 18 years in the naming and branding business, I've witnessed the good, the bad, and the really bad.

Here's how you can avoid the worst of the mistakes and get off to a good start.

Mistake 1: The Committee (Getting all your clients, employees and family members involved)

We live in a democratic society and it seems like the right thing to do - involving everyone in an important decision. This approach, however, presents a few problems. The first and most obvious fact is that you will end up choosing only one name - so you risk alienating the very people you are trying to involve. Second, you often end up with a consensus decision, resulting in a very safe and very vanilla name.

A better method is to involve only the key decision makers, the fewer the better, and select only the people you feel have the company's best interests at heart. The need for personal recognition can skew results - so you are best served by those who can park their egos at the door. Also, make sure you have some right brain types in the mix. Too many left brains and the name often ends up too literal and descriptive.

Mistake 2: The Train Wreck (Taking two words and colliding them head on)

When forced to come up with a creative name, many aspiring entrepreneurs will simply take part of an adjective and weld it onto a noun. The results are names that have a certain twisted rationale to them, but look and sound awful. Someone starting a high-end service franchise then becomes QualiServe.

It's a bit like mixing chocolate syrup with ketchup - nothing wrong with either, but they just don't go together. Other common truncations include Ameri, Tech, Corp, Tron, etc. The problem with this approach is that it's forced and it sounds that way.

Mistake 3: Where's Waldo? (Names so plain they'll never stand out in a crowd)

The first company in a category can get away with this one. Hence, you have General Motors, General Electric, etc. But, once you have competition, it requires differentiation.

Imagine if Yahoo! had come out as GeneralInternetDirectory.com? It would be much more descriptive, but hardly memorable. And with the onslaught of new media and advertising channels, it's more important than ever to carve out your niche by displaying your uniqueness. Nothing does that better than a well-conceived name.

Mistake 4: The Atlas Approach (Using a map to name your company)

In the zeal to start a new company, many businesses choose to use their city, state or region as part of their name. While this may actually help in the beginning, it often becomes a hindrance as a company grows.

One client came to me with complaints he was serving more of the market than his name implied. He had aptly called it St. Pete Plumbing since he hailed from St. Petersburg, Florida. But yellow page shoppers assumed that was also his entire service area. With a little creative tinkering we changed the image of St. Pete from a city to the image of St. Pete himself, complete with wings and a plumber's wrench. The new tag line? "We work miracles!"

Other companies have struggled with the same issue. Minnesota Manufacturing and Mining was growing beyond their industry and their state. To avoid limiting their growth they became 3M, a company now known for innovation. Kentucky Fried Chicken is now KFC, de-emphasizing the regional nature of the original name. Both of these companies made strategic moves to avoid stifling their growth. Learn from them and you can avoid this potential bottleneck.

Mistake 5: Cliche' You Say? (A good name is worth a thousand words)

Once past the literal, descriptive stage, the thought process usually turns to metaphors. These can be great if they are not overly used to the point of sounding trite. Since many companies think of themselves as the top in their industry, the world is full of names like Summit, Apex, Pinnacle, Peak, etc. While there is nothing inherently wrong with these names, they are just overworked.

Look for combinations of positive words and metaphors and you will be much better served. A good example is the Fortune 1000 data storage company Iron Mountain, which conveys strength and security without sounding commonplace.

Mistake 6: Hide the Meaning (Make it so obscure, the customer will never know!)

It's great for a name to have a special meaning or significance. It sets up a story that can be used to tell the company message. But, if the reference is too obscure and too hard to spell and pronounce, you may never have the opportunity to speak to that customer. They will simply pass you by as irrelevant.

Resist the urge to name your company after the mythical Greek god of fast service or the Latin phrase for "We're number one!" If a name has a natural, intuitive sound and a special meaning, it can work. If it's too complex and puzzling, it will remain a mystery to your customers. This is especially true if you are reaching out to a mass audience.

I pushed the envelope a little on this one myself, naming my branding firm Tungsten, after the metal that Thomas Edison used to create brilliant light. However, my clientele consists of knowledgeable professionals who appreciate a good metaphor and expect a branding firm to have a story behind its name. It's also a way to differentiate my services (illuminated, bright, brilliant). So, while it works for a branding firm, it would not do well as an ice cream parlor.

Mistake 7: The Campbell's Approach (Using alphabet soup to name your firm)

This is a trend that is thankfully wearing off. Driven by the need for a matching domain name, many companies have resorted to awkwardly constructed or purposefully misspelled names. The results are company names that sound more like prescription drugs than real life businesses. Mistake 2 sometimes gets combined with this one and results in a name like KwaliTronix (or worse - mistakes 2, 4 ... 7, resulting in KwalTronixUSA).

It's amazing how good some names begin to sound after searching for available domain names all night. But resist the urge. Avoid using a "K" in place of a "Q" or a "Ph" in place of an "F." This makes spelling the name and locating you on the Internet all that much harder.

It's not that coined or invented names cannot work; they often do. Take, for example, Xerox or Kodak. But, keep it mind, names like these have no intrinsic or linguistic meaning, so they rely heavily on advertising and that gets expensive.

Many of the companies that use this approach were either first in category or had large marketing budgets. Verizon spent millions on their rebranding effort. So did Accenture. Check your pocketbook before you look into these types of names.

Mistake 8: Sit On It. (When in doubt, make no change at all)

Many business owners know they have a problem with their name and just hope it will somehow magically resolve itself. The original name for one of my clients was "Portables," which reminded some people of the outdoor restrooms or the portable classrooms - neither one a good association. This added to the confusion when phone operators tried to explain their new concept of moving and storage. After some careful tweaking, we came up with the name PODS, an acronym for Portable On Demand Storage. The rest is quickly becoming history as they expand both nationally and internationally.

Peter Warhust, President and one of the original founders states, "For the record, changing our name to PODS was one of the best moves we ever made."

Exercise Experience, a former Florida-based company, was frequently confused with a health club. In reality, they sold very high-end fitness equipment. This brings up a very key point - it's better to have a name that gives no impression than a name that gives a wrong impression. Much of the ad budget we spent on Exercise Experience was used to clarify that they sold fitness equipment. This was valuable airtime that could have been put to better use selling the equipment rather than explaining the business. Ultimately, the company folded. It's not to say it was solely because of the name, but I believe it was a factor.

Mike Harper of Huntington Beach, CA, bought a thirty-year-old janitorial and building maintenance company named Regency. We both agreed it sounded more like a downtown movie theatre than a progressive facilities management firm. After a thorough naming search, we developed the name Spruce Facilities Management. Spruce not only conveyed the environmentally friendly image of a spruce tree (something important to the client), it also meant, "to clean up." The new tag line fell right in place: Spruce "The Everclean Company."

It's only a matter of time before Southwest Airlines and Burlington Coat Factory and others who have successfully outgrown their original markets begin to question their positioning. Much like 3M and KFC, they may need to make a change to keep pace with their growth and image.

In the fever to start your new business or expand a current one, take time to think through some of these issues. According to the late Henry Ford, "Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it." Albert Einstein took it one step further claiming, "Imagination is more important than knowledge."

By tapping into your creativity and avoiding these potential pitfalls, you'll be able to create a name that works both short- and long-term - one that allows for future growth.

Like the original cornerstone of a building, it will support upward expansion as your company reaches new heights.

Phil Davis is President of Tungsten Brilliant Brand Marketing. Phil’s life goal of "creating environments where people thrive" reflects his desire to assist in personal, professional and business growth. Phil founded and ran a full service ad agency for over 17 years and now works full time as a business naming and branding consultant. Phil resides with wife Michelle and four energetic offspring outside Asheville, North Carolina. Website: http://PureTungsten.com Email: Phil@PureTungsten.com

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By David McGimpsey

Everyone has a different reason for wanting a home based business. The most common reason is the immediate need for extra cash flow. Perhaps the cash is required for some unexpected bills. Whatever the problem, there is a solution.

At some stage or other, you have probably considered work at home jobs or a home business. Soon after, you have probably dismissed the idea. Wading through all the information on the web looks like a nightmare. It does not have to be a nightmare.

Here are some top home business cash flow ideas:

1. Creating ads

You can be paid for creating internet text ads for firms. Typing short ads and submitting them can earn a reasonable amount of cash. Creating ads from home allows you to refer people to companies. Any referrals, that complete a successful transaction, earn you money (sometimes up to $100 each).

2. Online Paid Surveys

These are fast becoming the backbone of the home business sector. This type of work, if done correctly, can earn you a reasonable income that you can then build on later.

3. Write

Yes, this is a way of making money from home. If you enjoy writing and have some favorite topics, start some web-logs. By writing about your passions on web-logs, you can earn some fantastic cash from people who enjoy reading your stuff.

4. Typing at home

Hiring secretarial and data-entry staff is becoming a huge cost to employers. More and more employers are seeing the benefits in outsourcing typing and data-entry to small home business operators. Payment is usually quite good because the employer does not need to worry about other costs that would normally be associated with a full-time employee.

5. Online Auctions

Using auction services like eBay, you can make a fortune buying and selling. Items that are marketed can come from government auctions, low-cost retail stores, and drop ship wholesalers, just about anywhere. Using auctions and the internet gives you a global market to retail goods.

These top opportunities offer huge potential-- seize the opportunities to realize a home business.

For further reading see our work at home and jobs finder reviews here (http://www.online-home-business-advisor.com/work-at-home-and-jobs.html).

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By Patrick A Chan

I have discovered that it is very easy to let ourselves stay grounded to a comfort zone, even though our whole being is shouting at us for a decisive change!

Whoa! What do I mean?

See, sometimes we know that if we keep doing what we always do, we will be getting nowhere until we change our course of action. Yet, we have conveniently slipped ourselves into the COMFORT ZONE...

We know we have had enough! However... Yes, a BIG BUT! ... We are not willing to change our actions because it has become a habit!

We are habitual beings and this fact is not new. I have learned that if we have a bad habit that we wish to overcome, the fast and effective way to do that is to cultivate a good habit to replace it!

Yes, easier said than done! Why? Most of us can identify what holds us back and what is necessary for us to do. BUT! ... We are just not ready to GET OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONE!

Our unwillingness to change usually stems from our being comfortable with where we are now, even if it hurts ourselves to be in whatever situation we are in now.

Some will say, "I want to change! But I just can't!"

My response: How much do you want to change? Are you not able to change because you are too STUCK in certain ways or conditions? It is really like hearing someone telling you YES, but saying NO on the inside... Check your comfort zones and you will find out where your worst enemy lies!

"I am not sure what will happen if I were to do something differently! Hmmm... Should I proceed?"

Hey! Nobody can tell me the results that I will get if I did not get to proceed with whatever ideas that are floating in my head! Nobody needs to tell me... Right?

We will not know if something works until we have tried it. We then track what we have tried, to become wiser about the consequences that our actions will bring about. However, without even starting to test for results, what is there for us to track? In the end, we will never know how things will turn out, unless, we actually take the risk to test the waters!

Had enough of going in circles in your life? Do you want to have a refreshing change? Then... here is what I dare you to do! Get out of your comfort zone and do the necessary! Take action! Be it to find out what you need to know... Be it to do a research on some proven knowledge, or just taking a step to do a totally new experiment to test your hypothesis... JUST DO IT! Take the risk and do what is necessary!

Do not let what is comfortable prevent you from moving forward, taking risks and doing what is necessary! Remember this: Success follows whenever the necessary things are done!

Patrick Chan who has been making money online since 2002 is willing to help anyone who finally wants to succeed in every aspect of life. Join his successful Singapore team in the quest for success from the comfort of your home via the internet (http://success.homelysuccess.com/). Also, do check out his buddy Ewen Chia's Autopilot Profits System In A Box (http://auto.homelysuccess.com/) that can definitely enhance anyone's online business (es)!

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By Jonathan G. Michel

I once heard Frank Kern say "it is only when I decided that I would do what was being taught in the ebook courses, that a year later I had earned in excess of $800,000".

People, that is a reality of life!

Moreover, for those of you who do not know who Frank Kerns is, before he started listening, he was standing in line selling his personal belongings to pawnshops.

It is human nature to doubt, do nothing, and then scream 'scam'. That is OK. "You Are Where You Are Because Of What You Are".

There are not that many scams on the internet as people would have you believe. It is reverse psychology advertising at its best, trying to make everybody believe that their product is better and everybody else's is a 'scam'.

Therefore, with everyone using this negative approach (just like in politics) soon you have a ton of people believing that every course, ebook etc., is a 'scam'. Do you get the picture? When in reality there are very few frauds online. It is somewhat funny in a way. I guess it brings me back to the 'herd mentality', which so many belong to. One person 'screams' and everybody follows.

The truth about internet marketing or marketing online is rather simple and easily compared to offline.

Just as brick and mortar building is your offline store; your website is your online store. Just as your brick and mortar store advertises in the local newspaper, telephone book, yellow pages, and the banner (sign) over his store etc., so you must advertise your online store, somehow.

Just as you need products in your brick and mortar store, so you also need products in your online store. Just as you get to know your regular customers and new customers in your offline store, so you must do in your online store.

Finally, yet importantly, if you do not get out of bed to open your brick and mortar store to greet your customers, you will not be around very long.

Therefore, it is with your online store. In addition, that my friends, is what Frank Kerns was talking about. ACTION speaks louder than words. That is how movies are made and that is how millionaires are made.

The secrets to online are no different than the secrets offline. Why? Because, there are no secrets.

First off, just like becoming successful at anything in life, you need the training and the expertise. If you already have all the training and the knowledge and not yet succeeded, either, you have not applied it, or you need more knowledge.

However, for the most part, the 'Action' is where it is at. The rest comes through trial and error, consistency, and being persistent. No different than offline.

Oh yes, there is one little secret that has eluded me for years and that is this. Making money online or offline has never had anything to do with what you were selling. It was always about 'marketing'. The methods you use to market. You need to know, at the very least, the basics about marketing online, and this is very easy to learn. The good thing is that it does not cost much as compared to what it would cost you offline. One ebook might do it, one course might do it, or it can be free if you know where to look.

Jon G. Michel is a successful webmaster and publisher. To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit: http://www.jgmichel.cashflow123.com or simply enter your email at http://www.jon-michel.com

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By Al Bullington

You can turn your interest in handcrafted soap into a soap business quickly and easily. Your soap business can be fun and profitable, too.

First, of course, you must master the art of how to make soap. However, once you have your soap making perfected, you probably want to make more. What can you do with it? It makes great gifts, of course. However, why not start a soap business?

There is a brisk demand for handcrafted soap. However, how can you find those buyers? There are several ways. I think the best way to start a soap business is to sell at craft fairs. Therefore, your soap business is a craft business.

If you pick the right craft fair, you can sell a lot of product in a short time period. That is very efficient. My family sold over 35,000 bars of soap part-time over about four years.

We sold over $2,000 in products in a weekend several times. That is about 500 bars of soap in a weekend. You might not do that well or you might do better.

The other huge advantage of craft fairs is the follow-up sales. Your soap business can grow from the follow-up repeat sales after the craft fairs. You can build a mail order and catalog sales business from your craft fair contacts. You can build an internet soap business too. However, your initial customers can be those face-to-face contacts at craft fairs!

Start a soap business using craft fairs and you may be surprised how fast you succeed. Using this base as a start, you can expand with many other marketing methods.

Al Bullington has made and sold soap for years through his family soap business. For information about what he's learned visit http://www.soapbizkit.com

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By Di Chapman

Having been a Virtual Assistant since 2000 and involved with two VA organizations I am often sent CVs with a request for work or how to start making money quickly. There is a lot of help on the Net for new Virtual Assistants but very few spell it out from the beginning that it is not easy to 'make it' in the profession

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A Virtual Assistant is a person working from their own office on clients's work. They are fully-fledged businesses regulated by the local and state tax and business regimes. The idea of a VA is that they have multiple clients so are suitable for SME's etc. Many companies would not be where they are today if they had not started in partnership with a VA, the work growing as the client's business grew.

A VA Practice may consist of more than one VA or even employees. It is a business and not a 'home typing' scheme.

What do Virtual Assistants do?

This question for me is a real problem. They can do anything they are qualified to do. I once knew a virtual worker who had a huge server in her kitchen. She worked for a large multinational testing their server software and strength. The only place they could cable it in was her kitchen but she ran it from her office upstairs.

Many VA's specialize in digital transcription. That in itself is a minefield, as you have to be very experienced to cope with all the types of hardware that the files can be recorded on. It is a far cry from the tape based transcription systems.

In the US, there are courses for Real Estate VA's. It is best to find a niche and specialize. That way you know to whom to market your skills.

What qualifications do Virtual Assistants need?

You can qualify by experience or specific qualification - if you have been, a proofreader for 5 years in a company you should be qualified to offer this as a service otherwise you would not have been able to keep your job. I am a qualified teacher in RSA word-processing in the UK to level three but I no longer offer this service having gained qualifications in HTML and other skills as I have built my business.

Can you be a Virtual Assistant as a second job and only work evenings and weekends?

You could, but you still have to conform to tax and other business regulations. Many clients need to contact their VA during normal working hours and so you could have a problem. Some clients want work completed overnight and in this instance it could work.

How much can I earn?

That is down to you. It normally takes 6 to 12 months to get your Practice really rolling. You will have to learn and spend time marketing yourself. You will have start-up costs and overheads that you have to pay for as well as tax, health and pension considerations. You really need start-up funds to get this going.

Can I live anywhere to do this?

As long as you have a reasonably fast Internet connection, you can do this from almost anywhere. I live in a remote part of France with better Internet and phone services than I had in a very large village in the UK. My clients are all over the world.

Is it worth it?

For me it has been fantastic. I have clients that have been with me for over 6 years and new clients in France. I am not lonely as there are plenty of VA and non-VA forums on the net and it is often the case that someone you help on an Internet forum will contact you months or even years later for help and work.

Di Chapman is an IT specialist, having won two Awards for her work in the promotion of Virtual Working and the support and coaching of Virtual Assistants. She is proud to be a co-founder of the Alliance of UK Virtual Assistants and owner of "Become a Virtual Assistant". Both Free web sites. For more information http://www.iceni-it.co.uk

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By Ray Ayuso

Have you come across any legitimate stay at home jobs? You might be searching for the best online job that can give you the freedom you are looking for, but be careful, because you are in a weak situation where you can fall for any scam that promises you get rich quick.

Although there is some legitimate work at home, envelope stuffing jobs, most of the time it is not worth your effort. Most companies do not need envelope-stuffing staff from home, because they can do it very cheaply with in-house staff. If they pay you anything to do envelope stuffing, it will be an insignificant amount.

The sites selling work at home envelope stuffing jobs, will ask you to pay a certain amount before you qualify for the job, for processing fees, and for a starter kit, that is supposed to help you, or train you. I believe you should not get involved in these kind of stay at home jobs, there are many other legitimate stay at home jobs where you do not have to risk your money.

You must be aware, that the business on this work at home envelope-stuffing jobs is not in actually doing the envelope stuffing, but in selling the starter kit to other people like yourself. When you get your starter kit, you will see that they tell you how to promote with ads, their starter kit to other people, so you are paid a commission for selling it.

These kinds of actions are not ethical at all and you will be very disappointed once you find out how the businesses of these people really work. Therefore, my advice is to stay away from the false companies that advertise legitimate work at home envelope-stuffing jobs.

Claim your Free Report on How to make Passive Income Online

and Learn how to find the Best Paying Freelance jobs in Just Minutes step by step, you will be shocked when you discover how 99% of people are getting it Wrong when it comes to Making Money Online, Download your Freelance Secrets Report (http://howtogetridofyourjob.com/).

You can also check my Blog at legitimate home based jobs (http://legitimate-home-based-jobs.blogspot.com/).

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By Mohd Sharulnazeri Bin Mohd Ali

Affiliate marketing tips. Most affiliate marketers search for tips when entering this online business. By referencing the tips available on the internet, the affiliate marketer can improve their marketing skills and improve their online business.

There are many benefits of being the online affiliate marketer, and I will describe why affiliate marketing is the best business to start with. Many people enter affiliate marketing because it is easy and profitable and you still can earn money while you are at home or sleeping. With affiliate marketing, you will not worry about the production costs and stocks. The cost involved is only for maintaining the website and a bit for advertisement.

This online business is also easy to join and normally it is free to join. To succeed in this business, you will not require any selling experience. You need to know about presell, the merchant's product, and sending the visitors to the merchant's page. The selling will be taken care of for you. Other benefits of an affiliate marketing business is that you can earn the money with the least amount of cost and you can operate it from anywhere in the world, including your home. You would not have to work so hard everyday. You can choose your comfort, time, and place you like.

To join an affiliate marketing business does not cost you anything and you will not be limited to the number of affiliate program you can join. Commissions for affiliate marketing can be quite lucrative and profitable because most merchants offer high commissions for the sales generated.

These are the secrets to success in this online business, which the affiliate gurus or experts usually share. However, I will spell out some secrets to guide the newbie to start the affiliate business.

The most important thing before starting the affiliate marketing business is choosing the right affiliate program. Choose the right affiliate program by considering the products that the affiliate merchant offers. You would not want to promote the low quality product to your customers. You need to consider the markets for those particular products. The credibility and reliability of the affiliate program is also the key for the success of your business.

Market research is vital to the affiliate marketing business. By conducting the market research, you will know the target market, the buyer, and optimize your advertisement cost. The affiliate marketing business is a two-way communication and it needs the personal touch for the ads. Treat the customer like a friend and guide them with the useful information and tips. They will have trust in you, and it will make it easy for them to accept whatever you promote.

This online business is a profitable business on the internet today. I hope this article will give some over view about starting an online business with affiliate marketing. If you are the affiliate marketer and using adwords to promote your affiliate products, but still struggle to get higher CTR, please feel free to visit http://www.intincome.biz to download free " Google Adwords Power Tip" eBook and others freebies.

Mohd Sharulnazeri Bin Mohd Ali is a one of the successful marketers. Learn more about affiliate marketing business at http://www.affiliate-marketingtips.blogspot.com and get the free adwords coaching at http://www.intincome.biz

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By Max Pinner

Almost everyone's dream is to be able to earn a steady, reliable and adequate income in a home business. Many try. Most fail.

Some succeed -- for a time. They find a small niche with sufficient demand to generate income, but insufficient competitors to dilute the returns. This is an ideal situation.

Others eventually find the niche as well. It soon becomes over-subscribed. Then the hunt starts all over again for another niche, yet ignored by the herd.

Just a few information pioneers are far more successful. They have the skill and, dare I suggest sufficient luck as well, to find a specialized information niche that has enough eager buyers to generate a good income for all.

In addition, as a bonus, it is a niche where competition is not a disadvantage. In fact, their niche is, because of its nature, dynamic enough for more competitors that are new. This actually helps generate more income for everyone else in the niche.

This specialized information niche is ideal for Information Traders.

Information - The New Currency

What do we use the internet for mainly? Surely, it is for information, for more information, and for even more information!

Think about it - the main reason most of us go online is to research our interests, is it not? Don't we mainly surf to follow threads, to find more information on something we find important or unusual, popular or necessary, wanted or needed, compelling or curious?

Trading information is the new currency of the internet. The fortunate few make a living from doing what you already do on the internet.

The New 3Rs

Research...Recover...Report...
Welcome to the new 3Rs extensively used by Information Traders in today's Information Age.

They know how to collected, rewrite, repackage and sell their very specialized information to those eager to buy from particular suppliers, to make extremely good, steady incomes in their home-business.

* Research: They know exactly where and how to find the information from a variety of sources, both online and offline.

* Recover: They know how to identify, extract and record the essential facts from the mass of information.

* Report: They know how to write the information in their own sentences, how to organize the information, and how to present their Report to the buyers.

In addition, just as importantly, successful Information Traders know where, how, and to whom they can sell their Reports to feed the continuous and insatiable demand for information of a particular type.

A Growing Demand

After a lengthy search, Californian businessperson, A Willett, discovered the specialized information niche for herself.

"You see, there are a few very special places where you can send your research and you will receive massive amounts of cash for doing so," she said.

"These special places - there are about ten of them - have a huge hunger for specific types of research.

In fact, they just cannot get enough - and even better, that demand is growing daily. Just in September 2006 alone, the demand grew by over 20 percent.

Ask any economics expert what happens when you have a growing demand and not enough supply to meet that demand - high prices and fortunes made."

The Proof Of The Pudding

When first testing her strategy Ms Willett received 63 orders in 4 weeks with a net income of $15,750. "My cost was absolutely zero. I had cracked the code," she said.

In addition, she is now so successful that she gave up her high-flying corporate work to concentrate on finding and selling information to specialized outlets.

As one of the successful few who succeeded in a home business, this woman now makes a seven-figure income working from home as a self-employed Information Trader.

She has summarized her methods in a digital course. "I do not make the bulk of my income from selling this course on the Internet," she says.

"This course was created to use myself, and replace my very nice, six-figure, corporate income. Yes, that is correct, I am not one of those rags-to-riches stories everyone seems to tell in their marketing blurb."

She works minimal hours to suit her, and welcomes competitors whom she sees as an overall advantage to the niche.

For her, the ultimate dream of earning a steady, reliable, and adequate income in a home business is now very much a reality. In addition, even better, she is prepared to share the reality with others.

Freelance writer, Max Pinner, expects to earn a 5 to 6--figure income within the next two years, by trading information using Ms Willett's principles.

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By Andy W. Jones

People are often looking for the best way, or the easiest way to earn money working at home. There are many different options to choose from, so how do you sort out and find the home business model that returns the quickest results, especially, if you are new to the online world. In my experience, I have found that network marketing is a perfect fit for me, and a great way to earn money working at home.

So what is Network Marketing? With this business model, the "Company" has agents or affiliates that sell the company's products in return for a fee or commission. Usually the affiliate pays a monthly membership fee, which covers training, support, a website, hosting, and other benefits. However, this is where it gets interesting. The affiliate refers other affiliates and earns a monthly bonus from the referred people. Not only that, but also any sales made by the referred affiliate, (sales could be products or more referred affiliates), results in extra commissions for you. This can go multiple levels deep.

Obviously, the big advantage with this model is that you earn money from your product sales, your team's product sales, and monthly bonuses from your direct enrollees' and their enrollees', several levels deep. You can make residual, leveraged income from referring one person, but the more affiliates you refer, the more money you will earn working at home, in the long term.

You have two choices for promoting your Network Marketing business (yes, it is actually a business). You can promote it offline with flyers, newspaper ads, or meeting and talking to prospects. Alternatively, you can do all your marketing online, from the comfort of your own home. Talking to prospects offline can be very time consuming, so you should qualify prospects up-front with questions designed to check their interest and suitability. You need to spend most of your time with targeted people who have a real interest in what you have to offer.

Me personally, I prefer to market my business online. Your reach is far greater with this method with a lot less work. You can ATTRACT targeted prospects and spend your time on people who are interested. Most Network Marketing companies give you a website to promote that has your links in it. I always think that it is much better to have your own landing page with lead capture and autoresponder follow-up. You then have more chances to make the sale. Once you have people in your team, it is very important to follow-up and support these members to ensure that they get off to a fast start.

Once you have your systems in place, it is time to drive targeted traffic to your landing page. You can create a blog with a link to your site, add content, and each time you make a post, "ping" to alert the blog directories (I use Pingoat.com). In addition, you can write articles and submit to the article directories with a link pointing back to your site. Once you are generating an income, you can then invest in PPC (pay per click) advertising, for example, Google Adwords. However, do your homework first if you are new to PPC, because it can be very costly if you do not know what you are doing.

Now, I am not saying that Network Marketing is the ONLY way to earn money working at home, but it is one of the better ways to go if you operate it like a "real" business. This is especially true if you like the idea of earning residual income month after month.

Andrew Jones has been a business owner for the past 10 years, and is now an Internet Marketer and Plug-In Profit Site owner. Discover the best ways to earn money working at home (http://www.easycash-at-home.com/earn-money-working-at-home.html).

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By Arindam C

It is curious that while we all pursue wealth, most of us are unable to define what wealth actually is. If you are thinking that wealth is all about how much you earn each month, you could not be further from the truth. If you are earning a million dollars and spending it all by the next week without saving anything, you are not getting any wealthier than you already are! Wealth is all about how much money you accumulate over a period, not how much you earn and spend.

Again, some people think that those who are wealthy are either lucky or very intelligent people. If you think so, then you are dead wrong! Wealth has nothing to do with luck or intelligence. More often than not, people become wealthy by leading a life of self-discipline, perseverance, planning, and hard work. If you do not believe me, then go and ask the wealthy people and see what they tell you. Most of them will say the same thing to you as I am saying,

The purpose of this article is to show you how you too can be wealthy like others. Simply read my article through and through to find out the truth.

Do you know what the biggest common secret is of all these wealthy people? All of them understood the meaning and essence of financial freedom and left their dead-end jobs to build their own businesses.

These people knew that they would never be able to succeed if they continue to work for their boss. No matter what kind of job you presently are in and how much you earn for that, the fact remains that working for someone else makes you his/her slave. No matter how nice and generous your boss is, you will never be successful if you work inside your boss's dream.

What must you do, then? You must repeat what your boss has done. You must build your own dream. Only in that way will you be able to become as successful as your boss.

In short, if you really desire to be wealthy, you must build your own business. Unless you spend each day focused towards building your business and quitting your job, you will never be able to quit your job and become wealthy.

So how can you build your own dream business?

You can do that in many ways. For example, you can invest money in real estate or purchase stocks. While these types of businesses need money, there is an easier way to make money without investing thousands of dollars. Remember, we are in the twenty-first century, when Internet has developed rapidly; it has developed so much to enable anyone and everyone to start a business from home. All you need is a computer and an internet connection.

How do you build your home business? You can build a home business by building an online empire, which revolves around your passion. As humans, all of us have passions. Turn your passions into business. There is nothing like earning from doing something you already love. One word of caution though; if you are just starting your home business, do not leave your old job just yet. Work each day towards building your home business. Then when you become successful in your home business and begin to earn $1000-2000 or more per month, you can quit your job and work full time in your home business, and then you can expand your business as much as you like.

In this way, you will achieve financial freedom, and be a much better and happier person than you are now. My suggestion is that you take this idea seriously. There is nothing like becoming free from financial worries. Your life and happiness depends on it.

If you are unable to find a suitable business opportunity for yourself, we can make your task easier. If you do not know, where and how you can find legitimate and lucrative home business opportunities; then simply visit our website.

Arindam is a home business expert. For more such Home Business tips please join his free e-course at:
http://jobs4all.biz

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By David McGimpsey

Can a Clickbank and Adsense combination really make a home business?

Yes, and there are five reasons why. In fact, using this method, you can make more home business income now than you could a few years ago. Let us have a look:

1. Products

Clickbank has a huge amount of e-products to promote. In fact, the amount of products available is in-exhaustive. Finding a niche market (and niche keywords) is easy with such a diverse range of products. Choose gardening, health, beauty... Just choose a category you love, something that would be a great subject for a home business.

2. Commissions

Clickbank commissions are usually quite high for the products you can promote. While there are the odd, low-paying ones, most commissions are 50% and upwards. With commissions like this, on products averaging $40 each, your income adds up quickly.

3. Campaign immediacy

When you promote a Clickbank product, Adsense is immediately with you-- automatically adjusting to the exact content being promoted. If you do not make the sale with Clickbank, you will likely get a profitable Adsense click instead. It is win-win!

4. Guaranteed payment

When dealing with firms via the internet, it is good to know you are dealing with reputable companies. Google and Clickbank are two of the big boys. They have been around long enough to give you peace-of-mind-- Your checks are not going to disappear.

5. Cost

When you start a bricks and mortar business, you instantly have costs. You need to earn a lot of money to get your initial investment back. Start up a home business using Adsense and Clickbank and you are off to a flying start, with no money down.

The Adsense Clickbank boats leave regularly, you just need to climb on-board.

Do it now.

For further reading on the Adsense Clickbank home business success kit, click here (http://www.online-home-business-advisor.com/home-business-success-kit.html).

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by David Cooper

Here's something every affiliate marketer should understand: All keywords aren't created equal. Some are worth a lot more than others.

I can hear you now: "No kidding. Everyone knows that!"

Fine. The idea that some keywords are more valuable than others may not be a great new revelation. What might surprise you is how you should be differentiating between the power keywords and the also-rans.

Before you click away from this article, realize that the difference between the best keywords and the dead-enders has nothing to do with search volume.

Surprised? I thought so. Most people think of keyword value in terms of search volume. If millions of people are going to Google to look for "widgets" every day, it would be nice to own the top slot for "widgets," right?

Of course. However, snagging traffic on the basis of "widgets" might not be that easy. Every affiliate marketer in the universe will be going after those high-competition terms. Additionally, a relatively scant percentage of "widget" searchers will be serious potential buyers. There may be a lot of people out there searching for "widget" or "widgets," but not all of them are in a shopping mood.

So, by the time you duke it out for that high-volume keyword and then deal with a relatively small conversion percentage, you're apt to discover that the difference between awesome keywords and duds has little to do with search volume.

Two people sit down to do a Google search. One types "widget." The other types "where to find a good red widget."

Which of those searchers would you prefer to send to a sales page? Obviously, the second searcher is much more likely to make a widget purchase than the first.

So, even though "where to find a good red widget" may not secure a million searches per day, it converts much more than the generic keyword. And a smart affiliate marketer can own a top slot in the SERPs for it rather easily.

Less work. Higher conversions. It makes sense.

Those lesser-used keywords are buying keywords. They're the ones that will get you big checks in the mail from affiliate programs. The high-volume terms are search keywords. They'll get more traffic, but won't produce sales like the buying keywords will.

There's a marketing theory that's been applied to search engine use and keyword selection known as "the long tail." The idea is that it's easier to own those smaller-volume terms and the net effect of targeting the right ones will swamp the income potential of going after the bigger search term.

If you can learn how to apply that theory to your affiliate marketing business, you'll be able to experience success that will escape all of those other affiliates who are still focused merely on search volume.

Don't worry about the search keywords. Go after the buying keywords!

Their mistakes are your GOLD MINE! David Cooper knows how to discover the blunders of others and then use them as a way to create a snowball effect that ends in an Affiliate Avalanche (http://www.affiliateavalanche.com/) of cash!

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by Keith Thompson)

So -- you've decided to take the leap into deep water and go into business for yourself, specifically into Internet Marketing. Congratulations!

This was a smart decision, one that will eventually reward you with all the dreams you can dream. Your challenge now is to survive that 1st year.

Hopefully, you're reading this early on in your endeavors, and can make the adjustments necessary to keep your enterprise afloat and your bank account bouyant. Here are several things the "gurus" neglected to mention along the way to building your own internet marketing empire!

1 - Who are you listening to?

There are a lot of people who've made a lot of money, and they're all too eager to tell you about it, frequently in the form of their latest product. It's very easy to find yourself tuning in too many voices, instead of riding one horse till it either gets you there or is spent.

Find a niche that interests you, find products that are either yours or through an affiliate program, and focus entirely on your plan, not allowing yourself to chase rabbits.

2 - What is certain!

The real money to be made in Internet marketing is produced in the following ways: owning your own site(s), your own products, your own opt-in mailing list, and your own vision! Think about it! Not one of the Internet millionaires to whom we look for advice has lacked any of these for very long.

You bought their products off their sites, joined their mailing lists, and, to one degree or another, shared their vision. If you haven't already, begin immediately to build your own empire. Build a site, start learning about traffic, linking, opt-in lists and all the other essentials necessary for long-term success.

Affiliate marketing will only take you so far. In fact, most of the top affiliates have several of their own products!

3 - The learning curve.

There is a certain amount of information you simply have to either learn (or pay for). Don't discount the fact that this will take a little time. One doesn't discover how to build and market a fully- optimized Web site in a month. Or three! This is; and because of the fluid nature of the web; always will be a work-in-progress.

Do what you can do every day and come back tomorrow for more. Don't be discouraged when the money takes a while to appear; if you do this right, when it does show up it will be worth the wait!

4 - A support system.

Get one. Don't plan on supporting yourself from your business right away. It took the best at the very least several months to start seeing any real money.

Don't despair if you turn out to be mortal, too. Give yourself a chance at this; the rewards are simply too great. I'll leave you with a quote that sustained me many a night: "I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship." - Louisa May Alcott

(c)2004 by Keith Thompson

Keith Thompson is the Webmaster of Internet Marketing Here and Now!, featuring the latest and best tools for your internet marketing business. (http://www.internetmarketinghere.com) Email - keith@internetmarketinghere.com.

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by Brandon Cornett

Direct mail postcard marketing is one of the most versatile forms of marketing available. With its versatility, postcard marketing can serve small businesses and large companies alike.

But, as with any form of marketing, you only get out of it what you put into it. To help you get the most from your postcard marketing efforts, I've assembled 55 tips for success.

Obviously, some of these tips will not apply to your particular postcard marketing needs, but with 55 of them ... there's bound to be something in there for you!

Upfront Considerations

1. To keep yourself on track through all of the steps to follow, create an overall postcard marketing plan. After reading this article, you'll know exactly what to put into it.

2. To save yourself time, headache and hassle, turn the logistics over to a professional postcard printer.

3. To find the company that's best for you, create a list of postcard service providers and begin comparing them on the points that are most important to you (cost, services, easy of use, etc.).

4. Begin thinking about the various elements of postcard marketing and who will handle them (the copywriting, the design, etc.).

5. Track down some colleagues who have used postcard marketing in the past. Buy them a cup of coffee and pick their brain about lessons learned, vendor recommendations, etc.

6. Start reading up on direct mail marketing in general, and postcard marketing in particular.

7. Create a postcard marketing budget that allows for multiple mailings.

Goals and Objectives

8. Gather your marketing folks together to define your marketing goals.

9. Avoid generalizations. Be specific with your postcard marketing objective. Determine the type of response you want, as well as the volume of response.

10. Set realistic goals and objectives. Get an idea of what postcards can do for marketers, and set your goals within those parameters.

11. Set objectives that are based on some form of response (as opposed to branding, awareness, or some other immeasurable trait). Postcard marketing is a response generator, not a brand builder.

Powerful Ideas

12. Create a reason for sending postcards before you send them (a promotion, a special offer, a news flash or announcement).

13. Come up with a big idea that will get people's attention. Avoid mediocrity at all costs.

14. Strive to be different from other postcard marketing messages you've seen in your industry.

15. Build value into your message and your offer...

16. Just realize that true value starts with the product or service, not the postcard.

17. Make it your goal to make people say, "Gosh, I'm glad I got this postcard."

18. Don't rely on yourself to come up with a big idea. Get your top "thinkers" together.

19. Seek outside input on your ideas. Run them by some of your best customers. Make sure that what you think is a "wow" isn't really a "yawn."

List Considerations

20. Obtain your mailing list from a reputable source.

21. Find out how often your list provider updates their data. Make sure your list is as current as possible to increase deliverability.

22. If you plan to use your in-house database, check the list for accuracy, duplications, etc.

23. Divide your mailing list into segments to allow for a more targeted message (current customers vs. prospects, for example).

Your Target Audience

24. Create an audience statement that outlines the people to whom you are mailing your postcards.

25. Expand your audience list to include their wants, needs, fears and concerns — everything you can think of that pertains to your audience.

26. Write down the various ways you (or your product) can satisfy their wants and needs.

27. Keep your audience statement handy as you develop your postcard message (next item).

Marketing Message

28. Pull out your audience statement from earlier. Craft your message in a way that bridges the gap between your audience and your objective.

29. Take your big idea from earlier (item #13) and inject it into your message.

30. Remember, the better your product (or the bigger your idea), the easier it will be to write about.

31. Create a message that solves a problem, presents a solution, and offers value.

The Postcard Headline

32. Create a direct mail headline that directly identifies your primary audience. Call them by name, if necessary.

33. Offer a strong benefit with your headline. Describe the value of the message and offer that follow the headline.

34. Write your headline clearly and honestly. Avoid the use of jokes, puns and complex language. Keep it simple so people get it right away.

35. Make your headline interesting. You can't bore people into contacting you.

36. Whenever possible, use numbers and other eye-catching specifics. Avoid generalities.

Postcard Design

37. Hire a professional graphic designer to create your postcard design. At the very least, start with a well-designed template and then customize it. Don't ever mail a postcard that reflects poorly on your organization.

38. Be original. Create a "purple cow," not just another brown one.

39. Design your postcard in a way that enhances your message and makes it more readable. Don't ever let the design obscure the message.

40. Create the kind of eye-catching postcard that bursts from the mailbox.

A Strong Offer

41. Create a strong postcard offer to motivate your readers and improve your response rates.

42. Build an offer that's related to your product or service in some way. Avoid offers that will attract unqualified prospects and "freebie hunters."

43. Make sure your postcard offer is relevant and valuable to the reader (your target audience).

44. Whatever you are offering, position it in a way that showcases its value.

45. Offer something different / better / more unique than what the "other guys" are offering.

46. With the offer in mind, revisit your headline to make sure it relates to the offer. Make the entire message cohesive and focused.

47. Follow your offer with a specific call-to-action (next item).

Evoking a Response

48. Tell people what to do next. Use your call-to-action to move the reader forward.

49. Make your call-to-action stand out from the copy around it.

50. Repeat your call-to-action on both sides of the postcard (using callout boxes or starbursts as needed).

51. Make it as simple as possible for people to respond. Give them more than one way to respond.

52. Restate the reason they should respond. Restate the value of your offer.

Testing and Tracking

53. Make sure you have a way to track and test your postcard response rates. You can't improve your results until you know what they are.

54. Try to learn something from each and every postcard you mail out. Change one element at a time to measure the difference in response. This is how you create "super postcards."

Further Education

55. Spend some time on the website below to further your postcard marketing education.

* You may republish this article online if you retain the author's byline and the active hyperlinks below. Copyright 2007, Brandon Cornett.

Brandon Cornett is the publisher of PostcardSmart.com, one of the Internet's largest libraries of postcard marketing advice. For more tips on direct mail marketing with postcards, visit http://www.postcardsmart.com

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by Jan Verhoeff

Are you lagging behind the competition, wishing you could grasp some of their high-performance marketing efforts and tag along as they speed down the information highway to success?

Decadent Marketing Strategies offer Succulent Metaphors that will Wrap your Business in Wealth and Prosperity from Internet Marketing Success.

Teaching Internet Marketers the secret of prosperity and success development isn't difficult when you know how to get Mega Results from a basic Marketing Concept. Rolling along the Article Marketing Trail of success will bring you more of what you're looking for in less time, but you'll have to hang with the big boys to get success fast.

Being effective online means getting into the right niche and hanging on for the ride. You'll want to be there, participate in the race, and join in the winner's circle when the race is over, but... how will you find them?

When you're looking for a network of successful people online, simply search the keyword and add "forum." For instance, "Internet Marketing Forum."

You may not find anything and need to search a different keyword within your niche, or you may find exactly the group you're looking for along with a few interested participants in your next group venture.

You'll learn absolutely nothing from the sidelines. You may think you're learning, but honestly, the real information is in the trenches, on the playing field, where you'll be knocking down some competition and making plays of your own. You might learn a thing or two on the sidelines, but you'll be sleeping when the ball comes your way if you're not involved.

Grab the ball and run for the right goal.

If you aren't sure which way to run, you'll be making goals for the wrong team. Often the logger end is that you have to create your own product and have something to sell your market.

Whether you're good at selling someone else's work or not, doesn't really matter, you'll need your own work to get the job done and win the goal, because without it, you're just running with the ball. No goal posts in sight.

When you win the game, keep playing, don't stop to celebrate.

Contrary to popular belief, you can't stop when you arrive at the goal post. There is no time out. You must keep moving, grab the ball and run for the next goal. If you always have goals in the oven (new products churning) you'll always have a new item to hedge your market and make more money with.

I recently heard you need one new product a month to create success with your online business.

If you're having a problem creating those products, get on over to http://ebookinfo.cn and claim your FREE ebook about "5 Simple Steps to Write Your Own Ebook" and Subscribe to Ebook Info Ezine for FREE.

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by Tywford Lamai

If I were to hazard a guess, I'd wager on the likelihood that you have come across the word "ClickBank" during your foray through the jungle of Internet affiliate marketing, right?

So -- just who or what is this "ClickBank"? That's what we are here to discover today!

ClickBank is the Internet's leading retailer of digital products. ClickBank is also the Internet's largest digital marketplace, where thousands of the Web's most popular digital products are sold every single day.

Whether you're looking to buy, sell, or promote digital products, ClickBank is for you!

Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular businesses online. This is a business where you earn a right to share profits with a merchant (product owner) -- in the form of affiliate commissions -- for sending targeted traffic to his/her product sales page.

The most common and popular type of affiliate marketing is called Pay-Per-Sale: This is a form of affiliate marketing where you are paid for every sale generated from a customer/visitor who lands on a product sales page via your affiliate link. This is very simple in theory -- find a very good converting product, market this product, and collect/cash your commission checks!

"Make $10,517! -- in 24 hrs -- Guaranteed!" -- You see adverts and promotions like this on the Internet DAILY! Success stories that describe a from-rags-to-riches miracle which happened by peddling a "highly converting" digital product!

Needless to say, not all such stories are true, but that is not to say that affiliate marketing wealth is impossible either! -- it is very possible to become very wealthy selling other people's products. All you need is the "know how."

How do all of these people link to ClickBank? And who are ClickBank's private army?

Promoting products and receiving commissions for sales is made possible and relatively easy by ClickBank! Currently boasting an "army" of well over 100,000+ affiliate marketers, ClickBank is a force to reckon with if you are hoping to carve a niche in the dangerous and highly-competitive terrain of Internet affiliate marketing!

ClickBank also boasts of a list of over 11,000 products with affiliate commissions as high as 75%! You'll also appreciate their fast & accurate tracking system and dependable payment services -- every two weeks without fail!

They've never missed a scheduled payment!

Not an affiliate marketer but a product owner you say? Well, check this out:

You can sell your digital products today hassle-free! Just leverage over 100,000 ClickBank affiliate marketers to find customers for your digital products and multiply your profits. Account setup is simple & fast. If you try them out, you'll find out why over 10,000 publishers/merchants already trust ClickBank.

When it comes to customer support, ClickBank has established an experienced support team dedicated to your success. Their customer service representatives are available to quickly and effectively resolve your account setup, maintenance and order related support needs.

Army huh? How do they keep track of who is who?

Clickbank uses a technology aptly named "hoplink" -- you know, like people use your hoplink to hop onto their Website :) This is how they ensure that an affiliate is properly credited for his marketing efforts.

To take advantage of the highly lucrative offers from all the merchants registered with ClickBank, you must first register. To do this, you will go to ClickBank.com and click on the signup link.

After you sign up, you will be given a username (chosen by you) and you can then begin the process of choosing what you want to market/promote. You are now officially a member of the highly elite affiliate marketing/combatant force of clickbank!

Welcome!

You will have noticed that becoming a member of ClickBank's army is not difficult. Now, what is difficult is making those affiliate checks consistently. If you can't achieve this no-mean-feat, you won't remain an affiliate marketer for long because you will give up out of frustration and throw in the towel!

But thank God there are many ways to promote the products listed in the ClickBank marketplace!

How do you find those products? Well that's why I am here ain't it?

How about I make a deal with you? Interested?

Alright. I know a guy who is in the business of helping affiliate marketers earn their very first commission and continues helping them until they become tired or bored! I am willing to introduce you to him IF you are really interested (***Please only for interested affiliates or to-be affiliates!)

For more details on this offer please see the resource box...

Happy affiliate marketing to you. Chao!

Why settle for promoting only ONE product when you can make BOAT-LOADS of CASH marketing 100,000+ products with ONE affiliate ID Guaranteed!? Did I mention that it IS FREE? Visit http://www.brainboxcorp.com/index.html NOW to claim your FREE ClickBank Portal!

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by Joy Gendusa

The United States Post Office in the past had some trouble with its finances and their solution was to raise the postal rates. Whether or not you agree with this approach to trying to stay in business, like the weather and government in general, it’s something you have to live with.

Many companies have used this as a reason to send out fewer or smaller mailings in an attempt to keep their costs down.

Here’s a quote from an issue of Direct Marketing News:

“Despite a string of healthy annual increases, the growth of direct mail expenditures is expected to slow over the next four years. Direct mail continued to grow in 2001 but slowed because of the anthrax scare," the study said.

The study also said, "Direct mail will continue to expand during the forecast period but at a slower pace than in the past because of the emergence of E-mail marketing and postal rate hikes, which will force marketers to limit mailings."

The question is: should you agree with this and follow the trend, or should you turn it to your advantage?

Just think, with fewer mailing pieces arriving in your customers’ or prospects’ mailboxes, your glossy, full-color postcards are going to stand out even more and have a greater chance of producing the desired response.

When you start looking at what you have to gain by increasing the amount of direct mail marketing you do and what you have to lose by cutting back, there really isn’t a question as to which way to go.

Of course you should be smart about your mailings. Make sure they are well targeted and put a little more thought into the design and content so as to make sure they carry impact.

That just makes sense.

So, while others are cutting their own throats by cutting back on direct mailing, you can benefit by increasing yours and sending your postcards into a less heavily glutted marketplace where they will receive more attention.

Win-win.

Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania (www.PostcardMania.com) in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2005, the company did over $12 million in sales, employed over 100 people and made Inc. Magazine’s prestigious Inc 500 List as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy

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by Joy Gendusa

Where to Start:

Most novice marketers have definite fixed ideas about direct mail that are way off base - most often in the area of what to spend and how much to do.

You should determine what you are able to spend for your marketing budget, spend it, and determine the maximum number of leads that you can create. For instance, I’ve heard this statement quite often: "We aren’t that large of a company. How could we send out 2,000 postcards all at once?" because "What if they all call?"

Seems like a valid concern, right?

Here is the reality behind it: Unfortunately, they won’t all call. However, a good deal of them very well may and making sure that your traffic is not more than you can handle is something to think about.

Truthfully, there is no sure way to tell exactly how many people will call if you haven’t done this type of marketing before. Think of it this way: What would happen if they did all call? You may not be able to handle all of them, but you would handle as many as you possibly could, right?

In this scenario, you would have maximized your income for that time period, providing you could close all those callers! You can also explore the idea of expanding your operation to handle the number of leads that you can create.

What if you didn’t max out your promotion at the very start? You can afford to send out 4,000 pieces every two weeks but you think that you will simply get too many calls to be able to handle them all. You, instead, send out only 2,000 and the response is decent. However, you still have some down time where you are having to try to “manufacture” sales.

You saved $400 in marketing money but you had enough down time where you could have closed quite a few more sales than you did. The question now is "Which gives me more money in my pocket? Saving $400 on marketing or closing quite a few more sales and earning an extra couple of G’s potentially.”

More than likely, the answer is to spend as much as you possibly can on your marketing, right?

By spending all that you can afford on marketing when you start a program you maximize your income almost immediately.

Okay, Time to Track Results.

Hopefully you have more than one way that you try to recruit new customers. So -- how do you know which ones are working and which aren’t?

Set up a system to track the results.

Let’s take, for example, a situation in which you decide to start a Postcard Marketing Campaign for your business. The first week you send out 3000 postcards. When they start hitting homes you get 30 calls.

Did all of these leads come from the postcards? Probably not. Because the week before you got 8 calls and hadn’t sent out any postcards yet.

So how can you tell who actually got a postcard?

The Answer: All you have to do is ask them. "So how did you hear about our company?" The hard part is making sure that any employee in your company who answers the phone and may talk to a new prospect remembers to ask the question every time.

The fewer prospects who answer this question, the less accurate your information will be when making future marketing decisions.

Now let’s assume that you have been sending out postcards for a while and you have a good number of calls coming in. If you ask the question "So how did you hear about our company?" they may respond, "I got your postcard in the mail." But, by now you have mailed postcards to 4 different lists, 3 times each.

How do you tell which list and which mailing this customer was from?

The Answer: Put a marketing code on the postcards that will tell you which specific postcard they received and when it was mailed.

Give each list a name and work the date into your marketing code as well. And the only thing your representatives have to ask is "Would you mind reading me the marketing code above your address?"

This code should give you all the info that you need to know and help you keep your Marketing Results Tracking as accurate as possible.

Try not to operate off of assumptions about “how to market” if you haven’t educated yourself. And make sure you collect all the data and make your future marketing decisions based on the facts.

Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania (www.PostcardMania.com) in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2005 the company did over $12 million in sales, employed over 100 people and made Inc. Magazine’s prestigious Inc 500 List as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy.

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by Keith Lee

I stopped being an advertising victim in 1992 when I was first introduced to Dan Kennedy Marketing, and it is one of the most important lessons I've learned. I'm happy to say I haven't been an advertising victim for 13 years.

If you have been in business for awhile, it has already happened to you - probably more than once. In fact, probably often. And if you are new to the retail world, you can bet the mortgage that it will eventually happen to you.

What is it? It's when you get that big black checkbook out of the center desk drawer, and you sit down across from some media salesperson, and you write out some kind of a check for some amount, for some kind of promotion advertising expense, and you have no earthly idea whether you made a good decision, bad decision, when you'll know, how you'll know, if you'll know.

I detest that kind of uncertainty. I don't like to play guesswork games with my money and I bet you don't either. I'm going to tell you how to eliminate it, how to make every dollar you spend on advertising and marketing measurable and accountable.

The Best Place To Spend Your Hard Earned Money On Advertising Is Direct Response!!

All advertising can be one of only two types - either "Institutional Advertising" or "Direct Response Advertising." It is monumentally important to understand the difference.

Most advertising in magazines, newspapers, on radio, TV, and billboards is institutional advertising. It is Institutional advertising because in most cases, there is no way of accurately tracking response.

Most advertising agencies like institutional advertising since, without tracking, they can NOT be held responsible for zero results. If an ad campaign does not produce the results they want, they blame it on:

1. The economy
2. The weather
3. You didn't run the ad often enough
4. YOU (your merchandise, your service, your image, etc.)

You Can't Deposit "Creativity" In The Bank

Unfortunately, most advertising agencies are interested in being creative and cutesy. That's what wins advertising awards.

I think this is absolutely ridiculous. The advertising field gives awards based on creativity, not results. Many ads that have won top awards didn't produce any substantial increases in sales.

Direct response advertising, on the other hand:

1. Contains a headline that flags your prospect and creates curiosity

2. Creates interest in the merchandise

3. Creates desire in the prospect

4. Has a specific offer

5. Has a deadline

6. Has measurable results

Why is this so important? Two reasons:

1. Most businesses have limited capital to spend on their marketing and advertising (unless you are Coca Cola or Microsoft). Since you have a limited budget, why waste it on advertising that you are not sure is working?

2. The only reason a business would advertise is to get more customers and sell more merchandise. A direct response ad concentrates only on this purpose.

First, it contains a headline that attracts the attention of the specific customer you want to in your store(s).

Then, it makes a complete and compelling case for the reason for your offer. Next, it proves to the customer that the reason for the offer will solve some problem in the customer's life or provide some valuable benefit to him.

It states specific reasons, facts, and statistics, as well as testimonials from other customers to validate the claims. Then it tells the reason why you are able to make such an attractive offer. It tells the customer what to do in order to gain the benefits of the offer.

It creates "urgency" by telling the customer that he must act now in order to gain these important benefits, and why this offer is so limited, either by time, or by the quantity available.

Finally, it must contain a way for you to track exactly what sales or custome rs were generated by that particular ad.

Now that I have defined for you the difference between institutional and direct response advertising, here's the big question that you have to ask yourself before you make every future marketing and advertising decision. Does the advertising that you are considering meet all six of the criteria that I outlined above? If it doesn't, then pass on it as quickly as you can say:

"I'm Mad as Hell and I Refuse to Be an Advertising Victim Again!"

Keith Lee, owner of American Retail Supply headquartered in Kent, WA became president of the business in 1981 and later bought the business from its founder Dick Thompson. Although Lee credits much of their growth to increased product offerings and what he calls 'the best client service in the industry," he attributes the companies Herculean increase to the discovery of the world renowned Marketing Guru, Dan Kennedy. Now he's trying to get other entrepreneurs hooked. Keith recently became trained as a Dan Kennedy Certified No B.S. Business Advisor where he delivers what he calls Kennedy's 'Magnetic Marketing Strategies.' As a Kennedy trained advisor Keith offers entrepreneurs what he calls 'The Most Incredible FREE Gift Ever' containing over $700.00 of business-building information from Dan Kennedy including Gold Inner Circle Membership. Then members are invited to attend monthly local chapter meetings or can join a local Kennedy Study & Mastermind Group. Visit http://www.LeeMarketing Group or http://www.NoBSPugetSound.com for more details.

Keith is an expert in marketing, especially direct marketing and direct mail techniques. please visit http://www.leemarketinggroup.com or http://www.nobspugetsound.com for more articles and information.

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by Laura Patterson

The organizational charts of the 1920s often indicated that marketing's role was to represent the customer. In 2004, the American Marketing Association redefine marketing as "an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders."

Marketing's job is to create customer value, engagement, satisfaction and loyalty. Marketing serves as the stand-in for the customer, informing product development and other functions of what customers want and need. Essentially, marketing serves as the "voice of the customer" and is responsible for developing and implementing the processes used to capture the customer requirements so the company is able to provide customers with the best in class service/product quality.

Today, customers are more empowered than ever and are taking control of how, when and where they consume. This is translating into customers who are less brand-loyal, less trusting, and prefer to get information from personal research, friends and product specialists. These changes have significant implications to businesses and marketing: changes in marketing mix, messaging and general approach to customer interaction.

In addition, commoditization, the Internet, mobility and virtualization are contributing to a transformation that is impacting companies on a variety of fronts, including product development.

The ability to develop products and services that offer fresh ideas and are relevant to customers is no easy task. As a result few businesses get it right and new products suffer a high mortality rate.

Insights into the customer are essential to ensuring product success. New product development depends on synthesizing the knowledge of what is needed in the market and the knowledge of how to create a product to meet these needs.

As the keeper of customer intelligence, marketing has an opportunity to positively impact innovation and new product/service development. By transforming customer insights into business insights marketing can then use these insights to drive innovation.

The creation of new products and services to meet the needs of customers provides the basic ingredient for growing shareholder value. A quote often attributed to Peter Drucker articulates the value of marketing and innovation, "Because its purpose is to create a customer, the business has two basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results, all the rest are costs."

Long-term corporate success is linked to the ability to innovate. Although corporate investment in incremental improvements and innovation to existing products and processes does bring growth, it is new game changing breakthroughs that will launch companies into new markets, enable rapid growth, provide a platform for long-term growth, and create high return on investment.

Yet in many companies, marketing is disenfranchised from the product development process being relegated to the role of sending out a press release and coordinating a new product launch event.

As the organization with the primary responsibility for segmenting the market, selecting the right target markets, defining the value proposition and communicating the value to the target markets, we are responsible for capturing, analyzing, and quantifying the data about who will buy. Marketing needs to understand not only who will buy but how many they will buy, why they buy, and when specific markets will buy. These are the insights the organization depends on from Marketing. These insights not only make or break a new product, they can make or break a company.

It is time for marketing executives and professionals to step into a leadership role related to innovation.

Marketing plays a central role in translating customer information into new products and then positioning these products in the market. New products/services are the way companies respond to changing customer preferences and dynamic competition. Changing customer needs require that companies innovate to satisfying and meet these changing customer needs.

Because marketing is responsible for identifying customer needs, marketing needs to step up and take a leadership role in the innovation process. And some CMOs realize they need to do just that. At the recent Red Herring CMO Summit, they presented the results of their annual CMO study. The study revealed that CMOs acknowledge they have a responsibility for innovation not just selling.

Various studies have shown that companies where marketing and R&D communicate and cooperate have enhanced new product performance. Studies done in 1987 by Ruekert and Walker, in 1993 by Song and Parry, and in 1988 by Souder found that marketing's participation in the new product development process and its integration with other functional groups such as research and development are among the most important factors affecting new product success.

Marketing's ability to influence new product development is a key ingredient. A 1999 study of 114 hi-tech companies in China found that marketing plays an important and influential role in positively impacting new product performance and the timeliness of development.

Where do you start if you want to lead the innovation charge? Marketing needs to help the organization spot new trends and then quickly leverage them into opportunities. If you decide to go on this journey, you will need marketing metrics tied to speed and innovation that show the impact on marketing.

Marketing organizations should include at least six metrics on their executive dashboard around innovation and speed within the context of comparing your company's performance with that of industry peers marketing organizations:

1. Rate of customer acquisition compared with industry peers

2. Rate of profitable customer growth compared with industry peers

3. Rate of Growth compared to industry peers

4. Rate of product adoption

5. Rate of new product success

6. Time to market and revenue

Innovation in new product development and new ways for the company to enrich the customer experience present marketing with an opportunity to play a role in helping strategically grow the company.

Departments like product development and marketing are not separate independent areas. They are instead like our right and left hands. Working separately they are clumsily and in-effective. However, working together, the two hands can create many wonderful things.

Laura Patterson is the author of 'Measure What Matters': Reconnecting Marketing to Business Goals, 'Gone Fishin': A Guide to Finding, Keeping, and Growing Profitable Customers, and numerous articles on marketing subjects. She is president and co-founder of VisionEdge Marketing, Inc, a leading metrics-based strategic and product marketing firm located in Austin, Texas. The company specializes in consulting and learning services associated.

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Making money online is a hard thing for many people to learn. Please allow me to show you four proven systems for getting started.

Knowing how to make money online is a dream for many people!

If you're like me, then you probably want to make your own schedule and be in direct control of the amount of money that comes in every month.

But, there is a harsh reality to this dream …

Most people who want to know how to make money online never come close to making ANY cash. In fact, many of them don't make ONE cent from their efforts.

The truth is, there are a number of different ways to make money online.

How to make money online system #1- Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is probably the best way to make money online. The focus of this system is to refer paying customers to other people's products in return for a hefty commission.

What's great about affiliate marketing is you can get started in 5 minutes and be on your way to earning a sizeable income.

How to make money online system #2- Google Adsense

Google Adsense is another incredible method for earning cash on the Internet. Unlike other techniques, this one doesn't reqquire any selling or referrals. All you have to do is place code on a Website and you get paid every time someone clicks on your ads.

While this method may seem simple, it has become one of the top ways to earn money on the Internet. In fact, there are a few marketers who earn a six figure income each month just by using Google Adsense.

How to make money online system #3- Sell an information product

Selling your own information product is a great way to put yourself in the driver's seat of your own Internet business. While it's great to refer other products and do little work, creating an information product is one of the ways to build an actual business.

The good news is that everyone is capable of creating an information product. All you have to do is research a hot topic and you'll have an in-demand product which people will pay you a lot of money to read.

How to make money online system #4- Sell your services

Another way to build a profitable business is to sell your knowledge and services. While you might think it's hard to build an Internet business, you can actually get started quickly simply by offering freelance work to established businesses.

For instance, you can easily build a business by offering things like:

* Copywriting services
* Article and E-book creation
* Creating Web graphics and images
* Becoming a virtual assistant for busy marketers
* Designing software

As you can see, there are a number of legitimate ways to make money online today. If you want to learn how to make money online, I recommend you take action and start pursuing one of the four systems I described in this article.

I guarantee you'll be happy with the results!

Want to learn to a system where you can earn as much as $1,842.67 each night (http://www.richtroll.com/) while you're fast asleep? If so, take a look at this make money site (http://www.richtroll.com/), which has a proven technique for putting cold hard cash in your hand.

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by Des Smith

It's no big secret that affiliate marketing can give you a lucrative income, but did you know that you can create a seven figure income with it? People are doing this right now, making incredible amounts of money as super affiliates -- and you can, too. All you need are a few effective affiliate marketing ideas and a little work and you're set.

When you decide to pursue online affiliate marketing, you will make money -- as long as you do it right.

You can have a very profitable home-based affiliate business and it is simple to do. Once you find your affiliates -- at least two-tier, and those with the best payouts -- you begin marketing.

There are many ways to market your affiliate business. Some of the best ways won't cost you much or they are entirely free.

Blogs and E-mail Marketing:

These are popular affiliate sales methods today. These venues are probably the easiest to do. Write about related content in your blog and include links to your Webpage or directly to your affiliate Website.

You can also include a link in your E-mail signature line. This is a free and easy method of promotion.

Forum Postings:

You can post to forums, answer questions, establish your reputation as an expert and -- now and then -- include your affiliate link. You do not want to do it often, because you do not want to be labeled a spammer. Just mention it now and then and include a link in your profile, as well as in your posting signature line.

Social Networking:

This is a great affiliate Internet marketing method. Social networking, on sites such as MySpace, Tagged and other similar networks, can give your affiliate business tremendous traffic and drive traffic to your site.

Link Exchange:

A link exchange can cost you money, or it can be free, based upon credit exchanges. You determine how much of an investment you want to make in your affiliate business-driven lead links. Marketing Internet affiliate programs through this method can be extremely effective, as it will draw traffic to your site.

If you get a link exchange that is very targeted, you can ensure that the traffic that is drawn to your site is relevant.

Google AdWords:

This method generally requires an investment, if you want to purchase keywords. This will bring very relevant, specific traffic to your site and boost your rankings in the search engines. Many affiliate marketing programs include this type of marketing and provide you with the tools to get it going. It is highly effective.

Once you learn how to do online affiliate marketing, the sky is the limit. You can promote your site, drive traffic to your affiliate programs and get tons of sign ups. Do it correctly and you stand a good chance of earning that amazing seven-figure income through affiliate marketing.

Take time to learn the ropes of affiliate marketing so that you can best utilize the opportunities that are available. It may take some trial-and-error to find affiliate marketing strategies that work best for you and your business.

You Too Can Become A Seven Figure Super Affiliate Marketer.. http://www.learnonlineaffiliatemarketing.com/recommends/affiliate1.

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by Simon Davies

You’ve heard the classic formula, AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

But, how do you grab attention, turn interest into desire and prompt an action that’s sure to get the phones ringing?

Here’s 20 tips to ease you through the trauma of getting strangers excited:

Grabbing the reader's attention...

Short of saying "Hey, you!" at the top of the page, how can you get more than a passing glance from a busy reader?

1. Avoid using "Dear Sir or Madam." Tie a householder to your product with "Dear Holidaymaker" or "Dear Shopper." For a business, try "Dear Manager" or "Dear Sales Director." (It's true, important people can be just as vain as the rest of us!)

2. Don’t be too clever with headlines. Just get your point across so your reader will keep going. Avoid wordplay at all costs - most people hate puns, and your reader might need to know your product before they’ll get the joke. Wordplay also slows down the reader's inference, which is the last thing you want to do.

3. Don't fall for gimmicks. Headlines in clever fonts and wobbly lines of text can look pretty naff and a little amateur. And whatever you do, steer clear of WordArt – especially the blue wavy font, it’s been done to death!

4. Tantalise. If your prospects have been suitably profiled, you already know what they long for. So write a headline that puts it within their grasp. They'll read on to find out if they really can have it.

5. Use impressive facts or case studies. It's a great way to grab the reader’s attention, and it gives you something to refer back to when you're rounding off the letter.

Turning attention into interest...

Once you've grabbed the reader's attention, you need to keep them reading. At this stage your style of writing plays as big a role as the message itself.

6. Empathise. Show the reader you understand what bothers them. Get them on your side. They don't want to know about your business, but they are interested in how your business can solve their problems or meet their aspirations. Once you’ve got the reader focused, you're free to show how your product meets their burning desire.

7. Keep it personal. Assume you’re chatting to a friend, not writing to the bank manager. You don't want to be over-familiar, but remember important people are still human beings who respond to a warm, friendly approach.

8. Choose your words carefully. Say "and" instead of "but," "when" instead of if" and "will" instead of "might." And keep it customer-focused by using "you" and "your" more than "I" or "my."

9. Stress the key points. Use sub-headings, indent important paragraphs or italicise vital words. But AVOID CAPITALS and exclamation marks!!!!! And don’t emphasise too much - or nothing will stand out.

10. Make it easy to read. Keep your sentences short. Like this. Keep paragraphs to half a dozen lines or less. And leave plenty of blank space on the page. If it's daunting for the reader, it goes in the bin.

From interest to desire...

You've got the reader's attention and used enough hooks to keep them reading. They're focused on why they need your product. Here's where you make them salivate...

11. Sell the benefits, not the features. By and large we don't care how something works as long as it does the job. Unless you're writing to experts or hardened enthusiasts, lengthy product specs will only slow down the read.

12. Focus on the end result. Give the reader something to dream about - look beyond the product and show how it's going to change their life forever! Insurance buys you peace of mind. A car buys you freedom. A new sofa gets you precious moments at the end of a busy day. This is where you take the reader to the end of the rainbow, where their woes are distant memories!

13. Banish doubts. Part of building desire is silencing that nagging voice that says "there's a catch." So prove your credentials with qualifications, testimonials or a no-risk offer.

14. Set yourself apart. By now the reader's fairly keen, but why get the product from you? Be careful of rubbishing the opposition - no one wants to get caught in a bitching crossfire between you and your competitors. Focus on the positives and hammer home your unique selling point.

15. Imagine life without it. Now the reader's imagined life with your product, take it away from them! Remind them how bleak life can be without your miracle solution. Can they carry on without it?

Desire becomes action...

You're nearly there! You've built up an opportunity, but every word matters as you move in for the kill...!

16. Use subliminal closing. When you finally ask for business, you don't want it to read as a sudden jolt or change in tone. So fill the letter with casual assumptions that you will be doing business. Positive phrases like "When you call us" and "You'll see the difference" ease the reader gently into the right frame of mind.

17. Don’t be shy asking for what you want. When the time comes, be bold. You may be looking for a sale or just a chance to quote. But if you don't qualify what you want, no one will second guess you. Make your call to action clear and make it easy for the reader to respond.

18. Add an incentive. It's fairly obvious, but your greatest enemy is apathy. Even a warm prospect could put you on the back burner unless you give them a compelling reason to get in touch today.

But -- remember -- that needn't mean offering a discount. Adding value with a second product or service is better for your image. And your bank balance.

19. Your signature matters. Make it legible and sign in blue ink so it doesn't look mass-produced. And if you're a Sales Manager, remember many readers will be put off by your job title - far better to send the letter from the MD or Head of Customer Services.

20. Add a PS. Letter writing protocol demands that we sign off formally, but in doing so we lose momentum. A PS is a chance to re-excite the reader, where you re-state a key benefit or add one final incentive. By the end of a good PS, your offer should be way too good to resist.

Happy Scribbling!

Simon Davies is the co-founder of Wales-based copywriters EarthMonkey Media. He and partner James Daniel have over 30 years experience as journalists, copywriters and scriptwriters. Their site can be found here: www.earthmonkey.biz.

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by Felton Thompkins

Do you need to automate?

In the Internet marketing business, this is one of those questions that deserves to be answered with a question.

The answer (question) is ... "Do you wish to make any money?"

I'm assuming the answer is "yes" to both questions but, in order for you to automate your business, you must have an autoresponder system in place.

What is an autoresponder?

An autoresponder is a system that allows you to just about "set and forget" your E-mail advertising campaigns, newsletters, E-courses, or just about anything you set it up to respond to.

The autoresponder, simply put, is a computer software program that will automatically answer any E-mail request sent to it. A perfectly good autoresponder will also automatically send you an E-mail notification that will inform you each time someone sends you a request for information.

When choosing your autoresponder service be sure it gives you that option.

You have a choice between a very simple autoresponder service or a very complex one, and the prices vary as such. You also have the option to set up your own system, or you can outsource the service. Outsourcing is highly recommended.

Your autoresponder is by far one of the most important pieces of software that you will need and use for building your E-business.

A word of caution before we continue, however: When choosing your autoresponder system, be sure that you're planning to use the system for the long haul, because your list will depend on it.

You may be tempted to choose a system that costs less but, as the old saying goes, you generally get what you pay for. A good service will cost you about $20.00 per month, and it's well worth the investment, if used properly. In this case, less is not always best!

Is an autoresponder the magic pill to all of your needs as an Internet Marketer? No. But it is a very important piece of the puzzle.

Let's just look at some of the benefits of adding an autoresponder to your business efforts.

INCREASE YOUR REVENUES!

Allows you to convert your Website visitors into subscribers.

Allows you to convert your subscribers into paying customers.

BUILD YOUR MAILING LIST

Add a simple Web-form to your Website in 2 minutes to build your list, boost your traffic, and get more customers.

DELIVER YOUR NEWSLETTERS

You can launch your E-mail marketing campaigns with advanced newsletter hosting features and top E-mail deliverability.

TRACK YOUR RESULTS

You have the ability to track your E-mail marketing clicks, visitors, open rates, undeliverables, sales and sign ups!

BUILD TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE AND BLOG

You know what? Buzz comes and goes. With your autoresponder, you can retain your traffic by automatic mailings to your visitors whenever you update your blog.

You will benefit from unlimited E-mail marketing and autoresponder features, follow ups, mailing lists, and broadcasts.

These are just a few of the benefits that you receive by having your system in place.

Copyright 2007 by Felton Thompkins - The Newbies Advocate. If you are in search of a very good system to automate your marketing efforts, here's an excellent place to start: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Felton_Thompkins .

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by Laurie Hayes

One of the most powerful words that can help you save time, increase productivity, feel better about yourself and reach your goals faster and easier is only two letters long! The problem is, it’s almost the most difficult word to use.

Discover how to put this little powerhouse to work for you without guilt or fear.

A common characteristic shared by successful home business owners is the steadfast, almost fanatical way in which they guard their time.

Large corporations and businesses hire people and spread the responsibilities and, although I highly urge you to leverage your time by surrounding yourself with people who will take care of lower return activities, there is still no escaping the many interruptions and distractions that are a part of home business life.

People who play at the top of their game, whether in business, sport or life, have learned how to either eliminate or reduce distractions by mastering the use of one simple word ... "No."

The inability and fear around using these two little letters has caused more home business failures, tears, stress, frustration and relationship troubles than any other.

And, although many new home business owners insist their greatest weaknesses are lack of marketing and sales skills, the biggest obstacle that is blocking their ability to develop these skills is the fact they are not saying "no" to time-robbing activities, so they can focus on building and growing.

Lack of time is the number one challenge every one of my clients brings to the table when we begin working together.

Learn to say "no" to doing everything yourself.

Oftentimes I'll hear, "But I'm in start-up, I have to guard my spending," and I respond with, "You can't save yourself into profitability. You have to focus on making money."

This mental block will never allow you to grow, especially at an accelerated rate.

Low pay-off activities can be delegated, bartered, given to volunteers, students and family members. Do some creative brainstorming with your coach, mastermind group or trusted colleague.

Learn to say "no" to the demands of daily living.

How many times have you said "yes" to the following, even though you either didn't want to or knew it would take you away from your own priorities?

- taking care of your neighbor's kids after school because she had a hair appointment

- volunteering to cover the refreshments table at your child's high school dance

- loaning out equipment or items you know you won't get back unless you ask for them several times

- agreeing to listen to your friend rant for the third time this week about how his wife is trying to ruin him in a nasty divorce battle

- taking your mom to visit her friend across town every week because your brother and sister are too busy

- making Johnny and Sally's beds because they have to rush to school in the morning and don't have time

- going to every birthday and holiday dinner a family member hosts

- reading every single e-mail and taking every single call that comes in ...

By not saying "no" to the hundreds of non-critical demands that are placed on you every month, you will not create the business success or freedom you want and deserve.

The two biggest obstacles in mastering the skill of saying "no" are fear and guilt.

Fear that you will be loved less or rejected and feeling guilty that you may have hurt someone's feelings.

Saying "no" doesn't have to hurt anyone or cause you to be rejected and the way you deliver the message can make all the difference for you.

To refuse a request, be honest and assertive in your reply by stating, "I'm sorry, however I have to turn down your offer/request at this time because I've been so busy with obligations, I've neglected my own priorities and have to give them my attention right now."

If others get angry with you or try to make you feel guilty for wanting to give yourself the attention you deserve, it's time to decide whether or not they're the kind of people you want in your life.

Start small. Build your "no" muscle slow and easy and work your way up to the larger demands. Like any skill, you can develop it, and once you become a master, you'll enjoy quantum leaps in your happiness levels and business success.

2007 © Laurie Hayes - The HBB Source

Laurie Hayes, founder and Director of The HBB Source, helps freedom seekers cross the bridge from employee to home-based entrepreneur. Subscribe to her FREE E-zine for valuable tips and resources designed to create business success, at http://www.thehbbsource.com

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by Ba Kiwanuka

Professional snipers (and well-equipped soldiers, for that matter) use night goggles or night scopes to sight their targets.

When driving at night, people flick on their headlights (unless, of course, you're Paris Hilton) -- so they can see where they're going.

Veteran online marketers use sophisticated tracking software and scripts to analyze and evaluate the results of their marketing campaigns and promotions.

The average everyday Internet marketer effects their marketing strategy on hearsay, hope, trial and error! You don't have to be a genius to figure out what's wrong with that picture.

In defense of the average struggling marketer, until fairly recently, having access to top-of-the-line tracking software meant shelling out a hefty monthly or yearly fee. It was only well established marketers with bottomless deep pockets who could afford to use such software.

That has all changed! Now, anybody and everybody who so wishes has access to such software -- and it's free!

WHAT TRACKING SOFTWARE CAN DO FOR YOUR MARKETING CAMPAIGN

VISITOR ORIGIN

Wouldn't it be great if you could tell how your visitors got to your Website; you could see whether they got there via a search engine, another Website referral or from a forum.

How about if you knew their country of origin, or even the city from which they hailed? You could then concentrate your promotional efforts in those areas that readily maximize your profit.

In the same vein, once you know which search engines are sending you traffic and which ones aren't, then you can better focus your SEO efforts on the ones that are generating revenue rather than waste time blindly attempting to optimize for all of them at the same time.

KEYWORD OPTIMIZATION

Ever heard of the term "Long-tail Keyword?"

Long-tail keywords are the various word combinations that people use naturally and unconsciously every day, to query search engines. These are word combinations that are rarely listed by keyword research software and, if such word combinations are ever listed, they tend to be way down at the bottom of the list, jumbled up into unnatural incomprehensible arrangements that only a machine would ever consider.

Those long-tail keywords tend to have fantastic conversion rates, but you'd never know it unless you had excellent tracking software to apprise you of the fact.

These days, the search engine algorithms are really smart critters! They have matured to the point that they can identify and combine separate far-apart-spaced words on any Webpage to comprise long-tail keywords that people actually type in as search engine queries.

The search engine algorithms then qualify that Webpage as optimized for that combination of words (long-tail keyword).

The real bonus here is that, most times, you'd never even think up such keywords, let alone optimize for them, even when using keyword research software!

VISITOR DURATION ON YOUR SITE

The best tracking software avails you of stats illustrating how long people spend on your Website (individual time-frame stats for each page, no less!), so you can easily know whether changes you've made to your site have improved conversion performance or, conversely, decreased it.

In this manner, you can readily determine which version of your sales copy or Web page content has a higher conversion ratio.

To summarize, without statistics compiled from sophisticated tracking software, much of your promotional efforts would hinge upon trial and error which, basically, is tantamount to aiming blind.

Get your free tracking software from the author here: http://www.internetbusinessmart.com/got-google-analytics-yet.htm.

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By Michele Martel

The Home Business world has become very overwhelming. Trying to find the perfect fit for you is the hard part. Know your means before jumping in. Calculate your costs in the very beginning so you do not overpay or get in over your head. With so many work at home opportunities, do your homework.

Just do these few things in the very beginning:

-Know the product you are selling, inside and outside. By doing some research on your products, you will see how others with the same are advertising.

-Investigate your competitors frequently. Make sure you have the right 'up-to-date' information.

-Write a blog on your website. Search engines will pick this up and you will see better results with minimal advertising costs.

-Make sure all spelling is correct. By having something incorrectly written, your business will look cheap. You want everything to look professional.

-If you are paying for a website to be written, make sure you list in the correct category. This is the biggest problem today.

-Know your audience. Target your website toward the correct group.

Adwords are very helpful even if you do not use them. They offer superior tools for marketing your home business. Do not be afraid to ask questions, the more you ask, the better off you are. Make sure your merchant buttons send the customer to a secure website. If you are forwarding your customer to a thank you page, make sure all data is correct. Be courteous and polite. You will want them for a testimonial at a later date. The internet world is becoming larger by the day, if you want a piece of the pie, be smart. If you are leaning towards being an affiliate, this is a great way to test the waters without owning a website. Just a few things to think about

By Michele Martel, President of ELITE WEB ADS, Michele has written hundreds of articles for his clients. Writing your search engine submission is actually an art. Submit with ELITE WEB ADS TODAY http://www.elitewebads.com We also own the worlds oldest and most responsive safelist in the world http://www.homebusinesssafelist.com

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by Kelly McCausey

If you are a mom and thinking about working from home, be sure to ask yourself these questions.

I've realized over recent months that moms rarely do enough soul searching and research before jumping into a home business. To help you dig deep and give this the careful consideration that it deserves, I have three 'must ask questions' for you.

Before you make a decision, especially before you spend any money on an idea – sit down with a pad of paper and do some journaling on each question. Then, if you're married, take these questions and your thoughts to your husband and talk about all of it.

Have you walked through these common-sense steps?

Common sense dictates that you have a business plan. I'll admit to you that I never had a business plan when I started – but I do have a plan today that shapes my decisions and how I spend my time.

Common sense would say that you need to have a budget and a financial plan for your income.

Common sense would also demand that you research your business idea fully. Talk to others who are doing what you want to do and ask them pointed questions about how long it took them to get established and make a profit. Do not just ask those who are new to the business, seek out those who have been in business for at least four or five years. You need their perspective.

If the business that you're considering is in direct sales – have you tried things out as a hostess first? I've talked with women three months down the road who are disillusioned and regretful about their decision to join a particular company and, when I ask them if they started out by hosting a party and seeing if they enjoyed that experience first – they have all said "no." That tells me that testing the waters as a consumer is key.

Are you sure you can handle being your own boss? I know a lot of great hard-working people who would be in big trouble if they were in charge of themselves day-in and day-out.

It's important to know your quirks. Working at home may seem like a long vacation at first but, after a while, the polish wears off and it's just work again.

Are you self-motivated? Do you set good goals and keep on-task without someone else holding you accountable? If you're not entirely sure – ask the people that you've worked with what they think.

How will this business affect your kids, your marriage and your home?

This is huge. Working at home means different things to different people. If you're going to start a business to earn a little extra grocery money, you might not be looking at something that will create big waves in your home life. But, if you're looking to replace a full-time income, you have to be aware of the impact that your business will have on the home.

If your business involves physical products – where will they be stored and who will be taking care of them, moving them, shipping them? Don't assume that your husband and kids will automatically love to lift your boxes all the time.

If your business requires you to be gone from the home a lot, who will pick up the slack for you? Who will watch the kids? Who will prepare family meals?

It's easier than ever before to create a business from home that doesn't involve products or time away – but even a virtual business requires your time and attention. When will you work and who will that time be taken away from?

Don't fool yourself into believing that you can run a full-time business during nap time or only while the kids are at school.

If you can work your way through each of these questions you'll be well-equipped to make the best decision possible about your home business.

Kelly McCausey has hosted Work at Home Moms Talk Radio since November of 2003. As an Internet-based business coach, she helps other moms build profitable businesses that let them keep their family number one. Listen online any time at http://www.wahmtalkradio.com

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by Roger Hall)

If you're reading this, you're probably already advertising on Google. Or at least considering it.

Am I right?

What if I told you there are a couple of alternatives to Google AdWords Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising that could only cost you between 10% and 33% of what you would pay for those same clicks at Google?

How can this be?

It's no secret that Google has the vast majority of click traffic on the Internet -- and, as unhealthy as that is, its not going to change any time soon. Most PPC specialists will tell you, if you're not advertising on Google, you're history.

But, with some clicks going for more than $15 each (for high-end and lucrative products and services such as computer servers and credit card merchant accounts), isn't it time to look for effective alternatives?

Serious advertisers should consider alternative pay-per-click services.

Two that I have been trying recently for my own advertising are and Enhance Interactive and 7Search (disclosure; I am in no way affiliated with either of these companies).

Enhance Interactive, based in Provo, Utah:

Enhance Interactive's partner network receives more than one billion queries each month. I've found their program to be an easy, effective way to purchase PPC (pay-per-click) advertising.

You can pick both the keywords for your ad and the price you're willing to pay for someone to click on it (as little as $0.03).

Like Google, you only pay when your ad is clicked on.

Enhance Interactive's Guaranteed Inclusion service allows you to submit URLs which are guaranteed to be in the database of highly-visited search engines such as Excite and Dogpile, as well as smaller directories.

What's more, you can set a per-click price on any keyword and it will be significantly less than other large pay-per-click search engines.

Even better -- Enhance's system allows you to see your competitor's bids ... something Google does not allow. That's handy!

Your first deposit at Enhance Interactive is a minimum of $50, all of which is directly applied to clicks. There is no minimum monthly spend at Enhance Interactive. One disadvantage is that you have to pay in advance, whereas Google allows you to make a $5 deposit and they charge you every two weeks or a month for past clicks.

An interesting feature available on Enhance, which is not available on Google, is a feature called 'LogoLink,' where you can upload an 80x40-pixel image that's no larger than 8 KB in size. Animation is not accepted. This image will then be displayed alongside your PPC ad.

Very cool! Feedback from users who use this feature is positive.

While not as sophisticated as Google, conversion tools are available on Enhance, after you've installed some simple html code into your Web pages you wish to track.

Overall, I'm impressed with Enhance Interactive's service and prices, which I've found to cost only 20%-30% what a Google click would cost for the same keyword. I suggest you give them a try on a small scale. You won't have to stop your Google campaigns completely -- just cut back a bit and purchase some clicks from Enhance to give them a try.

7Search:

Moving a little down the click-quality scale, yet still worth a try, is 7Search.

With over 1.5 billion searches per month and no minimum keyword bids (starting at one cent per click), the 7Search product is an enticing alternative for advertisers weary of Google's high bid prices.

Like Enhance, Chicago-based 7Search allows you to see your competitor's bids, and select the ad position you wish to take.

One major potential "fly in the ointment:" you can't select what countries your ads will be shown in on the 7Search network. That can be a real deal-breaker for an advertiser who wants to target a particular region or country.

Why?

Click fraud and useless clicks are likely to increase. But remember; on 7Search, click prices are also a lot cheaper than Google, so it may be worth a try. As with Enhance, you pay in advance for clicks.

The 7Search interface feels a bit 'clunky' when compared with Google or even Enhance Interactive. But, if you're willing to slog through it for 30 minutes or so, you'll likely be able to figure out what to do. And you will be paid for your effort with low-cost clicks delivered to your landing page.

While 7Search does not provide a conversion tool, Google Analytics will track clicks that come from other search engines so, if your Google Analytics code is installed correctly, you can track a 7Search click, or most other search engines for that matter.

Summary

Let's not desert Google entirely -- it's still a good (if more expensive) tool. As always, even if you decide to choose Google alternatives, remember you can track most, if not all, the clicks arriving at your site with Google Analytics.

Towards becoming a more efficient business, give some thought to Google PPC alternatives.

Just remember: Using proper PPC ad writing and construction strategies is vital on the cheaper PPC service providers. The proven secrets apply on these cheaper services, as much as they do on Google.

About the Author

Roger Hall, Author of the new book, "37 Killer AdWords PPC Secrets Exposed," develops programs and pay-per-click ads to help you succeed. Discover how to create Google campaigns that work, save you money and beat your competition with his popular FREE AdWords Tips for advertisers. Available at: => http://www.37AdWordsSecrets.com .

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by Janice Hoffmann

A recent American Demographics survey concluded that 75 percent of American adults crave more customizable products and services, and 85 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds feel the same way.

THE TEST:

When you come in contact with one of your clients or colleagues, in what ways can you 'personalize' the experience?

1. SHARE A LAUGH:

Laughing releases even more endorphins than smiling. It also releases enkephalins, which are natural pain suppressors.

2. PAY SOMEONE A COMPLIMENT:

Praise stimulates the brain. Look for the good in others, and learn to appreciate small things.

3. HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE:

A Patient-focused medical study showed that optimists are able to cope more effectively with stress. They tend to look on the bright side of things, and take extra steps to circumvent or diminish obstacles.

4. SEND THANK YOU NOTES:

'Management guru', Tom Peters writes, "send them by truck loads." A good will message strengthens the importance of a relationship and validates an interest in the product, service, and collaboration. It's common courtesy, and you'll stand-out.

5. FOWARD AN ARTICLE ON A TOPIC OF INTEREST:

Have you ever talked about movies, travel, or sports with a colleague or a client? If so, clip out a review of a movie they've enjoyed, send them a hot tip on a restaurant in a city they frequently travel, or pass on an inspiring story. A fun note, a newspaper clipping, or an article on a recent business trend, can send a message that you've been listening carefully.

THE RESULTS:

You affect others profoundly & people want more. WOW!

Janice Hoffmann is founder of SUCCESS IS SWEETEST, a New York City based Career & Lifestyle Coaching Boutique www.successissweetest.com .

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by Kevin Sinclair

One of the greatest thrills in business is acquiring a new customer. Many businesses get too caught up in the excitement of acquiring new customers, then don't spend enough time or money on unlocking the value of their existing customer base. It surprises me how often businesses fail to regard their existing customers as one of their most valued assets.

There may not be the same excitement getting orders from existing customers but, this is where the real profits are made. It's generally accepted among most marketing experts that it costs at least five times more to acquire a new customer than it does to get an order from an existing customer.

There are many ways that you can unlock the value of your existing customer base. Let's explore some now.

The first thing a business needs to do is develop the mindset that their customer base is their most valuable asset. Customers need to be treated like gold because that is what they are to your business. Responding to the needs of your existing customers must take priority over prospecting for new customers.

To unlock the value of your customers requires that you have a range of products that will fulfil their needs. Products should be carefully chosen to ensure they are of the right quality and will meet customer needs.

Your customers will often tell you what they need if you listen to them carefully and with respect. This can save you a lot of time and cost in market testing new products.

Stay in contact with your customers. There are a variety of ways to do this and the Internet provides a cost-effective means to do so.

A regular newsletter for customers providing them with useful information is the most common way to do this. However, you need to know what your customers want to make this truly effective.

Gather the preferences of your customers and monitor their buying habits. This can provide you with very valuable information.

To get valuable ideas, look at some of the things Amazon does. For example, Amazon allows people to subscribe to updates on various different types of books and products. That way, they are able to provide information on a regular basis that the customer is interested in.

Amazon also has an author update service. You tell them who your favourite authors are and, whenever there is anything new by that author, you receive an E-mail notification. They also have a facility that suggests other titles or products you may be interested in. This is based on what you are considering purchasing and what others who purchased the same item also purchased.

Do these features generate more sales from their existing customers? You bet they do! How can you use these concepts to unlock the value of your customers?

Consider ways that you can make it easy for your customers to re-order. Simple things such as not having to fill in all their details again on the order form, help a lot. That way, customers only need to advise you of changes to their details and the order process is a lot quicker.

Regularly review your customers' buying habits. This can reveal information on offers that you can make that meet their needs. Providing them with a solution to their problem will lead not only to further sales but it will also build strong goodwill.

Customer service can be one of your strongest weapons in the battle to retain your customers. Make every effort to personalise responses to customer enquiries. Don't send standard form E-mails if you can avoid it. While this will take more time, the rewards will be far greater.

Be quick to honour guarantees. This will show that you mean what you say and will build strong credibility. Too often, tardiness and slow responses lead to lost credibility and lost future value of a customer.

When you're treating your customers as the most important people to your business, they will find the experience rewarding and will return often.

Each business is different and has its own specific ways that can generate greater value from their existing customer base. I hope I've helped you to start thinking more about how you can unlock the value of your customers.

Remember, the more you put into looking after your business's major asset, the more profit you will make. A side benefit is that your customers may even refer their friends and associates to your business, resulting in a steady flow of new customers with a very small customer acquisition cost.

Kevin Sinclair, CPA, of Personal & Business Success Resources. Visit his Website at www.ksinclair.com .

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by Lydia Ramsey

A day in the life of a business person can be filled with joy and satisfaction or it can be frustrating and stressful. When things go wrong, some people lose control. Holding emotions in check and reacting professionally under fire are not always easy. It's particularly difficult to be nice to people who are not being nice to you.

So -- what do you do to keep your cool when the customer is chewing you out? Most of the time, it's not even your fault.

It could be that the problem was with a product or a service delivered by someone else in your organization. You're getting the blame because the unhappy person found you first, and it's not pleasant.

When faced with angry people, there are four key steps that will help diffuse the situation.

Step one is to apologize. "But," you say, "it's not my fault." It doesn't matter who's to blame; apologize anyway. As a representative of your company you have a responsibility to see that things go well. Your willingness to be accountable will have a positive effect. After all, it takes two to have an argument. If one of you refuses to be disagreeable you can't have a disagreement.

You're not accepting blame -- you're simply saying, "I'm sorry about the problem." You are wasting your breath unless you apologize with complete sincerity, so be sure that your tone of voice matches your words.

Step two is to sympathize with the irate customer. Let the person know that you can identify with his feelings. Say that you understand the frustration of receiving a faulty product or poor service. The angry person begins to feel better as soon as his reaction is validated.

Step three is to accept responsibility for the situation. Be accountable to the customer. Let him know that you intend to do whatever it takes to make things right. You can't help what has already happened, but you will come up with a solution to the problem or you will find someone who can.

The last step is to take action. Decide what you can do and tell the customer.

You will replace the defective or incorrect product as quickly as possible. If the issue was poor service, deliver better service. Whenever you can offer a bonus of some sort or waive fees, the tiger before you is transformed into a pussycat.

Use the acronym "ASAP" to remember these four steps for calming upset customers. Each letter stands for part of the process.

A is "apologize."
S represents "sympathize."
A stands for "accept responsibility."
P means "prepare to take action."

Nothing will be solved by becoming argumentative and reactionary. Instead, diffuse the client's anger by being apologetic and sympathetic and focus on positive steps that will resolve the situation. Before you know it, your adversaries will become your allies.

Oh yes -- remember to smile. It will make everyone feel better and behave better.

Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert, professional speaker, corporate trainer and author of MANNERS THAT SELL - ADDING THE POLISH THAT BUILDS PROFITS. She has been quoted or featured in The New York Times, Investors' Business Daily, Entrepreneur, Inc., Real Simple and Woman's Day. For more information about her programs, products and services, E-mail her at lydia@mannersthatsell.com or visit her Web site www.mannersthatsell.com .

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by Adam Terebeckij

I have often mentioned the need for balance between your family life and your business. This is a little bit trickier proposition for work-at-home parents, particularly those who have little ones pattering about.

But, there is some also benefit to working around and along with the little ones. The first of these major benefits is the fact that they force you to take breaks, whether you think you want one or not.

For most of us, it is difficult to get into our work first thing in the morning and, if we don't have an outstanding amount of self-discipline, we often find ourselves hurrying later to catch up on things that we got behind on during the early morning hours.

In these situations, taking a break to put Polly Pocket's dress on for the thousandth time, or fixing yet another glass of juice, might seem like a profound interruption to your work flow. However, if you take a moment to think about why you wanted to work from home, wasn't there something about this in that thought?

More important, however, taking short breaks throughout the day provides a renewal of energy and purpose and gives your child special memories that other children aren't quite so fortunate to have.

Second, the little ones (believe it or not) will help drive your schedule. If you are planning around lunchtime, snack time, nap time, etc., and have set times for these each day, you are mentally preparing for those times and working according to what needs to be done before that time.

It's like a mental turbo boost for your productivity. I don't know about your children, but my children are very quick to let me know it's lunch time, snack time, and -- goodness knows -- it's obvious if I'm late for nap time!

Third, having little ones at home with you while you work can be the most motivation possible to succeed. Knowing that, while you are busy for a large chunk of the day, you are still the one that is there to change the diapers, kiss the boo-boos, and soothe the heartaches of your little one, and not some day care provider in your stead, is one of the most priceless things you can imagine.

I didn't know how much it was going to effect me or how much I was going to love it until I was actually able to do it for myself. And, to be completely honest, I wouldn't change it for the world.

The fourth and final reason that it is good to have little ones afoot during your workday is this: exercise. If you are getting up and down on occasion and chasing the crayon-wielding, lipstick-wearing, cookie bandit around the house, you are getting out of your seat and getting a quickie cardio kick-start.

These little moments of activity really are good for you. We work at home parents tend to not get nearly enough of those moments, since we aren't walking to our cars and offices or climbing stairs to get into and out of the parking garage. We are missing out on exercise that others don't even realize they are getting. So, it's a fair trade and worth every single calorie burned while we are chasing the little ones around the office, silently praying that they don't have the document we hope they don't in their grubby little paws.

Yes -- your little ones can be distracting and down right destructive, if you aren't carefully supervising -- even if you are, for that matter. They can also be terribly sweet and loving and perfectly delightful to watch and enjoy as they grow and learn so much each and every day.

I feel as if were I were to blink long and hard, I'd open my eyes and they would suddenly be grown and gone. Imagine how much I would miss if I were to leave them with others and go to an office each and every day?

Adam Terebeckij is a seasoned Internet Marketing Entrepreneur and Private Real Estate Investor. His insight and information has helped countless individuals around the world. For more information on the TOP Work From Home jobs and Work At Home Business Opportunities visit: http://www.LegitimateBusinessOpportunities.com

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by Jay Conners

Having to deal with angry and upset customers is by far one of the worst responsibilities we must face on a day-to-day basis in the world of sales and business. However, this responsibility, like so many others we must face on a daily basis, just comes with the territory.

Customers become angry for all sorts of reasons. Some are legitimate reasons. Some are not. In any event, it's our job to defuse the situation. Here are a few tips on how you can calm your customer down and put them at ease.

1. Give them your hand to shake

When I was in the banking industry, I worked many years as a branch manager. A customer’s body language would speak volumes as they approached my office. This body language allowed me to prepare for what was to come.

It's not difficult to tell when someone is angry. Their face scrunches. Their lips tighten, and their brow wrinkles. They walk quickly with a purpose in their step, and you know they mean business.

My reaction to this type of body language was to reach out my hand to them as an offering of peace. I did this before they had an opportunity to start venting their anger.

I would then calmly introduce myself and ask how I could be of help to them.

This technique will catch your customer off guard, and your acts of professionalism and sincerity will ease the tension and put the rationale back into your customers thought process. This technique is by far the best way to begin any conversation that has the potential to be blown out of proportion.

2. Apologize to your customer

Once you have your customer seated and have allowed for them to vent, the first thing you want to do is apologize on behalf of your company for the way they have made them feel, or for the inconvenience they have been put through.

It really doesn’t matter if your customer is right or wrong, by apologizing to your customer you are being empathetic to their situation. This gives the customer the feeling that you are on their side.

Remember, when a customer has an issue, what they want more than anything else is for someone to listen to their problem and have an understanding of where they are coming from.

There is absolutely no need to take a bad situation and make it worse.

3. Resolve the problem

The last and final thing you want to assure your customer is that the problem will be resolved, or at the very least, the problem will not happen again.

To leave a problem unresolved and your customer hanging will only lead to more confrontations and wasted time down the line.

Remember, when time is wasted, money is wasted.

Again, putting out fires on a daily basis comes with the territory. The sooner you put out the fires the better. Never take a customer complaint personally. Act as your customers' advocate, and you will always prevent a bad situation from escalating.

Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is the owner of www.jconners.com .

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by Daryl Campbell

In the movie Jerry Maguire, Cuba Gooding Jr. uttered the phrase that has now become part of our lexicon: "Show me the money."

Whether intentional or not, every person involved in affiliate Internet marketing is thinking the same thing. That's understandable. Unfortunately, many people spend their time looking for the good fairy of affiliate business -- that magic product or service (courtesy of central casting) that will explode their bank account instantly, without having to do much work.

This may explain why the majority of affiliates don't make any money. They don't treat their business like a business.

With the emergence of blogs, video and Web 2.0, marketers have more tools to reach their target audience. However, there are still some old school techniques you should be using in your production.

1. One Site/One Product

Ever visit an affiliate Web site that's offering a ton of different products? For most people, too many choices lead to confusion. It also increases the chance your potential customers will simply click to another site.

The point of one affiliate Web site per product is to limit the choice of your visitors to either buying, leaving their contact information or clicking away from your affiliate site.

Place a review on your Website, along with testimonials from people (get their photos, if possible) who have used the product or service.

You can find previous reviews of the product you're affiliate advertising by searching E-zines and article directories -- but it's best to write your own.

The keys are to:

a. Write a good headline
b. Showcase the benefits
c. Fill each paragraph with just enough information to get your visitors to keep reading
d. A call to action

Make sure it does not come across as a blatant sales pitch. Walk your visitors through understanding the product and how it affects them directly.

2. The Free

According to Overture. 357,000 people per month search the Internet using only one keyword: free. You can get some of that action. Offering a free report is a terrific affiliate marketing tool. Place it at the top of your Website, so visitors can't help but see it.

You can also offer it to your opt-in E-mail list and invite them to pass the report along to others. Make sure your name and Website are branded on the report.

3. Targeted Traffic

There are any number of ways to drive visitors to your affiliate Web site. The question is, once they get there, will they be interested in your offer?

I mentioned before you should write your own product reviews. You should also write articles. Not only will it get you noticed, but you can also find specific article directories, blogs, E-zines and forums where your target audience is most likely hanging out.

Try to write at least 1 article per week -- 400 to 600 words in length. This is a great way to bring targeted traffic to your affiliate Web site immediately and for many years to come. Article marketing combines useful information, free advertising (without looking like advertising) and marketing viral into one powerful package.

Using these tips can help you get through the maze of affiliate Internet marketing and create multiple streams of steady income. Focus on building an affiliate business first, so that when you tell merchants to show you the money, they will!

Daryl Campbell is your Internet Marketing guide for more free tips, tools, coaching, resources, video and up-to-the-minute information to help grow your business. Find out more by clicking now. Affiliate Marketing -- http://winthemarket.com/internet-marketing-guide/affiliate-marketing-and-the-ninety-five-percent/

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by Rick Roberts

A Little Background:

I have been involved in Internet Marketing and Affiliate Marketing since 1994. I must admit, however, that I am a lazy marketer. Maybe a better word is "sporadic."

By this I mean that, from time to time, I will find a product or service that appeals to me and, for a few days or weeks, I will pursue marketing it. Usually, at first, there is some level of success associated with my efforts -- but not always. Believe me, I have squandered more money on Internet marketing E-books than I have ever made from them.

In my marketing endeavors, I always wanted to find a product or service that could be set on "auto-pilot," or self running, and make an extra few bucks a month. Let me tell you -- that's hard to find.

Mostly because the world of Internet marketing is ever-evolving -- and what sells today may be a non-selling item or service next month. To date, I have found only one that both works like this and stands the test of time sensitivity. You can read more about this from the link in my Bio/Resource box with this article posting.

Affiliate marketing is a waiting game

One thing I've learned through my experiences is that affiliate marketing is a big waiting game for any return on investment. Take, for instance, being an Amazon Associate. With Amazon, you earn an overall 4% - 10% commission off of any referral sale.

Not bad on the surface, but a big drawback is their sales reporting system. It's always a 24-hour lag getting stats from your promotions, which makes pay-per-click advertising a real gamble with Amazon. The biggest catch, though, is the wait-time for any commission earned. It takes 60 days from your first referral sale to get a check or direct deposit from them.

So, again, you really have to be careful with any paid promotions for referrals to Amazon. But, if you have the money or other resources to promote Amazon referral links and can wait 60 days on your return, you can make a fairly good chunk of extra income.

Last month -- March 2007 -- I made $202 in commissions after a $96 investment in PPC advertising.

Clickbank, on the other hand, is still an iffy proposition for affiliate commissions. The plus side of Clickbank is that you get a commsion check every two weeks on the prior two weeks' referrals. So, the inital wait on your first check is about 4 weeks. But there are two main drawbacks to Clickbank.

One is that almost every product you can promote is promoted to death on the Internet, which means you are fighting like cats and dogs over getting sales from your advertising. PPC advertsing is really a gamble with the products there because the good traffic keywords are so expensive to get decent position with.

Expect to pay $1 - $5 per click for good position with Clickbank PPC advertsing.

The real money-making promotions

Of all of the things I've tried to market on the Internet, the biggest money-maker is selling either your own products, such as physical items or E-books you've written, or reselling other E-books that you have master reseller rights to.

Having master reseller rights means that you collect all of the proceeds from the sales and you can advertise the product on your own Website with your own HTML pages.

Another easy money-maker and potential big money-maker is viral marketing.

I know it sounds like an evil thing but it's not. Viral marketing is the process of giving away something that links back to your actual sales pages or affiliate links.

The two most common viral marketing methods are:

* Giving away an E-book that has your links embedded within them to either your sales page or an affiliate link to another sales page. I've found people love free items and will snap them right up with little promotion at all.

* Submitting articles written by you to article directory sites that contain links to your own sales pages or affliliate links.

Summary

To summarize, I would have to list these points:

1. If you're new to Internet or Affiliate Marketing, expect to experience a fairly healthy learning curve in figuring out what to promote and how to efficiently promote the product or service.

2. Expect to invest a sometimes sizable amount of real money in PPC advertsing. In fact, if you're new, I wouldn't recommend this approach to promotion at all. Wait until you've figured out the ropes first before gambling with what money you do have.

3. Look for products you can sell that you have complete control over in both the commsions and sales approach, master reseller rights products.

4. Don't ignore viral marketing. It's the cheapest and most bang for your buck in promoting any product or service. Plus it's enduring. An E-book can float around the Internet for months or years, providing residual on-going income.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, I would like to encourage you to check out the link in my Bio/Resouce box for a product that does work on auto-pilot and, best of all, incorporates both master reseller rights and viral marketing into one easy-to-promote package. It won't make you rich, but it will provide you with a residual income for months or even years, possibly.

Rick Roberts is an Internet marketer that manages several Websites across the Internet. Get the greatest viral marketing idea of all time and it's free to download http://www.daelectronics.com/ultimate. You will be amazed at how simple and brilliant this idea is. Plus, it has a surprise twist on the last pages of the E-book.

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by Michael Laleye

Traffic on the freeway is bad. Traffic on the Internet is good. With over 60 million Web sites on the Net, you need a solid strategy for steering customers to your home business Web site.

Search Engines

Search engines are the yellow pages for a home business Web site. Over 80% of Internet surfers use search engines to find information on the Web. To get the most traffic to your site, list with the big search engine players Yahoo, Google, and MSN. Smaller search engines also get results from the big three, so you'll be covered in case customers visit less popular engines.

Looking Good

Your home business Web site can be simple or complex, but it must be functional and attractive. Make sure your site does what it's supposed to do - provide customers with concise, useful information about your product or service. Be wary of making things too complicated. The site should be easy to navigate or customers will look elsewhere.

Your home business Web site should also look professional, not cheap. If you aren't design savvy, spend money on a good Web designer. The investment will pay off by attracting more people to your Web page.

Online Ads

The Internet has many sites where you can list your home business Web site for free. To guarantee the greatest exposure, place your ad on several (20 or more) sites and repeat the process every month.

Banner advertisements can be as effective as TV spots in increasing customer awareness of your business. A banner ad should be direct, i.e. promote a benefit, rather than just the name of the product or service. Try participating in a banner exchange program such as LinkExchange, that connects your home business Web site to other company sites that have similar customer bases.

Affiliate programs offer an excellent opportunity to promote your home business Web site. Affiliate businesses post links to your Web page on their sites. You pay them a commission or a set fee, based on the amount of traffic sent to your Web site. Pay arrangements vary and can be based on the number of people who visit your site or the number of customers who purchase your product.

Bloggin' It

Bloggers are the hot new information medium. Getting them to write about your home business Web site is an excellent way to gain exposure to potential customers.

Technorati Blog Directory provides a listing of blogs by industry. Do your research here to determine which blogs might be interested in writing about your business. Send a short, personal E-mail to a few blog writers describing your Web site and asking the blogger to write about it. Offer the writer something in return. For example: free product or a link back to his blog on your Web site.

Offline Ads

Cruising Down the Highway

Your car is a moving billboard for a home business Web site. Window decals and bumper stickers are inexpensive ways to get the word out about your Web site. Spend a few extra dollars for a personalized license plate with your Web address.

Old Media Standby

Regardless of what the bloggers say, people still read the printed page. Run ads in the classifieds of large and small papers, trade magazines, and free weeklies. Your choice of print media will depend on the product or service offered and whether you do business locally or nationwide.

Make money online - Complete money making site set-up FREE! Go To: http://www.myaffiliatestarter.com/pips.html Read more great articles like this at: http://www.myaffiliatestarter.blogspot.com Get started today!

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By Calvin Woon

Are you looking for a way to build a residual income stream for yourself but clueless as to how to go about doing it? If that is you, look no further, as a residual income business opportunity is the perfect way for you. When you join an internet network marketing company, you can erase your worries about not knowing how to create a website and come up with your own products to sell.

This is because these companies will provide you with a professionally designed website with a complete and automated marketing system. When you become a member, distributor, or affiliate of a company, you can start making money straight away.

When you are promoting residual income business opportunities, you establish a relationship with the company and their products or services. All you need to do is to drive traffic to the unique website created for you and once a sale is made, you are compensated in a good way. No hard selling required on your part, you just have to concentrate on driving traffic to your residual income business.

This is a win-win situation for both the company and you as the promoter, and promoting residual income opportunities have become very popular. Companies are slowly adopting this marketing strategy to promote their products.

However, different residual income business opportunities offer different compensation schemes. The vast majority of companies will pay you, as a member or distributor, fast start bonuses for each sale you bring in. Residual income will be built once you hit a certain target. Residual income means that the residual income company pays you every time the customer you brought them, makes a new sale. So in fact, you get paid many times, just by referring people to join the company.

Because promoting residual income business opportunities provides you with the opportunity of building a large residual income, it is slowly gaining popularity over the normal affiliate marketing programs which only pays you once for a sale.

Another big reason to start promoting residual income business opportunities is the fact that the company you are promoting will not only pay you for the customers you yourself bring in, but they will also pay a percentage to you when your new customers brings the company more customers.

Hence, the sky is the limit when you are promoting residual income business opportunities.

If you were an affiliate program person, I would say that you are making a mistake if you have not even looked into what promoting residual income opportunities can do for you.

Now that you are convinced of the potential of residual income opportunities, it is time to start taking massive action! Moreover, I am sure you will be on your way to profiting wildly from your residual income business.

Calvin Woon is an online entrepreneur who is dedicated to helping others earn money online too. To claim your free gifts and more information about the best residual income business opportunity, visit http://7WaysToEarnMoneyOnline.com/success.htm

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by Tellman H. Knudson

How important is list building? I know I ask that question a lot, and some people just don't get it. List building is everything! Without a list, you probably won't make much money. But with everyone out there asking for names and E-mail addresses, what are the chances you'll be able to compete, if you've just started out online?

Very bad. You have to snatch people's attention away from the newest product or program and get them to join your list instead of theirs, right?

A really great way to do that is with video. You may say to yourself, "Are you nuts? I'm not putting my face out there for the whole world to see." Well, why not? Almost every video I've seen has average people in it, just like you and me.

If you're worried about how hard it is or installing the software, get over it! You're wasting time. Pay someone to do it for you and to show you how it works.

I probably don't need to tell you how hot video is online right now. I mean, if it wasn't, would Google have spent $1.65 billion to buy up You Tube? No! Forget the doubts. And if you're shy, don't worry. You can even stay off camera and make video work for you.

But, if you're going to be in the video, you need at least a Webcam, or a camcorder. Even some cell phones have video cams in them these days. It doesn't have to be a Hollywood-quality film; the information has to shine. Just get a way to record your film. You can also use a program like CamStudio to do a Webinar-type presentation. Once you have the recording equipment, then hit the button, you're ready to go!

When you're finished with the video, you'll probably want to edit it. If you're on a PC, no sweat. You already have Windows Movie Maker installed because it's an accessory in Windows. It's pretty straightforward and very easy to operate. Play with it a while and you'll soon see what you can do.

After editing, you'll want to upload it to Google Video and You Tube, at least. Because those sites get the most traffic, they're prime, but you may also want to upload to places like DailyMotion, Flurl, and Blip.tv. There are actually a ton of sites out there, but it does take a while for a video to upload, so decide how much time you want to spend.

The more times your video is seen, though, the better off you'll be.

"Are we list building yet?" you wonder. Well, yes. Now, we'll be list building because with every video, you also upload "tags," as you do with any other Web 2.0 site. So, if your niche is baseball, you'll have a video about a batting stance, for instance, and your tags will be "baseball, sports, etc."

Those tags are how people will find you. Be sure the URL to your list building page is in the video, too, either by way of captioning, or even, hold a sign with the URL on it in front of you while you're speaking. Just be sure to use that list building page address. It's vital.

But, if you're still shy, you don't need to show your face at all. Use pictures. A static picture can make a nice backdrop for your video. Or use a slideshow. They work well, too. Still, don't forget to include the URL to your list building page on each picture. You can edit that into your picture in a program like Photoshop.

The audio doesn't necessarily need to be fresh, either. If you've done any teleseminars and recorded them, you can just snatch a clip of one for video. Be sure to keep the length of your chat to about three minutes, though, or you'll lose some of your audience. Things move fast online.

Be sure to track your visitors, too. See how effective your video is. I think you'll be surprised. But you have to try new things. Don't let the technology stop you. Otherwise, you'll be left far behind with no list at all.

Tellman Knudson is an Internet Marketing coach and CEO of Overcome Everything, Inc. Find more of his incredible list building secrets at http://www.myfirstlist.com/ .

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by John Young

"I’m amazed at this! I put very little effort into this online business, and already I’m making over $14,000 a month!"

We’ve all heard these testimonials in ads for “starting your online business.” We are then offered a "turnkey" Website already designed and filled with widgets to sell on the Web.

The ads lead us to believe that hordes of customers will flock to our site, wallets in hand, ready to avoid the downtown mobs. We’re promised an overnight fortune with little or no effort. We purchase the site and set up the store, only to find that reality falls well short of expectations.

The "SNAFU" Of Online Marketing:

Perhaps one of the greatest disappointments for the novice online marketer is to discover that the effort she has put into designing and publishing a monetizing Website may very well be wasted because no one comes to it.

In the real world (as compared to the virtual one), a business is generally set up by first renting space (hopefully in an area with heavy traffic, such as a shopping mall or on main street), designing and setting up the store, filling it with inventory, displaying the merchandise, and advertising to bring in customers with wallets ready to buy.

While location is important, most effort is directed at bringing the customers to the site, not the other way around.

In the virtual world, however, one has to bring the Website to the customer. Every potential customer sits in front of the same computer – essentially the same physical location for ALL businesses on the Web.

The business that can effectively bring itself to that customer will succeed. All others will fail.

7 Ways To Bring The Store To The Customer

Let’s say you do a search for a Google keyword such as “luggage.” You’re likely to come up with tens of thousands, if not millions, of potential Websites, some selling luggage, others giving product reviews.

Will your site be among the ones Google or Yahoo finds? Not too likely, and if your site doesn’t appear in the top 10 or 20, on page one or two, the potential customer is not likely to go to page 3. Expecting her to find your site on page 150 is pretty much out of the question. She simply isn’t going to go there to find your store.

Consequently, you MUST bring it up in the search ranks … to her, where she is sitting, in front of the computer.

Ranking Your Site

Today, most people find what they're searching for using Google.

Google ranks your site primarily by how many links are located on other sites pointing to it, and the context in which your link is found. For example, if your site is about dogs, and your link is found in the context of dogs, that link will be more valuable than if it is found in some other context or in no context.

Bringing your store to your customers by improving your rankings requires a few techniques, and a lot of hard work. Here are seven suggestions for methods that are not “Catch-22,” i.e. don’t require traffic to get traffic.

1. Writing and marketing articles.

Google and other search engines rank a Website by how many “one-way” links point to it from other sites. Writing an article and publishing it in the many E-zine barns (and having it picked up by online E-zines specialized for your keywords) is an excellent way to get these one-way links

2. Reciprocal linking.

Find other Websites with similar subject matter to your own. Contact the Webmaster and arrange to post a link to your site in exchange for reciprocating -- posting a link to theirs on your site.

3. One-way links.

Do a search on your keyword and “add URL” or “add your site.” You will find sites you can add your link to.

4. Join a forum.

You can get banned by putting a link to your site in your posts, but if you put it in your bio and then post information frequently on the forum, you can go up in Google rankings.

5. Blogging.

Set up your own blogs with links to your sites to gain Google rank. Free software exists to do this.

6. Search Engine Optimization

Make your site “keyword rich” by including a written introduction with searchable keywords in it, optimize the site and submit it to the minor search engines. Software exists to help you with search engine optimization. Google analyzes rankings in minor search engines when assigning site rank.

7. Advertising with Google Adwords.

Adwords can put your site in front of the customer – on the right side of the search page, not on the left. People read from left to right, and will see the results of their search on the left first. Depending on your bid for the keywords, your ad may appear at the bottom of a stack of Adwords advertisements. Adwords can bring in sales, but costs can get out of hand and ultimately be disastrous.

Work Smart ... and Hard

Ninety-five percent of all Internet businesses fail. Articles have been written simply stating that this is due to lack of “hard work” on the part of the owner, who thought she was going to have a “turnkey” business that would immediately reap “astounding profits.”

While this may be true, there’s an old saying: “Work smart, not hard.” In the case of an Internet business, you're going to have do both. You're going to have to work smart by knowing the most effective means of bringing your store to your customers, and work hard …

John Young is a writer and editor living in Santa Barbara. He is inviting submissions to his new E-zine, Explode Your Affiliate Checks at http://www.explodeyouraffiliatechecks.com devoted to all phases of online marketing. He has a second site at: http://www.ebook-marketing-software.com .

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by Jason Tarasi

When writing copy for your Website, always keep in mind the famous saying, "it's not what you say, it's how you say it." This very concept is how you turn casual visitors into customers.

Your Website content should convince visitors that your service or product is either unique or superior to that of your competitors in terms of quality -- or that it is competitively priced. Show how your product or service will solve their problems, answer a dream, enrich their lives, and/or improve their businesses. You are the dependable expert that they want and need!

Your Website copy plays a major role in establishing and growing your customer base. Web site copy creates the "voice" of your company or product. The look and feel of a site puts a "face" on the company, and on otherwise intangible products and services.

On an e-commerce site, the copy plays a key role in closing sales as well as in up-selling and cross-selling products and services. Good copy delights first-time visitors, encourages return visits and propels both customer acquisition and loyalty.

People read a Web page differently than they do a brochure or a newspaper. They scan, scroll, click, hit the "back" button, and hit the "forward" button. "Reading" is all about moving around and being in control.

You have one chance to make a first impression - to quickly convey the benefit of staying on your Web site. I can't overstate the importance of first impressions, which, in Web-time, are measured in milliseconds. The layout, functionality, message and overall look and feel of your Web page determine who stays - and who clicks away.

Remember - a confused visitor, is a lost customer.

Most people have a short attention span. You must grab their attention right away, and then hold it like a vise. Your story should be clear and to the point. Say what you have to in the least amount of words possible and never confuse your visitors.

The goal of any Web page should be to get the visitor to DO something: to move on to the next step in a purchase sequence or to click for more information about a product or service. Without readable, compelling copy and clearly organized hypertext links, visitors are much less likely to complete a transaction - and return to your site again.

Writing for your Web page should always start from your visitor's perspective. What is your Web site visitor looking for? Why is he/she there? How can you make his/her visit as quick and efficient and positive as possible? You should take the time to clarify the goal of each page before starting to write. If the page is part of a transaction sequence, identify what may be hindering the buying process. Be sure instructions are clear and easy to read.

You must create a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) in combination with a strong, unique feature of your business. It should answer that most difficult question:

Why should potential customers buy from you?

Tell your customers what you are selling and explain what your service or product provides. What is the key benefit(s) to your customers? What pain does it cure, what solution does it provide? Compare your service with that of your competitors and highlight what makes you stand out from the competition? Keep working on this until you can clearly separate yourself from the field. As stated earlier, there must be a convincing reason for doing business with you, instead of your competitor.

Summarize the above into one tight, powerful, motivating phrase that will persuade your customer to do business with you and to trade their money for the benefits delivered by your service.

If you're going to promote your service and expand your customer base using your Website, potential clients have to be able to trust you. Their confidence in you and your products has to be boosted. Endorsements on your Website from a valued friend or colleague, or a referral from a strategic partner are the types of "leads" that boost your credibility. You and your service must be perceived as being trust-worthy before your visitor will be confident enough to contact you or even buy your product.

Show prospects that you have their best interests at heart and that you can adapt or customize your service to meet their individual needs. Foster an ongoing relationship that steadily increases their trust levels and cements a view that you are an "authority" in your field.

Finally, be wary of broadening the theme of your site too much. Try not to dilute your product or service's targeted niche simply to expand your base of merchant partners. Remember; focus on selling your product or service. That's where the "meat and potatoes" of your business will come from.

Looking for quality resale rights products? Michael Rasmussen and Jason Tarasi own and operate one of the Net's premiere resell rights memberships. To grab your free resell rights package, click this link now - Free Resell Rights (http://www.resellrightsblowout.com/).

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by Audrey Burton

The experts say you need benefit statements in all your marketing – on your Website, on your brochures and flyers, in your 30-second introduction and in all types of advertising. This is true.

There could be so many benefit statements for your business, how do you choose?

Marketing is the process of communicating to people about your product or service so they can make a purchase if they perceive they want or need it. If they are not aware of it, don't know how to purchase it or don't perceive it fulfills a want or need, there can be no sale.

The key word in that paragraph is 'perceive.' Your marketing, and therefore your benefit statements, should focus on the perception in the marketplace, not necessarily the actual benefit.

For example, in my business, one of the greatest benefits many of my clients realize AFTER working with me is confidence. My clients' confidence in their business abilities sometimes skyrockets. So why don't I market based on this?

Confidence is so important in business ownership. Prospective customers will often decide against making a purchase because they sense a lack of confidence in the seller.

When prospects are considering hiring me, they do not perceive that they have a confidence problem! Therefore, if I am marketing to my target market based on increasing their confidence, my marketing will fall flat. It will not connect with my target at all.

My target market comes to me mostly because they lack certain business knowledge or are overwhelmed by all the business stuff and need an advisor as well as a coach.

Here's another example. A couple is having love life issues in their relationship, and a couples therapist is looking for clients. The actual problem may be that the man is not saying anything remotely romantic, and the woman is too critical. They don't see it that way before they have gone through the therapy, so if the therapist markets herself based on men and women not communicating well, she won't get these clients.

If, on the other hand, the therapist markets herself based on improving couples' love lives, that will make an emotional connection and pique interest because that's the perceived benefit they need. The actual benefit they receive is improved communication, but using that benefit in her marketing will not entice her target market to call.

Here's your homework. List all of the benefits of doing business with you, then reexamine them to identify perceived vs. actual benefits by putting your feet in the shoes of your target market. Go get'em tigress!

Audrey Burton, Small Business Coach, is "The Tigress." Get her FREE Special Report, "Closing the Sale is Not Complicated!" and her FREE monthly E-mail newsletter at http://www.TigressCoaching.com .

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by Tellman Knudson

One question that people often ask me is, "Tellman, I want to start list building like you suggest, but I don't know where to start."

OK. Let me give you the 7 simple steps to follow:

1. Choose your niche: What are you passionate about?

I mean, what really gets you going? What can you get excited about and what will keep you that way? It could be anything from knitting to knees. It really doesn't matter, as long as people are searching for terms that surround your niche, you should do well. First, figure out what it is you have a passion for.

2. Do some research: Write a list of words that are used in your niche and then, go to http://inventory.overture.com/ .

Type the words into the blank, one at a time, and see how many searches are done for the terms. If your primary keywords generate 3,000 searches or more per month, you probably have a niche to work with. If you see there are 20,000 to 30,000 searches, then you definitely have a winner.

Just be aware that the very heavily-searched niches are probably very competitive. You may want to start list building around a smaller niche

3. Create a unique domain name: Your domain name should have something to do with what you're list building around.

For instance, my site, MyFirstTraffic.com, is for my beginner's traffic course. Makes sense, right? It makes it easy for people searching to find my site and buy my product, and it makes it easy for the search engines to figure out what my site is about for indexing.

Just be sure the name you choose isn't too long or difficult for people to remember.

4. Choose a web host: The most important factor here is dependability.

Don't ever base your choice of Web host on price because the cheapest hosts may just close shop and leave you hanging. You also want to be sure they have nearly 100% uptime. It's impossible for a host to have no downtime at all because upgrades and repairs are always needed. Just be sure that they have a good uptime reliability factor.

You may want to delay buying your domain name until you choose a Web hosting company, too. Many of them include a domain name or two with your hosting package. If you're just starting out, you may not need a very complicated plan, but if you're starting a membership site, say, where you'll need to use PHP extensions, then, you'll want something a bit more expensive.

If you don't know what you need, you'll probably have a tech person working with you anyway, so you can always ask them for a recommendation.

5. Build a squeeze page: Now that you have an idea about the niche you want to pursue, you want to start list building.

In other words, you want to gather a group of people who are hungry for information or products in your niche. To do that, you need a squeeze page, which is nothing more than a great headline, 3-5 bullet points of copy detailing the benefits of joining your list, and an opt-in box, which leads to...

6. Your autoresponder: Autoresponders are services that collect and house the names from your E-mail marketing list.

They also send out your confirmation messages. When someone signs up for your list, they have to click on a link in the confirmation message, which verifies that they actually signed up to your list. Once they do this, you can send email to them anytime you want.

This double opt-in process is important. If someone accuses you of spamming, you can get yourself into trouble. You can lose your ISP or, worse, face charges for violating the CAN-SPAM act of 2003, if you're in the U. S.

Autoresponders protect you from spam complaints. Choose a service that you can afford, but also find one that provides uninterrupted service and maximum deliverability. If nobody gets your E-mail, how can they read it to buy something from you?

7. Put your list building page on your server: The easiest and quickest way to put your list building page up is via FTP because it makes uploading quick and easy.

Wise FTP and Cute FTP are two programs that you can use, but there are many others. Using FTP is something you should learn more about if you plan to do business online.

If you follow these 7 steps you'll be list building in no time. Choose a great niche, create a memorable domain name, build a squeeze page, get an autoresponder, and upload your page and BOOM! You're list building.

How easy is that?

List building master, Tellman Knudson, is CEO of OvercomeEverything, Inc. and he has built a massive, responsive list in a short time. Learn his "Get a List Quick" system when you visit MyFirstList.com at http://www.myfirstlist.com/)

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by Erich Sweaney

Newbies and Expert Internet Marketers all have one thing in common: Trying to get their Websites indexed through the top three major search engines quickly. For larger Websites, the task is even more daunting, and there are a few small but effective techniques that can assist in the indexing process.

Patience is a virtue and in today's internet marketing world patience and planning is a key.

Smaller one- or two-page Websites, also known as sales pages, are the easiest and quickest to get indexed in the three major search engines. Almost anyone can generally succeed by just manually submitting through each search engine's submission process.

Websites with a considerable number of pages will often immediately get their first page indexed, which therefore requires small effective planning strategies and a little bit of patience to become completely indexed.

Effective Key Planning Strategies:

(1) Prior to submitting your Websites to the search engines, establis link partners, which will cause the search engines to start indexing your Website.

Start planning out the basic Website structure so that search engine robots can easily flow through your Website and index each page.

(a) Have a sitemap linked from you main index page that thinks throughout your Website.

(b) If possible, ensure that each page is linked together, not just back to the main index page. This has been a successful technique in the past.

(c) Build and submit a Google Sitemap.

(2) Test your Websites design and structure using Google Sitemap Software such as SOFTplus GSiteCrawler (Freeware) that will try and index your entire Website.

If you're unsuccessful building a index of your entire Website, then further planning and design changes may be in order, to index your entire Website. If the software cannot index your entire Website, how will the search engine robots index your entire Website?

(3) Instead of manually submitting your Websites, submit your Website through directories and establish link partnerships. This will improve how often your Website is crawled by the search engines and how fast your Website is indexed.

Also, when establishing link partnership and directories, the higher their Google Page Rank, the quicker your Website will be indexed and more often your Website is crawled.

(4) Patience. The process the search engines will go through while indexing your Website is: First, the search engine will have to find your Website (hence, establishing partnerships with high Google Page Rank), then crawling through your Website and absorbing all the information contained, then ranking each individual page and, finally, your Website will appear in the search engine result pages (SERPs).

Erich Sweaney has been marketing online since 1999. http://www.es-solution.com - Discover the Power of Internet Marketing!

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by Suzanne Falter-Barns
www.howmuchjoy.com

There was once a time (and there still is, to a certain degree) when I would say 'Yes' to every opportunity, request, suggestion, good idea, and even mediocre idea that came my way. And let me tell you, it was exhausting.

It was like I had this automatic, knee-jerk reaction to accommodate any suggestion that came my way -- as if it were my karmic duty. I call this auto-response being a 'yes-dog'. Perhaps you know the feeling.

When you're a yes-dog, your entire being is all about making other people happy; you knock yourself out doing it. No task is too small -- you figure you've always got room in your psyche, your schedule or your soul to squeeze in one more thing that someone wants to fit in. God forbid you should say no -- for then that someone would be unhappy. Which would be unthinkable.

Like a lot of creative people, I'm naturally empathetic -- so I could literally feel other people's pain … an experience I simply wanted to avoid as much as possible. For many years, I thought it was up to me to please the rest of the world. I literally thought it was my job to be a 'yes-dog'.

These days, I'm taking a much more circumspect view. I've come to the realization that I simply can't live my soul purpose AND make the rest of the world happy all the time.

And I realize that being a yes-dog doesn't always make the rest of the world happy -- even in my little corner. The more well-known I get, and the wider my reach, the more I can see it. There is always someone, somewhere, who has a problem with what I'm doing. And therein lay the breakthrough.

I'm no longer uncomfortable with other people's pain. I mean, it's not like I relish it; but I don't run to avoid it. I've come to realize we all have a path, and a learning process we're going through. This means my entire job is nothing more than to be authentic, listen to my gut, and act accordingly. Not only will I not make everyone happy -- I can't!

If someone is upset by this, it's no longer a big problem. Rather, it's simply the way their path is rubbing up against my path; it's part of life, growth, and karma. So I have nothing to fear.

My friend Joan Sotkin has a saying, 'I don't always have to be the one who's uncomfortable here'. Amen! Since I've given up being a yes-dog, and let go of the need to be 'the one who's always uncomfortable', great things have begun to stream my way. My reach, my income, my productivity and my impact in the world
have gone up in quantum leaps.

Best of all, I've relaxed as I go about my business. 'No' is not scary -- it's empowering. And, ironically enough, the world has not turned on me in anger and resentment -- it's actually stepped right up to my door and truly embraced what I'm doing.

Are you a yes-dog? Take my handy quiz below to assess where you are. And may I suggest a step away from that easy little word, to one that can be equally empowering: "No".

The Are You a 'Yes-Dog'? Questionnaire

1. Do you find it hard to say no to your children, even when they're making unreasonable demands.
a) Always
b) Occasionally
c) Rarely
d) Never

2. Do you long to be able to tell your boss exactly what you think … but you just can't?
a) Always
b) Occasionally
c) Rarely
d) Never

3. Do you find it impossible to deny yourself 'forbidden' pleasures -- i.e. Ben & Jerry's ice cream when you're dieting -- even if you've made a decision not to indulge?
a) Always
b) Occasionally
c) Rarely
d) Never

4. Do your friends tell you that you're a pushover, and advise you to stand firm?
a) Always
b) Occasionally
c) Rarely
d) Never

5. Do you get a queasy feeling in your gut when someone asks you to do something that's just not a good fit for you … and then inevitably cave in despite your feelings?
a) Always
b) Occasionally
c) Rarely
d) Never

6. Are you uncomfortable asking for more möney or more responsibility around your work?
a) Always
b) Occasionally
c) Rarely
d) Never

7. Are you always the person who volunteers even when you don't want to?
a) Always
b) Occasionally
c) Rarely
d) Never

8. Are there things you long to do in life, but you simply can't find the time or the courage to get to them?
a) Always
b) Occasionally
c) Rarely
d) Never

Rate your answers:
For every a) give yourself 10 points. For every b) give yourself 7 points. For every c) give yourself 4 points. For every d) give
yourself 1 point.

If your score is 60-80, you're probably saying 'Yes' WAY more often than you want to. Consider getting some coaching on how to say no from a good friend, life coach or partner.

If your score is 40-60, your ability to say 'No' willingly is spotty … try pausing and counting silently to five before you answer.

If your score is 20-40, you've got most situations pretty well in hand. Try saying 'No' just a little more often and see what happens.

If your score is 0-20, you're doing great! Your ability to monitor when to say 'Yes' and when to say 'No' is truly inspiring.

©2005 Suzanne Falter-Barns LLC.

For information on how to find the time, energy, money to live your purpose in life, chëck out Suzanne's frëe ezine, The Joy Letter. Sign up at http://www.howmuchjoy.com/joyletter.html and receive our valuable report, 35 Guaranteed Time Savers. And get a daily blast of joyful tips from the Blast o' Joy blog at http://selfhelpsalon.typepad.com/blast_o_joy/.

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by Scott F. Geld

Almost a complete opposite to direct marketing, welcome marketing (or opt-in, as it is often called) is where people have actually asked to be part of your marketing campaign. This is a relatively new, but highly effective marketing method.

With opt-in marketing, people can sign up for advertisements, newsletters and more on topics that they enjoy or are interested in. Tons of wasted money, time and effort goes to waste on E-mails and direct mail letters sent to people that are not interested in your product.

With opt-in marketing, or consensual marketing, you know that you are marketing to people who are interested in your product or the topic of your product. This makes your effort at marketing more worthwhile.

Another bonus to opt-in marketing is that customers always give the best advice. They will tell you what they want and what they are looking for. You should always listen to your customer, but it is made easy with this method of marketing.

By targeting people in this way, you can make sure that the correct people are being contacted. There is nothing worse than receiving junk mail that is totally inappropriate to you and your lifestyle. Not only is this annoying, but it also makes you feel that the company has done little to understand you personally.

Although welcome marketing can be used for any form of direct marketing, its true beauty has been seen online. It is very easy for an individual simply to add their E-mail address to a Website to receive regular offers and newsletters.

In a world where there is an excess of marketing, customers can be understandably cold. The constant bombardment of advertising can be frustrating and annoying. Direct marketing, in particular, has been known to have the complete opposite effect and actually to turn potential customers away.

This is why giving your target customers an option is a great idea. You need to give them the option to opt out of E-mails and newsletters. You also need to remain there for them, even after they have bought. People feel like they are harassed with advertisements and, once they buy, they can not get a customer service rep for anything. Be there for your customers; you need them more than they need you.

Scott F. Geld is the C.E.O. and Chairman of Marketing Blaster, a Pay-Per-Click traffic source that repeatedly beats the major search engines in Conversion and ROI Ratios. Visit us online and see for yourself at: www.marketingblaster.com .

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by Gil De Palma

Burning Man is a simple HTML website that tells the story of a 23-year-old artist afflicted with a mysterious chronic burning disease who discovers that the flames killing him little by little have miraculous healing powers.

Many people have said that this Website is really weird and ugly, but they keep on coming back just the same.

They read the compelling stories. They view whimsical art works. They join blog campaigns. They react. They leave comments. They buy stuff. They recommend it to others.

And they even profit from the FREE success secret it revealed!

But, really, the Website is the secret. It is like some kind of "curiosity central." It is a potent people magnet. And, yes, it is the stuff of super affiliates. It gets thousands of hits daily without really trying.

Perhaps being weird and ugly is really its revenge for being so.

You can learn a lot from its success. Discover the secret right now...

"Frankly, it’s technically weird and ugly."

Although no one can say exactly what it looks like when a Website is weird and ugly, a Web designer actually E-mailed 23-year old artist Burny Madden with an offer to "beautify his Website technically."

Indeed, in the Internet – where the word "techie" is synonymous to godling, and the word "newbie" is almost an insult – a "technically cool" Website seems inevitable.

Whether a Flash eye-candy Website with animated buttons, titles, images, streaming video, cinematic sound effects, pop-ups, and techie cool what-have-yous is visually distracting is beside the point.

Never mind what you’ve heard about beauty in simplicity. In cyberspace, techie cool is what’s beautiful.

Burny and his best friend Nona have built a Website to tell his life story to the world. Burny is afflicted with a mysterious chronic burning disease that causes parts of his body to ignite at random. Burn scars constellate his body. He walks with a limp. He is too mortified to be with people. Some even call him a freak.

Then, he discovers that the flames killing him, little by little, have miraculous healing powers. His life has never been the same again, especially after going online.

But, now, Burny and Nona feel that if a Website is called weird and ugly; it probably looks a lot like their Burning Man story site.

It certainly feels that way when people say the Website will have tremendous potential if they show a short animated feature about the story. It certainly feels that way when they receive e-mails asking in so many ways why the site is "sooo static." And it certainly feels that way when they read this message from a returning site visitor: "Hey, no offense guys, but I think your old Flash Website looks a lot better than this dead mind-numbing stuff."

Burning Man is an offshoot of a fancy Flash Burny Madden Website, their newbie attempt at being Webbies. It was an absolute "techie beauty." Cinematic intro. Scrolling text. An array of moving thingies. Even an animated page-turner. All this plus some Hollywood-style effects. It gave that peculiar feeling of watching a mystery movie.

But where’s the rest of the story? That was the question of most site visitors.

Burny and NonaI intended to tell the Burny’s story in that Website. Trouble is, the animated page-turner limited them to a maximum of sixteen pages – about 106 pages short of the site’s designed content.

Their first Website became some kind of an unfinished visual treat that people would visit once or twice at the most, and then never again. Adding more animated effects served like a one-time adrenaline boost for the site, that’s all.

Requesting those who purchased the ebook to recommend it to others led some people to accuse them of spamming. They even tried using sophisticated linking software to increase its exposure to no avail. Webmasters would visit, but only a handful would link to it. Their Website traffic seemed to trudge to a dreary drumbeat – one…two…bye.

They built it and they came, and they left forever.

It took an unusual degree of humility for them to accept that the techie beauty they were so proud of did not actually work for them. After all, it revealed to them the extent to which people responded to the Website’s story more than its looks.

They discovered that, although head-turning imagery and special effects raise Web design to a higher level, they will only work if they are built on a good concept. The cool stuff is in the content. When an idea translates into a compelling content with which audiences can relate, it causes them to hook up psychologically to the Website. When it makes an emotional bond by showing people an idea or experience they’ve had, an idea or experience they’d like to have, or the information they’ve been looking for, real cool content stuff happens.

The Website connects to the audience.

In this case, the premise of Burny’s story connected to the audience. And it turned out that they wanted more.

You never really appreciate a story until you enter the door of a character’s head and walk around in it. But, Burny’s original Website was a beautiful door that opened up to nothing!

So, Burny and Nona said "goodbye" to the techie beauty and built the Burning Man Website. Simple HTML. No cool effects. It only uses Burny’s original artworks to illustrate the story. The only thing that moves in it is the visitor’s cursor.

In this new Website, they continue telling the story, revealing that while Burny’s mother insists that his burning condition is a symptom of demonic possession, his stepfather is forcing him to burn and heal others for a huge fee.

Because of this, Nona has launched an online campaign to save Burny from burning to death.

Here’s Nona’s Save A Burning Man message:

"PLEASE HELP ME SAVE MY BEST FRIEND WHO IS AFFLICTED WITH A MYSTERIOUS BURNING DISEASE.

"PLEASE READ HIS STORY, POST A MESSAGE TO HIS CRUEL STEPFATHER WHO WANTS TO USE HIM TO MAKE MONEY, OR SIMPLY FORWARD THIS MESSAGE ON.

"I hope that if people pass this on, his stepfather will get tons of petitions asking him to stop this madness before he forces my friend to burn to death.

"My childhood friend, Burny Madden, is a young artist who is burning little by little to death. Something unexplainable is causing parts of his body to ignite for no apparent reason at all.

"Burny usually bursts into flames when he is too upset or too excited. And the burnings are getting worse every time. Now I’m afraid that if he burns again – he might die.

"A few weeks ago, a weird incident involving a dead dog that has allegedly sprung back to life when Burny touched it with his flaming hand, caused his stepfather, Stanley "Stan" Lucierno, to conclude that the fire has some kind of healing power. Stan is now trying to force Burny to burn – threatening him, hurting him, abusing both him and his mother in sickening ways – so he could cash in on it.

"I built a Web site for Burny and published his story so that, through the Internet, people may know about his terrible situation and help me save him.

"PLEASE HELP ME STOP BURNY’S STEPFATHER.

"Please visit Burny’s Website, read his story, and E-mail Stan. I will make sure that your messages get to him.

"Also, please drop Burny a line, if you can. He is in pain, afraid, and very lonely. He really could use a kind word right now.

"I WILL GIVE A FREE T-SHIRT (MADE BY BURNY HIMSELF) TO THE ONE WHO WILL SEND THE E-MAIL THAT BURNY WILL LIKE BEST. I will even pay for delivery to anywhere in the world. It’s the least I can do for a childhood friend.

"PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. IT WILL ONLY TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO SAVE A BURNING MAN.

"Thank you very much.

Nona http://www.burning-man.palmagick.com/index.htm"

The Burning Man Website generated five times more hits in just one month than what the old Flash Website made for an entire year. This time, people are coming back to the Website several time a week. They are sending Burny and Nona E-mails. Some of them post messages on the blogs. A lot of them are buying Burning Man stuff.

It’s almost a real success story, except for the fact that Burny and Nona are not real persons.

I am a writer, an artist, and a filmmaker. Burny Madden and Nona are just characters from my screenplay "BURNY." I decided to put them online to help me develop their characters and write the story. I am also a newbie and the real owner of the Burning Man Website.

Burny and Nona still do not know that they are just fictional characters. They are still running the Burning Man Website, posting new content, reading and answering E-mails. If you visit the Website and click the "author" button, you will understand why.

I passed on Nona’s letter to a few friends who got so amused by it – they passed it on to others. Without really trying, it became a form of word-of-mouth advertising via E-mail. The Website got over 50,000 hits the next day!

So, if you receive Nona’s letter from someone you know, he or she probably got this forwarded E-mail from a friend or colleague or even a family member who also got it from someone, who also ... well, you know.

Here’s a little secret. As a Psychology major back in college, I have understood that people have a subconscious desire to communicate about things that have no relevance to their primary needs for existence. The urge to tell others about the Burning Man is actually working for the Website.

I think Nona’s letter has gone round the world much farther and faster than any advertising I could hope to do at the moment. Now people are asking if Nona has new letters. It still amazes me.

I am yet to hear somebody say that Burning Man is a beautiful Website. People keep on giving Burny and Nona tips on how to improve it, instead. One site visitor even gave a link to a free Flash tutorial! Nice guy.

I’ve seen the word "ugly" in several E-mails, though.

I guess a techie beauty is not a bad idea at all. Stretching one’s imagination to push technology far beyond its comfort zone to create the coolest visually stunning Websites in cyberspace is certainly a big thrill to the senses. Hey, I like them, too. But I’d like them even more if they fulfill what I believe is the primary mandate of a Website – to connect to the audience.

The Burning Man did it with a simple interactive story. It may be weird and ugly, but I guess it is its own revenge for being so.

"You’ve got great content," the persistent Web designer said in his recent E-mail to Burny, "even I keep on coming back to know what happens next. It’s a shame that you didn’t give its overall design much thought."

"Yeah, it’s a shame," I thought to myself.

Burny did not hire him.

Palmagick http://www.palmagick.com/burnymadden/index.htm

Gil De Palma is a writer, artist, filmmaker, and the CEO of Palmagick Entertainment. He is the author of "BURNY" (http://www.palmagick.com/burnymadden/) and creator of the superhero pack TAEKWONDOGGS (http://www.taekwondoggs.com/).

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by Barbara Bellissimo

========================================
Summary:

I'm talking about gratitude, not attitude! Do you express your gratitude enough? I know I don't. And I don't mean whether you write your thank-you notes on time. Do you take some time every day to feel fully grateful for what you receive? As a recognized expert at copping an attitude, let me tell you that copping some gratitude is much, much easier.

========================================

I'm talking about gratitude, not attitude! Do you express your gratitude enough? I know I don't. And I don't mean whether you write your thank-you notes on time. Do you take some time every day to feel fully grateful for what you receive? Think of it as writing a thank-you note to the universe (or God, or your higher power) for looking out for you.

Thanksgiving obviously creates the perfect opportunity to cop some 'tude. It's easy to feel grateful at this time of year. So -- I'm not going to talk about family holiday traditions -- you can get that out of any magazine in the supermarket checkout line.

I am going to encourage you to take a few minutes every day to be grateful. Being grateful sets the stage for receiving more of what you want. Being grateful also lets the universe know you are appreciative of what comes your way -- even when you feel like you've worked really hard for it, and the universe didn't really help at all.

Sound a bit too esoteric for you? Let's bring it down to earth. Here are some of the 'tude-building activities that work for me.

1. My gratitude practice includes taking time each day to write down five things I'm grateful for that day. Some days, I go over the limit; other days, two of my items are "breathing out" and "breathing in". I learned this practice many years ago, when I read Simple Abundance (www.simpleabundance.com) by Sarah Ban Breathnach. This list takes 2 minutes each day.

2. Another gratitude reinforcement comes during my meditations. After manifesting using my virtual crystal ball, I take a minute to express gratitude to the universe for listening to me, and for whatever I may receive. These meditations take 5-10 minutes a day.

3. Finally, I just found out about a great little site, where you can light a candle in gratitude (or for whatever reason you wish). It's at www.gratefulness.org. The site walks you through the process, and you get a tiny window of your candle burning on your computer when you're done. You can shut the window, if you want to -- your candle burns for 48 hours whether you display it or not. Lighting a candle takes another 2 minutes of my day.

"But I've had a horrible day (week, year, whatever)! What do I possibly have to be grateful for?"

Here are some of my gratitude journal entries from the last few months:

A great new client.
Mom's doing well.
Reading by the beach.
Early to bed.
Great workshop response.
My husband arrived safely.
Reconnecting with old friends.
Little tulips at the end of the road.
My heat works.
My daughter's sense of humor.

See -- it's not that hard. As a recognized expert at copping an attitude, let me tell you that copping some gratitude is much, much easier.

Give it a try yourself. Go ahead, cop some 'tude!

© 2005 by Barbara Bellissimo. All rights reserved.

Barbara Bellissimo is a women's life transformation coach, and author of the bestselling book, "Become Your Own Great and Powerful: A Woman's Guide to Leading Your Real, Big Life." Visit http://www.seasonsofsuccess.com to get her no-cost special report -- "Turn On Your Power and Lead Your Self to Greatness" -- and her easy-to-use tools and ideas for leading the real, big life you want--right now!

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by Ann Marie Nichols

Can you get rich selling E-books? Huge profit is not guaranteed, but you can build a nice income for sure, and you can also create some nice links for your Website. Improving your links will help create better search engine ranking and more visitors to your site.

E-books are electronic versions of printed material that can contain text, sound, and images. The profit potential from selling them is high because start-up and operating expenses are very low. The biggest expense is purchasing books for sale.

You can earn even more money if you write some of your own E-books. Your writing skills don't have to be stellar. There are online sources that will take your research and craft an E-book for you. Some of these companies even take care of marketing, payments, and shipping.

Buying E-books for Sale

You can purchase e-books from authors online. eBay is another source for E-book buying. Purchase E-books with resell rights. This allows customers to sell the E-books they buy from you themselves, thus providing an incentive for them to do business with you.

Make sure the E-books you buy (or write yourself) are full of useful information and resources. Some E-books are nothing more than ads and sales pitches for the writer's products. These "ad books" will turn off customers and decrease repeat business.

Do your research to determine what types of information people are seeking. Getting rich selling E-books will depend on the topics covered, customer base, and marketing campaign.

Before buying an E-book for resale, do an online search for the title. If lots of Web sites are selling the book, it's probably a popular title and will be a good seller. It also helps to sell E-books that cater to a specific market niche. Search online forums and other group sites to locate potential target markets for niche titles. Contact these groups with a short E-mail inviting them to visit your site. Offer an incentive, such as 20% off first purchase, to increase site traffic.

E-books about current trends or hot topics will generate more income. Your income will really get a boost if you can spot the "next big topic" and write or purchase E-books to sell before the competition saturates the market.

Marketing Extras

You can use a common template for your E-books Web site, or sell them on an existing site you already have. However, to stand out from the competition, create you own Web site to sell E-books. Always add new titles to your stock, to keep old customers coming back and to attract new ones. Use E-mail to notify customers of new titles and special sales. Offer discounts on slow-moving titles.

Affiliate programs are another way to get rich selling E-books. The affiliate pays you a commission for its E-books you sell. To earn extra cash from E-books you write, start your own affiliate program.

There are plenty of online and print books that will help you learn how to get in on the E-book sales bandwagon. A good place to begin reading is, "Make Your Knowledge Sell," by Ken Evoy and Monique Harris.

Sources:

"About Making Money with E-Books," (about-the-web.com)

"Make Money Selling Ebooks," (christianet.com)

"Make Money Selling Ebooks," (homebusinessmag.com)

"Is Your Dog Selling E-Books Too?," (marketingsource.com)

About The Author:
Selling Ebooks for Revenue
Copyright © Ann Nichols
http://www.NicksProfitPlus.com

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

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by Wendy Maynard

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

Make sure that your Website includes content that will keep your prospects coming back. This is called a “sticky” site. Things like articles, tips, and quizzes not only show off your company's expertise and skills, but they are interesting and can educate people about a wide variety of topics.

Here are some things you can do to enhance the "stickiness" of your site:

1. Update Your Portfolio: If you have a portfolio of your work (photographers, architects, landscapers, designers, writers, etc.), keep your "latest and greatest" work current. Send an enthusiastic E-mail to your customers, to let them know when you update it.

2. Write Articles: You are an expert in your field. Customers are hungry for the information only you can provide. Give them helpful advice and tips. On your homepage, let Website visitors know about this section.

3. Add a Discussion Forum: Your Website designer can help you add a discussion forum. This allows visitors to communicate with each other, and your staff can provide helpful answers.

4. Create a "Links" Page: Customers like being able to find out more information regarding their purchasing decisions. With a links page, you can map the way for them to visit other related Websites. People will return to your site as a resource, to access this compilation of links.

5. Publish an E-zine: Publishing an E-zine will help position your business as an expert in your field. It sets you apart from your competitors and instills confidence and trust in your readers, making it easier for them to do business with you. You can archive your articles on your Website on an ongoing basis, to refresh your content for business.

6. Ask Your Site Visitors What They Want: Is there something in your business you are considering? Do you want some feedback on a service? Why not ask for your customers’ opinion? You can post an online opinion poll and, down the road, post customers’ responses.

7. Start a Blog: If you are committed to posting regularly, a blog can be a great way to build relationships with your customers and leads. You can give them advice about services or products, you can offer them helpful advice, and you can give business updates. Best of all, a blog is easy to set up and update!

8. Publish "Audio Bytes": There is so much great technology you can easily incorporate on your Website. One example of this is easy-to-record audio. You can create audio reports or radio shows, to give your visitors helpful advice.

Copyright 2006 Marketing Maven

About The Author:

Wendy Maynard, your friendly Marketing Maven, publishes REMARKABLE MARKETING, a weekly marketing E-zine for business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. If you're ready to skyrocket your sa1es, easily attract customers, and have more fun, subscribe at http://www.gomarketingmaven.com/ezine.html.

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by Madison Lockwood

Travel and the Skeptical Public

There is no question that the Internet has changed the travel business. Online airplane reservations and electronic tickets, combined with the loss of the commission structure, has taken a primary travel function away from traditional travel agents and automated the service. People can now shop for hotel and car reservations on their own, on the Web. Consumers can book vacation arrangements and cruises with a mouse and a keyboard.

And -- they can also get badly burned. It seems that the anonymity of the Web has spawned unscrupulous business operators in every industry and the travel business is no exception. Travel has had its share of horror stories about unfulfilled promises due to airline strikes and cruise line bankruptcies. In fact, insurance companies now routinely offer travel insurance that covers a consumer's loss if a trip that has been paid for fails to materialize. Add fraudulent travel Websites to the mix and the result is an entire industry that is suspect in the public's eye.

An Opportunity for the Independent Travel Agent

All of this can work to an honest travel agent's advantage. Oddly enough, the way that a travel agent can capita