Conducting Your Online Business Checkup

Conducting Your Online Business Checkup
I recently spoke with an online business owner about the
creation of her ideal service business. She wanted to
establish a practice with a higher-end clientele who can
easily afford to pay her fees. She said that she had a hard
time visualizing what a high-end successful practice looked
like, because she had never seen one. I responded by
telling her that she knew exactly what that kind of
business looked like because it was her ideal business --
and the vision of that looks very different to each online
business owner.

For some online business owners, the ideal online business
might be one in which the owner is spending much of her day
working with 1:1 clients, interspersed with a few
information product sales. For others, the ideal day might
consist of implementing Internet marketing strategies to
sell many information products, and only a small amount of
time spent with high-fee 1:1 clients. The bigger vision to
wrap your head around is how do you want to spend your day
-- your week -- your year -- your life? How much money do
you want to make? How do you want to spend your time --
with family, traveling, completing hobby projects, in
relaxation, or working in your business?

There are no right or wrong answers here. The great part
about being a self-employed service professional is that
you have the freedom and the tools to create the perfectly
designed business for you -- to become a lifestyle
entrepreneur, or lifepreneur, in which your life and your
business work together in harmony so that you have adequate
time and energy to devote to both . And, if that vision
changes at some point, you can make changes accordingly.

For my business, that vision includes working many days in
my bathrobe, spending time on the phone with hand-picked
clients in 1:1 sessions where I get as energized as they
do, writing content for additional information products,
designing additional revenue streams for my business,
enjoying a relaxed lunch while watching Samantha Brown's
travels on the Travel Channel, and spending time with my
fiancee when his schedule allows. You won't find me taking
lots of exotic vacations or throwing wild parties or
bragging about the new expensive car or house or clothing I
just purchased --that's not a part of who I am. I love the
creative process I find through my work, and I find my work
to be fun, so I treat my business as others might treat a
treasured hobby. Flexibility is also important to me, as
is being able to conduct ALL aspects of my business from my
home office. I find myself becoming annoyed at even having
to go to the Post Office to check my mail!

If your business isn't developing the way you initially
thought, take a long, hard look at your business vision and
check to see how close you are the picture of your ideal
business. Syndicated columnist Maureen Dowd says it best:
"If you settle for less than you deserve, you'll get even
less than you settled for." So, If you hate the travel
component of your business, brainstorm ideas of how to take
your information to your target market from your home
office. If you're burned out from working with 1:1
clients, strategize the possibilities of working with them
in a group setting. If you want to take more time off,
assess some passive revenue possibilities for your
business. If you hate in-person networking events,
discover where your target market hangs out online and
develop relationships there.

Running a successful business isn't easy -- if it were,
everyone would be doing it. And, it doesn't happen
overnight -- many "overnight successes" have 5, 10, or more
years of work that contributed to that "overnight success".
You deserve a full, thriving business -- don't settle for
less! To make sure your online service business is on
track, conduct a regular checkup of your online business,
including:

1. Your service fee structure. Begin with the end in mind
here in terms of what amount of money you need to live on
for the year in way you'd like to or are accustomed to
living and determine what you need to charge to live your
life in this fashion. In a service business, your time is
precious and should not be squandered. What is the client
value of working 1:1 with you? Are you charging adequately
for that privilege?

2. Your passive income strategy. What percentage of your
business income do you want to derive from passive income
streams? Have you devoted time during the course of your
work week to develop these passive income streams?

3. Your invoicing and payment policies. Are there multiple
ways clients can pay you (check, cash, debit/credit card)?
When do you expect payment for a contract? How do you
deal with late payments?

4. Your hours of operation. Are you working around the
clock, or do you leave time for yourself to enjoy your
life? What about vacation and family time? Are there
procedures for dealing with clients who want you to work
outside your scheduled work hours?

5. Your ideal client profile. Include descriptive
adjectives of the characteristics of your ideal clients as
well as more statistically-oriented details, such as what
industry they're in, what do they read, where do they hang
our on- and off-line, what professional associations do
they belong to, how much money do they make each year, what
are their most pressing business management concerns. Do
your current clients fit this profile? If not, you need to
clean house and find clients that are a better fit for you
and your business.

6. Kind of work you love to do. Don't waste your time
with tasks that aren't fun or don't tap into your special
talents/gifts that come easily to you. Do what you do
best, and delegate the rest.

Once you've reviewed these checkpoints, create an action
plan that helps you move forward toward your ideal business
vision. The president of the college where I once worked
had this motto he established for all the administrative
staff, "If it is to be, it is up to me." You are the
creator of your destiny, of your business, of your quality
of life. If you are to have a successful online business,
it is up to you to do it in the way that works well for
you, brings you joy, and permits you to make a decent
living in the process.

----------------------------------------------------
Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business
Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals
learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their
expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To
claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing
Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizU.com . Ask
Donna an Internet Marketing question at
http://www.AskDonnaGunter.com .

Email Marketing Lead Capturing Your Way to Website Marketing Success

Email Marketing Lead Capturing Your Way to Website Marketing Success
It is not enough to maximize web site traffic. You must
have a system in place to acquire the name and contact
information of people that may be interested in your
product or service. Lead generation is one of the most
important aspects of internet marketing online and a must
when it comes to growing a successful business.

In the old days of online email marketing, you had more
latitude to do this. There was nothing wrong in sending out
emails to people who had not requested one as long as you
did not go overboard with it. Unfortunately many people did
just that and by doing so added an old word with a new
meaning to our vocabulary: spam. The good news is some
people had a better idea and went to work creating email
marketing lead capture pages also known as name squeeze.

Name squeeze is the act of setting up one or more web pages
whose sole purpose is to entice visitors to leave their
contact information thereby joining your opt in email list.
The email marketing lead capture form can include phone
number and address but all you need really is the visitor's
name and email address. These pages often times are used as
doorways that lead you to the main website.

Email Marketing Lead capture pages are pretty
straightforward. If done properly, you cannot be accused of
spamming or tricking someone to leave their information
since you have stated clearly that for the person to get a
free gift, more information or access to your web pages
they must agree to join your opt in email list.

In other words you are building a database of customers who
are ALREADY interested in what you have to tell them. I
don't say they will automatically buy your product or
service but as long as they remain on your opt in email
list, you have the opportunity to present countless offers
to them. Just make sure you can them quality information on
a consistent basis and not just a daily sales pitch.

There are 3 ways to use lead capture pages that can explode
you online business:

1. Building List Marketing

If you have never heard the phrase "the money is in the
list", welcome aboard and get use to it. It has become a
pretty standard cliché among internet marketers because
it's true. The name squeeze technique moves people to take
action while limiting their options. This is a good thing
since too many choices has a tendency to confuse people.
For instance if you offer a free report on your name
squeeze page, people have only two actions to choose from:
sign up to get the report or leave. A good email marketing
lead capture page can build you a massive opt in mailing
list of targeted customers.

2. The One Time Offer.

You have peaked the interest of your visitors to the point
they take action and sign up to your email marketing list.
However instead of being immediately taken to the free
report or given access to your website, they land on a page
that offers a specific product or service related to your
niche that is available for purchase. Welcome to the one
time offer page.

This technique has made a lot of money for some online
business owners. The theory behind it is, since people are
in the frame of mind to get more information then this is a
good opportunity to lead them to a quality offer related to
that niche. The groundwork for your one time offer has
been put in place by your squeeze page. This practice may
not be for every situation but if used properly it can be a
very profitable website marketing tool for your business

3. What Do They Want?

You already know that people who have joined your email
marketing list via your squeeze page are interested in what
you have to say but what else? You can change the topic on
your lead capture page or just design several different
squeeze pages to identify other potential hot markets. Set
up some kind of tracking system to find out what pages are
generating the most interest.

Learning to maximize web site traffic maybe the lifeblood
of doing business online but it doesn't mean a thing if
people click to your site then leave without taking any
action. Email marketing lead capture pages can not only go
a long way to your web visitors taking action but also
ensuring the success of your internet business.

----------------------------------------------------
Daryl Campbell invites you to get more free tips, video,
step by step coaching and up to the minute information to
help you grow your business into a long term success at

http://winthemarket.com

47 Simple Ways to Build Trust in Your Website or Blog

47 Simple Ways to Build Trust in Your Website or Blog
If your website does not create a sense of trust in your
visitors, all your efforts will be in vain. Your online
business will never succeed. That's the bad news. The good
news is that it is very easy to create and build trust in
your online visitors. Below, I have listed all the
techniques used by the hundreds of websites I have helped
launch. If you have additional techniques, please add them
to the list.

As the old saying goes, you have only one chance to make a
first impression. Building trust cannot be achieved by one
single action. Trust is achieved by hundreds of little
things you do throughout your website that, when taken
together, give readers a sense of honesty, legitimacy and
stability.

The other bit of good news is that few website owners focus
on building trust in the minds of their visitors. If you do
it well, it can become a real and sustainable competitive
advantage.

Here are 47 simple actions you can take to get started.

1. Trust is built by lots of small actions on every page of
your website.

2. Your website design is the first impression. Make sure
it is professional and relevant to the subject matter.

3. Navigation must be intuitive. If visitors can't find
what they are looking for easily, they will question your
competence in providing what they want.

4. Make the website personal by giving it its own tone and
voice. People buy people.

5. Follow the HEART rule of creating online content.
(Reminder: HEART stands for Honest, Exclusive, Accurate,
Relevant and Timely.)

6. Use language that is appropriate to the audience. It
will build empathy.

7. Regularly add new content to your site. It shows that
the business is alive and kicking.

8. Check all links. Doubts will quickly form in your
visitors' minds if links don't work or, worse still, take
them to error pages.

9. Good grammar and spelling matter. Errors give the
impression of sloppiness and carelessness.

10. Never make outrageous and unbelievable claims, like
"Read this blog and you'll be a millionaire by the end of
the week." People are used to scams, get-rich-quick schemes
and rip-offs.

11. Publish REAL testimonials and third-party endorsements.
Try to always use real names and link to websites where
possible. Some sites show images of letters sent by happy
customers.

12. Publish case studies about customers you have helped,
who use your product, etc.

13. Don't put down, curse or insult competitors. It's
unprofessional. It is better to offer an objective
comparison of competitive services or products.

14. Focus on building your long-term reputation, not on
making quick sales.

15. Write articles for humans, not search engines.

16. Make your 'About Us' page personal and comprehensive.
It plays an important part in making visitors feel
comfortable that real people are behind the site.

17. Publish your photo or the photos of the key people
involved with the site. Again, this reinforces the fact
that there are real people behind the screenshots.

18. Clearly identify who is behind the site. Nothing
creates more suspicion than a site that tries to hide the
identity of its publishers.

19. On the 'Contact Us' page, provide an email form, phone
number, fax and address of the company. In Europe, it is a
legal requirement for sites taking money, but even sites
driven by advertising will benefit from openness.

20. Provide a telephone number that people can call and
talk to a person.

21. Provide Web addresses linked to the website domain, not
addresses from free webmail services such as Hotmail and
Gmail.

22. Never lie to make money. The most common way is to
write a glowing report about a product or service to earn
affiliate revenues. It is very short-sighted to lie to
visitors to sell them rubbish. They'll never come back or,
worse still, they'll actively condemn your site on forums
and blogs.

23. Think carefully about reciprocal links. If your site is
about organic food and you have links to Party Poker,
people are going to question your integrity.

24. Think carefully about the adverts you display on your
site. Ensure that they are relevant to your subject and
audience.

25. Be explicit when you are being paid to endorse a
product or service. An advertorial is fine as long as it is
transparent. Paid-to-post is corrupting the Web and will
experience a user backlash. I never read websites that
accept payment for posting.

26. Write and publish your privacy policy. Be clear about
what you will and will not do with any personal data you
collect. State that you adhere to all data protection laws.
Make it easy to read and don't use legal gobbledygook.

27. Write and publish a security policy. State what
measures you take to ensure that all transactions are
secure.

28. Ensure that you have a security and privacy policy
which is linked from the footer on every page. Make the
link more prominent on all the order pages.

29. Clearly publish your guarantee. I would recommend
making it a 100% money-back guarantee if possible.

30. Clearly state your refund and returns policy.

31. Piggyback off reputable brands. If you use PayPal, put
the PayPal logo on your site. If you have a merchant
services account with a major bank like Citibank or HSBC,
put its logo on your site.

32. Use Google search on your site for two reasons. First,
it is a great search solution which will help your visitors
find what they are looking for. Second, having the Google
name on your site instills trust.

33. If there are well-known industry associations for your
subject, join up and put their logos on your site.

34. Have a forum on your site and respond quickly to
questions. Have the attitude that you are happy to help
others without receiving immediate reward. As the old
saying goes, 'Givers always gain.'

35. Allow people to comment on articles. Interactivity and
an exchange of views build community and a sense of
involvement.

36. If people provide constructive criticism or comments in
the forum, don't delete them, but respond with your point
of view.

37. Put photos on the website of the owners, publishers
and/or team. Let visitors know there are real people behind
the business.

38. Put images of the credit cards you accept on every page
of the order process.

39. Use the words 'secure website' whenever you try to get
any information from visitors, including newsletter
sign-ups, forum input and payment.

40. On every page, state, "We take your privacy and
security very seriously." Link the statement to the
security and privacy policy.

41. Remember, reputations take years to build and seconds
to destroy.

42. If you are selling a subscription, offer a low-cost,
entry-level option. This could be a one-day taster, 'a week
before billing starts' or a monthly trial.

43. Use a high level of security when processing credit
cards. Make sure you make your clients aware of all the
steps you are taking.

44. Never send credit card information or personal details
over the Internet unencrypted. Tell your customers that
their data will be encrypted.

45. Only ask for information from customers that you really
need. For example, for an email newsletter sign-up, the
only information you REALLY need is an email address, so
that is all you should ask for

46. If you have pricing on your website, make it
transparent. I recently went to buy a book which was
advertised for $10. When I checked out, they added tax,
post and packaging, and the final bill was $19.50. I didn't
buy it as I felt they had deliberately tried to mislead me.

47. Keep your SSL certificate up to date. Let people know
you are using SSL encryption and who the provider is.

You can never do too much to build trust. Most of it comes
down to common sense and good business practice. To ensure
that you are continually improving your trustworthiness,
every time you go to a website, ask yourself whether you
trust it or not. Then ask yourself why you have formed the
opinion you have. Continually try to learn what makes a
site trustworthy or untrustworthy and implement the
relevant changes to your site.

If people trust you, the money will follow!

----------------------------------------------------
SubHub provides an all-in-one solution to enable you to
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Publish for profit on the web.
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Evaluating Your Website's Performance

Evaluating Your Website's Performance
Setting up a website is the very first step of an Internet
marketing campaign. The success of your site depends
greatly on how specifically you have defined your website
goals. Without goals to guide you in developing and
monitoring your website, all your site will be is an online
announcement that you are in business.

If you expect your site to stimulate some form of action,
there are steps that you can take to insure that your
website is functioning at peak efficiency. One of the
first indicators of how well your site is working for you
is finding out the number of visitors over a given period
of time, say a month.

However, just because hordes of people have visited your
site, this does not necessarily mean that your site is
successful. It is equally important to monitor the people
that actually performed the action that your site was set
up for and figure out the ratio of people who visited to
people who took action. This is called your conversion
rate.

To find your site conversion rate, take the number of
people who performed the desired action on your site and
divide that number by the number of total visitors to your
site. Then multiply that result by 100. For example, you
had 2000 visitors to your site in a given month. 25 of
those visitors performed the action desired on your site.
Your conversion formula would be (25/2000) X 100. In this
case, the conversion rate would be 1.25%.

Another important rate to track is your sales conversion
rate. If the desired action on your site is to provide a
name and email address, how many of those people actually
bought your product? Not everyone who provides their name
and email address will actually buy.

After tracking these rates, you may find that you need to
implement some additional marketing strategies if you are
not getting good results. One way to boost your rates is
to get increased traffic to your site. This can be done by
launching a search engine optimization campaign so that
people can find your site more readily.

Another factor to examine is the ease of use of your
website. If the goal of your website is for a visitor to
fill out a form, is the form easily accessible and
understandable? If it's not clear or if the visitor has to
perform multiple steps to accomplish the goal, they may
just move on to another site.

Finally, you may want to have a professional evaluate the
copy on your website. Website copy must be specifically
geared to your online campaign and not just a cut and paste
job from your company brochure.

Evaluating your website performance is an ongoing process.
Constantly tracking your conversion rates and analyzing
your marketing campaigns can make the difference between
profit and loss in your business. The biggest marketing
mistake you can make is to just put up your website and
forget it!

----------------------------------------------------
- Resource Box -
This article may be distributed freely on your website, as
long as this entire article, including working links and
this resource box are unchanged. For more tools, tips, and
tricks of the trade, go to:
http://www.elitewebstrategies.com - Empowering You to
Empower Your Business. Copyright 2007 Larry Lang All Rights
Reserved. Lang Enterprises Inc.

Content is King, Links are Queens

Content is King, Links are Queens
You probably heard "Content is King" in all SEO forums and
blogs. It's true, good content make your site better for
visitors which will result in a better user experience.
That's the goal of search engines, send the customer to a
site where they find what they looking for, therefore,
coming back to the search engine to look for something else
in the future.

Now, here is the tricky part. Your content should be
optimized for search engines, but still easy to read for
normal people who don't want to read "Cash Advance" every
other sentence. The best practice is to write for your
target audience first, then add your keywords in a few
places (but not over kill the article with keywords). This
way, when you get someone to visit your site, they'll be
more likely to order your products or services (or read
your articles in that the goal of the site).

Also, search engines love fresh content because is more
accurate then outdated information. So try to update your
site on regular bases and add different articles or pages
often. If your content is unique, it will stand out higher
in search engines then copying other pages because search
engines are able to find the original document sources and
remove irrelevant duplicates. There are other advantages to
using unique content in your site which I'll cover below.

Now you got your King (content), but he is lonely and need
some Queens (links) to bring him up. Links is how search
engines find you and spider your pages. Most of the time,
search engine will find your site without any links, but
the more links you have the faster you'll be found. Also,
when other people link to you, this mean they like your
site, which in return tells the search engines that your
site will result in a better user experience. But now, with
all the link farms and automated link services, it's harder
to find quality sites to link back to you.

You're site will need to be exposed to more site owners, so
they can link to you. Also, it should be a very easy
process, so always provide "Link to us" page with links and
content. Second (and here where unique content comes in
handy), include your site link in every article you write
(something like By: My name and "my name" will be linked to
your site.) This way, if someone copies your site, they'll
more likely to copy the link as well. Also, if you provide
RSS, and a lot of sites grab content from all over the web
using RSS feeds. Your link will be added automatically as
well.

----------------------------------------------------
More information and articles on SEO can be found at
http://www.nograyseo.com

Finding Your "Niche"

Finding Your "Niche"
If you don't find a niche market for the product or service
you offer, you will most probably fail. Most hopefuls who
wish to do business on the Internet often market to
everyone they can find with the expectation that everyone
will do business with them. This is the same as throwing
mud against the wall and hoping some of it will stick. They
have not yet found their niche market. When you are
considering starting an online company, you want to make
sure you find the right product. What do you want to sell.
What is your passion. What subject or topic do you have a
lot of knowledge about. Let me start by telling you that
selling an information product online is easier than
selling a service. But, selling a service online makes
more money with monthly memberships.

Before you spend all your time working on a website and
writing up eBooks, you want to be sure that your customers
are going to be interested in what you are selling. Do
your market research. Start by seeing how many competitors
you have -this is a good sign. Read through newsgroups,
discussion boards, and chat rooms and learn about your
target market customer base. If you already have an email
list, send them a survey to see what they are most
interested in.

Most internet marketers preach that there are three reasons
why a customer will want to buy your product. Your product
has solved a problem for your customer. Your product has
made life easier or more comfortable for your customer.
You are very passionate about your product and it shows in
everything you do.

When researching your niche, you may want to use
www.Amazon.com and find the current top sellers. Find out
what people are reading about. You will want to research
keywords with keyword tools such as www.wordtracker.com.

You need to discover which keywords are being searched for
frequently.

Doing a little poking around your competitors sites isn't a
bad idea. This is one way to come up with ideas on what
would make your company different or better. Take a look
at their traffic rankings and their related links. By
analyzing this information, you can see how many visitors
they have each day and how profitable their company is.

Once you find your passion, ask yourself does this serve my
customers. You want to provide an excellent service to
each and every person that spends their money with you.
This cuts down on complaints, bad reputations, and, worse
of all, chargeback's. Niche marketing is the key to
developing a profitable business that will make you stand
out from the crowd. By doing the necessary research and
building an informative web site, you will become an expert
in your niche marketing field.

----------------------------------------------------
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Ten Effective Blogging Tips That Guarantee Regular Traffic Flow

Ten Effective Blogging Tips That Guarantee Regular Traffic Flow
One of the most important strategies of internet marketing
is to ensure quality traffic flow to your blog. Internet
marketing success thrives on the foundation of quality
visits by niche crowd to your site or blog. The best way to
ensure this is to employ certain techniques that help to
pull more visitors to your blog.

Internet marketing could also be supplemented through
offline publicity. Include your blog URL to your business
card, business brochure, handout, and get these distributed.

To make your blog sustain in the long term and help people
revisit you it is vital that your blog content is relevant,
simple, and up to date. People interact more instinctively
to current issues related to their niche preferences or
business domain. Writing and updating posts is a successful
way to sustain this effort.

Often complex publications are distracting and confusing to
the people who visit the web with particular interests. If
your blog is a good resource to decode all complexities to
simpler versions, then this will provide a better
understanding for all genre of internet crowd. You can also
incorporate personal tips and summarizing options. This is
also a better way to be indexed in the popular search
engines. People who find it difficult to grasp the similar
content with complex structure elsewhere will visit you for
simplicity and greater scope to comprehend the same in an
effective way.

Posting articles to blog directories and newsgroups helps
to increase traffic flow to your blog. Generating back
links and traffic could be guaranteed only if you can
showcase your blog as a model one, one that is exclusive in
similar domain of business and knowledge. Spreading the
word that you believe and engaging similar blogs and
prospects to participate through discussion forums in your
blog will keep your blog live and contemporary.

A Blog log widget is necessary to keep a track of visitors.
An effective way to increase website crowd to your blog is
to follow this log, visit similar blogs that have paid
visit to your blog and initiate a healthy conversation to
help people leave comments on your blog performance and
utility.

Whenever you are updating your blog, let your potential
prospects know about it. Ping the popular search engines
and aggregators. These are the most effective and
functional resources to route quality and niche traffic to
your blog.

Emerge as resource leader in content and delivery
mechanism. People in general are fond of controversies. Dig
up controversial topics and allow comments to initiate
fruitful conversation through your blog. Good humor is
harmonizing to support such controversial issues. It is
also the best way to show people the proficiency and ease
with which you are capable of handling serious, complex
issues with a relevant sense of humor and wit.

Your blog needs to be geo-specific to serve the purpose of
optimized viewing by niche audience. This does not
necessarily mean that people who are not conversant in the
language you are using are barred from visiting your blog
even if they share common interests. As internet has a
global presence, you can go global just by installing a
good translator plug-in for different languages.

Blog communities, Regular postings, Content relevance and
quality, Keyword sensitivity will make your blog more
resourceful and optimized for more visits. Include options
as Tell your Friend about this blog will help you to draw
quality traffic through your loyal prospects and bloggers
who share similar ideas and interests.

If you can locate the best blogs in your domain and network
with these, you are sure to get noticed by blog
aficionados. If you are content writer and want to
establish your skill then first try writing free articles
for webzines that are popular and are read the most. This
introduces you to your potential clients and increases the
probability of being chosen more and more.

----------------------------------------------------
Allen Thomason is an accomplished and established internet
marketer. To find out how to expand your online knowledge
and learn more about Internet Marketing, Advertising, and
Proven Marketing Tactics visit
http://www.TheProfitCombination.com .

No one will read all those words

No one will read all those words
A common complaint I hear is around the length of the copy.
Too much - too wordy - not to the point enough - "my"
clients won't read all that - my clients are too busy -
BULL!

Everyone seems to believe this... but the FACTS show
different (actual measured data from thousands and
thousands of companies and tens of thousands of tests).

Here is one ad I saw in the paper that I constantly show
when I am speaking or teaching...

[Large half page ad - tons of white space all over - small
font right in the middle of the ad]:

"This is as close as we get to begging"

Now THAT is the perfect example of bad advertising. Would
you call them (they are a marketing firm - go figure) based
on that? Doesn't that compel you to find out more about
them? Does that make you go "WOW! those guys are different,
I want to work with them"?

No - most people look at that - don't even notice it -
don't get what it is they are selling (or saying) - and
move on quickly to the next page.

A $3,000 USELESS AD!

Now - it doesn't cost them any more money to ad more text -
does it? Same sized ad - with a little more text - would
make a MAJOR difference in the response they get.

Now - what if you saw something like this:

There is no business making the most of their customer
relationships - including yours

Announcing a FREE service to help you attract more clients
and improve the cash flow from your existing ones.

Calgary, AB - It's a proven fact that 63% of your clients
WILL buy elsewhere due to indifference on your company's
behalf. Learn how to maximize your customer relationships…
while improving your bottom line bank balance.

Depending on your business, a 5% increase in customer
retention CAN mean a 95% boost to your year end revenues.
To receive your FREE training dvd and 3 marketing booklets
(Creative Marketing Tips, Million Dollar Multiples, and
Maximum Profits In Minimum Time), all designed to help find
the greatest opportunities to improve your marketing, fill
out the form at www.websiteurlgoeshere.com and everything
will be mailed out to you immediately.

Or, if you prefer to leave your name and mailing address
via phone message - leave your details at 403.xxx.xxxx.
This is 100% free. There are no sponsored links, no pop-up
ads, no banner ads and nothing you have to buy.

Why? Because Readers are among the best entrepreneurs I've
ever worked with, and this is my way of giving back. (go to
the website to find out who I am).One last thing: in the
past 4 weeks some of my clients have sold 1,175 products
during a new launch and another sold 11,500 books in 14
days, ALL using the techniques you get here for free. Call
now. No catch.

So - would that make you more compelled to at least find
out more (and collect the free books and reports)?

At least you have an idea on what I am doing and sharing.
At least you know who I am looking for. At least you know
it is marketing related (compared to "This is as close as
we get to begging" - which doesn't give you a single clue
as to what they actually do). At least this gives a call to
action. At least this gives some reasons why you should
take action. At least this tells you exactly what to do.

At least this ad worked!

Next time you are about to criticize sales copy and the
amount of words being used - think hard about what you are
criticizing... the sale presentation.

Your ad is your sales person - would you put a sales person
in front of a group of potential clients and have them say
"This is as close as we get to begging" - then stand there
silently looking around the room?

Or would you prefer they DID SOMETHING to keep the
prospects interest and compel them to take action?

Your ads are no different - make the ads work for you -
DON'T make your potential clients work to try and figure
out what it is you do or want them to do!

Difficult questions you need to answer

When I start on a new copywriting job, part of the process
I go through involves having my clients fill out an
extensive questionnaire.

Amazing how a few questions can completely baffle an
entrepreneur!

This questionnaire is important to me because it helps me
zone in on what's truly important in their business. It is
important to the business owner as it forces them to
address issues they have probably never thought of before.

Many times, the questionnaire makes them mad.

Why? Because they see it as a lot of work - and not easy
work either. They may have been in business for 15 years -
highly successful - yet never taken the time to think of
some of these answers.

Which is completely wrong.

These are questions every business owner should know the
answers to.

Including you!

Here are a few to consider:

1. What keeps your ideal clients awake at night, worrying
thoughts racing through their minds?

2. What is the feeling or experience you want clients to
walk away with?

3. What are they afraid of?

4. What are they angry about? Who are they angry at? Why
are they angry?

5. What are their top three daily frustrations?

20. List 6 unique and interesting facts you really want
customers to know about you and the products or services
you provide. What makes you unique in this marketplace?
What makes you the ONLY choice?

24. What do you help your clients avoid?

25. What makes you, above all other available options, the
one to choose?

32. What is your most unique personal characteristic or
flaw?

Not exactly difficult questions... but do you know the
answers?

Spend 10 minutes right now and answer these. While I only
listed 9 questions out of the total 36 I ask, it will still
help you clear you mind around what make you the logical
person to buy from.

Yes, it may take time and push you out of your comfort
zone... GOOD! That's the point. And that also tells you why
your client may, or may not, be buying from you.

These simple questions can give you some breakthroughs you
can use in your marketing and positing... definitely worth
10 minutes of your time.

----------------------------------------------------
Troy White, The Marketing Results Mentor and Expert
Copywriter helps clients achieve HUGE growth surges in
their business in very short periods of time. He is a very
sought after marketer and advertising specialist who has
helped launch some of the world's most profitable marketing
systems. For more info visit White's site at
http://www.SmallBusinessCopywriter.com or sign up for his
Free Cash Flow Surge Newsletter at
http://www.CashFlowSurges.com

Webmasters Real Estate Marketing is The Key to Success

Webmasters Real Estate Marketing is The Key to Success
It's a fact that the majority of real estate buyers use the
internet to find a new home. Investors in search of
overseas property by its very nature will have to use the
internet to find their next overseas investment property.
It's then no surprise that the internet is a great place to
promote real estate. It is also very difficult place to
shine amongst hundreds and thousands of real estate related
websites. The average realtor, estate agent or property
developer does not have the time or inclination to promote
a website seriously.

This is where webmasters with a bit of determination steps
in. So is it possible to run a popular real estate website
when your competitors are multi national companies with
huge budgets. The answer is a resounding YES! The internet
is a great leveller and a determined webmaster can make it
big on the net.

Simple marketing strategies that may include online press
releases, email newsletters and distribution of free
articles can bring traffic and more importantly links to
your website. Capture a keyword that your local realtor may
like and you have the possibility of capturing their
business.

Pay per click marketing although expensive can be used very
effectively when marketing a single home or development.
The idea is that your advert is so specific that only the
people you want to click on it do. Description: 5 bedroom
house in Orlando Florida for $180,000 is the sort of advert
I am talking about.

Getting people to your website is only half of the battle
.Once they get there; you need to get them interested in
the real estate you offer right now or in the future.
Property email alerts are essential. This will capture
those who are actively seeking a new property. To capture
those that are merely researching, offer free guides and
advice importantly the user will need to submit there
contact information. Websites that offer for sale by owner
listings should consider offering free guides on how to
sell homes online in order to capture potential sellers. It
is important to make the user feel that it is safe to
submit their email addresses so if you are not going to
pass these data on mention it

A savvy webmaster can drive buyers to seller's properties
by the use guides aimed at buyers. Buyers love to undertake
research before buying property. This is especially true
for overseas property investors. Buying international real
estate is complex with different legal system and
restrictions. So why not attract buyers by offering
something they need that is worthwhile information.

Dealing with real estate internet leads and enquiries fast
is probably one of the most underestimated sides of
maximising your real estate website potential. Buyers are
always comparing like for like and your site is just
another on the list, early contact is key to success.

----------------------------------------------------
Real Estate Internet Marketing has been the key to the
success of Marr International Ltd a UK based property
marketing company behind the international real estate
website http://www.homesgofast.com

When Is It Time For A Virtual Business Owner To Get An Outside-The-House Office?

When Is It Time For A Virtual Business Owner To Get An Outside-The-House Office?
Recently a friend of mine who is a very successful internet
entrepreneur told me that he was investigating renting
office space in downtown Denver at this cool collaborative
co-working facility called "The Hive".

It made me wonder:

* Exactly what type of internet worker would really need to
rent office space?

* Haven't we all been trying to get away from fluorescent
lights and cubicles?

* Why not just work at home or at the cafe?

I had a few ideas about why an internet business owner with
my friend's needs would want to work from a collaborative
co-working facility, but this whole "virtual worker renting
office space" phenomenon reached a new level when I learned
that one of my clients was also doing the same thing. When
I learned this I thought "Aha, I see a pattern here!"

Some high profile very successful internet entrepreneurs
are yearning for a more structured workspace where they can
get more work done, meet with in-person clients, and
possibly socialize and collaborate with colleagues and
potential clients. Working from home, the corner coffee
shop and crowded cafes just isn't cutting it any longer for
some folks.

The big question is: What kind of virtual worker would need
to rent office space?

Well, I think obviously this appeals to folks who are web
workers, particularly those in the tech industry and
creative fields--designers, probloggers, writers,
architects, developers, entrepreneurs, programmers, web
media professionals and other tech-y, artsy type jobs.

So, would it be worth it for you to try working outside the
home? It depends--definitely working in rented office space
around people instead of at your home or the neighborhood
coffee shop might help you take your business up a notch if
you fit certain criteria. You might want to rent office
space in a co-working facility or regular office if:

* You can afford to pay rent on office space. (Duh, right?)

* You have disturbances at your home that prevent you from
focusing on the work you need to do (think kids, roommates,
super friendly neighbors and such)

* You sometimes meet with clients or colleagues in person
and are tired of meeting in a crowded, noisy coffee shop

* You get lonely working from home all day and would like
to work around people

* Perhaps your home is so small that you get "cabin fever"
working in there and need some place out in open society
where you can work

* You find the cafes and coffee shops too distracting and
need a more controlled, quiet environment to get your best
work done

* You like the idea of "going to work" and also "coming
home from work" (working away from home sometimes helps us
to not work so much all the time)

* Your line of work is such that working in a collaborative
co-working facility allows you to easily work on projects
with colleagues in person, network with potential clients
and generate new business

Obviously this office space strategy is not the answer for
everyone, and if you have a perfectly good office in your
house you might want to save the cash and continue to work
from home. But how can you know for sure if you should rent
office space or not? Well, you will definitely NOT want to
rent office space in a co-working facility or regular
office if:

* You cannot afford to pay rent on office space. (Duh,
right?)

* You can afford to rent office space, but you just don't
think it's necessary for your needs

* You like working by yourself from home

* You enjoy being a nomadic web worker and venturing from
cafe to cafe * You home is quiet, or you don't mind it
being noisy

* You don't get lonely or you have other activities you do
in your off hours that fill that social need

* You have a dog or a baby that you want/need to keep with
you as you work

* You don't want to commute to work at all

* Your work is 100% virtual and you never meet with clients
in person

* Working in a cubicle under fluorescent lights gives you
"corporate life flashbacks" and disturbing nightmares

So, getting outside office space is definitely the best
choice for some virtual business owners, but it's not for
everyone. I have to admit, having a one second commute is
nice, but it's also kind of cool to actually go somewhere
and then come back home. You get more the feeling of "Ahh,
work is over--time to relax!", and I think sometimes we
virtual home workers don't get that feeling very often.

----------------------------------------------------
Sharon Sarmiento is a virtual company and web-based
business expert. Through her company, Streamline, she
manages the internet businesses of the hottest probloggers,
e-software designers, and web media consultants on the net.
Her popular blog eSoup is the web worker's handbook for all
things surrounding virtual business and internet
entrepreneurism. => Check out eSoup at

http://www.esoupblog.com/

Internet Marketing Your Home-Based Business

Internet Marketing Your Home-Based Business
If you don't think the internet is a viable medium for
promoting a home-based business then you might have had
your head under a rock for the last 5 years. There is so
much money to be made using the internet a person could
literally devote the rest of their life to the study of
marketing online and never run out of new discoveries.

It would be my guess that more than 95% of the population
of the world has no idea that the internet is a viable way
to create a six-figure income, year after year. I've
visited some countries where much of the population still
does not have a reliable internet connection, yet I
personally know hundreds of people that earn a full-time
income because of the internet.

Put in simple language, the internet allows connections
among people that can facilitate the growing of a
home-based business team. In my first business, I
estimated that approximately 85% of my total sales (of a
six-figure income) came originally from the internet.
Although I may have spoken with them before they joined my
business, the internet facilitated the meeting in the first
place.

It was a familiar story to have someone call me after
searching yahoo or Google, finding my site and then calling
me to ask more questions or get started in my business.
This is the way the majority of my clients and team members
found me. I remember running full-page ads in home
business magazines that cost me $7,000 a month and spending
$3,000 on a postcard campaign and none of them produced a
return on investment like my online advertising.

I would encourage anyone to spend a couple hours a week
learning about the marketing and promotional power of the
internet. It will be time well invested and can allow you
to not only produce a superior return on your advertising
dollars but also reach a group of people who may be
searching actively and specifically for your individual
business. These who are searching specifically for your
business are your most ideal target market. There's no way
possible you can be as targeted in your marketing with
online advertising. Period.

There is a basic internet marketing course that just about
every internet marketer I know has on their bookshelf and
that's the basics course produced by the Internet Marketing
Center (do a Google search to find them or visit
marketingtips.com, which is their main site).

If you don't already have it, make sure you reserve your
name as a domain name. You can visit www.GoDaddy.com to
check on your name's availability. If your name is Mary
Smith, for example, register the domain name
www.MarySmith.com.

And if its not available, you can
always get creative and try something like
www.WhoIsMarySmith.com.

That will make people curious.
You can reserve one of these domain names for about $9/year.

Even if you just 'forward' this domain you've just
purchased to your corporate website, you will have added a
degree of professionalism to your business. This can help
get you started marketing your home-based business on the
internet.

----------------------------------------------------
John Roney is the author of The Everyday Apprentice (Morgan
James, 2008) as well as a number of articles on home-based
business success. John actively builds his own home
business in the travel and resort industry by helping his
team succeed with proven training and marketing systems.
John teaches how to start a home-based business that pays
$1000 per sale with zero up-front investment. For more
information, visit http://www.JohnRoney.com .

Improve Your Affiliate Marketing Income

Improve Your Affiliate Marketing Income
Affiliate marketing is a great source of income. You can
work from home, in your own time, and theoretically earn
limitless amounts of money.

However, there are more than a few people who have problems
with that last one. They follow all the advice they've been
given, but still struggle to make the kind of money that
will enable them to quit the day job and live the life they
want.

So, how can you avoid being one of those people?

There's no sure-fire way. If there was, everyone would be
getting rich! But if you're struggling, it's worth checking
the following things.

1. Are you marketing the right product?

The problem might not be you. It might be the product. You
could be driving hundreds of visitors to the product
website, but only making a few sales. It could also be that
the product is selling fine, but most of your earnings
disappear as countless buyers demand refunds. Or perhaps
you're just unable to get it noticed, no matter how hard
you try.

If so, consider switching to another product. You want a
product with a pitch page that convinces a high percentage
of visitors to buy: otherwise known as a product that is
'high converting'. Check how many visitors you've sent to
the site using a link tracker. Then compare that to how
many sales you've made. Decide whether or not you find the
ratio acceptable.

You might also be marketing a product that is over-exposed.
If everybody has already bought it, you won't get any
interest. Look out for new products that will catch
attention.

2. Keep yourself up to date.

Make sure you're reading e-zines and blogs that will keep
you up to date with the latest developments in affiliate
marketing. There are always new tools and techniques being
developed, as well as changes in the rules about how you
can market on search engines like Google. You could have
fallen into a rut because you are using old-fashioned
methods that are allowing others to steal your income.
Affiliate marketers have to be constantly learning.

3. Don't just concentrate on one product.

After all, how do you know if it's any good? Start out with
one, but then diversify. You could find that you become
more successful with another. It's impossible to tell until
you start marketing. It's worth running some low-budget
advertising campaigns with different products just to see
what results you get.

It also gives you some protection. What if the product
you're promoting is suddenly removed from the internet? It
happens, and you could find yourself with several expensive
advertising campaigns but no product to promote. If you're
marketing several products, you don't have to worry about
this.

4. Don't try to sell too many products.

Don't concentrate on just one, but don't over-do it either!
Stick to three or four products at most. Otherwise you
could end up confused and over-stretched. You need to spend
time marketing and analysing each product. If you try
selling too many, you won't have time to do this in the
depth you need.

If you're failing to make the kind of money you want,
there's generally a reason. It is possible to become a
successful affiliate marketer, even if you are struggling
or feel you've hit a brick wall. Make sure you're not
committing any of the above mistakes, and maybe it will
give you the boost you've been waiting for.

----------------------------------------------------
Anita Buchan is a successful affiliate marketer who now
wants to help others earn the same money she does. For
honest reviews of genuine home business opportunities and
free affliate marketing tools, visit
http://www.dont-get-scammed.biz

Successful Search Engine Optimization

Successful Search Engine Optimization
Countless website owners are under the impression that when
they submit their webpages to the search engine they will
have immediate success. While it is possible, it is not the
general rule. The submission alone does not guarantee hits
to your site. Search engine optimization (SEO) is vital to
the success of your web pages.

Search engine optimization is defined as the strategy of
making web pages attractive to the search engines. The goal
of SEO is to get your website ranked on the first page of
hits for internet searches. What is the big deal about
being on the first page? It's critical as the typical
internet searcher does not click on any of the sites beyond
the first page. Why search beyond the first page when you
can't see the results on the second or third pages? The
results for your business are astounding when you are
ranked on the first page versus the second or third.

So if it is so critical to be on the first page, then why
wouldn't you attempt to get there? There are a few key
reasons why people avoid recreating their websites for
optimal ranking.

1) It's Too Difficult

There is a large group of people who believe that it's just
too difficult to learn SEO. They think that search engine
optimization is only used by the "big guys" and that it's
not for them. In reality, search engine optimization is not
that difficult to learn. When it has such a positive
affect, why wouldn't you take the time to learn it?

2) The Learning Curve Is Too High

Some people think that there is just too much to learn to
ever be able to search engine optimize. The process is just
like any other. When you begin you will know absolutely
nothing. With some training and a little bit of trial and
error, you will get a grip on what is needed to get your
webpage ranked highly.

3) It'll Take Too Much Time

For all of those that think that search engine optimization
will take too much time, they need to focus on the
benefits. If your sales are increased 10 fold by getting
your website optimized, then isn't that time well spent? It
seems to me that things worth having are worth working for.
So if you want success, it will take some time to learn SEO
properly. Once you learn the topic though, you will be
surprised at what little time it takes to stay on top.

It will take some time and trial and error to figure out
how to optimize your website. However, in the end it will
be time well spent when you have a significant increase in
the amount of traffic to your website. As we all know, more
traffic means more sales.

----------------------------------------------------
Get Brian's Wealthy Marketer newsletter today at
http://www.WealthyMarketer1.org . Brian McCoy is a full
time internet marketer who works with other industry
leading marketers from around the world. He specializes in
helping others generate free traffic to their website.