HomeBusinessTips_VSl

HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241 Home Business The Easy Way - VSl Update http://www.blogmoneymiracle.com en-us EasyRSS Get Started, Make Money! It�s Easier Than You Think�
by Michael Kay

It's always easier to improve something than to imagine and create it from scratch. There's something about actually seeing it, complete, that affects the human mind, releases tension, and stimulates ideas for improvement.

We've all experienced it.

The cook who invents a new cake and instantly has everyone telling her how it could be better � if she only did this! The engineer who designs and builds a new bridge and has a hundred imitators (all with their own variants) within weeks.

In the world of regular business, this is the role of prototypes. To *show* everyone what can be. In the world of Japanese manufacturing, the concept of *kaizen* (that drove them to world manufacturing dominance) depends on the same phenomenon � invent a process then continually improve it.

If this is embedded in the human character why go against the flow? Yet, newbies to the web do it all the time! They either try to learn all the skills first (taking months and months to come to any income) or they hand over the bulk of the profits to some guy with a pre-packaged opportunity that promises to take away the pain � usually of technology.

Well, it may not suit everyone, but there is a third way.

Pre-packaged AdSense sites

AdSense is the Google advertising program that places those tiny, clickable advertisements on sites all over the web. AdSense is really the other side of the coin from AdWords. AdWords are the ads that appear in the top right of Google sales pages. Well, in AdSense the ads are placed on private sites and Google splits the proceeds with the owner.

AdSense is a well-established way to make a steady � mostly passive � income on the web. The idea is simple: you set up a site, stuff it with content (usually articles), optimize every page to its keywords, introduce it to the search engines and other drivers of traffic and then sit back and collect the checks!

There's a whole crowd of industrious e-book writers churning out instructions on how to do this. The most famous is John Reese, an internet guru's guru, who named these sites �virtual real estate'. Snappy!

The problem with VRE's is that the concept became too popular and Google became ticked off with the degradation of its search results from constantly repeated content. They have tried to strangle the concept, but that is frankly impossible. VRE sites are all about content and so is Google! Indeed, the bulk of Google's profits come from this source.

But, enough background. From the newbie point of view, pre-packaged AdSense Sites are a huge learning opportunity. The idea is simple.

You find a package. And install it. For an example of a site in its more or less raw form go to http://www.thememopad.com/adsense . You now publish the site � or a whole slew of them either under different domain names or in sub-directories of one domain. Your web host will tell you how to do that.

You now have a site with income potential and you start classic traffic building. So far, so typical�

But, you don't have to leave it there.

So far we have used some simple techniques � taking a bunch of web pages, uploading them, introducing them to the web site etc. But there are endless things you can do that may leave your site looking totally different in a short time - though it will never stop potentially earning money.

You are using the site as a prototype. Improve the graphics. Add your own content (Google will love you!). Change the layout. Add other providers � for example Yahoo! Publisher Network. Add Affiliate Links. Add all kinds of stuff.

As you play, you learn! In the teaching trade it is called "experiential learning" or "learning by doing", and it's the way the vast bulk of us learn � particularly adults.

The risk associated with this is small. You need a domain, a host, a package, and some web site creation software. Total cost a few hundred dollars, if you buy it all yourself.

But you get a huge amount for it.

A potential money-maker, a search engine optimized site, a learning opportunity and something else� a sense of accomplishment. Remember, the toughest thing in web home business is the loneliness. When you start from scratch you condemn yourself to months of lonely learning and frustration. Learning by doing - when the site is always potentially earning, and eternally *complete* - takes away a huge amount of the pressure and frustration.

AdSense pre-packaged sites make almost perfect learning tools. Try it, there's really nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Copyright (c) 2006 Michael Kay

About The Author
Michael Kay edits the * Insights Letter* and *The Home-Based Business Review*. These are FREE publications stuffed with ideas, access to resources and free gifts. Subscribe now at http://www.HBBResearch.com and get your free gift with the first issue. To find out more about AdSense Sites go to http://www.HBBResearch.com/AdSense_Business_In_A_Box.html

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php How to Use Videos to Boost Your Sales
By Titus Hoskins

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Introduce yourself or your product

2. Create buzz during a product launch

3. Build your list by offering free videos

4. Create video content to enrich your site

5. Build a more personal relationship with subscribers

6. Keep in contact with your clients

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

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

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

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

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

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php The MOST Powerful Marketing and Advertising on the Planet!
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

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Easy Profits with Community Blogs

Easy Profits with Community Blogs

I live in a community.

It’s a place where people know each other, use each other’s services, know (to some extent) each other’s business and watch for each other’s safety.

The people in my community are individuals but they’re also undeniably connected. They have different strengths which they at times share and a myriad number of weaknesses which, (because people are willing to help one another), often remain invisible to the naked eye.

And although I don’t know everyone’s name, address and personal life story, the fact that we are a community gives us a sense of belonging that’s as strong and real as any family tie.

Consider then a community of blogs.

What might it look like?
How would it function?
How could you benefit financially?

To answer these questions, let’s look at what any blog needs and how that need might be met in a blog community.

1.) In order to stay alive, blogs need fresh content – In a blog community, the content would be based on a single theme (i.e. home business) and would be provided for you. Because it’s a community, you could participate in the creation of that content and profit handsomely.

2.) New articles that are submitted to blogs need to be edited, tagged, and made “keyword rich” – In the blog community, those who had the expertise in that area would take care of it.

3.) Blogs need to be created by someone – In a blog community lots of blogs would be created and linked to other blogs in the community. This service would be performed automatically for all members of the blog community as soon as they joined.

4.) Blogs need to be posted on search engines and submitted to directories – In the blog community, the generation of traffic would be taken care of by those who are good at it. They would use their expertise for the benefit of all the members.

5.) Blogs need to be optimized with ads that create an additional income stream – In the blog community each individual member would create their Adsense code (it’s free) and copy and paste it to their blog. They would even be able to receive help if necessary. They would also receive profits from revenue that’s pooled through community advertising.

If you’re familiar with how much time, energy and knowledge is required to maintain just one profit generating blog, then what you’ve just read must sound like a dream come true.

If you’d like to check out whether it’s real or just your imagination, visit tinyurl.com/6lcexb

There is strength in “blog” numbers!

______________________________________________________________________________

Marsha Sneed reviews quality business opportunities and online resource tools that can be used effectively by newbies and experienced marketers alike to reach their marketing and financial goals. She can be reached at jcsneed@onebox.com.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Start a Soap Business - Your Best Way
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

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php How To Improve Conversion Rates On E-commerce Sites
by Farhad Divecha

As competition increases in the online market space, more companies vie for Top 10 placement on the search engines, driving up costs per click. In such an environment it is imperative for companies bidding on top positions to convert as many visitor clicks into customers as possible. This article discusses a few measures all companies can take to improve conversion rates on their e-commerce sites.

1. Keyword Research

• Ensure that your keyword research (http://www.accuracast.com/resources/seo/seo-keywords.php ) is thorough. If you only select the most obvious keywords, you will pay more, since all your competitors will also be bidding on them.

• If you select only generic keywords, you will suffer low conversion rates since visitors typing such words in are often not yet ready to buy.

• If you miss out the unique keywords which no one else is bidding on, you will miss the opportunity to sell to visitors that search on these keywords.

• Use negative keywords to discourage irrelevant searches from displaying your advertisement.

2. Effective Ad Copy

• Ensure that your ads describe your product or service precisely.

• Do not lie in your ads to attract visitors. If visitors don't find what your ad promised on your site, they will leave, making your conversion rates fall.

• Use your ad to discourage the wrong sort of people from clicking. E.g. if you sell a premium product, don't use words like "cheap" or "bargain".

3. Consistency

• Deliver what your ad promises. Always.

• Make sure that your offline and online advertising image is consistent.

• Most importantly, for e-commerce sites, ensure that the price quoted is consistent throughout your site and through the entire checkout process.

4. No Hidden Costs

• Make customers aware of any extra costs at the very start of the checkout process.

• VAT and postage should be clearly mentioned as extras.

• If the amount quoted at the start is unexpectedly different from the final total, customers will abandon the checkout process and shop elsewhere. This will make your conversion rate suffer greatly.

5. Comprehensive Search Engine Marketing

• Customers often browse and return for products. If they can't find you when they return, you will loose the conversion.

• Top 10 placement in the natural and paid listings often reinforces customer trust in your brand, making them more likely to buy from your site.

• Ensure that your search engine marketing campaign (http://www.accuracast.com/services/ ) also builds a brand in the minds of browsers, so that when they are ready to buy, they will come to your site since it is the only one they recognize.

When you increase conversion rates on your e-commerce site, you can automatically afford to bid more per click without suffering a loss. If you find CPC's rising and profitably diminishing rapidly, the first step you should take is to review your site to ensure that you are converting as many visitors as possible. The maths is very simple:

If you currently pay £1.00 per click on Google, convert only 1% of these clicks, and the profit you make on each conversion is just £100, your total cost = total profit, meaning you just break even.

If you have to raise your CPC to £1.10 per click in order to maintain your top 10 position, you will suffer a loss.

However, if you just raised your conversion rate by 1%, you would actually find yourself making a profit, since your cost would now be £110 for 100 clicks but the profit made from 2% conversion, i.e. 2 sales would be £200!

Other articles to read:

• The advent of RSS advertising (http://www.accuracast.com/seo-weekly/rss-advertising.php )

• Website accessibility important for disabled visitors (http://www.accuracast.com/seo-weekly/website-accessibility.php )

SEO Weekly ( http://www.accuracast.com/seo-weekly/ )

Farhad Divecha

Before founding AccuraCast, Farhad worked for and provided consulting services to a number of large and medium sized enterprises in the UK and USA including 3Com, Proctor & Gamble and Household (HFC, HSBC). He has over 7 years of experience marketing products and services online and offline.
]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Define Your Demographics
A new and innovative product can be marketed to literally millions of people almost overnight in the world today. However, if none of those people have any interest in the product, it is still not very likely to sell well. Correctly identifying the demographic target of the market will solve that problem. Once the demographics have been defined, it will be easier to know where and to whom the market will be directed.

There are numerous sites on the internet for sending an advertisement to thousands or even millions of people. Many (or very likely most) people who have tried this know how difficult it is to get any discernible results from this type of campaign. While the ad may indeed go out to thousands or even millions of people, only a very small percentage of those people will ever look at those ads. Even then, the average return rate on random ads is less than one-half percent.

No matter how those odds are stacked, the odds are negligible at best. If the web site is brand new and the only interest is to generate generic traffic that is not likely to return, just to get some numbers, this may be a viable alternative, but for advertising, marketing and becoming successful with a product, it just will not work; at least not most of the time.

If the proper steps have been followed, the product is already under development or has already been completed and is just waiting on the next step to be completed. Either way, there should be a pretty good idea by now who the target audience is. Targeted marketing will always fare better than blind or blanket campaigns that try to cover everybody and everything.

This process may actually take some research and some insight. Many products can be targeted to multiple audiences, all of whom may be very receptive to the product. However, different demographics will respond differently to the actual marketing campaigns. For example; an eighty year old woman who happens to use the same shampoo as a fourteen year old boy is not very likely to respond the same way to an ad that is targeted to the teen. Quite the opposite may happen, actually, and the one customer will be forfeited for the sake of the other.

The idea is to figure out everybody who is going to be using this particular product. Each one of these demographic groups should have their own advertising campaign and marketing in place. By addressing separate markets differently, nobody will be alienated and the list of customers can be expanded rather than narrowed down. It is always better to have too many customers than not enough.

It is important to have as much information as possible about each group that is being targeted. Will the teenagers being targeted all be sports stars or will they be the ones less prevalent and more subtle in their appearances? Will the grandmother figure be an avid outdoors person with an active lifestyle or one who prefers to sit at home knitting while listening to the records she has from her youth?

All of these factors become more and more important as the targeting becomes more specific. Certain people will identify with one thing while it may not even be readily recognizable to someone else. While diversity in advertising is always a good idea, it is not helpful when it isolates more people than it is bringing into the market. By knowing who the target audience is, and knowing specifics about them, they can be more effectively pursued and sales increased accordingly.

As the marketing and advertising are expanded, further markets can be explored. However, at the beginning of any project, your time and resources are usually going to be stretched pretty thin. Concentrating on one market at a time can help alleviate some of the stress involved and provide a quicker return of investment. Ward Tipton has been writing SEO and SEM materials for over three years now and has recently become involved in providing new and unmatched materials by an actual Work Team comprised of professional writers, technicians, engineers, editors, Internet Marketers and a gathering of talent heretofore unmatched in the world of Internet Marketing. Visit http://wardtipton.com .]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php 8 Mistakes to Avoid When Naming a New Business
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

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization: Any difference?
By Mikhail Tuknov

For many casual internet users, the terms SEM and SEO rarely enter their minds when they are busy jumping from one website to another. However, these terms establish much of what comes out on the results page whenever we type a word in the search tab of any accessible search engine. These terms are also responsible for all those advertisements and pop-ups that link us to even more websites, whether they connect to our original search or not. So just what are SEM and SEO?

In the simplest way possible, SEM and SEO are tools which website creators, especially those who are promoting and selling a certain service or product, use to gain a lot of exposure and a better ranking for their website. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, the simplicity ends there.

To make it a tad bit complex, SEM and SEO are not the same.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM), deals with how a website markets to gain exposure in the different search engines available on the internet. Search Engine Optimization (SEO), deals with how the web creators develop and redevelop the content, quality, and structure of their entire websites. When an internet user types in a particular word in the search tab, their websites have a better chance of appearing on the first few search engine results pages (SERPS).

To make it even more complex, although the functions of SEM and SEO seem different, they are more effective when used together. Since the main function of SEM is to gain further exposure for a website, the common means for attraction are more online advertisements, blogs, internet articles, partner and sponsored websites, and anything that can catch the eye of the internet user.

SEM also makes use of PPC (pay-per-click), and paid inclusion to push a website�s visibility. Lastly, it is also an important process in SEM to submit the name and URL of a website to different search engines and web directories, if only to inform them of the website�s existence. This is carried out to ensure the popularity of a website.

So how does SEO come together with SEM? Despite having all the advertisements provided by SEM, truly the SEO allows the internet user to easily and conveniently find what he is looking for. Since the function of SEO is to gain a better ranking in the SERPS, the web creator has to constantly optimize his website in order to cater to the needs of the internet user; making it easier for spiders or web crawlers to judge whether the website�s content is relevant to the words being searched. Optimization is not a simple and easy task. It involves having to restructure the website regularly, (by editing the html code and meta tags, changing content, reorganizing the site map, developing an easier navigational structure, etc.), to adapt to the rapidly changing demands of the internet user. Still, when done properly, not only does SEO help a website become more useful and therefore, more often visited by the internet user, it also helps gain more exposure since it increases the website�s chances of gaining a better rank in the SERPS.

Both SEM and SEO success rely heavily on the words or context which Internet user�s type in when they search for something on the internet. Take PPC under SEM, for example. PPC is an ad that is triggered by a particular word or context used by an internet user. Once a particular word or context is searched, a corresponding PPC ad for a website comes out. SEO works in the same way. The web creator inputs a particular Meta tag (or keyword) in his html that he believes many internet users will use when searching for information; information, which the web creator�s website may contain.

Although all of these processes involving SEM and SEO are tedious and time-consuming, it all boils down to knowing and serving the target audience. A web creator must be discerning enough to know what the internet users need and want, and at the same time, he must have the real passion to inform and provide the internet users with the right service and product.

Mikhail Tuknov, search engine optimization specialist and a founder of Infatex (Search Engine Marketing Company). With an extensive background in Internet marketing, Mikhail Tuknov offers SEO, PPC, SEM services. http://www.infatex.com/

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Three Simple Steps to Making Your Website User Friendly
If you were to walk into a business establishment, but you couldn't find the products that were being offered for sale or someone that could help you, chances are pretty good that you would leave, right? When you look at a website that's poorly designed, the same things happen. Visitors who can't immediately figure out a website are more than likely going to go back to the web search page to see what other sites are available. It's a matter of creating a user friendly site � and here's how you can do it.

Step #1: Less is More

Many businesses think that adding a lot of bells and whistles to a website is the way to increase their customer traffic. When you have a lot of graphics, Java applications, and other add-ons, you're not only going to confuse your visitor, but you are also going to overwhelm them. These are distractions that will make your website load slowly and, for some visitors, it may not load at all.

You need to start thinking about creating a website where less is more. You want to include the things that your customer needs in order to learn more about your business and to buy products or schedule services. Everything else is taking away from the basic goals of your business � which is also taking away your ability to make money.

Here are some things that you will want to remove from your website, or at least from the home page. Visitors make their decisions about your website from the first page they see, so this is where you need to quickly establish a professional impression.

Remove bright colors. Remove flashing words. Remove video clips (unless that's your business). Remove animated graphics.

Step #2: Remember the Basic Things Your Customer Needs

Like the first step, you need to realize that less is more. There are only a few things that a customer needs when they enter your site:

A home page that identifies who you are and what you sell. An About Us page that talks about the company. A list of products. A way to pay for things. A place to get help or contact information.

Try to look at this list as a check list of the things you absolutely have to include in order to be user-friendly. These are things that a website visitor is going to look for, so when you don't include them, you will confuse them and often make them look for another website that is more accessible in terms of their needs.

Step #3: Make Sure Contact Information/Help is Available

A way to contact you can be as simple as an email address, while other websites have 'live' support desks. In most cases, as long as there is a way for a customer to get help, this will help them in their experience with you. You might want to include a FAQ or Frequently Asked Questions section that will help them with basic queries, while offering an email address for more complicated questions. A phone number is another easy way for customers to contact you and for them to feel like you are always available for their needs.

Extra Credit: Look to Other Successful Websites

If you still aren't sure what to include and what not to include on your website, look at other websites that you frequent. You will notice this formula is the same. They offer simple ways to access different features, without being confusing or too energetic.

You can also include a comments section for visitors to tell you about their website experience so that you can make adjustments as necessary.

Scott Oliver offers free video coaching to help you build a profitable home business FAST. Get an hour of "Website Traffic Secrets" and "Minisite Creation Tactics" for FREE -- immediate access here: http://www.InstantWebsiteBusiness.com]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php How to Market with Articles
By Dee Cohen

Writing articles are effective ways to get one-way links to your site, as well as, to have people learn more about your website or service. There are ways to do this that can make you more successful versus having your articles be overlooked and not considered.

Shane Pearce has written the �Lazy Man's Guide to Article Writing�, which outlines some helpful tips. I was impressed with his tip that when you submit your article to an ezine publisher or a webmaster, you can offer that he uses his own affiliate link in place of your own. For instance, if you have written an article on motivation and have a link to a Clickbank ebook on motivation and goals, you can offer the publisher that he uses his own affiliate id instead of yours. What this means is that the ezine or website publisher will be getting a free article already written with a link that may give him some monetary income. You would still have your own information in your resource box at the end, so people can click to your website, as well. Think about what the website publisher you write to will get out of the exchange and find a way to make his or her life easier.

Other tips he gives are to read �Frequently Asked Questions� to find out what people want to know about in terms of popular topics. Shane discusses how to make a viral ebook based on a FAQ niche that can be passed around. If there are frequently asked questions on a topic, it is a sign that the topic has an interest, as well as, there may be an interest in some guide or tutorial.

In addition, I like the sample autoresponder examples he uses with different ideas for a signature file at the end of one's article. I think he is very good at showing how to integrate a couple of affiliate links without being pushy. He recommends sending people to opt-in to a mailing list as part of your signature file.

Another section I found useful discusses how to create checklists and use them both for your website and in articles that lead back to your website. People like checklists. Shane discusses how to use these. They also help break through writer's block or paralysis because you can have a list of steps.

There are ideas given about utilizing both 2-tier affiliate programs and residual income programs that will help you keep you earning as your articles circulate around the net. Shane gives some interesting suggestions on types of sites that work for this.

I also like that Shane gives an example of a flop he did of an unsuccessful attempt at marketing. He analyzes it and compares it to something someone else wrote he feels was better expressed. It is a very interesting study covering various ways to get your articles noticed and published. I publish articles regularly but learned some valuable tips from this ebook.

Dee Cohen is an author and publisher at http://www.socialsitesmarketing.com/article-writing.html; you can visit to learn effective ways to gain traffic by writing free articles.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Can Anyone Make $150-$200 A Day From Using Articles?
By Shane Hunte

Why is article marketing so great? Why do the greatest marketers on the planet employ this method of marketing?

The greatest remain in the front seat because they know what works. The fact that they continue to use article marketing as one of their main methods of marketing shows. You guessed it, article-marketing works for them.

The possibilities for your articles are endless. It is an investment of time and not money, which makes it cost effective. All you need is patience and commitment and you will succeed with this marketing method.

The greatest marketers use this method because:

It is cost effective. Actually, let me tell you plan and simple, there is no cost to do this, it is free.

It builds credibility and expert status on the internet on any subject there is under the sun.

It drives floods of traffic to you promotions.

You reach a laser-targeted audience with you articles.

This method proves to give you quality back-links to your website, and subsequently, raise your website rankings, which equals more traffic.

These are just previews of the wealth that article writing can bring to you. Although these are not all the reasons, these should be enough reasons for you to use this method of marketing.

The most successful people have one thing in common; they copy the best, as we can see, the best marketers all said yes to article marketing as one of their most frequently used internet-marketing methods.

What is the magical blue print for writing articles like the big guns?

Here is the step-by-step blue print that the greatest use to build their articles at lightening speed:

Step 1. Plan your article.

This may sound elementary but very few people can write articles and they try to skip this step entirely.

When you plan your article, it makes it easier to write on the topic that you choose. You need to dedicate time for this step because it is the doorway for the other steps to follow.

Step 2. Brainstorm your article topic.

What are you going to write about and why? Do people want this information? Can you solve a problem that others have? Asking yourself these questions coupled with a little research can get you a long way.

Step 3. Brainstorming your article points and organizing them.

You have a good topic. Now, what are the points that you want to discuss on that topic? Organize these topics into the order in which you want to hit on them first, and then expand on it.

Step 4. Write selflessly about the topic to give quality information to your readers.

This often separates the good from the great. People want information that helps them solve a problem. We usually get the wrong idea with this form of marketing and dive into a sales letter for a product we promote.

You are not promoting a product right now. You are trying to build your credibility in the minds of readers.

This will make them trust you more. They will be more open-minded to your recommendations for your promotions. Sales letters not only will it turn off readers, it also turns off publishers to post your articles on their sites because it is not of value to their website traffic.

Step 5. Double check and triple check your article for mistakes.

You do not want your articles filled with spelling errors and other major or minor mistakes because this will make people not like your writing.

Publishers will review your pieces. If multiple errors show, then it will not be submitted to their audience.

Print out the article, read it aloud, and pass it to a close friend to read it for you, and provide and objective opinion on what they think about your article. Two sets of eyes are better to find mistakes. Use the feedback you get to write better.

Now that you have a simple blue print to follow, consider using it to write articles. Article marketing is the lifeblood for many great marketers out there and you should make it part of your marketing plans. It continuously adds $150-$200 a day to the pockets of those who use it. Maybe that alone could be your motivation to try.

Shane Hunte is an experienced internet marketer who makes a full time income online. If you to would like to learn the simplest way to make money online then learn article marketing. Go to http://www.internetrevinue.com/Jim_Edwards.html to find out everything you need to know today about profiting fast using your own articles.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Why is Content Important?
By Dechen Lau

Content is the soul of a website. Content is comprised of the words or text on a web page along with the graphics and structure of a website. Today Web content is the best tool for building relations with your potential customers. The look and feel of a site is crucial, but quality web content may be more important.

Two of the most popular methods of getting traffic from search engines include PPC � (Pay Per Click), and SEO � (Search Engine Optimization).

PPC:

Pay per click advertising on search engines allows you to choose keywords that you would like your site to appear for, when a search is performed. You decide how much you are willing to pay each time a person clicks on the search results. The more you are willing to pay per click, the higher your site will appear in the results for the keywords you choose. Pay Per Click is advertising provided by the search engine providers (Google, Yahoo! and others) where you PAY for top placement. Their strategies for placement differ slightly. Some search engines will give you higher placement if your ad has a higher click-through rate, (meaning more people click on your ad in ratio to the amount of times your ad appears); others give top positions to the highest bidder.

You already know surveys are excellent for finding out what your target market wants. However, if combined with low cost, quick and dirty Google PPC, surveys can also send many targeted prospects to your site every month.

In either case, you PAY. It is a quick way to be listed in the search engines and a smart way to get your traffic flowing. You could spend far more than is profitable for your business, if you do not know what you are doing.

Search Engines: While crawling pages of a website, search engines look for content more than anything else. Search engines can pick up quality content and it is the only factor that they emphasize and value most while ranking a website. For the benefit of their users, search engines try to find the best and most useful content on the Internet for any given set of keywords.

SEO:

Search engines are extremely competitive (in terms of placement). The major search engines account for over 90% of all traffic. With that though in mind, companies that are serious about earning a share of the internet market should be committed to securing top 10 rankings for the keywords or phrases that pertain to the products and services that they offer.

The best way to ensure a solid return on your website investment is to employ the services of a Search Engine Optimization firm with a proven track record of success, knowledge of current and cutting edge techniques, and experience working with the business community.

There are a lot of companies working �behind the scenes� to help website owners get plenty of traffic from the natural search engine listings. Natural listings mean the search engine has ranked you according to the value it believes your site will offer an individual searching for a specific word or phrase.

Understanding exactly WHAT the search engines want to see when ranking sites requires knowledge of the algorithms. These algorithms change all the time as search engine providers try to outwit the search engine optimizers trying to find loopholes in the ranking system.

Some SEO companies will promise you top spots for a certain cost. Some are honestly creating optimized websites � others may be using techniques that could possibly get your site BANNED from the search engines entirely, (once the search engine catches on). However, optimizing your website for better placement in the search engines is a technique that you should become familiar with and use to your advantage.

Both of these traffic methods have their pros and cons for generating traffic from the search engines. You will find out more about using them properly later on. First, you need to know what REALLY works�

Dechen Lau., is an Author, Speaker and Internet Marketing Consultant
http://www.powersuccessmarketing.com
http://www.powersuccessresponder.com

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Five Facts That Will Have You Re-Writing Your Website in a Hurry
By Aran Kay

To view where the facts came from to write this article, please click on the links below:

1. Jakob Nielsen for Sun MicroSystems (http://www.sun.com/980713/webwriting/)
2. Stanford Poynter Project (http://www.poynterextra.org/et/i.htm)

This article will highlight the differences between writing copy for the web and writing copy for print. Some of these facts go against intuition and against cultural norms. However, these facts detail how people read on the web.

There is no use in arguing against them. Instead, you should embrace them and use this knowledge to your advantage. Here is what the facts are and how they are going to affect your website.

1) Where Do Eyes Go First When Your Homepage Comes Up?

Contrary to what you might think, it is not towards the graphics or photos like in print advertising. Instead, your prospects eyes will first go to the copy, specifically, your headline and sub-heads. Therefore, your first chance to engage the prospect is through copy, not graphics.

Most web users look at a web page for only 3-15 seconds before deciding whether to stay or move on. The fact that they look at copy first has massive implications for your website. Fancy graphics will not make a prospect stay on your website. However, a strong headline and strong sub-heads will.

2) How Much Of Your Copy Do Users Actually Read?

The fact is that online users, on average, read 75% of the length of any given page. This is big news because most web pages will have the important conclusions, calls to action, and order information on the bottom 25% of any given page. That is a big no-no, because it will never be read.

You have to have your call to action and order information presented early on your web page to ensure it is read.

3) Why Do Most Banner Ads Produce Poor Click-Through Rates?

How long will an average user look at your banner ad? 1.25 seconds. That is just enough time to perceive one image or six words (based on college student's average reading speed of 350 words/minute).

Therefore, banner ads that have animation, taking 4-5 seconds to run through a cycle, or more than 6 words must be reconsidered. However, if you really must keep your animated banner ad because "it just looks so cool!" I would suggest that you at least keep your company logo visible throughout the entire animation sequence.

4) Why Is Reading Online More Frustrating Than Reading Print?

Reading from a computer screen causes a person's reading speed to slow by 25%, when compared to reading print. This means reading long copy online can be very frustrating. Break up the copy to help users through.

Have a few one-line paragraphs.

Use headlines and sub-heads to summarize information. Users who are tired of reading word-by-word can quickly scan the rest of your document.

5) Are Your Web Page Users Not Getting The Whole Picture?

If you have not made your web page truly scannable, prospects to your site may only be getting part of the sales message. Only 21% of online users read word-by-word. The other 79% scan a web page headline-to-headline, sub-head to sub-head, picking up only the larger, bolded, or italicized copy.

Your sales message has to be read by both scanners and word-by-word readers. Therefore, all your major selling points, benefits, call to action, and order info must be in easily scannable type.

Otherwise, your website will only generate 21% of the sales. In addition, for the money you put into your website, which is not good enough.

So, if online reading is so different from offline reading. Clearly, your web copy has to follow suit. Take home message? Make sure your website is performing on all cylinders. Have a professional web writer write your website. It will save you money in the end.

Aran Kay is a marketing consultant and freelance copywriter with experience working for Nintendo, Direct Energy, Kellogg's and more. He has written numerous marketing articles, and includes a selection of them on his web site. http://www.ProfessionalCopy.ca is also your source for "The 52 Best Marketing Web Sites." It is a great resource and yours FREE just for visiting his web site.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Internet Marketing Strategy Planning - The Eight Step Formula
By Alvin Phang

Before you decide what to sell on the internet, you have to develop an Internet Marketing Strategy. It is the essential part of your online success on the Internet.

You have to take into consideration the following:
1. Find a large and easy to reach niche market
2. Find a Product or Service the niche market demands
3. Set up your website
4. Have a great sales copy (your 24/7 sales man)
5. Create an opt-in page to collect email address
6. Have a great sales process
7. Make your website scalable and search engine friendly
8. Backend, backend, and backend

Each step plays an important role to your success in your Internet Marketing Strategy Planning. If you miss one-step, you will not be able to see the results you would like to see, as each step is equally important to the other.

1. Find a large and easy to reach niche market.

Your first step in your Internet Marketing Strategy planning requires you to do your research. Find a large and easy to reach niche market to promote your product. From here, you can go to Free Keywords tools and search for niche keywords that have high click through and low competitions.

Example, the keyword �Dog Food For Sale�, when you search that on Google, there are actually 5,650,000 which is seriously not a lot of competition but you also have to check is there a demand for it by using tools from www.seobook.com to look at the KEI rate. The higher the KEI rate the better the keyword.

2. Find a Product or Service the niche market demands.

After you have found two or three keywords that you would like to target, you would want to find products that will serve the market that demands it.

Example the keyword �Dog Food for Sale�, you would not want to promote Cat Food, as it does not relate to the topic you want to promote. So find related products like an eBook �where to find a great sale for dog food� or �dog products that dogs like to eat.�

3. Setup your website.

After you have decided what product or service you want to sell online, you would want to setup a website to promote your product. The best way to do it is by creating a Blog talking only about Dog Food that is for Sale, because Google and Yahoo search-engines love Blogs so much. You virtually get listed just 24 hours upon updating, compared to a normal website, which will take at least a few weeks to be �cached� into the search engine.

4. Have great sales copy (your 24/7 sales man).

Do not be mistaken, sales copy is not the sale. A sales copy is a page with descriptions and details to promote your product on your website. When I first heard of this term sales copy, I was totally stunted how important it was to have a sales copy.

Depending on how good your copy writing skills are, you can get people to write your sales copy, or simply teach yourself to write one. If you can try to write it yourself, as copy, writing is a very good skill to learn, especially when you are an Internet Marketer who plans Internet Marketing Strategy.

5. Create an opt-in page to collect email address.

This is another important step that many do not have. It is the most important. Why? It is because they fail to collect email address from their website. With the email address, you can design out your sales process in the next step, which I will explain further.

6. Have a great sales process

With your opt-in page in place, you can use the captured email address and name to follow up with people who are interested to know more about what you are promoting in your opt-in page. This is a way to build your email list, and keep, and send them information or promotion products to sell those products again in the future.

7. Make your website scalable and search engine friendly.

With all that done, you would now need to read up on Search Engine Optimization. Practicing this will allow search engines like Yahoo and Google to spider your website easily. The good thing about Blogs is that you can ping the search engines to spider your site easily and you can be listed very quickly within 24 hours.

8. Backend, backend, and backend

Upon completion of all seven steps, you just need to keep on sending backend information to your list from your opt-in emails that you receive and keep on driving traffic from your opt-in page to get more email address to sent out promotions to your customers.

If you constantly follow this eight-step formula for your Internet Marketing Strategy Plan, you will see great massive results after 3 months upon setup. So do the math and start planning your Internet Marketing Strategy today!

Alvin Phang is the owner of http://GatherSuccess.com. Get the right Internet Marketing Strategy for your Internet Business with our free resource of Tutorials, Video and much more...

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php A Look at Slogans
By Sharon Housley

Let us look at slogans and how just a few words can say volumes. A slogan is a memorable phrase used in conjunction with a political, commercial, or religious advertisement. Slogans convey a deeper meaning. Slogans elicit emotions, or the slogan might paint a visual image that implies something more.

When considering a slogan or a tagline, keep in mind your objectives. What image do you wish to portray? Slogans should be short, but not to the point of being curt. Slogans should conjure positive images and distinguish the value your company or product provides.

The best way to analyze slogans is to look at a few.

Slogan: "The toughest job you will ever love" (Peace Corps)

Message behind slogan: This is much more than just a job; it takes heart to be in the Peace Corps; join the Peace Corps and you will be a better person. This job is not about money, it is about helping people.

Slogan: "Be Seen, Be Sold" (Shareware Promotions)

Message behind slogan: Being found on the Internet is not easy. Use us to be found on the Internet."

Slogan: "You could learn a lot from a dummy. Buckle up" (National Highway Traffic Safety Admin)

Message behind slogan: Learn from test dummies, be safe and buckle up.

Slogan: "Parents who use drugs have kids who use drugs" (The Partnership for a Drug-free America)

Message behind slogan: Model what you preach; do you want your children to do drugs? It is your responsibility to model appropriate behavior for your children.

Slogan: "This is your brain on drugs" (The Partnership for a Drug-free America)

Message behind slogan: Do you know what this stuff does to you? Taking drugs is stupid.

Slogan: "A diamond is forever" (DeBeers '1948)

Message behind slogan: Diamonds represent marriage; marriage should be forever. If you really want your marriage to last, seal it with a diamond.

Slogan: "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking" (Timex Corp)

Message behind slogan: It does not get any more durable than this, other watches cannot stand up, but Timex will endure regardless of the treatment.

Slogan: "For all you do, this Bud's for you" (Budweiser)

Message behind slogan: After a long hard day, drink beer to relax.

Slogan: "Where's the beef?�(Wendy�s)

Message behind slogan: Our competitors use small patties, but our burgers are big.

Slogan: "I love New York" (NYC)

Message behind slogan: New York is a special place, everyone loves NY, you should come and visit, you will love it too.

Slogan: "See what brown can do for you" (UPS)

Message behind slogan: We do more than just ship packages; we have additional offerings and can do more than just ship.

Slogan: "The few, the proud, the Marines" (US Marines)

Message behind slogan: We are a select group of very special individuals. Do you want to be elite? Take pride in representing the US.

Slogan: "Friends don't let friends drive drunk"

Message behind slogan: You will die if you drive drunk. It is your responsibility to protect your friends. Be responsible, do not let people drive drunk.

Effective slogans leave impressions in the minds of people who see or hear the slogans. Often slogans will have hidden meanings, or be a play on words. The goal of the slogan creator should be to create a memorable tagline that conveys a key benefit or differentiates the brand. Slogans will often help position the product or service in the marketplace. Slogans with just a few words can indicate superior value, excellence, or inspiration.

A business identity and image conveyed through a short statement will affect the way that consumers, competitors, and others in the industry perceive your business. Slogans will distinguish your company in a unique way. Words are powerful, and if used properly, they can be an important sales tool.

Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for NotePage http://www.notepage.net a wireless text messaging software company.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Why MLM is an Inspiration Business
By Jeff Neil

Usually when we think of multilevel marketing, what comes to mind is recruiting. We try to find people who want to earn money from home, and then convince them to join our opportunity. Convincing is the key word here. Nobody wants to join a convincing business. However, that is what we do in our industry.

Then we wonder why we have a hard time building a solid organization.

Initially, people join an mlm opportunity for the money. I mean, that is why we do this, for the money right?

Maybe.

If you look at the leaders in this industry, and in your own organization, I mean really look. You will see they offer something to their downline more than just �How to Make Money". Because the �how-to's� can be found in your local bookstore, or even the public library.

Sorry to tell you, but just the "how-to's" will never be enough.

One of the things your leaders are doing is they are busy climbing the mountain. They are going on ahead of the pack. They make sure the mountain is safe to climb. While you are climbing that mountain, your leaders are encouraging you. As if to say "Yeah, you can do it, if I made it this far so can you".

Your leaders are also yelling down to you, they are pointing out where the rocks are. In addition, giving advice on how to go over the rocks, or under them, or around them. A great leader will even try to get you up the mountain even higher than the leader is.

Remember, MLM is certainly not the only way to make money. Just watch late night television.

Pretend you watched some infomercial on TV, and ended up buying an ATM machine, or some Internet Kiosk Thingy. Are those companies going to do all the stuff your upline does? No. They will not, "because they don't care about you.� However, your upline does!

It is this extra attention. The caring leadership. The built in self-development that appeals to so many people. In addition, do not forget, people are becoming more spiritually aware than ever before.

I am not talking religion here either. People are tired of the corporate, do not give a damn rat race, tread mill, life they are living. They want purpose, and passion. People want to feel good inside. They want to feel important.

Like they belong to something, a movement. In addition, they want to feel that what they are doing with their lives is of value to other people. Because when you uncover all the B.S., people, almost all people, are really, nice.

So let us point this back to you. I know you are a nice person. However, what can you do to inspire people? If you can inspire others, you will set yourself apart from all the other, "please join me" net workers.

In addition, you do want that, right?

So first, forget about the money. The money will come. However, stop focusing on it when you are dealing with people. Think about your vision, and all that when you are alone.

Pretend you are doing mlm free. As a volunteer thing. Alternatively, charity. Ask yourself why. With the money issue gone, why would you do mlm? If you cannot find an answer, you are in the wrong industry. Go sell vacuum cleaners or something.

Because if you do not love this, if you do not feel this business, people will not follow you. In addition, you will never be able to grow much of a downline.

Find the desire to be better, to do more, to grow as a human being, and to bring up as many people as you can along the way. Think about how you can give increase to everyone you meet. Even if you have no intentions to do business with them.

Think about what your purpose is. It does not have to be to save the world, just something you feel very strongly about. In addition, how being in the network marketing industry is helping you with your purpose.

In addition, you need to have confidence. Yes, things can get scary. However, just do a tiny little thing you have never done before. Something small that you know will help you or others. Then do just a tiny little bit more.

All those little actions will become big actions. You will build your confidence and be someone who takes big actions.

If you think about it, you already know what to do. Because growing yourself and others is a very natural thing. Just allow yourself to do it. In addition, fine-tune it as you go along.

Jeff Neil is a tattooed, bald headed ex-cop who sells candles in his spare time. However, you do not care about that. What you might care about is how to be a leader in this industry. Find out at his mlm blog http://www.4mlm.com/category/mlm-leadership/.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Who Else Wants To Make Money With AdSense?
By Jerry Oakman

Fact number 1: Kids in high school are making thousands of dollars every month with AdSense.

Fact number 2: Housewives, retirees, mom and dads, who are just staying at home and have never made a dime on the internet have created full-time incomes by simply placing AdSense ads on their web site or blog.

These are just some of the �super AdSense earners�. You may have already heard about their story for they are among the few who are on their way to making millions worth of cash just by promoting AdSense sites.

Anyone, any age, and gender can become money generating AdSense publishers, as long as, he or she has what it takes. How does one go about this Internet advertising?

Writing articles for AdSense is the way to do it. Using the right keywords in your articles and having Google ads on a certain site has become the most profitable way of marketing that anybody can get into. No experience and level of education needed. If you are not using this strategy, or may not be aware of it in the first place, chances are you may be losing thousands of dollars worth of extra income and still do not know it yet.

This is one of the many reasons why writing original quality content articles are now the latest in marketing buzz.

Content and links. When combined together becomes a really powerful tool to a successful web site and richer individuals.

Many internet marketing professionals are already aware of the value of an original quality content and how using keywords can drive targeted traffic into their sites from the search engines.

So why do not all these web site owners write and submit their own articles, if that is what is important?

The simple and understandable answer is that it takes time to write articles, submit them, and get targeted traffic to their websites. They get the services of those who can spare some time to write the articles that can cater to their site purpose, and still turn out good quality and unique work.

To get into the AdSense marketing business, to start earning some good cash, ask yourself, did you enjoy writing when you were in school? If you answer yes to this question, you already have an initial advantage over most internet marketing business owners who want to make money online and do it from home.

With the boom in the AdSense market comes the need for sites to want fresh, quality, and original keyword rich content.

This way, web site owners can have a steady supply of articles with the proper keywords that relate to their site contents. The result of this is in the sites page rank when indexed by the search engines.

This, in turn, gets more AdSense ads to show above, below, or next to the article on their website with targeted traffic.

What do people have to do?

Write quality and original content, keyword, or phrase rich articles with links to your website in the resource box.

Then build a website or web page with targeted keyword or phrase rich, original content for the targeted traffic that originates from the articles you wrote. Finally, you will have Google AdSense ads that are targeted to your keyword or phrase rich, original content site where visitors will get to visit when they come looking for information.

This is a win-win situation, if you think more about it. It is a favor for persons looking for quality content and information. It is a win-win for the persons writing the original content articles. In addition, also for the person with the quality original content rich website. Of course, the search engines and its advertisers are getting targeted traffic and sales, but so what? As long as you are getting something in your favor, it does not really matter what the others are getting for themselves.

Therefore, who else wants to start earning money with AdSense? You?

Everyone. Anybody. Internet marketing has many opportunities wide open for this group of people. Writing articles and using AdSense for your kind of internet marketing strategy is one sure way of getting a piece of that action and cash.

Better, not be left behind the many who are making millions already.

Visit: http://adsense.awardspace.biz

Jerry Oakman webmaster, SEO specialist & internet marketer from Y2K, some of his "must see" projects are:

http://adsense.awardspace.biz
http://articles.awardspace.biz
http://directories.awardspace.biz

where you can find free FFA, eZines, article posting & SEO news, eBooks, viral stuff, internet marketing tools, video tutorials, current eBusiness information and more.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php The Biggest Secret in Internet Marketing
By Alex Nghiem

In the Internet marketing world, there are many misconceptions and outright lies. However, the biggest secret is one that is so obvious nobody wants to talk about, or even being aware. In this article, I share what I (and many world-class marketers) consider the biggest �secret� in Internet marketing.

At this point, you are probably wondering. �What is the BIGGEST secret?�

Before I share this secret with you, let me share a common mistake committed by 99% of Internet marketers. Almost all Internet marketers I know can quote you their opt-in rate and spend hours, days, weeks, and even months tweaking their landing pages to get the highest opt-in rate. This is accomplished by asking for as little customer information as possible and casting as wide a net as possible. This usually requires asking for only the first name and the primary email address.

In many industries, this results in optimizing for the wrong results. What do I mean by that?

I spend a lot of time in multiple industries other than Internet marketing (including real estate, art, etc.) and for a long time, I was focusing on increasing my opt-in rate, but rarely closed any sales (my sales for my products and my clients� products range from $997 to $25,000 per sale). When I thought about it, I realized that in all of these industries and especially at these price points, the sale is accomplished via the phone, not via the Web.

Thus, without realizing it, I was not collecting all the necessary information for me to complete a sale (that is, I was not asking for a phone number because I knew this would reduce my opt-in rate). Most of the �gurus� who are teaching list building do not take into account industries that conduct business primarily offline and/or the fact that high-end products are not closed via email alone. I am not sure any of them has ever tested their methods in offline businesses!

Now, I do a 2-step opt-in rate that allows me to have the highest opt-in rate on the first page and then ask for additional info (including the phone number and mailing address) on the �thank you� screen. This enables me to follow up via offline methods including postcards, direct mail, and even telemarketing.

What does this have to do with the biggest secret in Internet marketing? Simple�the most valuable leads often require you to follow up using offline methods. However, this contradicts almost all list building techniques being taught, which usually teach how to get the highest opt-in rate. In this case, I made more money by having a lower opt-in rate�but I got higher quality leads, which enable me to follow up via offline methods. Again, in many, many industries, the sales happen via the phone and in some cases via the fax and direct mail.

Therefore, before you spend too much time focusing on optimizing your opt-in rate alone, think through the sales process and figure out the best way to close the sale. Collect information for that to happen, even if it means a lower opt-in rate.

Now you know the biggest secret in Internet marketing. The next time somebody brags about their 50% opt-in rate, you will know that he/she is probably optimizing on the wrong thing and leaving WAY too much money on the table.

To get regular notifications on high-end product creation secrets, visit http://www.backendcashmanuscript.com/fromarticles

� Blue Samba Publications � All Rights Reserved
http://www.backendcashmachine.com

Alex Nghiem is the founder of Blue Samba Solutions, creator of the Backend Cash Machine, a proven system for enabling clients to make up to 10X by building a backend of high-end products. His system has been used in multiple industries including art, real estate, and many offline industries.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Brand Building 101: Does Your Business Card Build Your Brand?
By Krishna De

Are you losing credibility and damaging the brand of your business through lack of attention to one of your critical marketing tools in your business, your business card? Discover how your business card can enhance your brand and ensure that you stand out from your competition.

When we are at a networking event or meeting a client, exchanging business cards occurs.

Very often, without realizing it, we are assessing our colleague by their business card, and asking ourselves:

- Is the business card professionally designed?
- Is the business card crumpled at the edges?
- How does the weight of the business card feel - substantive or flimsy?
- Does it look like the business card was made on their PC - or worse, does it have a message at the bottom of the card to say where you, too, can access free cards?

I have collected thousands of business cards over my time in business. I am sub-consciously assessing the professional status of them and their business when I receive their business card.

We review someone's card at least 3 times:

1. Once on receiving it
2. A second time when we put it in our pocket, folio or bag as we leave the meeting
3. A third time as we make a decision to keep it, transfers the information into our data bank, or bin it!

Our business card is a critical part of our marketing collateral. If you cannot afford to put in place other marketing materials, short changing the investment in developing a professional business card is definitely not something we should do, if we are looking to develop a professional brand.

When meeting someone in person, alongside how you present yourself in person, your business card can enhance or devalue the strength of your brand, and it reveals how others perceive you.

Here are four tips to enhance your brand through your business card:

1. Ensure that you work with a professional designer to develop your business card. It is not whether you like the design; it is about whether it will represent your business effectively and professionally to your target audience.

2. Ideally, have your business card printed on 400g card and by a traditional lithographic printer. Yes, it is more expensive than digital printing, but the quality is worth investing in and a litho print gives far greater definition to your corporate identity and the color of your brand.

3. Matt laminates your card on the reverse for extra stability and style. Do not laminate both sides as people will not be able to write on your card - we often note down things to remember about the person we met on their card.

4. Use the valuable real estate on the back of your card to provide a call to action, for example, how to access your white paper or special report on your web site.

Take action:

Over the next 30 days, take the opportunity to review the business cards of your contacts and assess their card against yours.

1. What can you learn from other people�s business cards?

2. How could you take those learning�s and further enhance your business card?

Your goal is to ensure that your business card is a positive reflection of both you and your company, and it represents a strong brand.

Invest in your business card, distribute it widely and you will be sure of expanding your professional success.

Krishna De invites you to join her in conversation with experts from around the globe to discover how to build your brand and grow your professional services firm at http://www.bizgrowthlive.com/. You will also receive access to Biz Growth Express a weekly newsletter bringing you strategies, inspiration and tips to grow your professional services practice. Register today at http://www.krishnade.com/.

�Krishna De, Oneocean Ltd 2006. All rights reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article providing the article is printed in its entirety; you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in anyway and include the copyright statement.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php How to Successfully Retain and Grow Your Customers

By Michael Fleischner

Okay, so your marketing has paid off - you have new customers. The key to growing your business is to effectively communicate and leverage these new customers into advocates for your products and services and purchasers of additional services.

Do this in a variety of ways. Follow some basics steps to ensure retention. Here are some tips you can use to develop long-term relationships with newly acquired customers.

1. Proactively shape impressions about your business. Whether you are sending a welcome message, making the first contact via phone, or sending a letter, be sure to position you company for the long-term. Often times, individuals buy products without knowing a whole lot about the company where they are buying.

A popular tactic is sending a welcome kit or an overview letter that introduces your company, your values, and the additional resources you have available for your customers including a support email address, 1-800 number, and so on. This lets you control your company's image among newly acquired customers. Otherwise, your customers are free to form their own opinion without any guidance whatsoever.

2. Categorize your customer. Is your customer a high potential? Are they a transactional buyer that will likely never buy from you again unless you offer the lowest price? By segmenting your buyers based on your existing database or known behaviors, you can develop customized communication plans to retain them for years to come. Some communication plans focus on up-sell while others may only focus on retention. Base the communication plan you implement on the proper categorization of your customer.

3. Show your thanks. Once you have acquired a customer, do not forget to thank them. This may seem trite. However, done properly, this goes a long way. Often a hand-written note or personalized email from a company president can do the trick. The real key is to make the customer feel good about the purchase they have made and the company they have chosen.

4. Provide consistency among all touch points. Once you have acquired a new customer, you must make sure that you provide a consistent user experience. For example, if the prospect contacts your technical support rep the first day after they have purchased a product and received an answer to their question, then they call the following day only to receive a different answer, they are going to lose faith in your company's ability to provide consistent and reliable support.

You can benefit greatly by developing procedures that can be documented and delivered consistently - meeting customer expectations. This builds trust in your business and can minimize defections. If the consumer knows they can count on you to give them what they need/want, they will be willing to forgo a better price or promise of a better deal elsewhere.

5. Share customer testimonials on future marketing pieces. Many marketers believe that testimonials are only for prospects. The truth is that testimonials can help retain customers, especially new ones, with exposure to positive experiences of individuals just like them. In addition to sharing testimonials, it is always a good practice to ask newly acquired customers (within 30 days of purchase) for their feedback/testimonials.

The benefit of reaching out to your customers is that if a problem exists, you can react to it and if they have something positive to say about your product or business, it is useful to reinforce your brand. (Note: be sure to get permission to publish a customer�s testimonial).

These techniques are very effective for maximizing lifetime customer value. By shaping the image of your company, providing a consistent experience, and sharing testimonials for similar customers, you can develop a positive, lasting impression with your marketplace.

Most importantly, keep it simple. Do not overwhelm your new customers with tons of email, or direct mail. Develop a well thought-out communication plan that has a definite purpose. In addition, most importantly, remember to thank your customers for choosing your company, product or service.

Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert with more than 12 years marketing experience. He has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. For more free marketing articles like this one, visit http://www.marketingscoop.com.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Effective Client Communication
By Paul Mccord

Whether you know it or not, your database of current and past clients is your best source of new clients. �Prospecting� for a new clientele is time consuming and expensive. If you can find a way to increase your sales without the time commitment and expense of cold calling, mass direct mail, advertising, or purchasing leads, would you be willing to implement it? Of course, you would!

Taking the time and effort to keep in contact with past clients will grow your business through new direct sales to the client and generating referrals to qualified prospects.

Often sales people complain that keeping in touch with past clients takes too much time, effort, and money. Considering the return on investment, this is not true�at least for most sales people. The key is finding a way to communicate that is time efficient, relatively inexpensive, and effective.

Studies indicate that in order to keep your name at the top of your customer�s mind, you need to �touch� your customer a minimum of 14 times per year�more if possible.

What is a �touch?� A touch is any communication from you to your client�email, telephone call, snail mail, postcard, holiday card, in-person meeting, or any other method of getting in front of your customer. If you are communicating with the client, you are touching them.

What is the most effective way to touch your past clients? Studies have shown that there is not a �best� way to touch the client, but rather, the most effective client communication programs enlists a number of communication formats.

Is sending 14 emails a year effective? Is sending 14 snail mail pieces a better choice? Is making 14 phone calls a better option? Is sending 14 postcards a viable option? What alternatives will work the best? However, constructing a campaign using a combination of these methods could be a very effective program. For instance, setting a marketing calendar to send 4 postcards per year, 6 emails, 2 snail mail letters, one phone call, and one holiday card during the course of the year allows you to touch your clients approximately once every 3 � weeks during the course of the year.

However, what do you send? What do you say 14 times during the course of the year? The content of your communication is just as important as the fact that you sent something. When you communicate with a past client, the fact that you have something in front of a previous customer is not necessarily a good thing, in and of itself.

Many traditional marketers will disagree. Much traditional thinking says that any time you get your name in front a client it is a good thing. However, is a 3-second trip to the trash for your expensive postcard or letter the best use of your money?

Whether or not your communication campaign is effective will depend on what you are communicating. If you send junk, just to send something, your customer will quickly learn to ignore you and your communications and everything you send will take that 3-secnd trip to the trash. On the other hand, if your communications offer something of interest and value, you will train your client to pay attention to you.

Which would you rather have: a client that ignores you or one that pays attention to you?

I assume you would rather have a client that pays attention to you. To train your clients to pay attention, and, therefore, to keep you at the top of their mind, you must figure out how to send them communications that give them value. Can you offer a special for them or someone they refer to you? Can you provide them an annual or semi-annual update on their purchase? Can you send or email them articles of interest that relate to their purchase or an interest of theirs? What you send does not have to be large or costly�it just needs to be of interest to the client.

A program such as this requires thought and considerable customization of content, but the payoff can be enormous. Think about what you are sending and what it will�or will not�communicate about you and your business. If you want your clients to think of you and not ignore you, then take the time and the effort to make sure you are sending value. If you are not sure it has value, it probably does not. Marketing to your client database should be at the top of your �to do� list and your campaign should be constructed with the thought and care as if you were marketing to the most important people in the world, because for you, they are.

Author and trainer, Paul McCord is a leading authority on prospecting, referral selling, and personal marketing. His book, Creating a Million Dollar a Year Sales Income (John Wiley & Sons) teaches the strategies the million dollars a year sales superstars use. http://www.powerreferralselling.com

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Ten Tips to Higher Response Ads
By Obono John

You are ready to launch that new product or promotion. You are really counting on a piece of advertising copy to come through for you.

You are looking for stellar results! In addition, you are determined to do everything in your power to get them. This means surveys, thorough testing, and ongoing refinement of your ad copy.

Hold the phone!

You finish your draft and run it through this 12-point inspection. Cover all these basics, and you can be certain you are off to a running start.

1 � Do You Have A Compelling Headline?

Does it generate curiosity or envy? Does it promise a benefit that will compel someone with an interest in what you are selling to keep reading? Remember, your headline is the ad for the ad.

When I write direct response ad copy, or a sales letter, or have a very important sales objective of my own, I normally write 25 headlines before I begin the body of the piece.

Then I will pick half a dozen that I think will work & test them. The best of the rest, I use as sub headings throughout the piece to propel readership, and draw skimmers & skippers back into the copy as they move down the page.

2 � Are Your Headlines Pleasing To The Eye?

I most often find that headlines work best when centered on the page, and present a balanced appearance in terms of the shape they create. Encasing them in quotation marks also serves to grab more attention.

Long, top headlines tend to reduce readership, but if they help qualify more effectively, they can improve sales! Try them, but look for ways to modularize the text using punctuation and spacing so your readers do not suffocate trying to read them. Sometimes a long, top headline needs to be two or even three separate headlines.

3 � Is Your Opening Provocative & Arresting?

Does it trip the reader, interrupting the internal turbulence of the day? Each line of your ad copy must serve to "sell" the reader on continued reading, especially at the beginning.

You are looking to build enough momentum and interest to convey the points necessary to generate a greater desire for the product than its price. The higher the cost of the product, the more words required.

4 � Are You FAB Balanced?

You must focus on painting a picture of your prospects future life, because of their purchase. Does your copy promise emotional benefits? Does it pledge the realization of positive feelings, or the relief of negative ones?

Does it show how to achieve these outcomes with concise descriptions of the features and advantages that will deliver them? Your ad copy must strike a balance between emotion and logic if it is to be effective.

5 � Are You Creating Excitement & Enthusiasm?

Demonstrate your personal belief in what you are selling. Will your message quicken the readers pulse? Is it upbeat, positive, & full of inspired energy? Is there a sense of WOW?

6 � Is Your Body Copy Highly Readable?

Remember simple is best. Keep sentences short. Use a plain 10-point to 12-point font. Keep paragraphs to a few lines. Use words that are comfortable and specific to the audience you are targeting. Inject subheads to break up text. Highlight important points.

7 � Do You Have High �YOU� density?

Remember to use the words �YOU� and �YOUR� to the hilt. Your reader is auto-translating to �ME� and �MINE�.

8 � Are you speaking intimately?

Can you get a strong sense of personality when you review your letter after being away from it for a while? Visualize yourself, or the character you are personifying, writing a personal letter to your perfect prospect. Never write to a crowd.

9 � Are you inspiring the reader�s imagination?

You must trigger mental images with your writing. The mind has difficulty distinguishing between vividly painted word pictures, and reality. Daydreams enchant, and emotions flow in their wake.

When you have emotion, you have desire. When you have desire, you have suggestibility. When you have suggestibility, you can direct action. Your levers are allegory (storytelling), metaphor, similes, verbs, adjectives, and specificity.

10 � Do you offer proof?

Specific testimonials and convincing guarantees worked into your ad copy are essential.

Obono John is the owner of http://www.butterflymarketzone.blogspot.com, The Viral Marketing Experiment.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Power of Learning = Earning!
By Damon Smith

Everyone in online marketing or affiliate marketing, earning an income, has to research all over the internet to get the information he or she needs to succeed.

I have seen people spend hours, days, weeks, months, and even years just to come out making little or no income at all. As a publisher online, for Hailey Comet Weekly, I have met some of the most powerful people that have made thousands, even millions of dollars with the time they have been online.

Some have done it in as little as a few months and then retired. Then you have those who work very hard every day, no matter how much they make to help others to do the same. Do you remember when the doublers programs hit the internet and people made hundreds even thousands over night? Do you remember what happened within two months of them hitting the internet? People that were dealing with Storm Pay were stuck holding an empty bag because they went under and all kinds of trouble broke out.

The only true programs that make money are ones that last. There are very few of these. One that has made it to the top is Success University, because of the people behind the program, not because they have specials all the time, but because there are REAL people to talk with and to learn and teach you. I have met with people that joined the so-called PAS program and paid out $3,900!

In addition, most of them did not get anything from it. Do you know why? Because there was no one to teach them how to market the program, to make a profit, and they ended up being burnt!

Look at this link, http://www.damonday.net

If you take the time to read it, you will not only see that this group of master marketers are online to help you make a living , but also to teach you how to talk with others in a way to make them buy from you, and learn to work together as a team.

Success University is just what the name stands for. They have been online for quite sometime. The companies that I own depend on the things that I learn online. I would only suggest what I know will work to my own list of people, and not something, that is gone the next day.

My own list of people in my newsletter trust me because they all know, over the past 9 years, that when I have something to tell them it is only the truth and not something that will break their bank accounts. I have been called "The Howard Stern" of publishing and my newsletter is in most of the biggest Co-Ops and directories and forums. The reason for my success is because of people like Damon Day (It is funny we both have the same first names)

However, a "FLY BY NIGHT" company Success University is not. Some of the biggest companies there are back it. It is not just for people who are into affiliate marketing but also for people just starting out online and do not want to lose a lot of money. I will tell you from the start that it takes money to make money. This one company can take your funds, and turn it into something to be proud of. Right now, they are running a $2 14 day trial offer, and the monthly cost is less then a night on the town. So do not miss something that will give you everything you need to earn online.

So take five minutes of your time and look. It will surprise you to see what some people will do to help others instead of just thinking of themselves and what they can get out of people that don�t know any better.

Example: http://www.damonday.net

If you talk with Damon, tell him that I sent you to him so he will know that after everything we have been through, I still believe there are good people online!

Damon Smith is the publisher of Hailey Comet Weekly eZine that gives you the truth about online marketing and advertising. You can check out his newsletter at http://www.haileyscometweekly.com and get some of the best insight info on how he went from nothing to earning thousands a month by helping others.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php How to Take the First Steps with Autoresponders
By Ian Simpson

One of the most effective forms of low-cost Internet marketing is using email to reach a targeted audience. While email marketing has undergone changes over the years, in particular, the outlawing of spam email, it still has great appeal and is one of the most widely used internet marketing techniques. It is quite simply the best way to keep in touch with your customers on a regular basis on autopilot. Providing you respect the spam laws and use email properly, you will have a trouble-free email marketing business.

Email marketing is more commonly associated with the use of an autoresponder service. It allows you to import your email messages into the autoresponder and send them out to your customers at a fixed date and time - you could have a series of messages sent over a period of weeks, months or even years, if you wanted. The exciting thing is that once the autoresponder has been set up, that part of your business will run hands free, allowing you to concentrate on other important things.

The costs associated with an autoresponder vary considerably from free up to $100 a month. Try to avoid free autoresponders where possible, although they are free, they come at a price! The price being the restrictions on usage, and they will nearly always carry an advert of some sort on your message, which can distract your recipient from the real reason, why they have received the message. In addition, it is not necessary to pay a silly price for an autoresponder, big companies may want to pay top price because they can afford to but as an individual, you do not need to. Excellent, cost effective autoresponder services can be obtained from aweber.com or getresponse.com. These are web-based programs so they will work for you 24/7.

You could of course, use a desktop-based autoresponder such as Mailloop. This type of program is a software application installed on your computer and it allows you to manage your email campaigns from your desktop. You need to be aware that you will need to leave your computer running all the time or else you will not be able to receive or send emails automatically. However, it is a great way to have a series of autoresponders for a one-time payment and no recurring fees.

So, having decided on using autoresponders for your email business, what do you do with one? Well, building up a customer database should be a priority. Initially, you will want to create a form for your website that allows potential subscribers to insert their details. When they agree to subscribe, they enroll automatically onto an email course that you will have loaded into the autoresponder. The course can, as long as you want it to be, sent automatically over a period of time - this is where the automation of your email business will come into its own. It is essential that any information you send to your subscribers is of value and instructive. It is no good sending rubbish; you will lose your subscriber quicker than you got him! Quality email courses you can use are found in the Turbomembership.com.

If you offered a 14-day email course on internet marketing, for example, then you could provide links to various marketing ebooks or resources. In each email would be a link to a different ebook. Of course, each link would have your unique affiliate code. The unique Turbomembership.com affiliate program provides quality marketing ebooks and software scripts that you can re-sell at 95% commission.

This is just one of the many ways you can use autoresponders in your email marketing business. Finding and using the right autoresponder service, setting up your autoresponder, and loading, it with quality information is just the tip of the iceberg where marketing is concerned. However, it is a good place to start and gain the necessary experience for future marketing projects.

Ian Simpson reviews and writes about software and informational products on the internet. Great marketing resources can be found at http://information4income.com/sfpr.

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php Harnessing the Power of Email Marketing
By Miki Zakay

I will keep it as simple as I can - a PRACTICAL TOOL.

First, I would like you to consider these four facts:

*A DIRECT MAIL PIECE costs about 50-cents in postage alone. (Then you have to factor in paper and printing costs).

*A PHONE CALL can cost just as much - or more - than a direct mail piece.

*A PHONE CALL wastes time (and time is money) because you will spend precious minutes - sometimes hours or days - trying to contact the right person.

*A MESSAGE left on voice mail is usually a waste of time, and therefore a waste of money.

Depressing? Not at all. After you read today's "Insider Marketing Strategies" lesson, you'll be able to say "NO" to the downside of phone calls and direct mail, and "YES" to the upside of email.

Read on...

Given the inherent problems with traditional marketing techniques, it is important to master the BASIC STRATEGIES FOR INTEGRATING EMAIL into your overall campaign.

As I have just shown you, sending out an EMAIL CAN BE MUCH CHEAPER than other marketing methods. Proceed with caution, however. Email can also cost you a fortune -- in lost opportunities AND cold hard cash -- IF you do not know the basics.

Therefore, that is where we are going to start.

First, always keep in mind that your "primary objective", the master key that unlocks your "Success Vault" in Internet Marketing is to build your mailing list - your EMAIL MAILING LIST. (Often referred to as your "In-house list.").

The addresses you collect are going to mean the difference between the middle-of-the-road results that Average Joe and Jane are achieving and the through the roof, over-the-top, to-the-moon-and-back MEGA-success that top online sellers achieve. (The difference really is that dramatic.) So do not miss the boat: The time is NOW to start building your list of email addresses (prospects).

REVIEW

You can begin to grow your list simply by capturing emails from people who visit your website, as we have already discussed in a previous lesson.

=> Pop Quiz: What is the easiest way to convince people to give you their email address? (Answer: Offer an irresistible freebie with a sign-up form on your site or in a pop-up box, drive traffic to your site, and watch as people start entering their email address. Don't have a freebie? Get a good one from the Cashflow Magic treasure chest!).

Okay, so now you're "in the groove". You're capturing people's emails like crazy. If you are just sitting there - well, you know the old saying, "Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there."

So what is next?

-- Let me take a moment from telling how to build your email list to remind you why. It's been said that - YOU CAN GET RICH WITH AN EMAIL LIST OF JUST 1000 PEOPLE!

Think about that. Then stop thinking and get going on new ways to capture and keep email addresses. (By the way, if you haven't already "gotten with the program" yet, I wanted to remind you that CASHFLOW MAGIC http://mikizakay.cashflow123.com presents an unparalleled opportunity for you to build a mountain of wealth with a program that rewards you quickly and generously).

GIVE 'TIL IT HURTS!

If you want to keep getting addresses, start giving stuff away! Give, give, and keep finding more things to give! In addition, since you can't send a TOASTER through email, why not give the far more valuable -- and far more affordable for you -- INFORMATION PRODUCTS, business tools, and expert advice - maybe even a no-cost/obligation email-marketing course like this one!

DRIP, DRIP, DRIP.

You'll want to have a series of letters already set up so that they can be "dripped" on your prospects on a regular basis. Send a message daily, every other day, or on whatever schedule suits you best, but make contact AT LEAST EVERY 7 DAYS.

If you're not confident in your writing skills, you have two choices: you can hire a professional to write the letters for you or you can use a system already set up with letters to help you build your email list. (I suppose the third choice is to just give up and bury your heard in the sand, but that's no way to make a million!).

If you're serious about this - and you should be, believe me -- you really should consider tapping into the system offered by Paul Birdsall & Cashflow Magic. At Cashflow Magic, you can access an entire AUTOMATED leads/giveaway/database marketing.

ALL-IN-ONE SYSTEM that makes it easy for your revenues to soar.

If you have found that PRACTICAL, which I believe you have, Please do use it. It is only in your power to change your abilities and earn commissions from you E-business.

Remember! "The only LOSERS are the QUITTERS" and "All the beginnings are tough... but it's tougher to stay".

For more information, Please DO CONTACT ME at my FREE INTERNET MARKETING SCHOOL - http://mikizakay.payitforward4profits.com

To your success!
Miki Zakay
MikiZakay@TheNextLeader.ws
http://mikizakay.payitforward4profits.com
http://mikizakay.cashflow123.com

Miki Zakay has been an Internet & Network marketer for the past 8 years.
Miki's monthly income has increased in the past 8 months and is now stable around $25,000 a month. Zakay Served the Israeli Army as an Officers Course Commander and now teaches the skills of war and leadership among the business section as well as the army section. Considered a Pro business consultant, always happy to help others.
All his Knowledge can be found in his Internet Success Guide at http://mikizakay.cashflow123.com

]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_VSl_241/user/index.php The Three Resistant Internet Advertising Secrets
By Lubowa M. Planet

Drawing traffic to a website is no longer a secret. It is believed that with internet marketing, the speed at which innovations change is three times faster than the way things change in normal life. This is why you will hear about one superb internet marketing strategy or trick, and within three months, it is no longer effective. That is how fast things change in internet marketing.

Fortunately, with all that speed, three strategies have continued to work effectivel