King Machine

Get Your Own Domain Name Or Die Online

2009-01-30T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Sopan Greene, M.A., www.NetMarketingMastery.com

Would you buy from someone with an ""@yahoo.com"" e-mail address? I wouldn't. And the clients I've had the most trouble with use yahoo addresses or other free addresses. I understand that you don't want your regular e-mail address in ads that your run on free ad sites to prevent spam, but lets use some common sense here.

If you don't buy anything from yahoo's off line why would you buy from a yahoo online? If you're serious about your business you have to show it in your actions. The first action to take is to buy your own domain name and use it for all of your e-mails.

Lets say there's a Bob Jones who starts up an online company. Will you be quicker to buy from him and trust him if his e-mail address is ""bob@starpower.com"" or if you read an ad from ""bobjones711@yahoo.com?"" He's the same guy, but which address makes you trust him more and believe he's a legitimate business?

Even if you're not ready to put up a site (which you should be if you're marketing online), at least create a professional presentation with your e-mails. They're your main form of communication online and it's the main brand people see when you communicate. Everytime you send an e-mail you're advertising. Do you realize this? You'll never make decent money online if your e-mail address ends with ""@aol.com.""

When you come up with a great name for your site or business get a "".com"", not a "".net"" or "".info"" or "".tv"" or "".someotherwordpeopledontthinkoffirst."" If you can't get a "".com"" for your name, then come up with another name.

Since my main site is www.NetMarketingMastery.com and that's a bit long to type out, I also use www.nmmastery.com for people to get to the same site and use sopan@nmmastery.com for my e-mail address.

There are 877 and 888 numbers that do the same thing as 800 numbers, but what do you think of first?

Have ever you ever heard anyone talk about 888 numbers? How many times? Okay, now how many times have you heard people talk about 800 numbers? 888 and 877 numbers are known as the step brothers and sisters of 800 numbers.

Similarly, when you want to send a package overnight what company do you think of first? Probably Federal Express because they were the first company to do overnight shipping. You can use UPS or Airborne Express or some of the other smaller companies, but FedEx is the company that gets the most business because they're thought of first. You need to have a "".com"" domain because that's where visitors will go first no matter how many new domain endings are created years and years from now.

If you have "".net"" domain name then you'll be setting yourself up to lose visitors to whoever has the "".com"" domain for your name. Outside of earthlink.net how many "".nets"" come to your mind right now? On the other hand, how many "".coms"" can you think of?

When you hear about a cool company and want to see if they have a website do you try their name with a "".com"" or with a "".net"" or "".info"" or "".tv"" or "".anythingelsebesidesa.com?"" I'll bet money that you try the "".com"" first everytime and you always will because it's always going to be your first choice.

So if you haven't already, go buy a domain for your birth name and get crackin' on coming up with a great name for your business and go buy a domain for that name before it's taken. Honestly, we're talking about a $15 a year investment. If you're not willing to invest $15 into your business then you don't have a business. If you want to be taken seriously you have to have your own domain name or you will die online trying to make money. Period, end of story.

About the author: Get Your 2 FREE eBooks & a FREE report: ""Million Dollar Emails"", ""How To Start Your Own Traffic Virus"" & ""The 13 Deadly Internet Marketing Mistakes Almost Every Business Is Making..."" mail to: webmaster87-5956@autocontactor.com

Creative, Inexpensive, and BIG Value Marketing Gift Ideas

2009-01-29T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Catherine Franz

""Tis the season to be jolly!"" A great attitude is easy to have when you design your gifts with a lot of thought and don't allow the experience take you to the cleaners.

One of the traditions I like at this time of year is remembering all the people that were there for me this past year. Especially those that didn't receive anything in return for it -- in the smallest or largest way.

Meaningful gift giving does not have to be expensive. In fact, some of the most precious gifts are the ones that cost very little, but mean a great deal because of the time and effort it took to select, or create, and mail.

Here are eight ideas I have used over the last few years. You can use these as Christmas gifts; add them to your ""leave-behind"" marketing package, a referral thank you, or ""thanks for helping me"" gift.

It does make a difference if your logo or advertising information is on the gift. It does affect the perceived value on their part and can make a difference in your relationship. Make the choice to add your information or leave it off with their perception in mind. Remember, marketing is all perception and not product or service.

1. Purchase discontinued note card sets from Hallmark and other card shops during the year. If you call and ask your nearest store as to the time of year when they discount ""previous season"" items, they will gladly tell you. You can save from 50% to 75% on these items.

2. Create a logo candy jar. You can purchase candy jars with different seasonal markings. Then create a stencil with your company logo or web site address (I prefer the web site address). You can buy the stencil supplies and the empty candy jars at your local craft store like MJ Design, Michaels, or online. They sometimes have the mailing boxes to match. Add a bow with your business card. Keep the jar nice so they want to keep it out in the open for that season. Jars for the Easter season are great with the miniature eggs in them and are not likely to get completing jars from other suppliers. After dinner mints are great for the contents. If you return frequently, bring a refill with you.

3. Give a business journal. Borders and Barnes and Noble have all sorts of sizes and designs. For business journals or marketing journals, I usually buy the 8 ½ x 11 size (usually under $10) at Borders and then I write three or four marketing ideas in the journal that specifically apply to them.

4. Give a gift they can take home to their child(ren). Most business or marketing gifts are for everyone at the company or for them. Sometimes giving without a ""marketing angle"" attached increases the impact. Especially if you remember their child's birthday.

5. Create a family cookbook with 10 or so of your favorite (or personal family) recipes. Add your contact information on the back. Use the software, Clickbook (www.clickbook.com) to transfer it from your word processing software into a real nice booklet fast and easy.

6. Give them a subscription to one of the favorite magazines. I love writer's magazines and writing, so receiving something I am so passionate about along with the gift of learning is perfect for me. If you get two, call the company and turn it into a two-year subscription. You can add to your card this idea if they already have a subscription. Do they have a hobby? Do they have a goal or working on a particular project? There are tons of magazines out there. You can also add to the card a list of web sites they can find more information on the topic. You can send a card with the subscription information in it separately so they know to expect it and to contact you if they don't receive it.

7. If you have great penmanship or creative on the computer, buy blank note cards and add their name on the front of the each card, like ""From the desk of..."" ""A personal note from..."" The fact that you took the time always makes an impact. Want to add a little more? Place a stamp on each envelope for them.

8. If they have a home office and you are into crafts, cross-stitch a wall calendar holder. It has a hook, nice border that shows past the large calendar size and business card sewn in with a place for them to hang their favorite wall calendar or you can send them a calendar with it the first year.

It is normal to value the gift to the value of the client/customer. You can just send everyone the same gift or you can match the gift value to the value you received from him or her.

Don't forget your bartering exchanges or the people that just ""opened your doors.""

About the author: Catherine Franz is a marketing industry veteran, a Certified Business Coach, Certified Teleclass Leader and Trainer, speaker, author. For daily, weekly, and monthly marketing nonfiction writing and deliberately creating ezines: http://www.AbundanceCenter.com. 703-671-5677

How To Build Your Greatest Opt-In List

2009-01-28T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Sopan Greene, M.A., www.NetMarketingMastery.com

I get e-mails all the time from people on my list asking about how to build their lists. This is the most important part of your business. The more subscribers you have, the more joint venture offers you'll get, the more money you'll make, and the more people you'll connect with. The best tip I have on this is at: http://www.nmmastery.com/freereports/fastestlist.shtml

But don't make the mistake that most businesses do - don't ignore how you treat the people who already subscribe to your list or who are already your customers. If you don't give people reasons to stay subscribed, you'll lose them. It's important to not abuse your list (by hitting them with too many ads and too many offers). It's important to appreciate your list (by giving them valuable information they can't get other places). But most importantly, you have to give them some of your personality.

Yeah, give 'em some of good old you. I don't mean you should be an egomaniac. I mean you have to reveal a little bit of what makes you unique and great as a soul. There are tens of thousands of ezines out there. Why should someone read yours? Because of the ads? I don't think so. People read ezines that give them valuable free advice, that make them laugh, that make them feel connected to the author (like you understand who they are and what they're going through), that make them feel better after they read it.

I'm not saying that you have to be a genius or a comic either. If you're not losing subscribers on a regular basis then you're not expressing yourself enough. It's okay, even great actually, to be honest even when it pisses people off. My subscribers that have been with me the longest are the ones who are serious about their business. The people I lose are tire kickers hoping to win the lottery one day.

Those people are never going to buy from me and they are never going to create a successful business so I'm happy to let them go. I love being around inspired people who actively take action to create what they want. I don't have time for people who waste their time complaining and acting like a victim. Does this sound harsh? It's not. The people you allow yourself to be with will either take you up or down and I'm going up...and I'm bringing others up with me.

I write for the 20% of people who are actually taking action and are committed to creating the life of their dreams. That's not everyone. These people read what I have to write and know that I'm coming from the heart while building my business and helping them to build theirs.

So each time you publish a new issue of your ezine I invite you to push yourself a little. Expose a little more of who you are to your readers. Let them know what you love and what bugs you. Your readers are humans like you, they have ups and downs, families, friends, jobs, dreams, etc. Share a little of your life with them. They'll appreciate it and you'll build a great community of online friends and supporters.

Connect with your readers and your ezine list will explode (in a good way). More importantly, you'll be impacting people's lives in positive ways. When they see you being strong in who you are it gives them the confidence to express themselves in the world.

We could all use a little more honest self expression. So share yourself and build your list and be an online success. I dare you to go for it.

Build Your Marketing Muscle

2009-01-27T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Sopan Greene, M.A., www.NetMarketingMastery.com

During a saxophone lesson the other day I realized how much regular practice can help a part time internet marketer. My teacher taught me a long time ago to just play for 15 minutes a day to progress. I was shocked when I first started doing it, but it works. And it works fast.

As I've applied that theory to my business I've seen the same rewards. If you have a tight schedule, it's actually better to work on marketing for 15 minutes a day than it is to come up with a block of hours to get a lot done.

The reason why is that a habit to make a little time a day to focus on your business keeps the ideas flowing and consistently builds your marketing muscle. It's also a lot easier to find 15 minutes every day than it is to find an hour or more.

Think about it. In 15 minutes you can send out some articles, work on an article or send some e-mails for ad swaps. All of these activities are building your exposure and your list.

Most internet marketers are part timers for at least 6 months to year depending on how much time they spend on their business. If you can go for a half hour or an hour or more a day go for it. But most newbies are struggling to put in 5 hours on weekdays while juggling a full time job and a busy family life.

The key is to pick an amount of time you know you can do. Commit to spending that amount of time every weekday with longer times on the weekend. If you can do it at the same time every day it works easier. Treat this time like it's an important appointment with an important person. (You are an important person aren't you? No one else will build your business.) Don't let anything break your date with your business.

Too many folks fail because they simply don't treat their business like it's a business. A hobby is something that costs you money and you work on when you feel like it. A business is something that makes you money and you work on it even when you don't feel like it. You deserve to reap the rewards that an online business brings.

The profits are bigger down the road, but treating your business with a business attitude will get you there faster. A 15 minute a day habit can build your marketing muscle and accelerate your progress. Give it a whirl. What have you go to lose?

The Fastest List Growing Secret

2009-01-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Sopan Greene, M.A., www.NetMarketingMastery.com

Are you running ads and marketing with tag lines that send people to your website? Then you're missing the point of internet marketing and losing out on your best money making opportunity.

First a little history. The guys who started internet marketing were all either successful direct marketers or people who learned from successful direct marketers. Direct marketing is marketing through the mail, catalogs, infomercials, etc.

Ask any direct marketer or any internet marketer who has gotten REAL results what the most important part of marketing is. They will ALL tell you it's the list, the list, the list. In internet marketing this means YOUR opt-in e-mail list for your ezine or newsletter.

The larger your list grows, the more targeted customers you have to market to for the rest of your life. If you're not building a list then you're wasting your time trying to market on the internet. The BIG PICTURE is more than one sale to one customer.

The ONLY purpose of an EFFECTIVE (money making) website is to capture e-mail addresses of targeted people who are interested in what you are selling. Why? Because most first time visitors to a site DO NOT BUY. Because you want customers for life, not customers for one sale and then bye-bye.

If you want to create good customers you have to earn their business. The only way to earn it is to follow up with them, let them get to know you and give them VALUABLE information for free. People buy from people and businesses they trust and trust can't be created from a one time visit.

You have to brand yourself just like The Gap, Coca-Cola, and Nike. When you buy their products you know what you're going to get. By the way, how many people do you know who only bought one coke or shopped at the Gap once and never went back?

Your newsletter sent to YOUR opt-in e-mail list is the way you get people to come back. It's how people get to know what you're about and whether they should buy from you. Of course you better not sell them crap even once or they'll be gone, but we're just talking about how to get them to the point of buying for the first time.

Instead of sending people to your website you should be sending them to an e-mail autoresponder. On the autoresponder you should write either a note about your newsletter or your site or both along with a link to your site. Even if your site is primarily set up to capture e-mails this will increase the amount of subscribers to your list much faster.

This way you have captured their e-mail for sure before they go to your site. Since your list is opt-in it means that if they don't want to be on it they can always click an unsubscribe link to get off.

If you want to increase your profits in the long run you need to focus on building your list. Don't be misled by thinking that you start an online business and go out and make a ton of money the first month. You can, but most people don't.

The internet marketing millionaires of today have well over 50,000 people on their lists. Lists they built over time and make more money from every time they send an offer.

You can do it too...if you stop sending people directly to your site.

How To Be An Internet Marketing Champion

2009-01-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Sopan Greene, M.A., www.NetMarketingMastery.com

How bad do you want to make money on the internet? You know thousands of people are doing it and maybe you've had a little success. But do you really want your own business operating 24 hours a day making money for you?

If you don't then why are you reading this? You must know that you can do this or you would be off investing your time in watching TV or building an ant farm right now.

We all know that many people have created successful internet businesses with little or no money. I guarantee you that all of these folks started out with positive attitudes and their minds focused on winning.

So what makes the attitude of a champion work online? It's simple. There are a few things that you should be doing to market like an Internet Marketing Champion:

1. You have to LOOK for what's missing and then provide it. Focus on SOLUTIONS. Not only what people need, but if you want to sell well you have to give people what they want. You will be much more successful by selling products that are interesting to you.

Before you create a product do research to make sure that people want to buy it. Even if you know they need it. People spend most of their money on what they want, not what they need. Do you see people spending more money on sodas and beer they want (that make them unhealthy) or health food that they need to be healthy? If you don't have money to pay your bills and you really want to go to see a movie do you go to the movie or save the cash for bills you need to pay?

2. You have to do what other people don't want to do. Obviously you and I are entrepreneurs so we already find creative ways to build our businesses. You already know about the basics: classifieds, search engine placement, submitting articles, publishing your own ezine, building your own opt-in list, etc. But are you doing all of these extra things to build your business?

- Marketing offline - Testing different sales letters to see what works best - Studying copywriting masters and copying their killer ads and sales letters - Having a Successful Internet Marketer review your site copy and layout to help you maximize sales to your traffic - Spending 90% of your time on marketing - Marketing at least an hour a day - Studying direct marketing as well as internet marketing - Going to internet marketing seminars - where the true secrets are revealed by the people making the most money - Using e-bay to advertise your site and sell your products - Reviewing and updating your business plan monthly

3. You have to have a full time attitude. Even if you only work on your business part time, you have to have a big vision and big goals. If you're just doing this for some extra cash you will definitely fail. If you genuinely want to help others and provide solutions to their problems you will do well. Are you in this for the long haul (Champion)or just for a quick buck (it won't happen my friend)?

4. You have to have a compelling reason that drives you to make money online. Why do you want a lot of money? If you just want stuff you will probably fail. To be DRIVEN you need to have to get braces for your kid. You have to need money to put your kids through college. You have to need to make more money or you'll lose your house.

Get it? Your reason has to be something bigger than just making yourself happier or more comfortable. The bigger your reason is the higher chance of success you will have. If your reason is too small, you'll give up before you reach your goal.

When things are rough you can focus on your ""WHY"" and it will give you the power to go forward towards your success.

5. Besides the right attitude, you have to have 3 types of products: FREE products, a lead product and a backend product. Give away FREE products that are valuable for your target audience. Then offer them a lead product (less than $50). Then keep in touch with your customers and offer them a backend product (over $300). You will make most of your money on the backend product. Most people who only have one product don't do very well.

Internet Marketing Champions know that success on the internet comes from relationships. Care about what you're doing and the people who are your clients. Be a problem solver.

If you're commited to making tons of money on the internet, you have fun and you focus on your business with a positive solution-based attitude, you're an Internet Marketing Champion in the making. Keep your focus, do what you have to do and your business will grow and grow and grow. Or forget about all this and go start an ant farm.

Don't Treat Your Business Like a Casino

2009-01-23T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Sopan Greene, M.A., www.NetMarketingMastery.com

It's amazing how many people are jumping into the internet marketing business. The good news is that the pie is pretty unlimited so we can all get a nice slice. The bad news is that most of the people I encounter are thinking that they can buy some ""miracle"" product, sit around and money will show up.

What's up with that? This is a business, not a casino where you put down your money and hope it makes more for you. The bottom line with this business is that you will have to put in time and money to build, key word - build, your business. The more time you put in, the less money you have to put in. Why don't people get this? They need to start treating their business like a business and stop treating it like a hobby or a trip to the casino.

It's pretty basic business sense. No big secret here. On the internet you can run a business for under $100 a month to start. Most businesses cost AT LEAST $5,000 to get started and take 3 years to make ANY profit. The ""little guy"" has NEVER had such a great opportunity to make so much money before now.

On the internet you can build a business by spending only 5 or 10 hours a week. Spend it getting yourself free advertising and it will continue to build your business for years. How amazing is that?

There's a ton of money to be made for anyone who wants to build an online business the right way. Lord knows there's also plenty of products that are great to teach you how to do it right.

But I keep hearing from people who think they're going to put up a site and people will magically find out about it and buy what they're selling. If you build an ice cream stand in the middle of the desert do you think people will magically find it and buy ice cream? It's the same concept.

That's not how it works. It's called internet ""marketing"" for a reason. The more you market and the better you market, the more money you'll make. Even better, the longer you do it the easier it gets to make even more money.

Have these people ever heard of any business making money by just opening a storefront? It disappoints me to run into people with this attitude because I know they could do really well if they would just put some effort into creating their business.

C'mon. Get real. Do these folks really expect to get results with an attitude of, ""I'll spend some money and try this internet marketing thing to see if works."" Try to pick up a pencil off the floor. You can't. It's impossible. You pick it up or you don't.

""Try"" is a myth. When someone says they'll ""try"" to do something it's wimpy code for ""I expect to fail at this and have no intention of committing to getting results.""

Do it or don't but don't lie to yourself about ""trying"" anything. Have you seen someone ""try"" to diet or seen a teenager ""try"" to not talk back to parents? How did that work out?

These folks will give up quickly and settle for lives that don't turn them on. They'll keep on doing work they can't stand until one day they'll die. On their death bed all you'll hear is ""I should've, could've, would've but didn't.""

Imagine if these people instead had the attitude of, ""I'm building a business to create the life of my dreams for me and my family and nothings going to stop me!"" That's completely different from ,""I bought this 'how to make money on the internet' product and I'll try to do what it teaches and see what might happen, maybe, if I have time after I watch the game."" Which attitude do you think produces better results?

As long as we're alive for 80 to 100 years why don't we live it up and have fun making money and making more free time to do what we want with people we love?

The one thing no product can give you is passion and motivation. That's what you bring to the table every day. I'm driven by a passion to create my own multiple residual income streams so that I won't have to ever work a job I hate again. I also have a passion to empower others who have dreams of creating lives of freedom for themselves.

What are you passionate about? How can you make money from that? Why don't you go to work on it today?

Don't fall into the trap these people are in. If you don't like how your life is and you want to make it better, feel the pain of where your life will be in 10, 20 or 50 years if you stay on the same path. Let that pain fuel you into action to take control of your life and build your dreams into your reality.

This Is What You Need To Do...

2009-01-22T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Kellie Marzolf

To achieve great things in selling, you have to have confidence. In order to gain confidence you have to have knowledge. Gaining this knowledge should be the cornerstone of your business career.

You have to figure out what your goals are and teach yourself the best way to achieve them. Never stop learning. Learn everything you can about selling, marketing and people skills. This knowledge will make you a better person and a better business person.

Another skill that you are going to want to acquire is patience. You can't be impatient when trying to gain new customers or working with prospects. They may not work as fast as you would like in their decision to join your program or not. You have to be willing to accept this and learn to give them time to decide.

Curiosity is a wonderful companion to learning. Learn everything you can about your product so that you will be able to make better presentations. The more knowledge you have, the more confidence you'll exclude and the more sales you'll close.

So we've discussed confidence, knowledge and patience. Some other things you'll want to acquire are discipline, motivation and persistence.

This type of business is both challenging and rewarding. Do you think you have what it takes to accomplish it?

About the author: GIMMICKS NEVER WORK! AND NEITHER DOES WHAT YOU'RE DOING NOW. Learn how technology and common sense can set your financial life straight. What have you got to lose except stress over money?

http://www.goforthegolddirectory.com/everydaywealth Want to know my secret to success? mailto:mysecret@goforthegolddirectory.com

Little Stocking Stuffers for You, Your Friends, or Your eZine Readers

2009-01-21T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Susan Dunn, Marketing Coach

We know you're always looking for nice little things to tuck into your eZine for your readers. Here are some thoughtful and truly FREE little stocking stuffers for you, and for your readers.

Here's a site where you can convert those affiliate code and PayPal links which are not only long, but offensive, and a tipoff to people who reproduce your articles not to include them, to something smaller, like this: http:/ inyurl.com/yg73 by going here: www.tinyurl.com .

3. You can send really jazzy online e-invitations by going here: www.evite.com . Has a response system and management system for your "event" as well.

4. This site has children's awards you can e-mail that might come in handy for the BIG kids around you as well. Either send the award, or pass on the site: http://www.kidbibs.com/awards/card.html

5. Nominate your pet for Pet of the Day, all animal companions included: http://www.petoftheday.com/submit/

6. I'm reminded again, having done several holiday polls in my eZines this month, that everyone loves a poll! At www.bravenet.com you can construct your own, free and give your readers the chance to express themselves!

7. Everyone's got a blog. Do you? Do they" Go here for a free setup: www.blogger.com .

8. Here is a really nifty free logo-maker. Just put in the words and out comes the logo: http://nobleednews.com/logo_maker.htm

9. Most of us are beginning to realize the benefits of being able to create and update our own websites. Here's a free site that tells you just about everything you need to know: http://www.make-a-web-site.com.

10. Everyone wants their own eBook, everyone wants to know how to create those Adobe pdf files. Did you know how easy it is to do, and that your first 5 can be free? Go here: http://createpdf.adobe.com/index.pl/1244883655.62312?BP=IE&v=AHP

About the author: Susan Dunn, Marketing Coach, http://www.webstrategies.cc . Is this the year you get your eBook published? We can help you from start to finish - writing and launching it on the Internet. Editing, ghost-writing, article-promotions, press releases, web page, ISBN, PDF formatting and print-on-demand. We know the drill. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for package prices. There's one for every pocketbook.

Marketing Lessons from Santa

2009-01-20T03:01:00.000-08:00

Author: Catherine Franz

If a nonexistent man can change the world and millions of people with a message of joy then his marketing plan surely works. Right? Then what has Santa been doing right all these years that we can learn from?

Santa's message is short--joy. His target market-- children and the young at heart. When you think of name Santa, you automatically associate it with giving, kindness, thoughtfulness, joy, magic, and usually a lighter heart.

Yet, his campaign began long ago in another country with a different brand. There have been songs about him, plays, movies, and more TV shows than any other brand.

Let's examine how Santa markets. Afterwards, let take a few minutes and see how it compares to you. It is natural to feel intimidated being compared to Santa, everyone feels that way at first. First, kick the intimidation in the ""ass""ets. You can't compete and you don't want to.

Be inspired. Santa's given you proof it can be done. Santa looks invisible until you see the children's eyes and smiles. Even as adults, we set aside our worries and allow joy in. And Santa does this without saying a word -- proves the power of nonverbal communication. And let's not forget his profitability!

Santa uses a solid yet standard psychological system that has stood the test of time and distance. His first main marketing principle is consistency. For hundreds of years he's delivered one brand, one message and a powerful visual image. It works for him, thus, it will work for you. Consistency includes the ripple effect. Every one of your contacts ripples the world. The tree that falls in the quiet forest is heard.

Your message needs to be consistent everywhere in your business -- voice service, web site, you're your shopping, or sitting waiting for a bus. This means being consistent 24/7 and being whom you want to attract. It is walking our talk. Consistency makes bank accounts ring jingle bells.

Take another moment, think of where you are or want to be consistent in your business. Make a list of three each day and the go make the changes. Check your e-mail signature and tone, business card, and web site. Is it consistently saying the one word that you want people to remember? One uncomplicated word. People remember simple. KISS it -- keep it short and simple.

Like Santa's ""joy,"" what one word do you want people to walk away with every time they connect with you or your business? Mine is ""inspired."" It is the one word that I want everyone to receive whenever they connect with me. What is your word? This is a word that tickles your Twinkie and you want it to ring bells whatever roof top it lands.

The word will have derivatives, like inspirational. If you look up ""joy"" in the ""Flip Dictionary"" (Barbara Ann Kipfer), its derivatives are: amusement, beatitude, bliss, cheerfulness, delight, ecstasy, elation, enjoyment, excitement, exhilation, felicity, festivity, gaiety, gladness, glee, happiness, jubilation, mirth, pleasure, rapture, satisfaction, and solace.

Santa's second marketing principle is his ability to leverage resources and spread his message. He provides the message, doesn't wait until we figure out what to say, and tell you exactly what he wants you to say to others. Give others the tools to smoothly give your message away. People appreciate having the ""right"" words.

Third, when you connect the word with positive energy it becomes a trend. If you focus on the negative aspects then it is a fad. Words connect feelings and energy and can be rocky or smooth. Smooth is easier to share. Fads are still important because they help with short-term revenue and keep the trend alive and moving. Many toys are fads placed inside the Christmas trend.

Let's take a look at Santa's hat, furry red suit and boots. Do you know anyone who delivers their product on a sleigh, with reindeer, and gifts in the middle of the night? Yet, it's made one heck of an impact in nonverbal communications, hasn't it? The fourth Santa principle creating a difference. Santa, like FEDEX, stands out with his delivery system. The US mail carrier comes close but still misses the mark. Yet, their uniforms don't compare, do they?

Okay, another ""thinking"" break. What do you that is different or makes a difference? Do you where a uniform or deliver your products in some different way? What can you do that would be simple, effective, and make a difference? Create a list of small and large. How about your phone or e-mail response rate? Maybe you only want to deliver one way, by FEDEX or by hand.

Make a list of your customer contact points. What difference can you make at those points that would make a difference in quality to your customer? Sell ebooks, offer a printed by mail version. How does your business card show your difference?

Here is a KEY point to the difference principle never mention. Shh...it's our secret. The difference must also be customer-oriented.

Let's brainstorm together. A professional organizer removes clutter. They could choose the words: clutter remover. Chuckle, similar to a trash remover. A coach could use Rudolph as an inspiration. Like the red-nose reindeer, they both provide a beacon for clearer navigation. Then isn't a life coach a ""life navigator"". Both Rudolph and a life coach also ""lights the way for others."" Chuckle, love to brainstorm.

Fifth, Santa checks his list to see who has been naughty and nice. Do you have a nice list? What puts them on your good list or moves them to the naughty list? What are the ""gifts"" for the people on the ""nice"" list? Create a possible gift list, let your brainstorming powers jump all over the place. How do you treat your list? Is it in a shoe box or on the computer but not backed up? Do you stay in contact with your list? How often?

Sixth, Santa gives first and then receives his cookies and milk. Are you asking for the cookies and milk first? Psychologically, people like people who first give their time, money or knowledge. It sends the message, ""Here I am, let me show you why you want to trust me."" Give and then be a gracious receiver. Tell them whether you like chocolate. 2% milk or a Diet Coke with your cookies.

Know where the boundary is on how much you give so that your energy doesn't change to anger. Even Santa has boundaries. Stop now and create a list of gift possibilities. ""What can you give?"" Give with an unchained heart, clear boundaries, no attached expectations, and success will connect with you.

The seventh Santa principle is his loyal and life long customers. Even though the relationship changes with his customer's age, his message of joy and good cheer remains generation after generation. Santa ties you into a solid loyalty program that people want to keep. His technique is ""customer create customer."" Quite different from other marketing messages of ""advertising creates customers.""

Deep breath, we coming to the close, how do your customers create other customers? Leverage this resource. It's cheaper too. What happened to the customers that bought from you this past year? What are your loyalty building policies and procedures? None, then you need to focus in and create one. Don't let customers fall of your sleigh. Go strap them in with seat belts. Yes, Santa's sleight has seat belts now.

Okay, you're sold. You want to market like Santa. Did you stop in-between each one, take notes, and know how you currently stand on each of Santa's principles? Are you willing to play full out, as Santa does? Borrow Rudolph's nose and get some support to help light your way. Or borrow one of the other reindeer and create a new direction?

Okay, find your Santa hat, sit down with milk and cookies, spread your notes out and make your priority list and make one decision. Which one do you want to tackle first? Which one will make the biggest difference? Make a list of messages with your one word that you want others to share.

Let my inspiration jump from my heart to yours. Then pass it along to someone else to inspire again -- ""customer to customer"" or in this case ""reader to reader."" Good tidings to all and to all a good night.

About the author: Catherine Franz is a marketing industry veteran, a Certified Business Coach, Certified Teleclass Leader and Trainer, speaker, author. You can subscribe to her award winning daily marketing ezine -- Light Bulb Moment at: http://www.AbundanceCenter.com.

How To Ruin Your Press Release in 3 Easy Steps

2009-01-19T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Karon Thackston

I see it almost every day. People who want to generate a press frenzy, but go about it in just the opposite way that they should.

There are some definite strategies you need to use when writing a press release that gets results. There are also some long-standing, proven ways to completely and totally ruin your release. In an effort to help you get what you want out of your next press campaign, I'd like to share the top three "bombs" with you.

Step One - Ignore Your Target Audience

Just as with advertising copywriting, you have to understand who you're writing to and what those people want. When you write a press release, you're not targeting the end user… you're targeting journalists.

While your potential customers may respond to claims that you're the best, that your product or service is going to make them happier, healthier, richer or more beautiful… reporters will definitely not!

Journalists are fact-oriented people. Their job is to give a well-rounded view of anything they write about… new scientific developments, the latest upheaval in the Middle East, or your product or service. In order to appeal to journalists, you'll have to give them the facts and allow them to make up their own minds. Anything less will be a huge turn-off that will cost you any type of publicity from the reporter's publication.

Step Two - Write Your Press Release Like an Advertisement

This step - if done properly - can ruin your press release all by itself. There is nothing more annoying to journalists than receiving a hype-filled sheet labeled "Press Release."

I've actually read about cases where reporters turn over such "releases" to their advertising department as leads! Remember what we just discussed in Step One? Now that you have a good vision of your target audience in mind, don't blow it when you begin to write.

Keep a picture of Tom Brokaw or some other stiff-necked news anchor taped to your computer monitor while you write. If you wouldn't hear Tom using the verbiage you're typing into your release on the nightly news, don't include it in your copy.

Step Three - Send Your Press Release Out to Everybody on the Face of the Earth Whether It Is Applicable to Them or Not

Here's yet another "tactic" that so many well-meaning people misunderstand. Again… just like advertising, you have to keep your target audience in mind.

If you manufacture automobile parts and sell them to repair shops, would you advertise in a golf magazine? Certainly not! Why? Because it's very unlikely that you'll get any response. Wholesale auto parts are not what most golfers are looking for.

The same holds true when distributing your press release.

Take the time to develop, rent, buy or broker a list that will get your release in front of people who will actually care. Will it be free? No. Will it work? Unless you use one or all of these three ways to ruin your release, it should.

Are there more ways to ruin your press release? Oh sure! Lots of them. But these "Top 3 Killers" require the most attention. Before you write your next press release, take time to stop and think. Are you using any of these three steps? If so, make changes now so your release will accomplish everything you've hoped for.

About the author: Let Karon write targeted copy, press releases and ezine articles for you. Visit her site at http://www.marketingwords.com, or learn to write your own copy at http://www.copywritingcourse.com.

So You Want To Start A Home Business?

2009-01-18T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Kellie Marzolf

Are you thinking of starting a home business? Why not? Many people are quietly building residual streams of income that will end up becoming full-time, profitable businesses. If you're interested in achieving this kind of success, here are some basic things you'll need to do.

The first thing you'll want to do is research the market for the type of business you'd like to start. Is there a large market of prospects that would be willing to pay for the product or service you will offer? If the market is one that is oversaturated, how will you will different?

The next thing you'll want to do is sit down and write up a detailed business plan. The more in depth you can be the easier it will be for you to follow and succeed. After that, what you should do is find out where your target market is and advertise in those areas.

The last thing we'll go over is the financial investment. When you're starting out, money is usually tight. You have to get into the habit of initially re-investing any profits right back into your business. When you funnel it back it will help your business grow and eventually you will be making enough profit that you will be able to enjoy a new lifestyle.

Taking on the start of your own business should be a learning experience and something that could lead to your financial prosperity. You just need to look around and find the basic tools to build your foundation.

http://www.goforthegolddirectory.com/everydaywealth Want to know my secret to success? mailto:mysecret@goforthegolddirectory.com

10 Ways to market your web site - and have it market YOU.

2009-01-17T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Mindie Burgoyne

Once your web site is done, it does you little good to have it sitting static on the net waiting for those visitor "clicks." High numbers of visits to your site from potential customers or clients rarely happen by accident. They are a result of a well designed internet marketing plan.

When our company pitches the benefits of having a web site, we emphasize that a web site is not a form of advertising. An advertisement is owned by the vendor who sells it to you. It runs for a specified amount of time and then is gone. It's a one time shot to make an impression. A web site is a marketing tool that is up 24 - 7, specifically used for communication. It is owned by you forever, and you use it to communicate with the outside world and through it, the outside world can communicate with you.

Other communication tools used by companies are telephones, fax machines, snail mail and personal contact. You can sell and advertise with these tools, but their benefits are far more versatile as are the benefits of your web site. And just as you have to pay your phone bill, though you own the phone and fax, you must pay the web hosting bill – but the phone, the fax machine and the web site are your property and part of your company's assets.

Once your web is launched, it's time to start marketing with it. Most web designers will offer to do this marketing piece for you for a fee, but we encourage our clients to assign a person in house to do the marketing piece. Why? Because web marketing is not difficult if you have a plan. It's an ongoing process. The Internet is constantly changing, and someone inside the company should be familiar with the status of the web site and its growth and how it's adapting to the changing cyber world. It can take as little as one hour a week, and a person on the inside is naturally going to have more zeal for seeing that your page rank is climbing and your visitor traffic increasing.

Here are our company's Ten Suggestions to Marketing Your Web Site.

1. Check your web stats daily if possible.Pay close attention to number of clicks by unique visitors and the referring site. These fields indicate how many individuals are visiting your site and where they came from. It will also show which search engines brought visitors to your site.

Most servers provide traffic analysis tools. There are also commercial programs that will give an abundance of web traffic information and analysis. One good web based traffic analyzer that has a good FREE version can be found at www.statcounter.com.

2. Scan the major Search Engines for your company.

Run a search using your company's name in the major search engines (Google, AOL, Yahoo, MSN, alltheweb). Wherever your company shows up, check with that website to see if they will include your URL where your name is listed. It is best to call personally, and then follow up with an email.

3. Search your competitors.

Run searches on your competitors with the major search engines to see where they are listed. See about getting your link listed on these sites or similar sites.

4. Check your area Chambers of Commerce.

If your area Chambers have web sites that list URLs of members, it may be worth your while to buy a membership with that Chamber – especially if that particular Chamber's web site gets a lot of hits.

A Chamber advertisement is good for a whole year of membership. When you break it down to a monthly cost of having your link on their site, is generally is affordable. If your chamber has a high page rank, having your site listed there could boost your rank.

5. Put your web address everywhere.

Be sure to include your web address on ALL advertising materials (business cards, newspaper ads, web ads, flyers, brochures, stationary). A good rule of thumb – "if you put your company name on it, put your web site address on it as well."

Does your company make deliveries? If so, put the web address on the delivery vehicle. Even a small magnetic sign on a car can be affective.

6. Scan the web for Directories that list similar companies.

Look for web directories and web listing services that list businesses such as yours as a service to internet users (i.e. realtor.com, Hotel / Motel Restaurant Assoc., expedia.com). They will more than likely be glad to include your link.

For fee based conglomerates, weigh out the cost of having your listing with them against two factors … will the traffic they bring to your site be targeted towards your specific service? Will a link on their site boost your page rank thus elevating your position in the search engine results?

7. Link with Government Offices.

If your local Town / County Government or County Tourism Office has a website, ask to be included on their site if it's appropriate to their content.

New-comers to a Town and those considering relocating to your area, often check these sites to familiarize themselves with what services are available.

8. Search the web for other businesses that have complimentary (not competitive) services to yours. Consider whether a link on their website would be beneficial, and then approach them about linking to your site.

For example, we are a marketing and promotion company that does web sites. When clients want brochures or business cards printed we deal with a particular local printer. We send that printer business and the printing company put a link to our company on their site.

This is particularly effective for any business that you partner with for clients or services. (NOTE: when considering reciprocal links, remember that you don't want to drive traffic from your site to another. Be certain that the web master adding the links to your site assigns the link to open in a new window. Also be careful not to link to a site that could steal away any of your clients.)

9. Use your email for marketing.

Start an email list of potential customers and add to it as often as you can. Ask clients and customers for their email addresses, and collect email addresses from potential clients any way you can.

Once a month send out an ezine (email newsletter) to your email list with news about your company. Include content (non-advertising) that will be interesting to your clients.

For example, a real estate agency may include a short piece on home improvements. Always give the ezine receiver an "opt out" link at the bottom of the email. Be sure to include links throughout your ezine that will drive viewers to your web site. Add a link on your web site to subscribe to this monthly ezine.

Be certain to have all staff include an email signature on every email sent out that lists your web address.

10. Change the Content of your web site frequently. We find that clients who have a "rotating page" – that is a page that is designed to be updated daily, weekly or monthly – have more traffic and keep their ranking in the search engines.

Rotating content keeps your site ""sticky"" - that is, it gives users a reason to return – a reason to bookmark your site. Some suggestions for rotating content are a "monthly specials" page, "featured product or service page" or a monthly article pertinent to your industry.

We have a ""featured partner page"" that changes monthly. It highlights a client in our network. We use that monthly change as a header in our ezine. Rotating content will keep your web site from become static and create a reason for visitors to return.

Be sure to establish a good working relationship with your web developer, if they will be serving as your webmaster. Keep the lines of communication open, ask questions, and make them aware of your needs. Web developers are generally good people that want to make their clients happy. The success of the web site often hinges on the success of the developer / client relationship. When the relationship is good the synergy created between the two can do wonders for your company and your customers.

About the author: Mindie Burgoyne is an Organizational Development Consultant and owner of Lowershore.net, a Maryland Business Development Company. She lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

MARKETING CONVERSATIONS, AND CONVERSATION STOPPERS

2009-01-16T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Nina Ham

Where many marketing conversations get off-track are the ones you have with yourself, before you even pick up the phone or initiate the handshake. As independent professionals, usually at the helm of solo businesses, we sometimes find ourselves facing daunting internal obstacles as we try to begin our day's marketing activity. With no one in our office-of-one to help with a confidence booster, an important resource to have in our self-management toolbox is a means of submitting the negative self-talk for an internal Second Opinion. Let's imagine you're about to pick up the phone to follow up on a promising contact you met a few days ago. You recognize that the clammy hands gripping the phone are a sure sign that Fear of Rejection is in charge. You've convinced yourself that the voice about to answer your call is just waiting for an excuse, any excuse, to hang up. What to do? Time for a Second Opinion! The Department of Second Opinions draws on that part of yourself that knows enough to question the self-defeating voices by asking, "How real is this?" Buttressing its wisdom is the recognition that a conversation underlies every marketing activity as sub-text, a conversation that's usually unspoken. While we may tend to think of marketing as telling people what we do, in fact all our marketing activities implicitly ask a question: "Do my services have potential value to you?" When Fear of Rejection is in charge, the door slams shut on any potential conversation. "Do my services have value?" "No!" End of conversation. But what if you stay in the (unspoken) conversation and wonder, "What are they actually saying no to, and why?" They could be saying no to having the conversation now, or to a perceived misfit between their needs and your services, or even to the person they couldn't say no to 10 minutes earlier! Viewed in this light, the imagined door slamming shut in your face shifts to a swinging door. Even if it shuts, you're likely to come away with useful information about the needs of this prospect, or about how to better position your services for your target client. Even if it shuts on him or her as a prospect, you've gotten the word out to one more person about your services. Another conversation stopper, particularly seductive for service professionals: "I Can't Sell Myself". This one actually negates any conversation from the outset, presuming instead that rather than talking, you have to convince or even manipulate the prospect. A Second Opinion might point to a more promising line of inquiry such as: How do I quickly and accurately inform myself about my prospect's needs and present my services as an effective solution? Shifting the internal voices – abandoning the conversation-stoppers or door-slammers and instead framing a question - gives you a good chance of getting off on positive footing for the actual conversation. It's very helpful to remember that even if the prospect says no, this doesn't have to be your last opportunity. When you relax into the conversation, into listening and asking as well as telling, you may hear an interest or need that has no direct connection to your services but provides a basis for staying in touch. This will indeed have been a successful marketing conversation! Good luck.

About the author: Nina Ham, certified coach and licensed psychotherapist, is principal of Success from the Inside Out, providing individual coaching and teleseminars to build the skills, attitudes and habits for sustainable success in your career or business. Mail to: Nina@womenssuccesscoach.com, subscribe in subject line, for free monthly e-zine, or visit http://www.SuccessfromtheInsideOut.com.

Marketing Strategy for Ecourses: Three Fast and Simple Ways to Find a Topic and Market

2009-01-15T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Catherine Franz

One of the fastest ways to attract more subscribers for your mailing list is to collect names by giving away free ecourses.

I taught a teleprogram on ecourses for months, yet I found many people understood the concept, how-tos, and very few completed any. At first, I thought I was a lousy instructor. Everyone seemed to wanted to write the ""perfect ecourse on the perfect topic"" that will create miracles in their business, in their life. This is like asking to write a Pulitzer Prize winning book on the first try.

Ecourses are a great way to build your visibility; increase others trust in you, and to build you up as an ""expert."" During this process, it is important ""learn by doing."" Write free ecourses to (1) prove to yourself that you can do it, (2) move past the learning curve, (3) and get something out on your web site that will attract more people to you and let them know that you have the wisdom for what you are selling (product or service).

The number one issue that kept emerging from attendees was topic selection. What should I write about? Darn, even that question scares the pants off me when I hear it. It is so, so, so...overwhelming. It is as if I am taking all my 50 years and trying to snag one tiny insey piece to create a whole course on that people are going to judge me on. Phew, I want to go back to bed now and hide under the covers and I have written hundreds of them, can't imagine what it would do to someone who hasn't even done one yet.

Okay, dust off those mites; take a couple of deep breaths. Now, no cheating, take the breaths and let's begin by asking a different questions so we don't get overwhelmed. A question that lead us to a list of possible topics for consideration.

Finding the Topic Possibilities

There are several immediate places to start your list of title possibilities. First, what are you learning now? Keep track of the steps and what you are learning. Write up each step afterwards. How does it fit into your business or what you sell? Is there an angle that does? You will be surprised what appears when you set the universal laws of energy in the right direction.

Second, what do you already know how to do? Can you narrow it down to a 10 step or less process? Be very specific. Choose a small segment. Real small. Tiny bite size piece. It is easier to move outward with a topic and then barrel it down after you begin.

Create a list of many or just one or two, it doesn't matter. You can only begin with one anyway. Don't be concerned about choosing the best one. Just choose one and run with that one for the learning experience.

Now that you choose a topic, how does it mesh with what you want to attract to your business? Brainstorm with someone else to pull the two together.

Are there any topics that cover any fad that is on the Internet currently? If yes, send that one to the top of the list.

If you don't know what you are selling, then you have a different challenge. One that isn't covered in this topic. If you have been experience this challenge for some time, you have two choices: (1) get some outside expert help. (2) Choose that you don't really want to solve this because you will then have to start -- no more excuses. Realize that either choice is costing you at least $1,000 a day in revenue, energy or both. Don't choose to mull it over for another year, decide to let it go or get it done and move on.

Third, make a list of your ""pet peeves."" What gets you angry? What do you wish people wouldn't do? What do you want people to ""get"" or ""get sooner?""

One of my pet peeves is a teacher telling students how hard something is going to be for them ""before"" the student starts. It sets up their failure; it sets it up to be hard. I do not believe any teacher has the right to say what is hard for someone else. It just might be easy for them. This pet peeve didn't come out until I started attending many writing conferences throughout the United States. Every single author kept telling other writers how hard writing is. When I talked with many successful and to be successful writers, they told me they always found writing easy not hard.

Yours could be ""people changing lanes without signaling."" A challenging one to connect with you and your expertise. I did this as an ecourse and sold it to AAA for their web site use. They used it for a whole year on their web site. There are branch offs to these, like, ""How to stay in the NOW while you are driving,"" or ""How to stay present when driving.""

If you don't know what your pet peeves are, ask your spouse, your friends, your coach. I bet they know yours.

Three Ways to Market Ecourses

1. Add to your web site and ezine. 2. Submit to every online newsletter (ezine) you can find. Do a search on Google.com to generate a list of sites that will allow you to submit your link. 3. In your e-mail software, create a signature with the announcement for this ecourse.

Strategy

Complete one course a week if you are aggressive until you have ten. Draft, edit two or three times, and have it professionally edited. Write a marketing paragraph and your signature lines. After ten, you will begin to see topic possibilities everywhere and you will have the techniques and system fairly down pat. After 10, pick one or two days a month and just write ecourses. Then begin seeing topics and creating ecourses that you can sell. Now you can start creating residual revenue. Write and market, write and market, and keep on going. You can do this for a year and have 50 or 60 of them done. Then you can skip writing any for the next year or two and focus in on another marketing tactic.

Another strategy is to hire someone else to write them for you and you focus on the marketing only. On the other hand, you write and have someone else market. The more you can leverage to other people's time, the money and success you will have.

Internet marketing and making money online is serious business, just like any business in the ""real"" world. Just like any business, you have to put forth an effort in order to succeed. You need to invest time and money. It never ceases to amaze me how some people relentlessly expect to succeed without making an investment of any kind.

Go ahead, give it an honest try. I believe it will work for YOU if you work with it! Let me know about your success.

About the author: Catherine Franz is a marketing industry veteran, a Certified Business Coach, Certified Teleclass Leader and Trainer, speaker, author. Subscribe to her award winning daily marketing ezine, Light Bulb Moment at http://www.AbundanceCenter.com.

What Report Topics Could Mean Success?

2009-01-14T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Kellie Marzolf

The global society that we live in is continually in need of information. It's human nature for us to want to increase our knowledge on a constant basis. When we stop learning we start to die.

We crave information on how to improve our lives. The topics range enormously; from learning to change the oil in your car to learning how to run your own business. If you can think it then someone out there wants to learn it.

The question you want to ask yourself is what type of information can I sell? It can be something you know or something you yourself want to learn. So why not become an expert along the way? What can you make money writing about? Most people would agree that how-to or instructional information has, is and will be the top moneymakers in our global community.

Find the topic area that interests you the most and start reading publications that cover that area. Ezines and newsletters can be a great start and a wealth of information right at your fingertips.

Keep an eye out for what other people are selling and talking about in reference to different topics. Order these products and read through them while taking notes. Continuous education is important and you will also get the feel of how you would like your products to turn out. As you read through them, find things oh which you can improve or different angles on which you can write.

You can write up informational reports 5-10 pages long and sell them for $5 - $10 depending on your topic of choice. Make sure your report is beneficial to the reader. Write your report, set it aside, then go back and cut it down. Take out all the unnecessary elements and provide only the essentials and you could have a great product that could lead to a nice residual income.

When you include useful information in your report, you can push these in your sales material. Get them excited to learn more of which is waiting inside your product.

When someone decides to order your reports, you have a great opportunity to provide them offers for your other reports. If they are interested in one product then they will be more inclined to be interested and more open to purchasing more reports on the same topic. It's easier to sell to someone who is familiar with you and your products than to someone who has never purchased from you.

Make your customers happy and give them what they want. If you take the extra time to craft your material and provide your reader with information they can use, it will be worth it.

http://www.goforthegolddirectory.com/everydaywealth Want to know my secret to success? mailto:mysecret@goforthegolddirectory.com

Is Your Program Right For You?

2009-01-13T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Kellie Marzolf

Before you become involved in any program, the most important thing you can do is research. Learn and think about the product. Is it something you could benefit from personally? Could you see yourself recommending it to a friend or family member?

Do your homework and find out as much about the program and the people that run it as you can. Get a feel for the operation and see if it will be a good fit. You want to find out exactly what you'll be becoming a part of as this will save you some time and discouragement in the future.

As you pick your program, you need to be aware that in order to expect to make any profit, the product or service needs to be one that appeals to a lot of people. It has to be one that you feel confident putting your name on. Your name is your reputation and you have every right to be picky.

Does this program provide you with sales material and training support? If your sponsor is not active in training you, do they offer the option of being placed with another one? It will ultimately be your decision how much time and effort you're going to spend developing yourself and your program, but does the program offer the tools to help you succeed?

Make sure the program is everything they tell you it is. Many people are charmed into signing up for something and then being left to wonder what to do next. They aren't trained on how to sell, who to sell to and the fact that their payoff is related to their participation.

You will more than likely have people signup and expect financial miracles; incomes without the effort. They'll hang around for two or three months and then jump to the next hot program to come out. These are known as ""MLM Junkies"", always wondering why they can't succeed in making their fortune.

Are you one of these people? I hope that you're one of the smart marketers that understands that you need to work one program, stick with it for at least a good solid year or until you start seeing positive results before you take on a new program. Jumping programs and adding are two different things. Those who jump will rarely accomplish anything but a depleted bank account. Those who add with patience and persistence will eventually accumulate several multiple streams of income that could very well lead to the life they aspire to have.

So, what are you? I hope you won't be a jumper. It will take time and effort but the rewards will far outweigh the work.

http://www.goforthegolddirectory.com/everydaywealth Want to know my secret to success? mailto:mysecret@goforthegolddirectory.com

Ten Amazing Ways to be More Attractive at a Trade Show

2009-01-12T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Catherine Franz

Ten Amazing Ways to be More Attractive at a Trade Show

Here are ten ways even the smallest budget can incorporate to attract more at the next trade show. You can even use some of these at speaking engagements.

1. Have a visual point at your booth -- like a power point show or a television with a video playing. Put together a workshop video, even if it isn't professional quality. People will usually not look at it more than three minutes before they feel conspicuous and will approach you.

2. Have a picture album with success stories and pictures. Especially great for independent professionals selling a intangible product. Pictures of workshop attendees having fun and doing various projects or eating together or a Christmas party in your office with your clients is very connecting and attractive. Please like to belong to things that they perceive as ""successful.""

3. Have a drawing for something that is valuable and attractive to them. Don't give away something laying around your office or something that has your ego attached, this very unattractive.

4. Candy bowl. One they have to reach deep. Don't fill it up, let it look like there isn't much left -- that is even more attractive. They want to reach in before it's all gone. They will take less too (chuckle)>

5. Hire a model with brains and a marketing background to assist you. Someone ""very attractive.""

6. Do what they do in grocery stores, demonstrate how to use your product. Wear a mike and have a small speaker attached. Buy the headset mike like professional singers use. The connection to that alone will attract (second chuckle).

7. Wear clothes with your logo. Name tags are great for participants but displaying your logo or name is important for building your brand. If you can't afford to have them done, create your own. There are transfer materials made for your inkjet printers (see your office supply store), find some nice shirts/blouses, and go create.

8. Don't just stand behind the booth, go in front of the booth and mix and mingle.

9. Stand up behind the booth with a smile. If you get tired go sit somewhere else and have someone there that has an attractive approachable energy. Rule of thumb is to rotate the energy every 30 to 60 minutes.

10. Display your web site name big and bold in the background. Make the name a different color than the ""www"" and the "".com"".

About the author: Catherine Franz is a marketing industry veteran, a Certified Business Coach, Certified Teleclass Leader and Trainer, speaker, author. Subscribe to her award winning marketing, writing or attraction ezines: http://www.abundancecenter.com

How to Get That All-Important Email Address

2009-01-09T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Tinu Abayomi-Pau

Hey, I just noticed something. I've been sitting here filling out a bajillion forms, submitting my dang article about alexa's changed-up toolbar til I'm blue in the face (vent much? yes.), and I realized what makes me give out my real email address.

See, I've got like seven. I have one free email account I NEVER open- I log into it every couple of months and empty everything in there without even checking what I was sent- anything that has spam potential goes to that address. I've got one I clear out once a month- I check some of the titles that look interesting, but they're mostly either junk, status reports or emails I need to look at once then throw out.

There's another I clear out once a week, there's semi-important stuff in there- information I can't keep track of, back ups of emails or attachments. Then there's the one I use ONLY for signing up for things. If I subscribed to your newsletter, that's probably where it'll end up. But after a while, if I really like your ezine and you don't spam me, I'll also subscribe at one of my real email addresses.

One of my real email addresses is a personal one, that's the one for family and friends to send me personal stuff, where I get all my jokes and horoscopes and what not.

The other real email address is my business one. It is a fortress against spam because almost no one knows I have it. If I treasure your newsletter above all others, if at some point we have slept in the same bed, if at some point I paid more than $100 for something or have some sensitive financial information coming back and forth from you, that's the email address I'll give you. I stay on a computer about ten hours a day. During those ten hours I leave this account open in my email client. If you're a client of mine, this is the email address you have to get directly in touch with me at any hour. And when I'm away from my computer, it's synched to my phone so I can check messages as they come in.

And I realized today, that I let a few more people into one of those top three email boxes today- guess why? We'll get back to that in a minute.

Now, I'm sure all your clients aren't as crazy as I am with the spam-proof fortresses and the highly organized email system. But any savvy consumer on the Net learns eventually to have more than one email address, usually only two. There's the ISP email address, the one they use for primary communication with family and friends, and for information that is near and dear to their hearts. This is where you want to be. I don't even have Spam Assassin turned on for my private email. Why should I? No one who would spams me knows it exists.

So again, why do you think I would let anyone get my primary email address, since I guard it so closely?

They made me believe I could trust them with my information. How?

Value. Something they were going to send me was as precious to my business as air is to me.

Reciprocation. If I gave them my email address, they gave me something of theirs that I wanted. Not some free ebook that everyone has or a 10% discount- something really special. Like 150 free ebooks, most of which everyone does not have, or something free that would help my business.

Trust. In the past I wasn't sure what they would do with my email address and something they did or said, or just my experiences with them earned them my trust.

Disclosure. They told me what they were going to use it for, when, how often, why and who would have access to it. Then they stuck to what they said.

Personal relationship. The person who contacted me at that email address didn't send me some generic blahblah form email, they reached out to me person to person and asked my opinion, offered their help, or wanted my advice. They gave me THEIR real email address and what else could I do but reciprocate?

Now, you and I both know that you have no intention of spamming anyone- if not on a question of ethics alone, you're just not stupid - it would to ruin your online reputation! Fast.

I'm just saying... maybe making it clear to your visitors that you are employing some of the techniques above. Perhaps making your customers feel how I felt will get them to give you their real information and their Primary Email address. And a repeat purchase.

About the author: My friends bet me $1000 that I couldn't get spidered by Google and in Alexa's top 100K in 90 days. I won the bet in 34 days flat. And guess where I'm going to share how I did it? http://www.freetrafficdirectory.com | subscribe: ftdsecrets-subscribe@topica.com

Who else wants to make $3546 by simply Pressing a Button!

2009-01-08T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Ron Pioneer

If you have been online for any length of time you have probably stumbled across many of the incredible claims of online marketing gurus making thousands of dollars just by sending out simple emails with the click of a button.

If you are like me, you are intrigued and want to learn exactly how these gurus make more money with a few minutes work, then most people bring home after working for an entire month!

To me it just didn't seem fair. So I set out to uncover the exact secret formula for creating what I like to call ""cash on demand."" Read on to find out the simple formula I uncovered.

I scoured the internet and started to find similarities in each of the guru's successes. The one common thread that ran through each of the dozens of success stories I researched was that each online marketer had created a huge email list of dedicated prospects and customers.

""But where do these lists come from? "" I asked myself. So I probed deeper to find the answers. I was amazed at how simple the formula really is.

The key is that all these gurus have started online newsletters that people opt into. Opting in just means the subscribers have submitted their email address, and usually their name, asking to be placed on the newsletter subscription list.

By creating a newsletter these online marketing gurus have a reason to continually keep in front of their prospects and customers.

Once these gurus establish a relationship with their subscribers they start sending compelling offers to their list. The offers relate directly to the niche that they are in and as they have already proven themselves as an expert in their field, these offers bring them cash on demand with the click of their mouse!

Now an opt-in list is not about spamming people. It is about creating a list of people that have given you permission to email them. Creating an opt-in email list is really about finding people that are interested in the topic or niche of information in which your business is centered.

You too can copy what the gurus do and start earning online cash on demand for yourself. I believe that just about anyone can copy this system and achieve success with it.

As simple as this process is, it is the key to creating a huge list of people that are interested in what you are offering. Anyone can create a free newsletter and offer free information on their topic.

The best way to get people to subscribe to your newsletter is to use everyone's favorite word online… FREE! Of course offer a free subscription to your newsletter, but give them added bonuses. You may want to offer free ebooks, a free consultation, free audios, or whatever will add value and encourage someone to sign up for your newsletter.

Why do you think the internet is called the information super-highway? People go online to find information. When they come across someone that will offer to continually give them free valuable information on the topic of their interest, they will gladly subscribe to your newsletter.

The main purpose of generating traffic to any website is to capture the visitor's information. Now of course you would like to capture their information because they purchased a product from your site, but remember to concentrate on giving your visitor a compelling reason to subscribe to your newsletter before leaving your site.

You don't really even have to have a website to create a newsletter. I found success stories of people that built profitable lists by posting to online forums and in newsgroups, or by purchasing what are called co-registration leads.

Co-registration leads are created by having your newsletter listed on other people's sites. You simply pay a few cents for every subscriber that joins your newsletter from their website.

You also don't have to be highly technically oriented to make money online. There is simple software that can automate all the emails you send out. It makes the process simple and easy.

To make money with your list you have to first establish credibility with your list. To create money on demand you need to cultivate a relationship with your subscribers and let them know that you know what you are talking about. Let them know you are an expert in your field.

This is where a little patience comes into play. Sure you want to make money with your list right now, but you need to put yourself in your subscribers' shoes. Would you start buying information online from someone you didn't know?

Establishing credibility with your subscribers is of the utmost importance in generating revenue from your list like the gurus do. If you just start sending your list offers right at the start of the relationship, your subscribers will unsubscribe from your list or simply stop opening the emails that you send to them.

As long as you are offering tons of great content in our newsletter, then your list will listen when you tell them of a product that will help them with what they are looking to achieve.

You may not start off earning thousands of dollars with every email you send, but in time you will have built an invaluable list of subscribers that could have unlimited potential for income in the months and years to come.

The best part of online marketing is that it doesn't cost you anything to email this list of people. You can get started quickly with building your list and start making money part time. As long as you continue to establish credibility with your subscribers and offer them incredibly valuable information, as your list grows so will your online income. Soon you will be bringing in money on demand for yourself.

Once you have built your list it becomes even more valuable. You can sell advertising within your list. You can create joint-ventures with other list owners to cross promote similar, but non-competing products and you can create partnerships with other marketers to create products that will help both of you build your lists and create more cash on demand.

There isn't any easier way to start a business than by starting to create your own online opt-in list. If you follow this simple formula you really can create money on demand, just with the push of a button.

***** Ron Pioneer, Learn secrets to successful opt-in list from my website http://www.affila.com/ *****

About the author: Ron Pioneer, Learn secrets to successful opt-in list from my website http://www.affila.com/

Discover 3 Alternative Methods to Boost Quality Testimonials

2009-01-07T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Catherine Franz

Here are three alternatives to increase your testimonial numbers or their quality. Create an online diary or blog, use an auto responder method, set up a form on your web site or set up a survey.

1 -- Set up an Online Diary

Usually an online diary is a fun way to keep friends and family up to date on what is going on in your life. Online diaries can also be used for testimonial submission with conversational style recommendations about your product/service. Online diaries are offered on many web sites, even famous persons like Oprah, Dr. Phil, or Tony Robbins.

You set it up on their site and paste the page link into your ""thank you for purchase"" auto responder, on your web site or into other marketing materials. Include a 1-2-3 learning experience on what is included in a good testimonial with various examples. People will appreciate the learning opportunity by taking the time to complete the process. In addition, their quality will increase.

Online diaries are updated frequently, thus giving a higher perceived value. They also have a warmer conversational style that increases reader connection. Because a diary is considered ""private"", it increases curiosity and they will read longer.

Two additional blessings are that you will save transfer time and others will read the other comments.

The offside is that you will want to monitor the entries to avoid some kids having fun.

You can also enter regularly updated customer comments received through other means on the product/service improved their life.

You can increase credibility by including the customer's profile. Include their picture or audio testimonial or a video segment of them using the product. You can also scan in and include handwritten letters or notes you receive.

A blog is an upgrade of the online diary with additional controls.

There was online diary software available to help you set up your own online diary, however, blog software replaced it.

Resources:

Set up your own diary at: http://www.diaryland.com/. They provide a personalized URL: your-name.diaryland.com. I recommend this resource because I like the personalization capability.

Here is a course on how to set up an online diary at: http://personalweb.about.com/cs/htmltutorials/a/310emailcour se.htm

Here is some great startup information on blogs: http://www.creativity-portal.com/howto/writing/blogging.html

2 -- Auto responder Method

After they make a purchase or receive a freebie set up an automatic auto responder requesting a testimonial. You can include a link to the online diary as the only choice or as part of multiple submission options.

If you offer an ecourse, forward them a progress report request. This can easily be set up in the auto responder system for easier production. Ask them no more than 3-5 questions that don't encourage yes/ no answers. Ask them to rate their learning experience or make suggestions too.

Resources:

All about auto responders: http://marketing-of- training.com/expert_advisors/ask_massimo/2002-03-23.htm

How to Write a High-Profit Auto responder Series http://javafaq.nu/article232.html

How to Use an Automatic Responder for Effective Prospect Follow-up http://www.isitebuild.com/automatic_responder.htm

3 -- Fill-in-the-Blank or Multiple Choice Form

You can design a ""fill in the blank"" or ""multiple choice"" form in HTML or in text. HTML is easier to complete yet can take too long to down load if long or in some international browsers.

You can send the form through an auto responder system before or after completing something. They make the purchase you automatically send them the form. The form makes submission easier for them to complete and will increase the response rate.

There are software packages and vendors who will set up this form and track the results for you.

Resources:

How to Write HTML forms: http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/forms/ http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/interact/forms.html#h-17.1

3. Web Survey Collecting

Use web surveys to gather their recommendations. There is software to help you create surveys and track the results. Survey hosting can be an online based or PC-based product.

Web Survey Software

Perseus Software: Free trial offered, several versions available, price range $495-$995 http://www.perseusdevelopment.com/softwareprod/download.html

Survey-Said software http://www.surveysaid.com/survey-software-introduction.html

Hosted Software http://www.hostedsurvey.com/ Survey Pro http://apian.com/ $1195

Survey Vendors

SurveyMonkey.com http://www.surveymonkey.com. Basic is free, upgrade is $19.95. They offer a great comparison chart that I found very interesting.

Free White Papers, Articles, and ebooks on Survey How-tos.

How to conduct a web survey: http://www.websurveyor.com/create-an-online-survey.asp

Top-10 Web Survey Issues and How to Address Them http://www.digitalbiz.com/pages/library/research op_10.html

Set Your Web Survey Goals http://www.workz.com/cgi-bin/gt pl_page.html,template= 1&content=1326&nav1=1&

Perseus offers seven different white papers that will expand your knowledge on taking surveys. http://www.perseusdevelopment.com/surveytips/whitepapers.htm l

BONUS

Four areas that will increase the quality of your testimonials:

1. Ask them what their goal was for using the product/service 2. What positive emotions did they experience by using the product/service? 3. Did they experience any reduction in fears and concerns after using the product/service? What worries were removed from their lives? (Before and after picture) 4. How did _______ help other people in their lives?

About the author: Word count: 854

Catherine Franz is a marketing industry veteran, a Certified Business Coach, Certified Teleclass Leader and Trainer, speaker, author. Subscribe to her award winning marketing, writing or attraction ezines: http://www.abundancecenter.com

Make your Writing or Marketing Projects your Top Priority

2009-01-06T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Judy Cullins

When you finish your eBook or print books, you have a product you can sell. After you finish the book be sure to write the all important sales letter. The sales letter is the key to sales flooding in. Each book will market another book. Books help promote your service as well.

Like a messy room full of clutter, you just want to close the door on your project. If you really don't want it now, then make it ok not to do it. Or, if you are blocked in some way discover what that means and keep taking baby steps toward your dream.

Or, if you are like me you may want to look at the consequences/results of not doing it. These are some of the consequences that pulled me to finish my latest two books:

1. If your book doesn't get read by thousands of people this year your unique useful message goes unheeded. I know you want to make a difference and your book is your legacy and lasting gift to give.

2. Your business will just amble along, and you'll still be an hourly worker having to be present or even travel while you earn money. A book creates a lifelong income for you, and when you market online, you don't have to travel or speak. It's the easiest and most profitable way I know..

3. You miss the chance to build your creditability and become the expert in your field. The side affect of publishing your book is that it is your billboard, your business card, that builds your clients' and customers' trust and support. These people are your best sales force. Don't limit your expansion and success by not including them.

4. You won't enjoy the most ecstatic feeling of accomplishment, exhilaration, and adventure that creating and completing a writing or marketing task can bring you.

Take my lead. Treat your project as urgent! No matter what reason you have for not doing it, do as professional speaker and friend, Rita Kahn, says, ""So what, do it anyway!""

About the author: Judy Cullins: 20-year author, speaker, book coach Helps entrepreneurs manifest their book and web dreams eBk: ""Ten Non-techie Ways to Market Your Book Online"" http://www.bookcoaching.com To receive FREE ""The Book Coach Says..."" go to http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml Judy@bookcoaching.com Ph:619/466/0622

Your Personal Fortune Is In Your Words!

2009-01-05T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Ron Pioneer

What is the most important skill you can possess as an Internet Marketer?

Your words!

The words you choose to use in your ad copy, in your sales letters and on your website will determine your success in sales!

Improve your ""word"" skills daily. Read the ads that come to your mailbox (spam) and learn what words others are using to SELL their product. More important read your competitors ads. What words do they use to SELL their product?

Carl Jung did a study and has determined people fall into one of 4 groups:

1. Thinkers 2. Feelers 3. Sensors 4. Intuitors

Thinkers are detailed oriented, logical and their fear is criticism. They will check and recheck facts. Targeting this group you will need to use factual numbers, precise words outlining benefits of saving money and value for money spent. Be professional and conservative giving the thinker facts and space to make their decision.

Feelers are risk takers and highly competitive. Entrepreneurs and investors fall into this category. They are assertive and confident and do not have time to waste time. To target this group you will need to use ""strength"" words, saving time, money and appeal to health related issues. Be quick and confident with your words to attract a ""feeler"".

Sensors are idea people, advertising, writers...anything creative. People of this group are prone to buy ""status"". Use words that will make them feel important, well liked, and recognized. The sensors are into things that will help them become more organized, they like software and books. Approach this group with friendship, show you are not ""all business"".

The Intuitors are excellent listeners and patient. They are slow in making decisions. They are ""comfort"" people and if they are comfortable with you, will purchase from you. They are turned off by fast talking salespeople so you will need to make friends with them first, selling yourself and finding a common ground between you and them. Use comfort words.

Look at your product. Think about the above groups and write down words you feel would attract each group. Go to http://www.dictionary.com and http://www.thesaurus.com, expand on the words you have written down. Avoid hype but find some words that will spice up your adcopy.

Do not try to sell your product in your ad. You are only writing to your target group to get them to take the next step. Use your email address or set up an autoresponder so you can capture the email address of your prospect, and to send them a more details of your offer. Use words that will appeal to each target group.

Create a picture in the readers mind. It's like telling a story, you have a beginning, a middle and an end. Your ad is a 'teaser' to get them to WANT to read your story. (know more about your product)

Finally, please follow ""truth in advertising"". Educate yourself on the FTC guidelines. http://www.ftc.gov Your product must be legal and you must be ethical and honest promoting your product. No amount of words can fix that!

The words you choose WILL sell your product...choose them well!

***** Ron Pioneer Learn more secrets in my website.. http://www.affila.com/ *****

About the author: Ron Pioneer Learn more secrets in my website.. http://www.affila.com/

The Brand Called You

2009-01-04T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Steven Van Yoder

Every company has a reputation. Everyone you meet will form an opinion about your company, even if they have not done business with you yet. The challenge is to manage your reputation so that the opinion that people have of you is positive. This is what creates a brand. Brands have a number of strategic functions, enabling you to: - Differentiate yourself from your competition - Position your focused message in the hearts and minds of your target customers - Persist and be consistent in your marketing efforts - Customize your services to reflect your personal brand - Deliver your message clearly and quickly - Project credibility - Strike an emotional chord - Create strong user loyalty For small businesses, branding is not about slick advertisements. Small-business branding is about getting your target market to see you as the preferred choice. Building a slightly famous brand is not just about what you do; it's about what you do differently from everyone else. Building Your Brand A brand is a promise of the value your clients will receive. In an amazingly complex and competing world--where itís increasingly hard to know whatís real and whatís not--having your customers not only acknowledge but support the promise of your brand is the key to building a thriving business. To become a brand, you've got to become relentlessly focused on what you do that adds value. Do you deliver your work on time, every time? Do you anticipate and solve problems before they become crises? Do your clients save money and headaches just by having you on the team? Do you complete projects within the allotted budget? Branding integrates customer service, sales promotion, public relations, direct mail, newsletters, discounts, event sponsorship, word of mouth and other communications tactics to present a unified message about the company, its products or services. Your brand will integrate all your marketing around a core idea and vision. As a result, you will find it easier to sell yourself, because your message will be uniform and powerful. Every business needs to evaluate its brand identity against the following criteria: Relevance to the Market A brand must stand for something that is meaningful to members of a target market. Your brand encompasses the total experience of doing business with you. Consistency of Behavior Customers must be able to depend on the brand to deliver the same experience every time. Because your market experiences your values through your brand, the only way they will truly become loyal to your brand is through your dedication and consistency. Relationship-Building A brand is not a logo or an advertising strategy. ""The strength of any brand is in the relationship it has between a company and its customers. The stronger the relationship, the more business they will do, and the more likely it is that customers will refer them to their friends and business associates. Loyalty to the Customer Is Returned The test of a brand is, in fact, the strength of loyalty it generates. If you have a strong relationship with your target audience, then you have a strong brand and a strong business. Reputation Is Priceless The only way to be successful in business is by establishing a good reputation, and a brand can help you do that. Your reputation works as your strongest marketer by communicating the relationship you have with people who've done business with you, and your target market in general. Good brands stand the test of time. To develop a brand that will last a lifetime, go beyond what you do right now. Think long term. Look at Coke, Ford and General Electric. No matter what they sell or how they change over time, they can rely on their brand equity build on a foundation of customer trust to take them deep into their customerís trust quotient and keep them there. If you establish a place of trust and relevance in prospects' minds, you're already in the door. The more people believe in your brand, the more it will spread throughout your niche market without your pushing. If your brand is clear, distinctive, and easily understood, and expresses a unique, compelling benefit that people believe in, it will bring you all the business you can handle.

About the author: Steven Van Yoder is author of Get Slightly Famous: Become a Celebrity in Your Field and Attract More Business with Less Effort. Visit http://www.getslightlyfamous.com to read the book and learn about 'slightly' famous teleclasses, workshops, and marketing materials to help small businesses and solo professionals attract more business.

How to Make Money Online Selling your Own Products.

2008-12-31T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Bob Mobino

---------------------------- ANOTHER ARTICLE OFFERED TO YOU BY Bob Mobino of: http://www.close-sale.com ----------------------------

Out of the sudden, I decided to put down this enlightening article for aspiring entrepreneurs who are motivated to creating wealth on the Internet.

If you belong to the ""selected few"" entrepreneurs who seek for the ""divine illumination"" of ""wealth creation"" on the Internet, this short article will electrify your determination with waves of inspiration...

My dear friend, you can turn your knowledge into ever-growing checks, occupying your bank account with real solid figures.

I would lay a wager that anyone with a half-brain can make Real Money Online with the *right education*.

Making money on the Internet, is one of the most exhilarating ""feelings"" you could rejoice as an informational entrepreneur (or ""infopreneur"")... making thousands of dollars (or euros) every passing month, without overheads, aggravations or considerable investments.

The secret of wealth creation has been demystified; with revealing courses such as 'How To Create And Sell Products Online' ( http://close-sale.com/product ) there's no obstacle on your roadway to success with a small, virtual business.

You can virtually set-up a website accepting credit cards in minutes; companies like ClickBank for example, make selling on the Internet so easy for thousands of entrepreneurs - here's where you must step in.

Personally, when I ""brainstorm"" of a profitable idea, I immediately use Word Tracker to refine the demand of my impending online venture, in seconds.

[ see http://www.close-sale.com/keyword ]

If you've visited my Close-Sale.com Directory at, http://close-sale.com/cgi-bin/cbbomb/cbbomb.pl?action=directory

...you'll eventually grasp tenths of creative selling ideas to make money on the Internet.

Prioritize your steps and finally actualize your objectives once you conceptualize a methodology to establish your business with meticulous market-research.

Expressing myself individually, I am so indolent to showing people how to make money on the Internet...and I think that my ""lethargy"" could be well justified, as I am more busy depositing some gargantuan checks every week.

I presume that you got the underlying message... ______________________________ Visit Bob Mobino's website at: http://www.close-sale.com ______________________________

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This article may be freely distributed / republished, as long as it contains the Author's Credits and the precise entirety of the provided article, titled: ""DO SAFELISTS REALLY WORK?"". ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ©2004 - HitMan Inventions Corp.

About the author: ______________________________ Visit Bob Mobino's website at: http://www.close-sale.com ______________________________

Customer Satisfaction Is Your Business

2008-12-30T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Bob Leduc

Regardless of what business you are in - you are really in the business of satisfying customers. The degree of customer satisfaction you deliver determines the level of long-term success you will achieve in business.

Make Customer Satisfaction Your Top Priority

Don't just make sales. Create customers - satisfied customers. In addition to the immediate profit they provide on the first sale, satisfied customers help you build your business in 2 other important ways:

1. They become a reservoir of repeat buyers. For some businesses that means repeat buyers for more of the same product or service. For every business, it means buyers for additional products and services.

2. They automatically refer more business to you from their friends and business contacts. This is highly profitable business for you because it doesn't cost you any time or money to get it.

Never Promise More Than You Deliver

Never make any promises you can't (or won't) keep. Nothing alienates customers faster than getting something less than they expect from a business transaction. They won't do business with you again. And they will tell everybody they know about their unhappy experience - causing you to lose future customers.

Tip: Handle customer complaints quickly and with a positive attitude. Strive to preserve your relationship with the complaining customer instead of your immediate profit from them. They will reward you later with more sales and referrals.

Always Give Customers More Than They Expect

""Over deliver"" on quality and service. Always exceed your customers' expectations. You will win their long term loyalty. It also makes it difficult for competitors to steal customers from you - even if they have lower prices. Customers will not risk an uncertain experience with a competitor when they know they will get more than they expect from you.

Tip: Surprise your customers with unexpected value. If you sell products, include an ""unadvertised bonus"" with every order. If you sell services, get into the habit of doing something extra for every customer or client without charging for it.

Let Customers Know How Much You Value Them

Let your customers know you are always thinking about them. Communicate with them regularly. For example, create some special deals just for your existing customers. And announce new products or services to them before you announce them to the general market.

Tip: Convert your customers into publicity agents. Develop an incentive for them to tell associates and friends about the value of your products or services. An endorsement from them is more effective than any amount of advertising - and it is much cheaper.

For example, reward them each time they refer someone who becomes a customer. Your reward can be as simple as a credit toward their next order from you.

You are in the business of satisfying customers regardless of what products or services you provide. The satisfied customers you create will help you build your business by becoming repeat buyers and by referring new business to you from their friends and associates.

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

About the author: Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

Perception...What Are Your Patients REALLY Hearing

2008-12-29T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Livvie Matthews

Never underestimate the power of perception! Perception plays a major part in what is actually said -vs- how it is heard. And to patients...perception is reality!

For example, lets look at broken appointments, one of the biggest problems in your practice. Last minute changes and no show appointments account for thousands of dollars a month in lost revenue for the practice!

Are you sending signals to your patients that it's all right to break appointments?

When the patient calls and says they ""Forgot"" or ""Have a meeting."" or ""Just want to reschedule."" Is your response ""That's OK."", ""Sure, that's no problem."" or simply...""How soon do you want to come back?"" And then schedule them right back at the 1st available opening?

A well established practice with a scheduling coordinator who knows the patients well has a sense of ""offending"" the patient if they remind them of the dilemma this last minute change will make.

Nothing could be further from the truth or more harmful to the practice!

An unusually high number of broken appointments generally translates into a lack of respect concerning your practice and appointments time and ""time is money.""

Generally patients simply are not aware of the problems associated with last minute changes because they have been ""trained"" (they hear) it's so easy to change the appointment.

Often before we can ""train"" the patient, the front office must first ""re-train"" their response to these last minute calls.

For example, when the specific date or time a new patient or existing patient wants is not available, if our reply is: ""We get cancellations every day"" or even worse, ""We get cancellations all the time and can get you right in"", what have we taught this patient?

In just a matter of seconds the patient has been ""taught"" (heard) It's all right to call at the last minute to change an appointment, cancellations happen all the time, when they do cancel they can get ""right back in.""

The patient has no value associated with the practice or the appointment time. In fact, we ""signaled"" (and they heard) it's OK!

A more positive verbal response would be: ""Let's go ahead and schedule you an appointment. Should there be a change in our schedule on that date, I will be glad to call you. May I have a number that you can be reached during the day?""

This time in just a matter of seconds you have trained the new patient and existing patient to think (they heard): You have a tight schedule (busy practice), ""Cancellations"" are not even mentioned (not an option) and there could be a wait before being re-appointed if they have to change---(best keep the appointment!)

Value is now being associated with the practice and appointment time.

This problem didn't happen overnight and won't be ""fixed"" overnight. But making it a priority to use positive verbal skills in training your patients to value their appointment and practice time will make a noticeable difference.

After all, how you are perceived by your patients is everything, and it's all in their Perception.... What your patients are (Really) hearing!

About the author: Livvie Matthews, Business Office and Patient Relationship Specialist helps you FOCUS on narrowing the gap between your practice -- your business. Visit http://www.LivvieMatthews.com Business Office News mailto:subscribe@livviematthews.com

Location, Location, Location

2008-12-28T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Rick Hendershot, M.A.

Now that you've decided you can reach local markets with your website, how should you go about doing it? In the Part 2 of ""Online business and local markets"" (www.small-business-online.com/articles/online-markets-2.shtml) we discussed how the web will eventually reach critical mass and begin to replace services such as the ""Yellow Pages"" as the default source for local business and service information.

That article was primarily about the role of the major Search Engines in leading this process. Eventually the SEs will develop methods of listing, categorizing, and searching for websites based on location as well as keywords. At the same time we will start to see more and more local-oriented websites coming on stream, and more and more people looking for local services on the web.

What should we do in the meantime?

In the meantime it is up to website owners to aggressively make their presence known and to ""push"" their services towards local prospects who would otherwise have no idea these online services exist.

The smart website owner will use a three-track approach.

First, she will build her website so it scores well in the search engines. Second, she will make her website(s) score well with the soon-to-be-popular locally oriented search engines.

Third, she will use a variety of methods to ""network"" in the local community, and create an online ""brand"" that is easily found by customers and prospects.

Let's discuss these strategies one at a time.

1. Scoring well in the Search Engines

There is an endless amount of information about ""Search Engine Optimization"". If you know nothing about ""SEO"" (Search Engine Optimization), here are some of the most important general principles to be aware of:

Search Engines use ""keywords"" to find web pages and web sites. That means you must build your site from the ground up around specific keywords.

Not all keywords are equally useful. Some are too popular (e.g., ""web marketing"") and you stand almost no chance of getting good ranking in the SEs with them.

Others are rarely searched on (e.g., ""online strategies""), and so nobody will see your site if you focus on them. There are ways of analyzing keywords to pre-determine which are most likely to bring you traffic. This service is built into Ken Evoy's Site Build It!(http://buildit.sitesell.com/ebizstrategics.html) and is also available through my service called the SBO WebReport.

You must build your pages and your site(s) in certain ways to maximize your chances of ""scoring"" well with the SEs. This is the only way you can get good ranking when people search on your keywords

You must consistently ""submit"" your optimized web pages to the major SEs.

You must build valuable content into your site, so it is actually worth looking at.

You must seek alliances with other web owners in your field, and exchange links with them.

2. Scoring Well in Local Searches

If you want LOCAL traffic, structure your pages and sites to clearly associate them with the desired local geographic area. For instance, if you sell landscaping services in the area around Cincinnati, build consistent mention of your service area (Cincinnati and surrounding area) into your most important pages. This is based on the premise that Google-style surveys of your pages are looking for hints within your pages about your geographic service area. You might as well help them along as much as possible.

Where is the best place to mention these things? There is no definitive answer yet, but the following are safe bets:

--In your page names (e.g., landscaping-cincinatti.html) --In your meta-tags (title, keywords, and description) --In the body of your page, as near to the top as possible --In alt-tags, comments, etc.

In other words, use the same strategies for your location hints as you use for your most important keywords.

3. Networking in your local area

Perhaps the most important thing you can do is to define what I call a ""Location-Focused Identity"" — an LFI. If you don't do this, you will constantly be debating whether your website is too focused on the local market, or not focused enough. Websites are cheap, so my advice is to create a locally-oriented website specifically to reach the local market. By making it local-user-friendly you will have created a base for your local promotion efforts. Here are some good places to start:

If you can, give your website an easy-to-remember name with a clear connection to the name of your company or service.

Your LFI should also be your domain name. Try to build your location name right into it. For example, www.indian-food-toronto.com, or www.pools-orlando.com.

If you have a general non-local oriented site (like ours called www.tradeshow-display-experts.com) go ahead and create a completely new site to reach the local market. It could consist of only one or two pages with links to your main site. (www.popups-toronto.com, www.popups-canada.com, www.vinyl-banners-usa.com, www.seattle-pizza.com). The good news is that generally these names are still available — so get them while you can!

A name like this should be searchable (so it is findable using the Search Engines), but even more important it must be memorable for people in the local market you are trying to reach, so you can make it the basis for your local promotion efforts.

Now that you have a Location-Focused Identity (LFI) you can start to promote it locally. Here are some fairly obvious strategies:

Do everything you can to develop your LFI into a ""brand"" with your customers, contacts, and prospects. Let's say it is ""seattle-pizza.com"". Plaster this on all your promotions. You want customers and prospects to remember your site name, and to find it without having to search for it.

Register your new site with locally-oriented and industry-specific directories or link exchanges that are likely to send traffic your way. The point of these links is different from link exchanges where you want to get higher SE ranking. These links are for generating traffic.

Create informal alliances with other locally-oriented, non-competitive businesses in your industry. The two best sources for such alliances are first, your customer list, and second, your supplier list. What form could these alliances take? Here are some suggestions: Joint sponsorship of online (or offline) contests, joint sponsorship of golf tournaments, joint participation in local trade shows.

Offer sponsorships or special discounts for products or services to high visibility local organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, service clubs, community sports associations — where you are likely to get exposure for your locally-oriented services. Be sure to insist that your LFI is prominently (and tactfully) displayed.

Local offline advertising. Generally I do NOT recommend promoting your online identity with (relatively expensive and inefficient) offline advertising. But using local advertising to promote your

LFI may be an exception. It will generally depend on your product. The best scenario is to create offline advertising that does ""double-duty"" — that has immediate promotional value (and immediate returns), but also helps build your ""brand"". A good example might be the Indian restaurant that uses direct mail to generate local business lunch traffic. This same clientele (local business people) will be prime prospects for online strategies: establish your brand and they will almost effortlessly find you online.

Locally-oriented online advertising. This is inherently inefficient because of the broad-brush reach of online advertising. But some techniques such as Google adwords allow you to target specific keywords (e.g., ""Indian food Denver""). I suspect, however, if you structure your pages properly, you will find it fairly easy to get good position in the regular Google search rankings for such terms, making it unnecessary to ""buy"" position with ads.

Conclusion This last point (about the relative ease of getting good SE ranking with local keywords) is one of the most exciting aspects of the quest to reach local markets. If you define your pages correctly, you should very quickly be able to score well on searches like ""Indian Food Denver"" or ""Sod Hamilton""...because there are relatively few businesses catering to these terms. As web surfers become more local-services savvy, the number of businesses will also increase. But the number of Indian Food restaurants in Denver is unlikely to ever reach the point where you won't score well on a local search. So you can see how this opens up fantastic opportunities for even moderately persistent online marketers interested in reaching local markets.

These suggestions just begin to scratch the surface of possible ways to promote your Location- Focused Identity (LFI). The most important thing is to CREATE ONE.

Once you have created a memorable LFI, ways of promoting it will tend to fall into your lap.

Richard J. Hendershot, www.small-business-online.com This article is called ""Online Business and Local Markets, Part 3: Strategies for reaching local markets""

About the author: Rick Hendershot has spent many years in Advertising and Marketing, and currently focuses his attention on website development. He is especially interested in using the web to promote local businesses.

Coaches, Do You Need More Clients?

2008-12-26T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Susan Dunn, MA, Marketing Coach

Do you still have room in your practice? That's because coaching is a secret, moreso than you may be aware of if you're immersed in the field.

**YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING BUSINESS WILL INCREASE WHEN MORE PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT COACHING.**

I spoke on 3 cruises leaving from Galveston last year (around 1,500 passengers on each cruise), and only two people in my audiences had heard of coaching. Want clients from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma? Start educating the public. It precedes buying.

WHEN YOU PROMOTE COACHING EVERYONE WINS Many an advertising campaign has begun with educating the public. The more the public knows what coaching is, what coaches do, and who goes to coaches and for what, the greater the chances of any single coach getting clients.

ANALOGY If you drive a nail through your finger, what do you do? You go to a doctor. How do you know this? Someone told you (or took you). It may have been a long time ago, but there was a time when you first learned 'when I have this problem, this person can help me'.

CONNECT THE DOTS Madame C. J. Walker invented a shampoo and scalp treatment for Black women at the turn of the century when many Americans didn't have indoor plumbing and only washed their hair once a month. After developing her products, she had to convince Black women to wash their hair regularly. Then they would use her products and get the results they desired. (Madam Walker died a millionaire in 1919.)

RESULTS? The person you talk to may not come to you for coaching, but someone I talk to may come to you. As long as the person gets coaching. The more people who've been helped by coaching, the more they'll talk about it.

HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR YOU:

1.Put your business card in every bill, note and letter you mail, as a matter of course.

Make sure your card tells enough. Work with a marketing coach if need be.

2.Drop one of your business cards in the bank canister when you return it, leave one on the concierge's desk, in the restaurant's fish bowl.

Lay a few discretely on the counter in the ladies' room at the country club. Leave some around in the airport.

3.Carry tacks with you to tack your business card on bulletin boards.

4.Strike up a conversation with one stranger a week and find a way to explain what coaching is.

Grocery line, waiting for a prescription, waiting for school to let out, at a sports event, at a museum, in the airport. Get creative. "Hmm, that Monet reminds me of coaching."

5.When a coaching client expresses satisfaction with your service, ask them to refer their friends, colleagues and relatives to you.

6.Alert the press in your area that you are available to be interviewed on coaching, and in your areas of expertise. The editor of "my" business journal had never heard of coaching.

7.Make it a point to tell one friend or colleague each week who's talking about a problem about the field of coaching.

HIM: "I know I could get a better job if I could just get focused." YOU: Well that's just what coaches do. Have you tried a coach?

8.Ask a friend, colleague, or relative to mention you, and coaching, when they hear others talking about problems, challenges, etc.

9.Ask each of your friends, colleagues and relatives to take 15 of your business cards and disperse them.

10.Next time someone complains to you about someone, suggest they refer that person to you for coaching!

11.Talk to the professionals in your life about coaching. They see lots of people in a day.

When you visit the dentist or pediatrician, let them know there are coaches who market professionals, help them grow their practices, make more money, get more clients, and get better organized.

At the same time, suggest referring. Victims of breast cancer do better statistically and survive longer when they're in a support group. Coaching is support.

Do the psychiatrists and psychologists in your town know that coaches help with compliance? Do they know coaches have opportunity to refer clients for mental health services? Are there services they'd like to refer for, such as their ADD clients?

12. Whenever you talk with someone who deals with a lot of people (college professor, manager, business owner) they'll talk about their problems with these people. Suggest coaching!

12.Write about coaching. Your byline will be on there. You'll get your publicity too.

13.When you hear someone talking about a practical skill they'd like to master, suggest coaching.

There is now a cooking coach, a responsible recovery coach, a coach for expats in Bermuda, a fathering coach, a retirement coach, a coach for women with bipolar disorder, an introverts coach, a breast cancer recovery coach, a tantric coach, and a smoking cessation coach.

14.When you hear someone expressing a need or a challenge, tell them about coaching.

If you aren't sure there is a coach for that (yet), say, "I bet there's a coach for that!" Take their card or email address and offer to look it up for them and let them know. Many people do not know how to use search engines and/or may forget to do it. When you get back to your office, look it up on the Internet. For instance, I just entered "bipolar+coach" on a lark, and yes, there is one!

15.Next time you hear someone complaining about a situation, tell them a coaching success story, either one of your own (confidentially) or one of your colleague's, or one you've read about. 16.If you're in a store or business that has problems a coach could address, tell them about coaching.

This includes every time you complain. Say "the salesperson was rude AND WOULD BENEFIT FROM COACHING."

SUGGEST COACHING. HELP PLANT THE SEED.

About the author: Susan Dunn, MA, Marketing Coach, http://www.webstrategies.cc . I market coaches who want to fill their practices and make more money. Article-writing, ebook writing and launch, press releases, individualized marketing plan, consultation and more. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for free ezine and put ""checklist"" for subject line.

Create a Website--Retail Style

2008-12-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Al Hanzal

Create a Website--Retail Style! Do you have trouble making your website flow smoothly? Is it seamless for your visitors to move them to customers? If you are like me, you are always looking for ways to make your site flow more smoothly. Last week, I read an author who compared the online conversion process to the process of a customer visiting a retail store. In my former life, I sold carpet on a retail showroom; I immediately recognized the insights of what he was proposing. It was one of those "WOW!" moments! Here is the retail comparison to help you make your website flow more smoothly. The retail buying process is a six step process. (If you have not sold in a retail store, imagine yourself as a buyer in a retail store.) Step One: Customer Arrives The customer walks into the store. Her first thoughts are, "I came here looking, is this store going to be able to help solve my problem?"" The customer takes a quick look around at the physical aspects of the store. Does she like what she sees? Is it pleasing? Step Two: Rapport Building The customer is greeted by a sales person. The sales person begins rapport building by asking questions. He asks more questions to determine what the customer specifically wants from the store. Step Three: Sales Presentation The customer asks to see the solutions. She wants to see if the products match her expectations. The sale person makes his presentation and shows how his product solves the customer's problem. Step Four: Customer Assurances The customer sees the solution. She asks questions and raises objections. How is the solution better than others? What makes it different and better? The sales person provides guarantees and other ingredients to set his solution apart from his competitors. Step Five: Make the Sale The customer is ready to buy. She wants an easy buying process. She wants it simple and fast. She wants to know the terms, etc. If you have a simple easy process, you make the sale. Step Six: Follow Up The final step is a follow up. A good retail business always follows up with their customers. With thank you notes, a mailing list, they build a relationship with the customer for repeat business. Now compare your website with the retail buying process.

About the author: Al Hanzal has been working in small business for 14 years. He produces easy to use tools to increase small business profits. You can find him at www.innovativesellingskillsforsmallbusiness.com

Posturing yourself as the expert by utilizing google search

2008-12-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Jason Blackston

First, go to google and type ""dan kennedy"" into the search box. At the present time I get about 49,200 results!

Now, type in ""jason blackston"" into the search box. Well, it's quite a drop from the 49,200 results Dan Kennedy received. At only 123 results, I've got a ways to go to catch old Dan!

Nevertheless, the more articles that I submit to various ezines and the more websites that I have on the internet, my search results are going to continue to grow!

So what does this mean for you and me. Good question. You can establish credibility with potential clients by using the google search. Often times, people approach me wondering what I can offer them. What do I know? How can I help? The list goes on and on...

So what I tend to do, is send them to http://www.google.com and tell them to do a search for ""jason blackston"" They'll find old articles, news, and websites. This allows them to gain a better perspective of who you are and what you can offer them.

9 out of 10 times, they're impressed and want to learn more about me. This is great news and it generally leads to a positive relationship and potential sales.

And in the near future as your results continue to skyrocket, you'll see people bidding on your name like they do for people like ""dan kennedy""!

Yes, that's another form of posturing that comes with this google search. When people type in your name and the results comes up with google adword results also, then people start thinking you're the stuff!

But first things first. Just informing your list members, potential clients, and friends, about doing a google search of your ""name"", will enable you to posture yourself as the expert!

About the author: ------------------------------------------------------- ""Discover how to turn your website visitors into paying customers and keep them coming back year after year!"" Free e-package available at http://www.govisitors.com *Also- Take advantage of your free 3 step guide to website recording at http://www.audioplayerpro.com -------------------------------------------------------

22 Ways to Grow Your Subscriber List

2008-12-23T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Catherine Franz

1. Don't bury your subscriber form, place it on your home page and or every page and make it VERY easy to find.

2. Add a one-liner to the byline section of your online published articles. For example: ""You can subscribe to [name]'s free e-newsletter by visiting [URL].""

3. Give people an additional incentive to subscribe. Give them a free ebook or ecourse that has valuable content on a topic that will attract the exact type of ideal clients/customers for you.

4. During network events, ask them if you can sign them up for your newsletter. Then you manually add them when you return from the function with a double opt-in feature. Explain the opt-in feature to them when you ask them to subscribe. This gives them a way out if they were just being polite. Keep asking and don't stop. Practice a simple two or three liners to explain the frequency and purpose of your e- newsletter.

5. Contact any trade organization or associations you belong to or membership has your target market. Ask for their member list. Member's usually get this free, they may charge you if you aren't.

6. After you have the organization's or association's member list, send a direct mail letter, and offer a free subscription and another other free offers you have that help them get aquatinted with you, the type of services you provide, and the benefits of working with someone such as yourself. You can educate them through free ecourses that were created from your e-newsletter articles.

7. Recommend your client's company's newsletter in your e- newsletter. Ask them for a reciprocal recommendation. Both of you win with new subscribers.

8. Write reviews or provide feedback to other newsletters (electronic or printed) you read and enjoy. Many times your comments will get posted in a future issue, along with a link to your site.

9. One of the top ways to attract people is by giving them various ways to interact with you at your web site. Use questionnaires, contests, giveaways, games, or ask for post survey questions and post the statistical responses. Send out a special e-mail announcement when the results of the questionnaire, survey, contest is posted on your web site. The Sales Lead Report, http://www.imninc.com/macmcintosh, adds a survey with each issue, then uses the information in his PR campaign with phenomenal success.

10. Offer a different writing style. One that is warm, comforting, as if you are talking to a friend on the phone. Write conversationally with a personal tone. Add I's, me and you.

11. Always encourage your readers to forward a copy of your e-newsletter to friends, colleagues, and co-workers. You can even write a ""forwarding e-mail paragraph"" at the beginning so it is even easier for them to forward.

12. If you do speaking engagements or sales presentations, use one of the first few slides or last slide to invite them to subscribe to your e-newsletter. Don't turn off the screen so it is displayed after you are finish speaking if possible.

13. At speaking engagements, pass around a clip board with a manual way they can register for your e-newsletter. Start passing the board around before you begin speaking. Place a small different piece of paper with a short letter from you to them explaining the topics, frequency, and objectives of the e-newsletter as well as the opt-in option.

14. Send out a press release to the organizations you belong regularly about what's been going on in your e-newsletter. I began mine by sending out a short press release whenever an article was published. When I began getting published 10 and 20 times a month that no longer seemed practical. Thus, I moved over to one a month with a list of where the articles were published. Add a press release section to your web site and post them there as well -- at least the last six releases.

15. Find sites that give out awards for e-newsletters and keep applying until you receive one. When you do, send out a special announcement to your list as well as posting it in a few issues of the e-newsletter and rewrite your bio paragraph at the end of your articles.

16. Don't add people on your list without asking for permission first. Always offer an opt-in/out options. Give them a personal greeting if you are responding to a particular networking even group or other particular group. Some web hosts only need one s*p*a*m complaint before they shut your e-newsletter down. And it isn't worth the problems caused by not respecting this.

17. KISS your subscriber form. Meaning, ""keep it short and simple."" Ask for their e-mail and first name only. You can even simplify it more by just asking for their e-mail address.

18. Set up section for past issues of your e-newsletters. I recommend just listing their main topic or name of the article and not by date. People don't like to read things that they consider ""old"" easily. If you create pdf files for past issues, remember that it does save space but it also doesn't allow you to use unique meta page tags so that they show up in the search engines.

19. Add your e-newsletter bio line to all your e-mail signatures.

20. Send out your e-newsletter articles as content for reprinting into other media.

21. Offer targeted subscribers a special report when they refer your e-newsletter to three or more colleagues. Add a price to the special report to give a perception of added value. A special report is 3-10 pages on a very focused topic.

22. Offer your readers high-value content for them to read. Content they can't find easily or ever somewhere else on the Internet and they will keep coming back. This is the new wave for 2004. Subscriptions to e-newsletters are going down because content is too general.

About the author: ~*~*~ RESOURCE BOX ~*~*~*~*~*

Word Count: 974

Catherine Franz is a marketing industry veteran, a Certified Business Coach, Certified Teleclass Leader and Trainer, speaker, author. For daily, weekly, and monthly marketing nonfiction writing and deliberately creating ezines: http://www.AbundanceCenter.com. 703-671-5677

How Can I Market With Articles If I Can't Write?

2008-12-20T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Bonnie Jo Davis

The shrewdest and most effective means of free advertising is through providing interesting and relevant information to your potential customers. You can do this easily by writing and distributing free reprint articles at various web sites around the 'net. There are literally thousands of e-zine and web site publishers actively searching for the interesting and informative articles you can craft in your area of expertise. Targeting the audiences of these publishers is an essential element of your cost-effective advertising and marketing strategy.

I am convinced that anyone with a web site can promote that web site along with its business, products, and/or services by implementing this basic marketing strategy. Sure, it sounds simple enough, but what if you aren't confident in your writing skills? Accurate written communication is the foundation of this marketing maneuver.

Can you write?

My initial experience involved submitting articles written by other people to publishers. I was so excited when I saw the response generated by this technique that I decided to use it when I began my own business.

One day I sat down with pen-in-hand attempting to begin writing my own articles and spent the next half hour staring at the blank sheet. In frustration, I eventually put down the pen and walked away, later complaining to a friend that I hated to write. I complained about lacking writing expertise and that my qualifications basically amounted to the good grades I earned in English classes long ago. My friend gently interrupted me pointing out that I had been writing on a daily basis at work. She also brought to my attention the fact that my education provided me with the necessary skills to write competently and effectively.

After kindly showing me the forest which I couldn't see for its trees, my friend generously offered an incredible suggestion. Her solution for my dilemma was that I should try begin again by choosing a topic and then creating an outline representing the points I wanted to cover about that topic in my article. Choosing a topic would give me a foundation upon which to build my article. Drafting an outline would allow me to address the issues that I saw as pertinent and relevant to my topic.

I took her advice, narrowed my possible topics, and selected one that I would reduce to writing. With that one topic in mind, I proceeded to create a comprehensive outline on that blank piece of paper. After completing my outline, I fleshed it out, added stories to illustrate my points, and Voila... I had right there before me a rough draft of my first article! That rough draft, after being carefully proofed and polished, became an article that was published in dozens of online publications. The positive result of my effort was that my article netted me thousands of web site visitors and rewarded me with a treasured long-term client.

Can't get past the outline?

If you're absolutely certain you can't write there are at least three options well worth considering. The first option is to enroll in a writing class through your local university, adult education program or on-line. A couple of on-line options include Write101 Writing Tutorials at http://www.write101.com/writewell.htm or Writers' Village University at http://writersvillage.com/. Many local universities, community colleges and adult education programs also offer on-line courses.

Your second option is to hire a ghostwriter. Most ghostwriters will take your topic, conduct the research and write an article for your review. Upon your approval of the article the ghostwriter will add your by-line and release the article to you for distribution. Offering research resources or providing an outline for the ghostwriter to follow may reduce the ghostwriter's fees. You can post your article project and take bids from ghostwriters on-line at http://www.elance.com, http://www.creativemoonlighter.com or you can seek a ghostwriter using any search engine. You'll find various options that will fit your budget. Freelance ghostwriters can negotiate regarding their fees since they work for themselves and often offer reduced rates to returning clients.

A third option also requires hiring a ghostwriter to write your article and add your by-line but going further to enlist that person to distribute the article for you. This is a convenient and time-effective way to have the entire writing and distribution project completed by the same individual. You can review two companies that offer packaged services at http:/ hephantomwriters.com/purchase/index.shtml and http://www.marketingwords.com/ezinearticle.html.

Even if you honestly can't write you can certainly still educate your target audience, earn loyalty and establish yourself as an expert by using free reprint articles. You can invest a bit more in your advertising and promotional efforts by taking a writing course or hiring a ghostwriter. Whichever of the two you may choose, you are making an investment that will be well-returned many times over in beneficial results to both you and your readers. Be willing to go the extra mile in establishing your web site as the definitive choice of your targeted audience. You'll be pleased with the rewards of your efforts.

The author grants reprint permission to all venues so long as the article is not used in spam and the copyright and by-line are included intact.

About the author: Bonnie Jo Davis is an expert in using articles to marketing your business, services and products. Visit http://www.ArticlesThatSell.com/newsletter.htm to sign-up for a free monthly newsletter to learn everything you need to know about marketing with articles.

Testing and Tracking to improve your conversions

2008-12-19T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: John Taylor

Creating an effective sales letter page is an essential part of your online success. However, unless you're testing and tracking each critical element in your sales content and your sales process, you may be losing a great deal of time and money.

You can dramatically increase your sales conversions simply by taking the time to test and track your results. Not only will testing and tracking enable you to determine what's working and what's not, but it will also help you to focus your energy on the techniques that produce results.

When testing, keep in mind that, a technique that produces results for one person or one web site may not produce results for you or for your web site. There is no one size fits all technique that works for everyone. You must develop your own style and technique and test your results to determine what works for you. So, what are we measuring? Well, you may think that I am over simplifying matters here but I believe that there is only one real measure and that is simply the outcome of your visitors' decision when faced with a choice. Whatever your most wanted response is your visitor will either say yes or no. Every decision, or call to action, that you want a prospect to take must be tracked. The result of that tracking will be a yes or a no. When you know that a specific number of visitors took the desired action, and the remainder did not, you can analyse your results. If you take the total number of unique yes calls to action, and you divide them by the total number of unique visitors to the web page you will know your conversion rate. For example, if 1,000 people visit a web page where you have an ezine opt-in form, and 30 people opt-in, your conversion ratio for that opt-in form is 3% (30/1000). So what parts of your web page should you try to improve? Here is a list of web page elements that you should focus your attention on: 1. Headline 2. First few paragraphs 3. Follow up 4. Deadline 5. Scarcity 6. Delayed payment option 7. Price 8. Upgrade 9. Downgrade 10. Good until cancelled 11. Guarantee 12. Immediate back end sale 13. Bonus items 14. Reposition your offer 15. Alternative colours and graphics 16. Readability 17. Complementary product endorsements 18. Header graphic 19. Order page 20. Payment process 21. Navigation links 22. Everything else!

When you are testing and tracking make sure that you only work on one element at a time. If you change two variables and you see an improvement in conversion ratios you will not be able to identify which one factor made the contribution.

You should also bear in mind that some changes may result in poorer performance; you may get less sign ups to your ezine or less people buying your product. This is not a failure it simply means that you have discovered a tactic that doesn't work for your audience or your product.

One final point, be patient. The expert statisticians will tell you that you need at least 25 actions for a test to be statistically valid. That means 25 new ezine subscribers or 25 sales. Anything less than that and your test results will not really be accurate enough. In fact the more results the better, you should consider 25 to be the absolute minimum and aim to get 30 to 40 if you can.

About the author: John Taylor is the author of ""Learn over Twenty ways To Improve Your Conversion Rate and Multiply Your Profits"" - A Special Report that contains a wealth of information on professional testing and tracking techniques that can boost your conversion rate and generate increased profits. To learn how testing and tracking can boost your profits click this link now: http://www.test-and-track.com

7 Quick Tips To Strengthen Your Profits

2008-12-18T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Ken Hill

1. Add resources to your site that your visitors can use on a regular basis such as a spell checker, meta tag builder, document formatter or search engine submitter.

This will increase the number of repeat visits you get to your site, giving you more opportunities to sell your products to your visitors.

2. Create a members only site that your visitors can join at no cost. Your visitors will come back to your site again and again to use the resources that you provide to them.

You can also increase your profits by providing your members only site as a bonus for subscribing to your ezine or buying your product.

3. Provide your visitors with ebooks that they can download and pass on to others.

You could create an ebook that is a compilation of your articles or you could publish an email course or tutorial you've published on your site in ebook form.

4. Allow people to use ebooks you've created as bonuses for buying their products or for subscribing to their ezines.

Include your marketing links and material within your ebook as well as the links to affiliate programs you've joined that offer products related to what you talk about in your ebook.

5. Add discussion boards or chat rooms to your site. This will increase the amount of repeat traffic you get as your visitors return to your site to interact with each other.

6. Enhance your visitor's trust in you by using your discussion boards to answer questions and to give your tips and advice.

In addition, you can use your chatrooms to strengthen your credibility by conducting online classes, workshops, or seminars.

7. Write articles for publication in ezines and on websites. Your articles could be how to articles, a list of tips, or an article that deals with a current hot topic.

You can also conduct interviews with well known people in your industry and turn these into profitable articles that increase your traffic and sales.

About the author: Article © by writer Ken Hill, publisher of the Net Promotion Marketer, an ezine dedicated to providing you with tips and techniques you can use to increase your sales and profits. Get your f-ree subscription today by emailing mailto:subscribe@netpromarketer.com

Top 3 Free Marketing Techniques

2008-12-17T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Michael Mclaughlin

If you have zero budget then this is the article for you. In this article I will discuss the best ways to market your website for free.

#1. Articles: An example of using articles to promote your website is this article. At the bottom of it should be my author bylines. If you are a good writer and know were to submit your articles then this can be possible they best traffic generator ever. By submitting articles to ezine editors, website owners, and publishers, you can generate traffic through your bylines. If you even get 1 ezine editor to publish your article in a popular ezine you can generate 50 visitors for free. The best way to get targeted visitors is to write something that people who buy your product would be interested in. For example I wrote this article because I know that webmasters are always looking for marketing techniques and my website is for webmasters.

#2. Ebooks: People love free information and ebooks are one of the main sources for this. Ebooks have the potential to keep on growing if they provide important and unique information. Though the only way they can grow rapidly is if they have distribution and resell rights. Ebooks like articles are viral because they provide free information and information is shared quickly if it is quality. If they have distribution and resell rights then people will customize the ebook with there links but as long as you have your links scattered in the ebook then you will generate many visitors. The best technique is to email all your affiliates and tell them they can customize the ebook with there affiliate links making them some money and you to in the process. This gives them incentive to distribute them.

#3. Search Engines: This one doesn't seem to go with the first 2 but it is the 3rd best free traffic driver. The reason this is third and not first though it brings more traffic than ebooks and articles is because it is an art to getting top search engine ranking for your keywords. Search engines drive approximately 40% of my traffic, I would rather this number be closer to 20% because it is not good depending on one source of traffic especially one as unstable as search engines. For example goggle's Florida update.

About the author: Written By: Michael McLaughlin @ Http://www.p-lance.com - Custom web design, scripts, and freelance programming are just some of the services our freelance programmers provide for webmasters here at Programmers Freelance.

The Top 3 Stupidest Marketing Methods. (Are You Using Them?)

2008-12-16T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Terah J Logan

The Top 3 Stupidest Marketing Methods. (Are YOU using them?) By Terah Logan 1.FFA Pages: The only people who benefit from FFA pages are the owners. Think about it, you give your email address to submit your link to a FFA link site in hopes someone will see your link and click on it. When was the last time you stopped at a FFA link site and browsed through the links looking for something specific? Not to mention your email has been given (remember your gave your email when you submitted your link) to a FFA link network, with thousands of owners, and you will now be bombarded with emails from FFA owners. In this scenario who wins? I hope your not thinking you did.

2.Automatic Hit Exchanges: So you find a hit exchange that does not require you to click a special link to continue to the next site and thus earning you a credit. This is the Auto Hit Exchange and you think ""WOW, I can rack up a million hits in no time, I will leave this running while I sleep!"". Guess who else is thinking the same thing…. Every other member of the auto hit exchange. So who sees your site? Probably no one at all. And it's even more amazing these autohit sites offer credits you can buy! You may as well set fire to your money.

3.Purchasing 1 Million Emails for $9.95 Your checking out email marketing and you discover a site that is selling 1 million (or a billion) emails for a ridiculously cheap price. The unknowing marketer will jump with joy and make the purchase on complete impulse saying "One million (or billion) emails for less then I spend on lunch!". So the unsuspecting Marketer gets their emails, listed in some kind of text documment and stares, "Now what do I do with them?". How will the marketer send these emails? You need bulk email software and/or a bulk email server which can run hundreds of dollars. Even if the marketer can figure a way to send them out, it's probably a list made up of 'harvested' emails and your e-business is shut down because of SPAM. You always get what you pay for and this is no different!

About the author:

Terah Logan has been Internet Marketing since 1997. Visit http://www.simplesteps2success.biz and read honest and real reviews about Internet Marketing resources that you may be considering buying. Get wise before you buy! Don't waste another minute or penny online! Find out what's hot and what's not!

Should You Write a Book?

2008-12-15T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Steven Van Yoder

Should You Write a Book? One morning, you open your inbox and find several e-mails that will boost your business. There is an invitation to speak at a local group comprised of your best prospects. Several emails have arrived from people who've ""heard of you"" and inquire about your services. There is a message from a potential joint venture partner who has invited you to be a guest on a teleconference that will reach 500 people, all of them prospects. Later that day, a journalist calls. She wants to write a story about your business, which she heard about on a radio interview you gave weeks earlier. Is this a fantasy? No. This could be a typical day in your life as a published author. More and more business people are realizing the power of writing a book to catapult their businesses to a higher level. Speakers, consultants, coaches, therapists and other small business owners are learning that publishing a book is one of the most powerful marketing strategies available. Published authors report that their lives change, often dramatically, when their books reach the marketplace. When you become an author, you become known as the expert. When you are known as an expert in your field, whatever your field, you will find that the world will beat a path to your door. A Book Generates Visibility and Attracts Clients Of all the information products you can create, a book has the greatest potential to open doors. A book can give you more recognition and professional credibility than audiotapes, CDs, videos, seminars, workshops and public speaking. Since my book Get Slightly Famous was published last year, I have been amazed at how it has transformed my business. Publishing my book was a newsworthy event that resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in new business, high-profile media coverage, speaking engagements, radio interviews, partnership opportunities, and too many other benefits to mention. Prospective clients now hear about me from all over the world. The media regularly call me, and I appear in newspaper articles and radio interviews. Get Slightly Famous is not just my most effective marketing tool. It has become the core of my brand identity. My book provides a marketing platform for my business that gives all my marketing efforts a natural, sharp focus. Best of all, marketing is not such a struggle anymore. As a successful author you will find the stress of constantly seeking new clients can largely become a thing of the past. Clients will seek you out, ready to pay good money for your services, because you are seen as a leader in your field. You become their first choice. It's Not Just a Book -- It's a Business! Your book is the seed from which you can grow a multi-faceted ""empire'' of related products and services, including seminars, teleclasses, reports, consulting packages, audiotapes, and other profitable information products. Imagine selling thousands of books to trade associations as premiums for their members. Or how about creating a $49-a-month newsletter, a $995 home-study course, a $499 a year membership web site? Could you use your book as the basis for a year-long mentorship program for which individuals or groups that pay thousands of dollars a piece to participate? The idea is to see your book as a launching pad for new business opportunities. Barbara Hemphill used her book Taming The Paper Tiger to develop a multi-pronged branding strategy. Hemphill offers organizing skills services designed to reduce stress and increase productivity. Her business is based almost entirely on her book. Barbara has used her book to develop Taming the Paper Tiger software, gain an endorsement by Pendaflex, and found the Hemphill Productivity Institute. Her company now employs more than 70 Paper Tiger authorized consultants across the U.S. and Canada. You can write a book! Me, publish a book, you ask? Yes, you. It is easier than you might think, and you don't need to be a seasoned writer to become a published author. Writing a successful book is not the easiest thing in the world, but it is entirely possible. The talents and expertise you bring to your clients can form the basis of a successful book. If you know your subject area, and can communicate your ideas in a clear, compelling, organized manner, becoming a published author is within your reach. A strategy that works for many is to break the process into smaller steps by writing a series of articles. They then become the basis for a book. Or, you can work with a talented freelance writer to help you express your ideas clearly and with conviction. The most traditional route is to find a publisher who will handle the production, marketing, promotion and distribution. This involves up front work (you write a detailed proposal, a table of contents, sample chapters and a market overview). Then you shop the proposal around to potential publishers, either on your own or with the help of a commissioned agent. Self-publishing has many advantages over traditional publishing, the most compelling being greater financial returns for the author. ""When you self-publish, you keep all the profits,"" says Dan Poynter, author of The Self-Publishing Manual. ""Additionally, you get into print quickly, own the copyright, and take all applicable tax breaks."" On the downside, self-publishing can be expensive. You pay up front for all the production and distribution costs, and if your book does not sell, you will be stuck with the leftover inventory. However, if your book is successful, you will not only have the satisfaction and advantages of being a published author, you will make more money. Whatever publishing route you choose, the Internet provides a global marketplace for your book. Never before has it been so easy to market a book if you are willing to invest the time and energy to write one.

About the author: Steven Van Yoder is the author of Get Slightly Famous. He teaches small business owners how to duplicate his success and become a ""slightly"" famous author in your field. Visit www.getslightlyfamous.com to claim your FREE Slightly Famous Marketing Plan Workbook and learn how to attract more business with less effort by creating your own information empire.

Reciprocal Linking

2008-12-14T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Jason Blackston

Reciprocal linking is considered by many people the most effective way to increase traffic to your website. You often get hits from the web sites that you have exchanged your links with, and reciprocal linking also helps boost your search engine rankings.

What is a reciprocal link?

A reciprocal link is a link to a website that carries a similar link back to your own website.

A reciprocal link is a common thread between you and another website owner. You both likely share similar websites and content, and you are o'kay with the possibility of a viewer leaving your site to take a look at your linking partner's site.

What a reciprocal link is not...

A reciprocal link is not a cure all! Many times webmasters have a ton of links. The problem is that many of those links are broken or out of date. I will share a resource to help you find those broken links in a minute. But first you need to find sites to link to!

A great way to find sites that might like to link to your site is to use Link Finder at http://siteowner.bcentral.com/linkfinder.cfm Here you can check for links to your competition or other sites that are related to yours.

*Getting back to finding those broken links...

You can find broken links, spot bad HTML code, check browser compatibility, find slow-loading pages, and check your spelling at http://www.netmechanic.com/cobrands/zd_dev/

By utilizing reciprocal linking strategies, you can enhance your web presence. Take advantage of these tools and start climbing to the top!

About the author: ------------------------------------------------------- Discover proven methods of converting website visitors into paying customers! Pick up your free epackage at http://www.govisitors.com And be sure to utilize the resources page for free articles, ebooks, and other information, that can help enhance your marketing campaigns. ------------------------------------------------------- ©Jason Blackston

The Last of the Dinosaurs

2008-12-13T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Tina Rideout

Who are the ""Last of the Dinosaurs""?

In the early 70's the United States went through a manufacturing ""boom"". The Vietnam War was coming to an end, the economy was growing stronger, and technology was on its way to being one of the biggest industries. Along with the advancements, good paying jobs were becoming easier to find. Wages were steadily rising. There was the opportunity for good retirement plans Better health care coverage for employees and their dependents.

Then suddenly in the early 80's, it came to a streaking halt. Many workers who had thought they had found financial security were in danger of losing all they had worked to achieve.

Some were lucky enough to hang on for the ""ride"", while others were not so fortunate. The ""ride"" has been a long one. We have yet to rekindle the ""boom"" of the 70's.

Today many of the workers who thought they had made it through the hard times, have either been laid off for extended periods of time or lost their jobs completely.

""The Last of the Dinosaurs"" are the hardworking men and women who have found themselves searching for new careers at ages when they were planning for retirement.

Searching for new careers has not been an easy task for this group of individuals

Why??

1..Their age. 2..They are educated and experienced in their chosen fields.

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The ""Good News""

Technology has provided an outlet for these displaced workers. The Internet has became their lifeline. Both experienced and inexperienced computer operators have found ways to generate an income.

""How to Make Money Working from Home""

1..Research the Company you are interested in joining. The bottom line: A Company that is successful will make you successful.

Do they have quality Products and Services? Do they have a reliable Support System? Do they provide training material and the tools you need to understand what you are advertising?

2..Avoid being attracted to every Company you encounter After you become more experienced, you can add other Programs to your business.

3...Buyer Beware If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, its a duck!!!(not my analogy) There are too many unscrupulous companies also operating on the Internet. Remember do your homework!!

4...Seek out members of the Company who have been successful. Ask questions, and join their forums.

5...Develop a Business Plan Take a hard look at your financial situation. Do you have money to invest?. How much? Over what period of time? In reality to build a successful business of any kind, you will have to invest some monies. Beware of how much and how often a Company wants you to invest money.

In conclusion do your homework!!

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""We may be the Last of the Dinosaurs in industry"", but through technology we have become the Businesses of the Future.

About the author: Written by Tina Rideout, successful Work at Home Team Member. For more details visit her at http://earth.prohosting.com/coook/index.htm

Creating Your Internet Marketing Plan

2008-12-12T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Megan Corwin

For large corporations, a marketing plan is a huge document detailing strategies for the fiscal year. It may include competitor analysis or a sales forecast. While these elements are important to a large business, do you as a small business owner (without a well paid marketing staff) have the time or energy to devote to putting together a huge document? Unless you are trying to get a financial loan, probably not...

But that doesn't mean you should totally scrap the idea. A marketing plan can be a wonderful tool to help you refine your focus. You've heard the old saying ""If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."" That's because when you don't plan you lack intention and attention.

My suggestion is to create a ""micro-plan."" Open up a new document and take an hour or two to answer the following questions.

"Micro-Plan" Questions What is your purpose for being online? - Awareness - Sales - Community

What % of your overall marketing to be done online? - How much time do you expect to spend marketing on internet?

What strategies will you use? - Contests - Forums - Free reports/e-book - Newsletter - Pay per click advertising - Banners - Articles/content - Viral marketing

Timeline Assign a project date to each of the strategies. Will they be one time events (contest) or something you need to do frequently (forums)? While you are thinking about it, schedule your projects in your time management system or planner.

Analysis - How will you track the success of your marketing plans? What is your ROI?

Budget - What is your total yearly internet marketing budget? - Assign a $ to each of the strategies you will use.

A successful internet marketing strategy begins with a plan. The time you take to put together your ""micro-plan"" will be well worth it to your business.

About the author: Megan Corwin is an internet marketing coach who helps work at home professionals grow their businesses. For more articles and advice about online marketing strategy and solutions, become a member of Megan's online community for work at home women: http://www.wahwoman.com/membership.html

Stop Sabotaging Your Sales

2008-12-11T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Bob Leduc

Do your web pages, sales letters or personal presentations include subtle distractions that unnecessarily cause you to lose sales?

Sometimes prospective customers get distracted during the selling process by outside interruptions. You cannot control those. But many sales-killing distractions are caused by what you put in your web pages and other sales messages ...or by what you say in your personal presentations.

Here are 3 unnecessary distractions you may be creating that sabotage your sales - and how you can avoid them:

1. Requiring Customers to Make Unnecessary Decisions

Design your selling process so prospects do not have to make unnecessary decisions.

Some prospects have difficulty making a clear decision when they have several options. They often react by procrastinating and never making a decision ...and you lose the sale you already made.

Tip: Promote only one product or service at a time. You can develop separate promotions for each product or service you sell. You can even combine several products and services into one package. But always limit your prospect's buying decision to ""yes"" or ""no"". Don't distract them with a ""which one"" decision.

2. Diverting Your Customer's Attention to Something Else

Don't include anything in your selling procedure that can divert attention away from your selling process.

For example, I often see sales oriented web pages that provide clickable links to other web sites with the testimonials. Why would any marketer want to send prospective customers to another web site in the middle of their presentation?

Some prospects will never come back. And for those that do, the flow of the selling process was interrupted - reducing the likelihood of closing the sale. Clickable links have many advantages ...but not when they are in the middle of your sales presentation.

Tip: Review what you usually say in live sales presentations and what you include in your web pages and other sales messages. Look for unnecessary diversions you may have included - and get rid of them.

3. Presenting Unpleasant Surprises

Avoid including any unpleasant surprises in your selling process - especially near the end.

For example: Many websites do not mention shipping charges until the very last screen of the shopping cart. This unpleasant surprise is one of the major reasons why customers abandon online orders. You can avoid this by always including the shipping charge wherever you list the price.

Tip: An unpleasant surprise can kill a sale. But a pleasant surprise can help close a sale. For example, adding an unexpected bonus immediately before your prospect takes the last action to complete a sale will usually eliminate any last minute hesitation.

Don't ask your prospects to make unnecessary decisions. Avoid diverting their attention away from your selling presentation. And don't alarm them with any unpleasant surprises.

It's hard enough to get a prospective customers attention once. If you distract them unnecessarily with something else you may not be able to get their attention again ...and you will lose a sale needlessly.

2 Powerful Ways Your Business Can Succeed Where Others Fail

2008-12-10T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Jason Jantzi

Today, the vast majority of Internet businesses fail to make much profit because they don't follow a workable plan. With all the money-making products, opportunities, and affiliate programs available on the Internet today, how is it possible that so few people are actually making a profit online? The surprising answer is that going into business online is so easy and inexpensive, that most people simply don't bother to do much research to see if their idea and plan have the potential to actually make them money. Let's face it, if you had to go out and put a second mortgage on your house in order to borrow enough money to start a traditional "bricks and mortar" business, you'd investigate your idea ahead of time to make sure it had a lot of potential. And even if you didn't, the bank would want to see your business plan and financial projections before they would risk their money on your idea. But not so on the Internet. You can get started with just a few hundred dollars and some room on your credit card. No checks and balances. No approvals. No loans. Just instant business. But that's where the headaches begin. Before you know it, you can sink thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours into a venture that simply never makes you money. There are only 2 ways to avoid this fate: Luck and Planning. Fortunately, you can come up with a workable plan by compiling Simple Strategies that Work 1. Make sure you know who your target market is – before you build your product! The narrower your focus, the more chance you have of hitting it. Don't try to be everything to everybody. 2. Make sure you can afford to reach them. Build your business plan on provable methods that work. Pay per click ads on Overture and other engines bring you guaranteed, targeted traffic and you know exactly how much they will cost. There are no surprises here. Use this as a cornerstone of your initial business plan. If your business plan can't support pay-per-click advertising, you may be skating on thin ice already. E-zine ads are a little less definite in their pull, but are low-cost enough to allow you to experiment to find ones that give you broad reach for relatively little cost. E-zine articles give you even more reach at virtually no cost. These too should be fundamental to your plan. Joint Ventures are the third fundamental base on which to build your business. Find people who already have lists of customers and subscribers who want your product. It costs far more to capture new customers than it does to use someone else's customer base to build your own. Give them 40-50% of your revenues for providing you sales. You're going to spend that anyway trying to get new customers. This way you get them fast, and for free. It's all good. Just these 3 ideas alone can propel your business to stardom. And they're not guesswork. It's common sense, and it works.

About the author: Jason Jantzi has launched 17 successful products and can help you launch yours. For a free copy of the step-by-step Profit Assessment Toolkit, visit http://www.IdeaProfitWizard.com/toolkit.htm The few minutes you spend with these tools will save you time and money for years to come.

Imitation, The Smartest Form Of Flattery

2008-12-09T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: David Geer

Unless you are an inventor, most likely you are selling a product or service that is being offered by someone else, somewhere, at some time. The first person to start your type of business would have gone through a lot of trial and error. Thank that person, as now you can not only profit by not repeating the same mistakes, but by learning what they do to get business.

The best way to do this is to practice what any businessperson knows: know your competition. The most beneficial thing you can do is to study what they are doing to attract customers.

Go online, do a search, pull up the web sites of your competition, and start taking notes. Here are some things to look for.

* What do you like about their web site? * How can they improve upon it? * Is it user-friendly and easy to understand? * Is it too wordy or complicated? * Could someone browsing this web site learn quickly what this business actually does? * Does their web site move too slowly, due to an over-emphasis on graphics that sacrifices the actual message?

With your notes, you can begin to set up the key points that you feel your target audience needs to know about your product or service, and why it will benefit them to do business with you.

Look at these different web sites and read the headline.

* Does it draw you in? * Do you care to read more? * Do you feel intrigued, or more than a little confused?

If you find one you like, there is nothing wrong with re-wording it to fit your business. Remember that we are talking about imitation, not plagiarism.

It has been said that there is nothing new under the sun. While this may be the case, at least give what your company is offering a unique slant, and make an effort to provide it in a more informative and interesting format than what your competition is doing.

====Side Bar==== This ""unique slant"", often called the ""Unique Selling Proposition (USP)"", opens the door for effective competition among businesses selling a simular product -- even the same product.

Rosser Reeves was the first to coin the phrase Unique Selling Proposition in his book ""Reality of Advertising"", published in 1961.

Here's Reeves' 3 part diffintion of USP:

1. Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer. 2. The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not offer. It must be unique--either a uniqueness of the brand or a claim not otherwise made in that particular field of advertising. 3. The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions. ====Side Bar====

Try to look at your competition with fresh eyes. Treat what they have to say as if it is the first time you have seen this information, because that may be the case for your target audience. Make a list of the questions that come to mind, or points that you feel you would want more information on, if you were in the shoes of your audience.

Even what your competition does wrong with the information they do or do not provide can be instructive. It serves to get you to think of all the things that you can do to sell the service better. You are building the structure of your business on what someone else has done before you, but improving the end product by going the extra distance in covering the whole story in a clear manner.

Now that is smart business.

About the author: Success 4U Marketing helps small business owners discover how to market any product or service online – quickly ... easily ... profitably ... successfully: http://www.cashflowseller.com/

5 Ways to Generate Leads with Your Web Site

2008-12-08T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Charlie Cook

If you sell services one of the biggest challenges is identifying qualified prospects who want what you have to offer and are ready to buy. It is possible to waste time on cold calls and other marketing activities that turn up little in the way of sales. Wouldn't you rather have a steady stream of hot leads, leads that not only include contact information but give you an idea of what the prospect needs, the problem they want solved?

You have a web site, and hundreds if not thousands of people visit your site each week. If your site is working well it should be providing you with a list of hundreds of people who want to be on your marketing list each week and dozens of qualified leads, people who want you to call them right away about your services.

Use the following five tactics to generate a list of qualified prospects.

1. Collect Contact Information Strive to collect the email address of every person who visits your web site and is interested in the problems you solve. Offer a free article, tutorial or guide as bait to motivate people to give you their email address so you can market to them again and again.

Offer prospects something they want, and place your sign-up form prominently at the top of your home page and in a side navigation bar on the other pages of your site. This should help you capture the email addresses of 10-20% of the people who visit your site each week.

2. Use Auto Responders to Collect Detailed Information If you use a free giveaway and the briefest of sign up forms to get people to give you their email information you can market to prospects but wouldn't it be helpful to have more information?

Use an autoresponder to send people a confirmation when they request your free article or sign up for your newsletter. In the email ask them for detailed contact information and ask them a couple of questions about what they're interested in.

3. Get People to Tell You How You Can Help Them Many people use the web as tool to find solutions and to hire people who can help them solve their problems. If you are a financial advisor, giving away an article on financial tips is a great way to get contact information but what you really want to do is to identify those people who have an immediate interest in your services.

Prompt people to contact you by including an inquiry form on your web site, but don't make the mistakes made on most web sites. Too often inquiry forms are buried on the site, multiple clicks away from the pages most frequently viewed by your visitors. Include your form on high visibility pages, at the bottom of your homepage and other key pages about your services and products.

Use your inquiry form to both collect contact information and to identify the services your prospects are interested in and how you can help them. When you make your follow up calls you'll know where to start the conversation.

When you receive completed inquiry forms you can sort through them to identify which ones are worth following up on based on the answers provided. Then pick up the phone and use these qualified leads to find new clients and grow your business.

4. Collect Feedback and Learn More About Your Prospect's Needs When people visit your sell pages, the web pages that describe your products and services, they've expressed an interest. Some will move directly to purchase, others will discover they don't have any further interest and a large number will fall into the middle. These are people who are interested but not ready to commit.

Before visitors leave your web site sell pages, you can use exit pop up windows to collect feedback and to find out what they are looking for.

Offer a free article to motivate visitors to fill in the form. When you get these feedback forms, follow up with a call. Use this conversation to find out why they didn't buy the service or product or to get further information about the problems they want solved. Once you have these prospects on the phone you'll be surprised how many you can turn into clients.

5. Send out Surveys to Identify What Sells If you have a newsletter you can leverage the trust of your readers to collect ideas of what they want to buy. If you've been sending out ideas and information to your target market periodically they will be more than likely to respond when you ask for their input.

Two to four times per year, send an informal survey to your subscriber base, asking for their ideas. Ask them which of your product or service ideas they like best and what they need and want. Tabulate their responses and develop the products and services they asked for.

Use these five lead collection strategies to identify prospects with a problem, one you can solve. Once you know who needs your help, its easy to follow up, close the sale and grow your business. - 2004 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.

About the author: The author, Marketing Coach, Charlie Cook, helps independent professionals and small business owners attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Guide and the 'More Business' newsletter, full of practical tips you can use at http://www.charliecook.net

Don't Just Sit There, Write A Newsletter Article.

2008-12-07T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Vern Anderson

Need traffic? Write an article.

Need sales? Write an article.

Need Your Name branded? Write an article.

Writing newsletter articles can do all of these and more.

You can get exposure for your web site, newsletter or what ever you are promoting by writing articles.

This will not happen over night, but if you write one article a week and post it where publishers look for articles to use, it will do wonders for you.

Here are five places to post your articles.

http://goarticles.com/index.html

http://www.boconline.com./sub-art.htm

http://www.dime-co.com/articlesub.html

http:/ hewhir.com/find/articlecentral/

http://www.certificate.net/wwio/index.shtml

You will notice at the bottom of this article is what is called a Bio. This is where your payment for writing articles starts.

Your Bio has only your information in it for everyone reading your articles to see. See the one below.

Now don't just sit there write an article!

About the author: -----------------------------------------------

Vern Anderson editor News You Need: http://www.newsyouneed.us Webmaster Best Revenue Building Package: http://www.profits-vault.com

------------------------------------------------

Creating Value With Streaming Video Content

2008-12-06T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: John Howarth

Having a corporate or promotional video for your company is often viewed as something of an expensive luxury – useful, but rarely considered to be an essential marketing tool. Whilst many businesses can understand the benefits of having a corporate video, all too often they are put off by the perceived cost and subsequently find it hard to justify commercially. Furthermore, the process of making a video can at times, appear complex and intimidating, with an array of technical terms and processes.

Streaming video provides a number of useful opportunities for maximising the potential of an existing corporate video. And compared to other distribution media such as DVD or CD-ROMs it also offers a cost-effective solution for broadcasting a new corporate presentation to a wider audience.

Although streaming video is certainly not a new concept and has been around for some time, it's now easier than ever to add streaming video content to your website. The technology required to enable video streaming is widely available, it's relatively inexpensive and with the dramatic growth in high speed, broadband internet connections, a growing number of internet users can now view high quality, streaming video on their computers.

In this article, leading corporate video & business television producer, John Howarth, explains some of the ways in which streaming video content can be made to work effectively for your business and produce tangible results.

Provide Compelling Content Try to provide content that creates a real interest for the viewer. Instead of simply informing them of your key corporate values – the typical narrative being 'how successful we are, the great products & services we offer, our featured clients' - why not turn the message into something that is actually useful and engaging to watch.

Take for example a company that manufactures kitchen products. Whilst you could produce a video to establish company values by highlighting such areas as quality of craftsmanship and original design of the product, this information is almost certainly available more easily on the web pages. It could be far more interesting for the viewer to provide them with a series of recipes, which feature the products being used in context.

Another technique is to provide content that is not centrally focused to your company's core products & services. For example, your company sponsors a sports event or art exhibition. How about showing some clips from the event, with company branding around it? By using more recognisable and popular content, you are creating a wider 'reach' for the video, with the added possibility of gaining increased website traffic.

Re-Package Content Lets say you already have a corporate video, it's around ten minutes long and you currently distribute it on a video tape format or DVD. The most obvious solution would be to have it transferred to a streaming format in it's entirety and loaded up onto your website. Whilst a ten minute corporate video sequence may be useful as a backdrop display in a trade exhibition or screened to a captive audience in a conference, it's often far too long to use as a streaming video clip on your website. Who really has the time to sit and watch a corporate video clip for this length of time? It's often far more useful to break the sequence down into a series of individual clips or re-edit into a shorter, condensed version that has greater impact.

Following on from this, you might also want to distribute streaming video clips around different areas on your website. This way, the clips featured can be targeted to match – and complement - the page content. For example, on a page detailing company clients and case studies, the video clip could feature customer testimonials; situated on a contact details page, the video sequence could feature some generic shots of company locations and building exterior shots.

Brand The Video Whatever streaming video clips you use, try to ensure they are branded with your corporate identity. This could be a small logo in the top corner of the screen or a 'picture frame' wrapped around the moving images. Taking it a step further, you may want to add an introduction sequence with animated corporate logos at the beginning and end of every sequence. Another option is to create an HTML or Flash 'player' customised with your corporate identity. The video clip would then play within this frame and could be complemented by some animated product or service information around it.

When reviewing website statistics, it is frequently pages featuring streaming video content that are the most 'sticky' and have the longest viewing times by site visitors. Use this factor to your advantage - it's an ideal opportunity to get your core brand values, products and services across to the site visitor.

About the author: John Howarth is creative director of Blue Tuna Limited, a leading UK-based corporate communications & multi-media production agency. Past projects include live streaming for leading online bookmaker, Blue Square and the launch of the UK's of the first club soccer channel, Boro TV for NTL.

www.bluetuna.tv

Ecards as a marketing tool

2008-12-05T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Dessy Oundian

As any successful businessman will confirm, having a great product or service is just the beginning. After all, in this day and age, everything comes down to marketing. The more creative you are in your marketing efforts, the more successful your business is. There are many ways to promote your business without spending a fortune. In this article I will describe one of the most powerful tools on the Internet – ecards!

Ecards (electronic greeting cards) are a great example of efficient marketing on the internet. You have a service open to the Internet users. The ecards they send from your site invariably contain promotion for your company, products or services. They are advertising tools that are immediate, inexpensive, personalized and although sent via email, S.P.A.M.-free.

This form of Internet marketing is extremely effective. More than 50% of the U.S. population and 85% of all Internet users visit a greeting's site annually, according to research firm Jupiter MediaMetrix. Why not use even a small percentage of these potential clients to your advantage? OK, BlueMountain.com has more than 100 million unique visitors each year, but even with less numbers, the potential is there. Remember, with each sent ecard from your site you have at least two potential clients!

If someone utilizes the ecards service on average only twice a day, in the period of a year the service is advertised approximately 730 times. Multiply this number by the number of registered users and you get yourself a healthy advertising stream. Recognizing the huge potential, in 1999 Excite@Home Corp. paid $780 million for the purchase of BlueMountain.com. How much would you pay for that type of advertising?

No need to answer -- you can have an ecard site for a lot less. The concept is the same, and you can use it just as the big boys. You can build a database of qualified prospects and use ecards to: - Promote - promote products and services - Brand - create company awareness among your client base - Invite - invite people to seminars and events - Remind - send appointment reminders - Inform - send Client appreciation memos, Recruiting/hiring notices, etc. - Reference - send Birthday wishes, Holiday greetings, Thank You's, etc.

OK, so now you know you need an ecard section on your site. What do you need next?

Content: Custom content: If you have a larger budget you can have an well-known artist create custom animated ecards for you. On average, a Flash animated ecard costs $350. Leased content: A much cheaper way to obtain high quality content is to use the services of a company like Cardsup Greetings (http://www.cardsup.com). Their ecards have been used by such sites as Yahoo Greetings, Regards.com, ecards.com, etc. For a very reasonable price you will get:

GREAT CONTENT for your existing web site, made by some of the best animators/cartoonists in the business. TIMELY UPDATES -- you will receive monthly Flash ecards! Each month you will get from 5 to 30 additional ecards at no cost. SCREENSAVERS -- you will receive all additional animations as screensavers too, and you will be able to sell them to your customers.

Ecards software: There are a lot of very good ecard programs on the Internet. I highly recommend the following:

- MyPostCards Platinum (http://mypostcards.com/platinum/) - ECardsPro price U$299 (http://www.ecardspro.com/) - Greeting Card PRO price U$249 (http://www.greetingcardpro.com/) - Greeting Cards Pro price U$249 (http://www.all-yours.net/software/)

Web Hosting: If you do not have a web host for your site, be sure to check out Fullservehost.com (http://www.fullservehost.com). They have plans for ecard sites owners that come with card software.

About the author: Dessy Oundian is a the marketing Guru behind etoon.com -- one of the largest searchable cartoon databases in the world. Find T-shirts and other custom apparel, get information about licensing our cartoons or send e-cards.

You are Being Lied About Reciprocal Links!

2008-12-04T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Vishal P. Rao

You are Being Lied About Reciprocal Links!

Exchanging links has been an important part of generating traffic since the concept of Internet marketing was first established, but at least 90% of people looking to trade links don't understand the real benefits and, therefore, fail to make the most of them.

The vast majority of web site owners think that exchanging links is only helpful because it can boost their rankings in search engines such as Google.com. They are however, useful for this purpose since the number of links back to a site is figured into ranking calculations. But according to WebSideStory's StatMarket Web site optimization service, search engines account for only little more than 13% of an average web site's traffic.

The most important benefit of a link exchange is the traffic resulting directly from these links. That same StatMarket research found that 21% of site visitors get there via links which means the links themselves are more useful than the search engine listings!

Search engines are highly unpredictable. They keep changing their algorithms every now and then. Your site is on the top 10 results today but it may not be so tomorrow.

I don't say you should neglect search engines. However, your main concern should be getting traffic from direct links. Search engine ranking should be your secondary concern.

Furthermore, your links page can serve as an excellent resource for your visitors. As any Internet marketer will tell you, it's the content that makes a successful site. When you provide useful links for your visitors, your site becomes more credible, more helpful, more likely to be bookmarked for future visits. All of which adds up to a steady stream of traffic.

So how do you identify sites that can send you more of direct traffic? Here are some pointers to consider while exchanging links:

1) Look out for sites that have good content.

Content is the #1 reason people go online. If a site has good content, more number of repeat visitors it'll have.

2) Look out for sites that display a prominent link to their links page on their home page as well as on the rest of the pages.

When I say prominent, I don't mean a link with h1 font size! What I mean is that the link should not be less prominent than the rest of links on the site.

Many web masters, particularly those who want links to help only their search engine ranking, will hide their links page or place it only on their home page, some where at the bottom with a -1 font size. The most common reason for doing this is a fear of losing visitors, but that fear is absolutely unfounded when you really understand how the Internet works.

Say your web site has a 1% conversion ratio. That means for every 100 visitors that visit your site, you make one sale. Now what about the rest 99. They are looking for something else, isn't it? So what do they do? They have 3 options:

a) Go back to the previous site.

b) Visit your links page (if you have one), hoping that they would find the information on sites listed there.

c) End their browsing session.

So which do you think is the best option? I would definitely want my visitors to go to my links page and visit my link partners rather than go back. Because I know that my link partners would send some visitors in the same way to my site.

Now this exchange would only happen if we had a prominent link to our links page on all the pages of our site, should our visitors decide to leave us any time.

-----Side Bar----- There are some sites that have their links page designed for link partners rather than for their visitors!

They'll use the following texts to link to their links page: ""Let's Trade Links"", ""Trade Links"" and so on... Such sites are more interested in finding link partners than providing information to their visitors. The end result is link partners visiting each other's site. -----Side Bar-----

3) Look out for sites that have tightly themed and categorized links page.

Sites that trade links solely for search engine rankings have links to sites on almost all the subjects on their links page. Typically ranging to hundreds of them on a single page. These pages are never going to be visited by those looking for additional information.

Whereas sites that have their links categorized are more user friendly and are more likely to attract visitors.

Conclusion

There is no point in looking for quality sites when YOUR links page is designed without keeping the interests of your visitors in mind. Only when we start thinking of our links page as a service to our visitors rather than a tool for higher search engine ranking, we'll be able to make the most from reciprocal links.

About the author: Vishal P. Rao is the owner of:

http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/ - An online community of people who work at home.

Do You Judge A Book By Its Cover!

2008-12-03T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Andrew Eaton

By Andrew Eaton

The difference between having an ultra-attractive e-book cover and an average one can be the difference between an e-book with five downloads, or an e-book with five thousand downloads.

Distinctive and professional e-book covers are proven to increase sales significantly. You can use them in advertisements to lure people to your e-book. They also entice people to actually read the ad copy, something many Internet surfers just dread doing. When it comes to Internet advertising, pictures speak louder than words.

So how do you create a professional eCover!

There are too options for this

1. DIY (Do It Yourself)

2. PAY (Cost Up To $150)

lets look at both of the above options and focus on them a little more.

#1 DIY (Do It Yourself)

· You can spend hours trying to create just 1 eCover

· Software To Compile/Edit (Up To $97 Or More

· Graphics (Cost Hundreds Of Dollars)

· Complete when you finish it

My first eCover took just over 2 hours and I thought it was amazing, boy was I wrong it was awful.

I now create eCovers for a living and make a nice tidy sum.

#2 PAY (Hire Someone)

· When you have no time

· Costs an arm and a leg

· Looks Professional

· Complete within 2-5 days

When I first started creating eCovers I spent all day trying to find ways to make it easy, and this is what I found:

· Hemera graphics (100,000 high quality photos)

· Adobe Photoshop to do my editing

· Script to compile eBook together

The above is all you need to create stunning covers; I'm sure if I can do it then so can you.

Its not hard to create eCovers, however if you have the time, resources, then I would suggest you start creating them, but most people only need 1 eCover.

So why spend up to $300 or more for just one eCover, in that case I would highly recommend paying someone to create them for you.

You can find dozens of experts just do a search on Google for ""eCovers, etc.""

Thanks And Good Luck With your eCovers.

About the author: Andrew Eaton's creates stunning eCovers and at affordable prices, his prices will not be beat, they are simply stunning. check out some of his work by visiting http://www.ezineoverload.com/orderecovers.html

7 Super Ways To Use Autoresponders To Increase Your Sales

2008-12-02T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Ken Hill

1. Use your autoresponder to publish an ezine.

Autoresponders with a broadcast feature are a low cost way to create mailing lists that your visitors can subscribe to including your own ezine that you can use to effectively market your products.

Concentrate on making your ezine a source of valuable information for your subscribers and you'll be able to create an ezine that your subscribers look forward to reading and that increases your sales.

2. Make a sample issue(s) of your ezine available by autoresponder.

Your sample issue(s) will help you to increase the number of visitors that subscribe to your publication by showing them firsthand the valuable content that they can expect from subscribing to your ezine.

In addition, many ezine directories allow you to submit an autoresponder address where their visitors can obtain a sample issue of your ezine.

Making a sample issue available to their visitors can help you to increase the number of their visitors that subscribe to your ezine by setting your ezine apart from the other publications.

3. Use your autoresponders to deliver email courses to your visitors.

Fill your courses with information that your new readers can profit from and that stresses the benefits of owning your product.

If you write articles you could use these as the basis of your course or even to make up the different parts of your course.

In addition, you can write a course that answers commonly asked questions that you get from your visitors, subscribers, or customers.

You can also use problems that people come to you with to write up a course that increases your sales by showing your readers how your product can solve their problems.

For instance, if you wrote a manual on ezine publishing you could write up a course that shows your readers different ways to promote an ezine, or that shares with your readers different ways that they can successfully market their products to their subscribers.

4. Use your autoresponders to provide your visitors with f-ree excerpts of your informational product.

An excellent way to do this is to make a multipart report. Your f-ree report could be excerpts of a single chapter delivered over a number of days or you could use excerpts of several different chapters of your informational product to make up your f-ree report.

Creating your report in this way can be very effective in building up your visitors trust in you and your product and can help you to close more sales by giving your visitors a taste of the valuable information to be found in your course, manual, or tutorial.

5. Use your autoresponders to promote your articles.

Make your articles available on your site by autoresponder along with your publishing guidelines. If you've written lots of articles, make a master list of your articles available by autoresponder that lists all of your articles along with their autoresponder addresses.

If you write articles on a regular basis, increase your profits by making a mailing list that people can subscribe to that announces when you've written a new article or articles.

This can provide you with a terrific way to get your articles published on a regular basis by ezine publishers and webmasters who enjoy your writing.

If you run an affiliate program, you can further increase the profit you get from running your list. Tell your subscribers that if they join your affiliate program that they can earn commissions by publishing your articles with their new affiliate URLs in your resource box.

This will increase the number of publishers and webmasters that publish your articles, giving you more f-ree publicity of your business and more sales of your products.

6. Use your autoresponders to deliver an affiliates only newsletter.

Your newsletter will give you an easy way to provide your affiliates with tips and techniques that they can use to successfully promote your products. Your newsletter will also give you an easy way to announce to your affiliates when you are running a special sale or promotion.

In addition, you can use your newsletter to strengthen your top affiliates' loyalty to your program by mentioning them and their sites in your publication and by featuring what they do to promote your products.

This will not only help you to show your appreciation for your top affiliates but will also provide your other affiliates with great examples of how to successfully market your products.

7. Use your autoresponders to get repeat sales.

Keep in mind that it is much easier sell your products to people that have bought your products in the past and know that you offer quality products and service than it is to find new people to buy your products.

Ask your customers to sign up to be notified when you are running a special customers only sale or when you are providing them with a special discount and you'll be able to develop a large customer base that buys your products on a regular basis.

About the author: Article (c) by writer, Ken Hill. Increase Your Sales With Unlimited Follow-Up Autoresponders -- includes easy mailing list management. Plus f-ree targeted permission email ads promoting your offer! Pick up your f-ree 30 day trial today at: http://www.scstats.com/r.cfm?i=5343

20-Point Checklist EVERY Sales Letter Must Pass!

2008-11-30T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Grady Smith

Sales letter not pulling like you want? Need a quick ""fill in the blanks"" formula for marketing your next product? Here are 20 essential components of the hard-selling sales letter:

1) Does your headline speak directly to your potential customer and give them a strong, specific benefit of your product or service?

2) Did you start with the strongest benefit of your product or service, then work your way down to include the least important benefits for your potential customer?

3) Do you explain how your product or service is better or different compared to your competitors?

4) Does your sales letter speak directly to your prospect? In other words, instead of saying, ""people that like horses will love this book"" you say, ""If you love horses you'll love this book.""

5) Do you use ""you"" twice as often as ""I"" in your sales letter?

6) Is your sales letter easy to read using short sentences and paragraphs?

7) Do you use power words and write with the goal of keeping your reader's interest?

8) Do you show your potential customer their problem; agitate it by telling them how troublesome it is, then offer your product or service as the solution?

9) Is your copy clear, easy to understand, and follows a flow from one paragraph to the next?

10) Are your strong words and phrases highlighted or bolded to draw attention and keep the reader focused?

11) Is your sales letter written in a friendly, active, conversational, ""me to you"", tone of voice?

12) Have you used specific numbers and facts in your copy to build instant credibility?

13) Have you included credibility creators, like why you're an authority on the subject, testimonials, and case studies?

14) Does your sales letter have a nothing to risk guarantee that shows your confidence in your offer?

15) Do you include a reason why you're making this offer? Are you doing it because you are tired of seeing people scammed on the Internet and want to provide them with solid information they can use for profit immediately? Or are you giving them a dirt-cheap price because you have an overstock on inventory and it's costing you more to store the product in your warehouse?

16) Does your sales letter give details of what the customer needs to do? Call now. Or, simply fill out the form below, enclose your check or money order for $24, and mail to...

17) Do you make it easy for your potential customer to act on your offer?

18) Are you offering bonuses to increase response, or do you create high-perceived value for your product or service?

19) Did you create a sense of urgency in your letter, explaining that the price is for a short time or quantities are limited?

20) Have you answered all questions a prospective customer has about your product?

About the author: FREE: $95 Critique of One Sales Letter or Ad -- Get the details you need to increase your response. Just visit Grady's website for a free critique and other free resources to improve your sales copy. Click http://www.cheap-copy.com

Effective Reprint Statements For Reprintable Articles

2008-11-29T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Eric Koshinsky

Publishing articles that you allow others to freely use and republish is an effective business strategy for online business. It is a practice that has its roots in offline business promotion. It has been particularly prominant in financial and real-estate circles. Offline, a real estate agent, for example, would write a short tip-sheet explaining the top 10 things to do before you sell your home. This would then be sent out to media outlets for for possible publication. They always included by-lines and resource boxes so that readers would know where to go for further information (and where to hire a qualified real-estate agent).

It works very much the same online. You write an article relevant to an issue in your market area and then submit it to free article directories (like reprint-content.com) for distribution. Included with the article is your by-line, a resource box, and a copyright/reprint-rights statement.

While the resource box and by-line are very important, this article focuses on the reprint statement. This little statement is a very important part of your article. Sadly I see it used incorrectly or ineffectively all too often. This happens because people confuse the purpose of reprintable articles.

Simply put, articles you produce for distribution should be seen as indirect profit builders only. Their purpose is to produce leads for your business, to drive qualified traffic to your website that you then convert into income. In order to get the maximum result from your articles you need them to be distributed as widely as possible.

To get that wide distribution you need it to be as simple as possible for someone to use your article. There should be as few restrictions on use as is humanly possible, and access to the article in a variety of formats should be simple.

The first step in this is to use very a clear reprint permission statement that is as unrestricted as possible. Putting restrictions on the use of your articles, results in fewer people actually using them. Since you want maximum distribution, make it very clear and very simple to use your articles. Your statement should be up-front at the start of the article, and not part of your resource box (that has other purposes).

A simple statement like the following is enough: ""You have permission to use this article freely in any publication as long as the resource box and byline are included as-is and any weblinks are made 'live' when published on websites"".

Some people also like to ask to be contacted if an article is used. Do that if you wish. It can be a good way to build a list of publishers to contact directly with future articles. However don't expect to get hordes of people writing you back; most publishers don't contact writers before they publish - even if asked.

You should also make a point to distribute your articles in directories that provide publishers with your article in different formats. For example, reprint-content.com gives publishers access to your articles in plain text (for ezines), in basic html (for websites) and RSS format (for syndication and website publishing) all from one place.

This makes it much easier for you, the writer, to simply write one version of your article, but have it available to publishers in a variety of popular formats.

About the author: We connect writers with publishers. We provide effective distribution through RSS feeds, permission based update lists, and a fully searchable database of free reprint articles . Submit articles to distribute.

Poker Affiliates: Optimize Your Websites For Search Engine Traffic

2008-11-28T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Blake Stevenson

If you're an online poker affiliate and are building a network of websites, it is very important that you optimize your sites for the search engines. Search engine traffic is a very powerful promotion tool to have at your disposal and if you know how to harness it's power, you'll be able to provide your business with a dramatic boost. When optimizing your poker sites, here is a checklist of some key things to remember...

1. Pick Your Keywords Wisely - Targeting keyword phrases that no one searches for is just plain dumb - don't do it. Do some research before creating your content and include the important keywords on your page.

2. Include Correct Meta Tags - Make sure that you include proper Meta tags on each of your webpages. Incorrect code can drastically hurt your search engine rankings and will spoil all of the hard work you've put into your SEO. Learn the proper way to include Meta tags in your webpages and apply it.

3. Use Anchor Text - When interlinking pages or your other sites, be sure to tap into the power of anchor text. Don't link to your home page using ""Home"", replace it with something like ""Discount Poker Chips"". Doing this tells the search engines that your site is about discount poker chips and you'll benefit as a result.

4. Linking - Concentrate on building links to your site, and once again use anchor text!

Follow this basic checklist to SEO and you'll be a step ahead of the competition. It is very important to note that generating search engine traffic doesn't happen overnight and you shouldn't get discouraged if it takes a little bit of time. Building search engine traffic is something that is a bit of an art form and it is a process, work at it constantly and I'm confident that you'll enjoy the rewards it brings.

About the author: Learn the secrets of top poker affiliates and discover how to find the best poker affiliate program at http://www.epokeraffiliate.com/

Affiliate Networks: A Basic Overview Of This Powerful Marketing System

2008-11-27T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Blake Stevenson

Affiliate marketing networks are an outstanding way for websites to increase their customer base in a cost efficient manner. By building a network of affiliates, a business can tap into an extremely large number of independent contractors who will actively promote their products and services in exchange for a commission. Affiliate networks have the potential to greatly boost sales for both online and offline businesses.

An excellent example of an affiliate network is Amazon, which happens to be one of the most successful online. Amazon has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success, in great part due to their massive number of affiliates. After seeing the success of Amazon, many other businesses have utilized affiliate programs to expand their businesses and boost sales with great success.

Affiliate networks have even spread to businesses such as executive recruitment and career searches. The most well-known programs in this industry are Monster, Hotjobs, and CareerBuilder. By allowing affiliates to sign up and promote their websites for a commission, they've been able to spread the word of their services virally all over the internet in a very short amount of time.

To see affiliate marketing in action and to see firsthand just how popular it has become, simply look at the next webpage you view. Chances are, you'll be staring at colorful banners promoting affiliate products for a commission. I would encourage you to get involved in the world of affiliate marketing, it is an outstanding way to earn a living and one that can certainly make all of your financial dreams become a reality. Massive incomes are being earned every single day by super affiliates who have grabbed hold of the affiliate marketing concept and created businesses around it.

To get started earning money with affiliate marketing, you don't need a certain level of education or credentials. Simply sign up as an affiliate for various programs, put together a game plan, and work towards your goals every single day until you achieve them. Just remember, with affiliate marketing, there are no limits and anything is possible!

About the author: Learn the secrets of top online poker affiliates and discover how to find the best poker affiliate programs at http://www.epokeraffiliate.com/

Poker Affiliate Program Internet Marketing Tips

2008-11-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Blake Stevenson

Once you have made the decision to become a poker affiliate for an online poker room, it is very important that you turn your attentions to internet marketing techniques. Marketing your poker affiliate business through the use of internet marketing tactics is one of the easiest ways to generate a massive income with poker affiliate programs.

Though many people may not view being an online poker affiliate as a real business, it is most definitely a viable way to create serious wealth. However, to earn any kind of serious money, you must take things seriously and apply a lot of hard work. Becoming a poker affiliate is not a way to get rich overnight and anyone who tells you otherwise is not being honest.

To become a successful poker affiliate, your main goal should be traffic generation. When creating the content on your website, be sure that you target the right keywords as this will help you bring in search engine visitors. If you fail to target the proper keyword phrases, people are going to have a very difficult time finding your website.

Also, a solid tracking software is an essential tool for any poker affiliate using internet marketing as a way of building their business. A professional stats program will help as it will tell you exactly where your traffic is coming from. Successful affiliate internet marketing is a much more difficult thing to do if you don't have a way of tracking your results.

Another great way to promote online poker rooms as an affiliate is to publish a regular internet poker tips and strategy newsletter. Build a list of people who are interested in playing poker online and regularly email them with helpful advice, new bonus codes, and more. Using email can be an extremely powerful tool when you are promoting poker rooms and I strongly recommend that every online poker affiliate start using this to their advantage.

About the author: Learn how to become a super poker affiliate by promoting the best poker affiliate programs at http://www.epokeraffiliate.com/

Poker Affiliate Programs Marketing: How To Get Started

2008-11-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Blake Stevenson

There is no single right or wrong way to begin poker affiliate programs marketing because everyone is different. There are many, many different approaches to promoting online poker rooms and your individual tastes, interests, goals, and skills will play a big part in determining how you begin.

No matter which poker affiliate path you choose to take, the important lesson to take away from this article is to constantly focus on building your network of websites, doing things to make them viral, and learning the important factors that can lead to high search engine rankings and massive traffic.

The beautiful thing about poker affiliates is that they can work at their own pace. One can do as much or as little effort into their business as they choose and directly reap the rewards that follow. The first thing that you should do as a new poker affiliate, is focus every action towards making your internet presence more valuable. Every minute spent on your internet poker affiliate marketing business should be viewed as an investment. If you knew that each hour you spent on promoting poker rooms would pay you $500 within the next 12 months, how much time would you devote to your business? This is the mindset that you should have from day one, even before you earn your first dime.

One thing to note is that most ""affiliate marketers"" never make a penny. I know it's hard to believe, but it is true. I'm certain that you can set yourself apart from others and avoid becoming a negative statistic if you're well prepared from day one with the knowledge of what it will take to become successful. I'm confident that if you put the effort that is required into building your network of websites, stay consistent at it, and never quit, that in time your income will grow and you'll enjoy massive success as a top affiliate marketer in the world of online poker.

About the author: Learn how to become a super Party Poker affiliate and generate a massive income with poker affiliate programs at http://www.epokeraffiliate.com/

Affiliate Marketing: How Affiliate Programs Add Value To Your Site

2008-11-24T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Blake Stevenson

In the last few years, webmasters have discovered that affiliate marketing can be an extremely lucrative way to earn additional revenues from their sites. Now, a purely informational website that doesn't sell anything can generate massive revenues by adding recommendations to products and services via online affiliate programs.

Signing up for affiliate marketing programs can be a very effective way of paying for webhosting fees and bandwidth, domain names, and the time it takes to keep an informational site updated.

So what exactly is an affiliate marketing program? Affiliate programs are nothing more than partnerships with various business online. Partnering up with these businesses gives you the ability to offer additional resources to your visitors and is a valuable way to attract and retain your visitors because you are adding additional value.

Online affiliate programs have a track record of being very successful. They have been responsible for creating massive wealth over the last few years and have really become a popular addition to the webmaster community.

Joining an affiliate program requires you to apply and you can usually gain approval immediately. Many affiliate programs provide you with a host of banners and other tools that you can use to market their products and services and each tool is linked to your unique affiliate ID to ensure that you get credit for the sale.

If you're interested in becoming an affiliate marketer, there are many different programs and products that you can promote. From online poker rooms to diapers and everything in between, there is an opportunity for all. To get started, I would recommend that you check out Commission Junction, one of the leading affiliate marketing networks and one that will give you access to thousands and thousands of different products and services that you can begin to earn money from immediately.

About the author: Learn how to become a super poker affiliate by promoting the best poker affiliate programs at http://www.epokeraffiliate.com/

Overview Of Online Poker Affiliate Programs

2008-11-23T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Blake Stevenson

An online poker affiliate marketing program is a very effective business model and marketing technique where a poker room pays affiliates a commission for referring poker players to their website. The affiliate simply signs up for the affiliate program and then receives a unique affiliate marketing ID that they can use to market the site. Most poker room affiliate programs provide banner ads, content, bonus codes, and other types of promotional material that their affiliates can use when marketing the poker room. Banner ads and text links can be branded with the poker affiliates unique ID and all traffic originating from that link is tracked. When a visitor clicks an affililiate link, is redirected to the poker room, and creates an account, the poker affiliate is given credit for that player. By having an affiliate program, online poker rooms don't have to pay for costly advertising and only end up paying out when a new player signs up.

Poker affiliate programs have become an excellent, cost efficient way for online poker rooms to advertise and build up a base of active players. An affiliate agreement is made between a marketer and the poker room and permission is given to the affiliate to market the particular poker site. Affiliates have a great opportunity to then introduce the poker room to their sphere of influence and earn handsome commissions for doing so.

Not all internet poker affiliate programs are created equal however. It is important that an affiliate researches a poker room before deciding to promote it. Things that should be considered are commission payout percentages, reliability of commission payout, how long the poker room has been online, size of player base, etc.

If becoming your own boss and taking control of your financial future is something that appeals to you, I would strongly recommend that you do some more research on becoming a poker affiliate. Becoming a successful marketer of online poker affiliate programs is an opportunity that not only provides unlimited upside, but one that requires little if any monetary risk on the part of the affiliate.

About the author: Learn the secrets of top poker affiliates and discover how to find the best poker affiliate program at http://www.epokeraffiliate.com/

Why It's Important To Know Which Country Your Website Visitors Are Coming From

2008-11-22T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Robin St. Louis

You probably know exactly how many visitors you get to your website and to individual pages on your site. You probably know which are new visitors and which are those returning several times per day. And I'm sure you would agree it's important to know those kinds of statistics.

Now it's becoming increasingly important to know WHICH COUNTRIES your website visitors are coming from. This kind of country-tracking technology has been done privately by major corporations for years. Only recently has Geo Detection become easily available to small businesses and individual website owners.

In today's global Internet economy, Geo Detection is gaining dominant importance. Here are a few reasons why:

Some recording artists don't do especially well in their home United States, but may rocket to number one in Brazil or Scandinavia. Likewise, you have a product or service that you think isn't selling even though you're getting plenty of hits to your site. The problem is often that your product or service is wildly popular, but only in a few countries who can't use your payment and shipping methods. Knowing which countries your visitors are coming from could help you zero in on sales.

Often sites will advertise on pay-per-click search engines like Overture or Google AdWords. They notice their links are getting abnormal numbers of clicks, eating up their advertising budget with few if any sales. Frequently Geo Detection will reveal the clicks are coming from one of several countries where almost all the traffic is fraudulent, pointing to the possibility crooks are using software to click through your pay-per-click links automatically throughout the day. It's a common and growing problem.

Geo Detection can also be used to BAN lists of countries from access to your site. You might ban all countries known to be havens for criminals and con artists. This can dramatically cut down on fraudulent orders and is actively being used by many major sites today.

If your product, service, or opportunity is only offered in the U.S. or the U.S. and Canada, Geo Detection can insure only those residents are allowed to view your site. This instantly solves the problem of unqualified buyers purchasing from you. You spend less time solving problems and more time making money.

Look into the ways Geo Detection can improve your site's sales and eliminate management headaches. It's an idea whose time has come for small businesses and website owners.

About the author: Robin St. Louis is a veteran entrepreneur who discovered the Geo Tracker - Instant Visitor Tracking and Fraud Detection system as the affordable and effective solution to her site security challenges. See Geo Tracker at http://www.geodetector.com/?rslouis Reach Robin at pro@netwurx.net.

ESSENTIAL SECRETS OF NETWORK MARKETING

2008-11-21T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Do you ever wonder why people kept on joining network marketing even if there are others who kept on insisting it is a scam? Did you ever think about how people succeed in network marketing?

If your mind is full of whyís and howís especially when it is focused on network marketing, then it is high-time for you to get down to business. Now is the right time for you to know and unravel the secrets of network marketing and whatís in it that creates such fuss.

1. It is a business.

This shouldnít be a secret, actually. But because a lot of people donít get this straight, it might as well be good to unleash the undisclosed nature of network marketing.

Contrary to popular beliefs, network marketing is not an ultimate ìget rich quickî kind of earning money. Why, it wouldnít even take the Genie and the wonderful lamp to snap on the finger just to make you rich.

Like everything else, network marketing is something that you have to work hard so as to reap better results. As mentioned earlier, itís a business ñ your business. And if you value something because it is connected to you and because you want to benefit from it, then the best thing to do is to strive hard and work on it.

Remember, in life, there are simply no hard or fast rules.

2. Create your downline like a flash and widespread.

If you are really looking forward into earning more money in network marketing, then the secret to success is an outright creation of a downline. The more you get to work as soon as possible, the better chances of making your dreams come true.

Creating a downline is one of the main secrets of network marketing. People tend to think that downlines are just trend that network marketers create entice people to join the organization.

What they donít know is that it is the basis of network marketing organizations. You have to get as many people in the company and help them build their own business so that they can help you succeed too.

In reality, the reason why you have to build a downline as quickly as you can is based on the fact that itís best to work hard while you still have the energy to do it. And to think that only 5% of your lead members will only be helpful to your downline, itís best that you get on them quickly before you lose interest and stop creating downlines. The bottom line is that once you have created your front liners, you can already go easy with the succeeding operations.

3. The greater part of your time will be consumed on getting recruits.

In most cases, youíll end up recruiting almost everyday. It can be such a tedious work when not done properly. So, itís better if you think of a unique way how to get the people on the hook, with lesser effort as possible. In this manner, youíll be able to shun away from trying to get people who will most likely not be helpful at all. If you use such techniques, then youíll get only the people who would most probably respond to you because they are interested too and not just because you insist on it.

4. Do not stop.

This is, in fact, one of the greatest secrets of network marketing that man had not yet known. Most people believed that once theyíve build their front liners in their downline, theyíll just have to wait and see.

As mentioned earlier, network marketing is a business, and a business needs constant checking if things are working well as it should be, ensure the probability of a higher income, and confirm if everybodyís doing their job well.

The problem why most people fail, especially when it comes to network marketing, is that they want to get rich but donít want to do something about it.

5. Responsibility.

This is the main core of every network marketing. People who want to succeed in this kind of business should know that it is their responsibility in making their business grow. They should not depend on other peopleís work, say, your sponsor or your downlines.

In reality, there are actually no secrets into making it big in network marketing. From the very start, everythingís laid down and itís all up to you how you will utilize them for your own benefit.

As they say, in life, there are no secrets to success. Itís the right attitude that makes your dreams come true.

About the author: Daegan Smith the owner of Net MLM Articles and the leader of the fastest growing team of successful home business enterpernuers on the net. Find out how we're creating financial freedom all across the globe and how to get in on the action FREE => http://www.comlev.com

How To Get Started With Poker Affiliate Programs

2008-11-20T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Blake Stevenson

Welcome to the world of poker affiliate programs, an online home based business that can generate massive ongoing residual income with little or no startup costs. Getting started as an online poker affiliate is not hard, you simply need to know the important steps to take. Here is a list of the first things that you will need to do to get on started on the right track.

1. Get a Domain Name - Register a .com domain name that you would like to begin promoting poker from. It should be keyword rich and memorable. Use a reputable company like Godaddy.

2. Get Solid Webhosting - Webhosting can make or break a business. Make sure that you have reliable hosting that will guarantee your business is online and making money 24/7. Choosing a webhost provider on the basis of price alone is a recipe for disaster. Take my word for it and don't make big mistake, this step is very important to your success.

3. Sign up as an Affiliate With Several Online Poker Rooms - Choose reputable rooms who have a history of paying affiliates in a timely fashion.

4. Create Your Website

5. Promote Your Website

6. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 Over and Over

This is a very basic roadmap to becoming very successful with internet poker affiliate programs. Hopefully this will shed some light on the things needed to begin creating income in this business and spark enough interest to motivate you to get started. As with anything else that is worthwhile, building a poker affiliate business takes a lot of hard work and commitment and you should avoid being easily discouraged.

There are many more important things to know that will help you become a successful poker affiliate and you should constantly be learning new techniques and testing your ideas. I wish you much success in this exciting business!

About the author: Learn how to become a super online poker affiliate by promoting the best poker affiliate program at http://www.epokeraffiliate.com/

Failing At Your Network Marketing Business?

2008-11-19T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Readers read this! Do you know that Network Marketing whether online or offline has been a good source of income for young business establishers nowadays? Well, Network Marketing is not a simple business topic. This form of business does not just demand a debiting and a crediting knowledge background. Leave the task of computing among accountants. This type of marketing may double or even triple your business budget easily, provided you will not fall in either one of the common mistakes done by error-prone Network Marketing producers and distributors.

1. Avoid Network Marketing groups that offer commission-based compensation among distributors. There is a big possibility that it is an illegal pyramid.

The act of alluring people or business finders to enter a business group has been an ordinary day-to-day street transaction among business-minded people. There are those people who will explain first the benefits that you can get from their group. But the reality is that they will just reverse what they had said. Believe me, it may not always be the case but beware. BEWARE the dogs suck! Metaphorically speaking, the dogs are those Network Marketing groups that offer commission- based compensation. The only assurance you got here is your having a job. But your assurance of getting paid evenly or squarely is diminishing. You can be paid still, but until when? That is a question that needs no more answer.

2. Avoid groups that oblige the new distributors to buy expensive products or any materials that the group offers. This might be another sign of potential danger.

It always pays to be nice. But some nice people are sometimes not all nice. It is not always the case. The truth behind is that there are pyramid groups that force their newly-entered distributors to purchase the expensive products or materials. Fake pyramid groups always have at the back of their minds the amount they could get. Sometimes it turns to be something from nothing. Take this friendly advice, right in front of your face Iím telling you, find ways to quit to the group.

Allow them to use you with just compensation. Do not allow anyone to use you as a distributor in which nothingís left for you. Speak and think.

3. Do not heed to what the pyramid promoter is promising if he or she said that you can have more money through continued help in recruiting more distributors.

This is another clear sign of your being a victim of illegal network marketing. The bottom line here is work with just compensation. If the scenario is like the one stated above, quit now or be sorry. They might just be using you for their personal interest.

4. Some distributors donít give ample time or attention to their network marketing group.

Donít miss it. It is important. Some people are joining the group half-heartedly. But take note, it will count days or months to build an elevating career in network marketing.

5. Some network marketing operators take the business reluctantly as if its status will not able to decline in time.

Each member of the network marketing group must work hand-in-hand to sustain the set objectives of the group. This practice is not just recommended. It is a must to follow. But doing the otherwise will lead the path towards business failure.

6. Not realizing why you are operating the network marketing business.

It may sound stupid if after how many days of marketing operations you realized that you donít have a definite target or objective in your business. But no matter how stupid it may be, it might be a reality that some are born as invalid plan setter. Early from the birth of your network marketing business, you should have already realized the reasons why you are driving the business. Recovery from money problems of the business is not like reading the A, B, and C. Setting your business objectives is the keyword.

7. Have a well-established commitment to work and duty.

There is no better time to start moving than NOW. Product distributors must attend to their respective assignments. One cannot make his or her business grow by just merely looking at it. Be committed to you work. Have time to pinpoint your business weaknesses so you can catch-up for the committed mistake if any.

As you reach the end of this article, I am hoping you are ending, too, the failing of your networking marketing business. Start rising now, young entrepreneur!

The PERFECT Internet Marketing System

2008-11-17T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Have you heard yourself say that? When can you say youíve got a perfect net marketing system? Come up with a plan, a direction which is SUCCESS that you would aim for, then perfectly work out the plan.

Perfect starts with the letter ìPî and to achieve a perfect internet marketing system, there are essentially three ìPísî to include in your plan list: product, price and promotions.

Product

Before going out there, see to it you have the right product. Make sure you have a good product or service. Focus on what you do best. Bank on making your product or service a bestseller.

Determine if it is properly designed to respond to the needs of the target market. Unleash your product or service only when the market is ready for it. Conduct first a survey. Is there really a NEED for my product or service? WHO are these people who need my product? What is the edge of my product? Any kind of marketing requires a demand analysis of the product or service - who demands it, why it is demanded, when it is demanded, how it is demanded and where it is demanded.

Keep in mind that the worldwide web is flooded with people from all over the world, at the same time, the competition is tough against the rest of internet entrepreneurs.

Price

Pricing is an important tool of marketing. Take this seriously. Pricing would also determine the amount of client response and income you could expect.

A low price would definitely attract clients to prefer your product over another, but it is not as simple as that. This is a delicate matter that you must attend to. Study how the buyers will react if you drop the price. Consider the degree to which the market will respond with more purchases as you drop the rate.

Promotions

It is necessary to make your product or service known to the online community. Web presence is a must. Your website should be the first tool to make online want to STAY and find out more about your product or service. The site should get the message across in an instant. Remember, internet is for the generation which thinks, moves, and gets results in an instant!

This is also the route where you would also add new dimensions to your product, whether it be the image, prestige, value, in other words, the total packaging. Use all available technology as a means to get you to your desired end.

Online advertising techniques also play a key role here. Aim to catch the curiosity and attention of other people out there and redirect them to your website. Maximize all online advertising means to gain more clients. Make good use of your money if you opt for paid advertising. Study properly the different techniques to get favorable results of search engines to get a good traffic.

You could also make use of free advertising like classifieds, banners, emails, etc. For free advertising, all it would require of you is your effort. Even if there are limited results, this short-term advertising wouldnít hurt. This can even help you keep your customer base wide ranging. It wouldnít hurt to get more.

Your kind of promotion must not only draw attention. It must also be highly informative. The features and benefits of your products and services must be sent across the clients. In this area, you could make use of testimonials of previous satisfied clients as a tool to persuade those people out there.

After the ìPísî

Marketing the product effectively is the key to success. That is why you should keep in mind the proper perspectives to that goal. Maximize all the means that this time offers to you. Exploit the internet. Reach as much people as you can. Aim for providing quality product and service to millions around the world. Review your strategies regularly. Focus on actions that get you the best results. Be open to changes and developments. Learn new ideas, most especially you are operating online. Continue to adapt to the different needs and demands of your clients and customers at the same time, maintain the identity and uniqueness of your products or services.

With the three ìPísî mentioned, there is a final component that is most important of all. YOU.

You must be the most active part of your business. You must keep a positive attitude towards your business. Believe in the capability of your product and in your own skills as an entrepreneur. Most of all, your business would reflect the amount of effort and heart you pour on it. Use your passion to live perfection and you can easily aim for perfection.

IS NETWORK MARKETING RESIDUAL INCOME A MYTH?

2008-11-15T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Daegan Smith

The word network marketing has a great impact than any other business terms in the market today. The impact, however, can either be good or bad.

For those who gained negative experiences from network marketing, the very first idea that comes to their mind whenever they hear the word is ìscam.î This is for those who find it a fraudulent activity; something that other people uses in order to gain money from them without even returning something good in return.

But for those who earned a hefty amount of advantages, network marketing is a new way of earning a living. They see it as an invigorating change from the typical way of marketing, wherein they can earn more without even doing more.

We know it better as residual income. And this is where network marketing aficionados contend that they alleviate peopleís lives more than anything else.

But the question is, especially for those who cannot grasp yet the meaning and the process of gaining residual income; does network marketing provide residual income? Is it really true or just some fancy advertising strategies so as to attract people to join their marketing scheme?

To answer that, let us first define what residual income means.

In simple terms, residual income refers to the continuous payment or compensation that you get even if you stopped working. That is on a monthly basis. For example, once you entered and joined network marketing, the company or the organization will give you a portion of the profits every time the customer you have referred to them buys a monthly quantity of their product. This means that even if you are not selling anymore or even recruiting somebody into the company, you still get to earn some money.

Sounds too good to be true? Guess again.

Most network marketing companies contend that residual income is, indeed, downright achievable based on the premise that what their member earns is just the benefits he or she gets from providing the company a greater source of income that is, referring some customers. And the residual income that they get is the compensation they get from their downline.

Moreover, most network marketing people insist that when you enter into a network marketing scheme, the very premise that you get paid is because you also help other people grow their business that is why you get the profit from whatever income your referrals achieve.

If this is the case, then why the fuss about this matter? What is wrong with getting a residual income?

Actually, there is nothing wrong about it. If you earn, then, that is good for you. But the fact that network marketing asserts a continuous flow of compensation even if you donít do anything is illogical in the sense that everything you earn in this world has its price. You sow what you reap.

Consequently, in order to enlighten those who wish to know if the residual income in network marketing is true or not, here are some facts that you must know first:

1. A business is a risk.

This means that nobody can be sure that their business will grow or not. Therefore, any company existing today may not be so twenty years after.

If you are to look into the reality, you can clearly see that there were companies that were previously strong and seem to be in perfect business but have already closed down.

2. Everything is a fashion.

Since most network marketing, or any company for that matter, involves a certain product, we can always say that what may seem fashionable today may not be acceptable in a monthís time. Most products that exist today are sometimes in demand because of their newness. But after sometime, the trend dies down and the product is left behind.

3. The concept of ìattritionî

Letís face it. Nothing is, indeed, permanent in this world. People come and people go. When your customers have finally decided that they no longer want your product because they are not satisfied anymore, they would go and leave your services. That is what attrition is all about. It is how your wages deteriorates due to the drop off scale of your client base.

So, now to answer the question whether the residual income most network marketing asserts is true or not ñ it depends. Like any business or venture, we should always bear in mind that it is not permanent.

The bottom line is that whether a person gets a residual income or not, the best thing to do while still earning money is to save for the future. Never depend on it as if it is a bottomless pit where money comes incessantly.

How to Become an Internet Marketing Guru

2008-11-13T03:01:00.001-08:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Internet marketing is the use of Internet as means to market and sell products or services. Advertising of products can be done by including it to web pages, web page banners and even in a designated part in our electronic mail (Email) address. Below are the common ways that internet marketers use to advertise products:

1. Banners. These type of product promotion is place on the top portion of a particular web page. It has the ability to attract customers because of its animation and noticeable way to get the attention of the people.

2. Ad Blocking. It is commonly a big window containing relevant information about a service, an announcement, promos and the like.

Catching the audience's attention is the primary objective of an internet marketer. The persuasion skill should be honed if effective enough to win a large market. The more convincing power you have, the more profit enters a business. Here are some helpful tips on how to make yourself as an internet marketing guru:

1. Since you will be an internet marketer, how about you start studying the World Wide Web (WWW) per se. Learn the how it works and other related information that can help you understand this medium.

2. As the saying goes, ""read to lead"". Read as many information you can accommodate because it is very important. Once you read a lot with understanding, you will have plenty of ideas to tackle and to use as your tool while dealing with the complexities of the World Wide Web.

3. Since you are already hooked to the internet, subscribing to newsletter that will enchance your knowledge is not bad after all. You may create an email account that is only intended for these stuffs. Choose topics of interest such as internetworking, HTML, marketing topics, and the like. Of course, it does not stop there. Try to read information on those newsletters because it is a great source of good news and additional knowledge.

4. So you want to be heard, involve yourself to network meetings or more properly known as forums. There are plenty of subjects that you can join with. For example, you chose to give and gain information regarding hypertext markup language (HTML). For sure, you will feel appreciated because you might have helped other people solved their concerns. Or, other people might be a big help to your problem.

5. To begin practising your web marketing skills, how about you set up an internet society online that will enable members to post their tips on a particular topic. It does not need to sell products but you can start from simple ideas. For example, build a web page that will enable members to publish their poems and other kinds of literature. Through this step, you can test whether you attacted users or not.

6. Time allotment and devotion to internet marketing is indeed vital to keep in mind. Allowing enough time for doing updates and strategies will prop up your skills.

7. Always be on the go and innovative. Updates via internet is totally fast! It is just a blink of an eye and there's already a new product to be launched in the market. To keep yourself in the warpath, you should not allow yourself to be left behind. You must always have fresh and new ideas to inject in promoting an item.

8. Creating a documented procedure on how you get everything done is helpful. It is a sign that you have a systematic way on dealings. All processes involved must be documented so that you and your members will have a quick reference in case you are straying in your objectives.

9. Have a list of targeted audience. You must know all groups to convince - regional, national and international.

10. Survey says. Having a record of the effects of the solutions that you have done to a certain problem will also be useful. You can track down and compare data while dealing with different problems.

These are just tips that you can consider or not. The decision is still within you on how you will get yourself equipped to face the challenges of this job. Absorb these ideas and I am dead sure that you will be indeed, a great internet marketing guru!

The ONE Secret to a Wealth-Producing Network Marketing Business

2008-11-11T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Is there ever a single advice given that can assure a person success in any endeavor? ÖProbably none. Is there just ONE secret to a wealth-producing network marketing business? ÖLuckily, there is and this article will tell you what that ìONEî is.

That ONE secret is ìOî for online-omnipresence, ìNî for Network friendliness and ìEî for expenses. Online-omnipresence means being visible online most frequently. Network friendliness means having a network marketing business that is most convenient for all the distributors and customers alike from surfing the website, to choosing a specific product or service, to actual payment and delivery of the product. Expenses refer to making a certain customer the wisest buyer online by providing the purchaser the best possible product and service that they need. How can all these make somebody wealthy through network marketing? The answer lies in choosing the right network marketing company. But first, what is network marketing?

Network Marketing Business is the newest and revolutionary way of product selling and marketing. It is based upon a network of distributors recommending a certain website that contains links to different stores of online products and services. But in any activity that talks about money, one question always comes up. ìHow can I trust you that this is not a scam?î This is precisely the question answered, which gave millions of people around the world millions worth of profit by being a part of Network Marketing. The answer- you can definitely trust that this business is not a scam.

How does it work? Network Marketing Business is as simple as recommending a restaurant that you have just enjoyed to a friend. Since your friend trusts you and because food is a basic necessity, he or she will try dining there. As expected, your friend found the food delicious, the service and ambiance excellent and the price affordable. In return, your friend will recommend the restaurant to another friend and so on and so forth, until the customers multiply and the restaurant earns more money. Indeed because of trust, no one loses. The customers enjoy the food and the restaurant owners earn more money. But here is the catch in Network Marketing- the restaurant owner is not the only one who earns money, but also the other friends or referrals who ate at that restaurant. Now that is what Network Marketing Business is all about.

If you join a Network Marketing Organization on the internet and recommend it to a friend, your friend will recommend it to another. Each time a product is sold or a link is clicked from your Network Marketing Website, you earn money anytime right at the comfort of your own home.

This is an industry that produces millionaires more than any other business on the planet does. Its growth is at the top of any other in sales. In just a few years, it has made more than 50 billion pounds in sales of the best cutting-edge technology, services and products.

So how can you find that ìONEî secret to a wealth producing network marketing business?

ìOî for Online-omnipresence, finding a network marketing company that can most be visible on the internet. Meaning- they have the most links to the most number of search engines or websites. Omnipresence refers to taglines and catch phrases that can be seen most on the net. Also, their catch phrases should be effective and can really capture the attention of online visitors and potential customers. Omnipresence also means finding a stable network marketing company, not a company that will sell fast or sell high and fold up soon. You should carefully examine the history of the network marketing business of your choice. Is it selling good products and services? Is the company too young that it could fold up anytime? Or is it too old that customers are not buying their products anymore?

Does the company make decisions based on long term growth and not short term profits? This is a crucial sign to look for. Communicate with other distributors and find out if the network made recent changes to the compensation plan, requirements before they get paid and frequent changes in product pricing. These are all signs of short term profits. Network owners that are into long term profits have internally tried out their marketing strategies before implementing them.

You should also examine the types of people that buy what they sell online. Are their customers usually the young ones, the old ones, the professionals, the rich or the middle class? Join a Network Marketing Company that caters to different types people that could also assure there omnipresence through time. Omnipresence also means stability of the company and you can also see that by examining the profiles of other distributors. If you can find doctors, lawyers, former company executives, PhDís who quit their jobs and are now successful as distributors. Chances are, you will find a stable Network.

ìNî for Network friendly. Find a network marketing company that is always on top of most search engine lists or always visible on the net. Also, their website should be eye-catching, trustworthy and most importantly, could attract the most number of customers. If possible, find a company that gives trainings to their distributors for free. You need to learn the ropes of the business first. If they train you, it means that the company is here to stay.

ìEî for Expenses. The expenses of the customers for their products should be worth it. The key here is uniqueness of their products and services. If it is an online car rental service, find out their plus factor. Customersí satisfaction is the life of any business and for a customer to be satisfied, you need to sell them what is best for them.

Now that you know the ONE secret to success, it is time to find the ONE network marketing business that will give you wealth. Happy surfing!

THE SECRET POWER OF NETWORK MARKETING

2008-11-10T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Do you ever wonder why people kept on insisting that network marketing really does not work? Most of them would say it will only give you benefits from the start but as soon as you go with it, the income will gradually deteriorate.

But then again, how come there are people who vie for the fact that it is because of network marketing that they were able to build their house, have a car, and were able to send their children to college? You may be awed with the wonders that happened to their lives, yet, all they say is that it is because of network marketing.

Sounds confusing isnít it?

So, the next time you get an offer from a friend who is into network marketing, contemplate on some things first. Do not jump into conclusions at once because of the negative aspects you have heard about network marketing. Do not even join the group if you think that the success that had happened to your friend would also happen to you even if you still donít know what the secret behind that success is.

Hence, if you are really decided to try it out, know the secret powers of network marketing first so that when you get into the battle, you know where and how to fight.

1. You must love it first.

Even if everything seems so hard to start with, it is still a must that you love the business if you want to succeed in it.

After all, it is your business, right? So, if you value something, chances are you would never give up if things will go out of hand. Love for this venture is the driving force that will keep you working hard on it.

Moreover, if you love your family, it would be easier for you to love the business and value it more than anything else.

2. Concentration on it.

Like in any venture, you must concentrate and be serious on what you do. If you are motivated to achieving your goal, you would most likely withstand whatever obstacles that will come.

Concentration will also provide you a straight path to success. You just have to simply follow it until you have reached your target.

3. Know the power of information technology.

Most network marketing do succeed because they know how to utilize the potential of having their business online.

With the advent of the Internet, reaching out to a wider array of people is made easier. With this, you should know how to use niche marketing wisely and appropriately.

4. Be proficient.

Network marketing is not an intellectual discourse or an educational arena. However, you need to acquire some skills and learning through intensive trainings, seminars, and courses so as to equip your self with the basic requisites of the business.

After all, even if being a leader and a go-getter is an innate quality that should be possessed by most network marketers, it still needs an adequate practice and preparation to get it working for you.

5. Have a mind's eye.

Visualize. Have a vision of the kind of life you want to achieve. If you know what you want because it is what you see, then, achieving that vision in life will not be hard. But then, it wouldnít be easier also. But what matters most is you know what you want, and as they say, ìWhat your psyche foresees, you can accomplish.î

6. Health is wealth.

Even, if it is such an old clichÈ, but the fact that you need a combination of physical and mental health when achieving your goals, it is not an understatement.

You can never say you are perfectly healthy if you have such a low EQ or emotional quotient. This is really important especially in this kind of business because you will be dealing with more objections and trials as compared to any ventures.

After all, these two aspects are the most important thing in order to succeed in network marketing. It goes hand-in-hand together. You can never have a healthy body without a healthy mind, and vice-versa. As they say, a healthy mind is a healthy body.

7. Dogged determination.

In network marketing, most experts contend that persistence overcomes resistance. You should have that dogged determination so that you would endure whatever trials and obstacles that come your way.

If you incorporate all of these things into one package and use it, chances are you will succeed in network marketing. Now that you have the secret power of network marketing, all you have to do is to unleash it and work towards the life of your dreams.

The Dark Side of Internet Marketing

2008-11-08T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Daegan Smith

The Internet is a powerful and incredible phenomenon, bringing people and businesses together, and promoting the exchange of information worldwide, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No wonder why many businesses find their success through Internet marketing.

Since the advent of information technology, Internet marketing has long been dominating the virtual world of online business, making notable profits than what their real counterpart can produce.

However, the Internet also has its threats and disasters; thus, Internet marketing has its own problems, too. Everyone, from single users to government agencies, universities, or major corporations, is at risk. Hackers and crackers out there target people, at different levels, from the theft information to the hacking of sites, the invasion of privacy, and the breach of confidentiality and integrity.

And so, for people who have always thought that Internet marketing is the next best thing to success, you can beÖwell, wrong. There are many dark sides of Internet marketing that you never thought would have existed. This is because most people who are involved with Internet marketing as so much involved with profit-making that they do not find time to really comprehend the nature of Internet marketing.

Chances are, they only realize the problem when something bad has already occurred and that there is no other way to solve them but undergo the long process of system recovery and business recuperation.

And so, to further prevent any malady in your online business, you should know first it dark side for you to realize that there are things that should not just be taken for granted.

Here are some of the reasons why you have to be aware of some possible dilemmas with regards to Internet marketing and why you should protect, at all cost, your business and your information system.

1. Illegal transactions

One of the common problems with Internet marketing is the dishonest transactions. Because some people are so much engrossed with ways how to gain profit online, they would use some fraudulent activities just so they can get an edge over the others.

It is a ìget rich quickî syndrome that most people fall into the hands of their predators. And because online transactions are really hard to trace, even with all these technologies and everything, fraudulent people can easily get away with the crimes that they have committed.

In most cases, people who are into Internet marketing would use emails to reach the market that they wan tot saturate. This is the reason why spamming had been considered as an illegal activity as far as the Internet and the privacy of an individual is concerned.

2. Not all businesses are made for the Internet

Many people thought that because the Internet is such a viable and feasible means of gaining profits for their businesses, they tend to conclude that Internet marketing is a God-sent angel ready to help them boost their productivity and ensure business success.

What they do not know is that not all businesses are created equal and that not all of them are suitable for the virtual world of Internet marketing.

As they say, there is always an exception to the rule, and there are some businesses that are not appropriate in Internet marketing. These businesses are far better off with the usual marketing strategies than with the popular Internet marketing.

In reality, there are businesses that would profit better if sales transactions are done through face-to-face business deals.

3. It is a serious thing

There are people who just take Internet marketing for granted. They though that since Internet marketing is such an easier and cheaper way to boost productivity, many people rely so much on the technology that everybody is crazy with.

The problem is online business and Internet marketing entail serious business transactions, and unless you become professional with your marketing strategies, people who visit your site and those that receive your emails will never take you seriously.

In any deals and transactions, good impressions with the consumers are the best strategies to gain attention and public acceptance. You have to know how to target your niche market, the right marketing strategy to use, and the proper way to utilize them.

Boiled down, Internet marketing is not for everybody. It does not offer nippy fixes to your business problems and would still require greater attention than you would do with the usual marketing strategy.

In reality, the Internet is increasingly becoming exposed to frauds and theft. Web sites and users on the Net in general are exploited in numerous ways. Hence, be wary of Internet marketing because what you though can do you good can, in fact, do you more harm.

The Secret to Network Marketing Online

2008-11-07T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Daegan Smith

When was the last time youíd heard a secret being told? That might not be the last time because the secret to network marketing online will break the cipher of its secrets. The secrets will be told. Thus, the secret will no longer be a secret. The secrets are revealed. All thatís left is for us to read and find them out. First things first, letís define what Network Marketing is.

Network Marketing is also called Multi-Level Marketing (MLM). Network Marketing is a dual effort of franchising and express marketing of products. Interested individuals can get associated with a mother company in a seemingly freelance contractor relationship. These interested individuals are called sellers after getting in. Sellers are monetarily compensated based on the volume of sales of their marketing or selling performance and the sales of those sellers whom they bring into the company.

I have provided here some tips on how to break the codes of secrets of Network Marketing Online. Take a read for they will boost your Network Marketing business.

1. Practice using your products and make it a habit. There is always this common mistake of the Network Marketing moderator in asking why his or her business is not progressing. Why ask that question, if you ñ the owner and moderator of your business, are not utilizing your own products? Why ask that your companyís budget is descending and is always on the debit side of the worksheet? Well, I am fervently hoped that this isnít your case. Want to avoid that circumstance? If your answer is yes, then put now in your lists to success my tip number 1.

2. Never stop learning and maintain your velocity in educating your self. There is no such a thing as ìinformation overloadî. According to what I have read, ìAnyone who stops learning today is uneducated tomorrow.î This quotation speaks by itself and is self-evident and very elementary. Read your daily those of business magazines. Learn from the success of other people. Lots of books are available. The short sentence phrase that might have read might take into the tower of success. Watch out! The book of success might just watch you.

3. Set-up a long-term business goal. So, what is that goal? TO SUCCEED is your main and specific goal. Nobody does desire not to succeed, right? If you want SUCCESS to creep your business, then have well-planned business goals.

4. Schedule a regular product and plan presentation among your distributors. If you are the owner of your network marketing business, then this is just right for you. It does not take away a portion of your personality if you meet everyday your sellers to have a personal meeting with them. This not only creates a security of their staying in your company. But it also creates an income security enough to support you.

5. A sense of CARE makes a big difference. It might consume all the papers on Earth to explain or to say something about care. But it only takes a simple act to show that you recognize your distributorís or sellerís existence. Your distributors or sellers will stay longer in the group if they feel that they are appreciated. Simple token of appreciation will do such as money or any other recognition that posters your appreciation to their job well-done.

6. Train self-driven distributors. Nothing compares to the amount of tasks done by groups that work independently in their own independent way. Lead them first then allow them to unleash their potentials. So how do you do that? You may exert some kind of presentations that will catch their innate desire to motivate themselves independently. You will later find out how progressive your group is.

7. Populate your business with a customer-oriented situation. Your distributing power lies on your distributor. There is always this common mistake of taking for granted the customersí opinions on your way of assessing them. The transaction is ONLINE but it is not a valid reason not to establish good rapport among your customers online. Just be on line and your customers will lead the line toward your business objective.

8. Know what your customers need. Anticipating your customersí needs ahead of time is better than selling unappreciated products. Practice the art of listening to your customersí suggestions, wants, and needs. Once you get their trust, you can immediately pave the way towards your goal of motivating customers on patronizing your products.

THE SECRET TO 100% REJECTION FREE NETWORK MARKETING

2008-11-06T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Whenever somebody joins network marketing, there is only one thing that draws them to quit instantly ñ Rejection.

In the beginning, everything seems to be so easy. From the recruitment to the sales process, the group had efficiently explained to you what it takes to succeed in network marketing. In this manner, you were made to believe that everything will flow smoothly as it should be.

Or so you thought. Maybe the group had been just too optimistic with what seemed to too unrealistic for you. Besides, it is your service and your money that they are after so they would do anything to get you on the hook. And now that reality gradually sinks in, you finally realize that sales and marketing is not your cup of tea.

But hey! Donít put a damper on things that instant. If you would ask every person who is now successful in network marketing would tell you that it is exactly the same thing that they have gone through.

Objections and rejections are basically what marketing is all about! If these two are gone, then, I suppose sales wouldnít have that much impact after all.

In the world of network marketing, rejections will tell where youíre at. You wouldnít have a greater chance on people who kept on saying yes than with people who kept on saying no.

In the lighter side of things, people who had made it big in network marketing will tell you that rejections and objections are the key principles that will keep you going. It is the challenge that you will have to take.

Furthermore, they contend that rejections and objections are, in reality, pure lame excuses of people who do not have the time to listen to what you are saying or they are people who cannot even help themselves and so cannot help you at any rate.

Consequently, network marketing experts have asserted that these rejections are barriers and not problems that blocks your way towards your client. So, the best thing to do is to get rid of it so that you can get through and reach your client in the most effective manner as possible.

How can you that? First, you have to determine the things that serve as a wall between you and your client.

Network marketing experts say that there are actually six common objections that you will probably encounter on the onset of your network marketing career. Here are the six objections that you may face and what will be the counter-attack you have to make so as to overcome them:

1. No time

In most instances, the very first reason they will throw on you is that they just donít have enough time to talk to you.

To handle an objection, it is a must that you certify the protest. You can express how you empathize with them and that you do understand their situation.

Thereafter, counter attack the objection. You can tell your prospect about things that would appeal to their emotion like their family. You can tell them that if they donít have time for these wonderful opportunity then that means they donít even have time for their family or any important matters.

And finally, when you have caught them on the hook, spread the good news. Tell them how network marketing can provide them the time that they need at the same time earning the income that they want.

2. They donít have the interest.

The next common excuse your client would give you is that they donít have interest in what you are offering. Like what you have done on the first objection, validate, counteract, and appeal to the emotions. You can tell them that if they are not interested with what you are offering to them then it means they are not interested in earning money etc.

3. No money

If thatís their answer, then youíve got them on the hook. You can tell them that itís exactly the very reason why you are giving them the opportunity to earn more money.

4. They donít believe it because they know somebody who joined network marketing but didnít succeed.

Of course, they would say that just to reject you. But the main focus of handling this type of rejection should be on the area where you will let them feel that your network marketing organization is different. That you have enough training and support techniques so as to help them achieve the success they want.

Most people who would reject you are those who really donít know what to do and are afraid that they will not achieve something because they donít have the means to do so.

5. They donít want sales.

Because of the concept of hard selling, a lot of people feel negative on sales. And so, most people who hear network marketing would immediately shun away from it thinking itís one of those hard selling schemes again.

Handling this kind of rejection is the same thing as what youíve done on the other objections. Moreover, let them feel that what they will be doing will not be mostly on sales but on how they help other peopleís lives at the same time helping themselves too.

6. Itís a pyramid scam!

Because of some scams that resembles their marketing scheme to network marketing or MLM; a lot of people tend to think that they are all the same.

In reality, network marketing is actually businesses that operate in a non-conventional way. Whereas, pyramids are fraudulent activities and they are against the law.

In handling this objection, it is best that you tell them the benefits of knowing this program so that they will know how network marketing differs from a pyramid scam.

The bottom line is that people do object because they donít know anything about it. That is why it is a must for every network marketer to inform them the right concept.

If you follow all of these steps on how to follow objections, then, you are on your way to 100% rejection free network marketing.

Why Your Internet Marketing Efforts Are Failing!

2008-11-05T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Daegan Smith

An article that was written by Willie Crawford who has been educating others how to put up successful on-line businesses since late 1996. Often featured in radio, magazine and newspaper articles and discussions, imparting his insights about Internet promotion errors or why some approaches fail. Here is his observation:

A renowned educator Mr. Willie Crawford, who has been sharing his insights on how to put up successful online businesses, featured some ideas why an internet promotional technique is not working. He has enumerated the reasons of an ineffective way to market products and services online. Below are his observations:

Every once a week, some people seek for my advice regarding effective internet marketing techniques. They invited me to visit the website they created and wanting me to give my opinions to what I saw. They needed another person who has an eye to flaws and details of putting up a website relating to business. Their prime reason is that they wanted to do business faster and the only reason to do it is to plunge in the internet technology.

Let us start by admitting that doing promotion over the internet is not Greek to us. It is not new to all of us. It has been there for a long time now. Actually, we have been seeing pop up windows promoting different services and packages. We even caught ourselves giving in to these ads. For example, the referral system being used by advertisements assuring that once you gathered number of people to buy or just to view the site, you will get a corresponding points or rewards! Who is going to reject that?

One reason why most people who do internet marketing looks struggling in attracting clients is that they themselves do not believe in the credibility of the product they are selling. How can you effectively convince someone if you do not have a feeling of love for the product? The only thing that comes to their mind is seeing the product or service as a SCAM. Through this belief, they did not notice that their feelings are conveyed during communication with clients.

People communicate on all kinds of people and in different levels. Through our tone, whether in emails or phone, and even in our gestures or facial expressions, it can be seen by the clients that we are not serious. Once you promote something who don't believe in, you are not aware that you are sending them negative signals. These signals then make the customers to doubt on whether to buy your products. You give off negative vibes to potential clients because what you feel inside you is in contrast to what you are saying.

The only and simple solution to the problem I mentioned above is...the very moment you feel the product or service is not what you believe in, do not market it. Why do you need to force yourself endorse something that you yourself know is a fraud? It is an obvious way of deceiving other people and once they discovered it, they will never get back to you. They also have the power to spread it as word of mouth saying negative things about your company. And with that, your business is a sure failure when it happened!

Sometimes, the website itself contains the problem. You use it as your window to clients and yet, it seems that you are not getting positive feedbacks because you advertise products through your website poorly. With that as a problem, you need to correct it immediately because it is very important. Below are the common website errors:

1) Unclear explanation of what the website is about. When people view it, they tend to be impatient and will eventually click the close button. Goodbye to your business!

2) Forms that ask for personal information such address, telephone numbers, etc. It is important to inform them why you are needing those information from them. No explanations will create doubt among them.

3) No contact information about the business. If you want to get data from customers, they also would like to communicate with you, either through phone or emails. So, please do not forget to provide a link for the contact information about your company. It's a must!

4) No clear proofs related to the credibility of your products. Provide figures or testimonials that your product or service is really a great buy.

5) No understandable explanation of the payment plan. This is normally done in insurance services. You must note that it is very essential that you give them enough explanation of everything about the service. Making them not unaware of the payments, etc. They should know all because they are the ones who will be using it.

These are just common situations why some internet marketing falls on deaf ears. Please take note that before you market something, you must have an enough knowledge to do it and the most important thing is you know what your customer wants.

A Looooong, Looooong Way...(Why Network Marketing Will Always Work)

2008-11-04T03:01:00.001-08:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Before you decide on which business venture to get into, one of the factors that you consider is the stability of the foundations upon which a particular business system is built, right? Although entering into a business opportunity may always be accompanied by certain risks, you would definitely still opt to get involved in one that has a successfully proven track record.

Having its roots way back in the 1940's, the network marketing business today is looked up to as a multi-billion dollar industry.

Not so long ago, however, the network marketing business method was frowned upon and was included in the league of such financial scams as the pyramid scheme and other get-rich-quick schemes.

Nevertheless, throughout the years, network marketing has proven its worth as a stable and legitimate method of doing business. In fact, network marketing has developed into one of the major powerful pillars of the 21st century economy. Furthermore, business leaders around the world consider network marketing as the ""business of the future.""

Would you like to know why network marketing will ALWAYS work? Here are some reasons:

*People will ALWAYS need extra income.

With the unpredictable fluctuation of inflation rates and currency rates in most economies in the world, people who have full time jobs all the more need to have a sideline to augment their income and make both ends meet. Even in more comfortable households where the family's basic needs are met with barely a sweat, it still wouldn't hurt to have supplemental income for the members to enjoy a little more luxury, right?

The truth is, extra money will ALWAYS be appreciated and be a great help --- be it for savings, for that long overdue vacation, or for emergency funds. No matter what your financial status, you will ALWAYS be thankful for that opportunity to earn a little more.

Would you also want to have extra income to spend on anything that your heart desires? Network marketing will ALWAYS be one of the simplest and least risky ways of getting that extra cash!

*People will ALWAYS want flexible working hours.

Studies show that many people are only forced to go to work and endure their nine-to-five jobs. Since these people need to have a regular income, they put up with their strictly structured working world and dream that someday they could finally afford to enjoy financial freedom.

That said, these people would ALWAYS desire and appreciate the opportunity to have flexible working hours while enjoying a steady and reliable source of income.

Would you also want to work at your own pace and still enjoy the benefits of a stable livelihood? Network marketing will ALWAYS be there to offer you that wonderful opportunity.

*People will ALWAYS appreciate having free time.

According to a survey conducted by ""Money"" magazine in the United States, 64% of men and 68% of women who participated in the poll revealed that they would choose free time over more money.

Indeed, in this fast-paced world, time is considered a precious commodity. We no longer need statistics to prove that. We ourselves can attest to the truth that we all want some extra time to enjoy our lives.

Wouldn't you also choose more free time over more money? The good news is, network marketing can ALWAYS give you both! You can work from home, practically with time in your hands, and still see those fat checks coming in.

Would you want to enjoy free time while you earn? Network marketing will ALWAYS be there to give you free time and more money!

*People will ALWAYS be social beings.

As social beings, people will ALWAYS interact with other people --- sharing stories, exchanging views, agreeing, arguing. The point is, people will ALWAYS have a contact or connection with other people. And this is the very essence of network marketing --- building groups of people sharing similar ideas and goals.

Do you remember the time when you recommended a certain product or a particular service to your best friend? Didn't you know that you were, indirectly it might be, actually practicing the concept of network marketing? And if he, in turn, recommended that product or service to his family and friends, then you would have built a small network of participants! If only you were into a particular network marketing program at that time, you would have earned extra cash basically by opening your mouth!

Isn't it wonderful how network marketing would reward you just by being yourself --- by interacting with other people? Network marketing will ALWAYS be there to enable you to establish more friendships and earn at the same time!

*People will ALWAYS purchase/use commodities.

From household goods and food items to health and beauty products, network marketing businesses will ALWAYS offer the widest array of commodities that you can ever imagine. Such everyday products can ALWAYS and easily be promoted to people from practically all walks of life.

Furthermore, when you join the world of network marketing, you will discover that people may ALWAYS be divided into two --- those whom you can invite to participate in the program you are in and those to whom you can offer the products that your business sells. Either way, you can and will ALWAYS win! Network marketing will ALWAYS see to it that you do so!

Supplemental income. Flexible working hours. Extra time in your hands. Socialization and interaction. Easy-to-offer commodities. With all that it has to offer, network marketing will indeed ALWAYS work. It will definitely go a long, long way, and will ALWAYS be here to stay!

Succeed slowly at network marketing

2008-11-02T03:00:00.001-08:00

Author: Daegan Smith

As with any business, network marketing is either a love it or leave it affair. Much of the flack comes from misinformation or an unfortunate experience with a shady distributor. However, the fact of the matter is that network marketing when done with the right company can offer people a great business opportunity.

The common perception is that the hierarchical structure of network marketing looks like a pyramid scheme. And while pyramid schemes are illegal. To equate this to network marketing is simply not fair. The way the company is structured doesnít decide the organizationís legality. If at all the federal government would be like a pyramid.

The right kind of network marketing is legal since it entails marketing a product and the volume of products sold is what determines just how much amount of money the company (and consequently the distributor) makes.

In order to succeed in the network marketing business, you need to know what youíre getting into and have an idea of how much work it will entail to meet your goals. It may take a while, but starting slowly but surely will translate a much higher success rate than just plunging head first without prior thought whatsoever.

1.First you need to research on the company thatís recruiting you or you plan on joining. Since more than 90% of network marketing companies fail within a span of 2 years, it is only smart to avoid untested companies. Donít worry, there are plenty still to choose from since about 1 in 1000 network marketing companies are still standing after more than 5 years.

So in looking at a prospective network to join, youíre better off going with one that has a proven track record. Donít get swayed with the pitch new companies throw at you saying as one of the first people in the network, youíll achieve your financial goals in no time. Itís ok to be slow and steady so long as you know, your network wonít fold up on you at breakneck speed. Research resources in check out these companies can be found from the FTC (http://www.ftc.gov/) and several other online consumer resources.

2. It is important that your sponsor is someone you respect and trust. This person will be your trainer and coach. Even if youíre part of a good organization that offers good products, if your sponsor is someone you donít necessarily trust, being able to succeed may prove difficult. The sponsor is there to take care of you as you help the company grow. If you feel he is recruiting you simply to gain numbers for himself, then it may be wise to think twice about the venture. Besides, as you plan on building something long-term with this network, you might as well work with someone whom you like.

3. Check to see it you are required to secure permits. Although most companies will take care of sales tax and other similar matters, it is only smart to know for sure to be on the safe side.

4. Upon joining and receiving you kit, you are part of the network and of the business. So as part of the organization, make sure you know your products and can answer any questions about them. Best way to do this is to use them. Get to know the features but more importantly, the benefits it brings to the consumers. The most successful distributors are the ones who know everything about their products and are genuinely excited about them.

5. Listen to your sponsor and upline. Theyíve been at this business longer than you have and may know something that you donít right now. Great thing about network marketing is that the plans for success have already been paved. Although it doesnít mean you canít try out new ways and ideas, but if something works, why not start from that?

6. In starting off any venture, go out with a set of goals you want to achieve over a specific period of time. This will help pace yourself on how much effort you need to put in and it gives you a gauge to measure your work against.

7. Start forming you network by making a list of people you know. Include even those whom you feel you could ever go up to. If the company hosts party-style, youíd likely host an opening that will introduce your business to people. Other methods to promote your business are through printed collaterals like flyers and classified ads. Be ready to talk to people about your business. As you do your rounds, ask for referrals from clients and friends and if possible, participate in trade shows.

8. Finally, even if you can work from your home, treat this business as just that - a business. If you go out thinking this is just some hobby, the attitude will reflect in how you are seen by your clients and your downline. Remember, you are running a business backed by a reputable corporation so feel confident about this and that attitude will take you further.

While some will go for the get-rich-quick way, chances are very great that these will explode in their faces at the same pace that they went for it. Going slow may seem a lot of work but itís the smarter way to go. In time, as you build on your network and look after your downline as well as your clients, the benefits that network marketing brings will come to you with greater satisfaction.

What is Wrong with Networking Marketing?

2008-11-01T03:00:00.001-07:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Network marketing is a marketing paradigm wherein the interconnection of the market actors and the transactions are greatly stressed. The terminology networking marketing in popular usage is a synonym for multi-level marketing or MLM. Sometimes, it is also mistakenly considered as the pyramid scheme.

Many are enticed with the promises of network marketing. Who would not be? The idea of making instant money and not requiring any special skill or any form of investment is very appealing especially to those who are with an immediate need for it. However, there is also a down side in this kind of business model. A short list follows just to give you an idea of the dark side of network marketing.

Network marketing or multi-level marketing are doomed by design.

If you consider that there is a possibility of succeeding by believing that the product is saleable without a doubt. Then once again, you are mistaken. All products and even services will only have partial market penetration. Not everyone would want to drink filtered water, or wear a particular shoe style, or avail of a service or product. In the real world of business, there is no such thing as an infinite market need for any product.

After all, if the MLM product is such a hit, is it not questionable that it is not sold in the customary marketing system as known by human society for over a thousand years now? It would not need any special kind of marketing scheme like the MLM. That is something to really think about.

Looking at the MLM design on a mathematical perspective, you will see the very obvious geometric flaw in the entire setup. Multi-level marketing works through geometric expansion. It is one vicious cycle of people recruiting people recruiting more people. This kind of business model leads to market saturation and it is inevitable. And sadly, the unfortunate person at the bottom of the chain ends up as the loser. It is because all that is generated are false hopes and money is lost in a senseless manner.

The organizational issue of a pyramid structure is ìwhere does the money come fromî? Don't you wonder about where the money comes from for the people at the top of the pyramid? Well, from whom else but the losers at the bottom of pyramid who believe they will see the money soon.

But if you are still thinking that multi-level marketing is the best way for you to earn the quick money, better start exploiting people early while the exploiting is still good.

Family and friends are to be treated as such and not seen as marks for exploitation.

Basically, the network marketing business grows by exploiting people's relationships. MLMs reward their people to recruit others. Often, the first targets for MLM recruitment are the so-called ""expendable"" friends. But if all else fails, some people jaded by the blinding promises of MLMs or as a result of desperation may end up recruiting family, even their mothers. And when the business fails, relationships are tampered.

But you are still convinced that network marketing is you great break to achieve that elusive success. Here are some helpful tips for wannabe MLMers. After reading of the dark side of the network marketing business model, it is best to know what you are getting into early on.

In selecting a network marketing company to participate in, pick one with a reputation of high integrity.

Select one that offers products that you can be passionate about. After all, how can you get someone to believe in the product you are selling if you yourself are a non-believer?

Be sure that the commission scheme of the business is laid out in black and white, and one that is fair. It is a business, and people get into it to make money. If you believe that the existing moneymaking scheme of the multi-level marketing organization you are eyeing at is not favorable to you and your goal, then look around for a more viable opportunity. With the tons of network marketing businesses around, for sure you will find the one that best suits your need and fires up your drive to success.

May this help you in your quest for network marketing success!

Poker Affiliates And Blogging: 5 Reasons To Use Blogs To Promote Online Poker Rooms

2008-10-31T03:00:00.001-07:00

Author: Blake Stevenson

Using blogs as a poker promotion technique can be very profitable. In case you're a poker affiliate and aren't familiar with the world of blogging, here is a quick overview of why you should consider blogs as strategy for building your business.

Blogging is a concept that was started in the late 90's. Blogging was originally used as a way to comment on an existing webpage and provided an opportunity for visitors to voice their opinions on a particular page. Here is a list of 5 reasons why you should start using blogs as a poker affiliate.

1. Blogging is simple. Publishing content to a blog is hands down the easiest way to get your writing on the web. There are absolutely no skills necessary to publish content to a blog, it is actually so simple that even a child can do it. Simply type and click, that's it. Maintaining a blog is just like having a virtual piece of paper that you write your ideas to. As long as you have access to a computer and an internet connection, you can start promoting poker online.

2. Blogging is authentic. In a day and age where advertising saturates our lives, many question the credibility of ads that they are exposed to. Blogs however, allow real people to share their real life experiences and reviews, unscathed by paid ads. Blogging lends credibility to your promotion efforts and builds up trust.

3. Blogging is free. Blogging doesn't have to cost a dime and you can get started in just minutes. What more could you ask for?

4. Blogging builds credibility. Blogging gives your readers an opportunity to gain a somewhat candid view of your thoughts, opinions, and emotions. This leads to believability and you can use this to promote your poker affiliate business.

5. Blogging expands your sphere of influence. Blogging will explode your circle of influence and you'll soon have visitors from all parts of the world visiting your blog and reading your posts. This is extremely powerful!

As you can clearly see, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't add blogs to your poker affiliate marketing business. Give your business a boost today by tapping into the power that blogging has as an Internet marketing tool.

About the author: Learn how Party Poker affiliates are generating massive incomes with this amazing poker affiliate program at http://www.epokeraffiliate.com/

What is email marketing and how can it benefit you?

2008-10-30T03:00:00.001-07:00

Author: Deanna Mascle

Permission-based email marketing is a tremendously successful marketing tool. How can it not be when you are sending your carefully crafted messages to an audience already interested in your topic?

Email marketing is just what it sounds like -- marketing messages you send through email. It is important to be clear up front that this is not spam email messages sent to a huge list you bought, borrowed, or begged from another source.

Effective, targeted email marketing messages are sent to a carefully controlled list that you gathered. Permission-based email marketing means that the people on your list requested that you send them information. If you are smart you will even ask them to confirm before adding them to the list.

I am sure you can see the tremendous benefits to having such a list. Rather than waiting for potential customers to come to you or notice your new product then you can contact them directly.

However there are some hurdles you must cross before you can begin your email marketing campaign.

First you will need a system to manage your email marketing subscribers and mailings. You are essentially looking for an autoresponder or bulk email management program. You can find free tools, cheap tools, and expensive tools. You can buy a system and run it yourself or you can pay someone else to run it for you. I opted for a monthly service after running my own software for a while. I run a lot of lists and it is well worth it to me to pay someone else to handle maintenance.

Second you will need to start gathering names. As I mentioned before, the only way to run an effective email marketing campaign is to be permission-based. So how do you get people to ask you to send them sales messages? Well, usually you don't put it that way of course. Instead concentrate on giving something of value in return for their contact information. What can you give them?

~ Newsletter

~ Tutorial

~ Special report

~ Free tool

~ Discount

~ Contest prize

Third, you will need to create your messages. This can simply be an initial message that delivers as promised with a few follow-ups and/or sporadic updates or you can follow up with regular messages. If you intend to regularly mail your audience then you need to carefully balance length, content and timing. If you abuse your list by sending sales messages every day people will soon unsubscribe however if you continue to offer something of value in addition to those sales messages then you will likely retain a substantial number.

Email marketing offers many benefits. First, it is low-cost. It can be free but often that will cost you in time and effectiveness, however even paid services will cost you much less than most paid advertising efforts. Second, it is a soft vs. hard sell. Third, you are prequalifying your audience for your message so they should be much more receptive to your sales pitch. Finally, it can be as easy as you want it to be. You can set up a special report from information you already have and plug in some sales pitch follow up messages then sit back and watch your sales grow.

Email marketing can give you a great return for a small investment of time and money.

About the author: Experienced webmaster Deanna Mascle is glad to offer answers about Internet Marketing and Internet Promotion

Marketing, Before & Now

2008-10-28T03:00:00.001-07:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Businesses that want to sell something in the market need 2 things. The first is the product to be sold which has to be made then distributed to places like the grocery, the mall or the supermarket. The second is marketing which is the vehicle to carry that message across to the consumer so that people are aware of its existence then it is purchased.

Marketing has traditionally been done by putting an ad either in the newspaper, the radio and the television. Lately, efforts done by marketing to get the message across to the public is not enough to drive sales.

There are 2 factors that contribute to this;

? A lot of companies have also made similar products making the playing field more challenging that it was before.

? Also, customers are smarter than ever who not only buy but first check how this brand fairs over another before deciding which one to choose.

Changes in technology have also transformed the way companies want to increase brand awareness. To face the challenges of the 21st century, the best solution will be to evaluate what has worked not only in one industry but to also know what has worked in others. This will change the mindset of just using traditional marketing that most companies use giving one company an advantage over another.

Buzz marketing otherwise known as word of mouth marketing is a strong force that has not yet been tapped fully and worth exploring.

A good example is how some book companies have used talk show hosts and other personalities in endorsing the product. TV personalities have become key influencers that tell the people what to buy or not. When a viewer listens and believes what is said, there is a high chance that in less than a day or even a week, that person is now a customer of that brand.

Other industries that have seen the potential of buzz marketing have followed suit and used it to further expand the market share of the brand. People who have never heard about a certain product especially in the health sector either to lose weight or help one from being sexually impotent have done research and decided to request more information before finally being convinced and sold to the product.

Another way of thinking out of the box is through the use of viral marketing. Given that information in the internet transfers in kilobytes per second in cyberspace, information that needs to get to people is faster than ever reaching beyond state lines to places around the world.

Good examples of this are the various email sites. Aside from giving people a faster way to communicate with one another, it offers a free service to people who do not have an account and sign up to also be an active member.

A more recent phenomenon is pod casting. This refers to how people have been able to download music; software and give people time to watch a show that has been missed at the personís convenience.

In the business sector, it has been used to advertise a product just like that in the television all in the palm of a personís hand.

For internal communication among office staff, it can be used as a training tool that gives information and other news that are essential to the people who need it.

This has gotten the attention of various websites that have decided to enter pod casting which will further increase the number of people have used this device by the millions.

The alternative form of media attempts to bypass the old school approach. It relies heavily on the influence of special personalities who have mastered the art of reaching out to a lot of people. The larger the base, the better positioned one brand is in the field.

Even as marketing has reached the digital age, it does not mean that traditional marketing is obsolete. Both methods still need strategy, creativity and vision of what is to be achieved.

By working together with tremendous speed and being able to be one step ahead of other competitors, the battle will rage on. Companies will continue to press on with what products are good for the market as rivals who want to compete in the market share will do the same.

Network Marketing Sucks

2008-10-27T03:00:00.001-07:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Before moving on to answer the question posed as this articleís title, there are just some things that need to be quoted in order to find a take off point for this whole issue.

ìA network marketing company is one that supplies the product and partners with a network of independent representativesÖ The company handles research and development, finances, etcÖ In network marketing, information is shared and personal and professional contacts are developed. In network marketing everyone is the CEO of his or her own independent organization.î

With this kind of pitch, it is no wonder so many have jumped into the bandwagon in the hopes of having these promises fulfilled. And since hindsight always has 20/20 vision, many come to regret ever even giving ear to such recruiting spiels.

Of course, there are the few individuals who have done well for themselves by being involved with network marketing. But just like with most everything else, one size doesnít necessarily fit all. Chances are, those who made the fit realized some things about network marketing that many did not. And one of these is knowing how this kind of business could suck and then finding ways to avoid it.

Ok, so why does network marketing suck?

Notice that you never hear the word ìsellî in this spiel. Of course you wonít because the mere mention of the word gets people out the door faster than you can spell it. But in truth, there is a product and it needs to be sold. By whom? You. If not you, then the people who will be part of your network will.

Itís simple economics. For you to get money, you need to get someone elseís money. And since youíd like to stay on the straight-and-narrow, you need to offer that person something that will make him/her give you their money. Ergo, selling.

Those networking schemes that claim that no selling is required whatsoever should raise some flags right away. If indeed, there is no product to sell, and what is being asked of you is merely an ìinvestmentî into the business, and asking others to do the same, chances are great this is a pyramid scam and is deemed illegal.

Legitimate network marketing companies will offer a product, although they will not push the sales aspect of the business on you because they know this turns prospects off. But you need to realize this point and the sooner you do, the better. If the idea of selling doesnít work for you, then perhaps you should consider trying something else. If this poses no problem for you, thatís great. But even then, you should still be aware of other issues surrounding network marketing.

As the name suggests, network marketing requires you to build a network of people, who in turn will build their own network. This is where the ìpersonal and professional contacts are developedî part comes in. To develop these contacts, you tap on your existing network and if youíre like most people, your network would pretty much comprise of your family and friends.

Ok, thereís nothing really bad about it, until you realize you need to NOT come off as a recruiter (but letís face it, you really are!) and make the whole thing sound as if itís a great business opportunity too good to be missed. Unless you yourself are truly convinced of this fact, going into network marketing may find you giving half-truths (which is basically lying) to people you love and whom you call your friends.

Furthermore, many network marketing recruitment programs strongly suggest taking prospects out to a setting that makes them feel relaxed and open to what you have to tell them. More often than not, that means taking them out to dinner or drinks (maybe even both).

Two downsides can come from this. The more obvious point is the cost. At best you can take out 3 or 4 people at one go. Any more than that and it really looks like a recruiting scheme. If you need to talk to 100 people, that would mean going out for dinner or drinks at least 25 times!

The secondary downside, which is probably more costly than the point just mentioned, is the tax on the relationships between people you want involved in your network. Yes, your friends and family are probably the easiest to contact and talk to. But theyíll also be the easiest to offend when it dawns upon them that youíre taking them out because you want them to make money for you.

Now that youíre aware of these potential pitfalls, network marketing can still work for you. You just need to address these issues and try to work around them. Your real success doesnít lie in how much money you can get people to make for you, but how youíll manage your network and maintain your relationships with your friends and family. Even if donít bring in a ton of money, thatís something that simply cannot be bought.

The Best Advertising Money Can Buy

2008-10-26T03:00:00.001-07:00

Author: Casey Tyler

Article marketing, in my opinion, is the most effective form of advertising there is. It doesn't cost you anything but your time. I am an internet marketer and I've spent a fortune on internet marketing and advertising and none of them are as effective as article marketing. I am not saying that there are no paid advertising techniques that work. I am saying, however, that I have not found one that compares to Article Marketing. There are no other forms of marketing that offer as many benefits as this.

All article submission web sites allow you to leave a link back to your web site. There are, at my last count, over 160 article directories. When you submit to these sites it leaves highly relevant links back to your site. This is a very important part of search engine optimization. Most article directories let webmasters copy articles, in tact including your links and name, to post on there own site. This will give you even more relevant links to your site.

People will begin to see you as an expert in your field. When you write an article you have the floor. What a great way to start building trust and credibility with potential customers. Make sure you are writing informational articles and not advertisements. Most respectable Article submission sites wont let you do that anyway. Be professional and do your research. Know what you are writing about!

You will learn more about your area of expertise. This is an important one. Just because you are an expert in your field does not mean you know everything there is to know. I cant tell you how much I've learned on every article I've written. Knowledge is power. Use it.

More traffic to your web site. People will want to visit your site to find out more. They may visit out of curiosity. Either way, this increases traffic to your site and increases your chances to sell your product. Sometimes articles get picked up and distributed in e-mail campaigns. This could produce a wave of traffic to your site. Keep in mind the better the article, the better the chances are of this happening.

Search engines love article submission sites. They visit and index them a lot because they are always receiving new content. I can't say for sure but I would suspect they visit daily. If your name and web site is on that site your site will be indexed as well. I can't guarantee this will happen to you, but I've seen an authors name go from not even being indexed to being number one in the search engines in just one week. To me, that is simply amazing!

Article marketing is be far the greatest ways to get your name out on the internet. The articles that you submit to these sites are usually archived and will be there for years. If you are still unsure try doing a search on your name, your site, and your product. Then, write one article and submit it to five sites. Wait one week and do a search on your name, your site, and your product separately. The proof is in the results and it doesn't cost you a dime!

Article Source: http://www.totalnettechnologies.com/resources

About the author: Casey Tyler is an internet marketer and owner of http://www.totalnettechnologies.com, a hosting company dedicated to the success of its customers. He can be reached at ctyler@totalnettechnologies.com .

Make More Money Marketing by Niche

2008-10-25T03:00:00.001-07:00

Author: Martin Andrew

So, Every Tom, Dick, and Harry (a truly British expression I apologize) wants you to buy their Brand New Niche Marketing Product, Niche Websites, The New Niche Explosion, Nichey Nichey Blah Blah Blah!!

People are going on like this is something NEW!!

Well sorry if I am coming across as a bit blunt or even arrogant here with this as an introduction to the basics of ""Niche Marketing"", but I did warn you all that I don't hold back, and, well, phooey!!!

I CANNOT BELEIVE, that anyone who is seriously thinking of starting a business of their own, (remember I know your here to learn to be a good Internet marketer, and IM is a business too, first and foremost) didn't do what any *Serious* business *Should* do as STANDARD before even venturing into starting up, and thats assess their target market, determine what the core needs of that market are, and then Realize Why your product is giving them something that no other product quite could.

Is your market Saturated? Are there hundreds of other people offering the same product as you? If there IS, then you only have two ways to survive(Three if you count bailing out and moving on!)

1 - The Hard way, or 2 - the Easy Way

If you attend ANY Business related education from the most basic to the highest level degree, Basic Business Marketing, will tell us to find our Unique Selling Point. and identify a target market that our product or service will appeal to.

Now, if we have lots of competition then the hard way would be to use the Brute Force type method and and perhaps try and saturate the market, be the cheapest, or pay big bucks to get some high profile adverts or whatever, some thing like this is Fine, BUT Its the hard way because it is like Brute Force, you need Big Resources, Lots Collateral to pull it off, ITS HARD,

However, if you take the EASY Way, you cleverly analyze every piece of information you can gather about the broadest spectrum of consumer that may possibly buy your product, then you identify a SPECIFIC Need that the Brute Force competitors are too busy to even notice, and ADAPT your product to suit their needs.

Identify Several, perhaps, and have several ""Spin offs"" of your original product?

THATS Niche Marketing

Thats Basic Business 101, Didn't you take that class?

Business isn't about anything other than Knowing what your resources are, and getting THE Most out of them, Niche Marketing, Sensible Business thinking more like, is about realizing HOW Flexible YOUR Resources are, then using your brain and your Market Research to come up with unique ways of appealing to markets No one else is catering for.

Pause for a minute.

Seriously, let it soak in because if your starting to wonder what I am rambling on about the penny will click in a minute.

In case you haven't noticed yet, people make a product out of anything. Depending on what their particular Resources are will determine what sort of flexibility any person may have in Coming up with ""niche"" Products.

Examples of resources would be; Expendable Collateral, or simply Money to spend Personal Skills and expertise Expertise and skills of partners/co-workers/employees Physical Inventory, Specialist equipment etc, Thats just a few examples,

What are YOUR resources? Sit down, think about it, write a list.

Now, think about this, could you actually do something *Totally* different to what your doing now with the resources you have?? Do you even KNOW all the different things that you and the combination of your resources could produce?

I mean obviously you have thought about all these things, after all your planning on or are in business for yourself, BUT, when you start doing this ONE SIMPLE Thing differently, when you start looking at your business in this One Lateral Perspective, Niche Marketing as the people have hyped it up to be is going to be Natural Consideration in your Clever All Round Marketing Plan.

That perspective is this -

The KEY to Niche Marketing, the KEY to successful marketing, the KEY to any business, is COMPLETELY Understanding your market, through *Market Research*!

I Cannot stress this enough, Gathering As Much Data about your market as Humanly Possible means you can pin-point specific desires and needs, that No one or Hardly Anyone is addressing or serving!

Step Back, Look at your market, find a hole, and plug it with your ""New Niche"" Product, catered specifically for that group.

Now, step back again and review your resources, do you think you could plug ANY Hole in ANY Niche? Remember, Information nowadays is a much sought after product especially if it's an area of interest with little or no information, or good information is hard to find.

What Other Resources do you have at your disposal? Could you plug holes with products no one else has ever thought of? I can vouch, that once you have the right tools to analyze a Broad spectrum of information you will find holes, and you will *Make* ways to get a product for that ""Niche"".

Niche Marketing = Simple Common Sense ;

Find the best ways to get the most information about what the most people are doing, buying, searching for, andfind something that people want, that no one else is offering and Give it to them.

Does that sink in, theres no big secret, seriously there isn't, no Niche Marketing Secret, if you think there is then read through this again, if you understand, and are wondering, well great what now?? Ha Ha, you didn't think I would leave it there did you?

Here is a couple of tools I Use Daily to help me make my choices, and also I will discuss in some other articles Later here about how to Maximize Your Resources and find Fresh New resources to Increase your potential Product Portfolio.

Step by step though, so, Have you got a list of all your resources, have you thought about any new products off the top of your head, could you write something about a subject that interests you, seriously even if its sports, or Mahogany Wood Chairs, all this information You or Someone you know/works for you are RESOURCES -

And heres the Market Research Resources I use and recommend http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/whatshot.html Find out what the trends are currently on ebay, a good way to see what people are buying and even what people Cant Find yet!

Http://inventory.overture.com helps to give an estimate as to the popularity of a particular keyword, this tool bases its results on words searched and clicked across the Overture PayPerClick network, including Yahoo among others, it isn't Conclusive, but gives a good idea as to Keyword Popularity.

Cross check your Overture Keyword results with the New Ideas you have from the Ebay Hot products pages, and go to Google.com to see how popular a Keyword is, or how ""Competitive"" it is, by seeing How many other pages are listed for that keyword/phrase too. Anything under 1 million pages is gonna be Reasonable to achieve good Search Engine exposure, You make your own choices though, based on your resources, and your New Found Market Information.

Thanks for Reading

About the author: After being involved with Internet Marketing for some time, Martin has decided to share his Ideas and Experiences on Succesful Online Marketing. Read More Marketing Tactics Here Be sure to check out Martins tips and Tricks, and follow his experiences in Success @ More Traffic Please

Article Marketing = Power Posturing

2008-10-24T03:00:00.001-07:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Marketing a product is the most important thing that must be done to let people know that a product exists. By getting the people hooked into a product and explaining how this can benefit the individual, a sale has been done.

When a person markets an article, it is not about promoting a product. Itís about getting the message across to the reader and making that individual come back for more.

Someone once said the pen is mightier than the sword. By being able to convey the message with good research and relevant issues, one will be able to get a lot of traffic.

Marketing in the traditional sense has always been done by putting an ad either in the newspaper, the radio and the television. The digital age has changed everything as information like the ones presented by writing articles is passed on to people not only in one country but throughout the world.

The best place to start in writing a good article is finding an interesting topic. This must be something relevant that a reader can relate to. Once a topic has been selected, it is time to write on it with a brief introduction then getting to the point. If the article has pros and cons, it is best to explain it so one wonít be accused of being biased. There are many places where one can make this known to people. This can be written in the editorials of newspapers, in blog sites that are available on the web and printing out flyers that can be distributed to the people.

Of all the possible places, the best is in the internet since it is free and a lot of blog sites and created every single day.

Not everybody may like what one has written. Some will agree and disagree. By giving people the chance to express the individualís opinion or making a forum, it becomes a fruitful discussion where a person may or may not change sides.

Article marketing covers a wide range of topics. This can be about internet security to how to start a business that is written by many people.

Words are more important than pictures in getting the attention of people. The articles should be written in a way like one is having a conversation with another person. This creates trust with the reader and makes this person come back to read more articles in the future.

To keep the person interested, one should write short sentences that are simple for people to understand. This is because a majority of those who read donít have a high readership level compared to academic scholars.

This should also have short paragraphs composing of 3 to 4 sentences. Most people lose interest in reading an article with long paragraphs because it is tiring. This will make the reader skip that portion and proceed further in the article that could make the person miss out on important details and not fully understand the article.

People who have no idea where to start looking for a topic especially on the net use key words. These are chosen by the designers of the website. The best way to be seen is using a good headline and making sure that these are seen in more than one search engine for a lot of users to find.

After writing the article, it is best to proofread it for errors in grammar and spelling that sometimes happen even to the best writers.

So that people will know who wrote these articles, one should always put in the bottom a little detail of the writer. If one would like to hear feedback or reactions from readers, one can mention the email address or website if it exists so others can visit other works that the individual has done.

Anyone can do article marketing regardless of what field the person was in before. By writing topics that one is very familiar in, this could help boost the credibility of ones work.

Everyone has a message to convey and the best way for people to come back for more is being informative. More readers prefer articles that give meaning and have relevance than being endorsed to a certain product and buying it.

WHY DON'T YOU HAVE TEN TIMES AS MANY CLIENTS? YOU COULD!

2008-10-23T03:00:00.001-07:00

Author: Charlie Cook

You know that hundreds, if not thousands, of people want and need your products and services. You're spending good money on advertising and mailings and you have a great looking website up, but you're still not getting all the clients you want or could handle. Why aren't more people responding to your marketing?

The most likely reason is your small business marketing materials aren't answering the questions your prospects are asking about your goods and services.

Imagine you wanted a new car and walked into a dealer's showroom. You spot the sleek looking model you're interested in and go over to take a look. It's at this moment that a salesman walks up to you and introduces himself.

You start asking him questions about what makes this car worth so much, what it's good for, what features are included, guarantees, etc. Then you ask him if you can take the car for a test drive. now imagine that the salesman responded to each question with a shrug and said, 'You'll just have to buy it to find out if it is what you want.'

If the salesperson couldn't or wouldn't answer your questions, you'd most likely walk out and head for a car dealer where they could give you detailed answers to all your questions.

You don't want your prospects to walk away and possibly turn to one of your competitors do you? Of course not. But if your marketing isn't answering your prospects' questions you're going to continue to see most prospects walk away from your marketing materials and look to make their purchase elsewhere.

My small business clients generally report that once they meet with a prospect, they can close 20 to 50% of sales. The problem is getting prospects to contact you or selling services and products without a sales conversation at all, through the Internet or direct mail. Your marketing has to be as good as you are face-to-face. Is it?

Bob and Dennis from Kansas called with just this small business problem. Once they meet with a prospect and present their information, their closing rate is almost 50%. The problem was that despite getting ten thousand visitors to their web site in the last couple of months, only a handful of these had contacted them. You can't close more sales without qualified leads.

When you're face-to-face with a prospect, you know how to get a conversation going and to answer all the questions they have about your products and services. Prospects reading a sales letter or your web site or listening to an ad also need their questions answered. No answers, no sales.

Once I explained to Bob and Dennis how to focus their web site marketing and use it to answer their prospects' questions, and they made the necessary changes to their site, they saw their leads and sales surge.

So what are the questions your small business prospects would ask if you were meeting with them? What do they want to know in order to be convinced you can help them? What are the questions your marketing needs to answer? What information should your marketing materials give prospects in order to make a sale?

Whether you're marketing a product or a service, your prospects want to know:

- Who is it for? - What's the primary problem it solves? - How will I be better off with it? - Will it really do what you're telling me it will? - What specifically will it do to solve my problem or answer my concern? - Is this information for real? - Is it the newest or latest model? - Who else has bought it? What did they think of it? - Why should I trust you? - Is yours the best company to get this item from? - Is it a fair value? - I really want it, but how can I justify spending the money? - Do I really need it now? - Why should I make this purchase today, or this week? - How can I make sure I'm not making a mistake? - Okay, I'm ready to get it, but tell me again why I should want it? - If I buy it, how complicated will it be to use? What kind of help will I get? - How long will I have to wait to get it? - Yes, I made the purchase, tell me again why it was worth all the money I spent? - I own it, now how can I get the most of out it?

Want ten times as many clients? Start by giving your prospects ten times as many reasons to contact you and buy from you and you'll see your sales soar.

If your small business marketing isn't generating all the clients you can handle, it's not giving prospects the information they need to make a decision to contact you or buy.

You can keep using the same small business marketing strategy, the same marketing materials and the same marketing copy and get the same results -- or you could discover how to give your prospects the information they want and see your sales skyrocket.

About the author: The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Strategy eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com

10 Secrets of the Super Internet Network Marketers Mindset

2008-10-22T03:00:00.001-07:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Everybody has the chance or opportunity to succeed no matter what venture one wants to take in life. Most tools in being successful are right there in front of the person and it is up to the individual to decide if one has what it takes to make it big.

In order to succeed in internet marketing, it isnít that different like succeeding in life. Here are 10 tips that will help one make it doing business on the web.

1. One should take responsibility for everything that happens in the personís life. There is no one to blame except oneself. This powerful concept makes the person understand that the ball is in the individualís hand and it is the choice of the person what the outcome will be in oneís life.

2. When one is selling something to a customer, one is not just selling the product but the person and the company that one represents. If the person does not believe in the company, the features and benefits of the product, it will not go anywhere. It has to start within the person the will to succeed then everything else will fall into place.

3. It is not always to easy keep a happy face especially when some customers will turn the offer down but itís not the end of the world. Perhaps that person was not interested. Maybe the individual did something wrong. By assessing how one performed and being optimistic on the next customer, eventually one will succeed.

4. Some people in the internet may do better than others. By talking with these individuals, one can learn a few tricks that can also help the individual in doing business. It is like a car. The person may hear something wrong but doesnít see the problem but just because one doesnít see anything wrong it doesnít mean its not there.

By digging deeper into oneself, the person will be open minded to the criticisms of others and become a better internet marketeer.

5. Everyone started out small before becoming successful. No matter how big that may be, one should always be humble about it. Announcing it to the world doesnít make one a better person

6. People do not succeed overnight. It took the support of friends and family and one should never forget to thank those for where the person is now and be happy with it. The individual can also return the favor by helping people who are just starting out and helping these people doing well as network marketeers.

7. It is essential to have a good relationship with colleagues and customers in the business. This network can help one get leads and vital information achieve more sales in the future.

8. No one will ever claim that network marketing even in the net is easy. This is why people should never give up and try again in the future. If a customer says no, one should politely thank the person and ask for referrals. Later on, the individual can follow up since the customer may now want to avail of the same product and service that was turned down before.

9. One should always be updated with the times. Trends happen even in the net and the things that may be popular now may become obsolete in a few years. This is the same thing like computer software that change every 3 to 5 years.

10. The person must have passion in whatever job it is. Money is not a primary factor in getting through life. It is merely one of the perks that one gets in enjoying something a person loves to do. By having fun, obstacles will just pass and everything will be just fine.

Answering these 3 questions everyday will help one succeed to be become an internet marketeer.

a. How badly does the person want it?

b. Is the person willing to do what it takes?

c. Is the individual willing to change?

Success begins when a person has a dream. The next step is committing oneself to the task and not giving up on that vision making the individual come out on top.

Autoresponders = Automatic Internet Marketing Success

2008-10-21T03:00:00.001-07:00

Author: Daegan Smith

An autoresponder is an automated technique of answering emails that are sent by customers. It is essential in the Internet industry. Answering emails personally require a great amount of you or your customer,Äôs time. However with the use of autoresponders, you can spend more time taking care of more important matter in your business and spend less time answering customers,Äô e-mails.

If you have simple needs, you can use this autoresponder to send replies that ensures your clients that you are taking care of their concerns and that you will get back to them as soon as you have an solution to their requests.

You need to set a schedule of sending message if you are planning to send a series of correspondence.

However, using autoresponders entails the risk of being reported as a spammer. Thus, it is vital to check evaluate what you need before you start using an autoresponder. If you will use your autoresponder to send out several messages, make sure you have a note that explains why they are receiving such messages. Also include a way on how they can prevent on receiving another unwanted e-mail. Here are several concepts that can assist you utilize your autoresponder to convert the accidental visitor into a gainful shopper. 1. Send out newsletters. There are a number of excellent autoresponders can help you handle subscriptions and make a follow-up your potential clients. You can use your newsletter to keep your guests educated on your products or service that you offer. It can also help you create a credible reputation as an authority in your industry. 2. Create your newsletter only for your partners. Update them with recent sales and promotions that your partners can apply in order to boost their productivity. 3. Create reviews about eBooks, software, movies, and the like place all reviews in your autoresponder. You can also review associate programs by making use of a link will connect you autoresponder to your partner,Äôs website. 4. Write and distribute articles to put up your business,Äô integrity, improve sales and bring traffic to your website. Your articles should contain significant that can entice guests and generate needed traffic. Place your articles on different autoresponders. Then make a table of contents that will include your autoresponder,Äôs address, as well as a brief description of what it contains.

Advertise your articles to your affiliates and incorporate guidelines on how your partners can their articles on your list. 5. Make an e-mail directory of your subscribers and update them any time you have new articles. 6. Advertise your product or services using autoresponders. Use detailed descriptions of your product to attract potential clients and make them loyal customers. 7. Synchronize your autoresponder to convey the information about advertising rates and tips on how to automatically set an advertisement to all prospective clients' email addresses. Subsequently, set you autoresponder to make a follow-up. You can also send information about current promotions you are running. 8. Deliver e-mail lessons to your clients on a regular basis using an autoresponder. Just make certain that the content of the eachlesson contains quality and not just sales offers. Include measurable advantages your guests can gain by acquiring your merchandise. 9. Automate a reminder about your service or product after a visitor has completed your course. This will increase the possibility of sales from visitors who have taken your course but are dragging their feet about actually making a purchase. You can also use these reminders to promote new products or services, and the products and services of your affiliate programs. 10. Give your guest an idea of the variety of information you offer and the value of your merchandise or service by sending out free reports. 11. Your guest will be more motivated to request your autoresponder if you provide interesting quizzes or games. Conduct quizzes on your website and place the answers in autoresponders. You can set-up the autoresponder to deliver confirmation on their entry. 12. Use your Autoresponder to offer free trial of your product. Distribute samples of your software, free membership or eBooks. 13. Place your sites links page on the autoresponder. The links should contain information about the visitor,Äôs interests. Consider adding free copies of your to promote your autoresponder.

Auto Pilot Network Marketing!

2008-10-20T03:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Since its inception, network marketing has long been acclaimed as one of the ,Äúget rich quick,Äù scheme by some people who really just do not understand its real concept.

With this kind of thinking, these kinds of people will surely fail in network marketing. They will never know what it is with other people that they succeed in network marketing. They will never realize the potentials of network marketing in making their lives better through increased sources of income.

The problem with most people, who eventually fail in network marketing, is that they join network marketing without knowing its real concept. They joined without planning. They joined because they were blinded by the interesting advertisement of some unscrupulous people who just want to hoard money from their ,Äúrecruits.,Äù

Hence, these people were falsely enticed to believe that they can easily earn money just by getting as many recruits as possible.

No wonder why many people fail in network marketing. The concept that was taught to them was extremely untrue and incorrect.

In the first place, most people thought that it is impossible to get network marketing online. This is the main mistake of many network marketers. They failed to realize that the name itself bears that reason why it has to be put online. Network marketing should be on the Net!

In this way, aside from the usual strategies of network marketing, you get to employ different techniques that are more effective than the methods that you have learned in the program.

With the benefits that Internet marketing can bring, you will surely put your network marketing on auto pilot. This means that you will surely get your positive results faster and more workable.

However, people should know that putting network marketing online does not necessarily mean that you can also make use of the same strategies that you have employed online.

It is a totally different story when you put network marketing online. This means that you need to use another set of techniques that will surely work out online.

This is the main problem why most people do not see the benefits that they can get when they will decide to place network marketing online. What they are doing is actually not the correct way of doing network marketing online.

Hence, it is time to do it right. It is time to employ the right strategies in order to place network marketing in auto pilot! In this way, you will be reaping more than what you can do offline in as possible.

Here,Äôs how:

1. Do not just build a downline,Ä¶build your list!

The good thing about having network marketing in an auto pilot is that you can generate more feasible means of earning good income. Here, you can use a list of subscribers that will be your customers or members of your downline.

Experts in online business contend that money is on the list. Therefore, when it comes to online network marketing, it,Äôs best not to depend on your downline alone.

Hence, try to use different effective techniques in order to build good lists. You may opt for autoresponders, which is considered to be very popular in the Internet nowadays.

2. Generate traffic

If you already planned to take network marketing online, then you must have a web site.

However, even if your web site was properly designed, there,Äôs no use in putting it up if there are no visitors. Hence, it is important to generate traffic to your web site so that you can put your network marketing business on auto pilot.

To do this, you must create some articles and submit them to article directories. In this way, you will be able to create awareness about network marketing, in which, other people are not yet aware of it.

Moreover, with your articles, you can also make them realize the feasibility of earning good income with network marketing. You can discuss these through your articles without having to sound that you are letting them on the hook.

In addition, if webmasters see your articles as worthy contents for their own web sites, they would try to reprint your articles. This will boost your traffic by creating a viral marketing phenomenon. If this happens, then your network marketing is definitely on an auto pilot.

Indeed, putting your network marketing on an auto pilot may not be that easy but you can definitely assure yourself that once you have started doing things on the right direction, you are bound to reap more profits for your business.

Try to utilize auto pilot network marketing and you are definitely on your way to success online.

Financial Freedom through Network Marketing

2008-10-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Everyone dreams of being financially free. This means having no debts to pay and being able to buy whatever the person wants at any given time. A lot of people who have joined network marketing claim this to the best thing that has ever happened and continue to encourage others to follow this trend.

Network marketing promises that a person will make a fortune as long as one sticks to the plan. This is done by finding a recruit to sell a product to other people who will also do it to others and the individual will earn commissions.

The first thing one needs to do is learn about the product. It will be easier to explain the package to other people when one knows everything about the product. To be able to sell it to others, it is best to try out it and also use it regularly.

If this item is not yet available in the market, it will be easier to sell. If it has benefits and features better than existing ones offered by other companies that is another plus point.

Network marketing may not be for everybody but a person will never know unless one tries. To be sure if one has the talent to sell, it is best to try it out for a year to determine if this will work for the individual or not.

The best resources to tap first are those in the personís immediate family to distant relatives who have friends that could be interested. When that has been done, it is time to shift to friends who may also know people that want a piece of the action.

This can be done by first enticing the potential recruits with an opportunity of a lifetime that a person must seize now. After that, one can show what the package offers and by following the formula, these people can also easily make a lot of money. This figure which has no limits could be something the recruit could never imagine possible in a short period of time.

Confidence is needed to make it work. When one approaches a potential recruit, that individual has to sell the person first then the package and what it offers. This is as money is made by going out into the streets and not sitting around at home.

Making a sale is more of listening to what a customer wants rather than just talking about a product. By knowing what is needed, it will make the job easier of making that person buy and recruit other people to do the same.

If the potential recruit is not interested, one should just thank the person and ask for referrals and try oneís luck with those people. It is also a good idea to still keep the recruits number so one can call back and follow up since that person may be interested in the future.

Advertising works to let people know what one is offering. The network marketing organization may provide collateral for this or the individual can have some made to help out reach more clients.

If one is not doing that well, then that person can perhaps ask the help of other people who have succeeded and use the same strategy to get more customers.

By being ahead in the structure rather than in the lower echelons, one can get back the money that was initially invested to get started and double that money or more in a matter of time.

Being the first in anything is what counts the most. Most network marketing organizations do not have a control system which can determine if the market has already been saturated. If the individual sees that it is quite difficult in making money in one place, that person can start in another since it is a potential that has not yet been tapped.

The potentials of network marketing are endless given that there is no maximum number of people who can join or recruit which means no freeze hiring. Another benefit is that new products are launched from time to time which will encourage that person to look for more prospects and work harder.

Do You Have a Network Marketing Millionaire Mindset

2008-10-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Daegan Smith

There are probably hundreds of thousands, if not millions, all over the world who have tried their hands on one form of network marketing business or another. But among this number, only a handful persevere and turned out to be a success when it comes to network marketing.

What is the difference between those who fail and those who succeed in network marketing? Are those successful in network marketing more intelligent than those who have failed? Are those successful in network marketing more hardworking? Are they friendlier or perhaps they are better looking. Or maybe those who are successful in network marketing are just plain luckier than those who are not.

Actually the answer is none of the above. So if it is not all of the above, then what does it take to be a success in network marketing? The answer is simple. You need to have the right mindset. Specifically, the network marketing millionaire mindset.

So what is the network marketing millionaire mindset? Simply put, it is a state of mind that makes one a success in network marketing. Our success depends on the way we think. It is this network marketing millionaire mindset that separates the successful network marketers from those that have failed.

The network marketing millionaire mindset is governed by the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is much powerful than your conscious mind. It can either help you fulfill your dream or hold you back from the success you want in business such as network marketing.

When you venture into a network marketing business you must expect that you should be a success and not a failure.

Sadly though, many venture into a business with thoughts of doubt rather than hope and excitement. They face challenges with fear rather than with passion and determination. In short, most people set themselves up to be a failure rather than be a success.

The language that we use is a reflection of the way we think. If we have a negative mindset, the naturally our language will also be negative. So to know whether you have a positive mindset or a negative one you must be aware of the language that you use.

So to acquire a network marketing millionaire mindset you must first be aware of your language. To do this you must watch everything you say or have someone monitor your language. You should be particularly concerned with negatives statements such as ìThat is impossibleî or ìI cannot do that.î Of course there are other less negative but still limiting words such as could, should, will try, etc. These words and phrases are limiting because they express doubts and uncertainty.

Have you ever heard a negative person speak? He or she is someone with whom you will nothing but complaints and sorrows. It is quite annoying isnít it? If negative speak holds such tremendous power over other persons just imagine the power it has to the speaker.

The nest thing to do after being aware of your language is to stop saying negative or limiting words, phrases and sentences and start uttering positive ones. Instead of saying ìI cannot do thatî say ìI can do that.î Instead of ìThatís impossibleî say ìThatís possible.î I instead of saying ìI will tryî say ìI will.î

You will immediately reap the benefit of this practice since you will spare yourself from hearing nasty words. But of course the greatest advantage of this is that it will eventually change your mindset. Donít take the power of your own voice for granted. It holds great power in changing the way you think. After replacing your language, you will notice that your negative thoughts will also be replaced by positive ones automatically. That is where the real magic of changing your mindset will begin.

But if you really are bent in changing your mindset not only to be successful in network in marketing but in life in general then it is highly advisable that you read books on positive thinking or better yet take a positive thinking course. These courses may cost quite a sum of money but it is definitely a good investment since it will definitely benefit you in lot of ways.

Huge Article Marketing Success

2008-10-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Daegan Smith

So you want to land your business message on the web pages of the different websites in the Net. Then, it is high time you concentrate on incorporating article marketing on your online business.

Successful people in the world of online business already know the power that article marketing can bring. They know how it made great changes in their lives.

Article marketing is all about making informative articles and distributing them to different websites and allows them to reprint your articles. And without you knowing it, great traffic will soon be generated and your profits will just keep on going as your visitors on your website keep on growing.

Consequently, it has been known for so many years now that since the advent of information technology, contents had been acclaimed as the ìKing of the Internet.î This is because content is the primary factor that would drive great traffic on your website.

Not only that. With contents or articles that you will be giving away for free, you give the value that most people are finding in the Internet. It is the information that they obtain by simply reading your article. In this way, you make great changes in their lives.

Hence, in this simple gesture of charity, you earn yourself an equal dose of goodness. You get the traffic that you need without having to spend more money. All you need is your think-tank, where you get all the ideas in order to come up with an article that is very interesting, edifying, and instructive.

Sounds easy? Not really.

If you want to utilize the maximum potential of article marketing ingenerating profits for your website or online business, you have to work doubly hard. You have to consider some factors in order to achieve that huge article marketing success. You can never achieve it just by writing articles alone.

Success in article marketing is a conglomeration of all the factors needed in the process. And when you have utilized all of these factors, you will definitely reap the profits that you have long been wanted.

Here is a list of the factors that you need to consider in order to be successful in article marketing:

1. The quality of the articles

Since you are dealing with the articles, it would be better if you will write articles that are not just plain write-ups. It is important that you write articles that are of high quality. It does not necessarily mean that you write articles that are informative or interesting but also it must incorporate the proper principles of effective writing.

For instance, in order to achieve success in article marketing, you should make articles that do not have lengthy paragraphs. It should not have words that the readers will have difficulty to understand.

Hence, if you write articles, write with ease based on the standards of effective writing.

2. The keywords

If you really want to succeed in article marketing, then you should also take into account the importance of using quality keywords in your articles. Instead of using polysyllables and highly technical words, you should use keywords that would generate good traffic.

These keywords are the ones being used by the people whenever they are looking for some information in the web. So, it would be better to use them in order to generate good traffic.

3. The directories or places where you will submit your articles

Choosing the best place to submit your articles is relatively important. This is because the place where you will submit your articles are the primary factors that will determine your article marketing success.

Think about it. If you will just submit your articles to any website or article directory that you see on the Internet, do you think it can automatically generate good traffic to your website? It is not that simple, right? Itís because not all websites and article directories are created equal.

Websites and article directories have their own skills and capacity to promote your articles. Hence, if you will submit your article to a place where there are only a few visitors that browse their website, where the traffic is relatively low, and where people do not trust anything that is within that site.

Also, keep in mind that you do not have all the time in the world to wait for your profits to grow. What you need is immediate exposure in the virtual community of the Internet.

4. Resource box

Your resource box is considered to be the very core of article marketing. Without it, submitting articles to different article directories and websites will just be a waste of time.

Keep in mind that the main reason why your submitting your articles is that you want to promote your business and you can never do that without your resource box.

Therefore, it is necessary that you include all the pertinent details into your resource box like your name, your websiteís address that is written correctly, your sales pitch or your marketing strategy, and the way you will compel people to respond into action.

All of these things are important in order to achieve huge article marketing success. So, if you really want to have the best things that article marketing can bring, consider these things and you will definitely reap profits.

How to Make a Fortune in Network Marketing for the Average Joe

2008-10-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Daegan Smith

Average people can be taught how to make a fortune in network marketing. Network marketing is the ideal business venture for the regular person. Just about anyone can learn how to make a fortune in network marketing.

Network marketing is best for those who have no previous experience and training in business. It affords average individuals the opportunity to set up a global and very lucrative advertising business that they can run straight from their homes.

How to make a fortune in network marketing? In network marketing, manufacturer's products are brought directly to the consumer. Network marketing gets rid of the middle thus lowering the costs of the products as well as other expenses incurred within a regular sale.

To start the ball rolling on how to make a fortune in network marketing is not only easy but also inexpensive compared to other businesses. Network marketing has the potential for a lifetime of continuous profits for an individual within a few years of active trading.

How to Make a Fortune in Network Marketing or in Direct Sales

Many people question if how to make a fortune in network marketing is better than direct sales. To answer this query, it is important to understand the basic difference between the two.

Although both businesses involve the sale of products, network marketing also known as multi-level marketing is quite unique. How to make a fortune in network marketing does not involve hardcore selling techniques on the contrary it involves soft sales.

Network marketing provides numerous benefits to people involved in the business. First, network marketing costs less than any other business. Second, network marketing makes it possible for more people to be included in the business. Last and most importantly, network marketing gives participants the opportunity to earn residual income.

On the other hand, direct sales companies involve one-on-one sales that come with a higher price tag. Although direct sales companies may present higher sales commissions, they don't provide for residual income like network marketing. In addition, getting involved in direct sales companies requires a bigger investment compared to network marketing.

Different Ways on How to Make a Fortune in Network Marketing

There are several ways on how to make a fortune in network marketing that would significantly benefit anyone. These methods can even be used to multiply profits and double the chances of how to make a fortune in network marketing.

In any business, contacts play an important role in determining profits. Contacts are crucial to the success of an individual in network marketing. Network marketers collecting contacts should start with people closest to them like family. Because these people would be more receptive to helping them start their business.

How to make a fortune in network marketing involves recruiting people who share the same passion for selling and business to succeed. Signing up people who aren't willing to do the work will only get in the way of how to make a fortune in network marketing.

Keep in mind that how to make a fortune in network marketing requires faith. To believe not only in the product but also in the whole network marketing system is necessary to be able to make a sale.

There are numerous network marketing companies on the Internet that offer a unique product or service. It is important to take into account the type of product or service a company offers to be able to make an effective sales pitch for it.

In network marketing, it is essential to not push the issue. Bear in mind that people easily get apprehensive particularly when a product is thrust upon them. How to make a fortune in network marketing involves a certain refinement that will surely make sale.

Moreover, how to make a fortune in network marketing requires continuous upkeep. The ultimate goal of network marketing is to develop a business that would generate residual income.

Techniques used in network marketing must be updated on a regular basis to be able to keep up with an ever-changing society. Bringing network marketing methods up-to-date will help guarantee continuous profits.

How to make a fortune in network marketing is truly within everyone's reach.

Satellite sales consistently gaining ground in numbers and holding lead in customer satisfaction

2008-10-14T03:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Kenneth Waugh

Article: As we complete the first half of the NFL Season two things become readily apparent. Sports Bars

who have bit the bullet and paid for commercial license

To show NFL Sunday Ticket On several screens are doing booming business.

I, myself being a displaced RAMS Fan have had to frequent such establishments on many occasions

before I took the dive and had my own DirecTV System installed by the highly recommended Rapid

Satellite Company.

http://www.rapidsatellite.com/a.asp?rapidsat&17144&0&sundayticket .aspx ) NFL Sunday Ticket has been a significant programming differentiator for DirecTV, helping us

build a loyal subscriber base,"" DirecTV chairman Eddy Hartenstein said. ""It's crucial for us to

have programming that sets us apart from our competition.""

His service has more than 17 million customers and is a unit of Hughes Electronics, which is a

unit of General Motors Corp.

NFL Sunday Ticket allows subscribers to see all out-of-market games each Sunday during the

regular season.

By the same time, DirecTV would use new middleware from a News Corp. subsidiary to present a new

user interface in subscribers' set-top boxes (STBs) followed by ""a suite"" of interactive TV

services including news, sports, weather, traffic and games.

Additionally, the filing states that the merged operation would launch a new generation of

satellites as early as 2006 and no later than 2008 that would provide capacity for local TV

coverage in all 210 designated market areas in the United States. It would also enable DirecTV

""to transmit more HDTV programming to subscribers, including local channels in HDTV format in

select markets.""

By 2005, DirecTV said the merged company would offer ""very competitively priced set-top boxes

with fully integrated digital video recorders, which will result in the deployment of at least 1

million such STBs each year thereafter.""

Coincidentally, rival EchoStar at the same time announced it had reached the 1 million DVR mark

among DISH Network subscribers.

During his remarks at the retailer rally, Hartenstein said DirecTV would draw on its high

customer satisfaction ratings as a key weapon in fending off cable operators who are now ramping

up digital cable programs for retail distribution.

He pointed to a recent J.D. Powers and Associates study on cable and satellite that indicated

consumer satisfaction is much higher among satellite homes, adding that combined DBS subscriber

totals now top 20 million customers -- or one in every five homes.

He added that DirecTV continues to be the top ranked multi-channel TV service in J.D. Powers

consumer satisfaction surveys.

Although cable subscriptions still dominate the industry, satellite market penetration continues

a steady eight-year climb, with nearly one in four households now subscribing to satellite pay

TV.

Satellite receives an overall customer satisfaction index score of 723 (on a 1,000-point scale),

compared to 659 for Digital Cable and 621 for analog cable, with strong performance across all

measures of customer satisfaction.

Despite this outcome, cable narrows the gap in overall satisfaction versus satellite, improving

at nearly twice the rate of satellite (3.1% vs. 1.6%).

Both satellite providers included in the study receive the two highest customer satisfaction

rankings among the 13 largest providers of cable/satellite TV service.

Satellite pay tv regains its highest ranking from 2003, receiving top ratings from customers in

three of the six factors that drive overall satisfaction: billing, cost of service, and

offerings and promotions.

It also performs near the top in the remaining three factors: customer service, image, and

performance and reliability. Satellite TV is followed in the rankings by cable companies WOW

(WideOpenWest), Cox Communications, RCN and Bright House Networks, respectively.

Customer service has once again re-established itself as the top driver of consumer

satisfaction, contributing to 26 percent of the overall customer satisfaction index score.

This factor weighting is the highest seen for any factor in the cable/satellite TV study,

representing a stark contrast to the 10 percent weighting the customer service factor averaged

over the previous three years.

""The opportunity to purchase voice products from pay TV providers and vice versa from historical

voice providers has no doubt contributed to this dramatic increase in the importance of customer

service,"" said Steve Kirkeby, senior director of telecommunications for J.D. Power and

Associates.

""Similar to the voice market counter-parts, dissatisfaction with levels of customer service will

make consumers less satisfied overall, making them more susceptible to bundling and price

promotions from competitors.""

Product bundling continues to be the key area where cable providers can stem migration to

satellite and increase cable's share of the consumer wallet.

With a continuing strong consumer desire to combine multiple services in a single bill for

convenience and simplicity, the study finds that 44 percent of cable subscribers want to combine

their cable service with some other telecommunications product or service.

The study finds the current average monthly expenditure for pay TV service is $49.08 among

satellite subscribers and $50.98 among cable subscribers.

What this means for the consumer is more and better choices at more competitive prices are in

the offing as cable tv services try desperately to keep the subscribers they have which is much

cheaper than trying to lure people away from ""The Dish"". And if you love Pro Football like I do

there is no other choice but DirecTV and NFL SUNDAY TICKET.

About the author: Kenneth Waugh

Visalia Ca

Sports writer and displaced football fan

KN.Waugh@gmail.com

For more information about satellite with the NFL Sunday Ticket Option click below:

http://www.rapidsatellite.com/default3.aspx

Service by www.nuttymarketer.com

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