Living on the Internet

How to be Successful with a Newsletter

2005-07-05T05:56:00.000-07:00

Newsletters are an excellent tool for developing personal relationships. Even though it seems like a one-way relationship, it works.

A newsletter allows you to have a private discussion with your client that is both personal and informative. It has the same effect as you dropping by your client's office and sitting down for a visit.

The only difference is, your client can't talk back. But, that's Okay. Even though you can't hear your client, they perceive that you are taking time out of your busy business schedule to be with them.

How often should you send out your newsletter? At least Monthly. Why so often? You would be surprised how quickly your clients forget all about you. It would be a shame for one of your clients to decide they needed your product or service and they called someone else.

If you're not a writer, or you don't enjoy writing, or you feel that you're just too busy to write, you can hire a writer to write your newsletter for you.

To be successful with a newsletter, you have to specialize. Your best bet will be with new information on a subject not already covered by an established newsletter.

Regardless of the frustrations involved in launching your own newsletter, never forget this truth: There are people from all walks of life, in all parts of this country, many of them with no writing ability whatsoever, who are making incredible profits with newsletters.

Your first step should be to subscribe to as many different newsletters and mail order publications as you can afford. Analyze and study how the others are doing it. Attend as many workshops and seminars on your subject as possible.

Learn from the pros. Learn how the successful newsletter publishers are doing it, and why they are making money. Adapt their success methods to your own newsletter, but determine to recognize where they are weak, and to make yours better in every way. Plan your newsletter before launching it. Know the basic premise for its being, your editorial position, the layout, art work, type styles, subscription price, distribution methods, and every other detail necessary to make it look, sound and feel like the end result you have envisioned.

You're going to be in trouble unless your newsletter has a real point of difference that can be easily perceived by your prospective buyer. The design and graphics of your newsletter, plus what you say and how you say it, will help in giving your newsletter this vital difference.

How to Maintain Your Opt-in eMail List

2005-07-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

The feeling you get when you receive notification of your first subscriber can be very exhilarating. And it can motivate you to develop even more new and unique methods of gaining additional subscribers. But before you get too excited you have to quickly make a decision on how you intend to maintain the integrity of your list. To ensure that it only contains real email addresses from real people, and to protect yourself against Spam complaints.

Unfortunately people will use fake email addresses to subscribe to your list just to grab your free offer. This will falsely inflate the size of your list and impact on the sales conversion rate of the offers you send out to your list. There's nothing worse thinking that you have a list of 5,000 genuine subscribers, when in fact 1,000 of these have never even read your offer because they've never received your emails.

Even worse, if you sell solo ads in your ezine your advertisers won't be very happy with their conversion rate as they will not be reaching as many subscribers as you stated and your credibility will suffer. Another problem you may face when you begin building your list is you may receive an unwarranted spam complaint. Don't be offended by these actions.

It's a universal problem that plagues all online business owners. As long as you have implemented the correct procedures to ensure that you only receive genuine email addresses and are able to document the subscription details of your subscribers you will be protected from any spam complaints. But the question is, how can you do this? How can you maintain the integrity of your opt-in list to ensure you only receive real email addresses and protect yourself from Spam complaints?

This is not as difficult as you may first think. Basically there are two things you must do:

1. Use Double Opt-in Subscription. Double opt-in is a process that your subscribers must follow before they are accepted into your list. When they first request to be subscribed they provide their relevant contact details in a web form or script located on your website. When they submit this request an automated response then fires back an authorization email to the email address that they provided. This not only ensures that this is a working email, but it also ensures that they must click on a link contained within the email to confirm that they agree to receive information from you.

This also ensures that person who filled out the subscription form is also the person who owns the email. This prevents practical jokers from signing up all their friends to your newsletter without their permission, or worse, some unscrupulous competitor from signing up people at random in the hope that you'll be accused of spam.

Until they complete this two-part process they will not be placed in your list. The term "double" opt-in. You need to opt-in subscription method won't stop spam complaints. I'm afraid it doesn't matter what you do or how you do it, there is always a possibility of receiving a spam complaint from someone who has genuinely forgotten that they have subscribed to your list. But if you use the above measures to build your list and you've only sent your emails to those people who have specifically requested it, you're virtually guaranteed to be protected against any complaints.

2. Blocking certain email domain names. As mentioned previously it is important to manage your list to ensure that it only contains working emails so that as many subscribers as possible have the opportunity to read your follow-up emails and backend offers. Unfortunately not all information submitted by your visitors when they subscribe to your list will be correct. Some people will accidentally type in the incorrect email address while others will intentionally give you the wrong information.

If you have already started to build your email list you may already be receiving "undeliverable" messages from your autoresponder program. These are caused from "dead" or "bounced" emails resulting from bad email addresses. The reason your subscribers provide incorrect information is not important. You just have to be aware that this does happen. Now, if you are using the double opt-in method for your subscriptions then this won't be a problem. Unless they provided the correct email address when they subscribed they will never receive the confirmation email and therefore they will never be included in your list.

You will also find that others may use free email account, such as .AOL, Yahoo!, Hotmail etc, to subscribe to your list. Some of these subscribers have no intention of reading your follow-up emails. Once they receive your free offer they then cancel their email account and never get to see any of your follow-ups.

There are even domains that are notorious for automatically blocking bulk emails sent to their server. They assume you are spamming their clients so they just block them without your subscriber's knowledge and they never get the chance to check them out. Worse still someone from these same domains may even accuse you of spam and try to shut you down.

If your autoresponder service allows you to restrict the use of the domain names of your subscribers email addresses, then you will have no problems controlling the quality of your list. You will be able to simply restrict the use of these emails during the subscription process. However most autoresponder services don't have this feature. So what can you do to maintain the integrity and quality of your list?

Fortunately there is a simple solution. A Double Opt-In Manager. Double Opt-In Manager is a unique web based program that allows you to control who, when and how people subscribe to your list. From the time your subscribers enter their contact details into your web based form their details are permanently recorded on your own server as proof that they personally opted in to your list.

Details recorded include their name, email, ip address, phone, home address, date and time. This information is saved on your own website so that you can access this information any time you want. Even if your autoresponder already offers this service it is recommended that you have a back up so that you have immediate and unrestricted access to your own records.

The advantage of this is that if your autoresponder service goes out of business or you change services, you will still have the subscription details of all your subscribers so you can defend yourself against any false accusations. Double Opt-In Managers also lets you control exactly who subscribes to your list. You can blacklist any email domain so that you chose what email addresses you will allow to subscribe to your list so that you have full control over the integrity and quality of your list.

Five Steps to Starting a Business

2005-06-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

Starting a business can be a rewarding experience, but it can also be very time consuming and difficult. Many resources are available to assist you, but information overload can cause you from moving forward.

Keeping it simple is often the best way of maintaining the momentum necessary to get your business started. There are a series of steps to ensure success.

The first step toward getting your business going is deciding on a name, for example "New York Landscaping." Any name that you do business under other than your own given name is called a "fictitious" or "assumed" name, and certain steps need to be taken in order for you to do business under that fictitious or assumed name.

Depending on where you live, different government agencies track which names are available. Look in your local phone directory, under government agencies to find the number, or contact your local Secretary of State.

Check to find out if the name you want has been taken. If it is available, you may need to file a fictitious or assumed name certificate with the state or local fictitious name office. Some areas will also require you to publish a notice in the local paper about your new assumed name. Both state and federal law regulates the use of names and "trademarks". To avoid conflicts with other businesses regionally or nationally using your business's name, or the names of your products, you may want to consider registering your trademark on the federal or state level. Contact an intellectual property attorney for trademark search and registration services.

The second step is knowing that different areas have differing licensing and permit requirements depending on the type of business you are going into. Most businesses that require a license will have a local licensing authority that can guide you through the process.

Find out the licensing requirements on federal, state, and possibly even local levels for your type of business and get licensed. Failure to be properly licensed could result in penalties such as fines, closure of your business, and imprisonment in some cases.

The third step is getting insurance. When things are going smoothly, insurance can seem an unduly burdensome expense on a small business. But when things go wrong, whether or not you have insurance can mean whether or not you and your business survive a catastrophic event like a lawsuit, fire, or natural disaster.

Liability insurance protects you against liability in the event of injury to others or damage to other persons property. Liability insurers most often have two duties:

1. The duty to defend you. Hire a lawyer, if you get sued and

2. the duty to indemnify you. Pay for damage or injury to others. Both duties are extremely important, but the first is often overlooked by small businesses.

The cost of defending a lawsuit can easily run into the tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars even if you win. That's why being careful is no substitute for liability insurance.

Make sure you have adequate coverage for your vehicles and those of your employees when used for business purposes. You can be sued and held liable for injury or damage done by your employees if it is within the course and scope of their employment.

Property and theft insurance may be an important consideration, as well as product liability or service liability insurance. This is often called "errors and omissions" coverage.

Interview a few local insurance brokers and find one that seems knowledgeable and that you feel comfortable with. Then ask the broker to do a risk assessment to determine what coverages you might need and why. Remember, the broker makes money by selling you insurance "products" so be sure to question the types of coverage and amounts. If your broker can't explain why he or she is recommending the types and amounts of coverage in the risk assessment, find another broker.

The fourth step is recognizing and implementing taxes. Sole proprietors need to be conscious of local, state and federal taxes and registration requirements relating to their businesses.

Hiring an accountant or bookkeeper to help set up a simple accounting system, or using a software package is a good place to start.

Hiring a tax professional knowledgeable about local and state taxes relating to your business, or contacting the local tax authorities before you begin generating revenue or expending money can help you stay organized and be ready for tax time.

Additionally, the IRS offers assistance for entrepreneurs starting a small business in various publications. You can download IRS Publication 334, entitled "Tax Guide for Small Business", and Publication 583, entitled "Taxpayers Starting a Small Business" from the IRS web site.
http://www.irs.gov

The fifth step is hiring employees (if needed). Though many small business people start out running their own shop, success will often bring the need for expansion. When an employee is added, you must obtain an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. You can download Form SS-4 from the IRS web site.

In the United States, the Workers Compensation scheme does a lot to protect employers from lawsuits by employees injured on the job, while also providing employees with easier compensation for workplace injuries. Be sure to talk to your insurance broker about workers' compensation insurance.

Talk to your tax adviser, and make sure you register with your state for payment of unemployment compensation taxes.

Download IRS Form W-4 from the IRS web site to take care of employee withholdings. You should get copies of INS Form I-9 to verify your employees' eligibility for employment in the United States.

Finally, issues regarding wrongful termination, discrimination, workplace harassment, and other legal issues have come to the forefront in today's business environment. Make sure you have an employment agreement that spells out whether your employee is "at-will". ex: can be let go at any time without cause, or the terms of the employee's contract for employment.

Make sure you Draft employee guidelines or an employment manual to make sure there are no misunderstandings about what expectations, rules and responsibilities are in place. Document any issues relating to your employees well and be proactive about handling disputes. A little planning in the beginning can save a lot of headaches and legal expense later on.

In conclusion- hiring independent contractors is often a good way to avoid the administrative burdens of hiring employees, but be precautious. There are many pitfalls to hiring an independent contractor who is for all intents and purposes an employee. Talk to a lawyer and your tax advisor about who is an employee versus a contractor.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Abe Cherian is the founder of Multiple Stream Media, a company that helps online businesses find new prospects and clients, who are anxious to grow their business fast, and without spending a fortune in marketing and automation.

Web's #1 site to find "free resources to Plan, Build, Market, and Maintain your website": Click Here!

GDI - Retire With Dignity And A Full-Time Paycheck, All For $10/Month

2005-06-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

Christina and I joined GDI on August 4th of 2004. Our March 2005 GDI commission is $5,642. Some would say that is slow growth, and they are right. We knew that would be the case when we joined. In the months to come, our monthly income will grow consistently and remain stable. Eventually, we'll be over $50,000 a month. There are programs that can be built quicker. I've done them in the past and then watched them disintegrate very quickly for various reasons. A major reason we made a commitment to build GDI is that we want stability. A true, lifelong, stable, residual income is our goal. Global Domains International (GDI) provides exactly that. The $10 per month cost of participation is a key reason for the stability of the program. There are other reasons as well.

Suppose that we were building a nutritional supplement MLM business, and in order to participate, you were required to commit to an auto-ship of let's say, $100 worth of product on a monthly basis. You might stay with it a few months, but consider your downline. When money gets tight, guess what the first expense to be dropped is? You guessed it. Not only that, government bureaucrats, such as the FDA can step in and shut everything down. If you don't believe this happens, you haven't been involved in network marketing very long. I could cite many examples of this type of thing, along with unscrupulous owners absconding with everybody's money when you least expect it. And if you are fooling around with those silly doubler's, tripler's, and so-called High-Yield Investment programs, (HYIP's) please call me, so I can set you straight on that.

Work the GDI plan. There is no better vehicle available to obtain true, and lasting financial freedom. Having said all this, you must plan your work and work your plan, in order to succeed. It is a fantasy that all you need to do is sign up and watch it happen. Such delusional thought patterns are irresponsible. Many people sign up, but they do not show up. There is a learning curve to engage in and it is worth the effort.

The link for joining the $10 GDI program is:

www.sajohnson.ws