StoresOnline Review

3 Bad SEO Techniques

storesonline-review — 2010-10-14T14:00:59-05:00

As a StoresOnline merchant looking to boost your sites search ranking, youll see a lot of advice out there about how to build links and optimize your Web site for search engines. Some of it is skewed by people who want your money. We all know that SEO and link-building are important because they increase our search engine rankings, but not if we do it the wrong way. Here are three paths you should definitely avoid.

1. Slack Off. Whether out of frustration, laziness, or poor follow-through, the surest way to fail at link-building is to not do it. You need to think of link-building like gardening. A garden has to be tended and cared for on an ongoing basis in order for it to yield its crop. The same is true of link-building. You cant just do a bunch of it and forget about it. Spend a set amount of time each week just link-building.

2. Write For Search Engines. Search engines are getting smarter and smarter. Every day theyre getting better at detecting when theyre being played. That means if you clutter your web pages with repetitive terms designed to snag the attention of search engines, the likelihood that it will ring the bells of those search engines is decreasing rapidly.

Even if that werent true, consider what happens when visitors come to your StoresOnline Web site. Its easy to see when a page has been written for search engines and not people. The result is a page that turns people off and gives you a huge bounce rate; i.e. people take one look at your page and leave within seconds.

Your StoresOnline Web site has to appeal to the people who visit it. A high traffic rate does little good if your bounce rate is sky high. Write your Web copy with the goal of appealing to your customers. Then, go back and see where you can add in your chosen search terms without hurting the effectiveness of your copy.

3. Pay For Linkbacks. Youll see companies that offer to give you buncheseven hundredsof linkbacks for a fee. Stay away. Because search engines are getting smarter, they can tell when a site has had this done. It sees a load of irrelevant linkbacks and the result is a lower search ranking. So not only does it not work, but you will have paid to hurt your search ranking.

That said, there are also companies who can provide relevant back-links. These companies have real live people who do their link-building, not automated software bots. A live person can make sure the links he builds are relevant to the site they link to. Those are the kinds of links that boost search rank.

StoresOnline Merchants Learn Marketing Strategies

storesonline-review — 2009-01-13T17:23:58-05:00

StoresOnline Merchants are alwayas looking for ways to further and more effectively market their StoresOnline businesses. One way that StoresOnline Merchants can learn what to do or even what not to do in marketing and advertising is to watch what big firms and companies do to creatively market their own products or services.

For example, recently Burger King incorporated a marketing strategy that used Facebook. Here is the article:

Burger King hawking Whoppers on Facebook

"I got friends in low places." Garth Brooks sang, but now Burger King wants you do to something about it. The fast-food chain, which has been on a marketing tear of late, has released a new widget on Facebook that asks people to delete 10 friends from their network and get a Whopper coupon for all their hassle, AdWeek reports.

The Whopper Sacrifice application automatically notifies deleted friends via Facebook's newsfeed that their friendship simply doesn't outweigh their affection for greasy burgers.

"We thought there could be some fun there, removing some of these people who are friends, but not necessarily best friends," said Jeff Benjamin, executive interactive creative director at Crispin Porter + Bogusky, which crafted the latest campaign for Burger King. This is the second application Crispin has developed for the chain.

As a small business owner, you may not think you are able to do big or complex marketing feats such as this one. But you are creative and resourceful and as an online Entrepreneur, it makes sense to watch what others are doing and spark your own StoresOnline marketing ideas as well.

StoresOnline Wishes You A Happy New Year

storesonline-review — 2008-12-31T16:54:03-05:00

As 2008 wraps up, StoresOnline would like to thank the many StoresOnline Employees and StoresOnline Merchants who have contributed their time, talents, and positive energy to the cause of online entrepreneurship.

The New 2009 Year is before us. If you haven't made any New Year's Resolutions, there is still time. But for those of you StoresOnline Merchants who are busy thinking of what you can do to further boost traffic to your online business with a blog, here are some questions and guidance from ProBlogger.com:

With the end of 2008 hurtling towards us many bloggers are beginning to cast our minds forward into the new year ahead to set goals, make resolutions and come up with strategies and plans to grow their blogs in 2009.

While looking forward and planning to improve your blog is something well worth putting time aside for - Ive found that you can drastically enhance the forward thinking that you do by doing another step first - reflecting upon the past.

The mistake that many bloggers make in only looking forward is that they often fail to capitalize upon and build upon lessons that theyve already learned.

Ive begun to develop a list of questions that a blogger wanting to do some reflection upon their blog might use to undertake such an exercise. By no means is this list exhaustive and by no means am I suggesting that bloggers ask each one - some will be more relevant than others depending upon the blog, its stage in the life cycle and the goals of the blogger.

1. What goals (formal or informal) did you have for your blog in 2008?

2. What goals did you meet?

3. What successes did you have that you didnt set goals for?

4. Which goals didnt you meet for your blog in 2008?

5. What failed on your blog in 2008? What mistakes did you make?

6. How have you innovated in 2008?

7. How have you invested in your own learning as a blogger in 2008?

8. What do you want readers of your blog to DO after reading your blog?

9. Do Your Readers actually Do what you want them to do?

10. Would YOU read your blog?

Be sure to visit our blog every day in January 2009 for more blog tips and other helpful information for your StoresOnline business. StoresOnline wishes you a Happy New Year!

Benefits And Features of the StoresOnlinePro Software

storesonline-review — 2008-12-22T23:29:11-05:00

StoresOnlineSite.com has excellent information for StoresOnline Merchants and other online entrepreneurs. If you are interested in learning why the StoresOnline Pro or StoresOnline Express software is so unique, youll definitely want to check StoresOnlineSite.com out. Here is a tidbit of information from StoresOnlineSite.com:

Why Choose StoresOnline Pro As Your E-Commerce Solution?
There are several complaints that many Website Builders will charge you a fee for several different features or functions, such as transaction surcharges, bandwidth usage, email usage, newsletter subscriptions, Customer Support, SSL, etc. At the time of a Storesonline purchase, a Storesonline Merchant has everything that he or she needs to create, maintain, and successfully achieve their Internet Marketing goals...read more>>>

Benefits and Features of the StoresOnlinePro Software
There are several significant benefits of using a Storesonline Ecommerce Business Solution for your website building and management suite. One of the most significant benefits of using the Storesonline platform is the ease of maintenance. Maintenance is one of the biggest complaints of E-business owners, who simply cannot afford to hire a web-developer...read more>>> or watch the StoresOnline Pro Software demo video shown below.

StoresOnline Technical Support Holiday Hours

storesonline-review — 2008-12-16T14:10:16-05:00

In observance of Christmas and New Years, starting at 12:01am Mountain Time on Tuesday 12/24/2008 until Friday 12/26/2008 at 6:00am Mountin Time and starting at 12:01am Mountain Time on Wedneday 12/31/2008 until Thursday 1/1/2009 at 6:00am Mountain Time we will not offer chat support. Telephone Customer support will be closed on Wednesday 12/24/2008 through Thurday 12/26/2008. Telephone Customer Support will be available again on Friday 12/26/2008. Telephone Customer support will also be closed on Thursday 1/1/2009. Telephone Customer Support will be available again on Friday 1/2/2009. We will, however, be checking an emergency email system every few hours during this time. Any email that is emergency related, should be directed to 911help@myquickresponse.com. Please note that any "non-emergency" email will be responded to within 72 hours of returning back to the office. Thanks for your understanding as we allow our support staff to spend the Holidays with their families.

iMergent Announces Board and Management Changes

storesonline-review — 2008-12-11T13:53:24-05:00

iMergent Announces Board and Management Changes

OREM, Utah, December 11, 2008 - iMergent, Inc., (AMEX: IIG) a leading provider of eCommerce software for small businesses and entrepreneurs, announced Brandon Lewis resigned as the companys president and chief operating officer, effective March 9, 2009. Lewis also resigned as a director effective immediately, and the board will consist of six members.

I am very appreciative of Brandons years of dedicated service to iMergent, stated Steven G. Mihaylo, CEO of iMergent. His commitment and vision were instrumental in iMergents development and growth over the past several years. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

About iMergent
iMergent provides eCommerce solutions to entrepreneurs and small businesses enabling them to market and sell their business products or ideas via the Internet. Headquartered in Orem, Utah, the company sells its proprietary StoresOnline software and training services, which help users build successful Internet strategies to market products, accept online orders, analyze marketing performance, and manage pricing and customers. In addition to software, iMergent offers website development, web hosting and marketing products. iMergent typically reaches its target audience through a concentrated direct marketing effort to fill Preview Sessions, in which a StoresOnline expert reviews the product opportunities and costs as well as offers StoresOnline Express for sale. These sessions lead to a follow-up Workshop Conference, where product and technology experts train potential users on the software and sell upgrades to StoresOnline Pro and StoresOnline Platinum. iMergent, Inc. and StoresOnline are trademarks of iMergent, Inc.

Company Contact:
Steven G. Mihaylo, CEO
iMergent, Inc.
801.431.4695
Stevemihaylo@imergentinc.com

Investor Relations Contact:
Kirsten Chapman
Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates
415.433.3777
kchapman@lhai.com

For more information about this press release, click here.

Online Consumer Solutions: StoresOnline Express

storesonline-review — 2008-12-03T13:24:12-05:00

StoresOnline Merchants should be aware of a free service that Google offers. Google Alerts will allow you to enter in a specific keyword or key term that you are watching, and every time (most of the time) that your chosen keyword is blogged about, posted in the news, or on a website etc..., you get an email sent to you so that you can check out the source.

There are many benefits of using Google Alerts, especially if you are using it for branding or brand name protection. I like to keep an eye out for what is happening on the StoresOnline front, so today, when I received this Google Alert, I knew it was something I needed to check out:

An Online Business with StoresOnline Express
By Online Consumer Solutions
StoresOnline Express allows you to create and maintain an eCommerce-enabled website with simplicity and ease. Simply gather content, design your site, publish your StoresOnline Express website to the Internet, and allow customers to ... http://onlineconsumersolutions.blogspot.com/

This relatively new blog seems to have found a website that offers the StoresOnline Express package for only $50.00. If you have been looking into StoresOnline Express, but haven't wanted to commit to your own StoresOnline business, it seems that this incredible deal is something you won't want to pass up.

Link Building for StoresOnline Merchants

storesonline-review — 2008-12-01T23:52:04-05:00

StoresOnline Merchants are constantly researching ways to build their websites organically. Some of the best advice that StoresOnline can offer Merchants is to make time to work on some basic aspects of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) such as making sure your Meta data is done right and that you are adding fresh, keyword relevant content to your StoresOnline website.

Another very important SEO aspect that you need to plan for is building links to your website. There are many different types of information out on the Internet about link building dos and donts however a great resource that StoresOnline Merchants might want to check out is SEOChat.com forums. As an illustration of the type of information that you can find, here is a bit of a post about how to get more quality links to your StoresOnline website:

Link Tools
Alexa, WebCEO, Arelis and many other tools are available that work in an efficient way, and can be very effective if utilized in the correct fashion. These tools will take your selected keyword and based on the parameters that you set up, crawl the search engines and the top ranking web sites that come up for that particular query. They then pull any available emails from the site, if available, or if there isnt one available, it will default to whatever you select (i.e. webmaster@ or info@).

So lets say you are searching for back links from sites that are related to womens under garments for Bravissimo. I would enter womens clothing into the search box and these tools come back with the number of sites that you request. The tools give you the amount of back links a site already has, the PR strength, a relevancy grade and so on.

These tools have other optional settings to help in your link building schemes.

Find web sites with link suggestion forms that can be setup to be completed automatically and submitted;(Not recommended)
Find web sites that link to your competitors
Find web sites that already link to you (to possibly change the anchor text or add additional deep links)
Find web sites by doing a keyword search
Investigate the many tools available to find the one that suits your needs the best. Stay away from the cookie cutter approach if possible as link building has been going on for years and most web site owners have received thousands of canned requests over the years.

With these tips on your side, a StoresOnline Merchant can avoid wasting precious time and effort on link strategies that might not be worth the work. StoresOnline wishe you the best as you continue to marketing your StoresOnline website.

StoresOnline Merchants & Customer Relationship Marketing

storesonline-review — 2008-11-27T03:44:13-05:00

There are thousands and thousands of websites that will offer you advice on how StoresOnline Merchants can best utilize Relationship Marketing to create loyalty within their customer base. StoresOnline knows that you want to know what you can do to enrich and grow the relationship between your StoresOnline business and your customers. Here is a link to a white paper entitled "Best Practices for Relationship Marketing" by WebTrends.com.

Here is a brief overview of what the white paper offers:

With competitors just a mouse click away, marketers need to create strong relationships with their customers in order to build loyalty and keep them coming back. With better customer insight, both online and offline, marketers can develop relationship marketing programs that are relevant to their visitors needs.

The goal of relationship marketing is to increase customer loyalty. At the core of this strategy is the concept of establishing a "learning" relationship with each customer. Every interaction you have with a customer is an opportunity to learn about their individual motivations. The unique measurability of the web takes this relationship to a new level because it provides greater insight into customer preferences and behavior.

Marketing experts Peppers & Rodgers have demonstrated that, "Even if a competitor offers the same type of customization and interaction, your customer wont be able to enjoy the same level of convenience without taking the time to teach the competitor the lessons your company has already learned." Thats a powerful motivator for them to stay loyal.

Discover how your organization can move beyond traditional marketing and leverage the loyalty-creating power of customer relationships. StoresOnline Merchants can download this whitepaper by clicking here. We wish you the best of luck as we move into the busy holiday shopping season.

StoresOnline in the News: Introducing CEO Steven G. Mihaylo

storesonline-review — 2008-11-25T00:26:31-05:00

We want to keep you StoresOnline Merchants up to date on the most recent changes at StoresOnline. Many of you know that iMergent is the parent company of StoresOnline. A couple of weeks ago, a new CEO of iMergent was named. His name is Mr. Steven G. Mihaylo. Here is a news story we found that we thought you StoresOnline Merchants would want to read:

Donald L. Danks resigned as CEO and as a director; he will become a consultant to the company. Steven G. Mihaylo assumed the role of CEO and has been appointed to the board of directors. The total board count remains six members.

Todd A. Goergen, Chairman of iMergent, stated, "The board is committed to driving iMergent's long-term growth and shareholder value. We are excited to welcome Steve who will be leading our company and exploring additional revenue opportunities in small-to-medium enterprise (SME) initiatives."

"In addition, we thank Don for his valued contribution as iMergent grew from less than $50 million in 2003 annual sales to exceed $125 million in fiscal 2008 under his leadership. Don will continue to assist management as a consultant in the area of investor relations," concluded Goergen.

Mihaylo, 64, is a retired chairman and chief executive officer of Inter-Tel, Incorporated, which he founded in 1969. He led the Inter-Tel evolution from providing business telephone systems to offering complete managed services and software that help businesses facilitate communication and increase customer service and productivity. Before selling Inter-Tel to Mitel for $720 million in 2007, Mihaylo grew the business to nearly $500 million in annual sales.

IMergent Inc., an online marketing services company, has named Steven G. Mihaylo chief executive officer. He replaces Donald L. Danks, who resigned as CEO and as a director; who now becomes a consultant to the company.

He is a retired chairman/CEO of Inter-Tel Inc., which he founded in 1969 and sold to He led to Mitel for $720 million last year. He grew the business to nearly $500 million in annual sales, according to IMergent.

For more information and news about the latest changes at StoresOnline, please feel free to visit the StoresOnline Press Release Blog.

StoresOnlineMerchant.com Articles Help StoresOnline Merchants

storesonline-review — 2008-11-20T13:38:19-05:00

StoresOnlineMerchant.com has a lot of great StoresOnline Merchant information and articles aboutSEO Tips, Online Business Management, andInternet Marketing Strategies.

Here is an article that might help StoresOnline Merchants manage their customer relationships more effectively:

StoresOnline Merchants Internet Marketing Tips
Customer Relationship Management Is Key to Your Success

For some StoresOnline Entrepreneurs the idea of marketing can become something related to an obsession. It is possible to take what are meant to be tools of the marketing trade and reforge them into something grotesque and deceptive. Many times this is most evident in things like email marketing and spam postings in forums. It can also take shape in keyword stuffing for perceived improvement in search engine rankings. What can be a very positive marketing technique for many businesses can be made to resemble the presence of the proverbial snake oil salesman'.

Consumers know something is wrong even if they can't always immediately identify what the problem might be. This process is a bit like attempting to draw a caricature. You blow certain aspects out of proportion and the end result can seem a little cartoonish. I suppose the one internal regulator for overdoing your marketing strategies would be the rudimentary idea of the Golden Rule.

When StoresOnline Merchants treat people the way they would want to be treated it can change the way your potential customers interact with your StoresOnline Business. When you develop a StoresOnline business and focus your time and energy on defining and meeting the needs of customers you are likely to discover those customers come back. Successful StoresOnline Merchants concentrate on building relationships and less on finding people who have never heard of you before.

There are many ways that StoresOnline Merchants can create goodwill. One very simple way is to include a customer friendly thank you message with your StoresOnline business order confirmation email. One very successful StoresOnline Merchant would not only include a thank you message, but also follow up with the customers once they had received their order. The email would be a brief, thank you for shopping with us, then there would be a question of how do you like the product you purchased from our StoresOnline business, with a lead in that said, "If you are happy with the product you purchased, then here is another product that might interest you as well." and then that suggested product would offer a discounted rate if purchased within a specific date after the initial purchase.

With this method, StoresOnline Merchants can anticipate the needs and wants of their customers and be the online resource that those customers return to for their product needs. Overall, it is imperative that StoresOnline Merchants spend time thinking of what they can do to better understand the needs of their customers and then market their StoresOnline Businesses to meet those needs and communicate a feeling of service.

Visit StoresOnlineMerchant.com today for more helpful StoresOnline Merchant information.

Learn More About StoresOnline Pro with The Latest Demo Video

storesonline-review — 2008-11-18T20:15:56-05:00

If you are a StoresOnline Merchant, you are familiar with the many beneficial software features of StoresOnline Pro. Here are a few features to review:

 7 Rules of Operating A Successful StoresOnline Business
One of the most important lessons youll ever learn is to ask all the questions you dont know the answers to. StoresOnline Businesses are very different from their brick and mortar cousins. The oldest, most archaic online store dates back to the 1980s! StoresOnline has been providing StoresOnline websites for at least a decade now. With so much new technology you must stay informed. Read the StoresOnline Merchant newsletter. Go to the Boot Camp training. Spend time exploring the software.

 StoresOnline Website Management
When surveyed, 100% of e-commerce website owners agreed that the ability to manage their business at any place and any time is an extremely important and usable feature. Storesonline recognizes this need of complete accessibility and has addressed it with their intuitive online management system.

 StoresOnline Secure Online Ordering
StoresOnline Pro makes it simple and ease to create custom, secure forms to collect sensitive information from customers. Plus, order processing is handled through one, simplified StoresOnline Pro interface, where you can convey the progress of orders, payment status, shipping waybill numbers, and more.

 StoresOnline Built-in Search Technology
Search results are displayed on an extremely simple-to-use screen - taking all the guess work out of the equation, and therefore putting your products directly in front of your customers.

 StoresOnline Dynamic Image Generation
Many website owners do not have the ability or skills to work with their pictures or apply them to their website. This is a complaint that Storesonline has addressed by building an extremely sophisticated Image Server that allows a user to upload, modify, and place pictures throughout a Storesonline website.

 StoresOnline Dynamic Design Selection
Have you ever thought of building your eCommerce website by dragging and dropping content? With StoresOnline Pro you can. StoresOnline Pro makes it possible to use your mouse to build and design the look, feel, navigation, and more of your eCommerce-enabled website! It doesnt get easier or less complicated than that. StoresOnline Pro is simple.

 StoresOnline Pro Dynamic Page Creation
The StoresOnline Pro interface permits you to customize the look and feel of a unique design. After customizing a design, construct your web pages in StoresOnline Pros point-and-click environment or a traditional setting. Then, when you are completely satisfied with the results, instantly publish your website to the Internet.

 StoresOnline Pro Dynamic Product Creation
Within StoresOnline Pros product management interface, you can specify which products are available, featured, or on sale by selecting the boxes of the checkmark, star, and currency symbol columns, by the click of your mouse. In addition, you may easily specify the regular and sale price each product.

 StoresOnline Pro Dynamic Form Generation
The Storesonline Dynamic Form Generator can be used to collect any type of data, take product orders, product inquiries, customer concerns or complaints.

 StoresOnline Pro Business Rules
The Storesonline Business Rules Module is an extremely robust engine that allows simple implementation of complex ordering and sales rules. For example, taxes, shipping, handling, discounts, and more.

 StoresOnline Inventory Control System helps you avoid costly customer complaints by telling the store owner that their inventory level is low backordered or sold out. Storesonline understands that when doing any sort of shipping / delivery product fulfillment, it is important to know your inventory prior to sales.

 StoresOnline Financial Software
Storesonline is also configured to export data in several different formats, which can be converted into an acceptable import format for many other accounting and database applications.

 StoresOnline UPS Online Tools
The UPS Online Tools are an extremely useful piece of the Storesonline program. With the combination of the Storesonline Store Building Software and the UPS Online Tools, you can offer your customers a variety of shipping and delivery services. You will also have the ability to more accurately provide shipping rates to your customers.

 StoresOnline Pro Customer Relation Module
The StoresOnline Pro customer database lists specific information concerning each customer who has submitted a form. Within the StoresOnline Pro point-and-click environment, you can add or edit the information, provide passwords to exclusive areas of your site, and view the customers order history and notes.

 StoresOnline Marketing Resources
The Storesonline Merchant Services area contains tutorials explaining the latest techniques, analytical data, tutorials, and third-party relationships in which you can receive discounts on several popular and useful online services.

 StoresOnline World-Class Customer Support
Storesonline Customer Support agents are trained through an intensive learning course, which gives them logical and technical knowledge of the Storesonline software and our Customer Support methods

If you want to watch a demonstration video that shows the features of StoresOnline Pro, click this link: StoresOnline: View the New StoresOnline Pro Demo Video.

StoresOnline Merchants Avoid Marketing Pitfalls

storesonline-review — 2008-11-18T00:58:58-05:00

StoresOnline has brought you many marketing tips as well as advice on SEO tools that would be helpful for StoresOnline Merchants. When we came across this article about Online Marketing Myths, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to share it with you.

Introduction and Myth 1

Sure, you've heard it all before -- but is everything we hear right? We asked digital media experts to go against the grain and debunk some commonly held wisdom about the business. Some of these truisms used to be true but are no longer; others are legacies of the traditional advertising world. And one of them might depend on whether you're on the client or agency side of the table.

How many of these theories do you think are ready for the trash heap?

1. You should measure everything you can.

Solid measurement has always been touted as digital media's key to resolving John Wanamaker's doubts about which 50 percent of his advertising worked. There's no end to the geeking out we can do with data, and it seems like every month there's a new metric and a new analytics vendor. The more, the better, right?

Well, no. Sometimes, the more data you have, the less it makes sense.

"I'm from research -- and I think that's a myth," says Todd Kirby, research director for Spark Communications. "If you have enough evidence to show something is working, why do you need to have more research to back it up?"

But marketers keep asking media agencies for more and more proof that their advertising is working. And that's probably the interactive industry's own fault -- for perpetually hammering on the measurement nail. Nevertheless, despite clients' demands for measurement, Peter Platt, VP of online media for Butler/Till Media, finds that clients ultimately avoid his reports. "It amazes me how often we start a campaign, have the metrics established and document how we'll report," Platt says. "But when it's time to go over the reports, the clients keep putting off the meeting."

That's probably because those reports seem so very daunting. And, the more metrics they address, the more daunting they become. The result, Platt says, is that the information doesn't get acted on as frequently as it needs to. "It's good to measure all those things, but not necessarily good to dwell on the minutia," he says.

Brian Hadley's solution to metrics overload is this: Start with the end in mind. Hadley, media director of Cole & Weber United, a WPP agency in Seattle, advises clients to decide on one ultimate goal and then identify meaningful milestones along the way to that goal. "It's defining success and also developing a measuring stick," he says.

StoresOnline wants StoresOnline Merchants to read the rest of the 8 Myths, so click here for more helpful information.

James Lane's StoresOnline Success Story

storesonline-review — 2008-11-18T01:02:28-05:00

While browsing through the information about StoresOnline, I found this testimonial and thought it would be a great way to share another StoresOnline Merchant's point of view about StoresOnline. This testimonial was given by James Lane and the whole story can be read by clicking here.

James Lane is very animated-and very entertaining. A native of the UK, CitiGroup brought him to New York to work in banking. Then one day his Wall Street job dried up. He had never had an entrepreneurial experience before, but decided then and there it was time for him to be in more control of his own life. At a StoresOnline presentation, he remembers the presenter saying, "The difference between those who dream of being in business and those who are in business is that those who are in business finally chose one day to start." That simple statement spurred him on.

"That speaker changed my life," James says. "I have friends who have dreamed of being in business for 20 years. And they even laughed at me for trying what I'm doing. But there they are all still drawing a paycheck and I have three businesses online."

James had his own reasons for getting started with his online business with StoresOnline. It seemed that James spent his time focusing on what he could do and really used StoresOnline as his support. James educated himself and tried different marketing techniques. He not only worked hard on his business, but kept his vision of success in tact and stayed committed to what he wanted.

Visit James' Online Stores by visiting www.allamericanwatches.com. If you are interested in beginning your own StoresOnline business, you can get started with a StoresOnline Express site by clicking here. Best of luck to all of you online business Entrepreneurs.

Watch the StoresOnline Express Demo Video Today

storesonline-review — 2008-11-18T00:59:44-05:00

If you are a StoresOnine Merchant who has recently purchased the StoresOnline Express software, you'll want to watch the latest StoresOnline Express Demo Video.

If you'd like more information about the StoresOnline Express software, need StoresOnline Customer Support for your StoresOnline Express software, or would like to read up on the frequently asked questions, please visit StoresOnlineExpress.com

StoresOnline Express is the perfect way for online entrepreneurs to get started with an online business today.

StoresOnline Merchants Talk About Their Experience

storesonline-review — 2008-11-13T00:22:33-05:00

StoresOnline Merchants regularly call in to the Customer Service Department for assistance with their StoresOnline websites. When a StoresOnline Merchant chats with one the StoresOnline Customer Service Representatives, once the chat session has been completed, the StoresOnline Merchant is given the opportunity to take a survey to rate their service experience. There are many comments that are gathered for the Customer Service Teams and StoresOnline reviews this information to find out the things that the Representatives are doing right, what can be improved upon, and how StoresOnline can provide more education and assistance to StoresOnline Merchants.

Many companies do market research to find out what consumers think about their business. StoresOnline would like to give Merchants a chance to talk about their experience from beginning to present. If you are a StoresOnline Merchant who would like to provide this valuable feedback, feel free to comment on one or all of the questions as listed below. Also, if there is an improvement or request that you have for StoresOnline, feel free to leave that information as well.

Your honest feedback will help StoresOnline in it's goal of supporting the entrepreneurial dreams of online Entrepreneurs who partner with StoresOnline.

How did you hear about StoresOnline?

How long have you been working with StoresOnline?

How do you feel about the Customer Service you experienced with:

- At your initial Preview about StoresOnline?

- At the StoresOnline Workshop You Attended?

- Customer Support?

- StoresOnline Programming Department?

- If You've Attended the StoresOnline Merchant Retreat, What Would Your Comments Be?

- What Do You Like Best About StoresOnline?

- What More Can StoresOnline Offer to Educate You as a StoresOnline Merchant?

StoresOnline appreciates any comments that you choose to make about the questions as shown above. Remember, that if you are a StoresOnline Merchant who is in need of Customer Support, you always have access to assistance by visiting MyQuickResponse.com.

5 Questions for Successful StoresOnline Entrepreneurs

storesonline-review — 2008-11-10T23:48:34-05:00

There is a quote by Leland Kaiser that says, "The future is simply infinite possibility waiting to happen. What it waits on is human imagination to crystallize its possibility." When people choose to follow their dreams, amazing things can happen. Consider these 5 Questions that will help you transform your dreams of a successful StoresOnline business from a possibility into a reality.

StoresOnline Success Question 1:
Do You Have A Clear Vision For Your Life, Or Is It Just A Fantasy?
There's a difference between a vision and a fantasy. A vision is highly detailed and has specific goals for its accomplishment. A fantasy is anything else. Your vision is as real as you make it -- no more, no less. Honor your vision by specifying the details and objectives required to make it happen.

StoresOnline Success Question 2:
To What Direction Do All Your Goals Point?
Your goals are specific milestones along the journey towards realizing your picture-perfect vision. Even big goals do not make a mission. They are simply big accomplishments or benchmarks towards making your entire vision real. Target your goals with care. They set the upper limits for what you expect to get out of your life.

StoresOnline Success Question 3:
What's The Best Way To Create The Reality You Want?
Turn dreams into targets by identifying objectives and goals that are specific elements of your vision. Goals are the mile markers by which reality finds its way to your dreams.

StoresOnline Success Question 4:
Would You Like To Know What The Future Holds?
Want to know your future? See it as specific tangible targets directing your destiny! Your dream's progress can be directed by setting a target today, just as today's progress was yesterday's target. Direct your destiny. Aim farther.

StoresOnline Success Question 5:
Where Do You See Yourself 10 Years From Now?
Be bold! Plot out a strategy that will target your idea "life story." Know what you want. Believe in yourself. Then focus on the specific targets you have to hit to get where you want to go - in the time you have.

StoresOnline Merchants: Don & Joni Sharpe

storesonline-review — 2008-11-13T00:23:17-05:00

There are times when people want to hear what successful StoresOnline Merchants have done to succeed. It is one thing to read a testimonial, but it is another thing to watch and listen to someone tell their own story. This StoresOnline Merchant Review of Don & Joni Sharpe is something that we'd encourage you to watch if you want to hear what they have to say about StoresOnline in their own words. Congratulations Don & Joni...keep up the great work!

Drive Traffic to Your StoresOnline Site with Online Video

storesonline-review — 2008-11-04T13:53:32-05:00

As Internet users demand a more interactive web experience, we are seeing how the online world is better using online video to connect with and entertain consumers. But posting an online video is just as much about strategy as it is content. If you are unfamiliar with Video SEO tactics, here is an article that you'll definitely want to read:

SUMMARY: Online videos are hot! Web users watched more than 11 billion videos online in one month alone last summer, and more than half of viewers took some action after viewing them.

See how a search marketing manager reaped substantial rewards after implementing SEO best practices to significantly increase daily views and daily business on his website.

Web users love online video. A summer report from comScore shows that U.S. residents watched more than 11 billion online videos in May 2008. And 52% of those viewers reported taking some action after watching, such as looking for more information or making a direct purchase, according to our 2009 Search Marketing Benchmark Guide.

If your site employs online video, you can borrow Fulfords tactics to ensure that your content is indexed by search engines and shows up when users enter relevant keywords.

For us especially, being a publisher site with revenue dependent on ad sales, video is something advertisers are familiar with, says Fulford. Our sales team is effective at selling video ads, so the more video we can generate and the more views we achieve, the more ads we can sell.

Tactic #1. Educate your video production team on SEO basics
- Hosting an SEO 101 training session with the video team. This session can introduce video producers to key concepts, such as:
o Identifying keywords for video titles and file names
o Tagging options
o Creating keyword-rich text descriptions of video content

- Planning a follow-up SEO refresher course or a more advanced training session several months after the team has begun employing SEO basics.

- Meeting with individual team members whove shown interest or requested deeper training on SEO topics.

- Writing a one-page, SEO-basics document that the team can take away from sessions to use as a resource during their day-to-day production duties.

Tactic #2. Conduct research to ID relevant keywords for searches
As with all SEO campaigns, optimizing video content begins with identifying relevant keywords. Here are a few essentials:

- Identify a specific theme for video keywords.
Web pages may contain multiple content sections and navigation links that you can target for search engines. But video content tends to be shorter and more tightly focused.

Tactic #3. Host each video on its own Web page
Help search engines index your videos by creating unique landing pages for each video on your website.

Tactic #4. Write compelling titles and descriptions for your videos
- Include keywords in the videos meta description:
o Limit descriptions to 140-150 characters
o Write in complete sentences
o Be descriptive about the videos content
o Dont repeat keywords too often that looks like spamming

Tactic #5. Employ video tagging and user comments on video pages
Video tagging, popularized by YouTube and other social video platforms, offers another chance to add keywords to your pages. The same can be said for user comments on the page.

Tactic #6. Include a transcript
One of the best ways to provide text-based content around your video files is to include a complete transcript of the words spoken during the video. You can include the transcript on the same landing page as the video file, title and description.

Tactic #7. Add a video site map to your website
Make sure your site map includes:
o Link from the home page
o Complete list of videos available, organized by category
o Keyword-rich video title text as links to video files

Google lets websites submit a video site map based on the search engines protocol. Googles program lets websites submit a list of URLs that contain video files, along with descriptive information, including:
o Video title
o Description
o Duration

If you haven't looked into using online video to promote your StoresOnline business, take a moment to search YouTube.com for your keyword and see what videos are out there, the number of views, the comments, etc... and decide if that is a market you want to tap with your own online video.

StoresOnline Websites: Are You Using Facebook?

storesonline-review — 2008-11-03T14:43:49-05:00

StoresOnline Merchants use social media to publicize their online businesses as well as to stay in touch with their customers. If you haven't started using social media for your StoresOnline website, here is a study that will give you some great facts as to why this is something you need to start doing today!

Over Half Of Top 100 eTailers Use Facebook

Study Looks at Online Retail and Social Networks

Social media marketing is one of those things that just continues to spark debate no matter how well some businesses do with it. Business owners often have questions like:

- Won't this slow my employees' productivity?

- Is it really worth my time and money?

These are valid questions, but the answers aren't always clear. There are both pros and cons to using social media for business purposes, but more appropriately, there are variables as I discussed here. When it comes down to it, it just depends on a variety of factors.

Still, there is no question that many businesses are reaping the benefits, and many others are trying, even if they have yet to see solid results. Some of those who are not seeing benefits might be expecting results without putting enough effort into their social media strategies.

"Its important that retailers dont just slap up a page because everyone is talking about Facebook," says Rosetta Partner Adam Cohen. "An effective presence requires that you carefully consider what your customers are looking for, what you would like to communicate, and what role a fan page should play in your overall online strategy."

Rosetta is a firm that conducted a study recently focusing on the top 100 online retailers in the United States. According to that study, 59 of them had Facebook fan pages (only 30 had them in May)."

If you are slow to join the world of social media marketing, don't feel bad, just get started today. You can start with Facebook.com. If you've had success with other social media services, share that information with other StoresOnline Merchants.

StoresOnline Worldwide.com

storesonline-review — 2008-10-30T19:43:21-05:00

If you are looking for a StoresOnline Website Resource, we suggest that you visit StoresOnlineWorldwide.com. StoresOnlineWorldwide.com has helpful online business tips and other Internet Marketing information for StoresOnline Merchants, such as the following:

StoresOnline Online Business: Entrepreneurs
Encouraging Entrepreneurialism in Your Business

If your business is lacking in entrepreneurialism then you could be losing customers, losing sales, and losing ground to your competitors. That's not something any business wants to do without a fight. That's why I have put together six easy steps for your business to take that'll pump energy throughout your organisation - from the cleaner to the boardroom.

1. Incentivize
As a business owner, you should look for ways to motivate your employees. Offering them bonuses, especially when they are closely tied to performance in their job, will likely benefit your staff and in turn your business. Entrepreneurialism is something that's only ever truly harnessed when a person is exploring ways to improve their own wealth and achievements.

2. Track Performance
You can tell how successful your business has been by taking a look at your P&L. As a member of staff within your business, especially the lower down the ladder you go, the less a person's performance is tied to the profit of your business. Incentivising your staff to perform is one thing; however you should also ensure you track your staff and show them how they perform against their co-workers. This will unlock hidden energies within your staff, and make them compete with one another. This is evolution at work. The great workers will thrive in this workplace dynamic and the poorer workers will need some training to help them catch up.

3. Freedom of Thought
Entrepreneurialism needs freedom to flourish. That's why you should give your staff room to explore their ideas, and contribute meaningful things to your business. Google give their staff 20% time, which means that their staff are allowed to spend 20% of their working hours exploring ways to improve Google's existing products and create new ones. This is an innovative way to encourage loyalty within your organization.

4. Personal Stake
Nothing encourages entrepreneurialism like equity. Just ask Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and all the other famous business leaders that have made their mark. Although their passion and knowledge got them so far, they probably performed better because they had a share in the game. Consider offering your staff stock options. If you are a smaller firm, this can be particularly meaningful.

5. Share Information
Don't just tell your staff only how they are doing when it comes to meeting their own targets. Let them also know how the broader business is doing too. Your staff likes to know if sales are up or down, and if the business is going places. If you let them know how things are working out, they might have great ideas to contribute. Not only that, but when people know what the business is aiming for, everyone might rally behind the same common goals.

6. Strong Team
If entrepreneurialism exists within parts of your organization, and you actively encourage it, then it should spread throughout your business. In order to ensure this happens, and that the best staff influence everyone else, you need to ensure you have a strong team. Don't be afraid to invest in team building exercises to make sure you get the dynamics right for everybody.

Web 2.0 101 for StoresOnline Merchants

storesonline-review — 2008-10-31T13:10:40-05:00

[[LINK:StoresOnline Merchants,http://www.storesonlinepro.com/store/1234/storesonline_testimonials]] know that it is important to continuously improve with their online marketing efforts. A buzz word that seems to be going around is "Web 2.0". [[LINK:Wikipedia,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0]] describes Web 2.0 as "...a term describing changing trends in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, secure information sharing, collaboration and functionality of the web. Web 2.0 concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities and its hosted services, such as social-networking sites, video sharing sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies." Here are a few items that StoresOnline Merchants will want to familiarize themselves with as they begin to participate in the Web 2.0 world: Blog A blog is a website that provides news on a specific topic subject. Blogs are publishing systems that allow ordinary people to post, or publish, content without typical web publishing knowledge. Entries are posted in reverse chronological order and readers are allowed to leave comments for each post. The Long Tail A marketing phrase coined in 2004 by Chris Anderson in Wired magazine which refers to the emerging "less is more" scenario in business. The web is opening up niches that might not otherwise be served by bigger companies. Participation A defining feature of any Web 2.0 website is its openness to user participation. For example, a user can participate in a blog by leaving a comment, or participate in a wiki by editing a page. From a marketing point of view, this participation can create exposure for a product or website. Social Media Optimization This is perhaps the most exciting part of Web 2.0 marketing. Nobody "owns" the field so there's still plenty of opportunity if you're willing to experiment and make mistakes. Social media sites are, for the most part, social networking sites (FaceBook, MySpace) and social bookmarking sites (Digg, Reddit, Delicious). Social media optimization simply refers to the tools and techniques you can use to boost the popularity of your website using social networking sites, bookmarking sites and online communities. Viral Marketing Viral marketing is the promotion of a product through word of mouth. It is also known as buzz marketing and has taken on a new form with the advent of Web 2.0. The participative nature of the internet today allows for excitement and "buzz" about a product to spread fast. Hence, viral marketing a very popular technique among companies. Wiki A wiki is software that allows a number of users to create, edit and link web pages. The most famous example of a wiki is Wikipedia, which is completed user generated. If you need a list of Web 2.0 tools that [[LINK:StoresOnline Merchants,http://www.storesonlinepro.com/store/1234/storesonline_testimonials]] can use, feel free to visit [[LINK:Web2Rain.com,http://www.web2rain.com/]].

StoresOnline Entrepreneurs Can Use Social Media Marketing

storesonline-review — 2008-10-29T15:33:39-05:00

Are you a StoresOnline Merchant who is wondering what you can do to further market your online business? If you haven't taken a look at Social Media Marketing, you'll want to take a moment to consider what you have to gain from it. In the following [[LINK:article by Dan Dimit on SiteProNews,http://www.sitepronews.com/2008/10/28/how-to-use-social-media-marketing-to-get-through-this-financial-crisis/]], Mr. Dimit talks about how to use Social Media Marketing to your advantage: "One of my favorite ways to get free targeted traffic to my websites is through video marketing. Its not how many views you get, its WHO is watching. This is how you rank well on the search engines and drive traffic to your website.... There are thousands and thousands of people looking online for what you provide, we guarantee it. They may or may not have heard of you yetthey may have heard of your competition first. What does any smart consumer do when theyre not sure exactly what they want yet? They GOOGLE IT! Lets have an example: Okay, lets say youre an affiliate for the The Free Traffic Formula (congrats! Youre in a good spot!), and we have some really famous competition, like Traffic Secrets VII, or Best Dang Ol Traffic Drivin Program (Neither are real and we dont want to front off our expensive and inferior competition. You know who they are, anyway) You make a title for your video like: Is Traffic Secrets really the best program for you? Or how about this oneWhy is that Best Dang ol Traffic Drivin Program so DANG OL EXPENSIVE? Are there alternatives? Of course, someone will look up one of those programs on Googlewhat will they find? MY video comparing the two (mine and theirs) side by side. Weve used this technique countless times and it is still one of our best sources of people calling us with buying questions. Get creative to make it work for you!"

Google Webmaster Tools for StoresOnline Merchants

storesonline-review — 2008-10-27T19:58:50-05:00

If you haven't checked out [[LINK:Google Webmaster Tools,https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/docs/en/about.html]] yet, then now is the time to get started. Tracking website information is important so that you understand website traffic, how the spiders see your site, if there are issues that need to be corrected, and etc... According to Google, this is a bit about what their Webmaster Tools section offers: "Our suite of webmaster tools provides you with a free and easy way to make your site more Google-friendly. They can show you Googles view of your site, help you diagnose problems, and let you share info with us to help improve your sites visibility. Getting Googles view of your site, and diagnosing potential problems The first step to increasing your sites visibility on Google is learning how our robots crawl and index your site. Crawl info: You can make sure we have access to your site, and see when Googlebot last visited. You can also view URLs that weve had trouble crawling and why we couldn't crawl them. This way, you can fix any problems preventing us from indexing all of your pages. Robots.txt file validation: See if were having trouble with your file, and test out changes to that file before you change it on your server. Website content: View top content from your site and see the words that other sites use to link to it. Seeing how your site performs A second step is learning what drives traffic to your site. Top queries: Find the top queries that drive traffic to your site and where your site is included in the top search results. This will let you learn how users are finding your site. Indexing information: See how your site is indexed and which of your pages are included in the index. If we find violations in your site, well give you the opportunity to fix the problems and request reinclusion of your site. Sharing info with Google about your site Since no one knows more about your site than you do, you can also share this info with Google and improve your crawlability. Submit a Sitemap file: Tell us all about your pages by submitting a Sitemap file; help us learn which pages are most important to you and how often those pages change. Specify your preferred domain: Tell us which URL to use when indexing your site; well do our best to index the version you prefer." Although you'll want to optimize your StoresOnline Site for all search engines, it can't hurt to use Google's Webmaster Tools to see what they recommend; afterall, Google currently does dominate approximately 71% of the search engine searches. We suggest that you use Google's tools to catch their spider's eye and gain visibility for your StoresOnline business.

StoresOnline Merchants: Are You Getting Ready for the Holidays?

storesonline-review — 2008-10-27T19:49:15-05:00

As the holidays quickly approach, StoresOnline Merchants need to plan for online sales. According to an article posted on the Nielsen wire, 2008 U.S. Holiday sales are expected to reach $98 billion dollars in November and December (visit http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/nielsen-news/2008-holiday-retail-forecast1 for more in depth details). A related article showed stated that: "The Nielsen Company conducted a survey of 21,000 households in the U.S. to measure the anticipated spending plans for the holiday season. The results showed that 35% of the consumers polled in all income levels expected to spend less and a mere 6% expecting to spend more. Those who expect to spend the same as last year came in at 50%. Online shopping sales forecast statistics for the holiday season according to Nielsen * came in at: 41% expect to spend the same online. 12% expect to spend more online. 17% expect to spend less online. 30% did not plan to shop online. VP of Industry Insights of Nielsen Online, Ken Cassar, is reported by Nielsen Online as stating, We expect the 2008 holiday season to be a healthy one for online sales as consumers use comparison shopping sites to locate bargains and competitive prices during a tough economic climate. (http://r-rwebdesign.com/blog/?p=146) With the changes in the economic climate, it seems that online shopping will be the place that consumers turn first, so now is the time to get your online business prepped and ready for consumers. If you need ideas for how to market your online business, log into the Merchant Services area of http://www.storesonlinepro.com/.

Meeting with the StoresOnline President

storesonline-review — 2008-10-27T20:46:07-05:00

As I've searched for information about StoresOnline, I have come across many different sites. One that piqued my interest was this Squidoo page [[LINK:Meeting with the StoresOnline President,http://www.squidoo.com/storesonlinereviews]]. Here is a bit of what this StoresOnline employee had to say: "Mr. Lewis started off the meeting with a quote by Winston Churchill: When Priorities are Clear, Decision Making is Easy. He asked us to think about what that meant to each of us as he continued on. 1 - How can YOU Improve the StoresOnline Customer Experience? It was interesting to hear others at the table talk about what they thought StoresOnline Customers want because it all came back to most requests being for help they needed to work on their sites and to work with Customer Service Reps that would listen and care. It's pretty straight forward: put yourself in the shoes of the person that you are helping and treat them with the respect and assistance that you would like to receive. That seems to be common practice here at StoresOnline, but it was good for the department to vocalize their thoughts on the matter. 2 - Take Responsibility for Your Actions - Entitlement versus Performance When Mr. Lewis talked about having an attitude where you take responsibility for your actions, I immediately thought of how we each make our lives what we want them to be when we choose our attitude in any situation. You can have 2 people in a similar situation, and one person will choose to see the best in the situation and work with it, and the other will only see the negative and kick against the circumstances. It is the age old adage of seeing the glass half full or half empty. I see entitlement versus performance as blame versus self control; weakness versus personal power; being out of control versus freedom; stagnation versus growth; letting circumstance run and push you around versus having inner strength and drive to find solutions and perspective on life. If a person chooses to live a life where they are constantly finding someone else to blame, they will continue to find themselves living an unfulfilling life, without direction, or realizing their own greatness. I really liked this concept. 3 - Develop Your Skills Look for ways to continuously improve your job and your life around you. Look for opportunities to imporove. Further your education, read good books, focus on personal achievement and you will find fulfillment. 4 - Be Optimistic [[EMOTICON:SMILEY1]] There is more to being optimistic than wearing a smile. If you will be flexible with change, you will find that it is easier to adapt and enjoy change, rather than if you are constantly shooting down the positive possibilities of a situation." [[LINK:Click here,http://www.squidoo.com/storesonlinereviews]] to read the whole Squidoo page.

StoresOnline Merchant Discovers Success

storesonline-review — 2008-10-10T19:13:27-05:00

Diana Blair has always been a busy woman. Diana lives in Nuevo, California with her husband, Mike, and their children. They have chosen to live in the country (15 years now!), but that means Mike has to commute two hours each way to his job. Even with their kids, Diana has always found ways of helping out the family financially. For six years she mowed lawns and did landscaping, eventually having five employees. She ran a licensed daycare business for nearly ten years. And for the past two years she even helped a friend build a business with hopes that it would someday becoming a career for her. She worked for $5 per hour and paid her own employment taxes. But when that career opportunity never materialized, Diana quit and began to look for other options. Diana went into business for herself. Again. Her new business of selling Thomas Guide Books (maps) progressed very slowly until early 2003. That was when she received an invitation to a StoresOnline meeting where she would learn about doing business on the Internet. She and her husband jumped at the chance, but went just for the education. They were impressed that they could get the education before making any commitment to StoresOnline. Diana now says the workshop was everything they said it was in the invitation. The trainers at the workshop that day offered a wealth of information. We were able to fall back on a lot of the things they said. That really gave us someplace to start, Diana says. The folder and the keywords really helped. We didnt know how important these things are. And by the time most people put up websites it is too late. If we hadnt gone to the workshop, we would have never known that. [Going to the Workshop was] very important. I dont think there was one step they showed us there that we could have bypassed and gotten to where we are today. Diana and Mike decided to purchase StoresOnline storefronts because it was everything we were looking for. We already had purchased URLs through Network Solutionseven bought web pages, too. We had owned them for a year and had no clue what to do with them. We had gone into [their site], and it was so complicated. And then it was going to cost more to get a shopping cart, and more to get a merchant account. StoresOnline offered the whole package. We thought, this is the answer to getting our business off the ground and able to compete right away. And sure as shootin, thats what happened when we got going with StoresOnline. Diana took her map business, which she was running out of her home, and sold its products on her first storefront. She sells Thomas Guides, which she explains are the bible for traveling in CA. She sells the guides for a discount and also sells wall maps. She picked the product because she had already been doing a similar business with a friend. I knew it would be something that was successful. Diana has promoted her storefront using the lessons she learned from her StoresOnline training and her PMI coach. She uses keyword promotion through Overture and Google. In the beginning it was a little bit scary, Diana says. But she experimented enough with these venues that she can now effectively reach her target audience. I get between 160 and 220 people in my site per day. But they are all people who are looking for exactly what I am selling. Diana also received quite a bit of traffic from the classified ads that came with her StoresOnline site. In addition, she used the free banner ads that also came with the site. They did an absolutely beautiful job on [my banner]. I would have never thought of doing it the way they did. I would have been very willing to pay a big company to do this for me. Diana published her first store to the Internet in September 2003, and her work quickly began to pay off. She received her first order nine days after she published her website. And she loves the stores flexibility. She explains, We were able to work on our websitetweak it just the way we wanted topresent it to the customers we were trying to target. It has been up since September, and it has started really jumping up in sales. Diana continues to add products and update her stores, which helps her website become more popular. Today, 80 percent of Dianas business sales come from her Internet storefront. Since September [when the first site was published], I have done $65,000 in sales. All of it has come from the fact that I have a StoresOnline storefront. We just love it. We fully, 100 percent believe in it. The extra money has allowed Diana to be home more. In the future, she and Mike are hoping Mike will be able to retire. The two are getting ready to publish their second website. It would have been a thousand times more difficult if StoresOnline hadnt come along, Diana says. We have 15 pages with Network Solutions still sitting out there that we will never use. We had already been in that struggle for a year and didnt know where to go next. With StoresOnline we were able to do the whole thing, the whole shopping cart, do our own ordering rules and set it up the way we wanted to. There are endless pagesand I am glad, because 15 pages would have never been enough to do what we want to. And we would have set it up wrong, too. There is no way to know that [with other providers] unless you are familiar with e-commerce and already know that. Coincidentally, shortly after finishing her PMI mentoring course, Diana stumbled upon an Internet site that had some derogatory things to say about StoresOnline. She read through the comments. These people just didnt take the time to do what they were supposed to do. They didnt take what StoresOnline offered them and utilize it. And that is why they were complaining, she says matter-of-factly. They just wanted someone to do it for them while they sat back and collected the bucks. We buy these storefronts. We personalize them and choose the products. And we work at making them successful. That is what is going to determine if they are successful or not. The rewards of doing business on the Internet have come quickly. Diana enthusiastically explains, My kids are loving it. They knew what the ultimate goal was; to quit my outside jobs and work from homeand train them to get into the business. Last month, Diana quit her last job. She now pursues her Internet business full-time. Yes, Diana Blair has always been a busy woman. But now, she has a financial future that matches her energy and enthusiasm. Visit Diana Blairs Store Online at [[LINK:www.mapbooks4u.com,http://www.mapbooks4u.com]]

Recommended StoresOnline Website Customizations

storesonline-review — 2008-10-07T18:02:54-05:00

On the StoresOnline Forum for StoresOnline Merchants, there was discussion about what some of the recommended customization techniques for your StoresOnline website. Do you have StoresOnline customization recommendations for other Merchants? If so, leave a reply today. [[EMOTICON:SMILEY1]]

StoresOnline Express - What Do You Like About StoresOnline Express?

storesonline-review — 2008-10-03T21:35:54-05:00

Small Business Owners and Online Entrepreneurs are using StoresOnline Express to get a website up and running fast! Here is a StoresOnline Express Website owner who is sharing his success with you: "Hello. This is the first post in the StoresOnline Express Forum. We are a mother and son that have a baby clothing website. We created the site using the builder in SOL Express. You can check it out at:[[LINK:www.babysfirst.com,http://www.babysfirst.com]] We are still learning how to navigate around using the site builder, but if you need help with your StoresOnline Express site, we will try to help you the best we can. I also would like to inform you that we are not SOL employees. We are just clients of them." Do you have any tips or advice about how to use the StoresOnline Express website software? If so, let us know :)

StoresOnline Websites: What Makes Your Website Great?

storesonline-review — 2008-10-03T21:29:32-05:00

There are many different StoresOnline websites out on the Internet. StoresOnline Merchants have worked on their online businesses and we want to share some of their successes with you: "I just have to share this with people who will understand! This morning I was doing my usual site check and I noticed I received a visitor from a specific lingerie directory that I have been hoping to get into. As I followed the link back I got another surprise...I saw they had my site listed with a page rank of one. Now I have not had a page rank to date so I double checked my site and sure enough www.wowehotlingerie.com has an official google page rank now...woooohooo and wowe! It just made my day!" __________________________________________________________________ "We started in early June 2007. It took till the 16th to get our first sale. Then things just snowballed. We had to move twice to have more room for the office. Christmas season was a huge blur. LOL But we did $284,000 in sales, had over 100,000 visitors and very little sleep. For a while we had a second site, but frankly didn't have the time or energy to run more than this one. I left my job last November to run this business with my partner. It's been an amazing adventure. We have learned so much! Looking forward to a many years selling in our niche. Sherri [[LINK:www.CelticRenaissanceMusic.com,http://www.CelticRenaissanceMusic.com]]" ________________________________________________________________ " We did it and THANKS :) Well we finally did it. We achieved our 101 visitors a day today on [[LINK:bestpicnictime.com,http://www.bestpicnictime.com]] - finally and are we excited. Could not have done it without any of you SO THIS IS A HUGE THANK YOU for all your wonderful help and encouragement. Why don't I wait and see if the 100 visitors are there again tomorrow and the next day .....Because I'm into celebrating the small achievements as well as the big ones. Our sales have also exceeded those from May last year. Can't you just see how excited I am. And I'm just smilin' all the time. (and that doesn't make me a sad person does it ) Now to work on [[LINK:ThePearls4U.com,http://thepearls4u.com]] if never ends but that's okay 'cause I'm flyin' high" ________________________________________________________________ Congratulations to these StoresOnline Merchants! [[EMOTICON:GRIN2]]

StoresOnline Customers: Tell Us About Your Experience with StoresOnline

storesonline-review — 2008-10-03T20:31:16-05:00

StoresOnline was awarded the prestigious Service & Support Professional Association (SSPA) Recognizes StoresOnline for Consumer Support in 2007. Founded in 1989, SSPA has grown to become the largest and most influential industry trade group for technology service and support professionals. Its nearly 200 member companies represent tech support, field service and customer relations organizations around the globe. Traditionally, the SSPA Service Excellence award winners have set the standard for the industry by delivering world-class, value-added service and support to their customers, said Stephen Smith, executive director of SSPA. This years group of winners was no exception and the dedication of these organizations continues to impress us. "StoresOnlines top priority is exceptional customer support as we provide e-commerce solutions for businesses and entrepreneurs," said Robert Schow, vice-president customer operations, StoresOnline. "This award demonstrates our commitment to provide customers with the best support in the industry. If you are StoresOnline Merchant, tell us about your Customer Service Experience. [[LINK:StoresOnline Customer Support,http://www.myquickresponse.com]] [[LINK:Learn About StoresOnline Pro,http://www.storesonlinepro.com/store/1234]] [[LINK:See StoresOnline Demo Videos,http://http://www.storesonlinepro.com/storesonline_technology]]

StoresOnline Talks About Blogging for Beginners

storesonline-review — 2008-10-03T20:31:38-05:00

Do you have a blog on your StoresOnline website or your online store? There are many reasons to blog. Here are some tips about Blogging: Blogging is a great way to earn a living and get your views out there on the World Wide Web. No matter whether you are blogging in order to make a living or simply want to express your opinion on a subject near and dear to your heart, there are 5 blogging tips which every blogger should know and follow in order to make your blog a complete success. 1) Blog About What You Know It is really important to blog about what you know. Since you are providing information to the masses and most individuals depend on this information for accurate details, it is crucial that you blog about the things you know best. As far as blogging tips go, this is an extremely important one. You want to make sure not only that the information you disperse to the public is accurate but also that the topic is easy for you to write about. 2)Take Advantage of Money Making Ventures Via Blogging Whether you are blogging for work or fun, there are many ways to turn your blog into a money making venture. This is one of the more vital blogging tips as most people want to make some money while doing what they love. Various money making ventures via blogging include affiliate programs, pay per click programs and selling your own products through your blog. 3)Keep Your Blog Current and Up to Date In the grand scheme of blogging tips, the following is quite important. You want to always be sure to keep your blog information current and up to date. Blogging consists of new information which is continuously kept current. This will also help you to make more money should you have money making programs attached to your blog. 4)Fill Your Blog with Helpful Information Some of the best blogs out there these days are ones which provide helpful information to the readers. Although it is interesting to simply read one's blog about their life or past experiences, it is even better to leave the blog having gathered helpful information about one subject or another. Filling your blog with this helpful information will make it that much more popular and aid individuals in their day to day lives. 5)Make Every Blog Entry Interesting and Engaging The last of these blogging tips which you should consider in your daily blogging journeys is to make every blog entry interesting and engaging. It doesn't matter what the topic may be, there are ways to spin them so that they interest and engage the readers. This will keep them coming back from more. This means that those who use their blogs to make money will have repeat customers on a frequent basis. You want your blog to stand out from the rest as there are so many different blogs on the Internet. When writing your blog entries, think of what you would want to read on someone else's blog and what would keep you coming back for more time and time again. [[EMOTICON:COOL3]] [[LINK:StoresOnline Customer Support,http://www.myquickresponse.com]] [[LINK:Learn About StoresOnline Pro,http://www.storesonlinepro.com/store/1234]] [[LINK:See StoresOnline Demo Videos,http://http://www.storesonlinepro.com/storesonline_technology]]

Contact Mari Silva for Merchant Concerns

storesonline-review — 2008-10-07T17:08:03-05:00

If you are a StoresOnline Merchant who has concerns with your StoresOnline purchase, please call Mari Silva at 801-234-5976. Mari can also be reached by email at MSilva@storesonline.com, however, a phone call is faster and will help get the ball rolling towards a resolution. If you need assistance with your StoresOnline Website, please visit http://support.myquickresponse.com/ for 24/7 Customer Support or email help@myquickresponse.com. [[EMOTICON:THUMBSUP3]]

Read About StoresOnline Successes Mary Collier & Nancy Wilson

storesonline-review — 2008-10-03T20:32:24-05:00

Since opening for business, www.ReadyStripOutlet.com has been successful for both the sisters and the supplying company. On average, the site pulls in 90 sales per week. "They [Ready-Strip] think that we're great," Mary now says. "They have the VP sending me notes and saying, 'Whatever you need, if you need any help, please let me know, and we'll fix it for you.'" Mary and Nancy discovered StoresOnline when they were first looking into starting a business. Independently, each received a flyer in the mail inviting her to attend a StoresOnline Internet Marketing Conference. Both decided to attend and later, after attending an all-day StoresOnline workshop, came away with six licenses to build e-commerce Web sites. For merchants who are looking to build a successful business as Mary and Nancy have done, Mary has a word of advice: "Don't give up! When it gets hard-because it does get hard-when you're working late into the night; when you're working your regular job and not sleeping very much; don't give up, because it's well worth it, and StoresOnline really did help us get there. We were looking for a great tool, and this was a great tool. [[LINK:Visit Mary and Nancy's Store Online,http://www.ReadyStripOutlet.com]] [[LINK:Learn About StoresOnline Pro,http://www.storesonlinepro.com/store/1234]] [[LINK:See StoresOnline Demo Videos,http://http://www.storesonlinepro.com/storesonline_technology]]

A Professional Logo for $185 from StoresOnlineLogo.com

storesonline-review — 2008-10-03T20:33:20-05:00

If you run a serious online business your website is probably the major contributing factor to your success, especially if its well-designed, user-friendly and informative. A logo is a visual design element that works as a symbol of a companys goals, attitude, and target market. It represents a company and, if chosen well, can work wonders for your business. Over time, a well-chosen logo becomes synonymous with your company and will take you a long way. Visit www.StoresOnlineLogo.com and get your own professionally designed logo for only $185.00. [[EMOTICON:SMILEY1]] [[LINK:StoresOnline Logo,http://www.StoresOnlineLogo.com]]

StoresOnline Special Training Sessions

storesonline-review — 2008-07-30T23:58:09-05:00

If you are interested in attending a free internet business seminar with StoresOnline, you can call in to 1-800-491-1408. Heres what you will learn: How to use a straightforward, 5-point to-do list to guide you through the creation and promotion of your StoresOnline storefronts How to refine your searches for appropriate products, limiting the guesswork about profitability and demand BEFORE you build your websites How better to use the StoresOnline user interface by watching a storefront creation, beginning to end, right in the presentation StoresOnline trainers, chosen for their experience and skill at helping our merchants start their Internet storefronts, will teach this session. Come with your questions! Your questions, along with those from the other attendees will solidify critical Internet marketing concepts. This group think training will get you revved up and ready to succeed. It is the best way to start you off towards your storefront success!

Bryan Castleman : A StoresOnline Success

storesonline-review — 2008-10-03T20:35:00-05:00

Bryan Castleman grew up on a farm in western Tennessee and is in business with his dad. His dad wanted to own a business selling shoes. He first tried selling men's and women's shoes, but the business didn't do very well. He then decided to sell boots. He began selling them to the employees of utility companies, such as Comcast and Verizon. Bryan's dad built a warehouse and an office for the business on their family farm. He started sending out fliers and mailers to potential customers in 1985. He did okay, but his wife still had to work outside the home to make ends meet for their family. In 1994, he created an Internet website, but didn't make any sales and had very little traffic. He removed his website in 1999, and then put it back online in 2001. Then his son Bryan got involved. Bryan, then 18 years old, decided that before he went to college, he would try to put up an Internet storefront. In August, 2002, he built a storefront on Yahoo! and made about one sale per week. About that time, he received an invitation for an Internet marketing conference presented by StoresOnline. The invitation promised that those who attended would learn how people make money on the Internet. Bryan attended and became excited again about the Internet's business potential. Bryan and a friend attended the all-day training workshop in Memphis a week later. They purchased their storefronts after hearing the exciting principles taught by the StoresOnline speakers. After purchasing the storefronts, they went online that night and started to apply what they had learned at the workshop. Bryan published his storefronts as quickly as he could. One of Bryan's sites-one that sells discounted boots-started getting between two and six orders per day within the first week. Between June and December, Bryan averaged nearly ten orders per day. Bryan's dad's website, Shoe Shack, went live in August. He and his son began advertising in September. Since then, Bryan and his dad have published two more websites, each site making sales on the first day they were published. Bryan says, "I wouldn't be where I am now if it weren't for StoresOnline. I was able to go out and buy a car. At my age, that's unheard of!" For Bryan, the financial impact of owning his own business on the Internet has been very positive. He's been able to go to college and buy things besides his basic needs. Additionally, he has been able to grow his business without borrowing. He is simply using the profits he has already made. Other than advertising and his initial investment in his StoresOnline storefronts, Bryan has very little business expense. He has a very healthy profit margin for his shoes, and within the first six months of his first storefront being published, Bryan has about 3,000 customers-not bad for a freshman in college! Visit the Castlemans' Websites at: [[LINK:ShoeShackOnline.com,http://www.shoeshackonline.com]] [[LINK:Cycleboots.com,http://www.cycleboots.com]] [[LINK:DiscountedBoots.com,http://www.discountedboots.com]]

StoresOnline's FAQ Information on Domain Names

storesonline-review — 2008-07-25T19:35:08-05:00

Q: Why Would I Want A Domain Name? A: If you are planning on advertising off the Internet (i.e. printed material) or would like a URL that is shorter or easier to remember, you may want to have your own domain name. Q: Will A Domain Name Make Me More Successful On The Internet? A: Perhaps. In addition to your keyword phrases, title, description and website content, your Domain Name might also be a contributing factor when marketing your site within Search Engines (see Search Engines). Q: Can I Use My Own Domain Name Instead Of The Generic URL? A: Yes, your account can host unique domain names. First, you will need to register your domain name with a domain name registrar company. After you have registered a domain name, login to your account and click the gray Domains tab of the Account menu. Once there, access the Help system; it has the most up-to-date information about configuring domain names for your account. Q: How Do I Register A Domain Name? A: Several companies offer domain name registration, however if you register your domain name through our affiliate Domain Registrar, your domain Account will automatically be configured to work with your account. Visit www.storesonline.com/domain to register yours today! Q: How Do I Know If A Particular Domain Name Is Available? A: Go to www.storesonline.com/domain or visit another registration company. Then, search to see if the name is available. Q: What Are Domain Name Registration Costs? A: The registration fee for a .com domain name ranges from as high as $35 per year with Network Solutions, to as low as $9 per year with StoresOnlines Affiliate Registrar (other domain extensions such as .biz, .us, .net, etc. range in price). Hosting a personalized domain name with StoresOnline is free for the first domain. Q: Why Are There Fees With Domain Name Registrations? A: The domain registration fees are payable to the organizations responsible for administering them, not StoresOnline. Everyone on the Internet, regardless of who hosts their websites, pays domain registration fees to have their own domain names. Q: Once Registered, Who Owns My Domain? A: You own it for as long as you continue to pay the small annual registration fee. Your domain name is transferable, meaning if you decide to host your website elsewhere, your domain name still be used for that site. Q: What Information Will I Need When I Register A Domain Name With A 3rd Party Registrar? A: When registering a domain you will need the StoresOnline's name server Information below: Primary Server NS1.STORESONLINE.COM 208.187.218.3 Secondary Server NS2.STORESONLINE.COM 216.160.244.3 Technical Contact DA10336-OR Q: What If I Already Have A Domain Name And I Want To Change The Hosting To StoresOnline? A: To change an existing domain name you must contact the registrar where you originally registered your domain name and modify the DNS record to reflect the DNS records of StoresOnlines Domain Name Server. Only you or the administrative contact for your site has the right to request a change. If another service provider hosts your site and they are the administrative contact, you will need to contact the registrar and change the administrative contact to yourself. Contact the current host provider and tell them you have requested a change to the administrative contact. They will receive a confirmation by email for the request for the change from networksolutions.com. They must reply or the change will not take place. You will receive a verification of your request via email. You must follow the instructions on the email and respond or the process will not take place. StoresOnline does not control this process and it can take up to four weeks before the change is made. When you have received notification of the change, please contact the Hosting Department or contact Customer Support at www.myquickresponse.com. Q: Can I Choose To Have A Default URL and Then Change To A Domain Name Later? A: Yes. Follow the instructions concerning Domains within your account files when you wish to change to a custom URL. If you need help, contact Customer Support.

Comments from Peter Erickson with AllWorkGloves.com

storesonline-review — 2008-07-22T19:43:37-05:00

There are times when StoresOnline Merchants submit testimonials to StoresOnline. Here are some highlights from Peter Erickson, a successful StoresOnline Merchant, who owns www.AllWorkGloves.com: Peter Erickson of Massachusetts started in the industrial and safety supply business 26 years ago. He, along with his wife Gina and a few other family members, built the business from the ground up, learning about all of the product lines and key players in the industry as they went. After 18 years in the business, he sold this business to another company to pursue other ventures. As luck would have it, he came across a very timely email, which normally would have gone into the trash bin, from StoresOnline. The email advised Peter of a seminar to be hosted in a few weeks that also came with a free lunch. Peter had been building portal sites as well as e-commerce sites from the ground up for other clients, but knew that, in order to make this fly, more attention had to be paid to the marketing of the site(s) as well as the time spent developing and nurturing new vendors. The first seminar, or sales presentation, provided enough impetus for Peter and his wife to take the next step and join the training session that was to be provided by StoresOnline. The seminar provided enough information to get his sites up and running very quickly. It showed him how to get sales from the very first day of publishing each site and how to maintain sales after that. The question of whether to buy a pre-built and tested product or build a site and spent several months debugging and massaging it for optimization was solved within moments of the seminars. Peter attended the StoresOnline workshop in July 2003. Less than 10 days later his first site was published, with his second site not far behind. "We generated sales the very first day with some of the tricks taught in the seminar," Peter says. "Since then, all we do is add new product, update content, pricing, and take sales calls." "This is all I do," he says. Of course, with the phones ringing pretty much 24-7, who would have any time for anything else. "We went down to the office on Thanksgiving Day after we finished eating, and lo and behold, I had several sales while we all ate dinner." Visit Peter Erickson's Store Online at www.allworkgloves.com *Testimonial results are not typical and your individual results will vary. Your success depends on having the right price, product, and marketing efforts.

Looking for Information About StoresOnline

storesonline-review — 2008-07-09T15:33:09-05:00

You can't get what you want unless you know what you're asking for - well that is the idea of today's post. Other blogs seem to be a gathering place for complaints about StoresOnline. I'm looking to hear from people who have something positive to say about StoresOnline. I don't want to read another vague, critical posting that doesn't provide me real information or real experience. I am hoping to attract people who can give me the following information: 1) StoresOnline Merchants personal experience with StoresOnline Customer Support 2) Personal website experiences with StoresOnline Pro or StoresOnline Express 3) A StoresOnline Merchants personal experience with the StoresOnline Programming Department 4) A StoresOnline Merchants favorite feature of StoreOnline Pro or StoresOnline Express software 5) Helpful tips for other StoresOnline Merchants or other online business entrepreneurs 6) A thank you message to a Customer Support Representative or Programmer that has assisted you in the past with a StoresOnline website issue There are enough places to post negative things; maybe this can be a place for something different. [[EMOTICON:SMILEY1]]

Something to Consider

storesonline-review — 2008-07-09T15:38:28-05:00

I was reading through a few forums and blog sites this week, when I came across this posting: I own the website www.parleysdieselperformance.com which is built with the Storesonline software and is hosted on the Storesonline servers and I have actually had a pleasant experience with it. I have been working on it for a little over a year and it is now my main source of income and has more than paid for itself. Storesonline isn't a perfect company but they do offer a worthwhile product that works. Posted at 4:06PM on Aug 9th 2007 by Nathan Young It is nice to hear when people have had successes. One major failing of the freedom to blog about whatever and whoever you want is that there often is no equal balance or responsibility for the random statements and posts that are freely given online. I talked about this with a friend of mine today at lunch. Is there a "One Size Fits All" in the eCommerce or Website Business industry? I'd like to say that StoresOnline is a great resource for Entrepreneurs who are just starting out with eCommerce and need support from experienced online experts to avoid the pitfalls that most online business owners experience. So does that mean StoresOnline will fit everyone's needs...probably not, but that doesn't mean that it absolutely doesn't work for some people. People have different dreams, different backgrounds, and different needs for education and guidance. If you were an experienced programmer who does research and watches online business trends, you can most likely go out into the world of eCommerce and create a fairly successful site. But for the vast majority of people, who want an online business and just don't know how to get started, there is StoresOnline. And open blogs or forums that allow any passerby to leave a comment without qualifying their experience...well, that gives me reason to wonder right off the bat [[EMOTICON:CONFUSED1]] . This is why any reputable company has testimonials. If you are like me, you want to read the success stories. You want to know where these successful merchants are coming from, how they decided to start their own online business, how they are doing now, and overall, what is their first hand, LONG TERM experience with StoresOnline? If I am going to listen to anyone's opinion about a business, I'm going to listen to someone who took the time to make the decision and follow the program. I'm less likely going to listen to someone who says they once knew someone who went to a meeting and said that it was a waste of time. That is just not an intelligent way to make decisions about any aspect of your life. I've read a few StoresOnline Testimonials and so far, this is one of my favorites: http://www.storesonlinepro.com/store/1670990.

StoresOnline Reviews - StoresOnline Review

storesonline-review — 2008-07-22T12:30:56-05:00

On this site, you will also be able to read and post personal accounts of the StoresOnline seminar and workshop, but also comments by hundreds of other people about their own experiences with StoresOnline. If you are about to attend their workshop or seminar, make sure you take the time to read everything here before you attend the session as it will provide additional insight into actual StoresOnline Merchants experience with StoresOnline software, support, and success. Hopefully, these postings will help you make an informed decision about who StoresOnline is and what they can offer to online entrepreneurs. If you are already a StoresOnline customer and need assistance with your StoresOnline Pro or StoresOnline Express website, you may email help@myquickresponse.com If you have StoresOnline Customer Relations questions, please contact: Mari Silva Director of Customer Relations Stores Online Inc. Phone: (801) 227-0004 Fax: (801) 426-6712 Email: msilva@storesonline.com Our objective is to help you, the reader, make informed decisions and to balance out other objective reviews. If you find our StoresOnline reviews useful, please add a link to this website to educate more people about StoresOnline. Thank you for stopping by. We hope we can help in your efforts to find helpful information about StoresOnline.