Business

5 Secrets To Make A Killing on eBay

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 22:28:00 -0800

By Jason James

Secret #1: Find a ‘real’ wholesale and drop ship company

Do you know what one of the biggest problem is to be successful on eBay? ‘What should I sell”? I can tell you, I get many emails per day from eBay sellers, asking me what they can sell. Let me explain this more in detail.

Let’s take John and David for example. Both are sellers and try to make money on eBay. Let’s start with John. He mainly gets his items from garage sales. So, every Saturday morning he gets up very early, hops into his car and drives around the neighbourhood to check out the garage sales. So he went last Saturday. John did not buy anything on the first two garage sales, but on his third garage sale, he found a little treasure. An old book from 1897 - for a bargain price of $10. Bingo! John was proud! ‘I can sell this for huge profit’, he thought and he went home. He took his digital camera and he made a high quality digital photo. It took quite some time but finally he was happy with the result. Then he had to upload this picture to his computer and he spent some time writing the sales copy. Late Saturday afternoon finally he was finished and launched this book onto eBay. 7-10 days later his item got sold for $75!! John is excited. He packs the item, labels it with the buyers address and then he drives to the nearest post office. Oh no, what a long line. After 15 min of waiting he could finally post this item to his customer! Wow, a lot of work for $65 profit? Don’t you think?

Let’s look at David. He usually gets up very late – usually at Saturday around lunchtime. He is still in his pyjamas and he makes himself a nice cup of coffee and gets onto the Internet. He logs into his drop ship account and browses through some hot selling product. ‘Yes, I can sell that” - A nice laptop for a bargain price of $550 (wholesale price). But David does not have to pay upfront for this item, so he just downloads the professional digital photos offered by his drop ship company to his computer. ”Oh wait”; David has just discovered that this drop ship company has also a ‘ready-to-use’ auction sales letter available. That’s really cool …and David copies and pastes the source code of this letter into his eBay listing and he launches his auction. A Dutch auction, since the drop ship company announced that they have more than one of this laptop currently available. Great, David could sell 6 laptops. He hits the submit button for this Dutch auction of 6 laptops and enjoys his coffee (which is still hot by the way). After 7-10 days David has sold all 6 laptops for $830 each. All what David does is the following: He waits until he gets the payment from his 6 customers in his paypal account, sends the address of the customers together with 6 x $550 (wholesale price) to his drop sip company via paypal. He has made pure profit of 6 x $280 = $1,680 in about 25 min of work – total. That’s why David is a smarter eBay seller than John. I think the idea is clear …drop shipping can be the answer to your problem what to sell on eBay and it can saves you a lot of time too. No packing, posting etc.

Secret #2: Have a professional auction listing

A professional eBay auction site is like your business card. If you are serious selling on eBay you should show your potential customers that you are a professional seller and that you are selling high quality products. Please, don’t just upload a photo and type the text in the description box. Do your homework and learn some HTML. Look around there are many professional tutorials and ebooks around helping you in that matter. It’s definitely worth it. And you’ll be surprised, because if your auction listing looks nice and professional potential buyers stay longer on your site and usually it’s more likely that they place a bid.

Secret #3: The money is in the follow up

“Yes, I’ve heard this before”, you may say. But, this is a very important aspect of your successful eBay career: Follow up with your customers. Send them an email ~10 days after they have purchased the product and ask them how they are going with the product and if everything is all right. Invite them to have a look at your other auctions. (You have to be careful though not offending anyone, but if the products are related and you ask how they went with the product, that’s fine). I never got complaints by doing that and your customers are happy to get some “insider tips”. You’ll be amazed how many customers will buy from you again, since they value you as a seller. Keep in mind that it is easier to keep an existing customer, instead of getting a new customer. You could also send them a thank you gift in form of a downloadable digital information product. That’s easy for you and they get some valuable information. You’ll see that your existing customers will be very thankful and they feel good that they have bought from you and will do again in the future.

Secret #4: Sell internationally

This aspect is often neglected by many eBay sellers: Sell internationally! First, check with your drop ship company in which countries they are shipping and how much postage they charge to send the item overseas. If you have sort out these details, you can go ahead and list your item internationally. You’ll be surprised how many more items you are selling when the potential buyers see: Ship worldwide. Don’t miss this opportunity or you are leaving big bucks on the table.

Secret #5: Be creative – Be different

How do you think your listing will be stand out from the crowd? Good question isn’t it. In my 4 years of being an active Power Seller, I have tried and tested a lot. First have the photo in the gallery; it just costs a bit more to list but these additional cents are well spend. A recent study has shown that people almost ignore listing without a picture in the gallery. So that’s mandatory! The next step is your title. Do you know that only the title is spidered by eBay when potential customers are searching for specific products? So, you have to make sure that your title includes as much keywords as possible. But be careful here, eBay does not like “keyword stuffing”. So, be creative and come up with 2-3 different titles for the same item. Try them all and you’ll see what works best.

5 Hidden Resources For eBay Users

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 22:23:00 -0800

By Jason James

Many thousands of people making a living both buying & selling on eBay. Currently ranked as the 37 biggest site on the net (according to Alexa figures) eBay shows no signs of slowing down, even fortune 500 companies are opening eBay shops to sell surplus & unwanted stock. The following are five resources that I use personally & encourage you to use them to increase your eBay profits with ease.

Reports show that over 90% of searches on eBay are done using the search facility. What users do not know about eBays search factility is that by default it only searches the item titles - not the descriptions of the items. Remember this fact as it will show the significance of some of the resources listed below.

1) FatFingers

How professional a seller are you? Do you check your listings before submitting them or even does someone else proof read them for you? With millions of listings on eBays networks of sites at any one time, a small proportion of these listings contain errors - & a misspelt word is about the biggest error you can make.

Imagine your selling a Sony Television for example. What if you misspell the item as Sony Televisoin. Anyone who searches for the term "Sony Television" simply isn't going to be presented with your item. Only those eBayers who search manually though the category will find your items. Needless to say that if people can't find your item, they're unable to bid on them.

FatFingers is a service you can use to find all misspelt variations of a term. Why would you need such a service?

Well obviously if an item has low visibility on eBay it's also likely to have zero or few bids enabling you to snap yourself up a bargain. I've known people use this service to make a full time living, purely buying items cheaply and relisting them without errors.

Details at: Fatfingers.com

2) eBay Pulse

Back to the search facility eBay pulse shows you the top 10 searched keywords in every category. It's a real gem of a service, obviously by looking at the most widely used search terms you can see what eBayers are after. And if your selling in this category, by inserting some of these keywords within your title your items will be seen by more users.

The only thing to watch out with this service is make sure the keywords are relevant to your item, IF NOT DON'T USE THEM. How many times have you saw listings such as "SONY PANASONIC LG WIDESCREEN DIGITAL TELEVISION GUIDE", - listings such as these are well thought out to earn high visibility from the way users search. Anyone searching for the items with any of the keywords will uncover your listings.

While it may lead to a high number of views, firstly fellow users will get annoyed if they find your item completely unrevealed to what they searched for, Secondly keyword spamming as it is known, is against eBay policy and will lead to your item being pulled. I use pulse daily with all my listings but make sure it's relevant to your item first.

Details at: pulse.ebay.com

3) Keyword-Pro

Keyword-Pro is a commercial subscription service which is similar to eBay pulse. However, the main difference is Keyword-Pro offers a much more in depth list of relevant keywords. It lists the top 50 keywords for every category for both eBay.co.uk & eBay.com. This is a great addition, especially if any of the terms found in eBay pulse are not relevant to your item.

Keyword-Pro is available as both a web service or as a small program that downloads the list onto your P.C. It's data is updated weekly to keep you informed of the latest search terms.

Details at Trading-Web-Solutions.com/keywords

4) Selling Manager

When you first open a selling account on eBay, options listed under the sell tab of eBay are enough to get you by. However, you can upgrade to a more in depth service known as Selling Manager. As eBay describes the service "eBay Selling Manager is our online sales management tool for medium to high volume sellers". It allows you to track every eBay sale, customise your feedback comments, print shipping labels & much more. It saves me about four hours a week tracking orders and watching my sales.

Selling Manager is FREE on eBay.co.uk & has a small monthly charge of on eBay.com (after one a month trial free). Once I moved over to Selling Manager, there's simply no way I would go back.

Details at: Click on services once you've logged into your eBay account.

5) eBay Popular Products

Here you can see, directly from eBay, what the most popular products are in several categories. an invaluable tool for an eBay seller.

I hope you find these services useful & time saving in your goal for a successful home business on eBay. Remember, your most important resource is your time when your starting or building up an online business & if you discover any site, person or opportunity that can save you time give it the attention & serious consideration it deserves. Every top Internet marketers constantly educate themselves by purchasing & reviewing almost every new product released. The way I look at it, if an ebook costs $197 and the information within the ebook saves me this or allows me to make an additional $197 it's well worth it - once you can do it once you'll be able to repeat the exercise over and over again making repeated profits. If you discover a precious eBay related resource let me know & I'll consider revising this list for future editions.

Good luck with your eBay selling.

5 Core Skills To Build Before Starting Internet Marketing

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 22:21:00 -0800

By Stuart Tan

It kinda bugs me that there are people who are constantly writing about the things that do well in Internet Marketing. I think that’s real silly. People want the real stuff. They want to know the exciting stuff, but they want the truth too.

Why have internet marketers hidden from you, the costs of getting to where they have gotten? Because it is the one thing that separates the real players and the suckers. If you do not know how much time and effort they spent, don’t think that internet marketing is a walk in the park.

My business partner was so excited after a conference, he started up a mini-site that was selling a set of products we already had in existence. It was a great plan, except that for the kind of product we put up, he sold the package at a drop dead price of $97. Now, I operate from Singapore, and we know that most of the people who would buy this product would come from the other side of the world. Without verifying the shipping charges, he happily took orders from the internet. The first one had him jumping up and down… only to realize that the cost of shipping took about 90% of that $97. We couldn’t cover the production costs. Straight away, it was a loss.

But everyone talks about shipping their products as if it were a simple thing. Most people have forgotten completely about the people living on this side of the world and what it takes to sell something. This means that there are a few things that most beginners in internet marketing need to be careful about and learn.

#1 – Learn Copywriting.

Copywriting is the most important skill ever to be taught to marketers and business people alike. If you don’t have the ability to write your own sales letters, it will be easy for people to tell you to outsource the writing. My advice: DON’T. You are letting them develop the skill that you should be building up. No one ever gets to be an expert copywriter overnight. Learn it, and learn it well.

#2 – Understand Business Models

There are about 7 or 8 different business models on the internet. Because I need to make sure that people really understand about business per se, I’ve put it in the form of a freely downloadable format at http://www.stuarttan.com/affiliate/bizmodel.pdf
Go grab it - no holds barred.

#3 – Drive traffic

I’ve included a list for those of you newbies out there, the multiple ways to drive traffic over the internet. There are over 100 ways you can use to drive traffic and I would highly recommend you hop over to learn about these. I directly credit people like John Reese, Jeff Johnson and Yanik Silver for their invaluable knowledge that I have gotten from them. If you don’t know about them, please begin today! They are great people and I highly recommend that you visit them at www.trafficsecrets.com, www.searchenginevoodoo.com and www.surefiremarketing.com respectively. Download my traffic generation chart on www.stuarttan.com/affiliate/Traffic Boosters.pdf
.

#4 – Learn New Internet Technology Fast

You need to be learning really fast. I’ve discovered that there are a large number of new internet technologies that keep coming up and they can be very powerful, provided you know how to use them. If you don’t know how to use them, it will most definitely be to your disadvantage. For instance, most people still don’t know how to use RSS and Blogs. In addition, some people are clueless about XML feeds and how that helps to create massive content sites and increase search engine rankings. You need to learn fast. The only way for you to master your learning is to read about them. I highly recommend that you visit www.stuarttan.com/learning/ for more information that I can’t deal with here.

I am going to give you something good, though. If the entire internet marketing world is doing it, DON’T. If you just follow, you will not be at the breakthrough point of technology usage. Start innovating and think creatively to solve a problem. Sometimes, even the simplest things can bring about massive profits online!

#5 – Keep Relationships Going

Keeping relationships going on the internet is a difficult thing. But it is essential. You need to be able to do autoresponse messages, personalized. However, most people miss the point. Automatic isn’t going to build relationships. You need to keep them warm. Call them. Give them ideas. Give them free stuff (learnt this from Yanik). More importantly, ask Jeff Johnson’s single most asked question – ‘Can I help you?’.

I’m all for making money – but if it is at the expense of friendships and relationships, I think it is going to be really stupid to continue making money. Give yourself a chance to put back, in your heart, what many poor, scammy internet marketers have taken away – quality and the desire to help people.

4 Ways of Increasing Your Profits Using Images

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 22:20:00 -0800

By Barrett Phillips

Images not only can create an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere for users, but they can also (and more importantly) help you gain credibility, and ultimately sales if done correctly. Here are some great ways to increase your credibility:

1. Self Portraits/Customer photos

Having a photo of yourself on your sales page will help your customers feel more at home, and that they're dealing with a real person, and not just a machine. This increases your credibility in the viewer's eye because it adds a personal touch, and you will see your sales increase when you employ such methods. A great place to place a self portrait is in an 'about me' section of your site or newsletter. If you don't have a section like this, you should consider creating one because this, just like the image will increase your credibility and your conversion rate.

Another way of using pictures to increase your conversion rate is by using customer photos. You should place these on customer testimonials, and when people view them, they will see that this is a real customer that is satisfied with your product, and they will carry much more weight this way. Testimonials alone are a great way to increase conversions, so don't hesitate to make them even more effective by adding customer photos. The only problem here is acquiring the photos themselves, since many people do not have a self portrait, but that shouldn't stop you from asking your customers for them, and maybe even offer them discounts for some incentive! The choice is yours.

2. Product Packaging

Product packaging images - this means, regardless of what you're selling, be it tangible or intangible, to offer images of your product. If you're selling an ebook, create an ebook cover. If you're selling an actual book, show a photo of it. What this does is explain to the viewer of your site that your product is 'real' and that they're really getting something when they're spending their money. It's been proven that simply showing an ebook cover on a sales page can increase conversion rates by over 50%! You can't afford to miss out on something so simple that will increase your sales this much, so make it a point to have some product packaging!

3. Physical Evidence of Product's Success

This can mean an infinite number of things depending on what you're selling, but in a nutshell, try to include a photo of something that lets your site's visitors know that the product you're selling actually works. Some examples: If you're selling a book on internet marketing, show a picture of a check you've received while using the techniques explained in your book. If you're selling a book on bodybuilding, show before and after pictures of someone who has practiced the methods explained in the book. These kinds of things will drastically increase the viewer's excitement in your product and will get them itching to whip out their credit cards!

4. Soothing, Pleasant Graphics

You want your site's look to be welcoming just like a big soft sofa, so your viewers are visually relaxed and not constantly being annoyed. Things to avoid are animated icons and bright/flashy/uncomplimentary colors as these are very unprofessional, leading your visitors to believe your product may also be unprofessional. Plus, these things may turn away some visitors altogether, so do your best to avoid them. Train yourself to use softer colors, softer gradients, softer backgrounds, etc. And you (and your visitors) will reap the benefits.

If you practice some or all of these methods you will see great improvements in your conversion rates, so don't take them lightly. People will read interesting copy, but nothing builds credibility like a bit of positive imagery. Hope you've learned something!

3 Quick and Easy Steps to Earn Money Online!

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 22:18:00 -0800

By Mark Williams

Do you own a web site that is continually failing to make you any money? Don't feel alone because 90% of the web sites on the internet are just like yours. So, what if I told you that you could earn money online, practically overnight!

You might not believe me but the facts are you can. I am about to show you 3 quick and easy steps to earn money online, fast.

These are proven techniques that will send fast cash into your bank account, even while you sleep. Put them to work for you and watch the money come rolling in.

Follow these 3 quick and easy steps and you will be able to earn money online like the pros.

1. Market Someone Else's Product - If you have your own web site, or even if you don't, you can find an affiliate product that is relevant to your market and sell it for a commission. Many of these affiliate programs pay as much as a 75% commission on sales.

Here is an easy tactic you can use to sell your affiliate product. If you have your own site then put a text link in a highly visible area on your website. The middle of the page, top right, or bottom right seem to be prime web site real estate.

Make sure to use a text link instead of a banner, they convert better! When you write your text, do so in the form of a recommendation for the product. This technique usually works the best because the people that come to your website consider you an expert on your market.

Put more than one text link on your web pages. What draws the attention of one person may not another. So always write two to three text link ads and put them on various places on each of your web pages.

2. Use a Joint Venture to Jumpstart your Sales - Maybe you have a product but are new to the internet and don't have a list. You are interested in increasing your web site traffic and building your credibility to increase your sales. No problem, what you need to do is find someone in your niche market that has an established web site and a list of customers.

Use the search engines and references from other site owners to locate someone that might be interested in recommending your product to their customer list in return for a share of the profits. You need to make this a win-win situation for them. Understand that you are the one needing help, not them. So when you approach them have the attitude of how this venture can benefit them and not you.

Tell them that you think your product would be a valuable benefit for their customers. Give them a FREE copy of your e-book or your product to let them see for themselves. Make sure that you provide all of the marketing materials they will need, like ezine ads, articles, text links, and banners.

Most importantly, make it worth their time by giving them a minimum of 50% of the profits for utilizing their list. You need to understand that their list is the heart and soul of their business and that they will only recommend products to their customers that they feel will benefit them. As a list owner you can not afford to risk your reputation on low quality products.

A joint venture is a great way to jumpstart your sales and will lead to more profitable joint ventures in the future!

3. Give Something Away to Profit in the Future - One of the best ways to secure huge amounts of profits is to give something away to your web site visitors. This does two things, the first, it is a great way to get their trust and secondly, by giving them a taste of what you have to offer many of them will end up buying the whole meal.

A great technique to use, especially if you have an information product like an e-book, is to give away a free report or mini-course related to the topic of your information product.

This will allow you to get their email address so you can send them follow up emails promoting your product, or other people's products like in example 1. You are also building a list of people that have an interest in your niche market. If they like your material they will come back for more!

So give away a free email report or mini-course, you can even put links to your products or affiliate products in the free report, so it becomes an income stream. If you will give away something to get their interests peaked and their trust heightened it will lead to greater sales in the near future.

In closing, you can put these simple but powerful techniques to work for you and begin earning money online overnight. They are not hard it just takes a little gumption to get started. When you see the results start rolling in you will realize it was worth the effort.

3 Business Models For Creating Wealth On The Internet

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 22:17:00 -0800

By Sean Gum

The Internet has the potential to make you rich! I am sure you have heard it over and over again. Everybody knows you CAN get rich using the Internet, but HOW?

Over the last 8 years, I have researched hundreds of Internet business opportunities... I have purchased dozens of Get-Rich Information packs... I have listened to over 100 audiobooks on how to prosper using the Internet... I've been to countless seminars, some costing as much as $3,400 to attend! And I've tested all the tips, tricks and techniques to find out what works and what doesn't.

What I discovered was that there are three distinct business models that you can use to create wealth with the Internet. I've used all three to create an income stream of over $1 million dollars per year.

And I do it all from the comfort of my home... with no employees...

Would you like to learn how?

In this article I will give a brief overview of each of the three business models. Then, in upcoming articles I will discuss each model in greater detail along with direct links to resources I have used that are working for me RIGHT NOW!

*** ONE SECRET That All 3 Models Have In Common ***

As you learn about all of the models, you will notice one thing that they all have in common. That one thing is called "leverage."

What is leverage?

J. Paul Ghetty once said, "I would rather have 1% of the efforts of 100 men than 100% of my own efforts."

J. Paul understood leverage. Some of the models that I will present will leverage the efforts of hundreds and even thousands of other people to produce an income for you...

In other business models we'll use computers and technology to create leverage.

In either case, leverage allows you to earn money while you sleep... while you vacation... while you spend time with your family....

Leverage is the secret to financial freedom!

*** Business Model #1 - Network Marketing ***

Network Marketing, or Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) has bloomed into a multi-billion dollar business. Even with all of this success, we still run into people today that call it a pyramid-scheme....

Network Marketing allows you to start a business at home that is similiar to a franchise. However, there is no franchise fee of millions of dollars. Instead, you pay a small entry fee, some as low as $35 to become a distributor. However, you get the backing of a major corporation to support you and to help you build your own home business.

You also get the opportunity to go International with your home business with some network marketing companies reaching into 60 or more countries!

MLM has come a long way, baby!

The unique thing about Network Marketing is that your upline is actually motivated to help you succeed. (Unlike a BOSS who doesn't want you to know what he knows - or you'd take his job!)

I have been (and still am) involved with 3 different network marketing companies... I will tell you about the good, the bad and the ugly in an upcoming article on Network Marketing.

*** Business Model #2 - Affiliate Programs ***

Affiliate programs have become very successful over the years. In fact, we started our own affiliate program several years ago, and saw it grow to over 3,000 affiliates in less than a year.

Basically, affiliate programs are ways that you can promote somebody else's product or service and get paid for it.

This is usually done by a banner ad, or announcement to a customer or other specialized list.

If you currently have a high traffic website, you should be participating in at least several different affiliate programs. Nowadays, there are networks of affiliate programs that take the threat of not being paid out of the picture. (It used to be a problem when everyone was running thier own...)

If you have a lot of time on your hands, and no money at all to get started in Network Marketing, than this is a great option to start out with.

I will tell you where to find these networks and how to get started in an upcoming article on Affiliate Programs.

*** Business Model #3 - Information Marketing ***

This is the model I am currently using to build my next million dollars, while my business partner spends his time building our Network Marketing businesses...

What is Information Marketing?

Basically it is taking something that you love doing and writing articles, ebooks and even creating teleseminars and live seminars.

It might sound like a lot of work, but you start small and work your way up.

I will be showing you how EVERYBODY has at least one special skill or ability that can be turned into an ebook and sold online... Really!

I recently attended a seminar that cost $3,400 to attend. This 3-day seminar was packed full of hundreds of tips and techniques to build an Information Marketing business.

I will be passing what I learned onto you through several upcoming articles....

All of the business models that I have presented have the power to create six and even seven digit incomes in as little as 9 months!

I will go into *much* greater detail on each of these three business models in upcoming articles on each one. I will also be providing updates of current progress to those of you on my mailing list, so be sure to join!

God bless...

3 Business Models For Creating Wealth On The Internet

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 22:15:00 -0800

2 Keys To "Manual Surf Traffic Exchange" Success

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 22:13:00 -0800

By Mark Tse

Do you use Manual Surf Traffic Exchanges to drive traffic to your websites or affiliate links?

In case if you are a new internet marketer and do not know what is a Manual Surf Traffic Exchange, here is a short explanation:

"Manual Surf Traffic Exchange is a online service, where members can show their websites to other members, by viewing (surfing) other members websites."

This is a very easy way to receive traffic, especially if you have limited budget, but have time to view other websites. And if you don't want to pay your time, you can purchase traffic directly from traffic exchange programs.

However, you should know that these type of traffic is "ineffective" traffic. Ineffective means the conversion rate of your product or service from traffic exchanges will be lower than other highly targeted traffic sources like PPC visitors.

Note, this does not mean using traffic exchange is not profitable. This is because the cost of each traffic exchange hit is greatly cheaper than other traffic sources.
And if you do it right, the ROI (Return On Investment) will be positive.

Many marketers claim that Manual Surf Traffic Exchange is not useful. They are completely wrong because they missed some very important keys when using traffic exchanges.

Now let me expose two of the secret keys that will turn your traffic exchange failure to success:

1. Method - Capture Leads And Do Not Sell Directly

Every traffic exchange user is busy at surfing. They do not have time and intention to read your long webpage. So NEVER put your sales page. Instead, put a lead capturing page with a "Attention Grabbing Headline", "Amazing Benefits" and a "Opt In Form". Remember, your purpose is to capture email addresses and then follow up with additional sales materials.

2. Target - Webmasters Who Want Traffic

Do you notice the common purpose of the traffic exchange users? Yes they are webmasters or affiliates who want to promote their own websites. Remember, these people is your target market, not kids, not elders. If you are promoting high quality advertising related product or service, then I can guarantee you will convert them to sales very well!

Now it is your time to make money by using traffic exchanges! Here is the number one manual surf traffic exchange that I would like to recommend - TopSurfer.

Helpful Tips to Overcome Procrastination

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Wed, 7 Jul 2010 03:20:00 -0700

By Zaak OConan

Many among us, on many instances, have the habit of putting aside to a later time or day some things that needs to be done or acted upon like a project, work, job, or duty. For purposes of discussion, we will confine ourselves to procrastination on repair works typically at home. It equates to other circumstances as well.

Procrastination is one habit that is hard to beat. We procrastinate for various reasons:
1. When we think that the work that needs to be done can afford to wait or be delayed.
2. When we are busy with something else we think is more important.
3. When we do not like the work involved or when it is difficult to do.
4. When we are not sure if the work that needs to be done will be effective.
5. When the things needed in the work are not yet available or incomplete.
6. When we forget about it.
And many other reasons like laziness or a combination of the above.
Hard to beat as it is, we stand to gain more and virtually loose nothing if we overturn this habit.
Check out these helpful tips:

1. When we think that a work can afford to be delayed, it can also afford not to be delayed. By having the work done without further delay, we feel a sigh of relief making the load of work on our back lesser or lighter, which eventually makes us feel better.

2. After being busy with something more important and you have time to spare, this spare time can be used to attend to the things on the pending list.

3. Delaying work that is difficult makes the work even more difficult. A leak on the roof may not be harmful if it doesn't rain; but once it rains, water goes into the house resulting in wet floors and carpets and eventually, the extent of damage could be more than can be imagined.

4. When we are not sure if work that needs to be done will be effective, we must seek advice from people who are more knowledgeable on this field. Procrastinating won't help.

5. Delayed work due to incomplete materials will remain delayed unless we fill in the incomplete items. Again, procrastinating won't help.

6. Make a list of all pending work in the house and post it on the refrigerator door to constantly remind us about them.

Bottom line is:
We may feel lazy at times and tend to delay some work that needs our attention. It's understandable that 'starting' to get a job done is the most difficult part, but once you have started, half of the job is already done and the second half will be easy.
Every time you feel like procrastinating, picture yourself as the job that needs to be done - like a prisoner wherein justice being delayed results to justice being denied.

Getting Paid - Why Does It Have To Be So Confusing?

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Tue, 6 Jul 2010 03:03:00 -0700

By Hamish Hayward

There are many different reasons why people choose to get involved in network marketing. Although it may not be the primary reason for many people, getting paid will be rank high on most people's list.

So it makes sense that, when you are deciding which of the many available network marketing opportunities to get involved in, that part of your evaluation process will consider the payment, or commission scheme in place.

At this point things can get a bit complex. Unsurprisingly, almost every network marketing company in business today will claim to have the best pay plan available. They probably genuinely believe this (and they might be right) and will usually devote several sheets of paper or screens to show this to you in all its glory. Expect to see the word "revolutionary" used at least once.

Some of these schemes can appear a bit complex to say the least. There will almost certainly be a matrix of some kind involved and there will probably be some kind of "ladder of success" where you earn new ranks and titles as you progress in the business.

It can seem a bit daunting, trying to work out how long it will take you to get from Space Cadet to Star Fleet Commander and what it all means in terms of money - but focus on a few simple questions and you can cut through the mumbo-jumbo.

1. What will you get paid for?
2. How much will you get paid?
3. When will you get paid?
4. How will you get paid?

** What will you get paid for? **
Surprisingly enough, this is a (slightly) more important question than "how much?" - for one simple reason. If your main, or only, source of income results from recruiting other people into the business, then there's a very high possibility that you may be involved in a pyramid scheme.

Your main income should arise when you sell a product or service to a customer, not when you recruit someone. There's absolutely nothing wrong with profiting whenever someone who you have introduced to the business makes a sale - but you shouldn't be making significant income just for recruiting them.

You should also check if there is a "qualifying" level of sales that you need to make each month in order to get your commission. It can be very frustrating if, having built a large customer base and a healthy downline team, you miss out on your monthly cheque due to an insufficient amount of personal sales.

** How much will you get paid? **
Having satisfied yourself that you're getting paid for moving a genuine product or service, you can now focus on how much you'll be earning. Obviously you want to make as much as you can - but how much is enough will depend upon the type of product you're going to be marketing.

Corporate Blogging: 7 Best Practices

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Mon, 5 Jul 2010 02:42:00 -0700

By Kari White

Blogs have become one of the hottest communication tools on the Web. Offering the opportunity for anyone to create their own free Web site, encouraging opinions and interaction, blogs provide forums for individuals to create their own highly personal presentations to the Web audience. They also provide for consortia of all types to experience the sort of online community feeling that was pioneered by early newsgroups and by the phenomenal success of AOL in the 1990s.

Blogs have reached into the corporate and government sectors as well. What started out as an outlet for teenage expression and grassroots journalism has turned into a lucrative communications tool for small and large businesses alike.

Corporate Blogging refers to a company producing or supporting a blog that it uses to accomplish business objectives. As with anything, there are certain “best practices” to be followed to ensure your company reaps the maximum benefits. These seven tips guidelines will help make your blog a success.

1. Fine Print. Blogging can lead to legal issues. Companies should have real concerns about liability, exclusions and limitations, and indemnity. Although there are laws that protect against libel, misappropriations and other injuries suffered as a result of posts on the Web, companies can still be held “vicariously” responsible for statements made by employees that are harmful to others. Since there are so many legal issues surrounding blogs, it is imperative that the site has some sort of disclaimer and limitation of liability.

2. Know What You’re Doing. Senior management should be educated by the corporate communications and legal department about what blogs are and how they might affect business. That way, they can be contributing members of the blog, further improving employee relations. Their support and participation is often what makes a blog more effective.

3. Create blogging policies. In any medium where an employee is sharing information, there is the possibility of leaking trade secrets or financial information. Blogging also has a tendency to become personal. A company should have a list of policies regarding blogging to ensure that trade secrets are kept secret and personal lives do not become public. Policies may include keeping financial information from being posted, as well as severe consequences for anyone using the blog for negative publicity.

4. Avoid the Marketing Blog. Making your blog into a blatant marketing campaign is a bad idea. Customers are looking for real answers and honest opinions. They will pick up on insincerity instantly. Use the blog for what it's for, transparency. This is an opportunity to make a real connection with your customers. Don't ruin it by filling it with empty advertising.

5. Keep It Fresh. Blogs are usually judged by their amount of new content. Easy to add on to, they are designed to be updated constantly. To keep your readers coming back, make your content relevant and timely. Don't forget, content can include anything from product releases to job openings, recent news to thoughts from the CEO. It's practically impossible to run out of material.

6. Reinforce the company’s core values. Use your blog to reflect your company's inner soul: its mission, goals and direction. A blog is just another medium by which you interact with your customers and employees. It's another part of the brand experience. It should be consistent with the impression the company wants to make.

7. Encourage employees to use it. Create an atmosphere where they are comfortable asserting their opinions and concerns. You’ll be surprised how the quietest employees will speak up when given such an opportunity. With all communication, blogging can become negative, so remind employees of the public nature of the blogs and the ramifications for their actions.

Easy Methods For Church Fundraising

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Sun, 4 Jul 2010 02:51:00 -0700

By Peter Crump

Church fundraising has got to be one of the easiest ways of fundraising that is out there. Everyone is willing to give to the church and is more than willing to help in any way possible. Church fundraising is fun and is a way of getting the whole congregation in the mood to help. Depending on what you decided to have as your fundraising product, it should go over very well.
Whether it is baked goods, crafts, candles, hot suppers served, a quilt sale or one of the many choices that are out there it is sure to be a hit.

Another good idea for a Christian fundraiser is a cookbook. However, this type of church fundraising takes more time and effort, but it is well worth it. Collect all your congregation favorite recipes and get them together. Pick out the amount you want to enter in your cookbook and designate someone in the congregation to copy them off. You can have these pages tied together with pretty ribbons and depending on what time of the year it is you can make your cookbook for that season. This is one fund raising idea that always goes over well.

There is no other fundraiser like a Christian fundraiser. You will get all the support you need in getting your fundraiser together and going over smoothly. The congregation is a wonderful place to find the help you need that goes into getting a church fundraising event together. A Christian fundraiser is like no other where there are so many people pulling for the same cause.

If you choose a hot supper as your church fundraising idea, selling the tickets in advance gives you the money to buy the supplies and you know how many to cook for. Many times the congregation donates the food for this type of Christian fundraiser so that the church can keep all the profits. If your idea for a church fund raiser is a craft sale, everyone will make a few crafts and donate them for the cause and will be there to sell them also. Any Christian congregation enjoys getting together for a fund raiser regardless of what work is involved because they are doing it for their church.

The joy of giving will give you a very profitable Christian fundraiser. Not only from the congregation, but from anyone that happens to come by. If your church fundraising event is well advertised, it should be a big success. Any fund raiser needs to be organized and can be easy or difficult depending on the amount of people you have access to. Just be sure it is clear what each individual is expected to do before you begin.

Database driven web site. Do you need it?

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Sat, 3 Jul 2010 02:49:00 -0700

By Julia Ramyalg

Many of site owners still don’t realize all advantages of database driven web sites and don’t use all abilities they give. So when do you need a database driven web site and how it will make your web-life better?

What is a database driven web site?

Database driven web site is one that uses database for collecting and storing information. What information it can be? Various. Email addresses, contact info, clients list, products list, listings of real estate property, trade offers, images, and links, etc.

How does it work?

For example, you have a static HTML web site for your business with posted information about the company, products or services, clients, and there is contact form.

If you have strong HTML skills you update your site without problems each time you need it. Otherwise you hire a webmaster or use maintenance services of a web design company. You write info in text document, send it to your webmaster, he manually inserts it to the site.
You store your products, clients, and contacts info in Word or Excel files.
Probably you store emails that you receive from contact form in Word or Excel files.

Is it handful and easy? Is there an alternative?

In the database driven web site all information is stored in table format of databases on the server, script generates pages that are showed on the site as usual HTML ones.
Usually database driven web sites have admin panel with user-friendly interface where you can manage the site content, i.e. add, edit, or delete info by yourself, create new pages or delete old ones. You can update your site easily each time you need it.

Requests sent form contact form can be saved in database for further use, you can edit them, group, and sort.

You can create pictures gallery on your site and update it easily.

You can have news box at your site and update it easily each time you need it.

Is it expensive?

No, if you order the site from a web design/development company that has good experience in database driven web sites design that means elaborated and tested development process, time and cost saving methods which give high-quality work within short timeline and at affordable price.
Ask your web design company do they make database driven web sites, if yes, look at the examples of such previous works, ask references of the customers – are they satisfied with their web sites? – and if the price is acceptable move forward to your new web site. Or search for another web development company using the same criteria for choice.

What else you should know?

Probably, you will need to change hosting plan or even hosting provider to host your new database driven web site. Usually there are such requirements for hosing:

Customer Service Warning—What to Watch for That Indicate We Have a Customer Service Problem

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Fri, 2 Jul 2010 02:48:00 -0700

By Alan Boyer

Do you frequently hear that customers are unhappy about something, and sometimes they are downright frustrated.

Yet, what you hear from your employees is, “Stupid customers! They just don’t understand how to use the product”?

As the owner, or manager, what has been your response? Has it been to back up your employees, or do you go find out what the customer is really saying?

WARNING: you’ve been given an indicator of what is going on in the organization. The customers aren’t getting what they thought they paid for, and the employees are actually blocking access to what the customer wants.

Let’s look at it from the customer’s view:
You’ve just bought a new XYZ that is critical to your business operation. You get it back to the office, and can’t make it work as advertised. You call customer support, with hope that it is just something that can be quickly fixed. After waiting on the phone for 30-40 minutes you finally get a live person who immediately says, “Oh sure. Everyone makes that mistake. All you have to do is ……[stand on your left foot while pushing the button with the right index finger]. No problem. Thanks for calling…click.”

You didn’t even have the chance to tell him that you aren’t one of those everyday customers. You are actually quite knowledgeable and already tried that, but it didn’t work. So, since he didn’t listen, you’ve got to make that call again. Another 30-40 minutes waiting and finally get someone else whose immediate response is….[exactly the same as the last time] but you are trying to get him to listen before he cuts you off list the last one. You finally get him to stop and listen, but his response is, “You’re using it wrong. It wasn’t meant to do that, at least that way. When you are using it THAT way you have to stand on the right foot while pushing the button with the left index finger. Geeeeee!!! …..click.”

And after you try it on the left foot it starts working. In the meantime you and your business were off line for how long at how much cost?

What did it cost you to buy that product that was supposed to save you money?

And chances are that there will be another 20-30 calls for other issues. In the meantime it’s costing you tons of time and money while you are trying to fix THEIR product, and, in some cases, because your business is dependent upon having the product working, the entire business is down.

So, what’s the answer to this?

Although many customer service reps, managers, and business owners think this is a technical problem that can be fixed by fixing the technical issue, please listen carefully IT IS NOT. It is a management problem. It is up to management to fix the fact that the person directly in contact with the customer is more concerned in proving that the product really does work and the customer is too stupid to know it instead of helping the customer get what he really wants. The employees must be informed, maybe trained, to understand their real job is to help the customer and that requires listening to him thoroughly. Otherwise they are probably answering the WRONG question.

Sometimes there really is a good technical reason to stand on the left foot instead of the right when pushing the button. And if a customer doesn’t know how or when to do that, isn’t the problem with the instructions, not the customer.

Keep good records on what customers are calling about. Even if an employee has what he thinks is a justifiable answer, if that question just keeps coming up over and over it is time to find out what the real base cause is.

I also believe that most customer service people actually are trying to do a good job for their boss, but they don’t understand what the goals of their job really are. So they are doing a good job delivering the wrong service. Most feel that their job is to protect the boss, the company, and maybe their own job, from that “stupid customer.” That makes it a losing situation for the customer.

If they change their perspective to, “My job is to help the customer get what he wants. I’m the expert on company policy, the technical issues, and I’ll use those tools to help the customer get what he really wants, which usually is a product that works.”

I was traveling to the Middle East last year and saw a perfect example of how the perception of an employee might affect his customers. When arriving at the counter where they check passports there were two people that were there to facilitate faster movement through the different lines.

One considered themselves as someone to help the people get what they wanted. They walked up to the arriving passengers, asking them if they were citizens or not and guiding citizens quickly to the right line. If they were not citizens, then they asked if they had each of the several papers filled out, checked those papers and then suggested that they correct line XYZ before getting up to the counter that they were now being pointed toward.

The other considered himself a policeman. He was preventing people from getting in line, preventing them from getting in the wrong lines, and sending them over to a work table to fill out the papers themselves. When they came back the “policeman” would check the papers again and send them back to do them over. No offer to help other than to say, this isn’t filled out right, do it again.

The difference between these people: mainly in their vision of their job, what they perceive as their job. They both have the same job description, making sure that the agent at the counter doesn’t have to deal with improperly filled out forms and to make the lines move through faster.

However, one sees his job as catching mistakes and taking them out of line. That might actually make things easier on the guy checking papers at the counter, but certainly not on the customer, the guy trying to get in to the country. The other sees his job as helping the customer get through this tough process and guiding him to get the answers on the paper, and into the right line.

So, ultimately how can this be used in your company? Make sure that the employees in direct contact with a customer have a vision of their job that is clearly defined as:
Your job, if you decide to take it, is to make sure that customer gets what he wants. You are the expert in company policy, and possibly even technical issues of the product so use those tools to facilitate, smooth out, getting the customer what he wants.

Many times the responsibility of the employee is not to find a technical reason (standing on the left foot while…..). The employees should be trained to think beyond the fact that some technical aspect of a product is or is not broken. He should be asking the customer why he is struggling, it could be in the instructions, it could be customers are buying it to do something that it wasn’t intended to do (marketing, advertising, are saying the wrong thing, or not saying it clearly enough).

Frequently the employees need to be trained to think out of the box, and help the customer in ways that are not quite as obvious. The employees can better help a customer if they have the skills to probe find what is the real cause that is well beyond a technical “it’s broken” response from a customer.

About the author:
Alan Boyer, CEO of The Leader’s Perspective, LLC is considered one of the world’s leading breakthrough specialists.

With over 35 years of business experience, he has catapulted businesses lightyears ahead in weeks. Some double, some jump 10 times.

He helps companies worldwide reach further than they EVER thought possible….FASTER

CRM Business Relationship

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Thu, 1 Jul 2010 02:46:00 -0700

By Rasmus Nielsen

A business relationship is different from any other kind of relationship, being a personal or a social relationship. However, to understand what a business relationship means, it is necessary to identify what a relationship is.
A relationship is according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary “a connection between things”. A different definition is that it “is a memory of past interactions”. Both definitions say something about a relationship even though that they do not say exactly the same. However, the definitions do not differ between business relationships and personal relationships, which is important because there is a different objective between the two kinds of relationships. Therefore, a business relationship can be defined as: “A bond based on a rational objective, which is to do business with each other”.However, as the interaction between the two actors increases, a certain relationship evolves and the knowledge about the other part is increased. Together they create a combined understanding and view of reality. The more common output of the relationship is a decrease in transaction costs, as transactions becomes routinely and the bond between the two companies is strengthening.
When talking about a business relationship, trust comes to mind, because relationships build on trust. However, can a relationship survive without trust? It is possible for a professional relationship to exist without trust, though in most cases trust is a part of the professional relationship. Various authors, such as Paul Greenberg in CRM at the speed of light, 2000, has argued that relationships build on memories of past interactions, because on the first encounter you do not know each other, however, on the second encounter you build the relationship on the previous encounter . He believes that it is the previous encounter that counts in the eyes of the customer. It is true that a need can create a genuine relationship, however, a long-term relationship needs trusts to be able to survive. Furthermore, the better one get to know the other, the better conditions the relationship has to succeed, if there is a honest approach to build the relationship. To some degree the two approaches towards creating a business relationship agree, however, if the objective is to create loyalty both the successful encounter and trust must be accomplished in order to create a successful long-term business relationship.

Business Expansion with Ebooks

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 02:15:00 -0700

By Hans Hasselfors

Businesses of all sizes are expanding with ebooks. An ebook is a paperless book in digital format that you can download to your computer, handheld or other reader device. It can be read by using a software program like Adobe (for .pdf formats) or Microsoft Word.

Here are several ways to expand your own business operations with ebooks.

Marketing – An ebook offers an inexpensive means of producing full-color marketing materials complete with graphics and audio components. Find good software or hire someone to help create your ebooks. Grab a digital camera and start snapping shots of your products, people using your products and services, your workers, etc. Then show off your shots, your products and describe your services with awesome power-packed presentations; web pages with interactive links for sound, visual presentations, communications (emails or forum posts) and more.

Education – When your products or services need explained, educate your prospects and clients with ebooks. Have sample or short versions available for trial offers or free downloads. Then include full-fledged detailed editions with product / service purchases. Educate with visual, sound and interactive point-and-click methods. Invite questions and feedback from recipients for improvements on future product and service development.

Communications – How many times do you get an email you with a question - the same question over and over gain it seems – that requires a book-length answer? Maybe questions like, “How do you create a basic website?” or “How can you market on a tight budget?” inspire lengthy replies. Well, now you can write one long reply, turn it into an ebook and send it out – over and over again and free up more time for other things. AND include your own marketing information inside so that readers can look you up on the Internet, pass your information along and give others the opportunity to find you, too.

New Product – Use surveys and take polls for new product creation. Include a link to a web page with a questionnaire and free download for recipients upon completion.

Sales Reps – Arm your sales representatives with professional, top-notch full-color media / product / service information kits presented via your ebooks to share with local newspaper, radio, television and other media reps, visitors and potential clients at trade shows and other events. Set up an introductory page in your ebook, then an index where people can click and quickly find your History, Mission Statement, product and service descriptions and images, Contact information, Testimonials, etc. Then copy the ebooks to disks and CDs to distribute at events. This gives people the opportunity to learn much more about you when they have more time afterwards.

So grab your cyber-pencil or keypad and start writing! Ebooks can definitely enlarge your operations.

Banking on Good Banks: Guidelines to Help You Choose the Right Bank for You

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 02:13:00 -0700

By David Arnold Livingston

More often than not, we make decisions impulsively, without dwelling on too much thought about what we want and without considering other options, guidelines and criteria to base our decisions with. We can always get away with this on small decisions such as deciding on the flavor of Starbucks coffee we want; whether this is decaf or not; medium or large; with cream or without and many other trivial options.

This is okay but this is not applicable when we are considering things that concern the financial aspect of our lives - financing, refinancing, mortgages, insurance, investments and yes, even choosing the bank where we could save and store our money. Here are some guidelines you have to consider when you want to invest portions of your money into banks:

1. Location. When choosing banks, you have to consider their locations. If you see yourself visiting your bank or banks in a regular basis, then the best option would be to look for banks nearest to wherever you conduct your business or in your home.

2. Accessibility of ATM Machines. Choose banks where a sufficient number of their ATM machines are accessible to you.

3. In relation to number 2, check the functionalities offered by the ATM machines of these banks. Check if it has the following features: - Do the banks' ATM machines allow deposits to be made in it? - Do the banks' ATM machines printout statements about your accounts such as your available balance, etc.? - Do the banks' ATM machines enable a client to order a check book?

4. Telephone Banking. If you are one of those people who cannot go to banks during banking hours, then one of the features you have to look for in banks is the availability of telephone banking service. With this, you can make queries and transactions in your banks anytime, anywhere usually 24/7 all year. Telephone Banking allows you to do some of these transactions in your banks: - Transfer your money from your accounts in your banks to pay your bills - Telephone banking in banks enables cancellation and change of current orders - Check the balance of your account - Telephone banking in banks allows you to apply for other products or services from banks

5. Internet Banking. Internet banking features in banks also allows the following services offered by Telephone Banking wherein transactions and inquiries can be done via the Internet through the Internet portals of these banks.

If you are a business person and you need a bank or banks for your small business, here are some other aspects and guidelines you have to consider when choosing the right bank/banks for you:

1. Aside from the first general consideration on the location of the banks, you have to consider if the banks understand the nature of the business you are involved in.

2. Consider also if some of the banks will be able to allow you to deal with the senior employees/executives in the bank. This way, problems concerning your business banking needs will be addressed easily.

3. Check banks that offer SBA - Small Business Administration - Loans. This can help you should different needs arise in your business that will compel you to make a loan.

4. It is good to consider banks where the capitalization rate is greater than six percent. This will ensure you that the banks you will be working with will still be present while you are still in business

5. Consider the competitiveness of the banks by checking how much they charge for every transaction you make.

6. Aside from these, check also the competitiveness of the interests and other fees that come with their credit cards.

7. Check the stipulations on balances for checking accounts that bear interests.

8. Check if the banks you are considering are members of the FDIC - Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve Bank and lastly,

9. Look for banks that are capable of giving service that you and your business might need ahead of time.

Keep all these in mind when considering the right bank/banks and surely, you will never go wrong. Good luck!

Business Meeting Etiquette

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 01:25:00 -0700

By Jeff Schuman

What makes up proper business meeting etiquette? How do you have
a meeting everyone can leave feeling good about? Meetings have
become an inevitable part of doing business for almost every
business owner. There are meetings with clients, meetings with
employees and meetings with peers or associates.

Almost everyone has suffered through meetings that take up your
valuable time and accomplish very little.

In fact, you may find that you yourself have now become numb to
that fact that your meetings aren’t as good as they could be.
And everywhere you look, it seems as if somebody has another
idea about how to fix your meetings, and make them more focused,
more productive, and – dare I say it? More fun!

So what can you do about it? Simple business meeting etiquette
can help you put on a quality meeting. Here are a few tips and
ideas for meeting planning –

1. Schedule your meetings at the best times -

2. Make sure your meetings all start on time - (and whenever
possible, avoid scheduling meetings when someone is up against a
deadline, or on a tight schedule).

3. Maintain a consistent focus on what topics will be covered –
(use an agenda).

4. Ensure there is a good level of rapport in the group –
(people can talk to each other and exchange ideas about what is
being discussed).

5. Arrive at a decision - (find new ways to avoid covering the
same ground, and ask for input to help create a plan of action.)

6. Use parliamentary procedures - (so that the correct methods
for amending or making a motion, following the agenda and taking
turns before speaking are being followed).

7. Choose the best location and environment for your meetings -
(for example, trying to fit 15 people into a closet-sized room
that doesn’t have windows or a proper ventilation system is poor
planning on your part.)

8. Do not schedule meetings to go over routine topics - (you can
send a memo or email for this.)

9. Talk to your group and make your meetings interactive -

10. Alwaysr ask for feedback from participants and allow them to
present ideas or get involved.

These ten simple business meeting etiquette tips that
guarantee a better meeting for everyone. Follow these and you
will see results on what you covered as well as a better
attendance at future meetings.

Autoresponders: One simple Trick That Will Improve your Results

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Fri, 4 Jun 2010 04:45:00 -0700

By Hamish Hayward

Autoresponders, or responders, are simply programs that allow you to send out pre-written emails which have been pre-loaded into the responder. Prospective customers or recruits either input their email addresses into a signup form on a website or send a blank email to a trigger address. They are then entered into a database and receive your emails at the intervals you specify when you set up the responder.

This is an extremely powerful marketing technique as it allows you to send repeated messages to people who have positively displayed their interest in whatever you're promoting.

Numerous studies have shown that the majority of consumers will not buy, or signup to something, at the first exposure. Prospects typically need to have somewhere between 5 and 12 exposures to the product or service before they feel comfortable enough to commit. The ideal number of follow up contacts is often said to be 7, but this will vary depending upon the individual consumer and the product on offer.

Since the recipient of your emails has given you permission to contact them, you won't be accused of "spamming". You may need to provide full contact details in your emails to be sure of this - it varies from country to country, but err on the side of caution. An added bonus is that you will have their email address in your database - or "list" - so that you can keep them updated with any new offers you may have in future.

Many internet marketers already appreciate the awesome power of automated follow up using an autoresponder loaded with well crafted sales messages. However, there is one enhancement that is often overlooked, even by relatively experienced marketers: The "Thank You" page.

Used properly, this can boost your signup rate by as much as 20%, it can help promote your other programs, products and opportunities and it can even earn you some money.

It's easy to overlook this aspect of autoresponders. After all, you've probably spent a good deal of time crafting your email messages and loading them into the responder. It's only natural that when the last one is input you want to get the messages out to the big wide world ASAP - right? But take just a few minutes - and that really is all it needs - and you could benefit hugely.

First of all, whatever you do, don't use the Thank You page that your autoresponder company so kindly provides for you. Why do you think they provide this? Certainly, it is a service to their customers. Normally it gives a polite (if generic) thank you and contains a few reassurances about spam along with brief details of the opt-out procedure. However, when you look at it closely, it is a full page advert for the autoresponder provider isn't it? A full page advert which you have provided for them.

As an absolute minimum, if you can't be bothered to spend a few minutes to generate your own custom Thank you page, redirect your new signup to one of the other pages on your website, or to the home page of one of your other sites if you have more than one. However, it's much better to take the time and produce your own full page advert.

Some of the items you might want to consider including are listed below:

1. A polite thank you (mandatory).
2. A brief statement that you only send emails with permission, that they may unsubscribe at any time and that you will never pass their contact details to a third party (also mandatory).
3. A link to another website that you own or promote.
4. An advert for another opportunity that you are involved in.
5. A "Tell A Friend" form or link.
6. Adverts from Google Adsense or some other source.

Items 1 & 2 are only common courtesy. Items 3 - 6 could give your performance a real boost.

Remember, this is a page that your viewer will automatically click away from. They are "ready-to-click" so at least give them the option of making a click that will benefit you rather than just clicking on their "favourites" or home page buttons.

Not all of them will click - but some of them will and you need every advantage you can get!

Banking on Good Banks: Guidelines to Help You Choose the Right Bank for You

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Fri, 4 Jun 2010 04:44:00 -0700

A Crucial Key Factor To Your Online Success: Keywords Research

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Fri, 4 Jun 2010 04:42:00 -0700

By Gian Luigi Ruggeri

Let's start from the basics.
Keywords research IS a crucial key factor nowadays for anyone that is already or want to be active in the online business and run a work at home based business.

Maybe back to the end of the 90's it was possible to think to work from home and start a new business oriented website targeted to a broad market and get to have it successful with a relative limited effort, a basic knowledge and an amateurial budget, simply putting a lot of passion in the work, but these times are gone, and it is very difficult that they will come back again.
Hoping that something similar will happen today is just an unreal expectation.

So we arrive to the subject of this article: Keyword Research.

If we make a search on the net to have a DEFINITION of this important concept we can easily find a usuful link like this:

http://marketingterms.com/dictionary/keyword_research/

In brief we can say that "keyword research" means the search of the keywords related to our website, AND the related ANALYSIS to find the most valuable keywords for our online business as well as the ANALYSIS of the COMPETITION for the same keywords.

Well, there is a lot to understand here, isn't it?
Prepare yourself, there is a lot more to do after we have clear the meaning of all this in our minds.

This definition in my opinion takes for granted that we are not building a general website that can show totally unrelated stuff messed up together trying to be interesting for anyone using a PC connected to the internet.
It is a quite technical definition that is addressed to people that already have some knowledge about how online business is going in year 2005, and that have already read, or been taught that it is recommended to build business websites targeted to NICHES, that are fractions, small parts, of a sector of an industry or of a market.

So this important concept can be summarised like this:
"When people wanting to run a home based business working from home start the planning of the building of a new website that is business oriented it is good practice to focus on a niche and to research keywords related to a niche instead of to a wide market in order to have to face a smaller competition and be able to generate value and a positive return on their investment".

Does it make sense? I think so, and so think most of the savvy online marketers and gurus nowadays.

Please note right now that keywords research is also crucial if you run PPC ADVERTISING, both for your own website or for AFFILIATE PROGRAMS that pay you commissions. We will return on this later in this article.

Now that we have understood the meaning and the importance of keywords research it's time to move to the practice.

How is it done the important task of keywords researching?

As experienced internet marketers we are able to provide you with a great SHORTCUT that has a small cost and will be able to save you a lot of time, efforts and also money, but we will provide you also some free resources if you really are on a zero budget and need to make some basic researches.

Here is the recommended resource for keywords research, it is a desktop program called "Keyword Locator" that has excellent features and will complete many tasks from a single software.

http://EarnWithGoogle.com/seo/keywordlocator.html

If you only use free resources you will need to use many of them in order to achieve similar results, or even to have done only a part of the tasks of Keyword Locator.

Let's see what you can do with free resources. The first site we suggest is NicheBot.com:

http://NicheBot.com

This site includes keyword count data from different sources, Overture and Wordtracker (only the first 15 results), and add also figures for number of pages for the researched keyword, competition and a ratio.
More detailed explanations are available on the site of course.

This website is probably the best free resource you can find as it already summarise data that normally would require you to use different websites to be reached.

Another popular free resource is GoodKeywords.com, that offers a free software to download that allows to do basic keywords researching and provide some other search features. You can go there to download the software for free:

http://GoodKeywords.com

And finally a set of free online tools you can use are offered by InstantPosition.com here:

http://instantposition.com/free_tools.cfm

InstantPosition.com is focused on SEO and provides many valid tools you will surely find interesting; amongst them you can find the keyword suggestion tool and the keyword popularity tool.

As you see we have been there with the free resources. Like everyone else we try to find online what can help us with the lower possible cost, and we all know that lower than free there is nothing.

But we also learned to profit of the experience of those who have been there before us and have developped better solutions and offer them for a small price. And sometimes the solutions developped are small gems that can become invaluable.

This is the case with Keyword Locator.
With this software you can do much more than you can do with all the different free resources put together, and of course much easily and quickly.

Keyword Locator is the professional solution to your needs.

In fact you can easily locate in demand niche markets and under exploited keywords in a matter of minutes.

You can complete keywords researching much faster and with less efforts, and pass to the phase of website building much sooner and with more detailed data on your hands.

And you can analyze and expose Your competition as you would not be able to do with only free resources.

All right, do you remember we told you that keyword research is very important also if you advertise in PPC like AdWords or Overture? Well this software is developped to minimise your expense and maximise your revenue from PPC advertising.

There are so many features we cannot report them all here in this article, so here there is again the link to this great software, the best one we have found for keyword researching:

http://EarnWithGoogle.com/seo/keywordlocator.html

We hope this article can be helpful for you and your work at home based business.

A Critical Review of Metastock 8.0: Is Upgrading Worth the Money

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Fri, 4 Jun 2010 04:39:00 -0700

By David Jenyns

If you are like many other traders, you have been eagerly waiting for the release of Metastock 8.0 for one reason, and one reason only, the reportedly redeveloped system tester. Metastock`s one major flaw has always been its lack of back testing capabilities, though previous versions of Metastock are head and shoulders above the competition on other fronts.

But whatever criteria you use to trade with, be it moving averages, candle sticks, fibonacci retracements, or any other trading system, you`re going to need to back test it. Everyone needs to thoroughly back test, or simulate, their trading system in ways that can match the conditions you will be trading in. It`s something all serious traders do.

Consequently, when Equis International (the makers of Metastock 8.0) announced "an all-new type of exploration that emulates running system tests over an entire database of securities", I could hardly wait to get the Metastock 8.0 release.

While waiting to receiving my copy of Metastock 8.0 I began building trading systems. By the time my copy of Metastock 8.0 finally arrived, I had around 20 systems ready for testing, and couldn`t wait to try them out.

However, when I loaded up the software, I was in for a surprise. It looked like nothing had changed. I thought maybe Equis International had kept the same interface and added in greater flexibility and some more features, but after searching in every nook and cranny, I found next to nothing that was new. It looked the same and, except for a couple of small changes, it was the same!

Then I came to the System tester - now called the "Enhanced System Tester". This was my major reason for upgrading from version 7.22. This is what appeared to be only real difference between Metastock 7.22 and Metastock 8.0.

After fiddling around with the Metastock 8.0 Enhanced System Tester for a few hours, and testing my 20 systems, I reached the verdict that I wasted my money on the new version of Metastock 8.0. Despite the supposed improvements to the Enhanced System Tester it, like it`s predecessor, left a lot to be desired.

Even though the Metastock 8.0 Enhanced System Tester tests multiple securities in one batch, it treats each security independently of the others. Therefore, when Metastock 8.0 tests the first security, it uses your predefined float and takes the trade over the test period selected. Once that is completed, it repeats the same process for the second security, using the same initial float, with no reference to the first security.

In the end, you receive the same result that you would have if you simply tested each security individually and added the results together. Not only is this process dreadfully slow, but the entire reason for testing your system is side-stepped. When your finished all the explorations, the performance of your trading system is still unknown!

The moral of the story is that if you already own Metastock 7, don`t worry about upgrading to Metastock 8.0. Simply stick with the version you have and keep your fingers crossed that Equis International gets it right for Metastock 9.0

Accounting Methods – Cash and Accrual

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Fri, 4 Jun 2010 04:38:00 -0700

By Richard A. Chapo

When starting a business, you have to determine the method you are going to use for accounting and paying taxes. The two choices are the cash method and the accrual method.

Cash Method

If you are looking for simplicity, the cash method is probably your best accounting choice. Generally, income and deductions can be claimed when payment is actually received or made. This is best shown with an example.

I open a small business and have to order business cards and stationary. I receive the products and pay the invoice on November 18, 2005. Under the cash method, I can deduct the cost on my 2005 tax return.

Some businesses are restricted from using the cash method. C corporations may only use the cash method if they have less than $5 million in gross revenues for a particular year. Professional Service Corporations can use the cash method without limit, while farming corporations can due so if gross revenues are less than $25 million. Tax shelters are prohibited from using the cash method.

Accrual Method

The Accrual Method of accounting is a bit more complex. Under this method, the focus in on the date the expense is incurred, not paid. Although this may seem a small difference, it can play havoc with your books and piece of mind.

Using our previous example, assume I order business cards and stationary on the December 18, 2005. I receive the products on December 30th, but don’t pay the invoice until January 20, 2006. When can the expense be claimed? It depends on when economic performance occurred.

Generally, economic performance occurs when goods or services are provided to you. In the above example, economic performance would arguably occur when the business cards and stationary were delivered with the invoice on December 30th. Thus, I would be able to deduct the expense for the 2005 tax year.

In Closing

As you can see, the cash method is the easier of the two accounting methods. To determine the best method for your business, speak with a tax professional.

Accepting Credit Cards Payments For Offline Businesses

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Fri, 4 Jun 2010 04:37:00 -0700

By Keith Baxter

Any smart business owner knows that accepting credit cards as a payment option will dramatically increase revenues. Not only do credit cards offer customers the convenience and ease of not having to carry around cash or checks, it lends a sense of professionalism to your establishment as well. The process of applying to become a credit card merchant can be a bit confusing and frustrating, so let's take a look at how it all works.

The Credit Card Account

The credit card account that you will use is called a merchant account. These accounts are different from a regular business checking account in that they are accounts that have been secured through a bank that offers credit card processing. This account enables you to process your credit card transactions through their banking establishment. This is a safe and secure process which provides both you and the buyer security and protection from the beginning of the transaction right through to the end.

Since most of the merchant accounts are offered by a third party vendor, you are not obligated to use any specific bank or institution. You are free to choose the one that offers the options that will work best for you and your company.

What you do need to pay attention to are the fees. These fees will come in three different forms. First, the initial setup fee (pretty self-explanatory), moving on to the percentage fee (the provider will take a percentage of each transaction based on amount of sale), and then ending with the monthly service fee. Read the fine print of any contract before signing it. Pay attention to all three fee categories, not just one.

Also, look for contract obligations. Some providers will offer you great deals but will want you to sign on with them for a long period of time. You need to be aware of what, if any, penalties will be charged for getting out of the contract if things don't work out.

How Do I Actually Get Paid

Obviously, this is pretty important. If a customer has used a credit card, no money has actually changed hands. Since more and more customers are now using credit cards, how that money gets into your account and how fast has become vitally important.

Any of the reputable merchant account providers will provide the business owner with payment into their account within the first 24 to 48 hours of the initial transaction. Whether that customer has a balance on that card is not a concern of yours. The bank will pay you anyway.

If the customer disputes the said transaction, the bank is usually under no obligation to pay the business owner, especially if that dispute has been deemed acceptable. If a business owner has a high number of legitimacy claims against them, the provider may just drop them.

The majority of the time, though, things go as planned and the money shows up in your account within a day or two.

30 Different Ways To Promote And Advertise Your WebSite

alfina.bloging@gmail.com (Alfina) — Fri, 4 Jun 2010 04:36:00 -0700

By Andrew Wroblewski

There are literally thousands of things you can do to promote and advertise your website, here are just a few I have found to work for me.

1- Tell your audience what kind of support they'll get after they buy. It could be free consulting, tech support, free servicing, etc. This may also answer some of their buying questions ahead of time. People don't want to buy products without knowing you will be there to help if they have problems.

2- Ask people at the end of your copy why they decided not to buy. This will give you new ideas on how to produce ad copy that’s more profitable. Have a web form or e-mail link in place so they can answer you. You may find out they don't like your guarantee or graphics. It could be anything.

3- Think of ways to get your site or business in the the news. You could sponsor a fundraiser, break a world record, hold a major event, etc. Simply write a press release about what you’ve accomplished, then send it to media outlets that cater to your target audience.

4- Hold a contest on your web site. Give other web sites the option of offering it to their visitors. This'll multiply your advertising all over the Internet. It would become a viral contest. Of course the contest must either be ongoing or held regularly so you could allow other online publishers to offer it to their visitors or subscribers.

5- Tell your potential customers that your ordering system is highly secure. Also reassure them that you take every effort to protect them. People want to feel they are safe online. They want to know that you care about their well-being. Tell them all about what you currently do for them to make them feel more secure.

6- Carry business cards with you wherever you go. Have your web address printed on them. You can hand them out to anyone you meet. Just think of all the people you meet on a regular basis: grocery clerks, post office workers, bag boys, family members, friends, salesmen/women, etc.

7- Contact national radio stations to ask them if they are looking for guest speakers. Tell them your area of expertise; maybe they'll book you for a show. Of course you would want to contact targeted stations and shows which would want to know more about you and your area of expertise.

8- Join clubs related to your area of business. You could trade leads with other businesses. Learn new ways to run your business and sell your products. You could also create your own online business club. You could provide private chat rooms, message boards, articles, etc.

9- Think of a domain name for your web site that's easy to remember. It should be related to what your business does, sells or provides. If there aren’t any business names available, use your actual birth name. You could at least brand yourself. Your own name will give you credibility.

10- Position your web site at the top of pay-per-click search engines. You will only pay your set amount for each click-through you get to your web site. Just make sure your profits will pay for your advertising cost. If they won't, maybe you could share a web site with another related business and split the costs.

11- Allow your visitors or customers to increase your traffic or sales. Ask them how you can improve your business, web site or product. You can ask them at your web site, in your e-zine, on your message board, in your chat room, in your guest book, in your product packages, etc.

12- Team up with other e-zines that have the same target audience. Combine subscriber bases and then publish one e-zine together to increase subscribers. You could all include your ads and announcements in the e-zine. You could also take turns for the top advertising space.

13- Swap endorsement advertisements with other web sites. Endorsement ads usually pull more sales and traffic than regular advertisements. People have taught themselves to ignore advertisements because they see hundreds of them every day. Endorsements usually don't look or sound like normal ads.

14- Outsource part of your workload to save time and money. You can spend more of your time and money promoting your business. You'll save money on employee costs, space costs, training costs, etc. Keep the work you enjoy doing to keep you motivated and ship out the work you don't like.

15- Include a signature file on all the e-mails you send out. Provide your business name, phone number, e-mail and web address, etc. Also include a brief blurb for your business or the product you're selling. For example, you could say, "How To Wash Your Car In Two Minutes or Less!"

16- Use pictures or graphics on your web site that support the product you're selling. They could give your visitors a clearer vision of your product, the benefits of the product, people's emotion when they own the product, etc. You could also use ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures.

17- Create a friendly, long-term relationship with all your customers. Practice good customer service and follow-up with them on a regular basis. You could follow-up with gifts, greeting cards, free things, coupons, special offers, reminders, your e-zine, helpful advice, etc.

18- Create strategic alliances with other web sites. You could exchange banner ads, sell each other's products as back-end products, cross-promote, etc. You could also create a web site together and promote it on your separate web sites. You would both just split the costs and profits.

19- Increase the perceived value of your product to skyrocket your sales. Add on free bonuses, after- sale services or an affiliate program. Other factors that would help are: your own domain name, a professional web design, a good-looking product graphic and persuasive ad copy.

20- Give customers a discount on their total order to increase sales. You could give them a discount for ordering over a set dollar or product amount. For example, you could say, "Buy over $39 worth of products and get a 20% discount on your order!" Another example, "Get a 15% discount if you order 3 or more products!"

21- Allow your visitors to reprint the content on your web site. Just ask them to include your resource box and a link to your site in exchange. This will turn your content into a traffic machine and the external links will help increase your ranking in some search engines.

22- Provide a free contest or sweepstake at your web site. It's a fact, people like to win things. If you can fulfill that need, people will visit. You can also attract them to revisit by holding one every week or month. You could also start an opt-in list for people who enter your contest or sweepstake so you can follow-up with them regularly.

23- Save time and money by using ad submitters. You will reach a larger part of your target audience far more quickly than by manually submitting your ad. You should manually submit your ad to the most popular web sites so you have a better chance of being listed or placed in a good position.

24- Create a good first impression. You will not be able to sell very many products if your visitors think your web site looks unprofessional. Use crisp graphics, attractive color combinations, a readable text size, even spacing, even margins, bold headlines, indent benefits, etc.

25- Stop procrastinating and start finishing all your business tasks. Do one at a time. Don’t get caught up thinking that you can never get them all done. Make a list. Do the easiest or most crucial one first and move down the list. Cross off each task as you complete it.

26- Develop a relationship with all your visitors and customers. Tell them how much you appreciate them visiting your web site or buying your product. Invite them to online and offline events like free chat room classes, parties, dinner gatherings, business events, etc.

27- Hire a business coach to help improve you and your business. That could help increase your sales, motivate you, balance your workload, etc. It would be like renting an extra brain. You would have double the thinking power.

28- Stay away from being too comfortable with your income or life. You should always be making new goals for yourself and developing new sales ideas. The world keeps changing and if you pause too long, you might miss out. You only live once.

29- Make sure you don’t become a workaholic. Your mind needs time away from your business life. This will help your brain think clearly while working. The best time to get profitable ideas is when you’re not thinking about them. They just pop into your brain.

30- Create and follow short/long-term goals for your business. The short-term goals can create early success and the long-term goals can create future success. Design each goal so they all add up to your ultimate goal. Don't make your goals too unrealistic otherwise depression and frustration could move you farther away from them.

Good Luck and get busy promoting!