Start doing online business using B2B Portals in Six Steps author:Nowshade Kabir source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_239.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:14 category:online_business article:

I registered with a B2B site but what’s next?

This is a question many first time users of B2B marketplaces ask themselves. A few expect that the registration itself will bring them a number of new customers. In some cases this might by true! Especially, if you are a seller of some much coveted items. But for rest of us, things are a little trickier! A large B2B marketplace has a lot of suppliers of similar products, who are vying for the attention of potential customers. To establish your company as a favored one among them is not an easy task! However, a little planning and thorough follow up of some basic guidelines improve your chance of getting noticed by buyers significantly.

Below, I outlined some of the basic steps that you should take once you seriously decide to market your products using B2B marketplaces.

1 Write a nice profile

When a prospective client sees your trade lead ad or your product on the marketplace and feels interested, the first thing he does is - checks your company profile out. That’s where the buyer gets his initial information about your company. If you have a virtually blank profile with a very little information on your company, doubtful that the potential client will even bother to make a request for quote. That’s why you should spend a little time on writing a nice company profile. Here are some aspects that you should emphasize on while writing your company profile.

Start your profile with something noteworthy about your company. This could be the distinct quality that sets your business apart from your competition.

Describe your present customer base, target market and any new products or projects that you are planning to come up with.

Write a bit about your company history. When the company was incorporated? What is the business form?

If you have something to boast about, do it! If you feel that your sales figures are impressive, why not mention them.

Be brief! The profile should not be more than five paragraphs. You don’t want your buyers to get bored!

2 Include your logo on your Storefront page

If you would like to separate your company from many other similar vendors, you have to think seriously about creating a brand for your company. Brand is the distinctive pattern of your business operation. It portrays the nature of your service or product, your uniqueness in comparison to others etc. A nice looking logo is a key to branding your company. Customers will remember your company name better if you have a great logo to go with.

3 Add products to your storefront

It is important to have your main products, products that are your primary sale generators, added to your storefront. Products with nice picture and well descriptions capture buyers attention more than any thing else. After all the reason that the buyers are on your page is to look for the products that they need.

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10 different templates to build multiple-page storefront

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10 different templates to build multiple-page storefront

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Negotiation

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Internal Messaging Service

Merchant Account

Many other features

Coming soon!

4 Make nice pictures of your products

Nothing can turn off a prospective buyer than a hazy or blur picture of the product that he intends to buy from you. If your competitor’s product with exactly same features has nicer picture, guess who has a better chance to get the business? Spend some money and take professional pictures of your products. Make sure that you followed all the instructions of the Portal before uploading the pictures.

5 Post your products for sale on the marketplace

Product visibility is the name of the game! Don’t confine yourself just by adding products to E-catalog and your Storefront. Post products for sale on the E-marketplace.

There are numbers of great advantages of posting products on E-marketplaces:

Frequent browsers of marketplace can see your products

Buyers can compare your products with others on marketplace

Buyers can take an immediate buying decision and make an instant Purchase Order.

6 Post trade leads

For many not-so-savvy users of B2B sites it's a bit complicated to make buys and sales through marketplaces. They prefer to get trade leads from the site and make contacts with buyers or sellers by fax, phone or just emails. Posting trade leads is a great marketing method to tap new territories. Don’t be disappointed if you do not get immediate feedbacks. Repeat trade leads at least once in a month. Since normally a portal constantly acquires new members, in order to expose the leads to bigger audience, it is worthwhile to post trade leads frequently.

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10 Blazing Ways To Sky-Rocket Your Profits author:Dirk Wagner source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_1373.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

1. Use a "P.S." at the end of your ad copy. This is were you either want to repeat a strong benefit or use a strong close like a free bonus.

2. Publish a free ebook and give it away from your web site or in your e-zine. This will increase your traffic, sales and e-zine subscribers.

3. Create multiple streams of income with your web site. You could sell your own products, join affiliate programs, sell advertising space, etc.

4. Give your visitors compliments in your ad copy. This can earn their trust and put them in a good mood, in return they will be easier to sell too.

5. Create new products or services only if there is a strong need for them. You won't have anyone to sell them to if you don't have a market.

6. Sell your backend products to your customers right after they order. Take them to a "Thank You" web page that includes other products you sell.

7. Sell a few products on your web site instead of selling a large amount of products. To many choices can overwhelm your visitors and they won't buy.

8. Include content and free stuff on your web site that promote the products you're selling. If they don't read your ads, they may read your offerings.

9. Remind your visitors that you're human not just a web site. You could publish information on your family life, a picture of yourself , a profile, etc.

10. Provide a "Contact Page" on your web site. Give your visitors as many options to contact you as possible. This'll add credibility to your business.

Copyright 2004 Dirk Wagner

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10 Critical Things To Do Before You Spend A Dime In Advertising author:Karin Manning source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_195.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:14 category:online_business article:

“Research…”

Let’s say it again…

“Research”…Grrrrrrrr.

The word “research” can make many eBusiness owners cringe. Why? Because it sounds like such hard work.

Let’s analyse the word itself. “Search” means to go looking for something and “re” means “again”. Put them together and it means to go looking for something again.

Guess what?

Research is hard work. However, to survive online research must be done and it must be done on a regular basis. So if you don’t like doing research, well basically, that’s too bad. It’s time to take it by the hand and make it your friend because you need to do research to be a successful eBusiness owner for these reasons:

Research is going to take time, however, in the long run it’s going to save you a lot of money.

Research is what’s going to set you apart from everybody else. By taking the time to research hot topics, hot websites and the latest techniques of Internet gurus you are going to learn what is currently working and what is currently not working – taking advantage of the mistakes that others have made – and that information alone is priceless.

Research is going to make you look like an expert. People will want to join your list, belong to your private site, read your books because they know you spend the time researching the latest up to the minute trends and techniques.

Research is what the majority of eBusiness owners avoid doing like the plague. Why? Because people are inherently lazy and if there’s an easier way of getting from (a) to (b) people will consistently choose that route.

Guess what? By doing research that other people hate doing you will become a valuable regular source of information to an unlimited number of people.

So let’s say the word again and this time let’s say it slowly and with a smile…

:O) R E S E A R C H :o)

See, it doesn’t seem so awful now, does it? Because research is what is going to save you a lot of money, make you a lot of money, and research is what all successful Internet marketers do on a regular basis.

It’s time consuming

It’s annoying

Sometimes it’s a right royal PITA (Fill in the blanks with this one ;O))

However, it’s a necessary evil so let’s learn to really love it.

Okay, now that I hope you are feeling a little warm and fuzzy towards doing research ;o), what every Internet marketer must do on a regular basis is research what advertising works.

And the first step is to find a newsletter/ezine to advertise in and to do that you need to spend a bit of time collating some information.

Here’s 10 things to do before you spend a dime on advertising:

Take time time to look at the newsletter publisher’s website.

If you like the website then subscribe to the ezine and look at the format of the ezine closely.

Contact the publisher and ask the following questions:

What is the number of subscribers?

Has each subscriber specifically asked to be subscribed to the list or has it been automatic through a co-op etc?

Is double opt-in used ie. Has each subscriber confirmed their request to subscribe?

How often and what days of the week is the ezine published? It is generally believed that Tuesday through Thursday are the best days for readership, however, I know of many successful ezine publishers who publish regularly on a Friday or Saturday targeting weekend readership.

Is the ad published in the newsletter itself or is it published as a separate ad sheet (newsletter preferred).

Will the publisher use your choice of subject line and, if so, will it just say your subject line (always preferred) or the words “SOLO AD” and then your subject line?

Is there a queue before your ad will be published (this is a really good sign)? A queue usually means that ad results are good and the ezine is a recommended advertising source.

By taking the time to wait for these answers and going over the responses carefully you will immediately be able to place ezines in rankings of importance as a result of the answers you receive.

The more “yes” answers you get to the above questions the higher the quality of the readership will be. The number of subscribers is not an indicator of how well your ad will pull. Quite often newsletters with low subscribers pull as well as newsletters with thousands of subscribers.

The bottom line at all times is the sales you receive as a result of your ad placement. The higher the readership quality the higher quality prospects and customers you will receive and the less refunds you will have to process :O).

So next time that you’re in two minds about doing things the quick way (looking for quick results with no research, high chance of monetary loss) or the slow methodical way (looking for quality results, possible delayed gratification, definite monetary savings in the long term) remember that Turtle who gave a certain self-confident Hare a big run (pardon the pun) for his money.

Now which one are you…that Turtle or that Hare?

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10 Explosive Ways To Turbo-Boost Your Sales author:Carlo Cabrera source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_2538.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

1. Design your web site to be a targeted resource center. Choose one subject and build on it. You'll gain repeat visitors that are interested in that topic.

2. Offer something that is really free. If people go to your site and what you said was free really isn't, you'll lose their trust and they won't buy anything.

3. Add a chat room or message board to your web site. People want to interact with other people that have they same interests as them.

4. Entice people to link to your web site by giving them something free in return. This'll increase your ranking in some search engines.

5. Trigger your reader's emotions in your ad copy. Example, if you sell a book on gambling tips, tell them the feelings they'll get when they win money.

6. Make sure your site looks good in all browsers. You could be losing sales because it looks distorted in some web browsers.

7. Increase your sales by e-mailing full page ads to your e-zine subscribers. Remember to tell people before they subscribe or they may consider it spam.

8. Ask people questions in your ad copy that make them think about their problems. For example: Do you want to be free of your debts?

9. Magnify the size of your prospects problem in your ad; show how your product can solve it. The bigger the problem, the more sales you'll have.

10. Invest a percentage of your profits right back into your business. Spend it on marketing, product improvement, customer service, advertising, etc.

Copyright 2005 Carlo Cabrera

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10 Characteristics of A Home Business Professional author:Kelly Lowe source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_2282.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

Home Business Professionals are unique people. We are all very different people, with very different personalities and thinking processess. However, all successful home business professionals have the following characteristics in common.

1. Home business professionals are usually leaders, not followers. We like to set the standards, not adhere to them.

2. Home business professionals are always looking for new and better ways to do things. We believe that there is always a better, more effective way to get things done, and we seek to find it.

3. Home business professionals are very open-minded. We never say that an idea won't work without looking at all the facts, and if possible, testing the theory in question.

4. Home business professionals are generally very organized. We are our own bosses. There is nobody to tell us when, or how, to get things done. It is something we must do for ourselves, and being organized is usually the first step in getting things done effectively.

5. Home business professionals are hard workers. We know that starting a business is hard work, with long hours. However, we know that eventually, we will be able to work fewer hours and enjoy the same success. However, we do understand that work will always be involved, even if the hours are shorter.

6. Home business professionals like to help out others. If you talk to a home business professional, the chances are good that you will find that person does charity work of some sort.

7. Home business professionals are honest in their business dealings. When they see others being dishonest, they are quick to call them on it, and point it out to others.

8. Home business professionals are very dedicated. We love what we do. It is something we have chosen for ourselves. We make our own rules, and we love "going" to work each day. Our love for what we do drives us to do it better than anyone else and keeps us very motivated.

9. Home business professionals are very energetic. We don't have the stresses that the people in the corporate world have. We are not a part of the rat race. This allows us to have more energy. While traditional corporate employees tend to go home from work and stretch out on the couch to watch television, home business professionals walk out of their home offices ready to go have fun. We have alot of energy left over at the end of the day.

10. Home business professionals are happy people. We love what we do. We've made our own rules, and we are living the lives that we have chosen to live. Who wouldn't be happy?

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10 Benefits to Becoming a Coach author:David Wood source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_1961.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

Coaching is a very personal experience, but we all share in the benefits that coaching brings to our clients and ourselves. If you're thinking of becoming a coach, this list may persuade you to take the leap. If you're already a coach, it will remind you how lucky you are!

1) Coaching is extremely fulfilling

You get to partner with people in whichever area is MOST important to them right now. You can make an enormous difference to their life, and watch the results unfold. Find out what areas are most fulfilling for you, and work with clients who are pursuing them.

2) Coaching lets you work from home or anywhere else!

Stroll around your front yard using a cordless headset phone, coach from a quiet meeting room at work, or even from the beach. Due to the growing popularity of phone coaching, you can now travel or live in any country in the world, and keep your coaching practice going.

3) Set your own work hours e.g. Mon to Wed, 10am – 1pm?

You decide when you coach, and when you’ll have free time to create other projects. Prefer to coach in the evenings? Want 2 hours for lunch? It’s your choice.

4) Coaching pays well

Good coaches are exceeding six figure incomes. Suppose you charged in your early stages only $250 per month and provided 30 minute sessions. You could spend two days a week coaching 20 clients, and still make $60,000 that year. And, if you worked up to 30 clients at $400 per month, we’re talking $144,000 for coaching three days a week.

5) Coaching offers you your own business with VERY low overhead

Running your own business gives you a LOT of freedom and room for creativity. And there are not many businesses you can enter with the investment of nothing but your coach training, a computer and a phone. You can also transition safely into the profession by developing a client base BEFORE you cut back to 3 days a week at your regular job, or even quit.

6) Coaching creates continual personal growth

By asking a lot of your clients, you'll find you naturally begin to ask a lot of yourself. You cannot help but grow and expand, and achieve results as you ask them to grow and expand, and achieve results. Imagine reaching a startling insight for yourself in a coaching session, and you're getting paid for it!

7) Your personal development is tax deductible!

Any course you do related to personal growth, including any travel you need to do to take the training, is generally tax deducible (check with your accountant). Want to learn Reiki? Yoga? Management skills? If you're passing it on to your clients and getting paid for it, it's a business expense.

8) Coaching allows you to network with other winning coaches

You become part of a dynamic worldwide community. Need a contact in London? Visa information for Canada? Advise on coaching while traveling the world? You'll find the coaching community surprisingly generous and supportive.

9) Coaching equals creativity

Coaching clients regularly is an amazing structure for creativity in your life. The world becomes a huge palette where your job is to help brainstorm ideas and strategies for your clients. It's impossible for you to not come up with ideas and strategies for yourself and those around you! A new book? A series of audio tapes? How to reduce hunger? A web course for girls hitting puberty? Who knows where you will end up!

10) Get in at the ground floor of an emerging profession

As a profession, coaching is in its infancy. It is less than 15 years old in the US. If you start now, in five years you could be a leader in your profession.

By David Wood and Geoff Grist

I encourage you to share, replicate or forward this article as long as the author links, and copyright information are kept intact.

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"Don't Leave Home Without It?" I Say, "Don't Leave Home With it?" author:David Moore source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_2345.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

There’s a popular credit card commercial that ends with the line, “don’t leave home without it.“ Well, I say “don’t leave home with it.“ What I mean by that is this. Why pay for a product by spreading your payments over many months through credit card payments when you can get what you want by paying cash. And over the lifetime of those payments you will have actually paid 5-10 times more than the sticker price because of the interest that is added to the cost of the item. Why not save the interest and get more of what you want, or donate to a worthy cause, or help someone you love with that money?

Furthermore, why leave home to earn the money you need in order to pay your credit card bill when you can work from home and earn enough money to keep from having to get credit cards in the first place? Make sense?

Well, it is possible to earn a comfortable living working from home at your computer. It’s even possible to earn a substantial income if you are motivated and if you are a self-starter. If on the other hand, someone has to get you out of bed every morning, start your car for you, and head you in the right direction with one of your hands on the steering wheel and a cup of coffee in the other, don’t try a work-at-home business. While you may be able to sleep in every morning, you will have to spend some quality time working your business. The question is this. How much is it worth to you?

Jeremy Rifkin said, far too often we “continue to address the problems at hand with solutions that create even greater problems than the ones they were intended to solve.” He’s right. We keep trying to solve our financial problems by getting credit cards that in the end create even greater problems than the ones they were intended to solve. And when it’s time to think about retirement all we have to look forward to is keeping up the minimum payments on those credit cards we now wish we never had. We’ can’t visit are kids and grandkids like we wish we could. We can’t take that ocean liner cruse we’ve always dreamed about. We can’t make a meaningful contribution to an organization dedicated to helping those, who through no fault of their own, cannot help themselves.

Look, I’m 55 years of age and I’m definitely not the product of the internet generation. But I have a burning desire for my wife and I to be able to visit our children at our leisure, to watch our grandkids hit home runs in Little League or do ballet, to pay off our debts, to take that ocean liner cruise we’ve always dreamed about, and to contribute to worthy humanitarian causes. That’s why I decided to become an at-home business entrepreneur. And it’s beginning to pay off. This time next year I fully expect to be earning at least $8000 a month from my on-line business while working 2-3 hours a day - maybe even earning a lot more than that, but I don‘t want to overstate the possibilities.

Speaking of possibilities, our youngest son is a third year pre-med student who wants to study and treat infectious diseases. What a joy it will be to contribute to his medical education (without having to borrow the money) so he can immediately put his practice to use rather than having to first earn money to pay off his medical bill.

Do you have similar dreams? Then start your on-line business now. Let me give you one final thought. The other day I was mowing our grass. I enjoy doing this chore. I could hire someone to do it for me, but it’s relaxing to me. So I cranked up the engine and started pushing the mower. Because part of our yard is on a slope the pushing became a little more strenuous. But wait, I bought a self-propelled mower to eliminate this stress. It finally dawned on my that I had not pushed the lever down to activate the self-propulsion of the mower. Why did I tell you this story?

Because that’s how it is with an on-line work-at-home business. You don’t just start the engine and suddenly it goes on auto pilot while you rake in the monthly commissions. First you have to activate the lever. In other words, it takes some effort on your part to get the business up and running - a few months - then it in fact does go on auto pilot - and all you have to do is steer it in the right direction. And just like the sense of pride and accomplishment I feel when I look at the beauty of a freshly cut lawn, your business becomes a sense of pride and accomplishment as you enjoy the benefits of what it has brought to you.

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#1 Mistake Most Blogs Do author:Rok Hrastnik source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_2201.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

As much as this might surprise most bloggers, the #1 mistake most blogs are doing is not publishing their content via e-mail, as a supplement to their RSS feeds.

Just think about it: while RSS is growing strong, it still only penetrates about 5-6% of the American online population. Furthermore, according to a recent BlogAds survey, "only 12 percent of the blog reading audience said it used RSS always or often".

If you're delivering your blog content only via RSS, you're missing out on about 80% or more of potential regular readership/followship.

THE KEY BLOG PROBLEM

There are millions of blogs already, but really few people have the time to watch more than a few daily. But if they come back just once a week, they can be quickly overwhelmed with the amount of new content.

That's why it's crucial to provide a "best of", a helping hand to guide your readers to the "must-read" content you publish … and delivering this content either as a standalone “blog-zine” or as part of your regular e-mail newsletter.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

Deliver your blog posts as they are written via RSS, but then also publish a regular (weekly or monthly) e-mail e-zine with your "top blog posts" for those that are still not in to RSS.

Don't do just one channel, do both.

E-mail is still the #1 end-user content delivery channel ... whether we like it or not. Using e-mail (as a supplement to RSS) to deliver our content is just good business practice, at least for now.

THE CHRIS PIRILLO EXAMPLE

Chris Pirillo is the publisher of one of the most popular sites on the net, Lockergnome.com. He was actually the first to proclaim e-mail as being dead.

But still, while he preferrs for his subscribers to use RSS instead of e-mail, that isn’t stopping him from using or promoting either RSS or e-mail.

COMPARING BLOGS, E-ZINES, E-MAIL AND RSS

If you’re reading this article and thinking that blogs are actually “beyond e-mail”, just consider the following reality.

RSS and e-mail are content delivery channels; the tools that enable us to deliver our content to end-users. Blogs and e-zines on the other hand are two different internet media content formats, differing in how/what content is provided and presented through them.

RSS/e-mail and blogs/e-zines cannot be directly compared. Blog content and e-zine content can both be delivered via RSS and e-mail, and there is no direct business/logical relation between, for example, blogs and RSS.

Blogs are "personal" conversations, opinions and news, delivered in a linear structure, usually written in a more personal style, and confined to a limited number of content types.

E-zines on the other hand are more similar to magazines or newspapers, carrying content presented in a complex non-linear content structure, and having the ability to carry many different content types that do not mix well together if provided through a linear content structure.

A typical e-zine might include:

an editorial;

a leading article, representing the prevailing topic of a specific e-zine issue;

supporting articles, clearly structured to show they are secondary to the leading article;

links to "best of" blog posts in the given timeframe;

links to the most relevant forum topics and posts;

a news section;

a featured client case study;

different advertisements (banner ads, textual ads, advertorials etc.);

a featured consultant;

a Q&A section;

a featured whitepaper;

etc.

Providing all of this content demands a complex content structure and a strong and experienced editor. The blog format simply does not provide the level of structure needed to effectively present such a complex content mix.

But that's not to say that blogs are in any way inferior to e-zines, they're just different. And businesses need both, and they need to deliver both via RSS and e-mail.

Personal preferences towards content delivery channels and internet content media formats have no place in business. What matters is what our audiences want and how they want it.

Copyright 2005 Rok Hrastnik

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10 Instant Benefits Of Submitting Your Articles To E-zines author:Ahmad Supaat source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_1826.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

One of the biggest problems that most online business owners face is how to promote and generate targeted traffic to their website. An easy way you can boost your online presence is by writing and submitting articles to E-zines.

Here are 10 benefits of submitting your articles to e-zines:

#1. You will gain recognition and instantly brand your website, business and yourself by submitting articles to ezines. By including your resource box with your name, business name, web site address and e-mail address you will gain valuable free advertising.

#2. You will be seen as an expert in your field. This will give you and your business extra credibility which will help you stand out against your competition. Most people simply don't want to write, or don't know how.

#3. Your article might also appear on the publisher's web site. If they publish each issue on their home page this will give you some extra exposure and increase your link popularity.

#4. You will improve your search engine rankings when your article get's published by many ezine publishers. This will create many links pointing to your website.

#5. You can put your own article into a web page on your website, with the right keywords in the meta tags and text. This will create content to attract search engines and help to boost your search ranking.

#6. You could also allow e-zine publishers to publish your articles in their free e-books. Since people give them away, your advertising and exposure could multiply virally all over the internet.

#7. You will get your article published all over the web when you submit it to free article content directories. They'll allow their visitors to republish your article. This will increase the exposure of your article to thousands of people.

#8. You could do a swap with another ezine publisher to get your article guaranteed to run in an e-zine. You could agree to run one of their articles in your e-zine if, in exchange, they run yours in their e-zine. It's a win/win situation.

#9. You might earn extra income from people wanting to hire you to write other articles, books, or even ask to speak at seminars, since you are seen as an expert. This is another way to boost your income.

#10. You will begin to gain people's trust. If they read your article and like it, they will be less hesitant to buy your product or service. Then, you will be able to see an increase in your profits.

If you want to increase the visibility of your website and get more visitors then start writing your articles and submit them to E-Zines.

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www.Passive-Profits.com investigates... Is this the end for AOL? Switchisp Looms author:Nicholas Drake source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_2334.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

If you want to take advantage and make a serious passive income from the next major upset in Internet Service Provider business - Read on...

Yes, there’s a new kid on the block and he’s cheap, very fast and can make you extremely rich.

I found a recent press release about this company which stated, “With over 10,000,000 hits per month and more than 200 people in the sign-up area each hour, Switchisp is the front-runner in the race to snap up AOL’s disenchanted subscribers”

In addition, Switchisp say their new technology is offering anyone with a computer unlimited ISP and of 10 X faster surfing speed for as little as $14-90 per month.

However what interests us here at www.Passive-Profits.com is it’s incredibly lucrative marketing plan. As any regular reader will know, www.Passive-Profits.com is always on the lookout for the very best in passive income streams. As with many really good business opportunities, one of the best things a successful entrepreneur can do is get in at the very beginning.

Lucky us!

This opportunity is still right in it’s infancy, in fact we were told yesterday that this company has only been going for a couple of months.

Imagine if you had been given an opportunity like this when AOL was just a few weeks old… where would you be now if you had obtained a cut from everyone who used it, every month forever?

Now I’ll show you how you can get involved straight away with this business. It doesn’t matter whether you have your own website or not and it’s so cheap to get started it will blow your socks off. No set up charges and just $11.90 per month and that’s it. For that you get a whole number of excellent features including your own online office and a home web page to direct people to in order for them to get started.

Just go to: www.switchisp.com/passiveprofits

Once you are there, listen to the audio and check out the payplan. You’ll love it. Soon you can just sit back and let the ball start rolling in the passive profits if you like. However, why stop there? For a little bit of extra effort, you can build yourself a fortune?

As with any passive income you always need to do a bit of work at the beginning to get things going. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. But the great thing about it is once it has started you can relax, knowing that your earlier efforts are paying off. For example, the business above is a brilliant passive income builder, because the wonderful thing is that you don’t just get paid once, you will be paid again every single month after month after month, for something you only did once…

So that’s it folks. I do hope the above has encouraged you to enjoy a new Lucrative & Relaxed Living with Passive Profits…

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"How To Make Readers Desperately and Uncontrollably Wanting To Buy Your Product" author:Steve Atlas source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_156.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:14 category:online_business article:

Are you looking for ways of persuading your web site visitors to buy your product or service? Or for ways of writing a sales letter so that you sell more?

Then you need to understand why people buy in the first place.

People buy things because they want to. Not necessarily because they need to.

We don't need to buy expensive designer clothes, for instance, but we want to. Because we want to look good, and great clothes makes us look good. Why do we want to look good? In many cases, simply to attract the opposite sex.

This is why so many designer clothes ads use sex to sell.

It's simple, but it works. In a magazine ad – by placing a guy in a particular designer suit next to a couple of beautiful women, the readers subconsciously thinks that by buying that suit, he too will attract beautiful women.

Emotion makes you buy. Wanting to achieve something makes you buy.

You need to trigger the reader's desire for your product. Not necessarily by focusing on your product, but on how his life will change when buying this product.

Focus on the potential customer, not your product.

You can't force people to buy. Unfortunately, some of you might say.

But why force someone, when you can make them want to buy voluntarily? With much better results? Trigger their emotions so that they want to buy. Make them want your product. Feed them with emotional triggers so that they get excited about the project. Let them so the sales job.

How to trigger their emotions?

Tell your reader how his or her life will change after buying your product. Are you selling power shower heads? Tell them how fantastic you'll feel every morning using these heads. Describe it. Compare your power shower heads to the ordinary, cheap shower heads.

Show them how the features of the product will benefit the buyer.

Appeal to his or her emotions.

Are you selling cars? Let the prospect sit in the car, let him drive the car. Point out all the little details, like the high quality leather that is used on the seats. (Don't say a word yet about how much this costs extra.) Paint him a picture...describe to him how wonderful it'll be to drive this car every day. Describe how the product will change his life.

Make them want your product.

But in order for the emotional appeals to work, you need to use logic, too. Because the prospect must justify his uncontrollable urge to buy.

After the initial emotional appeal, give him all kinds of logical reassurances of why it’s OK to buy. Tell him how much money he will save using your product, tell him you’ve reduced the price of your product so that if he likes it he’d be much better off buying straight away, tell him that you will give him additional bonuses if he buys immediately, and the best trick of all…

Tell your potential customer that he can return the product to you at any time and get a full refund if he’s not entirely happy about it.

This is the ultimate logical appeal.

If he wants your product; if you’ve made him want your product - the main thing holding him back is money. If you take away this risk, he’s got nothing to loose.

Use emotion to get your readers to desire your product by showing them how they will benefit from the product. Use logic to take away their resistance to buying. Use logic to take away all the risks.

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10 EXCELLENT Reasons to Start Your Own Discussion Forum author:Rosalind Gardner source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_2215.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

Riches, fame, glory ... OK, that's perhaps exaggerating somewhat, but running a successful forum can certainly make you very popular and bulk out the wallet considerably.

Here are the ten best reasons to start your own discussion forum:

Meet People

Do you love to garden, do wood-working or build model airplanes? Visit a forum on any niche topic and you'll meet others who are also interested in that topic.

Share and Learn

Help others by sharing your knowledge and learn from those with new and different experience.

Increase RECOGNITION

Repeated posting is a great way to get your name out there.

Enhance Credibility

Become known as an 'expert' by providing thoughtful answers and suggestions to questions posed on the forum.

Boost Traffic

As you become more widely known as an expert, your name and URL will be mentioned elsewhere on the web, which then brings more visitors to your site.

Improve Site Ranking

More visitors means better page rankings at Google and higher search engine listings at all the major search engines - which in turn means MORE traffic still!

Create Information Database

Any product or service sold generates a set of commonly asked questions. Post answers on your forum and then send people directly to the specific answer on your site. (Having them go to your site will also help boost your page rank and bring in still MORE visitors!)

Reduce Workload

Regular forum participants will answer questions that others have posted, thereby reducing your workload.

Gather Information and Feedback

Need new ideas for products? Post your own questions to find out what your forum visitors most want and need - then use that information to:

Promote Products

Display ads for products related to your forum visitors' interests at the top and bottom of every page. Ads can be for your own products or for merchants with whom you are affiliated. Post new messages when you have a new product that your visitors will be interested in.

Those are just the obvious reasons - I'm sure you'll discover many more benefits when you become master of your own forum.

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How to Choose the Right eBook Compiler author:Chris Stirling source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_3170.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

So you have a great idea that you are convinced others will Be interested in reading about. So you go about writing an Interesting and compelling story, information package, or Training manual and you want to distribute it over the internet. What you need to turn your masterpiece into an ebook is software called an ebook Compiler.

Before you chose from the many different compilers out there you need to know exactly what an ebook Compiler does. Here is the simple explanation:

An ebook compiler is a software program that converts either text pages or HTML text into a single executable file or an ebook.

If your masterpiece that you created is a file with graphics in HTML, you will need an HTML ebook Compiler. This type of compiler requires a working knowledge of the HTML tag language. You can also use software to do this for you, such as Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver.

The next step is to choose an eBook Compiler?

This is where things can quickly get very confusing and overwhelming without some simple guidelines to help you figure out which compiler is right for you. There are a large number of ebook Compilers available on the market, all with glowing sales copy and tekkie language.

Choosing an ebook Compiler depends on a number of factors:

1. Consider how easy the program is to use and the thoroughness of the software's instruction manual. It is absolutely necessary that the compiler you buy have an instructional manual, documentation, or online "wizards." Many manufacturers of compilers offer a free trial version so you can play around with it and see if it suits your needs. Download the trial version and ascertain that it actually does what it claims to do.

2. How did you create your pages? Did you use HTML or PDF format? There are many more compilers available for HTML, but you can find some very good compilers that will covert your PDF files into an ebook.

3. Supported scripting. Find out what scripts the software supports. Scripting allows you to create special effects, customize menus, and create and modify other user interactivity. Choose a compiler that permits you to include graphics, search windows, hyperlinks, forms, surveys, etc

4.. Security features. If you plan to sell your ebook, check out the security features of the compiler software carefully. Security features should include: prevention of the reader from modifying text, access only to the pages you assign or by entering a password, different ways of generating passwords such as secure passwords, user-friendly, and open passwords.

5. Pricing. This is a factor that is not always easy to gauge. The highest priced compilers are not automatically your best choice. Choose your compiler based on the necessary requirements for your Ebook. That means you need to know exactly how you plan to use your Ebook and what functions you require.

If you choose an ebook compiler that is easy to use, is secure and reliable creating ebooks can be easy, fun and a profitable way to promote your online business.

Copyright 2005 Chris Stirling

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10 Cool Ways To Attract People To Your Web Site author:William Fredrick source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_1570.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

1. Give people a free subscription to your e-zine. Almost everyone is publishing a e-zine nowadays so it's important to give something extra with the free subscription. You could offer a free gift or advertising when people subscribe.

2. Provide your visitors with free content. Your content will be more attractive to your visitors if it's up-to-date or original. You could also offer people the option to reprint the content in their e-zine or web site.

3. Offer a free online directory. The directory could be full of interesting ebooks, e-zines, web sites etc. If people find your directory to be a valuable resource they will visit it over and over.

4. Give your visitors a free ebook. You could also include your own ad in the ebook and allow other people to give it away. If you don't want to take the time to write one, you could ask other writers permission to use their articles.

5. Hold free online classes or seminars. They could be held in your web site's chat room. The idea of "live" information will definitely entice people to visit your web site. You will become known as an expert on the topic.

6. Give visitors a free entry into your contest or sweepstakes. The prizes should be something of interest or value to your visitors. Most people who enter will continually revisit your web site to get the results.

7. Let visitors download free software. It could be freeware, shareware, demos etc. You could even turn part of your site into a free software directory. If you created the software, include your ad inside and let other people give it away.

8. Offer free online services or utilities from your web site. They could be search engine submitting, copy writing proofreading etc. The service or utility should be helpful to your target audience.

9. Give free consulting to people who visit your web site. You could offer your knowledge via e-mail or by telephone. People will consider this a huge value because consulting fees can be very expensive.

10. Give your visitors a free membership to your online club. People want to belong to something, why not your online club. You could also give away a free e-zine for club members only.

Copyright 2004 William Fredrick

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How to Write an Article for the Web author:Mark Meshulam source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_3019.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

Most web-marketing experts tout the power of articles for their ability to create inbound links and enhanced credibility for websites. But what they don't tell you is... how the heck do you write an article?

You need two important elements for a great article: something to say and the means to say it. First let's discuss "something to say", otherwise known as content.

It is impossible to write something of interest to others without good, meaty content. Content comes from your interests and experiences. To generate content you need to look at yourself and your life in a new way. Look for situations in your day which "hit home" in some way. If you are intrigued, frustrated, thrilled, challenged or otherwise awakened, then pursue the topic in greater depth.

As you work and play, have an extra mental circuit running which observes your life. Let's pretend this circuit is a separate person, the Observer. Now when you go along your way, occasionally become the Observer and try to cultivate a new point of view. The Observer is not mired in your day-to-day struggles. Instead, the Observer watches you struggling, with clear unemotional vision yet with humor and an interest in patterns and themes.

Becoming the Observer will help you discover the interesting parts of your life which you can then bring to your reader. You can develop your golden nuggets of experience further by expressing them aloud to others (or even just to yourself). Through verbalization, you will find additional points of view and experiences of others to enrich your topic.

Then, research your topic by word-searching on your favorite search engine.

Eventually a theme or pattern will emerge. Go a step further and try to create a solution, position or attitude with regard to the theme. This will become your unique "take" on the subject.

Example: A while ago a consultant hired by one of my customers was irritating me by getting visibly excited whenever a small problem or issue appeared on our mutual project. I developed this into a more universal theme and wrote "Beware the Chicken Little Consultant".

The theme is consultants who use fear tactics. The position taken in the article is that such consultants should be dismissed and their users should educate themselves from less emotional sources. The attitude of the article is lightly humorous and mocking. Calling the consultant "Chicken Little" in the title is an example of this.

So far we have covered how to find and develop content, including arriving at a position and an attitude about the central theme. When you have come this far, start writing immediately.

First, jot down a few sample titles which will help guide you in your writing. Write some key points you want to be sure to cover. Then, get started writing the article.

When you write, imagine that you are sitting by a campfire with a smart and interested friend. You are comfortable and lighthearted. Your unique personality is shining through. You have a lot to share and this excites you. Tell that friend your story. What is the first thing she needs to know? Lay the groundwork step by step. Toss in a wry comment or two but don't lose the central path.

Tell your story in an order which would be most understandable to your listener. The order might be chronological or logical, building from one point to the next. Keep going until you bring it to a satisfying endpoint.

During this part of the writing, which I affectionately call "puking", try to refrain from second-guessing your words. You spent much time filling yourself with ideas. Now is the time to puke them all out. There should be a feeling of "flow". The words should want to come out. Let them. You will feel empty and good when you are finished.

After I "puke", I do a few quick re-reads and fix obvious problems such as reorganizing the order of certain paragraphs, or making the "person" consistent. This article is written in first(I) and second(you) person. In it, I am talking to you. It could have also been written in third (they) person. Example: "Experienced writers organize their ideas chronologically or logically".

You can mix the "person" for a lively article. Just be sure it's not awkward.

Look also for time consistency. Is your story written in the present? This article is written in the present. Things are happening right now. In one portion I refer to an article I wrote in the past, however the analysis of the article was written in the present, because the article still exists.

You can mix past, present and future in your article. Drawing from the past and projecting into the future are powerful presentation methods. In your re-read, make sure that this is being done correctly. Inform your readers without confusing them.

Check to make sure you are consistent with regard to singular and plural. Example of doing it wrong: "We want to inform our readers without confusing her".

Make sure each idea has its own paragraph. When writing for the web, remember that your article may be displayed in narrow newspaper-like columns. Paragraphs should be short. Avoid paragraphs with more than six sentences. Keep sentences short. If you must have a long sentence, follow it with a short one to perk up the reader and keep her motivated to continue reading.

Here is a big one: cut out all extraneous words. Don't repeat. Pretend each word is worth $5 and you are paying the tab. When you finish slashing words, go back and do it again. You will be surprised that you had so much filler.

When giving a list of points, do your reader a favor and write the points in a list with numbering or bullets. Don't make the reader cherry-pick your ideas out of a blob of text.

Avoid reusing words. Keep them varied and fresh.

Check your spelling!

Now that you have done your re-reads, save your work. Leave it alone for a day or two. You need this time to forget what you wrote. Next time when you edit, you will read with fresh eyes. Weaknesses in your article will jump out. Time to clean again.

Now read the article out loud. Speak every word clearly and not too fast. A good article should not only look good on the page, but it should also sound great when performed.

When I arrive at this point, I will typically publish the article on my blog. This is a low risk activity because I can always edit it again later. After 5-7 days, if I can't find anything else to fix, I will submit the article for syndication. This is the point of no return. Once the article is out there will be no more fixing.

Writers write because they feel a need. When they write, they feel fulfilled. It's possible that you could be a writer. With effort you can experience the gratification of seeing your words in print and your ideas spread across the internet.

Copyright 2005 Mark Meshulam

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“Do The Nike” author:Michael Nicholas source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_1744.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

I should have listened to an internet veteran back in 2000.

Learn from my mistake...

Allan Gardyne, of AssociatePrograms.com told me 3 powerful words that I overlooked as just too broad and simplistic...

And it's important that you hear this too so you won't waste time or make the same mistake I did...

His very words to me in a personal email were...

"Just Get Started"

I remember he went on to say that was the most important thing...

Now I bet that went right through you transparent with about zero impact - just like it hit me too, right?...

But don't let those 3 powerful words disguised as too simplistic fool you...

It took me almost 4 years later to catch-on and wise up. You see, I sat on the sidelines of online marketing far too long...

To me all this marketing stuff seemed like a giant catch 22...

I thought I needed to know a lot more than I knew at the time before I could actually get started... I felt I didn't have enough knowledge, so how could I get it all going???

Freeze - Stop - Do Not Pass Go - & Do Not Collect any Commissions!

As it turns out, I was wrong in hindsight... Because marketing is momentum. It's something you build-on as you go... the snowball effect.

Let me stress that again... "marketing is momentum".

Remember that... And while you DO need to keep expanding your knowledge in different areas - you can start implementing the things you learn as you go.

And you will be surprised because along the way you can start earning commissions while building your marketing momentum. This is something I was late to realize...

Again- learn from my mistake...

Just as an intern becomes a doctor or as we date before the marriage, it should be the same in marketing...

We must practice doing what we want to become... It's an evolution of a process in the making...

Ah... the magic bullet?

Not really... but the closest you will find to it...

So don't just sit on the sidelines... Get out there and do the 'Nike'... Let me explain more...

The typical 'pondering ditch' many seem to fall into... (or should I say 'fail' into)... is that they don't understand that a major part of the success formula is to "just get started".

Heck... I didn't even believe this online marketing thing was real until I saw real commissions congratulate me in my own email box... (and this is something that once it happens you're hooked :>D

However, I once entertained the thought that making a living online was reserved for gurus only ...

Hogwash!

But I had to prove that to myself... And you will too unless you take my word for it which you should simply because it's true.

Your own beliefs can be what's holding you back. But don't let anything stop you because when you are frozen going nowhere, remember there are others making commissions every day, week and every month...

So why can't it be YOU?

The fact is there are people just like you - people you will never get to hear about... but they are out there doing it right now as you are reading this.

Yes, many of them are making their living online quietly...

Now imagine if I had listened to Allan back in 2000?

So what's holding you back?

Well what I have found the hard way is you don't have to wait to get started... You don't even have to write your own ebook or create a membership site or any of that if that's not your thing... You can do affiliate marketing.

But to start profiting online you have to follow these 3 very powerful words of advice...

"Just Get Started" (or like Nike says it, “Just Do It!”)

As soon you make your first sale you’ll be amazed how your commissions will begin to add up... And you’ll find ways to build it from there. No pipe dreams here... this is real.

There are many possibilities so just listen to those 3 powerful words. And if you implement them... you'll finally discover a formula to start your own online marketing business now... not years down the road...

So please don't waste time... "just get started" and learn from my mistake...

Go for it now... it's YOUR success... but don't make it wait any longer than it has to.

Copyright 2005 Impact Info Marketing

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Affiliate Internet Marketing - Making A Success author:Karl Stadler source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_4032.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:16 category:online_business article:

So there you are sitting in front of your monitor while the others are all watching the latest soaps. Ad's are filling your screen as you click through them one by one looking for that perfect business opportunity that is going to make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.

Each sales page promises more than the previous and it is really becoming a difficult decision as to exactly how rich you want to be. The headlines scream at you, “Make One Million In 6 months”, “Write Your Own Paycheck”, “The Secret Of Earning Multiple Streams Of Income” and so it goes on.

You become so exited with your new found wealth that you give the dog your prime fillet which you bought an hour ago, knowing that after starting up you will never be looking back while the money pours into your bank account.

If this were true we would have a awful amount of extremely happy dogs not knowing the meaning of dog food, but in reality affiliate marketing is not what it seems.

However that which is stated is not entirely untrue. You can achieve all or many of what is mentioned, but you are not going to do it in 15 minutes per day and on autopilot.

Now, back to reality. How do I do it?

The easiest way starting out as a internet marketer is by being an affiliate for other peoples products. The reasons are quite simple and obvious, you do not need your own website and all the technical jargon associated with it and you don't have to spend money and time creating your own product. All you need to do is drive traffic to the affiliate site, they make the sales, you just pick up your cash.

To find products to promote as a affiliate is not difficult. There are thousands available for you to choose from. Some will charge money to join but most will be free.

As an affiliate marketer the aim is not promoting one product only, it's like putting all your eggs in one basket. Choose about 5 or even more in different areas, ones you find interesting and which you think might be good sellers. Take your time when choosing and read through everything, remember at the end of the day it will be your money driving traffic to that site, make your money work for you.

Here are a few things you need to keep in mind when choosing your affiliate products.

Have a look at when and how they pay you your commissions.

The percentage commission they will be paying you.

Preferably choose ones that pays a high commission and pays into your account as soon as the sale is made. That will keep you from losing money from sales because in many instances you will not be able to track any sales activity.

All that said and done you are now armed to the teeth with affiliate links, the dog is happily eating a prime fillet, so lets get on with it.

The most common way to generate traffic fast is PPC (pay per click). Google adwords is the big dog in town but there are a few others which you can easily find doing a simple search. It's quite easy to sign up and then you are ready to go.

Now the kind people from the affiliate programs you joined have possibly given you keywords that you can just copy and paste into your Google adwords. Now all you need to do is copy and paste them, make your bid and the money will start rolling in.

Here's the bad news, unless you are in business to lose money, this is all you will be doing and the dog will have to revert back to dog food and you to bread and water. Your advertising is going to cost you much more than your income.

This said, you can make it as a affiliate, and you can make a lot of money, you are however going to have to do some work.

Your main aim is to find cheap and underexposed keywords. Lets take a example of Google adwords.

If you copy and paste the keywords given to you, the chances are good that a lot of other affiliates are also using the exact same keywords. So for you to get ad into the top 10 or first page you will need to bid high. Let's say you end up bidding 50 cents for a pretty broad keyword. The product you are selling is selling for $47 of which you receive 50% commission, $23.50 less banking charges. In effect that means that for every 47 clicks you receive you must make one sale to just break even. I can tell you now on a broad keyword you will get 47 clicks but you will not get one sale. To find out how a keyword is performing and converting into sales is to base it on 200 clicks. When reaching that target take a look at the conversion rate, how many clicks per sale. If you have made no sales, or just one, you need to refine your keywords because you are hitting the wrong target market.

Where and how do you find and implement these seemingly elusive keywords. I mean there are only so many words in the English language!

Step 1

Take a good look at the affiliates website you joined, and see what it is that makes this a unique product that customers should have. Now please this answer does not lie in the first words you read on the page, the headline or sub headline. Read through the entire affiliate sales page and find your own unique ideas, be different.

Step two

Now that you have the idea clearly in your mind, think up a few keywords that fit this idea and will relate well to the product you are trying to sell. Come up with a few single words and some two word phrases. Write all of these down until you have about ten or fifteen.

Step Three

You have your adwords account, open the Overture keyword tool and use both of them. You can download Good Keywords for free and it will provide you with an enormous amount of information.

Take your single and two word phrases and combine them into three and four word phrases. Test these in your tools to see how many searches take place and test different combinations of these words until you find the right combination.

Once you have determined good combination keyword phrases, add them to your keyword list in your account. Chances are that you will be able to get into the top 10 easily with the lowest bid.

Target your market with specific targeted 3 and 4 word phrases, they will get you quality clicks, cheaply, with the target market generating sales.

You have heard the term find your niche over and over, but believe me if you are going to try to hit broadly you are going to lose money.

You can be a successful affiliate, but you need to put the time and effort in finding the right target audience for your product. Getting the balance right is the ultimate goal of your business.

Happy Marketing!

Copyright 2006 Karl Stadler

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"FEED ME!" When Prospects Become Parasites! author:David Badurina source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_2132.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

When you hear the word "leech", most often you think about squiggly, squirmy, slimy little bloodsuckers that don't really offer you very much in return for using your body as a twisted sort of beer-tap. After all, that's what leeches do, and while they have practical applications (such as assisting in the re-attachment of various appendages - eeeeewwwww), for the most part, these are creatures that you're better off avoiding. If for no other reason than they're just really creepy members of the animal kingdom.

In business, leeches exist as well. Both in human form, and in an intangible form. "Resource leech" is a term often used in the programming industry to describe an application on your computer that somehow saps it of every bit of energy. "Resource leeches" in the business world are people or things that take up huge amounts of your time without offering you anything in return. And they are downright dangerous.

When you deprive your business of YOU, you might as well be draining your business' life blood indefinitely. Resource leeches do that. By no means should you abandon good customer service at any time, but that doesn't mean that you can't realize a situation where someone is taking advantage of your kindness and sapping your business of precious energy. A resource leech doesn't necessarily have to be a customer - after all, many great business relationships are created with people that have never bought a thing from you, and perhaps never will. A resource leech will, however, keep taking your time and energy as long as you're offering it.

Here are three common signs of a resource leech:

Being repeatedly queried about free giveaways, free resources, and anything else attached to that four-letter word.

Getting drilled with off-topic questions not related to your products, services or business, even though it may have started that way.

Individuals intent on actively discussing everything with you, regardless of the availability of the information elsewhere.

While all three of those might be considered mere nuisances, consider the consequences of their constant presence. By allowing someone to latch on and drain your time and productivity, you're not gaining anything. There comes a point where you stand to lose - and lose big. Real squiggly, squirmy, slimy little bloodsuckers can be removed by lighting them on fire, or pouring salt on them. The trick here is that you can't exactly do that to someone who's only offense is asking you lots of questions through email.

Here are three ways you can deal with resource leeches, without setting them on fire or pouring salt on them:

Make the meal short! Answer questions directly and efficiently. Don't compose emails for hours and over-indulge someone who's simply looking to squeeze information from you.

Offer alternatives! Point them in the direction of resources that they may not know are available. This not only saves you from having your business sucked dry, but it's also fantastic customer service, and is a winning situation for everyone. Comprehensive FAQ pages and forums are perfect examples.

Backbone! If someone is continually asking for freebies, or free copies of your products and is not willing to have any sort of alternate exchange, it's okay to say no. Reasonable people understand that when you're running a business, you can't afford to run it without gaining income in return. Explaining this kindly is one way to give great customer service, and get your point across.

Using variations of these simple techniques is an easy way to deal with your productivity being drained from your business into the razor-sharp maw of the bloodsucking resource leech. Now, if none of it happens to work, and a resource leech is still determined to stick around, just be increasingly firm in standing up for yourself and your business.

If that still doesn't work, try not to resort to setting them on fire and throwing salt on them.

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10 Easier Ways Than SEO To Get Web Site Traffic author:Joe McVoy source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_3727.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

Everyone wants "organic" or "free" traffic, but it’s a full time job to try to keep on top of the search engines changing rules. Instead, if you build a good content-rich site and do the things on this list, you’ll get traffic and help your ranking at the same time.

1. Use Pay-Per-Click (PPC) - Get traffic in an hour with PPC. Google and Overture (now Yahoo). Don't bother with others until you make these two work. The key to this is to know your visitor value, bid on hundreds of key words and phrases and split test your ads and track each key word, phrase or ad separately.

2. Distribute Your Content - write articles of value to your target market. Distribute that content for other webmasters to use on their sites as long as they keep the link back to you in a "resource box" at the end of each article. Distribute your articles through article directories, ezines, and distribution services. The key to make this work is valuable content.

3. Submit Press Releases - submit electronic press releases frequently with news of interest to the media and your target market. Since press releases are news, if they get picked up, it will be quickly and you may get hundreds of links back to your site this way. Key to make this work: write 300 - 500 word releases, include a link back to you, and have them written and distributed by experts who know how to optimize each release for key words (not typical PR firms).

4. Set Up a Blog with RSS - to be effective, blogs must have frequently updated content. Base yours on information helpful to your customers, not sales pitches. Don’t do it unless you can commit some ongoing time to it. Seth Godin says the keys to a successful blog are: Candor, Urgency, Timeliness, Pithiness (short & to the point), and Controversy. The key to making this work is to make it interesting to your visitors, submit to blog directories, ping the search engines when you post and distribute your content with RSS.

5. Get One-Way Incoming Links - All the previous tips will create incoming, one-way links but you can also buy links from other sites from text link brokers. Don’t do reciprocal linking, it’s dead. Make sure you get links from pages with a Google Page Rank higher than "0". A site Google rates as "0" may be because they are penalizing it for some reason. If you link to it, you'll get penalized too.

The key to making this work: Make sure links have your key words in the anchor text and make sure they are text, not graphical links. Make sure they are from other relevant sites, not link farms or FFA (Free for All) sites. The ideal is links from relevant pages without many other links.

6. Give Other Sites Your Testimonial - let them publish it on their web site as long as they link back to you. This can get you a one-way link from a site that would otherwise not give it to you. The key to make this work: keep it short and to the point.

7. Email Promotions - Advertise in Ezines, place ads in someone else’s email newsletters that reach your target market. The key to make this work: track everything carefully

8. Joint Ventures - Get promoted to your JV partner’s customer database by your JV partner. John Reese sold over $1 Million of his information product in 24 hours exclusively by using joint venture promotions from his partners sending his offer to their customer lists. He paid his partners commissions on sales. The key to make this work: know your visitor value and have a tested and proven sales page that converts well BEFORE you contact JV prospects.

9. Get Affiliates - If selling a product, offer a commission to affiliates to sell for you. Each affiliate’s link to your sales letter conversion page will bring you traffic and a better search engine rank too. The key to making this work is to make it financially attractive to your affiliates and give them everything they need to promote your product or service. Make it brain dead easy for them to do.

10. Buy Other Web Sites - Find web sites that already rank high on your keywords and verify their traffic with the site owner and independent tools. Make sure you get ownership of the domain - you can let them still use their content elsewhere. Check deleteddomains.com to see what domains you can register for a few dollars that their owners have let expire. The key to making this work: Check Google page rank, Alexa rank and the number of back links for any site before you buy a web site.

One marketer I know challenged some SEO experts to see who could get ranked highest on a given term in 24 hours. He won, the techies did a lot of slick things, but the marketer just bought the site that was already # 1.

Copyright 2006 Joe McVoy

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10 First Rate Tips To Getting More Ezine Subscribers author:Ken Hill source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_559.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:14 category:online_business article:

1. Submit your ezine to ezine directories.

Ezine directories attract people interested in subscribing to ezines that provide them with information about their interests such as marketing, affiliate programs, gardening, or staying healthy.

In addition, ezine directories will help you to find people to buy advertising in your publication as well as other publishers who would like to swap ads or do a joint venture with you.

2. Promote your ezine in your signature file. Include a couple lines of promotion for your ezine in addition to the other information in your sig file.

3. Add a subscription box for your ezine on every page of your site. This will ensure that whatever page your visitors enter your site from, they will be able learn about your ezine and subscribe to your publication.

4. Provide a bonus for subscribing to your ezine such as an ebook, report, tutorial, marketing course, or access to your subscriber's only membership site.

Mention your bonus when promoting your ezine on your site, in your signature file, and when submitting your publication to ezine directories.

5. Buy classified ads or sponsor ads for your publication in ezines that you are already subscribed to and enjoy reading.

Also search ezine directories for ezines that reach your target market and offer reasonable advertising rates.

6. Swap ads with other ezine publishers. Be specific when asking for your ad swap. Clearly define where you will place the other publisher's ad and ask the other publisher to place the same ad for you.

Also ask for confirmation of your ad and a copy of the issue your ad will run in, and provide the other publisher with a copy of her ad and a copy of the issue you run her ad in.

To get the most out of your swaps trying swapping ads for at least 3 issues in a row and track your swaps, so that you will be able to pinpoint which ads and ezines give you the best response.

7. Use your articles to promote your ezine. Add a resource box that advertises your ezine to articles that you've written and run in your ezine or write articles specifically for promoting your ezine.

Next submit your articles to other ezine publishers, to article directories, and to article announcement lists.

8. Use autoresponders to promote your ezine to your visitors. Make sample issues of your ezine available by autoresponder or use your autoresponders to create an archive of all your past issues.

9. Publish testimonials/endorsements for your ezine on your site. If you've received tons of these for your ezine, use an autoresponder to deliver them to your visitors.

10. Swap recommendations with other ezine publishers. You could swap recommendations where the other publisher puts her recommendation of your ezine in her own words while you do the same for her.

You could also publish a recommended ezines section if you wanted to swap recommendations with several other ezines interested in swapping recommendations with each other.

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10 Easy Ways to Increase Your Sales by 3317% author:Duane Marx source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_2092.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

This article will show you 10 easy ways to increase your sales. Try some of these techniques and watch your sales soar. You’ll want to test everything you do to find out what works the best for your products. So let’s get started.

‘Great Headline’ - Increase sales up to (1700%). You must have an attention grabbing headline or your prospects will move on to a different website in a matter of seconds. And all the work you put into the rest of your sales page is wasted because people won’t be reading it. So it is very important to spend a lot of time and effort into creating excellent headlines and sub-headlines. Study the pros, brush up on your copywriting skills, and invest in some e-books on writing headlines.

‘Strong Guarantee’ - Increase sales up to (400%). You should have a strong guarantee for all your products. Only offer products that you really believe in and you will have a smaller amount of returns. Have a rock solid, no questions asked, 100% money back guarantee and you will sell more products because your customers will feel safe buying from you. And the longer the guarantee the more sales you’ll make. Now some people will return your products but with the longer guarantee and the increase in sales you can afford to have a few returns.

‘Pop-Ups’ - Increase sales up to (300%). You can use a pop-up when people visit your website to tempt them to join your newsletter. Or have an exit pop-up when they leave. You can offer a discount here if you like or maybe offer a freebie to collect their names and email address to use later. Another technique would be to ask them why they are leaving. Offer them a free gift if they fill out a survey and you’ll be able to use this information to improve your future sales.

‘Testimonials’ - Increase sales up to (250%). It will increase your sales if you use testimonials because it will add creditability to your products. If you are buying something online from someone for the first time there’s no way of knowing if you’ll receive a good product. So it’s always easier to make that final decision about buying from someone if you can read a testimonial or two from people who have already purchased the same product.

‘Backend Products’ - Increase sales up to (250%). This should be a very good way to make lots of extra money. After someone buys your product, or joins your newsletter, you will add them to your list. It will always be easier to sell to someone that has purchased from you before. Send them an email that promotes one of your products and have links that will take them to your sales page or to your affiliate’s sales page. Also be sure to send them valuable free information whenever you can to help keep them on your list.

‘3D Graphical Image of your Product’ - Increase sales up to (200%). If you’re selling a physical product then be sure to include a photo. But it’s even more important when selling a digital or information product to include a graphical image. You will receive the most sales if you do. People just like to see a physical representation of the product they are buying. You may want to hire someone to design it for you.

‘Accepting Credit Cards’ - Increase sales up to (100%). Make sure that you accept credit cards because 90% of all transactions online will be made with them. But you should also consider other options as well like accepting checks, money orders, and debit cards. And if you have a PayPal account you can accept international orders and different currencies. The more ways you can collect money on your website the more sales you’ll make.

‘Asking for the Order’ - Increase sales up to (80%). If you don’t ask for the order you will be losing a lot of sales. So remember to always to ask for the order. And have a few places where your prospects can order your products. You always want to make it easy for them to buy. By having more order links on your sales page they’ll be able to buy whenever the urge strikes them.

‘Welcome Page’ - Increase sales up to (37%). When someone joins your newsletter have them go to a welcome page. You can explain the basics of your newsletter and have an offer for a product. It could be for one of your products or an affiliate one. Whenever you expose people to more of your products your sales will increase.

‘Bonuses’ - Increase sales up to (?%). This is a biggie. Want to add more value to your products and make more sales? Just keep piling on the bonuses until your offer is just too good to refuse. They say you should have your bonuses add up to 7 times the value of the product you’re selling. Some people will actually buy your product just to receive the bonuses if they are good enough. So make sure you only offer valuable ones. And make sure the free bonuses are directly related to your original product.

Don’t forget to test everything you do to find out what works the best for your products.

One of the best possible ways to seriously increase your sales would be to invest and study copywriting. Because with your improved copywriting skills all of your ads, headlines, sales pages, emails and marketing campaigns will improve dramatically. This means more people reading your ads, visiting your websites and buying your products. So I strongly suggest that you invest your time and money in learning and improving your copywriting and marketing skills, you’ll be glad you did.

Copyright 2005 Duane Marx

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10 Killer Ways to Promote Your New MLM Program author:John stafford source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_1240.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

Terrible isn't it?

You just joined this wonderful new MLM and you're rearing to go! Then you think... go where and how?? Here are 10 ways to promote your MLM that'll get you started on the way to your first recruits

1. Free classifieds - Though not as great as they once were, if your MLM program is free to join you will get some takers. The trick is to keep posting often and keep your ad up there.

2. Ezine Ads - These are cost effective and very targeted so you don't waste your advertising dollars. Use classified ads if you have a small budget and don't place any ads in ezines you haven't read.

3. Your Optin List - Even if you have a small optin list, this is a great source for your first MLM affiliates. If you don't have one start one right away.

4. PPCs - The Pay Per Click Search Engines is a good way to get leads but prepare to spend alittle. It's very important to switch up your ads because many people use the same ones.

5. Exit Pop - You can use an exit pop up to promote your MLM, just place it on any pages getting traffic right now.

6. Articles - Writing an article makes good search engine food plus, you can submit it to ezines for even more free exposure.

7. Free Ebook - Sometimes all it takes is one good free ebook to increase your traffic like crazy. You can include your MLM sign up link and let it fly.

8. Forum Sig/E-mail sig - Make up a small 5 line ad and put it at the bottom of your posts and mails. You'd be surprised at how this one thing adds up.

9. Join Traffic Exchanges - Free traffic exchanges like traffic swarm let you place your ad free into their network so you can get alot of visitors daily targeted by catagory.

10. Trade Ads with an MLM Ezine Publisher - If you own an ezine you can ad swap with him, just make sure the subscribe page has an ad for your new program.

Use these steps to start you off on your new venture and teach them to your recruits. You'll soon have a florishing downline you can be proud of.

Copyright 2004 John stafford

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“I Made $17428 in Profits Last Month” Thing author:Edvard Halupa source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_1662.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

On many sites that consider themselves to be helpful to the community of people that try to make an income on the Internet you’ll find messages of this type. Those are similar to paid TV commercials for “internet informational” products with testimonials from newly made millionaires.

Question for you: If it is that easy [to succeed in i-biz] as they say, how come we are not all millionaires?

Let’s explain the myth: Internet business, if you seriously get in, you’ll find it out sooner or later, requires TIME, effort, money and good old fashioned luck to succeed. If you were about to start earning huge sums in your first month after buying their (informational, formula to succeed, software, etc.) product, first of all you would need to have enormous luck. Since you can’t effectively invest that much time and money to learn all the tricks that first month of work with their product, realistically you can’t expect that high returns in such a short time.

Believe me, online business can be harder than the “dirty world” business for at least two reasons: First is very competitive environment, since competitors could be just one click away and theoretically all you need to be in the race is build a website and choose the product you want to sell.

The other reason is, as I call it: Digging in the mud. When you have a website and try some promotional techniques, you start to ask yourself things like: why it works for my competitor and not for us? We use same technique, we have similar websites and still he’s driving traffic to his website and I we are not?

Actually, the more research you do in this (internet promotion) field, you will discover the more and more things that affect internet promotion, and some things [techniques, methods] you took as granted might not work anymore. You took them for granted because someone somewhere wrote that it worked for him. But that could be x time ago and that might have been different conditions.

My advice is: Do not get confused by those “quick-rich” schemes, but rather go and do your own research. If you want real life examples, find and read interviews from persons that really built their online businesses by learning and trying different promotional techniques. Not everyone who can write an article and claims himself as successful marketer must actually be one. But if the person is a webmaster of a site with a reputation or editor of a newsletter with 100 000’s subscribers, I’m sure I want to hear what he has to say. And remember those three factors: time invested, effort invested and old fashioned luck.

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1, 2, 3! The Numbers Are The Key author:Donovan Baldwin source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_3408.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:15 category:online_business article:

Okay, there are some variables in this internet or network marketing world. If I am meeting people face-to=face, it helps to have brushed my teeth, to have bathed, to have put on some decent looking clothes, etc. If I neglect these things, my sales WILL suffer to some extent. Online, if my website has links that don't work, or if it looks like it was designed by my 10 year-old son, my sales might suffer. I think, however, that most of us understand that side of the equation.

I think that MOST people (not all, I am sure) realize that presenting most products or services to untargeted audiences can also lower successes.

However, I am going to talk about some generalities here, and I am going to assume that I am trying to sell something that has SOME value to SOMEBODY, SOMEWHERE. To tell the truth, I could be talking about trying to sell a rock from my backyard. Got to be careful there. My neighbor's horses get into the pasture from time to time, and I would have to make sure I actually had a rock! Come to think of it, there IS a market for horse manure. See, you CAN sell almost anything.

Anyway, see if you can get this concept.

I have something of value to sell, and I offer it to one person. Then I go home and assess my success. How do you think I did? Did I sell it?

That's right. Probably not.

Okay, so now I go out and offer it to two people and then go home. How did I do this time?

Hard to say, but you can see that I had a slightly better chance.

Let's try this one.

I buy a billboard ad on a major interstate, and 80,000 people a day see my ad. What are my chances now?

Things are looking up, right? I actually have a chance of making a few sales.

Leaving aside the variables, such as how good the sign was, did the people in the cars have a chance to read the sign, etc., what was the key factor in improving my success?

That's right! It was the number of people who had a chance to see my ad.

So now I have this great web site with a fantastic product or business opportunity. What am I looking for?

That's right. I want traffic! Lots of traffic. In fact, leaving out the variables again, the more people I can get to visit my web site, the better my chances of making sales.

Years ago, a major financial services provider conducted an in-depth study of their most successful sales people. Their findings are not surprising. The most successful sales people, the people who earned the highest amount of commissions, simply talked to the most people.

Many people who join internet marketing or network marketing ventures are looking for the great "get rich quick" plan that is going to make them millions. Note the use of the words "make them millions". They are often of the opinion that the program is going to make the money for them. After a few swings at making sales, they give up and quit, thinking that network marketing, and these days, internet marketing, is a bunch of...well, you know...what my neighbor's horses leave in my pasture. They go their ways convinced that they've been had, taken for a ride. In their minds, all marketers...network, internet, or both...are con artists.

Two perfectly honest friends of mine who became millionaires in different network marketing companies used a very simple technique to achieve success. They each handed out brochures over a couple of years to everyone they met until one day the dam broke, so to speak.

When I started marketing on the internet, I had no clue what I was doing, or how to get traffic, but I knew I had a product that a lot of people would be interested in. I figured out that with my lack of skill and knowledge I could only hope to make a few sales from any web site I could come up with. In fact, I only used free hosting services.

My tactic was simple. If I could only get a few sales from any website, I would make a lot of web sites that each made a few sales. A couple of years later, I was making over $20,000 a year on the internet, using these dinky little free sites for the most part. In the meantime, I had learned a few more advanced techniques, and as I began to improve my websites and get my own domains (financed by my free sites), my income grew to over $100,000 a year and continues to grow.

Even with the new domains, the free sites continue to bring in traffic and income, and the simple equation remains. The more people that I can put my sites in front of, the more money I make.

That's why I say, "1, 2, 3, the numbers are the key".

Copyright 2006 Donovan Baldwin

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