Small Business Tips

Securing your business

2010-04-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

With several companies forced to close their doors, business owners are taking extra steps to make sure that their employees are in fact working during business hours.To say they are watching their employers a lot more is actually a big understatement. To increase profits while decreasing loss of productivity many companies have adopted new methods, including several high tech options that allow a company to make sure workers are not goofing off when they should be working.

The most common method is of course computer monitoring systems. They have come a long why since the days when bosses had to look over an employee's shoulder and make sure the right programs were on the screen. A 2007 study found that 37% of polled companies had both a corporate policy and software in place to prevent employees from accessing certain websites.

The biggest concerns were preventing access to inappropriate content and blocking viruses and malware. Web blocking and filtering software has been one very popular solution for minimizing the time employees waste while cutting down on potential security threats. But a new crop of of solutions is looking to improve on the sometimes heavy-handed web blocking systems many companies use today. Ascentive's BeAware Corporate Edition (http://www.beawarecorporate.com/) takes a somewhat unique approach.

They allow the user to track PC activity by monitoring web use, e-mail, IM and software in real time. Certain sites, applications, and even keywords can be set to trigger a notification. In addition a "private time" feature can be activated for lunch or break times when personal use of a company's computer maybe allowed. In both the health care and law industry were security and privacy are paramount a solution that allows an employer to take screen shots, log keystrokes, and track documents allows companies to both control what an employee does but also allows them to automatically enforce security polices.

As a business owner it is important to control all aspects of your business. Sure in a perfect world there would be no need to monitor your employees while in the workplace. But in a time were the economy is still shaky can you or your business really afford to take that risk?

Word Power- Using the right words to power up your business

2009-11-01T09:09:00.000-08:00

Words are a powerful tool that many people take for granted. But in the business world using the right words when addressing certain groups of people can not only help you to build your brand, it can also help to increase your sales as well. If you need an example just look at the internet. Google Adwords, and SEO are perfect tools and examples of the true power of words. Both when used correctly can increase your sales and traffic to your site at the same time. That’s why I recommend learning as much as you can about them if you want to implement them into your sales and marketing plans.

There are so many ways to make money using words so why then do people fall for the old make millions of dollars while sitting on the couch eating chips scam? Or the latest “free report” that turns out to be nothing more than a sales page created to capture your email address and your money at the same time. Why do these type of schemes even work? Simple because of what I like to call a power word. The word is free!! There are always those looking for a shortcut when it comes to making money. The fact is most if not all of these so called “gurus” who claim to know the secret or trick to making money are doing nothing more than trying to make money themselves. The programs, ebooks, and membership programs they offer are usually just things originally sold to them.

They do nothing more than just add their name to the material and offer it to the next guy while trying to make a profit. But don’t take my word for it. The next time you are sent an offer from one of these money making masters ask them to prove that they in fact make most of their money from the information they offer and not from selling info-products. I will bet that over 50% of their profits come from the sale of what are known as info-products (ebooks, software, and membership programs). To further prove my point ask yourself this question, Why would you waste time creating a program or ebook when you are making thousands of dollars a month? You wouldn’t would you? You would be to busy making money and enjoying being financially secure and debt free.

Time and time again these people target the same groups of people with the same promise of quick and easy wealth. That is why I have started using my own power word also known as Truth! My definition of the word is to tell or speak to others things that are factual and have been proven or can be proven. This basically means that if I promise you that you can make money by joining an affiliate program or by reading an ebook you should be able to right?

Well the truth is when you buy many of these programs they leave out many important details such as the cost of buying list building software, website hosting fees, or even monthly fees to a special club that is the main key to the whole system. When you first buy the program you are given a 30 day free trial. That means if you fail to pay the monthly fee after that then you are out of luck. Of course by that time your 30 day money back guarantee just happens to run out as well. So you are now stuck with either trying to make the system work by paying the monthly fee or just taking a loss and moving on to the next thing. What many people fail to understand is that while knowledge is important it means nothing if you are not willing to put it into action. When you buy one of these programs you are only taking the first step. You must be willing to follow the instructions given to you and put in the time and effort necessary to make the plan work. Contrary to what others may say, nothing in life is free.

At least anything worth having that is! So in conclusion I have shown how words can have certain power over the way we think and what we buy. As an entrepreneur it is important to understand how to choose the right words when creating your own advertising and marketing campaigns. Your word as a businessman or woman is what will gain the trust of your customers. Be honest about who you are and what you have to offer. People are always looking out for those who are trying to cheat them these days so all it takes is a few angry customers to destroy your business. As a small business owner you may feel weak when it comes to competing with larger companies, but with the right words you can show your company has power of it’s own!

SEO- What is it and how does it work?

2009-09-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, with so many websites out there it can be extremely difficult to cut through all the clutter and bring in customers. (SEO) which stands for search engine optimization, can be just the the tool to help. When used properly it can improve your search rankings so that your website shows up more often in search results on Google,Yahoo, and other search engines. SEO is all about attracting quality leads and buyers who are ready to make a purchase. To help you understand how it all works here are a few tips for getting the most out of SEO.

Tip#1

Start early: It can take up to six months for competitive search terms to see results in Google.

Tip#2

Content is king: Make a list of the top 20 keywords relevant to your business and create content that includes one or more of these words. For example if you own a used clothing store then you would use keywords liked low-cost clothing, vintage clothing, or second hand clothing. These keywords can be found using Google's free keyword tool at www.google.com/keywords. Just using the keywords second hand clothing instead of secondhand clothing will put your site in front of 250,000 more potential customers according to the search traffic recorded on Google. If you do not believe me then look for yourself. Go to the site I mentioned and type in the key words and you will see the difference in traffic for the two. Now does this mean that you will get a ton of sales? Maybe or maybe not. It just depends on if you have what the customer is looking for. But by making sure that your site is set up to target certain people you will find that more people will visit your site and may even buy something. After all sales is all about volume. The more people you can reach the better chance you have for selling them something!

Tip# 3

Don't use the same keywords over and over: Many might ask why not use the same keywords if they work for me? While there is nothing wrong with using a certain keyword for a while it is always best to change your keywords about every 6 months or less just depending on how well they are working for you. The reason for this is because some times even though you have added a popular keyword like business or money it does not mean you will recive the amount of traffic you expect. The real trick to SEO is to identify what your target audience wants and how you can provide them with it. If you want to start a business that sells computers then you need to make sure you are in tune with your customers needs. You can do this by using keywords like laptop computers or affordable desktop computers. What this does is allow you to target certain people who maybe looking for cheaper computers than they can find at their local retail store. How do you know this? Simple you can tell by how many clicks you recive for each keyword then either choose a different one or keep using the same keyword if it meets your traffic and click through requirments.

Just remember the old saying work smarter not harder. Time is money and no matter how many hours you try to work in a day you will never get rich unless you have some kind of leverage. Trading your time for money does not work because there are only so many hours in a day which means there is a limit to the amount of money you can make. By using SEO correctly you can create websites or blogs that will work for you non stop 24/7. This will allow you to focus on adding new products and making more money. Don't let others make huge amounts of money while you struggle to make a few dollars! Use knowlege to level the playing field and earn what you deserve.

Making money online- The truth Exposed (Funding)

2009-08-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

This is the second post in my series titled Making money online- The truth Exposed. In this post I would like to discuss the truth behind some of the most common lies being told when it comes to making money online. To often people are told it is simple to make money online if they copy what everyone else is doing. But what worked for one person will not always have the same outcome for everyone else. What is often left out of these heart warming tales are the daily struggles and the overall effort that come with running a business. Many would have you believe that they had a idea, magically came up with the funding needed, and off they went. But for the rest of us the funding process is a slow and involves writing a detailed business plan and many soul crushing trips to meet with bankers who have no intention of loaning you a dime. Then there is the all to often heard story about how the government has billions of dollars in free money grants that anyone can get if they know how to apply for them. While this one is not a total lie, it is only half of the story. The truth is while there are grants available, they are mostly for people who have an established business in a certain field such as health care or technology. Yes there is money for people who want to start a business but, it is not as simple as writing a letter and sending it to a government office and waiting for a check in the mail. Many companies claim to have a "system" or program that will allow you to obtain thousands to fund any idea that pops into your mind, but all you get for their usally high fee is a outdated list of government offices that no longer exist or web addresses and phone numbers that no longer work. Let me save you some time and money with a word of wisdom. Want to start a business? Then save your money and invest in your idea. Seriously take any extra money you have and put it into a savings account or account that allows you to gain some kind of profit. Hold a bake sale, take a extra job, cutback on your expenses ( booze, cigarettes, going to the movies). The point is invest in yourself and others will see your effort and will be more willing to fund your business if they see you have something to offer other than just another million dollar idea.

Making money online- How looking in the right places can make you rich!!

2009-08-23T14:51:00.000-07:00

Lately I have received many emails from those who are desperately looking for ways to make money online. They say things like how do I get started when I have little or no money? For them and others out there who are asking the same question I say this. While it is true that you can make money online there are many rumors and false claims being spread around. So I have decided to clear a few of them up so that you my loyal readers and fellow entrepreneurs will finally know the truth. Understand that I speak only from experience as I have been in business for myself for over ten years and have seen many scams come and go. Now when people think of making money online they think all they have to do is create a blog or website and the checks will start rolling in.

Wrong!! As with anything in life, you only get out of your business what you are willing to put into it. I say willing because I often hear people shouting out fantastic claims of how they "discovered" the fastest, easiest method to making money overnight. The way they tell it you can sit on your couch and eat chips while money just pours into your account. This is a total lie! I say it is time to wake up from the dream world and live in a little place called reality. Repeat after me, "I can not get rich for doing nothing"! Say this to yourself ten times slowly taking time to think about what you are saying. By the ninth time it should be burned into your subconscious. Understand that these schemers are looking to cheat you out of every dollar you have or can borrow. They will distort the truth, change their story even when it is in writing, and will flat out lie to your face if they have to. After all they are using your money to finance their dreams of fancy cars and tropical vacations. One of the most common type of scams is the modern infomercial.

They were originally created as a way for people to sell their products to the masses in a way that allowed them to reach millions of potential customers in only half an hour. But over the years many companies have done away with the smiling faced pitchmen with the funny accent. They now hire out of work actors and news broadcasters to conduct fake interviews and even portray themselves as doctors or experts. It seems like in that 30 minutes they not only try to convince you that you have a problem , but that they are the only ones with the solution. If you have never seen one of these mini spectacles do a search on You tube and see for yourself (LOL). My point is they make everything look so easy until you give them your money. Then you find out that they left out certain details which result in you having to pay them even more money. But the funny thing is that if you examine many of this programs you will notice the information they offer can be found in phone books, libraries, or online if a person was willing take the time and do a little research. Take the question of how do you make money on EBay foe example. To find the answer why not go to the source?

The EBay website offers several videos, articles, and even a newsletter that explains how to get started and even free resources that you can use to build your business. So if all this is being offered for free why do people continue to purchase books, attend overpriced workshops, and throw away thousands of dollars on memberships that do nothing to bring in any real money? Simple it is because people are always looking for a shortcut to wealth. They figure that if someone else is making thousands of dollars per month then they should be able to do the same. The problem with this kind of thinking is that many lack the discipline it takes to create and run a successful business. For most people if they do not see money coming in right away then they get discouraged and move on to the next get rich while sitting on your couch scheme. It can be a costly addiction not unlike a person with a drinking or drug problem. They are always looking for something that offers all the rewards and none of the work.

Don't be like them! Understand that while you have to work for what you want in life it does not have to mean long hours for little or no money. Take the time to learn as much as you can. Then use that knowlege to make as much money as you can. Then someday maybe someone will come up to you and ask what your secret is. You can then look them right in the face and say you just have to know were to look!

Service Excellence

2009-08-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

Service Excellence is the term I use when I think about customer service. The old saying goes " The customer is always right" but things have really changed over the years. These days the people providing a service seem to forget that without their customers they would not have a business, or a job. It seems like everyone from the low paid customer service rep who takes an average of around 60 to 100 calls a day, to business owners, seems to be more focused on making money and less on what a customer really wants. The image of an angry, misinformed, sometimes even down right nasty person who is looking for somebody to yell at, is the new image of what a customer has become. They are now thought of as things that should be ignored, or in some cases deceived in order to bring in more profits. This is not some rare instance or test case but a industry wide cancer that has effected every aspect of our world economy. Need proof? Then look at companies like Enron, Worldcom, Tyco, and of course the one man show Bernie Madoff. What do they all have in common? I would have to say besides ongoing fraud investigations, a lack of respect for their customers and a total disregard for the needs of others.

Like what you have just finished reading then come back next week or subscribe to my blog feed so you do not miss out on any of my new articles on advertising and improving your sales.

Choosing the Perfect Company Name

2009-01-01T07:50:00.000-08:00

As the old saying goes, What is in a name? Meaning what does a name mean to you when you hear it? Is it good taste, strength, or dependability? A name can convey all these things and more but it all starts with choosing one that fits your business. What you call your business -- or your product -- can make a big difference in terms of how the marketplace responds to you. Should you have a family name like Smucker's, a serious name like Econoline, a "meaningless" name like Xerox? Or, should you simply go for good placement in the yellow pages and call your company A.A.A.A. Services?

To effectively name your business, you first need to firmly establish what business you're in. Be cautious though. You don't want to limit opportunities for future growth by being too specific about your company's purpose. For example, suppose you're starting a new business that specializes in lawn care services. You decide to name your company "Lenny's Lawn Care." Now suppose that a few years down the road you wish to expand and offer corporate plant care services. "Lenny's Lawn Care" is no longer a very apt name for your company. It's not a name that would attract the new type of clientele you seek.

Consider the long-term potential of your company and the ways in which your company might grow. Once you've established a name it can be difficult to change that name to provide a new direction -- and costly in terms of the lost recognition you've established for your original name.Is It Narrow Enough? A caveat is in order here though. Don't be so broad with your business name that you fail to establish a market niche for your services. In today's specialized marketplace, the companies that are most successful are those that cater to specific market segments -- and identify, through their company name, the segment that they serve. Your name should be specific enough that it clearly conveys to potential customers that, "yes, this is the company I'm looking for."For example, if you own and operate a boutique, you don't want to simply name the business "Bev's Boutique." You want a name that will indicate to customers the types of products you sell. A name like, "Bev's Botanicals" might be appropriate if you specialized in dried floral arrangements -- and would allow you the option of expanding into other plant-related services, or even the sale of scents or potpourris.

Narrow names can also be effective when you're certain of the niche you wish to serve and confident that you will not want to expand beyond that niche. Consider, for instance, the well-known names of some narrowly-defined restaurant chains: Pizza Hut, and Kentucky Fried Chicken (more on this one later). They've defined their specialty and, as consumers, we know that if we want pizza we go to Pizza Hut -- not Kentucky Fried Chicken (or vice versa). How Does It Sound? The name you choose for your company will be used in a number of ways. It will be used in print -- on your store front sign, billboard, in print advertising, on your letterhead, etc. It may be used verbally in radio or television advertising. It will certainly be used verbally in word-of-mouth exchanges between potential customers or clients. How your name sounds is a critical consideration, even if you never plan to use radio or television to advertise your wares.

When we read, we "hear" in our minds the word we're reading and we respond most to names that "sound" good. Many small businesses decide to use their family name as part of the company moniker. This is often done for ego gratification purposes. Nevertheless, it's not a tremendous downfall -- unless that name is difficult to pronounce or "ill-sounding." For example, a name like "Pfefferneuse, Inc." would be a mouthful. How would customers refer you to their acquaintances if they could barely pronounce the name. Strange sounding or off-putting names can be problematic as well.

Is It Memorable? How do you know when your name will be memorable? Simple, Understand that in order for something to be memorable it has to relate back to the products or services you offer and assuring that your business name clearly reflects the business you're in. A name like "Toys R Us" is memorable -- and appropriate to the product sold. So is a name like "Computerland."Simple names can often be more memorable than more complex, or clever, titles. Don't try to be too "cute" -- or too unique. Use the KISS principle; keep it short and simple.

There are some practical that also come into play when considering a business name. Considerations such as how the name will look on a letterhead, or what type of logo could be designed incorporating your business name. Don't "carve the corporate name in stone" before you've taken the time to consult with a graphic designer. Also, choose a logo or design that will look as good in a black and white newspaper ad as it will in a color layout. The designer will be able to tell you if the name you've selected will lend itself to various layout applications -- signage, letterhead, etc.

If you can't afford an established graphic designer, consider working with a student at a local art or design school. They'll likely be willing to create the design in exchange for using it in their portfolio.Is It Lasting? We certainly can't predict the future, but give some consideration to the longevity of the name you select. Kentucky Fried Chicken recently went through a modification of their name to position their product for a growing society of health conscious consumers.

They've changed the name to simply "KFC" which, long term, may shift some awareness of the fact that the chicken is fried -- for consumers today, however, that acronym still means "Kentucky FRIED Chicken." Try to be somewhat forward-thinking as you name your business, considering the changing climate we're in, and emerging consumer issues. Avoid names that could be controversial, or which may have negative connotations. Let's take a look at an example -- a business that provides communication services for medical personnel, specializing in the development of newsletters for clients. The company decides to name itself "MedLines."

MedLines" suggests information (lines) concerning medicaltopics. If the business has truly chosen the medical profession as its niche, this name will be broad enough to deal with many areas of the medical profession -- from general health services, to HMOs, encompassing any number of medical specialties.

However, if the company were to expand into other areas of communication -- video, for example -- the term "lines" could create some concerns. It doesn't suggest a visual approach to communication and may also limit the company from successfully expanding into electronic communications.

Narrow enough? Implying a specific niche in a business title is appropriate. This business name clearly suggests that the company is specializing in information for audiences concerned with medical topics.

How does it sound?" MedLines" is easy to say, short and to the point.
Is it memorable?" MedLines" would be a memorable name for a communications firm -- it's specific, clearly identifiable, and related to the service provided.
Is it easy to use? This name is short enough to lend itself to creative use ina logo, or business sign. In addition, the name would be listed in the yellow pages near other medical services, an important consideration for this type of company.
Is it lasting? A name such as "MedLines" would appear to be a lasting name for a business, with no short-term controversy apparent.

Additional Considerations:

Don't name your business in a vacuum. Involve a number of people in the process. Ask friends, acquaintances, business colleagues, and members of your professional network for their reactions to the name or names you've selected for consideration. Avoid legal problems. Obviously you can't open a hamburger stand and call it "McDonald's" -- even if that's your family name. Before you hang your business sign, be sure that you've chosen a name that does not duplicate any other existing company name -- or that comes too close to another name. Some easy ways to check for this are the yellow pages, the local library, or an attorney who can help you conduct a name search.

This is particularly important if you're planning to trademark your name. Remember, you want your business name to be uninfringeable as well!
Finally once you've chosen a name, stick with it. If you constantly change your mind -- and your business name -- you'll lose any name recognition that you've established. Take the time to choose a name you can live with, a name that will be memorable and meaningful.

How to Investigate a home business Opportunity

2009-01-01T07:29:00.000-08:00

Read this article to learn how to make $1,000 in only three days!!

Ok so you will not make $1,000 by just reading this article ,but my headline did grab your attention didn’t it? Let’s face it the web is full of these kinds of ads that promise to know the secret to making huge amounts of cash with little or no effort. The problem is, most, if not all are scams thought up by crooks trying to take your money. Now just so I will not be spammed with angry emails from people who read this article, understand that I did not say all programs are scams. To be honest there are some out there that if used correctly will allow you to make money. Will it be enough to quit your job and by a sail boat? Probably not! But it will allow you to make some extra cash, and with the economy getting worse by the day, who out there could not use some extra cash?

When you purchase a "business opportunity" package you needn't answer to anyone. You are purchasing instructions or some materials to conduct this business, but you are not purchasing a set of rules and regulations that you must follow to the letter.Often, business opportunity packages are called "turnkey operations." The theory is that all you have to do is to launch the business opportunity is buy the package, read the material, study the manual or video, "turn the key" and open your business. Some of these start-up business opportunity packages cost $100 or less. Others cost thousands of dollars. But there is one common denominator: the opportunity should be investigated. Remember, let the buyer beware. There are several ways to investigate a business opportunity.

1। Call telephone information for the city in which the company is based and ask for the number of the local Better Business Bureau (BBB). Call the BBB and ask if they have a "reliability report" filed on the company. This report provides information on the company and will include whether or not complaints have been filed on the company. It will also let you know how the company handled those complaints. Also try calling the National Fraud Information Center at 800-876-7060 and the Call for Action Hotline at 301-652-HELP.

2. Call the Chamber of Commerce in the town where the company is based. Just because the company might not be a member doesn't mean they aren't reputable. But ask the Chamber of Commerce if they know of any reason why someone shouldn't do business with them. It doesn't hurt to hear what the word of mouth is about a particular enterprise.

3. Call the Attorney General's office in your state--often located in the State Capitol's office. Also check with the Secretary of State's office to see if there are any complaints filed on the company or if there are investigations pending.

4। Where did you hear about the business opportunity? At a local trade show? Through an ad? If it's in an ad, call the magazine who carried the ad and ask to speak to the advertising department. Do they have information on the company? How long have they been in business? Do they pay their bills on time? Has the magazine or trade sponsor received any complaints about the company?

5। Use your judgment. As you study the ad, ask yourself, "can I figure out what the business opportunity is from this ad?" If not, then run in the other direction. They are trying to be evasive. If you can't contact the company and get more information on what it is you are sending money to receive, then don't send a dime. Remember the old line, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Not in every case, but in many.

6। Ask the company offering the business opportunity package if you can get a list of folks who invested in the package during the last two years. If they are legit, and if they are proud of what they are offering, they will be happy to put you in touch with their satisfied customers. If they won't do this, there very likely is something shady going on with that particular business opportunity program.

7। Companies that have a legitimate business opportunity package for you should not be scared or dismayed if you want to receive some free additional information about the company before you invest in the program. This is a perfectly acceptable request.

8। The Federal Trade Commission offers a free package of information about the FTC Franchise and Business Opportunity Rule. Write to: Public Reference Branch, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580 or call the FTC at 202-326-2222.

9। Use your instincts. If the opportunity doesn't sound or seem just right to you, stay away. Do some more research before you get involved with the company and follow tips one through 8 to conduct your due diligence investigation about the business and the specific opportunity.

10. Don't send money unless you completely understand what you are buying into, and even then, check it out before you send any money.

Let’s face it no matter how informed you may be there is no way to make sure you are 100% protected from being scammed. Why? Well because for every scam artist out there promising you more money than you can count, there are 5 people waiting to take his place. That’s why you need to be cautious, smart, and determined if you really want to be successful in your search for a turnkey business. Armed with these tips and your fav search browser, I am sure you will find what you are looking for.

Good Luck and best wishes

If you are interested in starting your own business and need a place to start looking visit our website at www.freewebs.com/cministry

Do Classified Ads Really Generate Affiliate Sales??

2008-10-04T21:43:00.000-07:00

Generally, if you are seeking to increase your affiliate sales, you will be told that classified ads won't work. Under certain circumstances, however, classified ads can help you increase your number of visitors and enhance affiliate sales.

The name of the game when constructing a classified ad is to keep the ad simple. You must remember that you are seeking clicks to your site, not trying to sell anything with the ad itself. The best place to begin is at the beginning, with the headline of the classified ad.
The way you want to make your headline get noticed is to use words in it that get attention from your readers.

There are certain terms that readers will always pay attention to; use them and your site will get clicks. Several of these words that will elicit clicks from readers are "cheap", "free", "proven" and "shocking". You need to know which of your ads have been most effective, so make sure you track each individual ad.

Use a generic URL such as www.yourdomain/?=trackingcode to make it easier for you to keep track of all of the advertisements you send to the same location. (The tracking code should be a 3 or 4 number code.) And be sure to write down each tracking code that corresponds to each ad you have placed. It is best to use random numbers with no special significance as your tracking codes.

This way, you won't be confused. Always use the same tracking code for its assigned ad.
Composing the first line of your ad is the next major task. Many experts have said that you need to put a definable benefit to the user in the first sentence. The reader must know right when he reads that first line that this product will help him. This can be best done by explaining precisely what the product will do for the reader.

Line number three should detail some especially important trait your product possesses. If the feature is unique to your product, that's even better. You have to keep the reader clicking to the point where he learns the cost and details of your product. Just remember to keep the ad as simple as you can. The goal when advertising with classified ads is to use as few words as you can to achieve the greatest results.

A complex advertisement will decrease, not increase, your chance of producing revenue. To avoid wasting your time, keep your statements as short and to the point as possible.
Once you've completed your advertisement, you must get it to where people will see it. Free ad placement and high traffic so that thousands will see your classified ads are the most important factors for listing the ad. The sites Craigslist.org and Yahoo! Classifieds satisfy both of these important criteria.

Both of these sites will allow you to post your classifieds for free if you place your ads under the CORRECT TOPICS. This rule absolutely cannot be violated. If your ads are wrongly posted, they will be removed- and your registration could be as well. Carefully examine the terms of service before you place your advertisements on these sites or any others.

Your overall success and profits will be greater when you follow this proven method of advertising using free classifieds. The results can be more effective exposure for your affiliate promotions and an increase in affiliate sales for your company. So start submitting your ads today for more clicks and profits.

How To Write A Profitable Sales Page

2008-10-04T21:39:00.000-07:00

When you market online it is very important to remember 3 things. First choose a market that is expanding and that wants and needs what you have. Secondly make sure that your product or service will solve their needs and greatly benefit them. Third and most important, have a powerful marketing premise in a killer sales page that will close your sale.

Many people neglect to put the necessary effort into their sales pages and suffer the consequences of low or nonexistent sales. Sales pages are the heart of your business and without a good one even the hottest product cannot get sold. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Find out how the master copywriters succeed. Go to Google and type in 'copywriters' and look at the first 10 websites at the top of the search. You can see what they do, how they set them up, etc. Don't steal their work, of course, but you can get some good ideas.

2. Understand and use the three P's of copywriting
a. Make it personal
b. Make it precise and streamlined
c. Make it persuasive

3. Tailor your layout to your product or service. There are many different layouts that you will be able to use. Basically your sales page will be in 3 parts. a. Emphasize the problem and bring this to your reader's attention.
b. Next, you present your product or service and show the prospect how it will solve the problem they need help with. Show the benefits.
c. The conclusion will have the call for action and any guarantee you will offer, and so on.

4. Work on headlines 1st and then sub headlines, lastly fill in the details. Remember your headline is your salesman. The headline will attract your reader and make them sit up and take notice. Your sub headlines must also attract attention and draw your reader into the actual sales copy.

5. Make an iron clad guarantee so your potential customer will be more inclined to buy from you and have more trust in what you are selling.
Take some time, learn the art of copywriting as you will need all the info you can get. Sometimes just changing a few words can make your copy more powerful and increase your sales.

Try some experimenting.
Split testing is one way and a very important one to get your copy to sell. Here are some steps to
do this:

1. Make 2 sales pages for the same product or service
2. Make them slightly different
3. Track which ones gets the most traffic.
4. Drive traffic to both pages.
5. Note which page brings the most sales.

6. Use the one with the highest sales conversion
Avoid these mistakes:
1. Don't include a lot of hype
2. Unprofessional presentation.
3. Using features instead of benefits

These are just a few pointers to help you make a start. Remember to think as a buyer and not a seller. If your page cannot convince you to buy the product or service then it certainly will not convince your reader.

Affiliate Marketing: How Do I Start?

2008-10-04T21:37:00.000-07:00

Affiliate marketing is a super way to make an extra revenue. Once you have everything all set up and ready to go, you can start making an income from your efforts. Affiliate marketing is essentially when an affiliate program pays you a commission or a percentage of what you sell for them. In this example, a diet or weight loss online business might pay you 10% on all sales that you make for them. Here is the lowdown on how it works:

When a online business determines that they would like to have some help selling their product or service, the web business they will then start an affiliate program. When they do this, they are permitting others to sign up as a affiliate sign up and sell their products or services.

The affiliates that sign up to the affiliate program have several ways that they can promote the businesses services or products which I will show you further in article. Moreover, the online company that wants help selling the service or product, will then give all of their affiliates a unique ID number that they can use in their links, and so that the business can track who the sale came from when an affiliate sale is made.

There are many different types of affiliate marketing programs. There are affiliate products that offer one time commissions off of a sale. Some of them might offer lifetime commissions, and others may pay just for leads, whether it is for a newsletter lead, or something else. Just having interested parties sign up for things for more information is another one.

Selecting who to include in a affiliate program is completely up to the person that is the owner of the web business. They can determine the percentage, or flat rate that they will pay for a sale or a lead. Then those interested can sign up and help them make sales and get leads for a certain amount of money.

There are many ways to make sales or create leads thus earning fast commissions. You can promote the services or the products on a web site that is related to the affiliate program. Or they can also promote them on a blog. Either of these are great ways to acquire targeted traffic to your affiliate programs and create sales from them. Many affiliates use email and newsletter marketing as a way to create sales as well. Whichever technique and promotion that you decide to use is entirely up to you.

Selecting the affiliate marketing programs that you want to sell is not hard. Choose something that you know about, and that you can be known as an expert about. The more passionate you are about the service or product, the better, as it will shine through. Most marketers do research and become an expert or at least more knowledgeable on a product or service before they start to promote it.

Affiliate marketing is something that anyone can learn. There a lots of online ebooks and blogs to help you with your first affiliate sales. Be sure to pick someone that not just talks the talk, but has walked the walked. There are many online so called gurus who profess they are the specialist in affiliate marketing, but have yet to make big money.

Affiliate Marketing Explained

2008-10-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

Affiliate marketing is a very common form of internet marketing strategy. It began not long after the world wide web was established, originally taking visitors on music webpages to places where they could buy the music they liked by clicking on a link. Since this kind of marketing is a way to improve revenue sharing, the referring webpage is paid for the traffic generated by the click-through or through commissions on actual sales.

The more popular and heavily trafficked a website is, the more attractive it is for an affiliate and the more income it can generate and also profit from. Websites that have heavy use, such as gaming and gambling websites, and retail sales websites, are most prized by marketers. Rank systems also help business and affiliate services select the best website to include in a network.
Banner ads are another way to use affiliate marketing and because they are so eye-catching they demand premium prices. Some skeptics claim banners are merely annoying but the statistics seem to favor actual results. The smaller link text ads need to have carefully crafted wording to compete with the big banner ads.

But commercial sites are not the only ones that figure into affiliate marketing. The huge growth in the popularity of weblogs has made them a high traffic venue for this type of advertising. The income generated on weblogs can pay expenses for the blog or may just bring in a little extra earnings, but for those blogs with a high level of readers, the profits can be very nice indeed.

A great deal of software has been developed to optimize affiliate marketing strategies by automating as much of the work as possible. Many companies have grown by doing nothing more than affiliate marketing management for online businesses. Many webmasters run their own affiliate program, but beginners are much better off hiring expert help while they learn the techniques.

Some personal web pages may accept affiliate programs, but for most the revenues may only be a few pennies here and there. Many personal webmasters have the philosophy that a little money for no work at all is still better than no money at all. Why not accept ads that require no work on your part except signing up?

There are quite a few directories to help find publishers and affiliates and there are big networks to join to connect to many sites at once. The best affiliates are those who have similar interests, products or services but that are not in direct competition. For example, a refrigerator seller might affiliate with dishwasher and range sellers but not with others with competing brands of freezers. All of those categories might affiliate with cooking and recipe or home remodeling websites.

Choosing an affiliate marketing program must be based on the kinds of people visiting your website and not according to its payment scheme. Choose the affiliate program most visited by your target market. It is not necessary to sign up in every affiliate marketing program you find.

Lead Capture Page : Popular In Multi Market Companies

2008-10-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

When it comes to selling products online there are several ways to do it. But one of the most popular and overly used method is a lead capture page ( or as it is also known, a squeeze page). Most people have never heard of squeeze pages, but they are fairly simple to explain. They are websites where the reader usually only has two choices, to "opt in" or "leave". Squeeze pages basically give the reader an option to continue on with the task or to just leave the task that is placed on the web pages, usually containing certain business endeavors.

Some squeeze pages provide people with options on how to continue to explore the business opportunity. Others offer a free product or a free download of a product or software. This, is argued by some to now be what is considered a squeeze page.

For those who like to research things The traditional definition is

Lead capture or (Squeeze pages) , are generally popular in multi-level marketing. They have been proven by many people to generate down lines and eventually profits. They are particularly effective because they generate a list of interested people who become prospects and clients. Effective squeeze pages provide information that is valuable to those who will be reading it. They are also relatively easy to build because one just need some technique to get people to visit the site.

Some may be doubtful of the capabilities of name squeeze pages in terms of marketing a business and generating profit. However, the basic foundations of these pages make sense and the effectiveness of these pages are proven by millions of Internet marketers.

Logical

Why bother putting up a website just to ask people whether they would like to continue with the transaction or not? The underlying principle behind squeeze pages is that marketers who promote their products or services through the Internet know that people will not avail their products and services during their first encounter with them. Squeeze pages are actually intended to be able to gather the email addresses of people who are interested in a certain product or service and to get their consent as well. With these components are at the disposal of the marketer, he can then proceed with providing these people who are interested with sales proposals and other marketing materials.

Elements

A quality squeeze page combines much useful data from all over a site and draws the eye of the reader where you want it to be. The best such pages consist of a list which ends abruptly with a click needed to continue. More often than not, the user will follow that link.

Electronic mail use

The most efficient and effective squeeze pages employ emails to be able to garner traffic. These emails contain interesting facts which are hard to resist. These emails are propagated by the agents of the product or service. The basic concept is that the email will lay down the foundations for selling the product, just like a 'pre-sale' effort.

Leaks

Most squeeze pages have "leakage" because visitors are able to get past the page without having to click on the proceed button. To prevent this happening, a knowledge of encryption would be handy, so as to encrypt the next page's URL. Alternatively, use email as a tool to gain access to what is promised on the name squeeze page. This way, users would have to submit their email address to find out exactly what is behind the squeeze page.

Personalize

A good squeeze page should be seen as a personalized website which is specifically targeting the person who is accessing it. There is software available out there on the market which will help a marketer be able to generate a squeeze page which looks professional, and personalized. Some squeeze pages actually contain information about a person's life such as what kind of pet or television he owns, and other personal information.

Market your Website with One-Way Links!!

2008-10-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

For years, we've heard about how important it is to get links to your site. Getting a lot of links requires some effort. Because they were relatively easy to get, reciprocal links were the rage not so long ago.

Reciprocal links are links that are exchanged between two or more websites. For instance, Site A will give Site B a link so long as Site B is giving Site A a link in return. Reciprocal linking has become automated with great software programs, making the job much easier. Unfortunately, reciprocal links are thought to be devalued by search engines because of these automated programs. The ease of automated reciprocal link exchanges has resulted in sites exchanging links with hundreds of other sites that are not relevant.

For example, you might find a automotive site exchanging links with a diet pill site. If you are reciprocal linking, you might discover that your URL is appearing on link partners' sites that are nothing but a hodgepodge of uncategorized links, with dozens and dozens of links per page. Having your site appear in these reciprocal link page collections does not necessarily add value or rank to your website.

In contrast to reciprocal linking, the benefits of one-way linking are becoming well known. One-way links are a powerful way to establish your site as an authority because these types of backlinks are considered a "vote" of popularity for your site. If you think about it, these types of links are "clean" votes that are not tainted by "bribes" for return links.
Because of their lasting value, one-way links are more difficult to obtain than traditional reciprocal links.

Although it requires some perseverance and effort, obtaining one-way links is worth your time because they create solid, long-term search engine results for your site.
There are several ways to obtain one way links. You can buy permanent, one-way links that are announced in various forums or available through online brokers. Of course, you can also buy one-way links in the form of advertisements, whether they are pixel ads, banner ads or other forms of paid ads.

Spending some time submitting your URL with keyword focused titles to the directories is another effective method for getting one-way links to your site. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of directories which offer free submissions. The problem with directories is that they are becoming so backlogged that it can take months before your link appears. I think that directories are becoming so commonplace that one-way backlinks from them will eventually become devalued, just like reciprocal links.

Another fantastic way to get one-way links is through article submissions. This can be a time-consuming process but one that will reward your site for an indefinite period of time. Best yet, article distributions are generally free. Articles require some effort and work, which is why many online marketers grow weary of using this method after they have submitted a couple of dozen articles. If you choose to use this method, I recommend using a article submitter software which will allow you to submit your article to hundreds of sites at one time. I use (fill in later with affiliate link to article software sales page ).

Blogs offer an opportunity to get one-way links that combines the ease of directory submissions and the long-lasting effect of articles. Blog posts do not take as long to write as articles, yet blog entries (or comments, where allowed) can be more informative and flexible than the brief descriptions you are allowed to give with directory submissions.
For the most part, directories do not permit you to submit links to your interior pages. The beauty of articles and blogs is that you can create one-way links to your interior web pages instead of just the home page.

If you want to create lasting value and traffic for your web site, it is well worth the time and effort to use the various techniques that are briefly discussed in this article to create hundreds of valuable one-way links. One-way links are, in effect, the lifeline for your web page.

Need Traffic? Quick tips to building up your traffic

2008-10-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

Owning a well-laid out website with great sales copy is good news. Owning such a website that's buzzing with traffic is great news. So what do you want - a website packed with traffic or just eye candy? Of course, you want a website jam-packed with traffic - and here's how you can divert massive traffic to your website:

Whee, it's free!

Now, if you are selling a product, say coconut oil used in cooking, and you want to give away a freebie that will give customers an incentive to sign up for your email list. If your e-book or report talks about the best dishes to make with coconut oil, it will be well received on a site about coconut oil. The point of this example is this - freebies attract people, visitors who will arrive at your website because the freebie strikes a chord or fills a need. Along with the freebie, they will join your list to get it and then you can sell to them again in the future while still staying in touch with them now.

Gee! It's not free!

Relax! We're talking about PPC (Pay per Click) advertisements that you can release by budgeting a small amount, say $100 or so. PPC ads on search engines can really draw traffic if they are cleverly written. Search engines will ask you to bid on keywords and pay a deposit. Research keywords first, pay the deposit, get a killer ad developed, release it and then watch the fun! By the way, if you're offering a service, go with Google; if it's a product then try Yahoo Overture first.

Link building

When do you build links? It is quite simple. 1. You build links when someone likes your website and puts a link on their website that redirects people to your site. 2. If you pay a design firm or web service for placing links on other sites. 3. When you exchange links with other credible websites. Choosing credible websites is very important! If you build links with non-credible scammer sites, you will undo all of the hard work you've done because search engines will give you negative ratings. You want to always build links with reputable websites that you've researched and that offers content that relates to the main theme of your site ( example, link to a site like cars.com if your site or blog is about cars).

Article Submissions

Write articles (only professional level, mind you!) on subject relevant to your website's content and hand them around to reprint directories (such as e-zine.com). At the end of each article, add a resource box that focuses on your website and carries its link. Other website owners who need content come looking to get some articles from reprint directories; if they like your article, they will publish it along with that resource box carrying your link. Result: your backlinks will increase and your visibility will increase greatly!

Affiliate marketing

Monetize your website by adding themed affiliate program services and products. Through places like CJ.com and Linkshare.com, you can build quite a nice set of products which your customers will want to buy. This works if you have a fast-moving product that needs a lot of publicity.

Running a Contest or Sweepstakes

Use the services of websites such as Feedback and Response-O-Matic to plant forms on your website. Now, ask users to fill in these forms to qualify for a prize. This way you will collect a massive database that you can use for email marketing.

Viral marketing

Viral marketing can build you site traffic quickly. Sign up for social networking websites and plug in to the communities offering fun and engaging content that will build your credibility and allow you to discreetly advertise your website link. With this, your traffic will steadily increase. Viral marketing is known for giving a website a big boost in traffic.

These methods will generate a lot of continuous traffic. While online advertising is always available, consider using some offline advertising techniques as well. You can give away freebies off line as well as on including stickers, business cards with a calendar on the back and more. To find out more about Viral Marketing make sure to read my two part article found in my blog archive.

But no matter what technique you decide to use, just make sure you do it with style!!

Well-designed Headings to Improve Usability of Website

2008-10-04T21:20:00.000-07:00

When people get on the Internet to look for specific information, they will use a search to find exactly what they are looking for. Once they are able to see which particular sites contain the information they seek, they become better at searching, looking through, and choosing the information they want to access. In short, people become more proficient at using search engines.

You can improve the user experience in a content rich website by paying more attention to the article headings. The headings play a vital role in two ways-one when the user is already surfing the website and the other highlights the usefulness of the website in advertisements, search results etc. This helps in driving visitors to the website.

In hypertext protocol (HTML), headings are pieces of text that have rich contents. Headings usually contain primary keywords that express the general topic of the website. Generally speaking, a heading is a line or hierarchical label that gives the users simple information about the content of the website, alongside other relevant information with respect to the nature of this content.

If you want your site to be evident in the available search engines then make sure that you use the headings on your page to the best of your ability. The headings as well as the site name and other content are a large consideration as a search engine goes about finding pertinent information for a search. It is suggested that you create your headings with keywords that will help set apart your site and content from everything else on the web.

After you have examined all of the hypertext content rich headers, the next thing to consider is the headings that people will actually see on your site. This header is typically the largest, and is intended to provide an introduction to the contents of your site.
The in-text headings are used by search engines to tag the many links in a search, so having these listed properly is essential. These links allow the search engine to decide whether the information is actually relevant to the user's pursuit. The headings offer the user information that is more easily accessible and functional and weeds out all of the junk that is irrelevant.

The more important point is that once the user is viewing your website, the headings you use in your website are the key guides that allow users to explore all site contents. If you use headings that effectively reflect the contents of your pages, the usability of the website will be so much improved. The reason is that pages will not give the users wrong impression or misleading information about their contents.

Another great way that headers function on a website is by subdividing information contained within, which helps facilitate the scanning of information by users of a page. Often site users are not interested in all of the information to be found on a page, but rather only some particular part of it. By allowing the use of headers for guiding the user, the website becomes a more user friendly and convenient place for users.

In addition, the users are given a general idea about how information is organized by the website and how the website hierarchical structure is designed to present its contents. When users receive this information, they build a better understanding and become much more familiar with the concepts explored in the information presented.
Headings make an article easier to scan for information. It tells people that they can pick and choose to read under selected headings and still understand the content, even though they aren't reading the entire article.

When pages with mainly text have a smaller section devoted to the table of contents near the top of the page, it is convenient to make use of headings to divide the rest of the page into these sections. The advantage of this is that it allows users to see an overview of what the website contains simply and directly, and give them a general understanding in advance. Link-activating the table of content is also beneficial, as it means that users are able to move ahead to only the details they require.

When all is said and done, headings simplify and enhance a website's content by correctly classifying the information and making it reader friendly. It allows the users to find the information via a search engine and once they come to the website, they can scan the text and easily find the information they are looking for conveniently and in a short period of time.

Create a PLR Blog

2008-10-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

OK, so now you understand that having a blog increases the value to your company's website, but maybe you don't like to write or don't have the time.
Yet there is a way to realize the benefits of a blog without the large time commitment. You can purchase a set (or multiple sets) of Private Label Rights (PLR) articles to use as your blog posts. Obviously you are going to want to look for PLR articles that fit with your niche and marketing goals but that needn't be difficult to do. The topics covered by PLR articles are almost endless.

Once you have discovered and bought a set of PLR articles, do not post them right away. The trick of a blog is to create good quality content on a regular basis. You will have to decide (based on time and the number of articles you have available) how often you want your content to be posted each week. You may decide to post three times a week or only once, either is fine as long as you stick with it. Once you have attracted a group of regular readers, they will continue to visit as long as there is interesting content to read.

Overall make sure to personalize and change each PLR article before posting it, for two reasons. The first is to make sure you are posting original content. PLR articles need be changed and ideally you want your blog to be picked up by the search engines - for this to happen you should change 20-50% of the article to make it new. I recommend using a article rewriter software when doing this. It will allow you to create several versions of the same article which you can then submit to sites social networking sites like digg.com to increase your article’s exposure and site or blog traffic.

The second reason to rewrite the PLR article is to make it blog friendly. Most blog posts are conversational in tone and not all PLR articles are. This is not a hard task. The research and ideas are already presented, all you have to do it put it into different words (or part of it).
However what if you don't want to use PLR articles?, well there are still simple and fast ways to post on days or weeks when you don't have the time or might be away.

One method is to write several blog entries and then set your blog to post a entry according to your normal posting schedule. One method I highly recommend is having someone write blog entries for you.

Famous musicians, authors and even the President all have people who are paid to write for them. Now I know what you must be saying, “a blog is supposed to a online log of my personal views and thoughts, so why would I pay someone to write for me?” This a good question, but if you look at most blogs more and more of them are being used as ways to sale products rather than to share someone’s interests and concerns.
I recommend using a great site called Pay-post.com

They allow you to not only make money for writing entries on other people’s blogs, but they also have a easy to use marketplace where you can create a listing requesting content to written a certain way. You can choose how long you want it to be, the tone, topic, and you even get to read it before you decide to buy the article. For $5 you could have a well written article that you can post to your blog and if you use a article writer, you can take that article and spin off several different versions to use on your site, other blogs. You can also do like I said before and post them to the different social networking sites to increase your traffic.

If you are serious about making some extra money doing something you already do all the time for free (posting articles and comments to yours and other people’s blogs) just click the pay-per-post link on my blog so you can get started today. All your payments are done through Paypal and you do not have to meet any minimum payment requirement that other sites use to keep you from making any money.

The ABCs of Article Marketing

2008-10-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

Article marketing is one of the effective and easy ways to generate traffic to your website. The entire purpose of having a website is to have traffic, in other words have people visit your website. There are many ways of doing this and article marketing is one of those ways.

You might be asking what article marketing is. Article marketing is a method of generating traffic by writing articles that are informative as well as original and that have something to do with the content on your website. They are then submitted and published on special sites that are designed for this purpose. Websites seeking content then pick up the articles and post them, without making any changes to their websites.

So now you might be asking how these articles, posted on a reprint directory and then picked up by another site could possible generate traffic for your website. The answer is simple. These articles are written in a particular format which includes something called a resource box. This resource box contains information that links back to your website. This is usually a link and a short bio of you the author. People looking for more information click on the link and are directed to your website.

It is absolutely essential that the content created by you is classified as original. Without original content the search engines will not acknowledge the article. Your articles also need to have keywords in order to generate traffic to the article itself. This makes the content more appealing both to people placing it on their website and to the search engines themselves.
Here are some more pointers on how to write good articles:

1. Your article must be of comfortably readable length - neither too long nor too short, yet packed with the right information relevant to your website. The recommended length is 500-600 words.

2. You want people to want to place your article on their website so make sue the article is informative and again it needs to be as original as possible. There are software applications and websites that can help check this for you.

3. Research on high-value keywords before including them in your article. Use this link for carrying out keyword research: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

4. You want the reader to feel engaged so use a friendly tone.

5. Use simple, everyday language.

6. Make sure that spelling and grammar rules are followed

7. The title is what you use to catch your reader and get them interested in reading your article so make sure it is something that draws attention.

8. The resource box is the selling point. You will want to write something that is going to make people want to click on the link in order to obtain more information.

If you are not used to writing or are not a writer consider outsourcing your content. There are a number of freelance websites that take work on a per project basis and will provide professional, original, and optimized content for you.

5 Ways To Bring More Web Traffic To Your Site

2008-10-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

Traffic is the soul of every website. If a website has sparse traffic, its topline and bottomline will get disfigured very quickly and it will not survive in the competitive Internet marketplace. So, what does a website have to do to make a success of itself on the Internet? Here's what:

1. Search engine optimization is probably one of the easiest things you can do to drive traffic to your website. It seems like a complicated process but actually is fairly simple. All you need to do is check to see what keywords are associated with your content. In other words, if you were searching for your project or service or interest what would you type into the search engines in order to initiate the search. There are a number of places that provide these lists if you enter in a subject matter. They are called keyword generators.

2. SEO (Search Engine Optimization): SEO refers to a technique used to increase traffic on a website using organic methods. Website owners research keywords using tools provided by search engines and figure out the most searched-for keywords relevant to their websites. Then they weave in these keywords into their content and programming code (tags), so that when the relevant keywords are searched for, the website immediately appears on the search engine results page.

3. Press releases are specialized content that is designed to promote a particular product or to let people know of an upcoming big change. They are primarily used for business or commercial based websites and there are a number of places which publish these. They are good for not only driving traffic but for increasing page ranking.

4. Affiliate traffic is mainly for those that are engaged in affiliate based marketing businesses. They can however provide a good solid base for generating traffic. They are in essence a link directory which provides a sorted listing of websites that deal with particular products or product types and allow people to search through and find what they are looking for.

5. Viral Marketing: The viral marketing technique uses social networking websites (Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, etc.) to increase sales and brand awareness. Viral marketers pass on a subtle sales message by posting niche content - video, audio, games, e-books, pictures, etc. - on social networking sites and then the word spreads out on its own, increasing exposure for the viral marketer's website.

These are just five of the ways that you can generate traffic and market your website. They are not the only things you can do there are a variety of other methods as well. They can however provide you with a solid foundation for drive traffic to your website and increasing your potential customer base in the highly competitive world of the internet.

How Can Web 2.0 Bring You Traffic

2008-10-04T21:06:00.000-07:00

Social bookmarking is one way in the world of web 2.0 to quickly drive large amounts of traffic to your website. Social bookmarking services are part of a larger conversation where everyone is allowed to vote and participate through adding interesting links to bookmarking sites and further commenting or voting up or down based on the person's experience of the site marked.

With social bookmarking, it allows individuals to leave a trail of sites visited for others to follow. If a site is well liked, it will receive a favorable review, a vote up and in turn a ton of traffic from various sources.

It used to be getting high page rank results was the key to driving continuous amounts of traffic to a website. That is still true, but the method to get those rankings has dramatically changed. On page methods including optimizing content for search engines to read was part of it.

Nowadays, while on page optimization processes are still important, through social bookmarking websites can be found quicker and easier based on the personal preferences of the people searching.

The difference between using social bookmarking sites and using a search engine is simply the size and method that is used. Social bookmarking sites usually have a more concentrated based for searching.

This means that it is faster in locating specifics. If you are looking for a particular subject on a search engine you will pick up any site which has the keywords that you are looking for. Because bookmarking sites are smaller in terms of the searching base you have a greater chance of finding what you are looking for.

You can get traffic to your website through feeds, social networks like Facebook, Myspace, StumbleUpon and the like, and social news networks where people can post stories they find of interest as they surf. These places include Digg, Newsvine, Reddit to name a few.

This includes using a wide variety of options that have only recently become available. Things like viral marketing, video websites, social networking websites and using social bookmarking sites. Consider all the different aspects to marketing a website and be sure to incorporate as many as possible into your strategy.

All of these things combined are what helps to create a website with a high level of traffic generation and a constant flow of new potential customers. Posting to all these sites can be a challenge. To make the process ease something called widgets were created in order to assist people in posting.

This allows for people to simply click on an icon and post the link to their account in the social bookmarking or networking site. This is of great benefit and allows for a large number of sites to be placed quickly and effectively with the least amount of hassles. It is designed to be as easy to use as possible. It is one of the things that is making it one of the most popular ways to generate traffic in this new Web 2.0 environment.

Most people, however, will use the larger sites and bookmark their sites, filtering them through the use of specific tags that others can search on. Tags are very easy to use and take a place like Technorati and breaks it down into interest-driven sections that only those people who are interested in will search on and find your website.

Five Ways to Make People Take a Good, Hard Look -- Or Two -- at Your Sales Letter

2008-10-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

Grabbing people's attention and getting them to read your marketing material is becoming ever so challenging. But techniques and tricks are becoming ever so clever.
You need an effective, attention-grabbing headline to get someone's attention and hold it. Without it, your sales letter is completely useless. The same is true of e-mail subject lines, because they convince people to open them.

There are some truly "hypnotic" text tricks you can use to make your titles, headlines and subject lines grab people's attention and hold on. However, some of these tricks are definitely avant-garde, and not for those who like "middle of the road."
And we've used these ourselves, so they work.

Here are 5 very unusual tricks you can use right away to stop anyone in their tracks (if you DARE to use them):

1. Use a headline with "fill-in-the-blank". For example, you can say, "Make As Much ______ As You Want to, in Your Own Home!" There's not a much better way to generate curiosity than inserting a blank in your headline at a very strategic place.

2. Write your headline backwards. '!emoH nwO ruoY ni ot tnaW uoY sA yenoM hcuM sA ekaM' Many people will want to sit there and figure out what you're saying, especially if they're not expecting it.

3. Write two words that appeal, and one totally unrelated one. 'Money! Freedom! Lizards!' Humor often combines two or three completely unrelated subjects or ideas.

4. Emphasize specific words with all capital letters, underlines, or dashes. Here's a hint. Look at headline of this article again. You can make certain keywords really stand out in your headline or title that subconsciously trigger a favorable response from your readers.

5. Block one or two words. 'Make As Much XXXXX As You Want to, in Your Own Home!' Similar to using the blank in the headline, you instead use a "black box" to block out a word from being seen. This may often grab readers' attention so that they're thinking, "What you hiding?"

Once you put these tricks to use, you should immediately explain the headline or title in your opening. Don't risk being seen as unprofessional. A great way to start your opening paragraph is to say, 'I'm glad my strange headline got your attention'. Then proceed to explain yourself.

Go on and give these a try, and see how much fun they are!

Increasing Your Online Business by Using a Blog

2008-10-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

You know the old saying, “ Nothing in life is guaranteed”? Well that defiantly goes for web traffic! There are several companies out there that claim to increase your site traffic for a price but the fact is, if you post good quality content with the right keywords on your blog, Google will notice.

Gaining site traffic is something that everyone with a site or blog worries about, but many do not take the time to learn the steps needed to build their traffic. One of the easiest ways is to get indexed by the major search engines like Google. But having your site indexed alone is not enough if you want steady traffic to your blog. First off you need to learn how to properly add your blog to be indexed. This will include adding meta tags, and other key words that will allow your site to appear in a larger amount of search results.

Then depending on how long people stay on your site, Google will decide if you're an 'authority' on your niche topic.
And if you pass that test, Google will index it, and allow thousands of people to find it. This can result in tons of quality prospects visiting your business website daily.

However, Google can be merciless at times. It's kind of 'moody'.
If Google changes its algorithm or makes the standards for a so-called "authority blog" higher and yours no longer fits within these standards, you may be out of luck. Of course, Google also does not tell you what that standard is, exactly, so it's not as though you can adjust your own behavior accordingly.

What does that mean? Traffic can disappear just like that. Blogs make it very possible for you as a business owner to take full advantage of it.
Sites such as Stumbleupon.com, OnlyWire.com and Digg.com let you share your blog posts and articles with millions of viewers with one simple push of a button.
In addition, these social bookmarking sites are free and can produce amazing results if you use them properly.

Regardless, there are some things you keep in mind before you submit blog content willy-nilly. How effective your blog is largely depends on those sites' community members.
They act very much like a democracy. People can vote up your blog article, or they can vote it down. If enough people vote it up, it becomes highly visible, resulting in more traffic. It all depends on the quality of the content you provide.

If your blog post is more like an ad, or something that's very self-serving, then it won't fly. Marketing and advertising should be next to nil when sharing content on these sites. People don't like to be sold, so don't try it.
And yep, you have to make content interesting.

Boring just won't do. Keep your content engaging, funny, interesting, or whatever particular pull is appropriate for your venue. You can play your blog articles back into your product or service in some way, but do it creatively and without "selling" to people.

One good way to do this is to create articles based upon the calendar. Events, holidays, or seasons can be very interesting to write about. If you write about things currently in the news, this can also be very effective, as long as you keep it interesting.

Great Strategies For Internet Marketing!

2008-10-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

Joint ventures which are commonly referred to as JV's are a good Internet strategies which are worth the attempt if you want to be instructed on what it is. Anyone looking into working online and who wants to make a good income needs to become serious about Internet marketing. To make a good income you should learn how to involve yourself in joint ventures.

There are several benefits and it is difficult to find a greater value in a single operation. This article will aid you in developing your Internet marketing listing very quickly.
Not a lot of money or effort is required for the growth of your online business. The business expands as the exposure increases and this is done by the marketing associations which they build. There will be a cut down on the expenditure related to give away events and this will make a big difference.

You can find ideal ways to promote your business. You can obtain referrals and testimonials from your venture partners. You can help people believe in the products that you sell on the Internet and also the services you offer.

If you are just starting out as an Internet marketer, it is sometimes difficult to earn necessary credentials in the field. Partnering with join venture associates will quickly elevate your status as a competent and trustworthy marketer in the Internet space.
Next let's talk about the definition of JV's and how they will for both you and your Internet company.

Take the example of marketing using the Giveaway. This entails an affiliation wherein a group of businesses combine their efforts to give away an assortment of items. Every single JV associate will be able to take advantage of the publicity they get since everyone sponsors the same giveaway promotion.

It's absolutely free for clients to find expensive items that suit their tastes. They'll be able to access and download great digital products when they provide a few contact details. With this system, each JV partner is in charge of creating a personalized list. Nearly all JV associates create lists from the same pool of customers, so offering a quality product is very important.

Free Making money from your blog ebook

2008-09-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

Hello there everyone,

I just wanted to leave a quick post thanking you all for your great feedback on my viral marketing articles. To show my thanks I have decided to post a link which will take you to a great free online resource called John Cow. There you will be able to download a very valuable ebook on how to make money from your blog. There are several people making money from their blog and now you can to. Just click the link and save the ebook to your computer so you can read it when you have the time.

I recommend this book because while it is free, it offers information that can help you turn your blog readers into customers. Like I said in my viral marketing article, one of the easiest ways to make money is to use the resources of others. Do not miss this great ebook!!

Share your comments and recive access to another great resource for free.

To be taken to the John Cow site, just click on the title of this post and you will be taken to the page were you can download the ebook.

What is Viral Marketing ( Part 2)

2008-08-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

Hello there everyone!

This is the second part to the article I wrote on viral marketing. I hope you have had a chance to put into practice some of the suggestions I made in the first half of the article. I really feel that these tips will help anyone that uses them them properly. As always you are welcome to use any of the things I suggest in your own efforts, just make sure that you share them with others as well.

Good luck to you all!!

4.) Exploits common motivations and behaviors

Cleaver viral marketing plans take advantage of common human motivations. Why have sites like Myspace become so popular? It is because people want to belong to something, or look cool or smart. The hunger to be loved, understood and even greed it’s self drives people to sites like Myspace by the millions. The resulting urge to communicate produces millions of websites, and blogs. It also produces billions of e-mail messages. Design a marketing strategy that builds on common motivations and behaviors for it’s transmission, and you have a winner.

5.) Utilizes existing communication networks

Most people are social. Seniors maybe the exception. Studies show that each person has a network of 8 to 12 people in their close network of friends, family, and associates. A person’s broader network may consist of hundreds, or thousands of people depending on their position in society. A waitress, for example, may communicate regularly with hundreds of customers in a given week. Network marketers have long understood the power of these human networks, both the strong, close networks and the weaker networked relationships.

People on the Internet develop networks of relationships too. They collect e-mail addresses, and favorite website URL’s. Affiliate programs exploit such networks, as do permission e-mail lists. Learn to place your message into existing communications between people, and you rapidly multiply it’s dispersion.

6.) Takes advantage of other’s resources

The most creative viral marketing plans use other people’s resources to get the word out. Affiliate programs, for example place text or graphic links on other websites. Another example is when authors give away free articles on other people’s web pages. A news release can be picked up by hundreds of periodicals and form the basis of articles seen by hundreds of thousands of readers. Now someone else’s newsprint or web page is relaying your marketing message. Someone else’s resources are depleted rather than your own.

I hope these tips help you with your own marketing strategy as it is important to plan out every step of your business. By using these tips I am sure you will have a better chance at success.

Good luck

What is Viral Marketing (Part 1)

2008-08-14T15:12:00.000-07:00

So a few days ago I was asked about viral marketing and how it works. Now this term is used a lot online these days but few truly understand what it means and how powerful it can be. Look at it this way, what if I told you I had found a way to increase your sales, traffic to your site, and found a way to have people coming to you instead of you looking for them? What would you say? It is easy, you would say tell me what it is!!! Well the following is the result of my own personal efforts. You are welcome to use any of the techniques I talk about, but you must make sure to tell others about it as well. Why? Simple, the more people who know, the less scam sites and companies there will be. I do not know about you but I am sick and tired of people making false claims and empty promises in order to make money. So if you are serious about learning skills that will help you in your attempt to help your business grow, get ready !!

Viral Marketing

OK I admit it, the term viral marketing is offensive. Call yourself a viral marketer and people will take two steps back. I know I would! Some would ask “ Do they have a vaccine for that yet?” Well OK I am just being silly as I am sure you have heard or viral marketing and the important role it plays in the way people market their products to their customers. When most people hear the word virus they think of their computer crashing and having to pay lots of money to fix the problem. But a virus can also be a good thing as in the case of a flu shot or even better, a way to make money without doing a lot of work. A virus alone is a simple creature that can replicate again and again each time gaining power and information.

1
1 1
1 1 1

In the example above you can see how fast a virus can replicate, each time adding new resources to his tribe. What does a virus have to do with marketing you ask? Well sit back and get ready to have your question answered.

Viral Marketing Defined

What does a virus have to do with marketing? Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message’s exposure and influence. Like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message to thousands, even to millions.
Off the Internet, viral marketing has been referred to as “word of mouth”, creating a buzz, leveraging the media, and network marketing. But on the Internet, for better or worse it is called viral marketing. While others have tried to rename it, to somehow give it a more friendly sounding name, I will not try. As they say, “ If it is not broke do not try to fix it.”

Hotmail- The Classic Example

The classic example of viral marketing is hotmail.com, one of the first Web-based e-mail services. The strategy is simple:

Give away free e-mail accounts and services

Then attach a tag at the bottom of every free email message sent out like: “ Get your own free, private email account at www.hotmail.com” and stand back while people send e-mails to their own network of family members and associates. When they receive an e-mail, they see the tag and sign up for their own e-mail account and send out messages to their own network of people. This will propel the message faster and to an even greater number of people, just like a pebble sends out ripples when dropped into a pond.

Elements of a Viral Marketing Strategy

You must learn to accept the fact that some viral marketing strategies work better than others, and few work as well as the Hotmail example. But below are six basic elements you should include into your own strategy. A viral marketing strategy does not have to include all these elements, but the more elements you can add the more powerful the results are likely to be. An effective viral marketing strategy
Gives away products or services
Provides for effortless transfer to others
Scales easily from small to large
Exploits common motivations and behaviors
Utilizes existing communication networks
Takes advantage of others resources

Let’s take a look at each of these elements briefly

1.) Gives away Valuable products and services

“Free” is the most powerful word in a marketer’s vocabulary. Most viral marketing programs give away valuable products or services to attract attention. From free e-mail services, to free software that performs well but not as good as the “pro” version. Offering something that is cheap or inexpensive may generate a wave of interest, using the word free will usually do a much faster job. Viral marketers practice delayed gratification. They may not profit today, or tomorrow, but they can generate a groundswell of interest from something free that will earn them profits for a long time. Patience , my friends is the key. The word free attracts people who offer their e-mail information, and allows you to showcase other products and services you offer. This could lead to product sales, ad revenue, and possible joint partner opportunities ( more on that at a later time).
In short big time money!!

Keep reading it gets better!!

2.) Provides for effortless transfer to others

Public health nurses offer sage advice at flu season: stay away from people who cough, wash your hands often, and don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth. Viruses only spread when they’re easy to transmit. The medium that carries your marketing message must be easy to transfer and replicate: e-mail, website, graphics, and downloadable software. Viral marketing works very well on the Internet because instant communication has become so easy and inexpensive. Digital formats make copying simple. From a marketing standpoint, you must simplify your marketing message so it can be transmitted easily and without degradation. In short stick to the classic Hotmail example of get your free e-mail account here. The message is compelling, compressed, and copied on the bottom of every free e-mail message.

3.) Scales easily from small to large

To spread like wildfire, the transmission method of your marketing information must be rapidly scalable from small to very large. If the strategy is wildly successful, mail servers must be added very quickly or the rapid growth will bog down your site and and die out. If the virus multiplies only to kill the host before spreading, nothing is accomplished. So long as you have planned ahead of time how you will add new mail servers and system upgrades you will be OK. You must learn to grow and build with the scalability of your viral model.

I have decided to brake this post into two different entries because there is so much information. Make sure to check back for part 2 or just subscribe to our feed so you do not miss out.

How to build a e-mail list now and profit later

2008-07-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone I just wanted to add a link to a great audio recording that was sent to me. In this recording one of the webs most well known Internet marketer's shares how he was able to build a list of over 20,000 people in just 4 months!! There is also a great little video that shows Jeff walking through his site and the large amount of sales he has made. This is a free audio message and you will not be charged anything to listen to this message. So if you are serious about learning how to build a email list, then click on the link below.

Good luck to you all

Oh and if you want more great free information to help you improve your online business make sure to subscribe to my blog feed.

http://www.instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=3726606

The Four C’s of lending in a bad credit market!

2008-04-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

The Four C’s of lending in a bad credit market!
But here's the thing: No matter the credit environment, the rules of engagement are basically the same. Of course, your company has to earn enough to cover interest payments. In addition, though, every transaction hinges on what bankers call the "Four C's": credibility, collateral, capital and conditions.

Credibility: In the finance world, relationships rule. A borrower's credibility in the eyes of a lender has as much to do with personal traits and reputation in the community as it does with credit scores and tax returns.
Credible borrowers are prepared borrowers, says Duane Pelkey, vice president of Community Bank N.A. (other-otc: CMYC.PK - news - people ), a registered bank holding company based in DeWitt, N.Y., with $4.8 billion in assets and 140 customer branches. "If you have all of the information organized and current, [a banker] can give you a decision quickly," he says. "Even if it's a 'no,' with all the proper information, you could be pointed in the correct direction."

Collateral: As much as they want to see small businesses succeed, local lenders aren't charities. If things go wrong, they'll want some hard assets to help make them whole.
Collateral can run the gamut from land and equipment and to stocks and bonds. When Marty Loftus, owner of Electric Forklift Network in Edicott, N.Y., wanted a $40,000 line of credit to purchase new equipment, he pledged his current inventory. "You can't buy forklifts with accounts receivable," he says. "[Now] we have the freedom to buy when the time is right, but we manage the credit line very carefully." (You can even more creative with collateral--I once pledged the cash value of a life insurance policy to raise money.)

Capital: Most bankers want to see some skin in the game. Capital refers to net worth--total assets minus total liabilities--and often, borrowers have significantly greater net worth than collateral that they are able--or willing--to pledge. Some sources of capital, such as personal property or personal income from another source, may not be considered collateral. Bottom line: Expect to sign a personal guarantee for your business loans.

Conditions: In short why you need to borrow. Honesty comes into play here. If there are blemishes on your credit report, or ongoing threats to your business that could jeopardize your ability to pay back the loan, be prepared to discuss them in detail. When times get tough, lenders especially prize transparency, so be prepared to bring in multiple years worth of financial statements.

If your project has merit but is short on one of the big C's, you may be able to get a loan, for up to $1.5 million, backed by the Small Business Administration. The cost of that insurance policy? Between 2% and 3.75% of the loan amount--enough protection to make it worth the risk for lenders. SBA-backed loans come with a predetermined maximum rate, making it easier for Mom-and-Pops to service their debt.
Recent rate cuts by the Federal Reserve may loosen lenders' purse strings--though, in this economy, how much is anyone's guess. One thing's for sure, says Pelkey: "When credit gets tighter, we tend to give 'the C's' additional scrutiny. The exercise becomes pretty critical when the risk associated with lending increases."

Helping your business make profits even during a recession

2008-04-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

Whether you believe we're in a recession or not, the economy is on shaky ground right now. And if things continue to spiral downward, is your business ready to weather a recession?
Here are 10 tips on dealing with a recession for your business:

1) Cut costs cautiously. As soon as the economy starts slowing down, many business owners think they must cut costs. But this is a short-term solution. Only cut costs or decrease your prices if it won't harm your business later. You can always lower your price - but you can't always raise your price.

2) Think Sub- contractors - especially if health care costs are putting a strain on your budget. If you have employees, consider turning them into sub-contractors. There are very affordable, month-to-month video web conferencing services that allow you to still be in close daily contact.

3) Advertise, Advertise, & Advertise! During the last recession, McDonald's almost tripled their advertising campaign at a time when their competitors, namely Burger King, were cutting back. So even though this may seem counter-intuitive, a recession may be the time to increase your marketing. Hard economic times weeds out your competition, leaving the field wide open for you.

4) Plan Long term: The Japanese are famous for planning out their strategy 15 to 20 years in advance. They follow the way of the turtle to win the race. And it works! Remember, marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep marketing every month, month in and month out, not stopping and starting on a whim.

5) Choose your marketing techniques wisely. You should be keeping track of which marketing venues brings you the most business. Reduce or eliminate those marketing techniques that aren't paying off for you, or fix them so that they do increase leads and sales. And consider a form of direct marketing where you can specifically test target markets without blowing your hard earned budget.

6) Revamp your marketing tools. For those marketing techniques that are working for you, this might be the time to revamp your marketing tools. Could your sales people use more training to close the deal? Online training cuts costs and time.

7) Automate wherever you can. Find ways to automate any tasks to reduce the workload on yourself and your staff. What have you been doing manually that a computer system can do for you? Take a look at all your daily tasks and see if there is a computer solution to these time-wasters.

8) Spend your time on what really matters. Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule? It's a proven fact that 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers. So treat your best customers like royalty. Spend 80% of your time focusing on marketing and delivering your product or service.

9) Make do and mend. Because raw materials were in short supply during World War II, people were encouraged to "make do and mend" an item instead of simply replacing it. Consider your own expenditures: do you really need a new computer, or could you somehow upgrade your existing one for less money? Do you need a new telephone or can you get by with the old one for a while longer?

10) Reduce inventories. If you sell a product, and you believe your sales are going to decrease, this might be a good idea to reduce inventories and not restock to the same level. This is a risky strategy (what if the recession only lasts 6 months?), so be sure you know exactly how long it will take to replenish inventories once the economy picks back up.

Now is the time to have a plan for dealing with a recession. It doesn't matter if we are in a recession now or not. These 10 tips will prepare your business for both good times and not so good times.

Raising money/ To much money is not a good thing!

2008-04-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

The funny thing is that as I look back on my own ventures and realize that, if anything, my problems stemmed from too much money rather than too little.
Too much money is not always a good thing

My biggest mistake has been to see some initial success with a venture and then go full bore - scaling up far too early. Had I had less money, and more street-smarts, I would’ve held back.
So often, that initial success turns into a nightmare if you scale up too fast. In reality, though, most people don’t relate to having too much money. So let me tell you a few ways you can raise enough money without getting investors, borrowing on your credit cards or giving an IOU to your mom.

Prepayment from customers strategy:

My favorite form of finance is getting prepayment from customers.
Here's why prepayment is so glorious. First, as entrepreneurs, we’re always dreaming about demand. We need the real world to rudely interrupt our dreams and give us a cold-water shock once in awhile. Nothing fits the bill like going and asking for money from your customers. If they won't give it to you, then you don't have the demand you thought you did.
In one of my businesses, we funded the entire venture through prepayment. These were loans we paid back by performing a service. Then the customers prepay for the next month, or the next batch, of product.
There’s nothing better than getting financing from your customers. But a lot of people have trouble asking customers to prepay. Let me give you a little script that has helped.

Here’s what I say to a new customer: "Someone has to owe someone else money. If I work for you for a month and then invoice you, I will be playing the banker to you. And I will have to finance you for about 45 days. But I am a small startup company and you are a larger, more established firm. That's why I ask my customers like you not to expect us to play the banker. And that's why I’m asking that you pay me one month in advance."
Makes sense, right? People think this is gutsy to say to a new customer. But it's smart. It lets you start your business without a single drop of outside financing.
In fact, you have to be careful because this can let you get too much money too quickly, with all the problems that can bring.

By getting prepayment, you are turning customers into a finance source. You avoid personal guarantees. You avoid credit card debt. And you avoid having arguments with your partners. Customers really don't care all that much about how you run your business. They just want you to deliver what you promise. How you deliver it, and how you run your company, is of no concern to them.
Customers make the ideal financing source and should be on the top of your list for your startup.

Key points:
Avoid counting on money from investors because it is very expensive money and may actually hurt your chances of startup success
Try to get customers to prepay. That way, you’ll quickly find out if you have a product or service that people really want. You won’t delude yourself if you don’t.

Birthday Blues

2008-04-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

The other day I went to a party for a business associate of mine. He was turning 60 years old and all his friends and family were there to celebrate with him. The whole time I was there I was thinking to myself, wow this man is truly loved by many people. What did he do to deserve all of their kind words and and respect? As I walked around the room chatting with people and snacking on chips, the same question kept coming up in my thoughts. Why was this question so important to me? I had no clue but I knew I had to find out the answer for myself. So after the candles were blown out and the cake was cut, I managed to corner the birthday boy and we had a quick chat. I said to him, " what is your secret to having so many great people in your life"? He looked up at me and smiled and said there was no secret at all! He said that he just lived by one simple rule, and that was to always treat others like you would like to be treated. By making sure to treat people with kindness and respect, I have been able to start a wonderful family with my wife, build a successful business, and create a life full of happy memories. So while this is not a business tip, it is a great idea that needs to be shared with others. Make sure to always treat others the way you would like to be treated in life as well as in you business. Because if you do, then you will find true happiness and success in all that you do! After all don't we all want to be loved and be successful? I know I do

Making money from real estate notes

2008-04-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

Hey there everyone,
I have been working with a supplier who has just informed me of a great deal that he has on the great money making program Winning in the cash flow business! In this program you will learn everything you need to know about how to find notes and make money from them. It is normally sold for over $100 but for a limited time I have the whole program for sale for only $60! That's right, you save over $40 and receive this program which will teach you how to make money in real estate without having to own any property.
Just think you could make thousands of dollars just from finding these notes and selling them. I have made over $10,000 on 2 deals that I just completed last week. It only took me a total of 60 days! That is $5,000 a month just for filling out some forms, making some calls, and waiting for my check in the mail. If you are like me and sick and tired of all the scams out there that promise to bring you great wealth, then you have to give this a try. Yes you will have to do some work, but anything in life worth having is worth working for. Don't miss this great opportunity to change your life for the better, act now and you will also receive our money making newsletter at no extra charge.
If you are interested in purchasing the program you may send me a message for more details. All payments must be made to my pay pal account and your order will be shipped the following business day by FedEx.

email: corporateministry24@yahoo.com

Innovation, the true path to success!!

2008-04-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

I was looking over some information a friend sent to me on myspace the other day on small businesses and the role they play. It is so weird to hear people say that most small business owners are small minded people who are just looking to get rich. The fact is that most people will not be successful in their first business and maybe even fail the second or third time they start a business. These days it is not enough to just have a good idea when starting a company of your own.

Lenders are making it harder than ever to get a loan and most ideas have already been done by someone else. The true path to success lies in innovation! That's right I said innovation is the the true path to success. I mean why try to invent the wheel when it has already been done before? It would be less time consuming to think of ways to improve what is already being offered. You could design a tire that could help save people money by creating a tire that is less likely to go flat when punctured. Or create a tire that performs better in the snow without using chains, which helps save the city money by not having to fix up the streets.

This means less road closings and less tax money being spent which means more could be used for education and health care. You could even offer tires in different colors to match the custom paint jobs and other car customization products that are so popular right now. The point is, their are so many people out there looking for things to make their lives better and easier. By taking notice of what is being said and coming up with a solution, you could be on your way to be coming the next big success story!

Starting an online business

2008-03-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

When starting a business online there are several factors to look at. Among those are deciding on what products and or services you are going to offer, the kind of company it will be ( consulting business, selling on eBay, etc....) . I often tell my clients that it is important to change their thinking if they want to be successful. Here is a list of things I feel that are necessary if you want to get started.

- A computer- This of course is a given if you want to have an online business. You can find many low cost computer suppliers such as Gateway, HP, and Dell. Some even come preloaded with software that you can use for your business.

- A phone- It is important that with all of the effort you put into building your business and obtaining customers, that you make sure that they can contact you! Most large companies spend so much time on advertising and marketing that they lose touch with their customers. That is why you as a small business owner will be successful if you always remember to put the customer first.

Business Plan- This is the most important thing of all. You must have a well written business plan if you want to be successful. It is not enough to just have a good idea if you have not taken the time to do any research on the product or service you plan to offer. I mean you would not open a new McDonalds when there is one right around the corner would you? Of course not! It makes no sense to compete with someone who is doing the exact same thing unless, you can improve upon what they are offering. When writing your business plan, you can determine what niche is not being met in that particular market. If you want to stand out from the competition, then you need to be different than all the others out there. If someone is selling DVD players and you want to do the same, take a look at the competition and see how they do things. By taking the time to create a proper business plan, you be able to plan ahead and figure out how much money you will need to get started. Who your customers are, and why they will do business with you rather than with someone else.

Next week we will begin offering tips on creating a website, networking and building an online presence. If you would like to learn more then feel free to subscribe to this blog. You may also contact me by email at biggdaddy202003@yahoo.com

Keep moving forward

2008-03-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

I recently entered a contest were the question was asked What inspires me? If you would like to check out the contest just Google biggdaddy202003 and you will see a link to the site and my post. I have also posted it here so feel free to read it and add a comment.

What inspires me is the memory of my mom, the love of my family and my desire to help others succeed. I have been through a lot in my 24 years on this earth! I was homeless from age 16 to age 23, I loss my first real job after 9/11 and was shot and stabbed twice. My mom was taken from us in 2005 while she was on her way home from work. She was shot and killed by the Baseline killer and just left there on the cold ground to die. Burying her a few days before Christmas, was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do but somehow I was able to get through it.

I guess the strength I had was there all along because when it seemed to be to much to handle, I was able to push forward. That is why my mom is my inspiration, because she did what ever it took to make sure we had the things we needed. When we had little food in the house she would not eat just to make sure we did not go hungry. She would work two jobs sometimes all while riding the bus and going to church on Sunday even though she was tired. She was the Sunday school teacher and the choir director as well, because she believed in helping others and wanted to share her love and joy with everyone. I saw what it took to always move forward even though the world kept on trying to knock her down, she got back up.

She showed me that if you wanted something out of life you had to work for it and never give up. That is why I have started a company called The Corporate Ministry in her honor, which carries on that desire to help others. With jobs being loss, people losing their homes and the high prices on everything from food to gas, people need some kind of security in their lives. My goal is to show people that there is hope if you are willing to work for things instead of giving up and hoping things will get better. We provide people with services from business plan creation, car and home loans, getting a business funded and giving back to the community as well. I always recommend that my clients volunteer somewhere close to their home so that they can see what the needs of the people are.

This way they can determine the cause of the problems they face and how to fix them. By doing this it teaches them to see the solutions to problems in life and in business, which pushes the idea of forward thinking that much further. Think about it if we had several people thinking and acting this way, then many if not all of the world’s problems would be fixed in no time!
Finally to push the idea of giving forward even more, at the end of each month ,a portion of profits made from my sells are donated to schools and outreach programs.

By doing these things I am sharing the joy of helping others, influencing others to do the same, and planting the seed for them to pass it on to someone else. That is why I am so determined to show people that by caring about others and helping them to reach their goals, they can learn more about themselves. They will also gain people skills that are necessary to being successful in business and in life. After all is that not what we all want in life, to be happy and cared about? So in closing no matter what you do, just keep moving forward! Ricky Cunningham

Selling tips to improve sales

2008-03-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

Selling part 2 ( Sales Calls)
Life is complicated enough why make it more difficult when it comes to the sales process? I don't claim to have all the answers or one magic method; there's never just one way. Over time though, I've found some simple strategies that make calls smoother and improve your chances of closing the deal. These three steps can be done before, during and after each call to increase your closing ratio.

1. PREPARE: Mental preparation is the key to a great sales call. What result do you project in your mind's eye before you call? What do you want to accomplish ? Have you played out the call in your mind beforehand? It really works. Many top athletes do the same thing before a big game. By taking the time to prepare it not only sets up the initial road map that allows the call to run more smoothly, but also gives you the confidence that comes from knowing you took steps in advance. Does everything always go as planned? No. But that does not matter when you actually have a plan to fall back on. Sometimes my plan is as simple as writing down the five key points I want to discuss during each call.

2. POSITION: How do you best position who you are and what you are selling on the first call? I can guarantee that 4 out of 5 salespeople will start telling you what they're selling before listening to the position of the customer. For example, let's say a customer says to a sales rep, "Tell me why I should buy your product over your competitor's. Many salespeople will go right into their product pitch, value-added proposition and so on. Here is what to do instead: Simply turn the conversation around. I recently had a call that went just like that. One of the five people on the call asked me to describe the way I would put together their loan package and the steps I would take to get it approved. I said well I would first like to know more about you and what kind of business you want to start. Yes I had their business plan, but it is always nice to hear the details from the client's mouth. People can write up a good business plan but when it comes to selling their vision to others they have little to nothing to say. It is always important to practice speaking to others because at some point you will have to talk with a customer, a supplier, an employee or investors.

3. PROPOSE: When it comes time to propose my plan, I make sure it is developed from the customer's point of view. Here are some simple points to keep in mind when you propose to close:
- Let the solution be the customer's idea ( or at least look like it is ).
-Make sure you believe it's the right solution.
-Have additional sales opportunities in your pipeline so you close with confidence and have the ability to walk away if the deal doesn't make sense.
-Earn their trust and their business by doing more than the competition.
-Let them call your satisfied customers.
-Follow up on everything you said you would do.
-Ask for the business. Yes I said ask for the business: "Why don't we go ahead with this?" No fancy closing techniques needed here-just ask with confidence. If you've done everything right, closing should should be the easiest step of all.

Selling tips to improve sales

2008-03-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Art of Selling
Thursday, Jan 3, 2008
Over the years, of working in call centers and dealing with angry people I learned a very important lesson. People do not care how much you know until they see how much you care about them and their goals. You have to get what you sell out of your mind and start focusing on what your customers want. What are they trying to accomplish? What do they get fired up about? Once you start listening and learning about them, the trust starts to build and the sales cycle becomes much easier to navigate. Here are three ways to stay focused:

1. FORGET ABOUT WHAT YOU SELL
When you first meet a prospect, start thinking of questions that will uncover his hot buttons. What does that person do, and does he have goals for the next year or three years? What are his top three priorities or objectives? What challenges and changes does he face in his industry? How can you help him generate more business? Once you focus on the customer, it becomes easier to think of ways your product or service can fit into their overall goals. If you realize right away that it's not a good fit, you can walk away and work on other, more qualified prospects.

2. GO BEYOND THE CUSTOMER'S GENERAL BUSINESS NEEDS
Every time I ask one of my business associates if they made a sell because they did something helpful for the prospect that had nothing to do with their business they all say yes. May be they helped a client's kid get an internship or recommend a great builder when they heard a customer say they were adding on to their house. This brakes down barriers and opens customers up to looking at you as a resource and that is when good things start to happen.

3. MAINTAIN YOUR PASSION FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE PEOPLE YOU SERVE
How well do you know your prospects and customers? How much more business could you get if you spent more time uncovering their inner workings? When I take a tour of an associates business I interview people in different departments and research who their customers are. This gives me an inside look into the way different companies deal with people and the mistakes they make. By asking customers questions about themselves you will learn more about the person, their needs, and how best to serve them. Doing this will improve the relationship you have with your customer and also help in gaining trust as well. This will lead to repeat business and referrals that you can turn into future sells.