1. Make sub-lists from Your ezine publishers list:
If you have an ezine publishers list, seperate the list based on the
topic of the ezine. Send only specific content to specific ezines.
For example if you write ezine articles on self improvement, don't
send it to search engine based ezines. The more specific you choose your
ezine publishers, the more chances of getting published.
2. URLs in Your ezine articles:
Always check the urls in your ezine articles. After all, one of the
purposes of writing and submitting articles is to get some prospects. Right?
3. Offer 'Win and Win Situation' to the publishers:
If you are promoting your product through the ezine article, offer
the chance of inserting affiliate link for the publishers. Or provide any
free service to them or to their subscribers.
4. Automate the process:
Use some sort of software to automate this submission. So you don't have
to go through each email address and send one by one.
Autoresponder that sends Your articles to your ezine publishers at
specified intervals of time:
http://www.scripts4webmasters.com/follow-up-autoresponder-pro/index.shtml
Automatic and targeted submission software:
http://www.webmasters-central.com/cgi-bin/resourcelink/resource.cgi?id=4
5. Ezine publishers Instructions:
Some ezine publishers send some specific instructions like short articles,
or a link back from your web site etc. Feel free to follow them to get
more chances of publishing.
6. Ezine + Online publications:
Some ezine publishers send ezines to their subscribers and also they
publish their ezines on their web sites as archives. Tell you what...
This is a big plus point for your link popularity and also it brings you
visitors all the time.
7. How many and how often to send the ezine articles:
Give a minimum of one month gap to send a second article again to a
publisher. Ezine publishers receive many articles every day and following
these tips increase your chances of getting published -
= Well formatted article
= Clean subheadings for the articles
= Only one article per email
= Thank you note for their time
= Shouldn't be like a sales letter
= Topic oriented and simple explanations
= No spelling errors
= No broken Urls
http://readbud.com/Articles
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Email Marketing - The Lifeline Of Your Internet Business in Email Marketing
It is not unusual to have high ranking at the Search engines yet see low
conversion rates. In fact, someone else whose ranking is lower than yours may be making a killing online with his products. How could that happen? With all other things being almost equal, good web design, good sales copy, quality products, it is highly probable the other person has an effective email marketing campaign set
in place.
It is a so-called 'known secret' of successful online marketers that the lifeline of any Internet business is email marketing. It brings longevity to your business. If you hope to make a long term living off your Internet business, you need to give serious thought to email marketing if you haven't done so.
I started off my Internet business without seeing the need for email marketing. I spent a lot of time on SEO. Then one day this question dawned upon me. What am I to do with the traffic that would show up at my door?
It is a known fact that not many people will buy your product or service on their first visit to your website. Yes, some may buy the products that you are promoting but the majority won't. The vast majority may never come this way again. You stand to lose substantial traffic in this way. Then what about those who bought something? How can they become your lifelong customers?
No wonder, successful online marketers have an effective follow-up system that allows them to touch base with their visitors. What better cost effective way to do so than through email.
4 Benefits of Email Marketing:
1.Gives visitors a personal touch to your online business. Email communication is the most cost effective way at present to touch base with your website visitors.
In a highly impersonalized world of Internet marketing, simple personalized email communiqués can do wonders for your Internet business.
2.Allows you to build credibility and trust with your visitors. You can achieve this by conducting short courses in the area of your expertise through email. The courses you conduct must be relevant to the products or services you are promoting on your website.
For example, if you are promoting weight loss products, you may conduct a short course like 30 days to lose weight. People are more disposed to buy your product or service if they gain confidence through the information you have provided.
3.Exposes visitors to your product or service. Sales statistics reveal that most people need to be exposed to an offer 7 times or more before they buy. You have no way of exposing your products or services before your website visitors except through Email marketing.
4.Turns first time buyers into lifelong customers. Email marketing is an effective way to update your customers of your latest products and services.
Follow-up with your customers immediately after they made a purchase with an offer of a free gift or special discounts on products that are related to what they have bought. This is good marketing practice. You will endear first time buyers to you, and turn them into lifelong customers.
After all been said, how to get visitors to leave behind their email address? Nobody will give something in exchange for nothing. Offer a free e-book, or software, or email course, or newsletter in exchange for your visitors' names and email addresses. This is by no means tricking people into giving their email address. In the first place, your visitors have some expressed interest when they came by your website. Your job is to continue to arouse their interest that they want to know more about what you have to offer them.
The names and email addresses you collect is called an opt-in email list. With it you can touch base with your visitors without being accused of spamming.
Follow-up with personalized email communiqué, offer relevant information and leads. Don't turn your email communiqué into one big sales letter. It puts people off. If they unsubscribe from your mailing list, it's your loss. Say goodbye to your potential customers.
You cannot maintain the number one spot at the Search engines all the time. Other webmasters will overtake you sooner or later. However, this does not diminish the importance of Search Engine Optimization. For long-term success, SEO and an effective email marketing campaign are needful.
http://readbud.com/Articles
conversion rates. In fact, someone else whose ranking is lower than yours may be making a killing online with his products. How could that happen? With all other things being almost equal, good web design, good sales copy, quality products, it is highly probable the other person has an effective email marketing campaign set
in place.
It is a so-called 'known secret' of successful online marketers that the lifeline of any Internet business is email marketing. It brings longevity to your business. If you hope to make a long term living off your Internet business, you need to give serious thought to email marketing if you haven't done so.
I started off my Internet business without seeing the need for email marketing. I spent a lot of time on SEO. Then one day this question dawned upon me. What am I to do with the traffic that would show up at my door?
It is a known fact that not many people will buy your product or service on their first visit to your website. Yes, some may buy the products that you are promoting but the majority won't. The vast majority may never come this way again. You stand to lose substantial traffic in this way. Then what about those who bought something? How can they become your lifelong customers?
No wonder, successful online marketers have an effective follow-up system that allows them to touch base with their visitors. What better cost effective way to do so than through email.
4 Benefits of Email Marketing:
1.Gives visitors a personal touch to your online business. Email communication is the most cost effective way at present to touch base with your website visitors.
In a highly impersonalized world of Internet marketing, simple personalized email communiqués can do wonders for your Internet business.
2.Allows you to build credibility and trust with your visitors. You can achieve this by conducting short courses in the area of your expertise through email. The courses you conduct must be relevant to the products or services you are promoting on your website.
For example, if you are promoting weight loss products, you may conduct a short course like 30 days to lose weight. People are more disposed to buy your product or service if they gain confidence through the information you have provided.
3.Exposes visitors to your product or service. Sales statistics reveal that most people need to be exposed to an offer 7 times or more before they buy. You have no way of exposing your products or services before your website visitors except through Email marketing.
4.Turns first time buyers into lifelong customers. Email marketing is an effective way to update your customers of your latest products and services.
Follow-up with your customers immediately after they made a purchase with an offer of a free gift or special discounts on products that are related to what they have bought. This is good marketing practice. You will endear first time buyers to you, and turn them into lifelong customers.
After all been said, how to get visitors to leave behind their email address? Nobody will give something in exchange for nothing. Offer a free e-book, or software, or email course, or newsletter in exchange for your visitors' names and email addresses. This is by no means tricking people into giving their email address. In the first place, your visitors have some expressed interest when they came by your website. Your job is to continue to arouse their interest that they want to know more about what you have to offer them.
The names and email addresses you collect is called an opt-in email list. With it you can touch base with your visitors without being accused of spamming.
Follow-up with personalized email communiqué, offer relevant information and leads. Don't turn your email communiqué into one big sales letter. It puts people off. If they unsubscribe from your mailing list, it's your loss. Say goodbye to your potential customers.
You cannot maintain the number one spot at the Search engines all the time. Other webmasters will overtake you sooner or later. However, this does not diminish the importance of Search Engine Optimization. For long-term success, SEO and an effective email marketing campaign are needful.
http://readbud.com/Articles
A Guide To Receiving Online Payments
The World Wide Web has become an integral part of our lives. It has penetrated so deeply into our daily living that people now turn towards the World Wide Web for buying clothes, books, electronic equipment etc. For an online seller, then, it becomes imperative to find means to make an online transaction as easy and painless as possible. Since most people prefer to use their credit cards while shopping, webmasters need to integrate this service into their online shopping websites. An answer to your online payment needs can be a payment processing company.
Most online shopping sites enter into a business alliance with payment processing companies. However, you should diligently comb the market for the best deal before you sign up with a service. Make sure that they are not overcharging you. Also, check out their reputation in the market – are they known for their fair minded financial and business transactions? This kind of a company operates through two types of services – one id intended for companies with merchant accounts with their banks and the other for companies who do not possess this kind of a bank account. The first kind of service is generally used by fairly large financial institutions and organizations dealing in independent sales.<
The advantage of having a merchant account is that you can receive payments within a few days of the transaction. However, if you do not have a merchant bank account, the payment processing company receives the payment on your behalf initially. The mode of operation is that the buyer will fulfill the transaction not on the seller's website, but on the site of the payment processing company. (If you choose the former service, the processing company will help you enable your website to receive payments from the buyer directly.) Also, it is only a few times in a month that the processing company will forward you the payments.
There are a couple of steps which need to be completed before your website can host the facility of receiving payments through a credit card. Firstly, you will have to host an order form on your website. You then need to establish a gateway. This kind of service transfers the customer's payment and credit card information to the payment processing company. You would then need to establish the facility of a shopping cart on your website. If your site already hosts this function, the payment processing company will surely be able to integrate its services with it.
http://readbud.com/Articles/eCommerce/A-Guide-To-Receiving-Online-Payments
Most online shopping sites enter into a business alliance with payment processing companies. However, you should diligently comb the market for the best deal before you sign up with a service. Make sure that they are not overcharging you. Also, check out their reputation in the market – are they known for their fair minded financial and business transactions? This kind of a company operates through two types of services – one id intended for companies with merchant accounts with their banks and the other for companies who do not possess this kind of a bank account. The first kind of service is generally used by fairly large financial institutions and organizations dealing in independent sales.<
The advantage of having a merchant account is that you can receive payments within a few days of the transaction. However, if you do not have a merchant bank account, the payment processing company receives the payment on your behalf initially. The mode of operation is that the buyer will fulfill the transaction not on the seller's website, but on the site of the payment processing company. (If you choose the former service, the processing company will help you enable your website to receive payments from the buyer directly.) Also, it is only a few times in a month that the processing company will forward you the payments.
There are a couple of steps which need to be completed before your website can host the facility of receiving payments through a credit card. Firstly, you will have to host an order form on your website. You then need to establish a gateway. This kind of service transfers the customer's payment and credit card information to the payment processing company. You would then need to establish the facility of a shopping cart on your website. If your site already hosts this function, the payment processing company will surely be able to integrate its services with it.
http://readbud.com/Articles/eCommerce/A-Guide-To-Receiving-Online-Payments
5 Quick Ways To Increase Your E-zine's Subscriber Base
1. Give Incentives
Give people an incentive to subscribe to your e-zine. Offer them a freebie if they subscribe. It could be a free e-book, free report, free advertising, etc. Make sure the freebie will attract your target audience.
2. Joint Venture
Joint venture with a similar e-zine. Combine your subscriber bases together and publish one e-zine. Edit and publish each issue together. You both will be promoting the e-zine which means more subscribers.
3. Allow Archiving
Allow your subscribers to archive back issues of your e-zine on their web site. They may need content for their web site. If people visit their web site and like your e-zine, they will subscribe.
4. Form An E-zine Ring
Form an e-zine ring. Team up with 4 to 10 similar e-zines. All the publishers would agree to list each others e-zine name and subscribing information in every issue. You could call this section "Other Free E-zines You Might Enjoy"
5. Ask Subscribers
Ask subscribers to forward your e-zine to close friends, family, or associates. If they enjoy your e-zine, they will subscribe. It's almost like your subscribers are endorsing your e-zine.
For more tips & tricks to Increase your e-zine's subscriber base visit our Work From Home Based Business website today!
http://readbud.com/Articles/eZine-Marketing/5-Quick-Ways-To-Increase-Your-E_45_zine%27s-Subscriber-Base
Give people an incentive to subscribe to your e-zine. Offer them a freebie if they subscribe. It could be a free e-book, free report, free advertising, etc. Make sure the freebie will attract your target audience.
2. Joint Venture
Joint venture with a similar e-zine. Combine your subscriber bases together and publish one e-zine. Edit and publish each issue together. You both will be promoting the e-zine which means more subscribers.
3. Allow Archiving
Allow your subscribers to archive back issues of your e-zine on their web site. They may need content for their web site. If people visit their web site and like your e-zine, they will subscribe.
4. Form An E-zine Ring
Form an e-zine ring. Team up with 4 to 10 similar e-zines. All the publishers would agree to list each others e-zine name and subscribing information in every issue. You could call this section "Other Free E-zines You Might Enjoy"
5. Ask Subscribers
Ask subscribers to forward your e-zine to close friends, family, or associates. If they enjoy your e-zine, they will subscribe. It's almost like your subscribers are endorsing your e-zine.
For more tips & tricks to Increase your e-zine's subscriber base visit our Work From Home Based Business website today!
http://readbud.com/Articles/eZine-Marketing/5-Quick-Ways-To-Increase-Your-E_45_zine%27s-Subscriber-Base
Article Marketing - General Facts
Article marketing is one of the proven traffic producing strategies. Article marketing also is and always has been one of the best ways a business owner can use to promote their website. If done properly Article marketing can be a fast and safe method to attract new customers to your websites. Article marketing allows you to post your content with an anchor text link to your site, on other webmasters sites, gaining your site valuable one way links.
Writing articles yourself isn't necessarily difficult and they can vary in length and quality, depending on the article directories guidelines. You can write articles to share information on a subject or just to help in gaining links to your sites. Articles allow you to appear as a professional to an audience who are interested in the topic, but they also can help build high quality back links from content filled pages on other sites. Articles are separated in categories and sub-categories in order to easily find certain information the readers are looking for.
Writing and submitting articles to directories that have large amounts of traffic can generate increased traffic to your website, usually in a short amount of time. Writing your own articles and publishing them can be free or you can use a service to write and submit for you. The more articles you write and submit, means more website traffic and back links you will get. Other publishers and webmasters will start adding your article to their blogs and websites that can generate even more website traffic for you. The quality of the articles that you use will determine just how effective your marketing efforts will be in generating both links back to your web site and traffic.
Article marketing is the process of writing articles for the main purpose of including "anchor" links to your website. Article marketing is one of the easiest and most effective link building strategies in existence and is one of the most accepted ways to optimize your web site for the search engines. Article marketing can be a very powerful way to build your business and earn money on the World Wide Web.
http://www.readthenrate.com/articles/Internet-Business/Article-Marketing/Article-Marketing-_45_-General-Facts
Writing articles yourself isn't necessarily difficult and they can vary in length and quality, depending on the article directories guidelines. You can write articles to share information on a subject or just to help in gaining links to your sites. Articles allow you to appear as a professional to an audience who are interested in the topic, but they also can help build high quality back links from content filled pages on other sites. Articles are separated in categories and sub-categories in order to easily find certain information the readers are looking for.
Writing and submitting articles to directories that have large amounts of traffic can generate increased traffic to your website, usually in a short amount of time. Writing your own articles and publishing them can be free or you can use a service to write and submit for you. The more articles you write and submit, means more website traffic and back links you will get. Other publishers and webmasters will start adding your article to their blogs and websites that can generate even more website traffic for you. The quality of the articles that you use will determine just how effective your marketing efforts will be in generating both links back to your web site and traffic.
Article marketing is the process of writing articles for the main purpose of including "anchor" links to your website. Article marketing is one of the easiest and most effective link building strategies in existence and is one of the most accepted ways to optimize your web site for the search engines. Article marketing can be a very powerful way to build your business and earn money on the World Wide Web.
http://www.readthenrate.com/articles/Internet-Business/Article-Marketing/Article-Marketing-_45_-General-Facts
The Real Value of Online Marketing Tools & Those Freebies
The other day I happened upon a site where I was invited to subscribe to the webmaster's ezine. All good and well and of course good marketing to have a subscribe page and way of capturing visitors emails on your site. But the webmaster purported to say that the newsletter had a value of $399 but I would be one of the lucky ones and get it for free.
Well I produce a newsletter and I think it is fairly good quality so what value would I put on that...certainly not $399, and I would have no idea what to value it at, after all only the subscriber can properly put a perceived value on the ezine they receive. So how can this other ezine have a value of $399?
And what about all these ebooks which apparently have a resale value of $47, or $97 or more. Who are you going to get to buy these ebooks when everywhere you look the same ebooks are being given out for free...you know the ones - 'Million Dollar Emails', 'Scientific Advertising', 'Magic Letters' and so on....
Many websites and sales pages will attempt to persuade you to buy their product by throwing in a large number of bonuses.....worth hundreds of dollars of course and what are they, the same old ebooks again. And while some of these ebooks are actually worth reading, they now have no real value as they are distributed for free everywhere you look.
If you want to get someone to signup for your newsletter or buy your product or service you need to offer something of real value...something they cannot get hold of anywhere else, or certainly not for the price you are offering it at.
If you produce a newsletter or report, don't place a fictious value on it that cannot be backed up. We are so used to having freebies, bonuses, extras etc pushed in our faces that they no longer really work and to stand out from the crowd, you need to be different. Stick to real quality, proper value and you will get subscribers, sales and signups.
http://readbud.com/Articles/eZine-Marketing/The-Real-Value-of-Online-Marketing-Tools-_38_-Those-Freebies
Well I produce a newsletter and I think it is fairly good quality so what value would I put on that...certainly not $399, and I would have no idea what to value it at, after all only the subscriber can properly put a perceived value on the ezine they receive. So how can this other ezine have a value of $399?
And what about all these ebooks which apparently have a resale value of $47, or $97 or more. Who are you going to get to buy these ebooks when everywhere you look the same ebooks are being given out for free...you know the ones - 'Million Dollar Emails', 'Scientific Advertising', 'Magic Letters' and so on....
Many websites and sales pages will attempt to persuade you to buy their product by throwing in a large number of bonuses.....worth hundreds of dollars of course and what are they, the same old ebooks again. And while some of these ebooks are actually worth reading, they now have no real value as they are distributed for free everywhere you look.
If you want to get someone to signup for your newsletter or buy your product or service you need to offer something of real value...something they cannot get hold of anywhere else, or certainly not for the price you are offering it at.
If you produce a newsletter or report, don't place a fictious value on it that cannot be backed up. We are so used to having freebies, bonuses, extras etc pushed in our faces that they no longer really work and to stand out from the crowd, you need to be different. Stick to real quality, proper value and you will get subscribers, sales and signups.
http://readbud.com/Articles/eZine-Marketing/The-Real-Value-of-Online-Marketing-Tools-_38_-Those-Freebies
Remember to Sign Your Email
When you finish typing an email message, don't forget to sign it. In email language, that doesn't mean simply typing your name. The "signature block" contains a great deal more information.
An email is a blank screen. It contains none of the contact information found on traditional company letterhead or stationery. So, you need to provide this information in the form of a signature block.
Avoid the temptation to create a fancy banner with lots of symbols at the top of your email message. Most of that fancy schmancy stuff doesn't translate well from one email system to another. It also creates huge files, which means the message takes forever to open. Locking up a client's email is not the best way to make a positive impression on him/her.
The best position for the signature block is at the end. When creating your block, try to keep it to four lines. In some cases, you may need more space. Use caution, though, or the contact information may end up being longer than the body of the message. To solve this, try putting multiple pieces of information on a line. For example: Marketing Director, ABC Meeting Planners.
In determining what to include-again think of your letterhead. Provide your full name, title, company name, phone number, and email address. You may also want to give your mailing address and fax number. If you have a website, list that address, too. Don't miss an advertising opportunity.
Why include all this contact information? Maybe an important client wants to call you instead of replying via email. Don't make it difficult for him/her to find you. Including your email address is not redundant. Messages get forwarded, edited, etc. The ultimate receiver may not have a clue who the original sender was. <
Almost daily, I receive requests from people for information, and they don't tell me who they are or where they are. Even after requesting a mailing address, the response often comes back with no company name. Can you imagine mailing something to a 40-story office building that contains 150 businesses with the envelope addressed only to an individual?
If you work for a large company, such as a hotel or convention center, consider using a separate signature for internal messages, since your coworkers don't need all those details. You might provide your phone extension, in case there isn't a company directory handy, and your department, if the receiver doesn't know you.
To keep you from having to re-type all this information with every message, newer email programs allow you to create standard signature blocks. This feature is usually found under the "Options" or "Preferences" heading. It automatically inserts the block at the bottom of your message. You can create numerous signatures and use them for different types of emails. If you use the same closing (Sincerely; Warmly; Regards) for all correspondence, you can save even more time by including it in your signature block.
http://readbud.com/Articles/Email-Marketing/Remember-to-Sign-Your-Email
An email is a blank screen. It contains none of the contact information found on traditional company letterhead or stationery. So, you need to provide this information in the form of a signature block.
Avoid the temptation to create a fancy banner with lots of symbols at the top of your email message. Most of that fancy schmancy stuff doesn't translate well from one email system to another. It also creates huge files, which means the message takes forever to open. Locking up a client's email is not the best way to make a positive impression on him/her.
The best position for the signature block is at the end. When creating your block, try to keep it to four lines. In some cases, you may need more space. Use caution, though, or the contact information may end up being longer than the body of the message. To solve this, try putting multiple pieces of information on a line. For example: Marketing Director, ABC Meeting Planners.
In determining what to include-again think of your letterhead. Provide your full name, title, company name, phone number, and email address. You may also want to give your mailing address and fax number. If you have a website, list that address, too. Don't miss an advertising opportunity.
Why include all this contact information? Maybe an important client wants to call you instead of replying via email. Don't make it difficult for him/her to find you. Including your email address is not redundant. Messages get forwarded, edited, etc. The ultimate receiver may not have a clue who the original sender was. <
Almost daily, I receive requests from people for information, and they don't tell me who they are or where they are. Even after requesting a mailing address, the response often comes back with no company name. Can you imagine mailing something to a 40-story office building that contains 150 businesses with the envelope addressed only to an individual?
If you work for a large company, such as a hotel or convention center, consider using a separate signature for internal messages, since your coworkers don't need all those details. You might provide your phone extension, in case there isn't a company directory handy, and your department, if the receiver doesn't know you.
To keep you from having to re-type all this information with every message, newer email programs allow you to create standard signature blocks. This feature is usually found under the "Options" or "Preferences" heading. It automatically inserts the block at the bottom of your message. You can create numerous signatures and use them for different types of emails. If you use the same closing (Sincerely; Warmly; Regards) for all correspondence, you can save even more time by including it in your signature block.
http://readbud.com/Articles/Email-Marketing/Remember-to-Sign-Your-Email
Ego and the Entrepreneur
I have been working with a lot of Entrepreneur's over the last 6 years as a consultant, a business leader, and one myself. There are two types of Entrepreneurs and I have definitions for them:
1. Successful Entrepreneur
2. Unsuccessful Entrepreneur
3. New Entrepreneur
Not very catchy definitions are they? Let me define them based on their characteristics because the "New Entrepreneur" out there could save them self a lot of headache if they look for behavior that generally leads them to failure.
Sucessful Entrepreneurs
These guys are easy. They know the game. They understand why you build a business. They do it over and over again because they love the challenge. They are not in it for their egos, the idea, or the need to have President on their business card. They do it because they can't do anything else, but build things and then sell it off. They get it started, then hand it off to people to run it.
Unsuccessful Entrepreneurs
Things just don't work out for the Unsuccessful Entrepreneur. More often than not, they keep on trying, and get it a little more right next time. Eventually, some become successful. Often, they give up and return to the safety net of a 40 hour per week job. Their idea, product, or service just does not solve anyone's problem, but their own.
New Entrepreneurs
I have a lot of respect for people that venture out into their own or try to turn an idea into action. These are people that generally don't fit into the corporate structure, are generally liberal minded (not to confuse the Rush Limbaugh listeners of the world, liberal minded means finding new ways of doing things from how it is always done. Or, it simply means outside the box thinking). Having the audacity to question how things are being done and suggest there is a better way to do it.
So the new Entrepreneur has this great idea! Then, they get excited because they could make a lot of money doing it! "I am going to be rich!" So, they embark on the emotional high of becoming an Entrepreneur. They become infatuated with their idea. It is the best idea and the only idea worth investing. Most need money to fund their idea, yet they don't want to give anything up to get other people's money. Their valuation of the business is way over inflated and they have no sales. Ego and control start to get in the way.
I have been involved in several start-up ventures and this is a common pattern that occurs. As I sit at the Venture Club of Indiana and listen to new ideas being pitched around the table, the pattern is there. The "New Entrepreneur" is excited about their great idea, yet they cannot really articulate how to make money with it. Their assumptions about their market are not well defined and they do not really understand what it takes to get a business going. They don't understand why no one will invest in their business. They are passionate about the idea and their ego loves the fact that they can now put President on their business card.
So what is important for new Entrepreneurs? It is all about sales.
When I was President of the Indiana Entrepreneur's Alliance, one of the guests to our meeting made an important point. He said, everyone says you need and accountant and a lawyer to get a business started. So, everyone goes out and gets and accountant and a lawyer to make you feel good about your idea. This is backwards. He points out that you need customers first to determine if the idea has merit, then go out and hire an accountant and a lawyer. Is what you are doing in demand and are people willing to pay for it?
In other words, it is about sales and marketing. As a New Entrepreneur is weighing the idea, the emphasis needs to be on sales and marketing. Get the idea, product, or service out there and see if someone will pay you for it. Do you need an infrastructure to support it? Yes. Do you need to be able to deliver it? Yes. But figure out what kind of expectations you can put out there and manage. As another successful Entrepreneur told me, don't be afraid of success. You can always find money, if you have a book of business to show an investor. And, you can always find ways to deliver.
In our web consulting, we see the New Entrepreneur all the time. Some people are looking for the "Mirror". "Come in and tell me that I am great, my idea is great, and that you can sell it the way I want it to be sold, even though I have had mediocre success to date." In our case, the web plays an important part for most customers trying to sell products or services. They focus on their logo and their image, their name. Unsuccessful entrepreneurs gladly feed into their egos and leave results starving at the table.
The reality is New Entrepreneurs need to focus on results. In business, results equal sales and profits. Logos, names, and images can have value – only if people buy because of the name, logo and image.
Get centered Answering the questions of your buyers:
1. What is it?
2. What is the value?
3. How do I get it?
4. Has anyone else used it?
a. What do they say?
b. If not? What is the edge I get with it?
5. Yes, I want one!
With limited resources and limited time, investment needs to be on finding the market, bringing them to you, engaging the market, and closing some deals or selling product. The question to always ask:
Is what I am doing or spending money going to help me generate more sales?
Case in point, people always feel like they need to reinvent something that has been tested to work. (Ok…I respect out of the box thinking, but dollars can be wasted on IT projects that bring very little value in the end). E-Commerce is an area that people feel the need to "customize". We had a client that need to change e-Commerce systems because the one they were using did not support standard marketing practices for e-Commerce sites. Yet, they would not do it because the one they were using had a feature that really brought no value to the buyer or their business. Again, was what they were doing going to help them generate more sales? The answer was no, yet they chose to spend $20,000 when $3,500 would have done the job for the next five years.
So, New Entrepreneurs, here are some things to keep in mind:
1. No one cares about "the idea." They care about what the idea will do for them.
2. Investors don't care about "the idea." They care if their investment in the idea will make them money.
3. Investors don't invest in "the idea", they invest in the people behind the idea. If you do not demonstrate your ability to execute, you will not get investment.
4. Being President of nothing with no sales has no value.
5. It's about marketing and sales, particularly for start-ups.
a. Always ask, is what I am doing going to help me sell more?
b. Is what I am spending my money on going to help me sell more?
c. Can I apply metrics to what I am doing?
6. It's about execution.
As it relates to the web marketing, the same rules apply. Here is the list to keep in mind:
1. The website visitor does not care about you, they care about what you can do for them. They want to know:
a. What is it?
b. What is the value?
c. How do I get it?
2. Before you spend money on an expensive website, can you answer these questions:
a. How big is the market?
b. What words do people use to search your product?
c. How much to advertise?
d. Who are your competitors?
e. What are they doing?
f. What are they not doing?
g. Who are the top ranked sites?
3. Have you budgeted for web marketing?
a. Monthly?
4. You are a new business, people don't know you. And until you spend millions on drilling your brand into the American psyche, they aren't going to know your brand from a hole in the ground. Use what you do, or what your customers call your product as your name. This strategy worked fine in the past and still works fine today. Evidence: International Business Machines, Advanced Micro Devices, American Telephone and Telegraph, General Motors, General Electric, National Cash Register, American Airlines and Budget Rent-a-Car. Not an obscure latin name with an interesting meaning only to you.
There is really nothing sexy about Internet marketing. It too is about execution. It is about results. It is not about corporate ego. It is about what your product or service does for the buyer and the investor.
http://readbud.com/Articles/Internet-Marketing/Ego-and-the-Entrepreneur
1. Successful Entrepreneur
2. Unsuccessful Entrepreneur
3. New Entrepreneur
Not very catchy definitions are they? Let me define them based on their characteristics because the "New Entrepreneur" out there could save them self a lot of headache if they look for behavior that generally leads them to failure.
Sucessful Entrepreneurs
These guys are easy. They know the game. They understand why you build a business. They do it over and over again because they love the challenge. They are not in it for their egos, the idea, or the need to have President on their business card. They do it because they can't do anything else, but build things and then sell it off. They get it started, then hand it off to people to run it.
Unsuccessful Entrepreneurs
Things just don't work out for the Unsuccessful Entrepreneur. More often than not, they keep on trying, and get it a little more right next time. Eventually, some become successful. Often, they give up and return to the safety net of a 40 hour per week job. Their idea, product, or service just does not solve anyone's problem, but their own.
New Entrepreneurs
I have a lot of respect for people that venture out into their own or try to turn an idea into action. These are people that generally don't fit into the corporate structure, are generally liberal minded (not to confuse the Rush Limbaugh listeners of the world, liberal minded means finding new ways of doing things from how it is always done. Or, it simply means outside the box thinking). Having the audacity to question how things are being done and suggest there is a better way to do it.
So the new Entrepreneur has this great idea! Then, they get excited because they could make a lot of money doing it! "I am going to be rich!" So, they embark on the emotional high of becoming an Entrepreneur. They become infatuated with their idea. It is the best idea and the only idea worth investing. Most need money to fund their idea, yet they don't want to give anything up to get other people's money. Their valuation of the business is way over inflated and they have no sales. Ego and control start to get in the way.
I have been involved in several start-up ventures and this is a common pattern that occurs. As I sit at the Venture Club of Indiana and listen to new ideas being pitched around the table, the pattern is there. The "New Entrepreneur" is excited about their great idea, yet they cannot really articulate how to make money with it. Their assumptions about their market are not well defined and they do not really understand what it takes to get a business going. They don't understand why no one will invest in their business. They are passionate about the idea and their ego loves the fact that they can now put President on their business card.
So what is important for new Entrepreneurs? It is all about sales.
When I was President of the Indiana Entrepreneur's Alliance, one of the guests to our meeting made an important point. He said, everyone says you need and accountant and a lawyer to get a business started. So, everyone goes out and gets and accountant and a lawyer to make you feel good about your idea. This is backwards. He points out that you need customers first to determine if the idea has merit, then go out and hire an accountant and a lawyer. Is what you are doing in demand and are people willing to pay for it?
In other words, it is about sales and marketing. As a New Entrepreneur is weighing the idea, the emphasis needs to be on sales and marketing. Get the idea, product, or service out there and see if someone will pay you for it. Do you need an infrastructure to support it? Yes. Do you need to be able to deliver it? Yes. But figure out what kind of expectations you can put out there and manage. As another successful Entrepreneur told me, don't be afraid of success. You can always find money, if you have a book of business to show an investor. And, you can always find ways to deliver.
In our web consulting, we see the New Entrepreneur all the time. Some people are looking for the "Mirror". "Come in and tell me that I am great, my idea is great, and that you can sell it the way I want it to be sold, even though I have had mediocre success to date." In our case, the web plays an important part for most customers trying to sell products or services. They focus on their logo and their image, their name. Unsuccessful entrepreneurs gladly feed into their egos and leave results starving at the table.
The reality is New Entrepreneurs need to focus on results. In business, results equal sales and profits. Logos, names, and images can have value – only if people buy because of the name, logo and image.
Get centered Answering the questions of your buyers:
1. What is it?
2. What is the value?
3. How do I get it?
4. Has anyone else used it?
a. What do they say?
b. If not? What is the edge I get with it?
5. Yes, I want one!
With limited resources and limited time, investment needs to be on finding the market, bringing them to you, engaging the market, and closing some deals or selling product. The question to always ask:
Is what I am doing or spending money going to help me generate more sales?
Case in point, people always feel like they need to reinvent something that has been tested to work. (Ok…I respect out of the box thinking, but dollars can be wasted on IT projects that bring very little value in the end). E-Commerce is an area that people feel the need to "customize". We had a client that need to change e-Commerce systems because the one they were using did not support standard marketing practices for e-Commerce sites. Yet, they would not do it because the one they were using had a feature that really brought no value to the buyer or their business. Again, was what they were doing going to help them generate more sales? The answer was no, yet they chose to spend $20,000 when $3,500 would have done the job for the next five years.
So, New Entrepreneurs, here are some things to keep in mind:
1. No one cares about "the idea." They care about what the idea will do for them.
2. Investors don't care about "the idea." They care if their investment in the idea will make them money.
3. Investors don't invest in "the idea", they invest in the people behind the idea. If you do not demonstrate your ability to execute, you will not get investment.
4. Being President of nothing with no sales has no value.
5. It's about marketing and sales, particularly for start-ups.
a. Always ask, is what I am doing going to help me sell more?
b. Is what I am spending my money on going to help me sell more?
c. Can I apply metrics to what I am doing?
6. It's about execution.
As it relates to the web marketing, the same rules apply. Here is the list to keep in mind:
1. The website visitor does not care about you, they care about what you can do for them. They want to know:
a. What is it?
b. What is the value?
c. How do I get it?
2. Before you spend money on an expensive website, can you answer these questions:
a. How big is the market?
b. What words do people use to search your product?
c. How much to advertise?
d. Who are your competitors?
e. What are they doing?
f. What are they not doing?
g. Who are the top ranked sites?
3. Have you budgeted for web marketing?
a. Monthly?
4. You are a new business, people don't know you. And until you spend millions on drilling your brand into the American psyche, they aren't going to know your brand from a hole in the ground. Use what you do, or what your customers call your product as your name. This strategy worked fine in the past and still works fine today. Evidence: International Business Machines, Advanced Micro Devices, American Telephone and Telegraph, General Motors, General Electric, National Cash Register, American Airlines and Budget Rent-a-Car. Not an obscure latin name with an interesting meaning only to you.
There is really nothing sexy about Internet marketing. It too is about execution. It is about results. It is not about corporate ego. It is about what your product or service does for the buyer and the investor.
http://readbud.com/Articles/Internet-Marketing/Ego-and-the-Entrepreneur
How to make the switch to working online Part 4
The hardest part about making the switch from, say, a traditional 9-5 job to working for yourself online, is the ability to stick with projects and even more importantly, letting them go. Since starting out online, I have participated no less than 10 different ways of making money online over a 6-month period. I have made money or broken even on pretty much everything, but the downside was the amount of time invested in some of these ideas. Nothing beats the time when I planned on writing and promoting ebooks. I wrote wrote and wrote, only to discover I really didn't want to do that type of work. It was too labor intensive on the front end and there were no guarantees on making any money from the ebooks themselves.
Think of your bottom line and how much time it is worth in order to earn that money. If you spend a lot of time just to earn a little return, you are fighting a losing battle. On the other hand, if you have to spend 100 hours without seeing any profit in order to make much larger returns, that is the better deal. Most of successful work online involves more front end work and higher rewards after the time, energy and effort are put in. This is why most make money online schemes don't work, because they promise the returns before the effort. Rarely is this ever true. Like I said in the earlier posts, there is no magic bullet. The key is determining when to hold onto those projects and goals as they start costing you more money and time than you had planned or anticipated for. For me, I like to make a plan and return to that plan even if it is just mentally to reassess where I am at in the process. If I feel directionless and unmotivated, it is probably because I have strayed from my original plan or I am realizing the cost benefit ratio is changing.
I really don't have a set guide for when to drop a project and when to keep it. I spent about 1 year working on an ebook site to help unpublished authors and ended up putting the idea on the shelf. That was a really hard thing for me to do, especially after all the work and time invested. Fortunately, I had only invested a tiny sum of money into the project, mostly due to the limited budget. The project could have easily cost me a lot. It was a hard choice to tuck the idea away, knowing it would probably never see the light of day again, but I had a couple quiet secessions with myself. I really dug deep and asked if that project was something I really wanted to pursuit, or did I want to cut my losses while they were still minimal and move on? I chose the latter and have been thankful ever since.
On the reverse side, I made the choice to stick to my guns and pursuit other ideas that have paid off much more in the long run. It is a hard choice to stick with a dream as you are watching your bank account dip into the double digits territory and just hope that some of the auctions you have on eBay are enough to carry you through til things pan out. It was slowly becoming a reality that I might have to pick up a part-time job to make sure I was able to pay my bills. Just for future reference, potatoes are $.67 a pound, hard not to be able to eat when some food is that cheap. I truly loved what I was pursuing and was going to stick with it until the last possible second. After being humbled by an extremely tight budget fit for a college student it did not take much to feel rich. This is why it is so important to be doing something you really love and would do even without pay. When times get hard, that desire to continue on will be the driving force to carry you through. What separates most successful people from others is the ability to make it through the dip, because I can promise you there will be dips when you start to question your sanity.
If you have forgotten what sunlight looks like it, might be time to reconsider how much effort you are putting into your project. I made the decision to have the freedom and lifestyle that working online allowed. Recently, I made a trip to visit and help family for 3 weeks, and nothing changed as far as my business was concerned. In fact, I saw a slight boom in business while away. This is not always the case, depending on the kind of work you have chosen or are preparing to choose online. My goal was not to choose a line of work that I had to babysit on a regular basis but rather work that molded to my desires and lifestyle goals. Lifestyle design is a really important aspect of choosing what online ventures you pursuit. If you are interested in lifestyle design, I highly recommend Tim Ferriss's 4 Hour Work Week.
Having determination and a love for what you are doing is vital for making it through the rough times when things are highly uncertain. I lived off of about $800-900 a month for a few months in order to realize my dream of working online and the flexibility it brings. This is another reason to have a financial buffer while you make the switch. My reasoning of quitting my job and jumping in head first was to force myself to really work from day 1 at making money. I made a sign and posted it right above my computer that read "will this make you money?" For me, it was sink or swim, because there was no way I was going to return to my previous job, and I was willing to do anything to avoid another job just like it. This was not the easiest way to make the switch and being young without many liabilities aided in my ability to approach my new career this way. I would highly recommend for anyone else thinking of making the switch to really analyze your situation and make the proper preparations to ensure your success. Mostly, that involves saving a lot of money or phase out the old job while phasing in your new career as it becomes more profitable.
I can't encourage you enough to pursuit your dreams, whatever they are. The neatest thing about those dreams and the things that you love is you can make good money doing what you would do for free for a friend. The biggest thing is asking the right questions and really targeting the people you most want to work with. I love helping small businesses because I can relate with so many of them and their desire to succeed in what they do. I get a sense of reward and accomplishment watching others succeed and knowing I was able to assist them in their efforts.
http://readbud.com/Articles/Article-Marketing/How-to-make-the-switch-to-working-online-Part-4
Think of your bottom line and how much time it is worth in order to earn that money. If you spend a lot of time just to earn a little return, you are fighting a losing battle. On the other hand, if you have to spend 100 hours without seeing any profit in order to make much larger returns, that is the better deal. Most of successful work online involves more front end work and higher rewards after the time, energy and effort are put in. This is why most make money online schemes don't work, because they promise the returns before the effort. Rarely is this ever true. Like I said in the earlier posts, there is no magic bullet. The key is determining when to hold onto those projects and goals as they start costing you more money and time than you had planned or anticipated for. For me, I like to make a plan and return to that plan even if it is just mentally to reassess where I am at in the process. If I feel directionless and unmotivated, it is probably because I have strayed from my original plan or I am realizing the cost benefit ratio is changing.
I really don't have a set guide for when to drop a project and when to keep it. I spent about 1 year working on an ebook site to help unpublished authors and ended up putting the idea on the shelf. That was a really hard thing for me to do, especially after all the work and time invested. Fortunately, I had only invested a tiny sum of money into the project, mostly due to the limited budget. The project could have easily cost me a lot. It was a hard choice to tuck the idea away, knowing it would probably never see the light of day again, but I had a couple quiet secessions with myself. I really dug deep and asked if that project was something I really wanted to pursuit, or did I want to cut my losses while they were still minimal and move on? I chose the latter and have been thankful ever since.
On the reverse side, I made the choice to stick to my guns and pursuit other ideas that have paid off much more in the long run. It is a hard choice to stick with a dream as you are watching your bank account dip into the double digits territory and just hope that some of the auctions you have on eBay are enough to carry you through til things pan out. It was slowly becoming a reality that I might have to pick up a part-time job to make sure I was able to pay my bills. Just for future reference, potatoes are $.67 a pound, hard not to be able to eat when some food is that cheap. I truly loved what I was pursuing and was going to stick with it until the last possible second. After being humbled by an extremely tight budget fit for a college student it did not take much to feel rich. This is why it is so important to be doing something you really love and would do even without pay. When times get hard, that desire to continue on will be the driving force to carry you through. What separates most successful people from others is the ability to make it through the dip, because I can promise you there will be dips when you start to question your sanity.
If you have forgotten what sunlight looks like it, might be time to reconsider how much effort you are putting into your project. I made the decision to have the freedom and lifestyle that working online allowed. Recently, I made a trip to visit and help family for 3 weeks, and nothing changed as far as my business was concerned. In fact, I saw a slight boom in business while away. This is not always the case, depending on the kind of work you have chosen or are preparing to choose online. My goal was not to choose a line of work that I had to babysit on a regular basis but rather work that molded to my desires and lifestyle goals. Lifestyle design is a really important aspect of choosing what online ventures you pursuit. If you are interested in lifestyle design, I highly recommend Tim Ferriss's 4 Hour Work Week.
Having determination and a love for what you are doing is vital for making it through the rough times when things are highly uncertain. I lived off of about $800-900 a month for a few months in order to realize my dream of working online and the flexibility it brings. This is another reason to have a financial buffer while you make the switch. My reasoning of quitting my job and jumping in head first was to force myself to really work from day 1 at making money. I made a sign and posted it right above my computer that read "will this make you money?" For me, it was sink or swim, because there was no way I was going to return to my previous job, and I was willing to do anything to avoid another job just like it. This was not the easiest way to make the switch and being young without many liabilities aided in my ability to approach my new career this way. I would highly recommend for anyone else thinking of making the switch to really analyze your situation and make the proper preparations to ensure your success. Mostly, that involves saving a lot of money or phase out the old job while phasing in your new career as it becomes more profitable.
I can't encourage you enough to pursuit your dreams, whatever they are. The neatest thing about those dreams and the things that you love is you can make good money doing what you would do for free for a friend. The biggest thing is asking the right questions and really targeting the people you most want to work with. I love helping small businesses because I can relate with so many of them and their desire to succeed in what they do. I get a sense of reward and accomplishment watching others succeed and knowing I was able to assist them in their efforts.
http://readbud.com/Articles/Article-Marketing/How-to-make-the-switch-to-working-online-Part-4
Why Most Newsletters Don't Work - part two: For Effective Newsletter Content, Get Real
Client newsletters do generate results. Yet, many business people who issue a newsletter find it frustrating to generate the results they want. This is why most newsletters are cancelled after a few issues. Many eventually conclude that newsletters just don't work. Those not willing to give up on their newsletter need to get real about newsletter content.
what newsletters do
A good newsletter might never cause a spike in sales. However, if you watch other indicators over time – such as business per client, referrals from newsletter readers, and client retention – you would see how a newsletter performs as an investment in client relations. Newsletters shape market perception. Good newsletters help to build and maintain hundreds of business relationships with meaningful engagement.
What to say?
For many, a newsletter is demanding and time-consuming – especially when content that the issuer wants to communicate elicits difficult-to-measure results.
Some report news to readers already swamped with news. Some offer persuasive articles or clever commentaries to readers who really don't need to be sold. Some offer lists, tables, and graphs. These, too, come with the risk that readers might not care. So, if a newsletter is best used as a tool of brand management, with what content?
the cost of off-the-shelf content
In a lot of situations, it is tempting just to buy good content, if you can find it easily at a reasonable price. But what is the reputation-shaping effect? Your clients can tell when your message is not really yours.
meaningful, brand aligned
Because a client newsletter is a medium for business communication, and because it assumes a business relationship between the issuer and the reader, a newsletter is a medium for client relationship management. Your clients can tell when you're involved in your newsletter. Hence the need for original, brand-aligned newsletter content.
the cost of do-it-yourself content
Some decide to keep the connection with clients alive by developing their own content. This entails a commitment to produce meaningful, well-written content on schedule. Many then face these basic assumptions:
1. You need to have talent and creativity.
2. You have to provide value in the newsletter, such as advice or insider tips or discounts.
3. You must educate readers on points related to your business
Put into practice, these basic assumptions stop some from issuing their own newsletters. These are worth considering, but are not must-haves. What readers really need from you is heart.
survey says…
Gallup research shows that the key to wooing customers isn't price or even product. It's emotion. Gallup developed an eleven-question survey to understand client engagement (CE 11). Eight of those questions (73%) probe emotional engagement. (Alec Applebaum: The Constant Customer, Gallup Management Journal 06/17/01)
emotional engagement
When you engage clients emotionally – which often follows from showing your own emotional engagement – that leads to more loyal, profitable business. People go out of their way to deal with businesses whose values they respect, whose style they like, and whose sincerity they like. When people believe in you, they demonstrate it with loyalty to you and bring more business to you.
medium for meaningful contact
When a newsletter makes people feel good about themselves in connection with the newsletter issuer (e.g. it validates their values) then it can create a feeling of connectedness. When that sense of connectedness is maintained through meaningful contact (e.g. a brand-aligned newsletter) then competitors' attempts at wooing your clients have less effect.
Why not…
honor what your clients like about you?
reflect their interests?
celebrate your connection with them?
declare the satisfaction you find dealing with them?
measure engagement
In addition to issuing an engaging business newsletter, also set reasonable performance expectations and measures. Rather than short-term sales increases, efforts to optimize newsletter performance should reflect long-term business goals, such as:
stronger client loyalty or retention.
more, higher-quality referrals.
more business per client.
get real sincerely
Newsletters are naturally brand-management tools, and good brand management is good client relations. If you think in terms of client relations – maintaining the connection and managing the client experience – then you can improve your business with a client newsletter that shows your true colors. That's getting real.
- Glenn Harrington
http://readbud.com/Articles/eZine-Marketing/Why-Most-Newsletters-Don%27t-Work-_45_-part-two_58_-For-Effective-Newsletter-Content,-Get-Real
what newsletters do
A good newsletter might never cause a spike in sales. However, if you watch other indicators over time – such as business per client, referrals from newsletter readers, and client retention – you would see how a newsletter performs as an investment in client relations. Newsletters shape market perception. Good newsletters help to build and maintain hundreds of business relationships with meaningful engagement.
What to say?
For many, a newsletter is demanding and time-consuming – especially when content that the issuer wants to communicate elicits difficult-to-measure results.
Some report news to readers already swamped with news. Some offer persuasive articles or clever commentaries to readers who really don't need to be sold. Some offer lists, tables, and graphs. These, too, come with the risk that readers might not care. So, if a newsletter is best used as a tool of brand management, with what content?
the cost of off-the-shelf content
In a lot of situations, it is tempting just to buy good content, if you can find it easily at a reasonable price. But what is the reputation-shaping effect? Your clients can tell when your message is not really yours.
meaningful, brand aligned
Because a client newsletter is a medium for business communication, and because it assumes a business relationship between the issuer and the reader, a newsletter is a medium for client relationship management. Your clients can tell when you're involved in your newsletter. Hence the need for original, brand-aligned newsletter content.
the cost of do-it-yourself content
Some decide to keep the connection with clients alive by developing their own content. This entails a commitment to produce meaningful, well-written content on schedule. Many then face these basic assumptions:
1. You need to have talent and creativity.
2. You have to provide value in the newsletter, such as advice or insider tips or discounts.
3. You must educate readers on points related to your business
Put into practice, these basic assumptions stop some from issuing their own newsletters. These are worth considering, but are not must-haves. What readers really need from you is heart.
survey says…
Gallup research shows that the key to wooing customers isn't price or even product. It's emotion. Gallup developed an eleven-question survey to understand client engagement (CE 11). Eight of those questions (73%) probe emotional engagement. (Alec Applebaum: The Constant Customer, Gallup Management Journal 06/17/01)
emotional engagement
When you engage clients emotionally – which often follows from showing your own emotional engagement – that leads to more loyal, profitable business. People go out of their way to deal with businesses whose values they respect, whose style they like, and whose sincerity they like. When people believe in you, they demonstrate it with loyalty to you and bring more business to you.
medium for meaningful contact
When a newsletter makes people feel good about themselves in connection with the newsletter issuer (e.g. it validates their values) then it can create a feeling of connectedness. When that sense of connectedness is maintained through meaningful contact (e.g. a brand-aligned newsletter) then competitors' attempts at wooing your clients have less effect.
Why not…
honor what your clients like about you?
reflect their interests?
celebrate your connection with them?
declare the satisfaction you find dealing with them?
measure engagement
In addition to issuing an engaging business newsletter, also set reasonable performance expectations and measures. Rather than short-term sales increases, efforts to optimize newsletter performance should reflect long-term business goals, such as:
stronger client loyalty or retention.
more, higher-quality referrals.
more business per client.
get real sincerely
Newsletters are naturally brand-management tools, and good brand management is good client relations. If you think in terms of client relations – maintaining the connection and managing the client experience – then you can improve your business with a client newsletter that shows your true colors. That's getting real.
- Glenn Harrington
http://readbud.com/Articles/eZine-Marketing/Why-Most-Newsletters-Don%27t-Work-_45_-part-two_58_-For-Effective-Newsletter-Content,-Get-Real
Internet Advertising Search Engine Optimization Sales Consulting Businesses
Advertising internet online provides marketing, Internet advertising, search engine optimization and sales consulting for businesses, web site promotion and lead generation. LunaGraphica provides a full range of Internet marketing services, including search engine optimization (SEO), link acquisition, banner advertising, pay-per-click (PPC) programs, and e-mail marketing. An Internet marketing company specializing in search engine optimization and pay per click advertising management could help. was founded in 1994 as an internet advertising firm specializing in increasing website visibility through successful search engine marketing strategies.
Advertising internet online provides marketing, Internet advertising, search engine optimization and sales consulting for businesses, web site promotion and lead generation. web site promote free internet advertising search engines submit url. SEO advertising and positioning services include, site optimisation, submissions and placements of websites in internet search engines. The only type of internet advertising you should be doing on search engines is pay per click.
An Internet marketing company specializing in search engine optimization and pay per click advertising management could help. LunaGraphica provides a full range of Internet marketing services, including search engine optimization (SEO), link acquisition, banner advertising, pay-per-click (PPC) programs, and e-mail marketing. If it does, you are doing something wrong!Search engine placement with Internet advertising is a good short term solution. Our website sells advertising internet resource advertising engine internet search etc.
The charts that follow track the influence of internet advertising on purchase decisions by search engine preference. Only a person who knows nothing about search engine optimization and Internet advertising can say so. was founded in 1994 as an internet advertising firm specializing in increasing website visibility through successful search engine marketing strategies.
http://www.advertising-internet-online.com/advertising-engine-internet-search/
http://www.readthenrate.com/articles/Internet-Business/Internet-Marketing/Internet-Advertising-Search-Engine-Optimization-Sales-Consulting-Businesses
Advertising internet online provides marketing, Internet advertising, search engine optimization and sales consulting for businesses, web site promotion and lead generation. web site promote free internet advertising search engines submit url. SEO advertising and positioning services include, site optimisation, submissions and placements of websites in internet search engines. The only type of internet advertising you should be doing on search engines is pay per click.
An Internet marketing company specializing in search engine optimization and pay per click advertising management could help. LunaGraphica provides a full range of Internet marketing services, including search engine optimization (SEO), link acquisition, banner advertising, pay-per-click (PPC) programs, and e-mail marketing. If it does, you are doing something wrong!Search engine placement with Internet advertising is a good short term solution. Our website sells advertising internet resource advertising engine internet search etc.
The charts that follow track the influence of internet advertising on purchase decisions by search engine preference. Only a person who knows nothing about search engine optimization and Internet advertising can say so. was founded in 1994 as an internet advertising firm specializing in increasing website visibility through successful search engine marketing strategies.
http://www.advertising-internet-online.com/advertising-engine-internet-search/
http://www.readthenrate.com/articles/Internet-Business/Internet-Marketing/Internet-Advertising-Search-Engine-Optimization-Sales-Consulting-Businesses
Does Your Business Need a Newsletter?
If you are not yet using a newsletter as a part of your internet marketing efforts then you are missing out on potential and existing customers becoming valuable long-term buyers.
Newsletters provide an effective tool for collecting interested visitors' email addresses and converting them into buyers. They also are a great vehicle for keeping in touch with your most valued contact - previous customers. How?
NEWSLETTERS KEEP CUSTOMERS
When you have a customer buy from you, but no newsletter to follow up, than you are virtually handing him or her back to your competitors. Of course, if the service was good and the product memorable they may come back, but what if you have a new product that your existing customer may wish to buy and they do not know about it? What if they lose your website address? What if they just forget about you? A newsletter will prevent these things from happening.
HOW OFTEN?
That depends on various factors. Some businesses contact their subscribers as often as every day, others as infrequently as several times per year. What works for you depends a lot on what you are selling, what information you can give them, how often your subscribers will want to hear from you, etc.
A good rule of thumb for many businesses is once per week. Twice a month if you really feel that is the most you can do. More often and the customer may unsubscribe or routinely delete your messages. Less often and you're allowing your competition the chance to win over your potential customer.<
WHAT DO I WRITE ABOUT?
Are you very informed on the product or service? Do you have a lot of contacts? Can you point out related products or services they might be interested in?
You do not need a long newsletter. A sale alert or announcement of a new service or product can do just as well for some businesses, while others find a tips format more suitable. Industry news or 'How to...' and 'Top 5...' topics are a good idea and always try to make a connection between the newsletter and your product or service. Subscribe to several competitors' newsletters (they will surely be subscribing to yours). Use a free email account to subscribe and see what they are providing their customers.
KEEP IT CONSISTENT
It's amazing the amount of newsletters that abound online. Because of this subscribers can forget which ones are legitimate and which are spam.
Keep your format consistent so your newsletter becomes visibly familiar. Also indicate that the subscriber requested the information and provide an unsubscribe link on EVERY issue. You must do this if you want to limit complaints or spam reports.
Your newsletter deserves time and attention - it is the voice of you and your business and will help you to build relationships with your customers (and potential customers) in a way that no other tool can.
http://readbud.com/Articles/eZine-Marketing/Does-Your-Business-Need-a-Newsletter_63_
Newsletters provide an effective tool for collecting interested visitors' email addresses and converting them into buyers. They also are a great vehicle for keeping in touch with your most valued contact - previous customers. How?
NEWSLETTERS KEEP CUSTOMERS
When you have a customer buy from you, but no newsletter to follow up, than you are virtually handing him or her back to your competitors. Of course, if the service was good and the product memorable they may come back, but what if you have a new product that your existing customer may wish to buy and they do not know about it? What if they lose your website address? What if they just forget about you? A newsletter will prevent these things from happening.
HOW OFTEN?
That depends on various factors. Some businesses contact their subscribers as often as every day, others as infrequently as several times per year. What works for you depends a lot on what you are selling, what information you can give them, how often your subscribers will want to hear from you, etc.
A good rule of thumb for many businesses is once per week. Twice a month if you really feel that is the most you can do. More often and the customer may unsubscribe or routinely delete your messages. Less often and you're allowing your competition the chance to win over your potential customer.<
WHAT DO I WRITE ABOUT?
Are you very informed on the product or service? Do you have a lot of contacts? Can you point out related products or services they might be interested in?
You do not need a long newsletter. A sale alert or announcement of a new service or product can do just as well for some businesses, while others find a tips format more suitable. Industry news or 'How to...' and 'Top 5...' topics are a good idea and always try to make a connection between the newsletter and your product or service. Subscribe to several competitors' newsletters (they will surely be subscribing to yours). Use a free email account to subscribe and see what they are providing their customers.
KEEP IT CONSISTENT
It's amazing the amount of newsletters that abound online. Because of this subscribers can forget which ones are legitimate and which are spam.
Keep your format consistent so your newsletter becomes visibly familiar. Also indicate that the subscriber requested the information and provide an unsubscribe link on EVERY issue. You must do this if you want to limit complaints or spam reports.
Your newsletter deserves time and attention - it is the voice of you and your business and will help you to build relationships with your customers (and potential customers) in a way that no other tool can.
http://readbud.com/Articles/eZine-Marketing/Does-Your-Business-Need-a-Newsletter_63_
Greet While You Vend
Sending a simple hi and hello to a long time friend or someone you just met at the train station has become much easier these days. You can just log on to your computer, type you message and click the send button. You can also just dial his or her number and in an instant you can talk to him or her and extend your greeting. Modern technology has indeed changed the way people communicate with each other. But just the same, even though online cards, emails and chats are on the rise these days, the potential of greeting cards can never be overlooked.
For business owners, being a good boss and businessman means more than asking an employee to make him a cup of coffee or doing business with a customer today and forget about them in the next couple of months. It means having constant communication with them and remembering them even in ordinary days.
Sending greeting cards to family and friends is a custom that goes back about two hundred years ago. In the past, they were mostly sent by the rich and the elite. Most of the greeting cards were hand delivered and quite expensive but they gained mass popularity with the introduction of the postage stamp. Today, greeting cards are not only sent to family and friends but to customers as well as part of a company's marketing strategy. Business greeting cards can be used as follow-ups to referrals, meetings and important dates.
Choosing the right greeting card for a business is very important. This is an opportunity for you to make a real impression and to make your customers feel valued and appreciated. Treating your customers with care will help you grow your business. That is why sending the right card makes a lot of difference.
To create a business greeting card that leaves a lasting impression, include messages that will be remembered by the recipient. Keep your personal notes short and sweet to keep the card from looking cluttered. Additionally, make your card funny and conversational. Show off your sense of humor and make it sound like you are talking to the person reading it.
There are a lot of things you can include in your greeting card. You can include photos, use your logo and write your own personal message. And when it comes printing, there you have a lot of options. You can have your greeting card in full color, foil printed, and embossed among others. When you have decided what your card needs and what your prospects are, you can choose which among the printing options accomplishes your needs.
There is no limit to what you can do with your greeting card. So get your creative juices flowing and produce cards that will create a long lasting impression.
http://readbud.com/Articles/Marketing/Greet-While-You-Vend
For business owners, being a good boss and businessman means more than asking an employee to make him a cup of coffee or doing business with a customer today and forget about them in the next couple of months. It means having constant communication with them and remembering them even in ordinary days.
Sending greeting cards to family and friends is a custom that goes back about two hundred years ago. In the past, they were mostly sent by the rich and the elite. Most of the greeting cards were hand delivered and quite expensive but they gained mass popularity with the introduction of the postage stamp. Today, greeting cards are not only sent to family and friends but to customers as well as part of a company's marketing strategy. Business greeting cards can be used as follow-ups to referrals, meetings and important dates.
Choosing the right greeting card for a business is very important. This is an opportunity for you to make a real impression and to make your customers feel valued and appreciated. Treating your customers with care will help you grow your business. That is why sending the right card makes a lot of difference.
To create a business greeting card that leaves a lasting impression, include messages that will be remembered by the recipient. Keep your personal notes short and sweet to keep the card from looking cluttered. Additionally, make your card funny and conversational. Show off your sense of humor and make it sound like you are talking to the person reading it.
There are a lot of things you can include in your greeting card. You can include photos, use your logo and write your own personal message. And when it comes printing, there you have a lot of options. You can have your greeting card in full color, foil printed, and embossed among others. When you have decided what your card needs and what your prospects are, you can choose which among the printing options accomplishes your needs.
There is no limit to what you can do with your greeting card. So get your creative juices flowing and produce cards that will create a long lasting impression.
http://readbud.com/Articles/Marketing/Greet-While-You-Vend
The Migration of the Craft Business to Online Marketing
It might seem like an oxymoron-being one of the nation's premier handcrafters of wooden jewelry boxes, as well as an online entrepreneur who e-tails the majority of my products. The evolution of the handcrafting world and its migration to online marketing may sound like a strange juxtaposition, but in fact, has become a significant contributing factor to the sustainability of the craft industry in the US. I should know; my business wouldn't be here today if I had not made the transition. If you are in the craft business and have not created an online presence, read on.
A little background may be helpful, as my career path was somewhat unique. In the mid-80's I dropped out of law school and moved to a monastery in the northeast. Lucky for me, it had an incredibly well-equipped woodshop. What began as a contemplative hobby quickly evolved into a vehicle for me to explore and express my connection to spirit. As I entered into a quiet and meditative state, details that might escape others' notice became prominent and called for my attention. My love for the spiritual qualities of balance, beauty, and getting things "naturally right" helped me through the difficult years of mastering the disciplines of woodworking.
My passion for woodworking soon found an outlet when I was asked to create some designs for jewelry boxes for a friend. As I experimented with various design features for the jewelry boxes, I began thinking about the possibility of making a living by building containers for precious objects. A vision of making outrageously beautiful pieces that would that would touch people's hearts and remind them of their interior lives began to take hold in my mind. In 1994 I moved to Durango, Colorado and started my business, Russell Pool Fine Woodworking. My prototypes for jewelry boxes quickly became popular as I began to wholesale them to high end craft galleries and museums around the United States.
In order to reach as many galleries as possible, I attended numerous juried wholesale shows, such as the Rosen Group in Philadelphia and the American Craft Association show in Baltimore. I also attended some local retail shows in the southwest. While I was successful in attaining my goal of having my boxes sold in the very best galleries in the country, I found that despite hard work, long hours, and outstanding product, it was difficult to make ends meet and to justify the amount of personal and financial investment.
In 1999 the world wide web, as it was called then, was just beginning to be taken seriously as a marketing tool. I began to imagine what it might be like to sell directly to the customer instead of through galleries. While it concerned me to give up the security of the standing orders each show generated, the business to business marketing model and accompanying margins simply were not sustainable. I decided to create a web site and my wife and I worked together to design, write copy and create product photographs. I felt a bit like an explorer in the New World, not a lot of maps and no one in my situation to ask for advice from. But the business case for the site was compelling-selling my products directly to customers at twice their wholesale price made the margins a lot more workable. The site went live that fall and I spent most of the Christmas season on the phone selling product-my site delivered solid financial results. And the rest is history.
Here in Durango I still spend a lot of time focused on the work I love best-making stunning wooden products, getting the details right, and talking to customers who are looking for something more than the drab, machine manufactured designs that populate most of the web. I have also had to learn a lot-about search engine optimization, for example, and how to work with web designers and other marketing experts who can ensure that I continue to use cutting edge technology in service of the enduring legacy of handcrafting. Handcrafting and online e-tailing-it is an odd juxtaposition and yet without it, my work as a handcrafter would have been curtailed many years ago.
http://readbud.com/Articles/eCommerce/The-Migration-of-the-Craft-Business-to-Online-Marketing
A little background may be helpful, as my career path was somewhat unique. In the mid-80's I dropped out of law school and moved to a monastery in the northeast. Lucky for me, it had an incredibly well-equipped woodshop. What began as a contemplative hobby quickly evolved into a vehicle for me to explore and express my connection to spirit. As I entered into a quiet and meditative state, details that might escape others' notice became prominent and called for my attention. My love for the spiritual qualities of balance, beauty, and getting things "naturally right" helped me through the difficult years of mastering the disciplines of woodworking.
My passion for woodworking soon found an outlet when I was asked to create some designs for jewelry boxes for a friend. As I experimented with various design features for the jewelry boxes, I began thinking about the possibility of making a living by building containers for precious objects. A vision of making outrageously beautiful pieces that would that would touch people's hearts and remind them of their interior lives began to take hold in my mind. In 1994 I moved to Durango, Colorado and started my business, Russell Pool Fine Woodworking. My prototypes for jewelry boxes quickly became popular as I began to wholesale them to high end craft galleries and museums around the United States.
In order to reach as many galleries as possible, I attended numerous juried wholesale shows, such as the Rosen Group in Philadelphia and the American Craft Association show in Baltimore. I also attended some local retail shows in the southwest. While I was successful in attaining my goal of having my boxes sold in the very best galleries in the country, I found that despite hard work, long hours, and outstanding product, it was difficult to make ends meet and to justify the amount of personal and financial investment.
In 1999 the world wide web, as it was called then, was just beginning to be taken seriously as a marketing tool. I began to imagine what it might be like to sell directly to the customer instead of through galleries. While it concerned me to give up the security of the standing orders each show generated, the business to business marketing model and accompanying margins simply were not sustainable. I decided to create a web site and my wife and I worked together to design, write copy and create product photographs. I felt a bit like an explorer in the New World, not a lot of maps and no one in my situation to ask for advice from. But the business case for the site was compelling-selling my products directly to customers at twice their wholesale price made the margins a lot more workable. The site went live that fall and I spent most of the Christmas season on the phone selling product-my site delivered solid financial results. And the rest is history.
Here in Durango I still spend a lot of time focused on the work I love best-making stunning wooden products, getting the details right, and talking to customers who are looking for something more than the drab, machine manufactured designs that populate most of the web. I have also had to learn a lot-about search engine optimization, for example, and how to work with web designers and other marketing experts who can ensure that I continue to use cutting edge technology in service of the enduring legacy of handcrafting. Handcrafting and online e-tailing-it is an odd juxtaposition and yet without it, my work as a handcrafter would have been curtailed many years ago.
http://readbud.com/Articles/eCommerce/The-Migration-of-the-Craft-Business-to-Online-Marketing
Free eBay Business Trainings: Learn In Minutes What you can Learn in Terms of Years!
eBay sellers need to be subjected from time-to-time with free eBay business training. By availing of free eBay business training, the eBay sellers, whether part time or full time will get new updates on important things that will determine their success in Selling on eBay, and Other Online Auctions.
There's the most remarkable free conference we learned about that focus on product acquisitions and selling online. The speaker, Craig Meyer, is the real deal.
If you have ever thought about running a business from your home, This free eBay business training conference by Meyer is a "don't miss" hour and 1/2 live presentation. There is also the option to take the recorded version of the presentation at your own pace. The auction secrets you'll learn will cut years off your eBay learning curve.
During the free eBay business training, Meyer took the time to distinguish the attendants of his conference and get them to share their personal experiences.
One of the students, Chris Twig, shared that he started only a year ago. Craig's team located a product, negotiated terms, and is now successfully marketing his website. He now only sells products by the wholesale truckload, and his product is featured on QVC. He doesn't even need to carry inventory anymore!
Thinking about how much people are earning on eBay? On free eBay business trainings, like the ones given by Craig Meyer. so I urge you to take the time to listen to Craig Meyer, a pro who walks-the-walk.
After Meeyer's free eBay business training, he gives you an auction toolkit of the latest auction tools that will help you succeed on eBay and avoid all the common auction traps.
Once you come out of free eBay business training, your eyes will be opened up round for good sources and programs that's designed to bolster your online auction campaigns.
You will know how to accquire programs like Fotokiss. Fotokiss is a program which helps you upload your photos and blow them up to make them stand out to customers. You won't need expensive programs like photoshop. This software suite will help you blow your competition off the map.
<
And best yet, it's all free! You are granted this as token of appreciation in your attendance to the free eBay business training event that focuses on making big money with eBay and the Internet.
Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced seller, this free eBay business training is like a shoe, where one size fits all. In a span of 90-minutes online presentation your mind is filled with newer ideas, a lot more resources and selling secrets you have not encountered before.
This free eBay business training is conducted from Mayer's office right in the comfort of your home or office on your personal computer. All you need is a phone and computer with an internet connection.
When you come out of this free eBay business training conference you begin to imagine being an eBay Online Auction power-seller earning $5,000 to $10,000 a month. The training will give you the proper boost to know that anyone can do it with the right product niche. Thousands of regular people just like you and I are doing this right now and so can you!
What you will learn in the free eBay business trainings:
1. Secrets of creating ads
2. Carving a product niche with high profit margins!
3. Why you should not work with product consolidators!
4. Dealing with manufacturers to drop-ship directly
to your customers
5. Marketing only one or two products and sell multiples
of such over and over
6. The reasons you need a website and where you can get a free one.
7. Knowing a systematic approach to making big money using eBay and
the Internet.
Take advantage of free eBay business trainings whenever possible. Why take two or three years to learn what you can during free eBay business trainings online. It works if you make it work.
Most probabaly the first thing you'll ever learn in these free eBay business trainings is your willingness to put up five to ten more hours a week into your business. You'll also learn that in order to succeed to the heights of glory in the eBay business, you need to work smarter not harder!
http://readbud.com/Articles/eCommerce/Free-eBay-Business-Trainings_58_-Learn-In-Minutes-What-you-can-Learn-in-Terms-of-Years_33_
There's the most remarkable free conference we learned about that focus on product acquisitions and selling online. The speaker, Craig Meyer, is the real deal.
If you have ever thought about running a business from your home, This free eBay business training conference by Meyer is a "don't miss" hour and 1/2 live presentation. There is also the option to take the recorded version of the presentation at your own pace. The auction secrets you'll learn will cut years off your eBay learning curve.
During the free eBay business training, Meyer took the time to distinguish the attendants of his conference and get them to share their personal experiences.
One of the students, Chris Twig, shared that he started only a year ago. Craig's team located a product, negotiated terms, and is now successfully marketing his website. He now only sells products by the wholesale truckload, and his product is featured on QVC. He doesn't even need to carry inventory anymore!
Thinking about how much people are earning on eBay? On free eBay business trainings, like the ones given by Craig Meyer. so I urge you to take the time to listen to Craig Meyer, a pro who walks-the-walk.
After Meeyer's free eBay business training, he gives you an auction toolkit of the latest auction tools that will help you succeed on eBay and avoid all the common auction traps.
Once you come out of free eBay business training, your eyes will be opened up round for good sources and programs that's designed to bolster your online auction campaigns.
You will know how to accquire programs like Fotokiss. Fotokiss is a program which helps you upload your photos and blow them up to make them stand out to customers. You won't need expensive programs like photoshop. This software suite will help you blow your competition off the map.
<
And best yet, it's all free! You are granted this as token of appreciation in your attendance to the free eBay business training event that focuses on making big money with eBay and the Internet.
Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced seller, this free eBay business training is like a shoe, where one size fits all. In a span of 90-minutes online presentation your mind is filled with newer ideas, a lot more resources and selling secrets you have not encountered before.
This free eBay business training is conducted from Mayer's office right in the comfort of your home or office on your personal computer. All you need is a phone and computer with an internet connection.
When you come out of this free eBay business training conference you begin to imagine being an eBay Online Auction power-seller earning $5,000 to $10,000 a month. The training will give you the proper boost to know that anyone can do it with the right product niche. Thousands of regular people just like you and I are doing this right now and so can you!
What you will learn in the free eBay business trainings:
1. Secrets of creating ads
2. Carving a product niche with high profit margins!
3. Why you should not work with product consolidators!
4. Dealing with manufacturers to drop-ship directly
to your customers
5. Marketing only one or two products and sell multiples
of such over and over
6. The reasons you need a website and where you can get a free one.
7. Knowing a systematic approach to making big money using eBay and
the Internet.
Take advantage of free eBay business trainings whenever possible. Why take two or three years to learn what you can during free eBay business trainings online. It works if you make it work.
Most probabaly the first thing you'll ever learn in these free eBay business trainings is your willingness to put up five to ten more hours a week into your business. You'll also learn that in order to succeed to the heights of glory in the eBay business, you need to work smarter not harder!
http://readbud.com/Articles/eCommerce/Free-eBay-Business-Trainings_58_-Learn-In-Minutes-What-you-can-Learn-in-Terms-of-Years_33_
Shopping carts and online stores
Setting up an internet shop can be very confusing and bewildering, especially if you are someone with very limited technical knowledge. With hoards and hoards of solutions available, offered by thousands upon thousands of website design companies and software developers, it is easy to choose a system that may not necessarily suit your business. Many companies have spent a lot of money on their ecommerce website solution, only to find that it does not work for their business. Unfortunately for them, this usually means a trip back to the drawing board, arguments with their developer and inevitably the need to spend more money so that the site will work in exactly the way they want to.
So what can be done to make sure that the shopping cart solution you choose is the right one for your business? First of all, you must have a clear idea of what you want to achieve from the site. Spend some time to make good notes and write down a clear and concise plan and method of operation for your site. If will help very much if you take a good look at your competitor's websites, especially the successful ones.
Visit your competitors sites, browse through the various sections, making notes about the structure of the pages ,the site navigation and anything else of interest. Ask yourself questions as you check through the site. Are you able to quickly find the items you are searching for? Is the checkout system simple to use? These are just some of the elements you should be looking at. Compile as much information as you can, take the best constituents and combine them with your own ideas to create a well defined and structured plan of what you need. Once you have put together a well thought out site plan with all the required features, it will make up good a brief that can be worked on by a website designer.
How you go about turning your site plan into an actual website will depend on the budget you have to spend. There are many options that can be explored, from shopping cart software that will enable you to build your online store yourself through ready built, off the shelf solutions right up to completely bespoke programmed websites built from the ground up by a competent web development company.
What ever route you take, you should spend time researching the various systems and improving your knowledge so that you can make the right decision before committing yourself to spending lots of time or money on your project.
Although you can spend a small fortune getting your on line store up a running, you really don't have to. There are simple to use systems which use tried and tested technology to get you up and running in a short period of time. Many of these systems don't require you to have any technical knowledge either.
To take credit card payment for goods online you will have to make use of a web based payment gateway. There are many to choose from but all of the payment processing solutions make profits by charging you a percentage of the transaction fee, so you must make sure to take this into consideration when calculating you profit margins. Look for an ecommerce systems that is readily configured to use the payment gateway you choose. This way, once you have opened your merchant, account all you need do to start to take credit card payments through your website is enter your merchant account number into a web page form in your site admin.
http://readbud.com/Articles/eCommerce/Shopping-carts-and-online-stores
So what can be done to make sure that the shopping cart solution you choose is the right one for your business? First of all, you must have a clear idea of what you want to achieve from the site. Spend some time to make good notes and write down a clear and concise plan and method of operation for your site. If will help very much if you take a good look at your competitor's websites, especially the successful ones.
Visit your competitors sites, browse through the various sections, making notes about the structure of the pages ,the site navigation and anything else of interest. Ask yourself questions as you check through the site. Are you able to quickly find the items you are searching for? Is the checkout system simple to use? These are just some of the elements you should be looking at. Compile as much information as you can, take the best constituents and combine them with your own ideas to create a well defined and structured plan of what you need. Once you have put together a well thought out site plan with all the required features, it will make up good a brief that can be worked on by a website designer.
How you go about turning your site plan into an actual website will depend on the budget you have to spend. There are many options that can be explored, from shopping cart software that will enable you to build your online store yourself through ready built, off the shelf solutions right up to completely bespoke programmed websites built from the ground up by a competent web development company.
What ever route you take, you should spend time researching the various systems and improving your knowledge so that you can make the right decision before committing yourself to spending lots of time or money on your project.
Although you can spend a small fortune getting your on line store up a running, you really don't have to. There are simple to use systems which use tried and tested technology to get you up and running in a short period of time. Many of these systems don't require you to have any technical knowledge either.
To take credit card payment for goods online you will have to make use of a web based payment gateway. There are many to choose from but all of the payment processing solutions make profits by charging you a percentage of the transaction fee, so you must make sure to take this into consideration when calculating you profit margins. Look for an ecommerce systems that is readily configured to use the payment gateway you choose. This way, once you have opened your merchant, account all you need do to start to take credit card payments through your website is enter your merchant account number into a web page form in your site admin.
http://readbud.com/Articles/eCommerce/Shopping-carts-and-online-stores
A Powerful Tool
Article marketing has many benefits which may include establishing yourself as an Author, lead generation, more traffic to your web site, improved search engine position and is becoming a necessary tool for doing business on the World Wide Web. Article marketing has become a proven strategy for raising your link popularity. It can also be a cheap way to compete with larger companies in your field.
It's best to write on topics that are closely related to your business type, while making sure that the article provides good content for the reader, no one wants to read a sales page. Every article that you write will need a resource box section that will contain your sales info including an (anchor text) link or two pointing to your Web site. You could have a terrific product and a wonderful sales strategy, but without the targeted traffic your online business could be going no-where.
You can take advantage of a ton of free article submission sites on the internet, where you can submit your articles for free, some also offer software and services to help in the process. Once approved, the sites will make your articles available for distribution and publication to ezines, webmasters etc... Now there is no more need to beg for reciprocal link exchanges, pay for text links, or spend hours posting free ads to link farms that no one will read anyway. Articles, written yourself, are becoming the fastest and cheapest way to see results from your efforts.
When done properly, article marketing can be a very powerful tool to drive loads of targeted traffic to your web site. Whether your business is brand new or you have been in business for a while, you can gain new customers from marketing your own articles. To be the most effective, article marketing should just be part of a larger, more comprehensive SEO strategy. Remember, the goal of successful marketing is increased business and most importantly profit and this can be achieved with the help of article marketing.
It's best to write on topics that are closely related to your business type, while making sure that the article provides good content for the reader, no one wants to read a sales page. Every article that you write will need a resource box section that will contain your sales info including an (anchor text) link or two pointing to your Web site. You could have a terrific product and a wonderful sales strategy, but without the targeted traffic your online business could be going no-where.
You can take advantage of a ton of free article submission sites on the internet, where you can submit your articles for free, some also offer software and services to help in the process. Once approved, the sites will make your articles available for distribution and publication to ezines, webmasters etc... Now there is no more need to beg for reciprocal link exchanges, pay for text links, or spend hours posting free ads to link farms that no one will read anyway. Articles, written yourself, are becoming the fastest and cheapest way to see results from your efforts.
When done properly, article marketing can be a very powerful tool to drive loads of targeted traffic to your web site. Whether your business is brand new or you have been in business for a while, you can gain new customers from marketing your own articles. To be the most effective, article marketing should just be part of a larger, more comprehensive SEO strategy. Remember, the goal of successful marketing is increased business and most importantly profit and this can be achieved with the help of article marketing.
How to make sure that your book idea is the next best seller
Everyone has a unique story to tell. From explaining business processes to revealing our personal history, we all have a natural desire to share our experiences with the world. As a result, bookstore shelves are packed with numerous titles that promise to entertain, enlighten, and educate readers.
Perhaps, then, the old saying that "everyone has at least one book in them" is true. If so, how do you know whether your current idea really is book worthy or if it needs some fine-tuning to have maximum marketability?
Before you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), put your book idea to the test. Use the following questions as a way to hone your idea's development and create a manuscript destined for the best-seller list.
• Can you state your book's purpose in 10 words or less?
Many new authors face the challenge of wanting to give too much information at once. Instead of focusing on one specific idea, they try to wrap multiple concepts into one book. This approach not only makes it difficult to organize your book, but it also overwhelms your readers.
With any good book, you can state the book's specific purpose in 10 words or less. Realize that your purpose is not the same as your theme or plot. The book's purpose is what you specifically want the reader to do or think as a result of reading your book. Now, a statement such as "to live a better life" or "to run a better business" is not specific. A purpose is not a generalization. It's a specific action that you motivate the reader to embark upon.
For example, if you're writing a business book, your purpose should be to help your readers improve one specific business function, such as its marketing efforts, its customer service, its project management, etc. Your purpose should not be "to teach business executives how to create better marketing materials, deliver improved customer service, establish long-term customer relations, increase employee retention, and locate the best new talent." That's simply too much for one book to cover. Keep your purpose specific so you can deliver targeted and useful information.
• Does your book have a specific audience?
While you certainly want a large audience to market your book to, you also want an audience that's targeted to your topic. Simply stating that your audience is "business people" or "women" or "the general public" is not a targeted audience. Why? Not all business people have the same concerns, not all women are interested in the same topics, and not everyone in the general public will be able to identify with your ideas.
When you narrow your audience to include those with a specific tie to your theme or who fit a certain demographic, you gain a marketing edge that can position your book more effectively. So instead of stating that your audience is "business people," perhaps you can narrow it down to "company owners," "middle management," or "entrepreneurs." Rather than target the broad category of "women," you'd have better sales by focusing on "women over age 50," "working moms," or "single women under age 35." All these categories consist of a large number of people, yet they are narrow enough so you can streamline your message.
• Are you saying something new?
If you want people to invest the time and money to read your book, you have to tell them something new. Too many authors attempt to reword or rehash old ideas that others have stated over and over. While you should use other people's works to substantiate claims or add credibility to your message, make sure your central idea is fresh and unique.
How can you make sure your approach is new? Incorporate the results of a survey you personally conducted. Include case studies from your own business or life. Interview people who can contribute facts and information. Add elements of yourself to punctuate your message. This is your book, so tell your story or stance on an issue.
Many authors are afraid to state a new opinion on a topic that others have covered. They think they may turn people off or offend. Remember that people like controversy, so if your book can stir things up and make people think twice about something, you'll have a greater chance of creating a buzz about your book.
• Are your writing skills up to par?
You could have the best idea in the world, but if your text is filled with errors, is poorly organized, or is difficult to understand, no one will want to read it. Before you write too much of your book, brush up on your writing skills by attending a writing class, studying a writing guide, or hiring a writing coach to help you correct your writing challenges. Also, educate yourself on what writing style appeals to your audience, and then strive to imitate that style. Gear your writing to your intended audience as much as possible.
If you're unsure whether your writing skills make the grade, consult with a professional editor or ghostwriter who can rework your writing and bring it up to publishing standards. Don't let poor writing skills ruin your best-selling idea.
Start Writing Now
Writing a book is no small undertaking. When you can answer "yes" to each of the above questions, you'll be on your way to transforming your idea into a publishable piece of work. Take the time to nurture and develop your idea before you start writing so you can be sure to create the best book possible. A little pre-planning and foresight is all it takes to give your book the most market appeal.
Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to guides on publishing, self-publishing, e-book publishing, article writing and related information, do please browse for more information at our websites.
www.infozabout.com
www.publishing.infozabout.com
source: readbud.com/Articles/eZine-Publishing/How-to-make-sure-that-your-book-idea-is-the-next-best-se
Perhaps, then, the old saying that "everyone has at least one book in them" is true. If so, how do you know whether your current idea really is book worthy or if it needs some fine-tuning to have maximum marketability?
Before you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), put your book idea to the test. Use the following questions as a way to hone your idea's development and create a manuscript destined for the best-seller list.
• Can you state your book's purpose in 10 words or less?
Many new authors face the challenge of wanting to give too much information at once. Instead of focusing on one specific idea, they try to wrap multiple concepts into one book. This approach not only makes it difficult to organize your book, but it also overwhelms your readers.
With any good book, you can state the book's specific purpose in 10 words or less. Realize that your purpose is not the same as your theme or plot. The book's purpose is what you specifically want the reader to do or think as a result of reading your book. Now, a statement such as "to live a better life" or "to run a better business" is not specific. A purpose is not a generalization. It's a specific action that you motivate the reader to embark upon.
For example, if you're writing a business book, your purpose should be to help your readers improve one specific business function, such as its marketing efforts, its customer service, its project management, etc. Your purpose should not be "to teach business executives how to create better marketing materials, deliver improved customer service, establish long-term customer relations, increase employee retention, and locate the best new talent." That's simply too much for one book to cover. Keep your purpose specific so you can deliver targeted and useful information.
• Does your book have a specific audience?
While you certainly want a large audience to market your book to, you also want an audience that's targeted to your topic. Simply stating that your audience is "business people" or "women" or "the general public" is not a targeted audience. Why? Not all business people have the same concerns, not all women are interested in the same topics, and not everyone in the general public will be able to identify with your ideas.
When you narrow your audience to include those with a specific tie to your theme or who fit a certain demographic, you gain a marketing edge that can position your book more effectively. So instead of stating that your audience is "business people," perhaps you can narrow it down to "company owners," "middle management," or "entrepreneurs." Rather than target the broad category of "women," you'd have better sales by focusing on "women over age 50," "working moms," or "single women under age 35." All these categories consist of a large number of people, yet they are narrow enough so you can streamline your message.
• Are you saying something new?
If you want people to invest the time and money to read your book, you have to tell them something new. Too many authors attempt to reword or rehash old ideas that others have stated over and over. While you should use other people's works to substantiate claims or add credibility to your message, make sure your central idea is fresh and unique.
How can you make sure your approach is new? Incorporate the results of a survey you personally conducted. Include case studies from your own business or life. Interview people who can contribute facts and information. Add elements of yourself to punctuate your message. This is your book, so tell your story or stance on an issue.
Many authors are afraid to state a new opinion on a topic that others have covered. They think they may turn people off or offend. Remember that people like controversy, so if your book can stir things up and make people think twice about something, you'll have a greater chance of creating a buzz about your book.
• Are your writing skills up to par?
You could have the best idea in the world, but if your text is filled with errors, is poorly organized, or is difficult to understand, no one will want to read it. Before you write too much of your book, brush up on your writing skills by attending a writing class, studying a writing guide, or hiring a writing coach to help you correct your writing challenges. Also, educate yourself on what writing style appeals to your audience, and then strive to imitate that style. Gear your writing to your intended audience as much as possible.
If you're unsure whether your writing skills make the grade, consult with a professional editor or ghostwriter who can rework your writing and bring it up to publishing standards. Don't let poor writing skills ruin your best-selling idea.
Start Writing Now
Writing a book is no small undertaking. When you can answer "yes" to each of the above questions, you'll be on your way to transforming your idea into a publishable piece of work. Take the time to nurture and develop your idea before you start writing so you can be sure to create the best book possible. A little pre-planning and foresight is all it takes to give your book the most market appeal.
Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to guides on publishing, self-publishing, e-book publishing, article writing and related information, do please browse for more information at our websites.
www.infozabout.com
www.publishing.infozabout.com
source: readbud.com/Articles/eZine-Publishing/How-to-make-sure-that-your-book-idea-is-the-next-best-se
Using Off-Line Marketing To Promote Your Website
Most of the Internet Marketers seem to think of website promotion as just submitting to search engines, directories, link building and advertising in ezines or banner exchanges.
It is a known fact that most people in the world use most of their time off-line. They read newspapers, magazines, listen to radio and watch TV, talk with their friends, neighbors and family. Not all the time is spent surfing on the internet.
To ignore the value of off-line marketing is to leave 65-70% of the money to be made from your websites on the table.
Some suggestions for creating an off-line advertising/publicity campaign are :
Let your local papers know that you have an unique product that will benefit the local community and you are able to help them save time, learn more and be more effective in their daily lives. This could lead to an interview with a local reporter or even with a national with your website product as a featured item and will drive people to at least see what the buzz is about.
At the very least it will create an awareness of your domain name or product in their sub-conscience mind.
Try finding a local business that is related to your product and offer them a discount voucher to give their customers for your product.
Take out small ads in local or niche magazines to advertise the product. Some ads are relatively cheap comparable to a solo ad in a main ezine.
Try handing out flyers with a special offer in the high street or find shops that would allow you to leave them on the counter for customers to pick up.
Try sending a fax broadcast to businesses that could benefit from your product. Some companies have lists of fax numbers and can send out the fax for as little as interview each.
If you can develop an unique twist or benefit of your product or service, then you could become newsworthy and even get an interview with a local reporter, who can write a better article than any you could put together for their readers or listeners.
Investigate the possibility of sending out Press Releases to the local media. Send them your product for review. Get a well known celebrity to endorse your product.
I am sure you can think of many other ways to use off-line marketing, other than sticking notes on lamp-posts to create an awareness of your site.
Good luck!
It is a known fact that most people in the world use most of their time off-line. They read newspapers, magazines, listen to radio and watch TV, talk with their friends, neighbors and family. Not all the time is spent surfing on the internet.
To ignore the value of off-line marketing is to leave 65-70% of the money to be made from your websites on the table.
Some suggestions for creating an off-line advertising/publicity campaign are :
Let your local papers know that you have an unique product that will benefit the local community and you are able to help them save time, learn more and be more effective in their daily lives. This could lead to an interview with a local reporter or even with a national with your website product as a featured item and will drive people to at least see what the buzz is about.
At the very least it will create an awareness of your domain name or product in their sub-conscience mind.
Try finding a local business that is related to your product and offer them a discount voucher to give their customers for your product.
Take out small ads in local or niche magazines to advertise the product. Some ads are relatively cheap comparable to a solo ad in a main ezine.
Try handing out flyers with a special offer in the high street or find shops that would allow you to leave them on the counter for customers to pick up.
Try sending a fax broadcast to businesses that could benefit from your product. Some companies have lists of fax numbers and can send out the fax for as little as interview each.
If you can develop an unique twist or benefit of your product or service, then you could become newsworthy and even get an interview with a local reporter, who can write a better article than any you could put together for their readers or listeners.
Investigate the possibility of sending out Press Releases to the local media. Send them your product for review. Get a well known celebrity to endorse your product.
I am sure you can think of many other ways to use off-line marketing, other than sticking notes on lamp-posts to create an awareness of your site.
Good luck!
Finding Targeted MLM Leads
The objective of multi-level marketing (MLM) is to sell the product or service and to encourage the client to become an independent distributor, who then sells the service or product as well. Leads are vital for any business to grow, and in order for the business owner to have the greatest success, the leads must be curious enough in the business opportunity to have expressed an interest. The prospects that have expressed an interest in becoming distributors are known as Targeted MLM Leads.
To find targeted MLM leads, business owners must first have ample knowledge of their target market. Are they self-starters? Do they have the commitment necessary to be part of a network? Business owners must also understand the product or service, the company mission statement, and its goals and objectives well enough to offer a good sales presentation. Delivering a presentation, however compelling, to someone that has not shown interest in the product, service, or business opportunity is a waste of time and resources.
Business owners can acquire targeted MLM leads from various sources. The most convenient sources are the companies that compile and sell lead lists. The business owner, however, should be careful when choosing a lead list source, as some may be fraudulent. Some targeted MLM leads are identified through telephone interviews or direct mail response. Business owners can also obtain targeted leads from promotional give-away programs that have high traffic. Usually a person will fill out a simple survey to claim the promotional item, and the business owner can then use the survey to assess whether he or she will be a quality lead.
source: readbud.com/Articles/Networking/Finding-Targeted-MLM-Leads
To find targeted MLM leads, business owners must first have ample knowledge of their target market. Are they self-starters? Do they have the commitment necessary to be part of a network? Business owners must also understand the product or service, the company mission statement, and its goals and objectives well enough to offer a good sales presentation. Delivering a presentation, however compelling, to someone that has not shown interest in the product, service, or business opportunity is a waste of time and resources.
Business owners can acquire targeted MLM leads from various sources. The most convenient sources are the companies that compile and sell lead lists. The business owner, however, should be careful when choosing a lead list source, as some may be fraudulent. Some targeted MLM leads are identified through telephone interviews or direct mail response. Business owners can also obtain targeted leads from promotional give-away programs that have high traffic. Usually a person will fill out a simple survey to claim the promotional item, and the business owner can then use the survey to assess whether he or she will be a quality lead.
source: readbud.com/Articles/Networking/Finding-Targeted-MLM-Leads
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