Home Business The Easy Way - WBr Update http://www.blogmoneymiracle.com en-us EasyRSS
By James Bradley

Creating a content rich link directory is a powerful tool used by any web owner. Building relevant backlinks is a great way to boost your Search Engine Optimization and increase your overall targeted traffic...

It is a well-known fact that adding incoming links to any website is a great method of promotion and search engine optimization. Quality links can increase your page rank and ultimately get you consistent traffic and sales at seemingly no cost. Nothing comes free; the creation of a quality link directory for your website is no different. It will require time and careful planning to get the most out of this valuable tool.

Keep these tips in mind to create a powerful content rich link directory for your website.

1. Do a little planning. The first thing that always leads to success is a clear game plan. Decide what needs to be accomplished and how you can get the job done. Make lists of keywords and link categories relevant to that of your own website. Avoid using categories that are not related.

For instance, if your site is a work at home affiliate web page you would not want to include the categories health & beauty, science, automobiles, etc. To increase your Search Engine Optimization, relate your links to the overall theme and content of your website.

2. Don't become a link farm. Search engines hate "link farms". If each page in your link directory has too many links to other company web sites, your site may be labeled a link farm. Keep the amount of links on each page low, I suggest 15-25 and no more.


3. Ensure every page is keyword rich and has a few links back to your home page. Content is so important for a powerful link directory so keep it filled with keyword rich titles, meta tags, paragraphs, etc. relevant to that pages theme. This will increase the quality of your content and improve the quality of your link directory as a whole.

It is also important to include links back to your home page. This will increase your search engine optimization as the web spiders register more backlinks to your home page.

4. Use link directory software that checks links automatically. There are a lot of different programs and web sites that offer linking services. Be sure to check into them before choosing, some offer many "instant" links for a monthly fee. These links usually do not provide much help, if not hurt your SEO, so be wary.

I suggest using linkmarket.net. There are more than 60,000 potential link partners in every category of the online business world. Links are checked automatically and I have found that at $24.95 a year you cannot go wrong! There are many other programs and services, and finding one that works for you will require a little research on your end.

5. Keep it up! Simply following these simple steps and setting up your link directory is far from the end. You will want to test and retest many different aspects of the linking world. You want to be sure everything works correctly and is content rich before visitors and search engine spiders arrive.

Taking some simple steps can ensure that your link directory works smoothly and increases your Search Engine Optimization. Keep in mind that getting the best links will require some requests from you to other web owners Article Search, and be sure the software you use automatically checks links for effectiveness and removal.

James has been involved in advanced internet marketing and home business opportunities for the last 4 years within the frame work of a multi national billion-dollar company. He is a graduated student of http://www.homeincomeuniversity.com

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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.

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By Calvin Woon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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by Simon Davies

You’ve heard the classic formula, AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

But, how do you grab attention, turn interest into desire and prompt an action that’s sure to get the phones ringing?

Here’s 20 tips to ease you through the trauma of getting strangers excited:

Grabbing the reader's attention...

Short of saying "Hey, you!" at the top of the page, how can you get more than a passing glance from a busy reader?

1. Avoid using "Dear Sir or Madam." Tie a householder to your product with "Dear Holidaymaker" or "Dear Shopper." For a business, try "Dear Manager" or "Dear Sales Director." (It's true, important people can be just as vain as the rest of us!)

2. Don’t be too clever with headlines. Just get your point across so your reader will keep going. Avoid wordplay at all costs - most people hate puns, and your reader might need to know your product before they’ll get the joke. Wordplay also slows down the reader's inference, which is the last thing you want to do.

3. Don't fall for gimmicks. Headlines in clever fonts and wobbly lines of text can look pretty naff and a little amateur. And whatever you do, steer clear of WordArt – especially the blue wavy font, it’s been done to death!

4. Tantalise. If your prospects have been suitably profiled, you already know what they long for. So write a headline that puts it within their grasp. They'll read on to find out if they really can have it.

5. Use impressive facts or case studies. It's a great way to grab the reader’s attention, and it gives you something to refer back to when you're rounding off the letter.

Turning attention into interest...

Once you've grabbed the reader's attention, you need to keep them reading. At this stage your style of writing plays as big a role as the message itself.

6. Empathise. Show the reader you understand what bothers them. Get them on your side. They don't want to know about your business, but they are interested in how your business can solve their problems or meet their aspirations. Once you’ve got the reader focused, you're free to show how your product meets their burning desire.

7. Keep it personal. Assume you’re chatting to a friend, not writing to the bank manager. You don't want to be over-familiar, but remember important people are still human beings who respond to a warm, friendly approach.

8. Choose your words carefully. Say "and" instead of "but," "when" instead of if" and "will" instead of "might." And keep it customer-focused by using "you" and "your" more than "I" or "my."

9. Stress the key points. Use sub-headings, indent important paragraphs or italicise vital words. But AVOID CAPITALS and exclamation marks!!!!! And don’t emphasise too much - or nothing will stand out.

10. Make it easy to read. Keep your sentences short. Like this. Keep paragraphs to half a dozen lines or less. And leave plenty of blank space on the page. If it's daunting for the reader, it goes in the bin.

From interest to desire...

You've got the reader's attention and used enough hooks to keep them reading. They're focused on why they need your product. Here's where you make them salivate...

11. Sell the benefits, not the features. By and large we don't care how something works as long as it does the job. Unless you're writing to experts or hardened enthusiasts, lengthy product specs will only slow down the read.

12. Focus on the end result. Give the reader something to dream about - look beyond the product and show how it's going to change their life forever! Insurance buys you peace of mind. A car buys you freedom. A new sofa gets you precious moments at the end of a busy day. This is where you take the reader to the end of the rainbow, where their woes are distant memories!

13. Banish doubts. Part of building desire is silencing that nagging voice that says "there's a catch." So prove your credentials with qualifications, testimonials or a no-risk offer.

14. Set yourself apart. By now the reader's fairly keen, but why get the product from you? Be careful of rubbishing the opposition - no one wants to get caught in a bitching crossfire between you and your competitors. Focus on the positives and hammer home your unique selling point.

15. Imagine life without it. Now the reader's imagined life with your product, take it away from them! Remind them how bleak life can be without your miracle solution. Can they carry on without it?

Desire becomes action...

You're nearly there! You've built up an opportunity, but every word matters as you move in for the kill...!

16. Use subliminal closing. When you finally ask for business, you don't want it to read as a sudden jolt or change in tone. So fill the letter with casual assumptions that you will be doing business. Positive phrases like "When you call us" and "You'll see the difference" ease the reader gently into the right frame of mind.

17. Don’t be shy asking for what you want. When the time comes, be bold. You may be looking for a sale or just a chance to quote. But if you don't qualify what you want, no one will second guess you. Make your call to action clear and make it easy for the reader to respond.

18. Add an incentive. It's fairly obvious, but your greatest enemy is apathy. Even a warm prospect could put you on the back burner unless you give them a compelling reason to get in touch today.

But -- remember -- that needn't mean offering a discount. Adding value with a second product or service is better for your image. And your bank balance.

19. Your signature matters. Make it legible and sign in blue ink so it doesn't look mass-produced. And if you're a Sales Manager, remember many readers will be put off by your job title - far better to send the letter from the MD or Head of Customer Services.

20. Add a PS. Letter writing protocol demands that we sign off formally, but in doing so we lose momentum. A PS is a chance to re-excite the reader, where you re-state a key benefit or add one final incentive. By the end of a good PS, your offer should be way too good to resist.

Happy Scribbling!

Simon Davies is the co-founder of Wales-based copywriters EarthMonkey Media. He and partner James Daniel have over 30 years experience as journalists, copywriters and scriptwriters. Their site can be found here: www.earthmonkey.biz.

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By Mark Spall

Most marketing gurus now agree on two key facts that apply to almost any business:

* it takes at least seven ‘touches’ to turn a prospect into a sale.
* it costs at least seven times as much to secure a new customer as to keep an existing one.

Which means every successful business needs to have three tools at its disposal:

* One to secure the loyalty of its customer base.
* A second, to deliver those seven ‘touches’ after a prospective client first makes contact.
* A third, that allows existing satisfied customers to pass referrals to friends, colleagues, and contacts.

In addition, one simple marketing technique can do all three jobs – efficiently, measurably, and cost-effectively. That tool is a carefully crafted and targeted newsletter.

Groaning at the thought of the effort required on your part. Then groan no more! There are companies out there that will design, write, and deliver your newsletter! All you have to do is service the extra business that will generate from your client base.

Knowing there are people who will do the painful stuff for you, read on to find how newsletters make such a difference.

It is a fair bet that someone out there right now is ready to buy what you are selling. However, they will buy from your competition, either because they do not know you, or because they have forgotten about you.

With newsletters, you can reach out on a regular basis to your customer base. This valuable content will raise your profile, encourage repeat business, generate referrals, and be a permanent reminder of your brand and the value you offer.

…but it has to be professional!

Keeping your existing customers should be at the front of your mind. In fact, it should be the first thing you think about when you are looking at the marketing budget. This is where carefully targeted spending can and will deliver the best return on investment.

A quality newsletter, delivered just often enough (but not too often), and offering something genuinely interesting or valuable to your customers, will ensure that customers are:

* reminded about your company, and its products and services, at regular intervals
* inspired and excited by stories from other satisfied clients
* informed about new offerings – and, perhaps, given valuable introductory offers
* encouraged to pass on your details to friends and colleagues

Many businesses make the mistake of writing a newsletter ‘in-house’, – but its common knowledge that unless a business specializes in copywriting and design, it can accidentally create a lasting negative impression, and do more harm than good.

For example:

Imagine: You have just opened a bookstore. Your first customer comes in. They probably will only say ‘hello’ to you. Then they will start looking at the books – browsing. If you are very lucky, they will buy one. More likely, they will put the book back on the shelf, and depart without more ado.

So how would you respond?

Well, you could say ‘Excuse me, are you planning to buy a book?’
You could say, ‘This isn’t a library, you know.’
Alternatively, you could say, ‘That’s an interesting one, isn’t it? Have you seen his latest?’

In other words, you could actively encourage that customer to come back and keep browsing until they find something they want to buy.

A good newsletter is just like that. It was not written to sell your product directly – or at the very least, not all the time. It was written to encourage active browsing. To make your visitors come back to your website, repeatedly, until they are ready to buy. Think about that bookshop again. Suppose, as your browser was leaving, you said this: ‘I can see you’re a keen reader. Would you like to sign up for our free newsletter?’ Why is that so important? Well, think about it. If the customer says ‘yes’ you’re going to get their name and address. You are going to be able to send things to them – and get a better idea of their likes and dislikes.

In addition, you will know that when there is a new thriller on the market, that first customer will be eagerly awaiting the chance to buy it. The equivalent tool on your website is a form inviting visitors to sign up to the newsletter – and it should be there on every page. Because what you really want, is that visitor’s e-mail address – along with their permission to send them your newsletter. In marketing terms, that is pure gold. In the course of time, you will be able to build up an ever-growing list of people who are actively interested in what you do. You really could not ask for much more!

Therefore, your first contact with that customer was not a sale. It was that friendly invitation to sign up for your newsletter. The sale came much later – possibly after six or seven newsletters.

To sum up:

A good newsletter can:

* Secure the loyalty of existing customers – and remind them about the full range of products/services you offer
* Win the confidence and interest of potential new customers who have paid only one visit to your website
* Make it easy for existing customers to pass referrals to people they know who are likely to be interested.

Mark Spall is a Business Coach and helps his clients with practical advice on how to develop their businesses. More on using newsletters to power drive your business can be found at http://tinyurl.com/ylaqew.

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by Keith Thompson)

So -- you've decided to take the leap into deep water and go into business for yourself, specifically into Internet Marketing. Congratulations!

This was a smart decision, one that will eventually reward you with all the dreams you can dream. Your challenge now is to survive that 1st year.

Hopefully, you're reading this early on in your endeavors, and can make the adjustments necessary to keep your enterprise afloat and your bank account bouyant. Here are several things the "gurus" neglected to mention along the way to building your own internet marketing empire!

1 - Who are you listening to?

There are a lot of people who've made a lot of money, and they're all too eager to tell you about it, frequently in the form of their latest product. It's very easy to find yourself tuning in too many voices, instead of riding one horse till it either gets you there or is spent.

Find a niche that interests you, find products that are either yours or through an affiliate program, and focus entirely on your plan, not allowing yourself to chase rabbits.

2 - What is certain!

The real money to be made in Internet marketing is produced in the following ways: owning your own site(s), your own products, your own opt-in mailing list, and your own vision! Think about it! Not one of the Internet millionaires to whom we look for advice has lacked any of these for very long.

You bought their products off their sites, joined their mailing lists, and, to one degree or another, shared their vision. If you haven't already, begin immediately to build your own empire. Build a site, start learning about traffic, linking, opt-in lists and all the other essentials necessary for long-term success.

Affiliate marketing will only take you so far. In fact, most of the top affiliates have several of their own products!

3 - The learning curve.

There is a certain amount of information you simply have to either learn (or pay for). Don't discount the fact that this will take a little time. One doesn't discover how to build and market a fully- optimized Web site in a month. Or three! This is; and because of the fluid nature of the web; always will be a work-in-progress.

Do what you can do every day and come back tomorrow for more. Don't be discouraged when the money takes a while to appear; if you do this right, when it does show up it will be worth the wait!

4 - A support system.

Get one. Don't plan on supporting yourself from your business right away. It took the best at the very least several months to start seeing any real money.

Don't despair if you turn out to be mortal, too. Give yourself a chance at this; the rewards are simply too great. I'll leave you with a quote that sustained me many a night: "I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship." - Louisa May Alcott

(c)2004 by Keith Thompson

Keith Thompson is the Webmaster of Internet Marketing Here and Now!, featuring the latest and best tools for your internet marketing business. (http://www.internetmarketinghere.com) Email - keith@internetmarketinghere.com.

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by Michael Moshkovich

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Chuck Ingersoll

I know, "Resonant Congruent Differentiation" sounds like something that immediately scares your ears. Something you learned about and quickly forgot in Psych 101. However, stick with me a moment. I think you will see that it is much simpler - easily understood - and very pertinent to the way people name products, services, and businesses.

Having recently gone through some re-roofing trauma, a lawn sign promoting a contractor grabbed my attention. "Mr. Fussy Roofing" it read. I first laughed at the name because of its seeming oxymoronic message. In addition, it is a name with amusement value. Moments later I thought, "I wish I knew about that guy when I had my roof done."

'Mr. Fussy Roofing' is an almost perfect example of a differentiated product or service name that is congruent and resonates beautifully. When you are coming up with names, this is exactly what you should be striving for: resonant congruent differentiation. So let us break down what that phrase means and into intellectually chewable chunks.

Go Ahead, 'Splain Resonant Congruent Differentiation

Take it to the end first: differentiation means you are not being confused with competitors, so you stand out in a positive fashion. If all the companies that make steel are named after locations or owners, such as Bethlehem or Harris Steel, you will not achieve much differentiation if you are called Rogerson Steel. Choose StrongSteelCo and, at the least, you have demonstrated a positioning and promise in your name.

Now for the resonant congruent part. Congruent, be consistent with the qualities and values personified in the products/services you provide. If you make a high-end speaker system, naming it 'Mickey's Speakers' would not be a good call. People would think you had a "Mickey Mouse" product, and naming it after your own self, sounds low budget and small time. This name is incongruent with the image you wish to convey. This name type starts you off in the weeds, so you have to climb out to establish a quality identity.

Resonant, in a very basic sense, means the name makes the prospect or customer feel in alignment with the key message that the name of your product or service communicates. It is credibility, appropriateness, a connection with your brand.

'Mr. Fussy Roofing': Our Branding Hero

Let us use 'Mr. Fussy Roofing' as our example. For right or wrong, roofing contractors do not always, have the greatest reputations. People are suspicious of getting ripped off or of shoddy work. (A neighbor had a new roof put on. It drained improperly so water went between the siding and the underlayment. This was, as my daughter says, UNgood.) Many roofing contractors are small businesses and do not put a lot of thought into their naming and branding. (Exhibit #1: A local contractor named DBA Roofing.) Many other MALE business owners would find 'Mr. Fussy' to be too cute or feminine a name, and would instantly rule it out.

However, our Mr. Fussy did not. He went outside his comfort zone, possibly, to create a name that resonated congruently with me, his typical audience, and achieved positive differentiation. What do I take away from 'Mr. Fussy Roofing'? He cares, he is different from most, he features attention to detail, he will likely do an excellent job, and he does roofing. All from three words!

Contrast this with 'DBA Roofing'. I know they do roofing, and perhaps could not even think of a name. I do not know anything more about what they stand for, what their vision is, or how they do business. Just two words - Mr. Fussy - tell me so much more. Mr. Fussy differentiated his business. I get it and like what he promises, so it resonates with me. The idea of a roofer being fussy is very congruent and highly desirable to me.

So Why Don't More Companies Create Resonant Congruent Differentiated Names?
There are many reasons: ego, ability to be objective about every company except your own, stubbornness, caution, corporate culture, a desire to take a safe middle road, and on and on. This desire to 'play it safe', not take a chance, applies as often to big corporations as it does in small businesses.

Many people may think that 'Geek Squad' is a great name. It's more fun, evocative and compelling than 'Your Computer Experts' or some other safe vanilla choice. Yet when it comes to their own name, people get scared and go down a safe path. I recently named a coffee shop "Thanks a Latte." Would you rather go there for that experience or to 'Dunkin' Donuts' or 'Herb's Coffee Shop'?

Obviously, you have to take your audience into account. 'Thanks a Latte' is aiming for a Starbucks-type of crowd: more upscale, willing to pay a bit more for quality. Yet, in many cases, a striking, effectively clever, or even surprising name will take you so much further, especially if your marketing budget is limited. (Hey, isn't everyone's?)

Unless you are one of those cavemen from the Geico commercials, you know that a geek is a computer nerd. A geek squad is a whole mess of 'em. Chances are you will find 25 PC repair guys in your Yellow Pages called 'Something Computer Repair'. You'll only find one 'Geek Squad'. Let's say you see three commercials. One for 'Phil's Computer Shack', another for 'Waterville Computer Repair', and the third for 'Geek Squad'. Which are you going to remember? And who YOU gonna' call?

This brings up another key attribute of memorable, powerful names: attitude. 'Geek Squad', 'Thanks a Latte', 'Brains on Fire' (a naming firm), 'Mr. Fussy'... they all bring a distinctive point of view to the name. A name you can connect with almost viscerally. Consider Mr. Fussy one more time. Who has more of a persona in two words: 'Mr. Fussy' or 'Bob's Roofing'? Who conveys more depth of appropriate and convincing meaning in two words? While finding a name that fits is important, creating one that voices a point of view, that you and your business believe in, will go a long way toward developing true differentiation and memorability. You can say this attitude will give you greater resonance with proper congruence, if you do it right.

Do You Want to Describe What You Do, Or Be Memorable?

If you're going to name your company and have, it stand out from the competition, choosing a functional name like 'PhotoCopy Hut' isn't really going to dazzle anyone. 'PhotoCopy Hut' doesn't go any further than simply being functional on a very basic level, but we've seen worse. Ever notice a truck go by you on the expressway that says something like "Kordis." They may even have a tag line, such as "Bringing the World to You." You wonder, what do they do? Are they importers? Are they a global delivery service? Do they manufacture desktop globes? They have this incredible opportunity to create thousands of impressions a day with consumers and they cannot even be bothered to say what they do. This is truly a waste of a great moving billboard.

Big companies are fond of neologisms, (concocted words or terms), such as Claris or Pentium. They get away with it because they have huge budgets. I think you know there's Intel inside by now. Yet have you ever heard of Comergent? And if you did, would you remember it?

There are other types of names: acronyms, evocative, descriptive, alphanumerical, and aspirational and on and on. That's the topic for a future article.

Yes, your name and brand identity need to be more than resonant, congruent, and differentiated. Other essential aspects of your brand include being authentic, connected, able to be lived every day, attention to every detail of customer contact, and so on. But an excellent starting point is the resonant/congruent/differentiated test. Think about those ideas in relation to your name or brand.

If you would like some fresh thinking and branding, naming, tag line, or positioning assistance, please get in touch. 585.746.2320 or e-mail chucketal@aol.com. ChuckIngersoll.com

About the Author
Chuck Ingersoll is a freelance namer, brander and copywriter. He brings over 20 years advertising agency experience to the process, and specializes in creating names, positionings and taglines that are not only clever, but effective. (Otherwise it's just empty creativity.) For 10 years he operated his own advertising agency in Rochester, NY, Ingersoll et al, serving major clients Kodak, Xerox and Bausch & Lomb. As a writer, creative director, and vice president at other ad agencies, his experience covers most industries and every type of marketing communications writing from ads to Web sites.

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By Roy Barker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You know its Christmas time when two things happen...

1) People stand in line for 48 hours, camped outside Best Buy for 48 hours, waiting for the latest PlayStation release, or...

2) The Internet giveaway fever really heats up - More about this later.

The current Play Station mania is an incredible lesson in marketing. However, I missed the importance of what was going on until a friend smacked me in the face with it this morning...

DUMB LIKE A FOX...

Our friend -- I'll call him AJ -- reported this morning that he and his wife had just returned from Wal-Mart where they had been camping for 48 hours to get one of four available PlayStations 3, when they went on sale...

Unbelievable! I thought he was insane when he told us this. Who wants a PlayStation bad enough to stand in line 48 hours?

Well...

He said with a smile, "We got two!"

So! It was still 48 hours in front of a store, right. Do your kids really need PlayStations THAT badly?

"Oh, they're not for the kids! We listed them on eBay within an hour," he said, still smiling. "And they're averaging 5 to 7 thousand dollars. Some have sold for more than $14,000." Search for "PlayStation 3" on eBay. The prices blew me away.

I was stunned. Not because of the price, (people pay extravagant prices for just about anything), nor because my "insane" friend actually made about $390 per hour, if he sells them both for $7000, but because I had totally missed the entire marketing lesson expertly laid out by Sony and Wal-Mart.

The six basic marketing persuaders from Robert Cialdini's classic book, "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion", are in full view!

** Authority -- Wal-Mart. Love 'em or hate 'em, they are the big kahuna in mega store retailing. If they advertise that they have four PlayStations in stock...they have four and only four in stock. However, they promise they can get more because...well, they can.

** Liking -- People practically live at Wal-Mart. Convenience and service translate into customers with an undying loyalty to them, often because they have become the only game in town.

** Commitment with Consistency -- Let's see. Stand outside in November in the rain for 48 hours to be the first in line for the release of a new product. That's serious commitment!

** Reciprocation -- Wal-Mart provides a free (and massive) PS3 buyer's guide on their site that provides all the information you need to make a decision between the $500 and $600 basic units, and all the accessories required. Giving such, complete information not only sets up the authority persuader, but also makes you value the content and feel indebted to the retailer. Call this reciprocity.

** Social Proof -- The press has been lapping up Sony's press releases about the PlayStation launch date, and the lack of product. In addition, the gaming blogs can talk of nothing else.

** Scarcity -- Sony is really smart! They do this every year. Release only enough of the hot product to create an insatiable appetite for it. They may have warehouses full of PlayStations, but they won't release them until the market begs for more.

HOW DID I MISS THIS!

AJ knew -- before he invested the time to stand in line --that the market was clamoring for the product. In addition, he saw an opportunity.

He had no intention of keeping the PlayStations himself. His research on eBay confirmed that PS3 fans were rabid and would pay any price!

Like any good marketer, he remembered the first rule: Determine what the market wants and sell it to them. As Mark Hendricks, a master marketer, and creator of the Christmas season giveaways, likes to say, that's the difference between "marketing" and "selling" -- it's much easier to make money when you're providing a much-wanted service.

Selling something no one wants is hard work, indeed. Marketing is easy.

I should have seen it too. I've studied with some great internet marketers. Most teach the basic principles of Robert Cialdini's book.

CHRISTMAS MADNESS...

During the Christmas season, online marketers flock to the Internet to collect gifts -- usually informational products and software tools. Always free, hence the name giveaway, the purpose is to drive traffic. All of Cialdini's uses the six persuaders to create the buzz, exchange the gifts for e-mail addresses and names.

The 12 Days of Christmas is the granddaddy of the online giveaway extravaganza and Mark Hendricks is the father of the concept. For several years now, Mark has brought together more than 75 top marketers to giveaway hundreds of products during the month of December.

Because the concept worked so well and has become an Internet marketing staple, a gazillion giveaways pop up. It's now a standard tool in every marketer's toolkit. Why does it work so well? It's based on one of Cialdini's persuaders -- reciprocity.

I give you something and you'll feel obligated to give me something back. It's a technique used everywhere. When you go to the grocery, clerks stand at sample stations offering everything from cubes of cheese to portions of spaghetti and meatballs. Why? If you take a sample, chances are really good that you'll buy the product.

However, at Christmas...Whew! It's tough to keep up and maintain enough free disk space on your computer for all the online giveaway opportunities.

The six persuaders (all included above) are real. Until I got involved in the Internet, I had no idea I was being "persuaded" at every turn. We all react to them, will forever, and have ever since the first caveman tried to sell the first hunk of meat to his neighbor.

It took a PlayStation 3 and AJ to point me back to the "real" world to see it in action there too.

David Perdew is an enthusiastic Internet Success System student (http://www.the60dayexperiment.com/recommends/iss.htm) and contributor to 12 Days of Christmas (http://www.the60dayexperiment.com/go/12Days.htm). You can read about how he incorporates Mark's marketing techniques on his blog (http://www.the60dayexperiment.com/blog/12day.htm).

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By Titus Hoskins

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Introduce yourself or your product

2. Create buzz during a product launch

3. Build your list by offering free videos

4. Create video content to enrich your site

5. Build a more personal relationship with subscribers

6. Keep in contact with your clients

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

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

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

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

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

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By Steve Renner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Alicia Forest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Mal Keenan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Alicia Forest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Find out why they are leaving...

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

4. Make another offer...

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

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

Copyright 2007 Alicia M Forest and Client Abundance

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

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By Elias Georgi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Elias Georgi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Steven Gerber

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Stephen Joyce

Many retail business owners feel pressure to set up shop online. However, is this realistic expectation or is it an exercise in futility. Some very important key questions need answered before considering the move to online sales.

1. Are your products conducive to mail, phone, or online sales? You think every product will sell online, to some degree, you would be correct. Should you sell every product online? The answer is no. Many products do not sell well online because they are not conducive to impulse purchases, the demand is low, or the product itself has a long sales cycle. Most people will make purchases online using a credit card, having a limit of $1,000 to $5,000, so that the products or combinations of products are easy to purchase.

2. Are you prepared to sell your products online? This may seem very basic, but it will validate your motivation to succeed online. If your motivation to sell online is driven by a belief that "everyone else is doing it and so should I”, then you should seriously consider the implications of selling online. Once you have made the mental decision to sell online, you can begin to formulate your strategy for doing so.

3. Do you have the resources to sell online? Are you prepared to handle five, ten, a hundred, five hundred orders a day? Do you have the staff to fulfill orders, manage online customer service, and make updates to the website? Do you plan to do this work yourself? If so, have you considered the impact this decision will have on the rest of your business? Create a plan that sets definitive goals for your online storefront, as you would for any business opportunity. Remember, managing a successful e-commerce website is a full-time job.

4. Who will build your site? One of the biggest myths about e-commerce is that anybody can build and run an online store. The truth of the matter is that anyone can build and run a store online, but only a select few can do it well. There are many online store builders, shopping cart programs, and hosted applications that let you build a site and start selling your products online, but realistically you get what you pay for with most of these services. Consider hiring a company who specializes in developing online commerce sites for you. The result will be superior to a homegrown site and will ultimately result in increased credibility and sales.

5. What is your budget? Get quotes from a variety of vendors. You will find that the quotes you get back will range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars. A reasonable amount to budget for your new website is around $10,000 for a full build out including custom web design and software, and ongoing server and maintenance fees of about $300 to $500 per month. When you consider your budget, take into account that the more you spend upfront, the less likely you will be to change the site. On the Internet, keeping your website fresh and updated is crucial to your credibility.

Now that you have answered the fundamentals, you will want to ensure you take the following steps to get your online store set-up correctly and efficiently:

1. Set-up an Internet Merchant Account This is necessary. You may be tempted to use PayPal, 2Checkout, or some other low cost online payment solution, however, in the end, when your site becomes popular and you start generating significant revenue, you will find that the discount rate you pay with a true merchant account will be much less. Although there is a little more work involved in setting up an Internet capable merchant account, your credibility, not to mention your payment tracking, are simplified.

2. Purchase a Secure Certificate. This is also necessary. Securing your site is mandatory in order to avoid possible issues with credit card theft. All merchant account providers will require you have a secure certificate installed on your server before they issue you the account. Secure certificates range in cost from around $80 CAD to $500 CAD depending on the level of security and authentication you require. For the most part, a basic certificate is all that is required for online sales.

3. Organize your product data. When you have your product data organized in a spreadsheet, it will go a long way to speeding up the set-up of your store. It will also help you organize your store layout and determine what products will sell best online.

4. Take good product photos. Since your online customers will not be able to hold or touch your products, a good photo is your next best option. Your photographs should be bright, with good contrast, and show the product either alone or in combination with complimentary products. For example, when selling a pair of jeans, take a photo of a person (preferably someone who looks attractive in the jeans) actually wearing the jeans. Have the person wear other complimentary products from your store like a popular shirt, shoes, and a purse. Customers will be more inclined to buy the jeans if they can see the jeans in context with other products.

5. Set-up a newsletter. Permission based newsletters are an excellent way to keep your customers coming back to your store. Sending a monthly newsletter that highlights new products, sales, or promotions can be a great way to retain and attract new customers.

6. Visit stores that you like and make notes. Do your research. Look at the sites that are at the top of their game and find out what they do. How are their products displayed? How does their shopping cart work? How often do they update their site? The more information you can provide to your web designer and developer, the closer they will come to meeting your expectations.

In summary, do not rush into anything. Like all good things, a high quality revenue-generating website takes time, money and effort to build. There is nothing wrong with starting small Article Submission, but remember to re-invest in your online store. Make improvements whenever you can and keep it fresh. The days of "build it and they will come" have long been over. Talk to a marketing expert and plan your strategy accordingly.

Stephen Joyce is President of Sentias Software Corp, a software development company based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Sentias develops the Booking Server, a sophisticated hosted tour product management and distribution system. For more information about the Sentias Booking Server, please visit http://www.sentias-booking-server.com.

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By Steve Renner

A fast way to become successful is to Model Success. Find the person who you would like to be like and copy them. This is a secret to Internet Marketing Excellence.

I am on many mailing lists, and like to keep track of what is happening in the Internet Marketing scene. This keeps me in tune with what is going on.

The older, more experienced Marketers are teaching new people the business with their special Coaching and Mentoring Programs.

As part of their Coaching service, they will help these new marketers break into the business, by promoting them to their list. There is nothing wrong with this, and it is actually a great thing. This is how most of the great marketers get started.

Problem is, it seems more and more people who graduate from these Coaching Programs are getting into the business. They want to start giving their Marketing Advice.

One thing I can tell you is this, in the Internet Marketing world there is an incredible amount of different information floating around. It can be overwhelming. This is called Information Overload, and it happens to everyone.

Another problem is you do not always know if the information you are getting is reliable or not. Is this something someone has learned from someone else? Are they now passing themselves off as an expert? Is this coming from someone that has really done it?

It is essential you know the person from whom you are receiving the information.

A good marketer is always looking to learn new things, and looking to learn from someone. If you find just one golden nugget of information, it can make you a fortune in your business.

That's why it is critical that when you are looking to learn from someone, look for a person who is out there actively Marketing, someone who is actually in the trenches doing it on a daily basis.

If they are just learning as you are, then this is not the source example to follow.

Look for someone who has been in the business for a while and has a good track record of success.

This person can become your Mentor. When you find someone that you look up to and want to be like, then just look at what they are doing and copy them.

This is the easiest way to be successful in your business, Model Success! If it is working for them, Business Management Articles, then it can work for you too.

This is a Secret to Internet Marketing Excellence!

Steve Renner has been marketing online since 1998. He is the Director of Training and Marketing for The Affiliate Community, an Online Training and Resource Site for Affiliate Marketers of all Levels.He is a pioneer in the development of Hybrid Marketing and is an Expert in Internet Marketing and Marketing Affiliate. http://www.affiliatecommunity.netGet over $1,000 in Training and Resources FREE!

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By Jeff Smith

Packaging your own ebook, report, audio package, course, or manual to sell online is within everyone's reach and ability. Turn the knowledge, experience, and information you already have into your own information product. You can quickly be piloting your very own online business keeping 90% of the profits.

Building your own business around what you already know or have experienced is one of the easiest, fastest, and most proven methods of escaping the job market in search of your own profit- producing home-based business.

You may not believe it, but you already have a pot-of-gold within your reach right now - sitting, waiting to turn into products you can sell online.

By packing your knowledge, experiences and stories into digital ebooks, booklets, or even your own course or workshop, you have the foundation for a very profitable small venture.

What have you done or experienced in your life that has demanded you study, research, explore, or learn by working through it? What changes have you gone through that have made you stronger, and what challenges have you faced that have taught you what only someone who has been through your experience would know? At first, examples may not come flooding into your head, but think a little longer, and you should be able to come up with dozens.

SOME BRAIN TRIGGERS

Let us go back in time, at least for many of us to the time you came out of school and began your work life. What did you learn? What challenges did you have? Do you remember taking personality tests, working with counselors to help you find your aptitude? How can you research different kinds of careers to find a match? How easy was that experience? In my case, I had fully expected to work through a law degree after University and become a lawyer. I recall working with our career counselors - even in high school, who had some neat methods of discovering strengths.

Next, I remember having a very challenging time trying to understand, first-hand, what it meant to work as a lawyer - to even meet and talk with other lawyers in the field.

What could I learn from this? Moving from school to the workforce is a crucial time in a woman or man's life. Everyone wants you to succeed, many people want to help - but there are frustratingly few resources to help you.

Could you package some research on personality and aptitude testing with a range of first-hand profiles about many common careers? You could solicit a few pages from several career choices to give an "insider's" approach to particular fields of work.

How about other experiences you went through:

- Marriage advice: including whom to marry, advice on relationships leading up to marriage, how to organize your wedding, handling budget and family issues with weddings, etc...

- Raising children, you cannot tell me you did not learn a great deal for those of you who have raised children

- Changing careers or advancing in your career. It seems we all go through many life lessons as we work through career advancement. If you look back, what advice could you provide that would help make better career choices, if you had to do it again?

- How about health. Were you able to try to find methods of stress relief, ways to reduce pain or suffering from illness, methods of losing weight, or increasing overall fitness? You may think this field is highly competitive, and it is, but there is always room for added tips and strategies based on real experience

- Travel, do you have some hints or tips on traveling?

There are dozens upon dozens of examples where you can take life experiences and the research or knowledge you already have to launch your own information product publishing business.

You may begin slowly with a report, 40-page ebook, blog, newsletter, or you may jump right into seminars, workshops, and a manuscript for a published book.

However you choose to start, you will find you can build your knowledge into a hot business with some determination, persistence, and an action-oriented attitude.

TWO IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

Does this excite you, the prospect that you have the basis of your own information publishing business within you right now? Most people do not even realize the value of the information they already have, thereby dismissing themselves as a legitimate information publisher.

That is too bad, because the financial and lifestyle rewards of operating your own info-publishing business are many.

So, when you consider your life experiences and hobbies, ask yourself these two very important questions:

1. Are there others going through the same experience or situation?

2. Would your information help them increase their pleasure or reduce their pain with this experience?

You do not have to have all the answers, only enough to improve the situation of others who will follow you through some of these life experiences.

Even the greatest books, courses, or workshops do not tell you everything about a given subject or even give you all of the answers to a given question.

By packaging your knowledge, experiences, tips, and techniques into your own information product (ebook, book, booklet, audio, or video) toward solving a specific problem for your market you will have improved your customer's life.

Discover How To Package Information For Profits in Jeff Smith's blockbuster "Ultimate Information Entrepreneur's Success Package (http://www.infoproductcreator.com/). Find out the exact techniques to use for developing "magnetic" ideas that attract customers to your products like crazy!

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By Michael Moshkovich

These are tips on what to avoid during the developing stages of your internet marketing business to give yourself the best chance at success.

You need to know several things before building a business in internet marketing. More important, several aspects need avoided when building an internet marketing business. Avoid overuse of keywords, and waiting to advertise your website. It can be detrimental toward the success of your internet marketing business.

All over the internet, search engine optimization and keyword optimization are one of the most important parts to internet marketing. What people do not realize is, this does not mean put your targeted keywords in every line of content. Overusing your keywords throughout your content makes it difficult to follow along with what you are saying. You have to learn to create a balance between the two extremes of not enough use and too much use of keywords.

Keywords are a vital part to the content you distribute in your internet marketing business. The content itself will either draw in readers or push them away. When you begin writing your content, it is easy to get off the subject and begin writing about nonsense. However, it is crucial you provide quality content related to your websites overall theme.

Aside from the content on your website, the information you provide in your emails and other internet marketing schemes is crucial to generating more sales. Because your internet marketing business is new, the logical thing to do is make your point clear and concise. Sometimes clear and concise is too long. It is difficult to learn when you first start out, but you will quickly realize the best email messages get your point across in a short message.

The last thing that is oh too common with newbies is waiting to begin marketing your website until it is more developed. The problem is you are wasting time to begin generating potential sales. Your website constantly needs developing, because in internet marketing, the best way to stay on top is to constantly be evolving and adding new content.

On top of the potential profit you could be missing, you have no idea whether your hard work is what the public is looking for until you give them a chance to look at it. The best way to build a people-friendly website is to get feedback and criticism, because this allows you to learn from your mistakes and build off what people are telling you.

Although you do want to put a lot of research into how you can build a promising internet marketing business, what not to do should be of equal importance to you. While there are several things you need to avoid, Business Management Articles, these are some of the worst mistakes you can make in the internet marketing business.

Michael Moshkovich is a web developer and internet marketer who has written over 50 articles on SEO, shopping cart software and PPC marketing. To find out more information about WebCart visit us here (http://www.webcart.net/). For eCommerce marketing tips, visit the WebCart Blog (http://www.webcart.net/shoppingcartsoftware).

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By Mal Keenan

What Mistakes are you Making that are Seriously Hampering your Affiliate Marketing Business? Find out How to Avoid Profit Crushing Errors...

My main aim as an affiliate marketer is to get the most profit out of the market I am promoting. Over the years through trial and error, I have perfected what I believe to be three of the most important strategies for gaining nice profits from whichever internet market you decide to enter.

So, let us get started...

Strategy Number One - You should absolutely set up a website for your affiliate products. Sure, every product will come with its own affiliate page, customized with your unique affiliate links, but smart marketers know that this is not enough. It is very important you set up your own website for your affiliate products. This includes registering your domain and hosting, plus creating or paying for a simple web design - complete with the affiliate images that most affiliate programs provide.

Setting up a website may seem like too much hard work but believe me; it pays off in terms of future profits, if you put in the initial effort.

It also pays to create a different page within your website for each affiliate product or service. You could write an article or review page highlighting the benefits of using your recommended service with a link to your unique affiliate page.

Setting up a blog geared towards your affiliate market is the perfect way to implement the above strategy.

Strategy Number Two - Next on my list of essential strategies is to place an opting form on your website offering a free report outlining the benefits of your service. The majority of sales are between the fifth and twelfth contact between you and your prospect.

If a prospect visits your site and then clicks off never to return, you have missed many more opportunities to close the sale. This is where the opt-in form comes in. If you manage to entice website visitors to offer their email address, then you can follow up via an email autoresponder as often as you like or until the prospect unsubscribes from your list.

Short 7-day reports are quite effective and if you provide useful information, you may have a customer for life. Capturing a prospects email address is one of the most important tasks in affiliate marketing and internet marketing as a whole.

Strategy Number Three - Drive TARGETED traffic to your site. No point in paying to send general website visitors to a site built around the topic of "Exotic Birds". If you are sending visitors to an "Internet Marketing" site, it is pointless to write and submit articles on "Travel in Italy". Do you get the point? It is essential that you target your visitors to your affiliate-marketing niche, if you are going to close the sale. This point may seem obvious to some Article Submission, but many IM newbies spend countless hours and dollars focusing on website traffic that is simply not interested in what they have to offer.

The three strategies above are extremely effective and even more so in a tight niche market. If you employ the advice, you are well on your way to becoming a successful affiliate marketer.

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

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By Steven Gerber

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Donna Gunter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Tellman H. Knudson

Your goal as a marketer is to monetize your site as quickly and as easily as possible. In the process, build your list along the way.

There are all sorts of different ways to think about doing this.

If you are an AdSense publisher, it may be smarter to have AdSense only after people subscribe to your list. In addition, it may be smarter to only show the AdSense after people have told a friend.

Do you see why?

If these people are not on your list, if they are not telling their friends, then you cannot monetize those people again. They visit your site, and then leave, and go to the AdSense ad site, and forget to join your list. If they are on your list, you can monetize them repeatedly with ways that have more impact than AdSense.

Until they subscribe, do not show the AdSense. It may turn people off and they may not join your list. Alternatively, as I said, there are various ways to think about this. Maybe when they subscribe, the AdSense disappears because you already captured their names and addresses for your list, and then you can follow up and make recommendations on products that they would benefit from. Test these!

Perhaps, do an A/B split test, where one page has AdSense and the other does not. See which one works better, and then go with it. However, keep testing. Test your headline; test your subscribe button. You can test all the elements of your page--one test at a time. For instance, do not change your headline and the opt-in button at the same time. You will not know which prompted the viewer to join your list.

Consider the following. When implementing marketing strategies, do not take too much time before you test them. If they do not work, you took a lot of time to think about something, which did not work.

I would recommend that you send out a press release. Do it today, or at least first thing in the morning to drive traffic to your squeeze page, which should lead to your sales letter or the sales letter of the product you are promoting. A press release about your new site will get some traffic.

You also want to use pay-per-click. The reason you want to use pay-per-click is, you can check your conversions and see how everything works before you find list members and everything else. I would use pay-per-click and get rolling with that right away.

Whatever your budget is $5, $10, $100, or $2,000, spend that. You want to go low. You can spend $5 to $10 a day. Focus on split testing and tweaking the squeeze page and the sales page, until it is making money for you on the $10 a day.

The whole thing is... Do not Wait! Take action immediately! Do not let anything stop you. If your squeeze page sucks, you can make changes to it, until it does not suck anymore. Yet, it is out there the whole time, getting some response. If you had nothing working for you, you would be no further in building your list.

Tellman Knudson is CEO of http://OvercomeEverything.com. Learn how to build a powerful and responsive list quickly through his premiere list-building course, http://MyFirstList.com (http:/myfirstlist.com ).

Changing Your Affiliate Formula]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips_WBr_367/user/index.php

By Laurie Brown

You Made a Mistake…But Now I Am Your Biggest Fan

Pearl chose to celebrate her 94th birthday with her family and friends at a local restaurant. Although she had always enjoyed the restaurant, she specifically chose it because she was a member of its frequent diner program and was entitled to free desserts for all her guests on her birthday.

She graciously offered each guest whatever dessert he or she wanted “on the house.” The server overheard Pearl and asked for the card that was sent to her announcing this offer. Pearl had not brought the card with her. The server apologized, but refused to offer the desserts saying, “There’s nothing that I can do. It’s policy.” Pearl was embarrassed, not only for forgetting the card, but also for putting her guests in an uncomfortable position.

One of the guests asked for a manager hoping that someone would do the right thing. No such luck. The manager repeated the same mantra, “Sorry, there’s nothing I can do. It’s policy.” The manager “allowed” the guest to call the corporate headquarters. Two phone calls later, a corporate manager said, “No problem!”

Of course, there was a problem. A big problem! Pearl was humiliated and angry. No one left the restaurant feeling fondly about what had been a great meal celebrating a momentous occasion. It will be a long time before Pearl or any of her guests return to this restaurant, if ever.

What had been accomplished? In an effort to “save money” by not allowing people to take advantage of the dessert offer, the restaurant had lost five good and loyal customers. It does not seem to be a smart business move, does it?

However, it was not just five customers that were lost. This lunch was such a bad experience for Pearl and her guests that they have been telling this story repeatedly and over.

People love to tell stories. They especially love to tell horror stories. Interestingly enough, customers will not tell stories about satisfactory experiences. Too boring… what would be the point? However, they will tell stories