NetNewbieProfits

Back in the Land of the Living

2008-11-28T10:05:00.003+00:00

This is our first post in well over 2 years!.We got bogged down in other things along the way including spending the vast majority of our time on our main niche website at www.astraldrivingschool.ie.

Things are changing now and in the intervening time we have learnt quite a bit on the thorny subject of Marketing on the Web.

We are launching our new Wordpress Blog for Marketers at www.robinpiggott.ie

In addition we have been successfully testing Google Adwords and list building at our main Driving School site. we will transfer all of the content onto the new wordpress blog in due course.
In the meantime have a good one and watch out for lots of new content and plenty of advice as we share our experiences of our Web Journey.

Tried and Tested ?......You Bet. An innovation in Business Cards!

2006-03-06T03:40:00.000+00:00

Here is a very informative article on the use of CD Business cards which definitely produce a better return than the traditional Business Card. Ever had someone to whom you have just given a business card have them screw it up while still talking to you?
Not a pleasant experience and sometimes it's not malicious but just force of habit.
You certainly won't get your CD Business card screwed up ...it will provide a great opportunity for you to follow up with the prospect and get some useful info on what they thought of the card and also what they thought about your presentation.

Here is the Article by A.Carr

Marketing your Business using CD Business Cards
by A Carr

CD Business Cards have become of the most widely heralded marketing tools used today. Why? Because quite simply they work. The information delivered on such a small disc and the overall impact is unmatched. (Plus they're really cool to hand out.)

Over the last few years some very interesting changes have taken place in this e-card market. With the introduction of CD business cards, CD-R business cards and shaped CDs, companies from industry and manufacturing to service and retail have put together some incredible multimedia presentations. In basic terms, CD-ROM Business Cards are mini CDs that can be programmed to deliver multimedia presentations, product catalogs, video infomercials, Web sites, links, resumes and much more. They are a fabulous way to bring new visitors to your business or Web site. If used properly they can deliver a much higher ROI (return on investment) than conventional marketing. We have found the following has proven successful for a number of our clients.

Keep it simple: The CD Business Card has the power to deliver a high-impact, full-blown media presentation with sights, sounds, bells and whistles. In my experience it is best not to overdo it. Grab the customer's attention with a brief introduction, get your point across and provide a URL link and contact info. Don't get involved in a presentation that takes 15 minutes to view, unless you know they want to view it. Make sure the card is self-executing, so all the viewer has to do is insert the CD into their ROM drive sit back and view the presentation.

Contests: Although CD cards are intriguing enough by themselves, you can ensure the prospective client will view its contents by using the card to run a contest. Simply code the discs with a series of numbers and encourage the viewer to visit your Web site or location to check for the winning number.

Direct mail: If you plan on using the CD card as a direct mail piece, personalize each CD label or presentation by using the prospect's name or company name. This may prove more time consuming, but the end result will be well worth the effort.

Track results: Make sure to code the URL links and e-mail address on all your CD cards so you can track the results. The simplest way to do this is to add a tag to your e-mail or URL - mailto:info@cardiscs.com?subject=CD or [WEB SITE].

Use CD-Rs: Test the waters before making a large investment by using CD-R business cards. The great thing about using recordable CD biz cards is you don't have to make thousands at a time; you can burn 25 to 50 on your own burner, test and retest the results until you find a presentation that delivers the desired result.

Consider the shape of the discs: CD business cards come in two shapes, 1) the standard rink shape straight top and bottom curved sides (it resembles a hockey rink.) 2) the rectangle shape all four sides have straight edges (it resembles a credit card.) Based on my experience some customers are hesitant to put a rectangle shaped disc in their ROM drive, even though they are safe, have been tested and used for a few years without incident. I usually use the rink shaped discs so I don't risk eliminating potential viewers.

Andy Carr is the president of Citiscape Shapes. A supplier of CD business cards for the last 8 years. Their Website CD BUSINESS Cards by CARDISCS.COM has been featured in Newsweek and on ZDnet TV

Article Source: Articles411.com Directory

Video Secrets Course ...No Longer a Secret!

2006-03-01T16:49:00.000+00:00

Website Video Secrets: A Video Odyssey

This is Jim Edwards New Video Secrets Course ! You should take a look!

WARNING:
You Must have the latest version of FREE Flash Player
Installed (Version 7 or Later)
You can upgrade FREE by Clicking
Here Now!

JIM EDWARDS Comes to A Town Near You...be There!

2006-02-26T21:03:00.000+00:00

Guru Daq Top Mover Jim Edwards (yes he of E Book Fame!) has just announced his very first U.K. E.Book Seminar which will be held at the Heathrow Sheraton Hotel on the weekend of 22nd and 23rd April 2006.

This is Jims’ first European Seminar/Workshop and will obviously sell out very quickly. Most of you who have been online for a little while will know the successes that Jim has achieved after coming back from Bankruptcy and a Trailer Park! His monumental achievements show us all that no matter how low you sink there is always a path to get you out of oblivion providing you have the guts and determination to do so.

Having some supportive infrastructure is always a great benefit in creating success at any level…Jim had none of this during the early days of the Internet Marketing revolution in the late 1990’s so his success is all the more remarkable which is why he has built up such a loyal following, myself included.

Jim was one of the few people who replied personally to an e-mail from me nearly two years ago when I was first discovering how the whole Internet thingy worked .This impressed me no end and after purchasing several of his own and co produced products it was obvious that Jim was not only here to stay but was going to make an enormous impact in the Internet Marketing field.

Jim’s first UK seminar will be concerned with passing on all the nuts and bolts of how to create and Market your own E. Books and make a successful and profitable income.

I shall be there and I urge you to get cracking and subscribe for the event before it sells out which it inevitably will and in double quick time. Here will be an opportunity to learn from the Master and his special guest Phil Gosling over two action packed days .If you are on Jim’s mailing list you will possibly have heard already about the workshop if you are in Europe but if not I suggest that you visit one of his sites and get on the list pronto. Below is the link to one of his sites” Turn Words intoTraffic that I promote as an affiliate…so what’s keeping you?

Turn Words into Traffic An absolute masterpiece co written with Dallas Edwards, Jim's Mentor!

P.S. you could also take a look at my post about the Guru Daq Index from 08 02 06 which features Jim Edwards.

Have a great week and start getting ready for your first e.Book!

Marketing Yourself On AIR.

2006-02-24T07:51:00.000+00:00

We have been invited to take part in another Radio Broadcast this morning on Ocean Fm along with an Irish Senator .to discuss the Driving malaise that is threatening to engulf the whole system of learner Drivers , Driving Tests, and Serious and Fatal accidents.

As we have said before there are many reasons for the lengthy delays in getting an Irish Driving Test appointment.

They are as Follows.

(1) Demographics. ..huge numbers of young people now in the age bracket at which they will be able to Drive (650,000)
(2) Drivers not preparing adequately or at all for their Test…meaning that they do not pass first time and go back to the end of the queue
(3) Changes in the Legislation regarding Provisional Licenses …meaning you now can no longer spend 25 years on a Provisional license!
(4) Shortage of Driving Examiners …the number of Examiners has not been increased for years and we now have a huge increase in the population.
(5) Immigration…Vast numbers of new Immigrants from the New EU accession States and further a field.
(6) Full employment ... means that more people have to travel to work outside of the Metropolis by their own Transport since there is no alternative.
(7) Some candidates don’t turn up at all which means that those who are desperately waiting for a Test date cannot be facilitated with cancellation appointments

Just a brief look at some of the main reasons for Driving Test Mayhem.

Ocean Fm 102.5….. http://www.oceanfm.ie

Log onto their site and hear the station live on the Internet

Talk to you again very Soon... Drive Safely.

What's the Best Way to Increase Traffic to Your Website"

2006-02-23T14:49:00.000+00:00

An Article By Charlie Cook

You built a web site to create a surge of inquiries and new business, but hardly anyone even drifts by, much less stays to learn about your company. Given the time and money you\'ve spent, you\'re frustrated that your web site hasn\'t turned into a profit center overnight, and you\'re inclined to dismiss its revenue-generating potential.

Don't! There are three excellent ways to bring people to your web site.

1. The Best Way to Attract Visitors
Unquestionably the best way to channel a flood of visitors to your web site is to get it listed at the top of every search engine. If prospects can find your web site in the first ten spots on Google, Yahoo and MSN, you\'ll get plenty of visitors. Even a listing within the top twenty will bring in a steady stream.

You know that search engine position depends on keywords and the way they are used on your site. Search engines look at the frequency of use on your page and number of links to relevant pages.

If you've ever worked with the site code yourself to try to get to a top position in the search engines, you know that it is not obvious how to succeed at this. The experts (and many who claim to be search engine specialists are not
expert) charge $12,000 to $30,000 and up annually, per site, to achieve and maintain top search engine positions.

Thanks to top placements for several keywords, my site attracts over 35,000 unique visitors each month. You or someone in your firm can achieve this, too.

Don't have the time to do your own search engine positioning or a budget of $12 to 30 thousand dollars for the task?
Write me and I'll refer you to a reputable firm that can help you.

2. The 2nd Best Way to Attract Web Site Visitors
Top search engine positions make a big difference, but if you don\'t want to invest the time or money to put your site at the top of the search engines, there is a virtually no-cost technique you can use to bring in qualified prospects.

Thousands of online ezines and newsletters are hungry for content, and your prospects are always looking for ideas that will improve their businesses or their lives. Write short articles with ideas and information that your target market can use, send it to the ezines, and links from those back to your site will bring hundreds or thousands of prospects right to your \'door\'.

One article I sent out last December, \'What Santa Knows About Marketing\' was picked up by over a thousand ezines, newsletters and web sites, and is still listed ten months later.

3. The 3rd Best Way to Attract Web Site Visitors
I love Google Ads and you should, too. They are simple to set up, you pay only when people click on your ads, and you can set daily budget limits. They look like the easiest way to attract qualified leads to your web site. Why aren\'t they the number one way to attract web site visitors? Because making Google Ads profitable is more complex than it first appears.

Have you tried Google Ads? What were your results?

Lots of companies use Google Ads, but few can justify the cost based on the sales generated. It turns out that to make your Google Ads pay for themselves, you need to pay careful attention to keyword selection, the wording of your ad, and the layout, wording, and links on the page that people are sent to from the ad.

Given the challenge and the cost associated with search engine positioning, and depending on your particular product or service, Google Ads may be the best way to attract visitors. Use the approach outlined above to put them to work for your business.

About This Author:

The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Strategy eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com

This article was found at Site Reference.and is reproduced with permission.

Video Killed the Radio Star? Our 50th Post!

2006-02-23T13:22:00.000+00:00

Today marks a landmark posting Milestone for this Blog ...Our 50th Post!

So come celebrate as we crack open the Java
This is not a world record but nevertheless an achievement which any one can emulate with a little effort and a passion for your Niche!

WANT TO HEAR ABOUT A REAL WORLD RECORD? Lance Winslow EZINE ARTICLES.COM most prolific Author just published over 500 articles in the Month of January.That will be hard for anyone to beat.

Think of the time it took to conqueur Everest,to fly non stop across the Atlantic and to beat the four minute mile barrier and you have an idea of what is ahead of you!

Here is a little snippet for all of you newbie marketers into the great benefits of posting to forums and sending e-mail on your niche Topic to, for example, Radio Stations whose articles and web sites you happen upon.

In the very early hours of this morning before the cocks crowed but while revellers can still be found trying to navigate their four wheels round a lamp post that conveniently got in their way, I came across a web site for a New Radio Station.

Ocean Fm has a very good site and is based in the Northwest of the Island in Donegal Town covering several counties that are well known to Tourists visiting Ireland namely Donegal,Sligo and Leitrim.For those of you not familiar with these Counties...Donegal has the most spectactular BEACHES, ...SLIGO is the spiritual home of one of Irelands' favourite Sons ...the Poet Yeats ...and Leitrim used to be known for its Coal Mining Industry but better known now for its fantastic and unspoiled Coarse Fishing
I Guess I will have to pen a few articles on these Counties in due course.

Finally we get to the startling revelations!

Now I wasn’t surfing for the early morning news but had just received a Google Alert in my in box with an article from one of the Station’s contributors. Yes it concerned my other main passion in life (apart from Marketing) …that of trying to make a difference, however small, to the ever increasing problem of Driving Test delays here in Ireland , but more importantly the Life and Death struggle being waged by Ireland’s Motorists.

Where’s the benefit? ... well… before the ink (!) had dried on my e-mail (no that’s a slight exaggeration ) I received an e-mail from a Producer at the Radio Station asking if I would be available to take part in a broadcast tomorrow Morning.

That is how quickly you can build a contact and a chance to express your views. Don’t you just LUUUUve the power of the Internet? Of course you have to be in the right Mode (or mood) with the strategy well in place if you are going to seize opportunities like this on a regular basis.

I published an article recently at Ezine Articles .com where the GOOGLE Alert strategy was outlined as a very efficient and up to the minute way of creating Blog Posts and Articles. Here is the link to my Article Directory page at Ezine Articles Dot Com Exiled Brit Spouts Forth

Read and Digest (you had better get a pot of Java on the boil) and then suitably refreshed you better go out and do the same…again and again. Your profile will start to build and when this is underway, then you can expect to see an increase in the flow of Traffic to your Web Site and hopefully the increase in sales of your services and products…since you have now become not only known but trusted as well!

Get Writing and go get a Google Alerts Account right now!!
(c) Robin Piggott...Astral Web Authors 2006.

http://www.astralmotoring.ie
http://astraldrivingschool.blogs.ie

Do it –Share it--Take it to the Bank. The Edison Factor!

2006-02-21T13:22:00.000+00:00

Here's an article published 30 minutes ago on Ezine Articles.com...it explores the possibilities of a technique to drive not only more traffic to your web site but to a specific page on your site that you have decided upon.

Here is the Article:-
by Robin Piggott

When you finally realise that your pretty little web site is not performing the way you had expected (which needs to come sooner rather than later) you have some work to do and then some! First of all it’s worth pointing out that today’s top marketers and those of yesteryear also have one thing in common with those of us starting off right now and that is that they were newcomers once also.

They did not give up at the first hurdle or even the five hundredth! Remember Thomas Edison and his 10,000 experiments before the light finally switched on! Each generation of successful entrepreneurs became just that as a result of the Edison Factor; the never give up, keep going, the dark just before the dawn philosophy.

Believe me it works! And what ever works you better do more of …much much more!

Now that I have your attention let’s home in on your pretty little web site that is dead in the water. At this point and with you tearing your hair out, you just have to pull something out of the bag or in this case for the purpose of this article, your Blog. What the hell has a Blog got to do with it (apologies to Tina Turner).Let me enlighten you and refer again to that dimly lit laboratory all those decades ago when all was finally revealed in a blinding flash so to speak? The Edison factor is waiting for each of us if we only give it a chance to switch on.

Clearly if you have not already joined the growing ranks of the Blogosphere than you should stop reading right now and just go set one up and then come back tomorrow or this afternoon if you really believe that you can get going in 15 minutes like Big Jim Edwards says you can (we are not all blessed with cyber kinetic chips in our little brains!)

Here’s the deal (real or otherwise!)Write a new and devastating page for your web site and hide it away in the murky depths of the “dead-in –the –water” real estate. You aren’t getting any traffic so it doesn’t matter where you put it? For the time being! You should put a reference to it on your home page since this is where your few visitors are mostly going to happen along anyway. This may get them curious, particularly if you have a really punchy headline and the content is going to shake them up a bit.

Now comes the Crunch…Post about it on your Blog (the new page that is); use the title of your blog post to reflect the nature of the Web Page…and in the post you can give a snippet of the page (not the whole page) with perhaps two hyper links. One at the beginning and one at the end of the post. Using some good keyword phrases to act as the Anchor text you link directly to your new page and Voila… visitors to your Blog are now going straight to your new page on the web site. Doesn’t matter how bad you feel about your current(!) illumination(web site presence) you are starting to get visitors into the centre of your site and who knows they may even stick around a while.

At this point you have now bought some time and you should be rewriting and improving your Web Site like there was no tomorrow because if visitors are going to return they have got to have something worthwhile to return to ...Makes sense ...Yes?
Next action is to check your web site stats every morning and look at the entry pages. You will be amazed that within a few days your most read page will be the one that you linked to from your Blog.
This is a technique that I have been using for only a short while and it has resulted in a massive increase in the daily traffic to the Web site. Still not anything like enough traffic and still pitiful, but it’s a principle that works well providing you post very regularly to your Blog and in each post you use anchor text to link to a specific page on your site which could be any page that you want to get further traffic.

Obviously until you build up traffic to your blog this will not break the bank but if it works and you can see actual results from your labours then you will gain the confidence and stamina to keep going until it all clicks together. Yesterday, or rather last night, I used this strategy to announce new changes to our web site and since the pages referred to in the blog post are not even live on the Web Site yet, since I am not yet the Webmaster, I linked to two separate pages in the two links. This morning we have seen the best ever daily visitor numbers to our site and I have already rung the Bank and told them to crack open the Bubbly! No seriously this is a technique along with many others that will get you where you want to go eventually .The important thing to remember is:-

DO IT OFTEN ----- SHARE IT OFTEN----THEN YOU WILL DEFINITELY BE TAKING IT TO THE BANK!

Copyright(c) Astral Driving School.Ireland

Driving with the Real Professionals..on the Road and On-Line

The Larry Dotson Encyclopaedia of Hypnotic Verse

2006-02-21T11:32:00.000+00:00

Here's a quick link to Larry Dotson's Web Site where you have the chance to download a free Ebook giving you 5000 hypnotic words and phrases to help with your sales copy.

The Ten Thousand (10,000) version is on offer for $19.95 but 5000 will keep you going for a good while until you run out of steam! and heck it's for free.

I come across Larry Dotson from time to time but he perhaps keeps a lower profile than other Marketers. Today while checking up on my published articles circulating out there in Cyberspace he surfaced as a major contributor in this particular Directory I stumbled upon and obviously his Hypnotic words led me to take a look at what he was saying on his site.

I guess this is one of the best ways of stumbling on nuggets of marketing wisdom...just follow the trail from your own articles and it will lead you to some terific Web Sites. Just one of the many benefits of writing articles that means that you don't spend quite so much time searching for new information....just follow the TRAIL!

Larry Dotson's Idpublishing.com

The Science of Getting Rich

2006-02-19T08:15:00.000+00:00

The Science of Getting Rich is a site that developed out of sharing a valuable, long lost book by Wallace D.Wattles.

Rebecca Fine received the book several years ago and passed it around and this sharing idea became the site you see today.

Go take a look it will be well worth while.

http://www.scienceofgettingrich.net

Tips on the Placement of Advertising on your Site.

2006-02-18T17:04:00.000+00:00

Here's a good article by Stephen Bucaro on the ins and outs of ad placements on your web site.
Obviously as a newbie you have got to start somewhere and while you could spend all the money(if you have it?) and take weeks or months to get your site up and running with a Professional Web Master, I think it's better to get your feet wet and have a go yourself while learning the ropes.You will be better able to communicate with your webmaster in due course if you are doing some of the development work yourself and you will also know what works and what doesn't much more quickly.

Bear this in mind, most if not all, Web Designers are just that... they are not Marketers nor do they know much about your Business. You owe it to yourself to learn the hard way by doing it and not relying entirely on someone else. When you have money in the Bank, and by jimminee you will need some and a half! if you are going to hire a webmaster; you can then talk confidently with your designer and have some idea of how things should be going during the site -build process. Here is the Article:-

Integrating Advertising into Your Web Design

By Stephen Bucaro

If you are going to be placing ads on your website, you'll
want to put some thought into how you'll integrate them.
Poor integration of ads into your website will cause
visitors to click away fast. Successful integration of ads
into your site can be highly profitable. Before I show you
where to position ads, I want to mention a few important
points about ads.

1. Ratio of ads to content

How many ads should you place on your website? There is an
optimum ratio of ads to content. If your website has too
high a proportion of advertising relative to content, the
traffic on your website will suffer and you will lose
money. If your website has too low a portion of advertising
relative to content, the sales on your website will suffer
and you will lose money.

What is the optimum ratio of ads to content? I can't point
to any studies, but I feel the optimum ratio is somewhere
around 20 to 25 percent ads relative to content. Go much
above that ratio and, despite more ads, the revenue from
your site goes down. But, there are ways to exceed that
ratio and still make more money.

Ads as a service

Advertisements can provide useful information, as well as
content. In that case, the ads become content. Here's an
example. Rather than post ads that pay you the highest
commission, post ads that provide the best value to the
visitors to your website. These are ads where the value is
so good you might respond to the ad yourself. This type of
ad is more of a service than an advertisement.

Another example is ads for gifts around the holidays.
People expect and are not turned off by an increase in ads
around the holidays. Finding gifts for everyone on your
list is difficult work, and people appreciate gift ideas.
Again, this type of ad is more of a service than an
advertisement.

You can safely exceed the normal ratio of ads to content
if you hide the ads in the content. An example of this is
product "reviews". For example, computer magazines are
almost 100 percent advertising posing as product reviews.

2. Repetition of ads and ad management

I have seen websites that display the exact same banner
on every page. If I didn't respond to the banner on the
first page, what makes them think I will repond to it on
the second, third ... hundredth page?

Displaying the same banner on every page of your website
is annoying to your website's visitors, and a money losing
propostion for you. Keep your ads fresh. Ads are boring
enough without repeating the same ad over and over. Display
a variety of ads, and use an ad management system. An
example of an ad management system is a banner rotator.

3. Ad type relative to response rate

I have heard claims that text ads receive the highest
reponse. I'm sure these results are not related to whether
the ad is text or graphics, but more likely related to the
fact that text ads are usually placed in the more
responsive areas of a webpage. All thing being equal, a
graphic ad will always get better response than a text ad.

A graphic ad will get higher response than a text ad, and
an animated graphic ad will get higher response than a
static graphic ad. But animation can be taken to an
extreme. Some types of animation are annoying and not only
does the ad get a low response, but it also causes visitors
to click away from your website.

Examples of annoying animated ads are banners that flash or
jiggle or do something else that distracts the visitor so
they can't read the webpage content. Those visitors that
don't click away will scroll the webpage so this type of
ad goes off screen while they try to read the webpage.

A secret few advertising designers know is that the graphic
that will get the most attention is a picture of a human
face. People are genetically predisposed to look at a human
face in their view area. Try it yourself while you're
browsing the web. If a webpage has a human face on it,
that's the first thing you will look at.

Where to position ads on your webpage

To discuss where to place ads on a webpage, we need to
divide a page into five sections as listed below.

1. Header
2. Footer
3. Left Margin
4. Right Margin
5. Center column

Note: There is a sixth area of the webpage which is the
popup window. There are many forms of popup windows;
pop-over, pop-under, delayed, and exit. The polite way to
use popup windows is the self-closing popup window. Because
of popup window blockers, popup windows are much less
effective today, and, from my own experience, when I tried
using popup windows, the page views on my website dropped
by 50 percent.

The most common position to place advertising banners is
in the header section of a webpage. Web users have
programmed themselves to ignore banners in this position.
The response rate of banners in the header section of
webpages has dropped to something like .0001 percent. The
Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has tried to overcome
this problem by defining giant (what I call "battleship
size") banners. I don't know of any studies that show this
works.

Using banners in the head section of your webpage is a
waste of processor time, but most webpages still use them.
Making a sale this way is a long shot. Banners in the footer
section of a webpage are even less responsive.

Actually Web users have programmed themselves to ignore all
advertising on the web. However, from my own experience,
you can get some response from ads in the left and right
margins of a webpage. Most websites are designed with the
menu in the left margin and possibly ads in the right
margin. This means if the user has a low resolution display,
depending upon the width of the webpage, the advertising
may be off the screen.

Place your menu in the right margin and use the left margin
for advertising. This places the user with a low resolution
display in the positon of having to scroll to view the menu.
Too bad. They should get a bigger display. Website revenue
comes first.

The most responsive position to put your ads is in the
center column of the webpage along with the content. As
visitors are reading the article on the webpage, they come
upon the ad. It's unavoidable.

If you imagine the center column of your webpage divided
into three parts; top, middle, and bottom, the most
responsive position for your ad will be right in the middle.
As the visitors are reading the article on the webpage,
they are forced to look at the ad as they continue to the
lower part of the article. This might be a little annoying
to the reader, but let's hope your content is worth that
slight annoyance.

I would recommend placing your ad at the bottom of the
center column. As visitors read the article on the webpage,
they end up looking at your ad. This is almost as
effective as placing the ad in the middle of the column,
and a lot less annoying to the reader.

As you can see, how you integrate advertising into your
webpages has a major impact on your ability to produce
revenue from your website. Poor ad integration will cause
visitors to click away. Proper integration can make your
website highly profitable. But, ad positon is not the
only determining factor, don't forget the ratio of ads to
content, ad management, and ad type relative to response
rate.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :-Stephen Bucaro

To learn how to maintain your computer and use it more effectively to design a Web site and make money on the Web visit bucarotechelp.com To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter visit
http://bucarotechelp.com/search/000800.asp

Copyright(C) 2004 Bucaro TecHelp.

Fresh Article Published at Ezine Articles.com

2006-02-17T14:29:00.000+00:00

As a result of attending an excellent Seminar yesterday run by the Irish Internet Association I decided to pen an article on the benefits of getting out of the "Office",
and checking up on what's going on, on your particular home patch.
This could equally be offline or on-line and the benefits can be far reaching if you set this activity up as a regular part of your Business activity.

Here is the link to my Authors page at ezine articles.com where you can find all of my accepted and published work.

There were seven speakers all of whom were experts in their respective fields and the seminar covered Domain Registrations and the reasons for chosing between dot Com and various other Country Domains as well as E Commerce setup strategies and Google Adwords campaigns. The Managing Director of e-Bay Ireland gave a fascinating talk on the explosive growth of E Bay and the way the Company is headed worldwide.

An excellent seminar and well attended by existing Web Site Owners and a few who are about to take the plunge.

One of the greatest benefits to be had by atttending a seminar is the ability to network with other like minded individuals and of course to get some great new ideas on further developing your Business.

To Attend or not to Attend? The Seminar Beckons!

2006-02-17T11:30:00.000+00:00

We have been off the air so to speak for a few days due to the usual life enhancing activities that come attached to Single Parenting...in this case half term break and important twice daily chauffeuring to Work experience for my younger Daughter.

Any of you out there who are single parents but also trying to run businesses will know that you can't do both simultaneously with any degree of success for 52 weeks of the year 26 weeks maybe... but still life has to go on.

Managed to attend the Live call from Dan Kennedy that Ali Brown (The Ezine Queen) hosted two nights ago .There were 1000 eager beavers registered and just 300 lines available.

Dan Kennedy is well known as one of THE most successful Marketers of our time both on line and off-line. I will be sharing with you some of his advice in future posts .

Alexandria Brown cites Dan Kennedy as her main influence in her success over the last several years and it was quite a coup to get Dan Kennedy to participate in a live conference call. I personally found it totally illuminating.

Dan shoots hard and straight from the hip ..no prisoners!.
You should check out Dan Kennedy if you really want to step up a gear or Ten!

Something to Listen to ....

2006-02-11T00:52:00.000+00:00

The use of Audio on web sites and blogs is increasing all the time and even Audio Postcards are now hitting the scene.

For a look at Armand Morin's New Audio Generator software go to the side bar and look for the New Blue Box and give it a Click!.

It's a very professional presentation and worth a look at.

We'll be putting Audio on all our sites in the very near future ..it's certainly a more entertaining web experience and well you can even find out which part of the Planet the Marketer is from if you are good with accents!

Actually we decided to show the blue box here as well:-

Hope you enjoy your trip to Audio Generator..I did!

Why Do things always have to Change? Or Goodbye Comfort Zone!

2006-02-09T23:02:00.000+00:00

Here is Jim Edwards' latest prediction which we are fortunate to be able to reprint. One of the reasons why Jim is so successful is simply that he shares his knowledge freely and has built up a reputation as a likeable and straight talking Marketer.

No unmentionable, no beating around the bush, just tells it as it is and helps people on their way to achieving their goals with a range of books, courses and Marketing magic! Go to it and become a Disciple ...you won't be disappointed!

Actually I almost forgot to mention that Jim has co-authored with other top names in the Internet Marketing World... Yanik Silver... Mike Stewart... David Garfinkle and his Father ...Dallas Edwards who obviously played a major role in the success story.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Email "Toll Booths" Coming Soon

- by Jim Edwards

© Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
http://www.thenetreporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The end of the free ride for email marketing looms on the
horizon.

The days of building up or buying a big email list and
freely using it to market and sell online are numbered like
the dinosaurs heading for an ice age cold snap.

The technical and time costs of dealing with email traffic
(primarily driven by rampant illegal spam) will soon break
the back of both Internet service providers (ISPs) and
online email services.

Major online players like AOL and MSN are currently
wrestling with two solutions to the problem, but I
personally think the almighty dollar will win out in the
end.

The two solutions proposed to stem the tide of commercial
spam once and for all revolve around either "white listing"
email senders or charging a "toll" (typically .25-1 cent per
email message) to allow email through.

Currently, ISPs and email providers can either maintain
their own white lists, as in the case of AOL, or the can
share one.

In the "old" days, companies could (and still do) subscribe
to "black lists" (like SpamHaus.org) which exclude email
senders based on reports of spamming and other factors.

Though the "black list" method rates the least accurate,
it's currently the most popular simply because it requires
the least effort by companies trying to block spam.

However, as spammers get smarter, black listing has proven
an ineffective spam deterrent and ISPs must get proactive if
they hope to survive.

However, an inherent weakness in the "white list" system
makes charging for commercial email inevitable.

Since white listing requires effort on the part of the ISP
or email provider (they must ultimately pay real people to
manage the list), this means additional cost.

Unlike a relatively inexpensive subscription to a "black
list service" which gets implemented automatically by
software filters, white listing requires people to do work
which carries a real world cost.

Bottom line: most ISPs and email services will not be able
to create, maintain or implement a white list for very long
without charging.

Yet, consumers tired of the avalanche of spam are demanding
effective protection by those they pay for Internet and
email access.

Thus, any service hoping to survive long-term must adopt a
hybrid of both the white list and "toll booth" approaches.

This means not only evaluating the legitimacy of every
commercial email sender's methods, but also charging them
for the email they send through a particular service or
network. It's inevitable.

Now, the cry that immediately goes up at this point sounds
like this, "What about the "little guys" who can't afford to
pay the fee or the family newsletters that aren't
commercial? What about them?"

In a perfect world, their email would go through.

In the real world, their email will get lost even more
frequently in the future than it does now in the existing
tangle of email filters and inconsistent white and black
listing.

The hope of survival and prosperity for the "little guy"
lies squarely in the hands of blogging and RSS feeds.

Since blogging and rss feeds enable consumers to subscribe
directly to information using an RSS "reader," they
completely bypass the need to send email.

This eliminates the "middle man" of an email provider and
puts control over what content gets received squarely in the
hands of the consumer.

Though this technology has existed for several years now,
awareness by mainstream consumers of what RSS feeds are and
how to subscribe to them has been relatively slow.

The biggest contributor to the slow adoption in the
mainstream has been the absence of a universally distributed
RSS "reader" on every computer (similar to how Outlook or
Outlook Express on every Windows PC helped make email
universally understood).

But that should also change shortly as more RSS readers get
included in Web browsers and email programs in the near
future.

So while the "big guys" will push their messages to
consumers by paying what will surely amount to an ever-
increasing "toll" to get their emails through, the "little
guys" will "pull" consumers to them with subscriptions to
blogs and RSS feeds.

Whether it happens this year, next year, or the year after -
make no mistake - the email "toll booth" is coming for
commercial emailers and newsletter publishers.

So, if you depend on sending email for your company's
profits, either get ready, plan, and budget for the new
tolls, or start making arrangements to distribute your
content via blogs and RSS feeds, because the market will
shortly force you to make a choice.

-- Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the
co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how
to use fr^e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted
visitors to your website, affiliate links, or blogs...

-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links?
"Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving
Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate
links... without spending a dime on advertising!
Click Here> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com
-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Get Going On- Line in Just Seven Days or Less!

2006-02-09T11:43:00.000+00:00

Here is a really remarkable series of Video Tutorials that will get you going with a fully functional and e-enabled site in just a few days without the interminable buying of all the different programmes and software that up to now has been necessary to establish your presence on-line!
The Author of the series is Daniel Kelly of MiniSitesMadeEasy.com

No this is not a "Signup now and pay us only $197 to get Started Fast" type of programme; it is an innovative "Sign up now for a One Dollar, Yes 1$ Trial! for 14 days" type of programme" which will give you full access to the whole class of over 20 video Tutorials and should get you up and running if you follow the instructions carefully.

After the 14 day trial you will be billed for a special introductory price of just $97 dollars ..a real snip as they say! The videos are well produced and are newbie friendly to say the least. If you are on a dial up connection, yes, the loading time is a bit slow but hell you can get on with something else,like your next Blog post while letting the video load in its own time. With the sound on you will know what sort of progress is being made with the download and can refer back when its finished and play it over again start to finish.

Some Tutorials in this excellent video format tend to go a little too fast for my liking but if that is so in your case having downloaded the files you can access them again and again at your own speed.

This is a not to be missed opportuniy for someone who is confused with all the geek speak and the large outlay that seems to be essential (but really isn't )in setting up a functioning Web Site.

Give it a go you have nothing to lose and the dollar down and a dollar a week approach (almost) is a Gift from Cyberspace you don't see that often! Have I tried out and assessed the Course? YOU BET.... it's one of the best offers I have seen in Six years on-line. Am I using it? ...You can Count on it!

Any body that tries it out should let me know how they get on so that we can spread the Word.Here is the link again to Dan Kelley's
"Mini Sites Made Easy" video tutorial course which will have some extra bonuses and some special links to programmes that Dan has used in his On-line Business efforts. I have always found that you get the best of advice and recommendations from Netpreneurs that share their secrets willingly. It can take a helluva time to source all the free stuff that can make a difference to your progress so I always am on the lookout for this clue!

We promised to have the Stone Evans product reviewed yesterday..it will issue shortly .
Have a good Cyber-DAY from Cyber Spy!!!

Robin Piggott

Getting Ready to Take Orders from Your New Site

2006-02-08T23:30:00.000+00:00

There is so much to do in setting up your site to accept orders.We are in the process of completely revamping our own Learner Driver Web Site which provides services and resources for Drivers in Ireland and the UK.

This will include a fully e-commerce enabled system to not only look after the advance and remote payments of Lessons but also the sale of our own ebooks which are in process and also a full range of Books, CDRoms, and DVD's. We will use this blog to show you what has to be done and what the cost will be in terms of outlay and time and to chart the successful implementation of the system we choose.

Pay Pal looks a front runner and is found on thousands of sites across the Internet and would apperr to be an affordable system, particualrly for Newbies starting off. A Merchant Account at your Bank is likely to be a considerably more costly exercise but would probably be required if your Business grows to a large size in time.
We are also looking at
1shoppingcart.com which is used by thousands of web site owners. It has a bundle of features including Autorespnders which are an essential part of the successful web enterprise.

More on this topic as it unfolds...

Robin Piggott

A Very Quick Product Review.

2006-02-08T22:42:00.000+00:00

A very quick product review
by Robin Piggott

There are a couple of well established companies on line who are catering to the Non Techy Newbies Market in the arena of “build your own site without the hassle of a webmaster”.

The first I recommend is Ken Evoy’s SiteSell.com which will take you through the process without making life too complicated.

Site Build It! is the hosting package and is used by many Web Site owners including the more experienced of online operators so it’s not by any means an amateurs only outfit.

There are other products in the stable well worth looking at when you visit the site. Including “Make your Site Sell”…”Make your Words Sell “…”Make your Knowledge Sell”.

All in all a range of products to suit a modest budget that a newbie usually has to work with. Ken Evoy was one of the first Netpreneurs I subscribed to two years ago and his clear cut writing caught my attention.

We will talk about the other recommendation …Stone Evans and his Plug- in Profit Site in the next post.

The GURUDAQ Share Index of Internet Marketing Professionals

2006-02-08T14:18:00.000+00:00

Have you checked the GuruDaq index of Internet marketing professionals recently?

Shoot... what the blazes is the GURUDAQ?

Well I stumbled on this WebSite by Mark Hendricks a few months ago which lays out a Top Fifty Who's Who in the heady World of Internet Marketing.

It's a real eyeopener and guess what in the last 24 hours none other than my own Fave -Rave, the irrepressible JIM EDWARDS is showing the greatest growth for the day.

All the tops Marketers are listed but of course there are many top Pro's who keep a very low profile. All of the Marketers that we subscribe to and are recommending through this Blog are listed ..perhaps we should create an up and coming Guru listing ?

Obviously in any Market place there are Heavy Hitters and sometimes the King gets shoved down a few slots in time as new Young Lions get their chance.Will you become one of the next Generation of Young Lions ?...I hope so..

Remember it takes a lot of effort and usually quite a lot of Investment to make it in any Business.That's an investment in time, emotion, and of course money. There ain't no such thing as an overnight success.You have to realise that; and once you do, providing you are on the right track to begin with, all it will take will be a Truck-Load of Massive Action.....that's Jim Edwards favourite Mantra.

I am continually coming across online marketers who cite Jim Edwards as their prime motivator. He has been for me, which is why I have his products and will continue to promote them. Jim is cutting edge make no mistake!

Have a look at one of Jims Best Products ...the fantastic Turn Words into Traffic and get cracking on your writing career it's not as difficult as it seems at the outset.You need a plan, a Swipe/Ideas file and a good supply of Java as you lock yourself away in your Writers Haven ( for some it's Writers Heaven!...Hint)

What about the Family you might say ...wel that's another routine that is important and I am not going to voice opinions on this subject right now ...there are plenty of others better qualified.

More later have a prolific day at the keyboard!

Key Word Phrases in Text that You Use to Link with.

2006-02-08T04:37:00.000+00:00

Attention: Please read this article in its entirety first before clicking on any of the Links. Since it is a disguised Tutorial for the previously Faint-Hearted in the Gentle Art of Text Linking.

When you have reached the end of this article please go and click on the link to Ken McGaffin, read and digest his article and then come back and re read this piece and of course get Clicking! Just so that you don’t think we have gone completely off the Planet this is not an exercise to get you clicking on a zillion Affiliate Links because we have deliberately edited these out to give you a more pleasurable Reading and Clicking Experience!

This article as we have already said, is a basic tutorial for Newbies on the Internet to gain some insight into using Key Words relevant to your niche in your Linking Anchor Text Strategy. This linking strategy can be combined very effectively with the use of your resource box at the end of articles that you have published in Article Directories or indeed on your blog. Instead of just having your web site Home page as one of your links in the box, you can create your link to a specific page within your site that you particularly want people to read and have the anchor text give a clear keyword direction to that page.

For example if I want people to visit and read my excellent update on “Driving in Ireland” on my main Driving School website, I can more easily achieve this by saying something like ” if you are planning on Driving in Ireland this Summer visit his web site at…”.. in the resource box and then using the Driving in Ireland phrase as the linking text to that very page on the web site. The clickability factor is much stronger than just expecting people to click on a Driving School home page

Thanks to my Good friend and new collaborator Christi Rogers-Upson, she of the potentially World Dominating,“Doggie really knows Best!” Web Site, Dog Potentials, and Platinum Author at EzineArticles.com you are getting some excellent and important hints in this post, and the accompanying article by Ken McGaffin, which as you will see can have quite an effect on your site traffic.

You do have a Web Site I assume? Well for those of you poor unfortunates (and we were all there not so long ago!) who do not as yet, have some Web Real Estate, help is at hand in the form of a blog that provides Net Newbies with Tips, Articles and Advice on how to get started on your piece of Internet Potential and guess what? it is all free!

Well you know what I mean, we are not counting your Internet Connection ,Computer , Office, Fish Tank, Digital Camera thingy and all the other paraphernalia; not to mention 25 “Must Have” Multi Media Courses and the obligatory 12 and a half dozen E-Books(which haven’t all been read!)

We are venturing into non- Newbie Territory as we guide the ship through uncharted waters, that is for us at least! Now that I have your attention (I do don’t I?) we, that is Christi and I are going to direct you to a very informative article by Ken McGaffin of the Linking Matters Web Site. Ken is an experienced Internet Marketing Consultant (you can tell that because it’s in his Resource box!) and an expert in all things that go “Link in the Night” or should it be “In the Dark”.

Any way it’s an excellent article that you should all read several times in order to get a real handle on the subject matter. At this point there is no need for me to reinvent the wheel so why don’t you go to the Keyword Phrases in Linking Text article by clicking here and then come back to this article and read it again , paying attention to the links this time.

Happy Clicking…but only after you have done what we suggest. We are not responsible for what may happen if you disregard these instructions!

Ken McGaffin is an experienced internet marketing consultant. He has worked for major pharmaceutical companies, advertising agencies, government bodies and non-profit organizations.
Ken created The Linking Matters Report, published in 2003. He consults, writes and
presents widely on linking strategy, website evaluations and emarketing strategy

An Article from the Viral E Book Master.Louis Allport

2006-02-07T12:06:00.000+00:00

I first discovered Louis Allport a few short months ago and was very impressed with his Tutorial Delivery...but then I undiscovered or rather lost him in the maze of downloads on my Desk Top. Yippee... we just found him again through one of the Membership sites that I recently joined .What is a membership site ..well its a site that you join as a Member for a monthly fee usually preceeded by some kind of joining fee.

What do you get for your Money? well the better ones hosted by experienced Internet Marketers offer an absolute inventory of Articles, Software,E-Books and so on that will not only Educate you into the mysteries of doing business on the Internet but will often enable you to re-package the content as market it in whatever way suits your niche or your budget.

This paragraph does not do justice to the opportunities that Membership sites offer and is only a teaser to get you interested enough in having a closer look.

We will be talking a lot more over the coming weeks about this style of Marketing and in the meantime hope you gain some good insights into finally getting going on the Internet.

Enjoy the article...there will be more !

How I Get Hundreds Of Daily Website Visitors For Free
Copyright © 2005 Louis Allport

Know about "Viral eBooks"?

It's not a new concept I'll admit, but it works like absolute gangbusters. In fact, over the past three years it has personally been responsible for bringing me hundreds of thousands of visitors to just one of my websites. AND - 100% for free.

Getting traffic with Viral eBooks is a "free traffic tactic", which means you're not paying for advertising. But, because you're not paying for this exposure, you need to instead create content that people WANT to pass on.

This takes effort, but if you do it right, it can pay you back hugely. Let's go through it:

Okay - for starters you can create Viral eBooks in two formats:

EXE (executable) format - which means it only works on PC's. This type of eBook looks like a website packaged together.

These types of eBooks look great, and all someone has to do to view it is download and double-click it. But, as mentioned it does only work on PC's, and generally the software to create these types of eBooks isn't free, although it is very affordable. (I personally use the software from eBookCompiler.com which as I write this retails for around $30.)

Alternatively - you can create and distribute Viral eBooks in the hugely popular PDF format. The advantage of PDF is that everyone can read them successfully whether they're viewing your eBook on PC, Mac or "other".

To read PDF successfully, the person who downloaded the eBook needs to have the free Adobe Reader installed on their computer. Most people do, and if they don’t it's a quick download from Adobe.com, so this isn't an issue.

Although PDF’s can be more widely read that EXE style eBooks, they’re not quite as flexible. With EXE's for example you can actually embed video and audio into the eBook. This isn't possible with PDF. With PDF you would need to instead include a link to where the reader can view or download the audio/video online.

So with this in mind, you need to decide what's most important to you and make your choice accordingly for eBook format. I personally don't recommended you create your eBook in both formats, since that just complicates the distribution process in my experience. Stick with one or the other.

For creating Viral PDF's - there's a wide array of software that allows you to create PDF's. Some of this software is free, some mind-bogglingly expensive. To view many available options, simply search Download.com or Tucows.com.

For creating Viral PDF's, I personally use software that I had specially created. And the advantage of my software is that it allows you to easily create fully *brandable* PDF's. This means that people can customize your PDF with their own affiliate or website details.

The benefit of this feature is that it makes it much more likely the PDF will spread far and wide for you as it gives the reader a strong incentive to pass the PDF on as they can now directly profit from it's distribution.

You can get this PDF branding software for free at BrandPDF.com

So those are your two options for eBook formats. Now - how do you make it truly viral?

Well, first of all, decide what kind of visitors you want to your website, and create an eBook on a subject that would interest those people.

Your eBook has to be truly useful, interesting, and credible. Don't create a poor quality eBook since no one will read it, which means of course that no one will visit your site.

You can even include multi-media links within your eBook to related audio and video if you like, making your product even more interesting and unique. These download links lead back to your site of course, which naturally gets you more visitors.

If you're not familiar with a subject matter that would allow you to reach your target audience, you could perhaps have an eBook ghostwritten. There's plenty of Ghostwriters who would bid on a project you list for free at eLance.com.

(Ghostwriters are professional writers who create unique content for you on a subject of your choice, and give you all the rights to it, so you can use it as you choose. Many ghostwriters offer their services very affordably.)

Alternatively - an information-rich interview with an expert in the field could be a good solution. The person you interview gets free advertising that way too of course, so they may well be happy to spend the time.

Such an interview can be done either by email or by phone. The audio of a phone interview would be edited (to remove any mistakes) and then transcribed. Both the audio and transcript can then be offered in the eBook.

In my personal experience, longer interviews (more than just a few simple questions) don't work well by email since it can take the person being interviewed quite a lot of typing, and I find the momentum of the process quickly fades this way with every question asked, which can lead to significant delays.

For this reason, and to keep things quick and easy for the person being interviewed, I have generally gone with phone interviews in the past - one hour of interview generally creates from around 7,000 to 10,000 words of content.

Then after finalizing the recording and tidying the transcript, pass the product by the interviewee before publication to confirm their approval.

And let me stress again - your eBook must be high quality and credible. The higher the quality the further it will spread.

If it's free to give away, maybe aim for an eBook that could sell for $20 comfortably - IF - it was being sold.

Use this as a rough guide to the kind of value you want to aim for with your eBook. The more value you offer in a subject your target market is interested in, the more people will pay attention to it. It's as simple as that.

So finally - how do you make the eBook as viral as possible?

One important point already mentioned more than once is to make the eBook very high quality.

The next important point also touched on is that it is very good to give people strong incentives to pass the eBook on, rather than simply hoping they do. To do this, give them benefits for passing it on. Particularly - by making it brandable so that the person passing it on can add their affiliate links, or even their "home page" address to it. For example:

"This eBook is brought to you by JoeBloggs.com"

If it's a free to sell eBook (which means: if you have a copy of the eBook, you have the automatic right to sell it yourself. In a sense these are resale rights that automatically roll from one eBook owner to the next) - have a ready-made and professional website and sales page linked to from within the eBook, so that it's easy for people to start selling it.

And if the offer, sales copy, website and product are all high quality, the eBook should sell well for everyone who resells it, which means it quickly spreads far and wide for you.

If you give everyone who gets a copy of the eBook a way to profit it will just keep on spreading for years to come. This has been my experience. Search for my name in Google to see this first hand.

And pay attention to the rights you give the eBook - loose rights for an eBook will help it spread far and wide quickly. Specify the rights within the first page or two of the eBook so there's no confusion. And don't just say "Master Rights". Explain the rights in an easy to understand way.

And let me also say that the more eBooks you create, the larger the "Viral Net" you'll have out there working for you to bring you visitors every single day.

I've personally been creating viral eBooks for around three years as I write this, and have over thirty eBooks out there on thousands upon thousands of web sites. AND - on tens of thousands (even hundreds of thousands) of personal computers around the world. And all these eBooks are working automatically every day to bring traffic back to my site.

Starting your own Viral eBook library can do the same for you.

--------------------

Louis Allport is an online product developer and marketer. He recently revealed a system that can help you create best-selling products practically on demand: http://www.createoffers.com

Want to Look Good to your Web Site Visitors?

2006-02-07T00:28:00.000+00:00

Here is an Article by the incomparable Alexandria K.Brown aka

"The Ezine Queen"

5 Ways to Give Your Web Site a Big-Company Look and Feel

by Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen”

We all DO judge a book by its cover, and the same saying goes for Web sites. I’ve seen many entrepreneurs offer great information on their Web pages, but compromise their image dramatically with a few amateur mistakes that can be VERY unforgiving.

If you want to attract high quality clients and customers, and convey that you’re a legitimate, credible, and sought-after business, these five points are a great launching pad to give your site that “big company” look and feel.

1. Start with a high-quality LOGO.

The one your kid created for you doesn’t count! I’m talking about paying a designer to do one for you, and it doesn’t have to cost in the thousands. If you don’t have much of a budget, consider the following options:

For my E-zine Queen site, I used an online logo service called “1800MyLogo” . At the time they charged only $199 to design a professional logo based on my business, style, and personal preferences. The whole process only took about two weeks and was conducted entirely over the Web. (To see the final result, take a quick peek at The EZINE QUEEN)

I’ve also heard good things about GotLogos.com, where you can get a quick Web site logo for only $25!

2. Get your own business DOMAIN NAME.

It’s just a fact that folks will feel safer shopping at a site with its own domain name.

For example, if you were shopping online for a circular saw, would you be more likely to purchase from a hardware site called “...bobshardware.com” or the one whose URL is “...geocities.com/3339/bobshardware'? (This is a fictional example, by the way.)

Having your own domain name implies you’re a “real” company, and not Uncle Bob working in his kitchen at night (even though you may very well be ; )).

There are several places to buy domain names at good prices, but one of my favorites is WebLaunching.net (http://www.weblaunching.net). (Only $12 per year.)

3. Get (and use) a business E-MAIL ADDRESS.

Nothing screams “amateur” like sending out professional e-mail from a handle like “fuzzybear4u@hotmail.com.” Once you get a domain name for your Web site, have your hosting company set up a professional e-mail *alias* for you.

Let’s go back to Bob, for example. Suppose Bob’s e-mail has always been “BobSmith000002@earthlink.net.” Now that he has his own domain name, he can instead use “bob@bobshardware.com”. He still KEEPS his Earthlink address, because that’s where he’ll actually receive his mail. But he should only GIVE OUT the new one on his Web site, business cards, etc.

If you use Outlook or a similar e-mail program, you can set it up so that your e-mails ONLY show your e-mail alias and your personal e-mail address. (To do this in Outlook, go under the “Tools” menu. Then choose “Accounts.” Then select the account you use, and click “Properties.” Enter your e-mail alias in both the “e-mail” and “reply address” fields.)

4. Get a professional-looking Web site DESIGN.

This can mean either hiring a designer to do a custom site for you, OR designing it yourself. Unless you’re both trained extensively in HTML and have a background in design, it’s well worth the money to hire someone.

Find prospective designers who work with small businesses, ask to see samples of their work, and be upfront about your budget. If their rates are higher than you can afford, ask them if they have any pre-designed Web site templates they can just insert your information in, cutting down tremendously on design time and cost.

Whatever design you choose, make it CONSISTENT on every page of your site, by using the same design elements such as borders, fonts, and colors.

If your budget is next to nil and you'd like to choose from a variety of templates that you can customize, check out Ken Evoy's new "Site Build It"! This innovative tool lets you create your own site very easily, and it has some of the most professional-looking templates I've seen. The affordable package (less than $350 USD) also includes hosting, a list service, and more. Site Build it..By the Great Ken Evoy

5. Tell us WHO YOU ARE and HOW TO REACH YOU.

Most of us (and rightfully so) are leery of purchasing online from a company we’ve never heard of before. To alleviate our fears, put contact information on every page if you can, with a physical mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address.

If you’re uncomfortable posting your home address, lease a box around the corner and use that address. Avoid using “P.O. box” in your address if possible, which can appear suspicious. Real companies have real addresses!

Also, get a *Toll-free* number if you can — it says “big company” and "customer service."

(c) 2002 Alexandria K. Brown

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” is author of the award-winning manual, “Boost Business With Your Own E-zine.” To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at www.Ezine Queen.com

AKB Communications
520 Washington Blvd., Ste. 130
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Jim Edwards...A look at the Man and his Mission

2006-02-06T22:05:00.000+00:00

Jim Edwards...

Jim is probably one of the most successful of the Ebook Marketers and has produced some amazing products over the last two years.

His main themes are helping others to achieve their goals utilising products that he himself has developed as a result of his own experiences and needs that weren't being fullfilled at the time.

Here are some of his BOOKS AND COURSES:-

Video Secrets Revealed (in pre release status currently).

E-Book Secrets Exposed.

Mini Site Creator.

Website Video Secrets.

EBook Fire (the affiliate programme)

33days to online profits... co written with Yanik Silver.

Individually these books and courses are not going to break the Bank; of course if you bought them all at once ...well that's a different story. If you were tempted, which some people might be, if they really believed that this was the package to end all packages (remember the Mother of All Battles by Saddam Hussein!) then it would be a good investment.

However Jim is very prolific and you would get so engrossed in getting things done that it would be a long while before you attacked the Second Column.

I suggest that you start with something manageable like the "eBook secrets exposed" to get a feel for the subject (and the parlance) and also Jims' delivery and move on from there.

Mini Site Creator is a lot more costly than an ebook but will enable you to get your web site up and running in double quick time. Jim is a great motivator not only because he speaks in "non geek speak" but tells it straight from the hip ...no messing.

If you listen to him, which incidentally I didn't for a long while, or at least didn't take any action ..and Big Jim is big into Action, you will undoubtedly succeed.That's not to say you will become rich and successful in a matter of weeks but that if you follow the Master then he will lead you to the Promised Land when you are ready.

Jim has spent years in the Wilderness like most successful entrepreneurs and appeared to have overnight success when in fact as he will tell you he was stressed out,burnt out (almost ) and virtually wiped out when finally it all started to come together ....!

You have to have belief in yourself even when it is coming crashing down all around you. Ever been there? I am sure you have ...perhaps you are even there now as we speak?.Don't give up ...it's amazing the success that comes just after the Dawn!

In future articles we will be highlighting some of the ways in which you can turn yourself around from a seemingly desperate and insoluble situation.

GO TO IT and be guided by one of the Internets' Star Performers and all round Good Guys. I will be continuing this new series of Marketer Reviews every Week make sure you come and visit remember just one Great Tip can sometimes turn the balance in your Favour......

Robin Piggott

Having Some Strange Formatting experiences

2006-02-05T23:05:00.000+00:00

Hello Again
In case you think I am on a cocktail of Guinness laced with Speed I assure you I am not! I am using the Firefox Browser now more and more and its the one I am building the blog with. Settings and layout here are fine (for a Newbie!)

Internet Explorer is a different kettle of SEO Experts!It'a real mess and at this point I don't have an answer.However if you can bear the angst of trawling though a real Saddam Husein of a blog layout you will be rewarded with some good Content,Tips,Reviews of Products from the Masters and so on.

As we have only been going about ten days now the content is slowly but surely increasing and its time now for me to start to put some futher navigational aids in the form of Categories. So you and I can find our way around.It's quite comical the way the I.E layout is appearing and I can see the funny side of it but nevertheless it is disappointing.

I migrated our first Driving School Blog to a WordPress host after some months last year and I find that this is a better hosting platform.So I guess I will be doing the same before long.

We are about to host our own Blogs at our main Website Hosting company and there will be some Domain name changes obviously. I will keep you informed of any changes as they are about to happen.

Brad Callen..Search Engine Expert!

2006-02-05T21:26:00.000+00:00

Brad Callen is the Ceo of Bryxen Software based in Franklin Illinois. I have been subscribing to his list for perhaps a year now and he certainly comes across as an expert in his field of Search Engine Optimisation.

He has a very clear and concise writing style which I like, which contains much less flowery and excessive hype –filled language which is common amongst a lot of the Internet Marketers including some of the very Successful ones.

I know there is a massive appeal for these razzamatazz type sales letters and e-mails and while I am happy to make up my own mind about a product before buying I wish the garbage would be reduced a little. Anyone agree with me?

I guess we all respond to different stimuli and that’s only human so where one person comes across as a Sincere and Genuine Marketer with a good product he wants to sell, another comes across as a bit of a Jack the Lad type.

Brad Callen is in the former category and it was obvious right from the start when I began to receive communications from him that he knew his stuff, first of all and that anything he recommended you could be confident in.

He has a fantastic series, and I mean FANTASTIC called SEO POWER STRATEGIES.it runs to about 50 Lessons and you should sign up for the course and get stuck in ,
the link to his first Lesson is below. If you like what you see you should sign up for the course at the foot of his page and be prepared for some serious Search Engine Tactics from a real professional who can get his message across!

Search Engine Strategies Course by Brad Callen

P.S.You will be absolutely staggered(I hope) at the Calibre of what you are about to see.Lesson one will take some getting used to as it runs to several pages with excellent graphics.Some of the other Lessons are shorter but full of cutting edge action Tips nonetheless. His software I don't own yet but should ( I do have to feed myself after all ..and the fish !)

Brad Callen
Professional SEO
SEO Elite: SEO Software