Wanna Make Money?

2006-05-01T15:29:00.000-04:00

Making Money the Cost Effective Way with Affiliate Programs

The business world can be a scary place. With a dog-eat-dog mentality, the every man for himself world of internet business can be particularly hard to get into and to conquer. With technology booming and with the saturation of the dot com market, internet business strategies have never had to work so hard for the success they earn. There is one strategy for success though, that goes against the mainstream philosophy that business should be every man for himself. Affiliate programs afford internet businesses a cost-effective means of making money that utilizes similarities with other high volume companies rather than pitting each company against the other.

To make money with affiliate programs, it is necessary to understand the fundamental of affiliate programs. Affiliate programs seek to create partnerships for advertising between similar companies. When a person sits down to a computer to search for a lawyer, there may be a million results from that search. Affiliate programs set themselves apart from the million other results in two ways.

First, with affiliate programs, a person can click on one page and find a listing of several high quality results. When a person can find a selection of quality results by visiting one page, they save time and effort. Studies show that most people do not wade through all of the returned results for a search, but will visit the top three or four. With affiliate programs, businesses are likely to be top ranked because
their affiliate site is rich in key words and can often afford to be part of a sponsored result, ranking higher and drawing the eye more frequently. Secondly, the quality of affiliate program sites is higher than individual sites because the affiliate site is managed by a third party that can oversee the site and utilize the combined resources of the affiliates to optimize the sites effectiveness.

Making Money with affiliate programs requires choosing the best affiliate program for the needs and individual terms of the company. Companies can browse through many affiliate programs to find the program that suits them individually, and offers the best return. Allying a company with several other high volume companies means the company has increased visibility with all of the other company's' customers or potential clients. This increased visibility lends itself to increased hits on the company's website, and those increased hits increase the opportunities for sales. Affiliate programs provide the structure for a community of like businesses to support one another to thrive on one anothers success. Affiliate programs are unique, and essential in todays saturated market. With affiliate programs, companies can be sure of face time with browsing potential customers, and can grab the attention of future clients. Making money in business is essential to staying in business. Making money with affiliate programs makes sense and is a cost effective way to thrive in the internet business industry.

2006-05-01T15:15:00.000-04:00

How to Make Money at Home Growing Small Landscape Plants on 1/20 Acre or Less

What could be better than making money while doing something you enjoy? If you've got a green thumb and a little extra space, this article explains how easy it is to earn income from your gardening hobby.

You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your newsletter as long as you reprint it as is, including the contact information at the end. Website URLs must be active links. You are welcome to use this article with an affiliate link, http://www.freeplants.com/resellers.htm

Small town, big town, it doesn’t matter, if you have a small area in your backyard that you can use for planting, then you can make money growing small plants at home. Actually you can make pretty good money on 1/40 of one acre. That’s an area about 30 feet by 40 feet.

You will be amazed at how many plants you can fit in an area that small, and at how much money you can make. Even apartment dwellers can do this! If you live in an apartment, just to get a feel for how fun and rewarding a tiny nursery can be, find somebody with a little piece of ground that they will either let you use, let you rent it, or do a joint venture with you.

Is there really a market for small plants? The market is huge, something like 4 billion dollars last year alone, and the demand is tremendous. As a small grower, you have a tremendous advantage over the larger nurseries, their overhead is very high. As a backyard grower, yours will be almost nothing.

You might be asking; "I live in a small town in a rural area, how many plants can I really sell?"

Tens of thousands if you want to. Most people don’t realize it, but large wholesale growers are the largest buyers of small plants in the country. They sell so many plants that they just can not produce them fast enough themselves, so they buy them from wherever they can find them. Just pack them up in a cardboard box and ship them anywhere you want.

I routinely buy large quantities of small plants and have them shipped thousands of miles to my house. Why do I buy plants if I know how to grow them myself? There are a lot of reasons, but one is because I am impatient and don’t like to grow Japanese Maples from seed. I can buy Japanese Maple seedlings for as little as 75 cents and all I have to do is pot them up and watch them grow.

I also buy large quantities of flowering shrubs that I would like to start propagating myself. I buy them for 50 cents, pot them up, and often sell them the next year for $4.97. But in the meantime I take cuttings from them to propagate for next year’s crop. Then I never have to buy that variety again.

Those are the same reasons that many wholesale nurseries are always looking for great deals on small plants. When they find someone like you, growing in their backyard, they are delighted because they know they can buy what they need for less money from a small backyard grower than they can if they buy from a large nursery.

It only stands to reason, your overhead is almost nothing, you don’t have to raise the price of your plants to pay for buildings, hundreds of acres of land, trucks, tractors, and dozens of employees.

How much money do you need to get started? Almost none. All you have to do is root some cuttings, and you’re on your way! There are dozens of easy plant propagation techniques that are so easy to learn that young children can do them, and with great success, I might add.

This propagation information is available to you free of charge at www.freeplants.com

The size of the area you need to get started is really up to you, but an area about the size of a picnic table is a start. I’m serious. I root my cuttings in flats that are about 12” by 15”, and can get between 100 and 150 cuttings per flat. In an area about the size of a picnic table you should be able to root several thousand cuttings at a time.

And guess what? As soon as they are well rooted, they have a value and can be sold immediately! Isn’t that cool? Typically a rooted cutting is worth about 50 cents. Let’s see now, 1500 cuttings at 50 cents each, that’s $750!!! Wow!!! The wheels should be turning now.

But you don't have to sell 50 cent plants, you can grow them until they’re bigger and get more money for them. That’s what I do, I pot them up in small pots and they sell like crazy right from my driveway at $4.97 each.

This spring we sold over $25,000 worth of $4.97 plants right from our driveway. One of the people that bought my Backyard Nursery E-book held a sale this spring and sold $2,800 worth of plants her first weekend. She was ecstatic! Of course we also sold plants for much more than that. I used to grow Japanese Red Maples and we sold those for $45 each, and they sold like hot cakes!

This is one of the most fun and rewarding home businesses you could ever get involved in. My kids have learned work ethics, the value of a dollar, and skills that will last them a lifetime. Any time they needed a little extra money all they had to do was step out the back door and earn the money they needed.

It costs very little to get started, and the rewards can be quite high. It’s certainly not a get rich quick plan (because there is no such thing!), but plenty of people have done very well in the nursery business. All it takes is determination and hard work. You can learn it as you go along. It’s much easier than you think.

About the Author

Mike McGroarty, the author of this article, would like to give you this Ebook: "The Gardener's Secret Handbook". Stop by his http://www.freeplants.com website and get your copy right now. It's his way of saying hello! Article provided by http://gardening-articles.com

2006-05-01T14:48:00.000-04:00

Work At Home Moms: Is E-currency Exchanging the Perfect Home Based Business?

Why is this business right for work at home moms? The fact is that it takes only 20 to 30 min a day to manage your portfolio, which leaves you enough time in the day to care for more important priorities, like your home and family. Also there is no large start up capital necessary; your initial capital can be as low as $25.

If you’re a work at home mom, part-time worker, or a homemaker looking for a way to increase your cash flow then this is an opportunity worth investigating.

Most women that work in internet or home based businesses end up doing some form of direct sales, promotions, or data entry. As promising as these opportunities sound they often leave women hawking makeup or typing thousands of words per day with no profit at all.

Unlike other money making programs that you might have tried e-currency exchanging requires very little of your time and resources. Among the things that you won’t have to deal with are: long hours, annoying customers, sales of any kind, products or mailing lists. You will be able to work from anywhere in the world (with an internet connection), have no set schedule, and be your own boss.

Why is this business right for work at home moms? The fact is that it takes only 20 to 30 min a day to manage your portfolio, which leaves you enough time in the day to care for more important priorities, like your home and family. Also there is no large start up capital necessary; your initial capital can be as low as $25.

This business is not hard to learn and doesn’t have an intimidating risk factor that something like day trading does.

So what is e-currency exchanging all about? Due to global commerce consumers find themselves conducting business with companies and people from different parts of the world. This has resulted in a heavy reliance on third party currency exchange services such as pay pall, e-gold, e-bullion, and plenty of others to complete cross-continental transactions more efficiently.

This influx of e-currencies has created a window of profitable opportunity for those in this business.
With so many different forms of e-currencies available there is now a need to exchange between them. In this marketplace you will be operating as a lender of e-currencies that you have purchased.

You will do this by investing in digots, a term used in this business, which represents a digital value determined by a region of activity within the DXInOne system. When you purchase a digot, it simply means that you are investing in the activity of some region of the world.

The higher the activity in that region is, the higher the digot will increase in value.
With a small investment in the system you will be making .2% - 2% on each exchange that you are involved in. The profit percents are a range because they will depend on how well you’re digot picks perform in each trading session.

The best part about this business is that you can not loose money; since your profit comes from the fluctuation of your digot values the only thing that changes is how much you make. So, on some highly profitable days you will be operating at the full 2% earning huge returns while on slower days your return rate will be less. People with large investments have netted profits over $5,000 per month.

This is just a brief explanation of what this home business is all about and it really does entail more than what has been stated. Since this business is relatively new there is not yet that much information about it readily available.

There are however several e-currency exchange experts out there who offer training on how to be very successful in this home business opportunity.

About the Author

Ken Masterson, senior editor at The Program Guide, is a writer and e-Currency Trader. Learn how to gain financial freedom through the e-Currency Exchange Business at http://www.theprogramguide.com

2006-05-01T14:43:00.000-04:00

So, You Say that You Want to Be Wealthy? What Will YOU DO to Get It

By Robert Paisola

Here is the big question, Do you consider yourself CAPABLE of being one of the truly wealthy?

If you do, tell me, exactly what does the term "wealth" mean to you?

Over the years, I've made it my personal mission to take an in depth look at how people live in their daily lives in comparison to how they have created their long term financial foundation. I have determined that is quite clear which one will create true and long lasting wealth, as well as the "good life".

But when you think of building your financial foundation, what does this mean for YOU, specifically?

I have coached hundreds of people on their decisive journey to move to their own financial pinnacle; to attain the life that they deserve to live. One common theme I've found is one of freedom.

The term "Freedom" means different things to different people. Maybe you choose to be literally free of all debts, and pay for everything in cash forever forward. Or, maybe you want to have the freedom to do what you want to do with your days, now that the issue of money has forever been fixed!

Possibly, you want to be free to make any choice you want, and to lead your life in any direction that you desire, and have the means with which to support your goals, motivations, dreams and desires.

Regardless of what your individual circumstance and vision are when it comes to building wealth, it is truly yours, and by choosing to live the dream that you choose, you will begin to feel the inner burning within your should to create the reality that you so deserve.

There is no person, company or organization that can do it for you. I can't do it for you, but I can keep you on track heading toward your financial destination

Just from listening to my clients and students, I can tell you that what you want, regardless of how you define it, is truly attainable. I also know from experience, that when we are forced to do something that really holds no appeal for us, the majority of us rebel. We either shut down mentally, or resist physically.

Your individual mental attitude is what will make the key difference between those that are successful in creating the reality of their dreams and those who do not.

Remember, No one else should impose their wishes and desires on you, because it will never ever work. You must have your own vision of what you want and only you know what that looks like!

The bottom line is that it is your vision and it is YOUR personalized, individualistic, wonderful, creative vision.

Take time now to develop it, and define your freedom. Look to your own personal horizon, where your wealth is waiting for you, no matter what that looks like!

To your success,

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robert Paisola
CEO Western Capital Financial

Robert Paisola is an international motivational speaker, trainer and author. He is an expert in the field of Personal Real Estate Investor Training. He is a professional speaker who has been featured on CNN, CNNFN, and the Wall Street Journal. He can answer your questions on the "Basics of the Real Estate Investing Business" to detailed issues regarding your specific transactions. Life Experience Robert Paisola is a Professional International Seminar Speaker in the Areas of Real Estate Investing, Tax Lien Investing, Rental Property Management, Real Estate Coach and Mentor Training and Business Management. He has served companies throughout the world.

If you are interested in learning the business from someone like Rob email his office at mailto:robert@trumpworldwide.com or call our offices Nationwide toll Free at 1-877-517-9555 or visit http://www.allexperts.com/displayExpert.asp?Expert=38419 or visit http://www.robertpaisola.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Paisola

2006-05-01T13:34:00.000-04:00

Back for the First Time in a Long Time

I've been away for a long time(very long time) due to school. Haven't had enough time to update the site, but i'm back now and if anyone is interested in having a website quickly made to put online for a blog, simple business site, personal site, etc. e-mail me at quietstorm88@gmail.com. Otherwise I will continue to post articles on making money in various ways and other business related news.

2006-05-01T13:33:00.000-04:00

Announcement!

Soon I will start making simple sites and blogs for as little as $25-50. You will probably have to send a mail order/check due to the fact I haven't set up any way to recieve online transactions using credit cards yet. E-mail me at quietstorm88@gmail.com for more info.

2005-10-08T10:35:00.000-04:00

How to Start a Home-based Service Business for under $200?

by Natalie Aranda

Many people are not satisfied with their 9-5 day jobs. They feel that their talents are not fully utilized. They stick with the jobs for financial reasons other than fulfillment of lifetime dreams. Instead of complaining how dumb your bosses are and how boring the jobs are, it's time to take action to do the things you like and make good money as well. Whether you want to go to the path of self-employed or just to add some extra income, it depends on many factors. We all have one life to live, what life is gonna be like without even trying to pursue our dreams.

Ideas

A right business idea is crucial to the success of your new venture. The most important thing in choosing a business is to follow your heart. The business you are in should be the things you're passinate about. Second, you should have enough knowledge, experience, and talent to compete. Finally, it's to start small and to choose a business that can generate small and steady income without heavy initial investment while having the potential to grow to eventually support your family. Freelance writing, Web design, online marketing, freelance programming, bookkeeping are just a few ideas to consider.

Registration

In United States, registration of a business is required in many states unless you do business in your own name. The registration may cost about $50, and it's free if you register with your state online. Next step is to obtain a Tax Identification Number from IRS if you operate as a business not an individual. Again it's free.

Promotion

For a new business, promotion is where you need to spend money. Distributing business cards is one of the most popular and inexpensive ways to market or advertise your service. Though you can do business card printing yourself using many different business card templates, it's wise to spend a little money to order professional designed business cards. For as little as $20, you can order 500 business cards. Color business cards will cost a little bit more.

A professional Web site is next thing you must have to promote your service so that the prospects can obtain information about your business 365 days a year and 24 hours a day. Affordable Web hosting costs as little as under $50 a year. For another $80, you can have one or two simple Web pages. We still have $50 to spend for the promotion. If it's a local business, spend it on flyers. If the prospects are likely looking for the service on the Internet, spend $50 on Pay-Per_Click (PPC). $50 on PPC will actually bring you a few customers and generate some revenues.

Starting a home-based service business isn't all that harder. It's lot of trial and error. It takes a lot of harder work to truly succeed.

Copyright @2005, 4th Media Corporation

You have permission to publish this article electronically free of charge, as long as the bylines and links in the body of the article and the bylines are included.

About the Author

Natalie Aranda is a freelance writer. She has great experience with using business cards to promote her website that offers Christmas gift ideas and anniversary gift ideas. A color business card works even better.

2005-10-08T10:30:00.000-04:00

Choosing the best location for your small business

by Amber McNaught

When you're starting a new business you'll naturally want to choose the best location possible to make sure your small business has the opportunity to grow into a big business.

Of course, the best location for your small business will depend on the type of business you're in, but here are a few things to think about when you're choosing your location:

1. The best location for your small business could be somewhere close to other businesses

It may sound like commercial suicide to locate your new business close to other businesses which are offering a similar service, but that's not necessarily the case. If you open a convenience store near a large supermarket, for example, you could find yourself picking up trade from people who can't be bothered trailing around the aisles for one loaf of bread: and when the larger store runs out of a particular item you can bet that the first place people will come looking for it will be your store.

In general terms, if your small business is in retail, your best chance of gaining customers could be locating in a busy area with lots of other retailers around. That way you'll benefit from walk-by trade, and as soon as your store opens it will attract the attention of people who normally shop in that area anyway.

Remember: customers are lazy, and they'll only travel to shop with you if you're offering something they just can't get anywhere else. If you're selling the kind of goods that are easily available (and now that internet shopping is available, most things are easily available), you best locate your small business somewhere accessible.

2. The best location for your small business could be your own home

If your small business is offering services rather than products, the best location to start up could be your own home. Running a business from home saves you money on many things: travel, business clothes, equipment, food... In fact, many service-based businesses can be started very cheaply, with just a computer and a phone line.

The disadvantage of a home based business, of course, is that you won't benefit from the pass-by trade mentioned above, so you'll spend much more time marketing yourself and finding clients if you want to be successful.

3. Could the internet be the best location for your small business?

Basing your business online has similar advantages and disadvantages to basing one in your home. Your start-up costs are likely to be low, and if you're using a laptop you can literally work from anywhere in the world, but you will have to work harder on marketing your services in order to find those initial clients.

About the Author

Amber McNaught is a professional copywriter offering an affordable SEO article writing service through her company, Hot Igloo Productions Ltd: http://www.hotigloo.co.uk

Amber is also a co-owner of the free business networking forum, Business Buzz: http://www.businessbuzz.org

2005-10-08T10:27:00.000-04:00

5 Steps To Creating A 6-Figure While You Work At Home

by Nick Bramble

Creating a steady income from home can be a daunting process. Being successful from home can often take more work than your regular 9 to 5. But, if you learn to break things down and follow a simple forumla, your home business can give you all the income and time freedom that you are seeking in a work from home business.

My successful business formula involves 5 steps. I follow these same five steps with every person I come into contact with. Having a system not only makes my days more organized, but also it opens up more time for me to enjoy the financial rewards that the system creates.

Here is my simple formula:

Step 1; Collect Leads:

This is an entire article in itself (which is in the works). For the sake of keeping this article on track, I will touch on this only briefly. There are many ways to get leads. You can buy leads, place ads in papers and on the net, use ad words, submit your site to search engines, mail postcards, etc. There are literally 100's of ways to advertise. The trick is finding a couple of advertising techniques that you like best and that fit your budget and then try them out. Those that bring you the most success can be tweaked further to give you the results you want. Just remember to always test each ad or lead generating technique you use. From my own experience, I like to talk to those that are in my business and find out what they are doing. They have most often been through the trial and error process and can save you some time.

Step 2; Call Leads:

This is the step that most people have reservations about. If you want to be successful in any home business, you must pick up the phone. This does not mean "cold" calling people. I never call anybody that has not asked to hear about my home business. Use your lead generating techniques in step one to create leads that want to hear from you and then contact them. Whether you business costs $5 or $5000 to join, people want to know that there is a real person behind the business that they can consult with questions. Talking to them and establishing a rapport and trust will go a long way to making sure that the prospect joins you in your home business. When still a "rookie" to making calls, it is best to have a script or outline to follow. This is not to say that you read directly from that. Just use it as a guide to keep you on track and in control of the call. Most importantly in regards to calls......LISTEN. Listen and take notes about what the prospect is telling you. Remember, you are trying to get to know this person and establish their trust.

Step 3; Email

It is hard to ignore this powerful tool. When collecting my leads, I always get an email and phone number to use in step 2 and 3 of my system. Just as I do not make cold calls, I do not send emails to those who have not asked for it. Spam complaints will kill your business and your rapport with people. When I get an email, I simply have that email address automatically entered into an autoresponder. My autoresponder then sends messages every few days to keep me fresh in my prospects mind. Autoresponders are a must have for any business. They allow you to stay in contact for long periods of time while doing virtually no work. They also increase the amount of times your prospect is exposed to you and your business. Remember this, on average a prospect must see your message 5 to 12 times before joining you.

Step 4; Direct Mail Information Packet.

With all of the new email laws and email blocking systems, direct mail is making a comeback. As I said in step 3, you want to expose yourself to your prospect as many times as possible. But, if you use one method of exposure....your prospect may begin to ignore you. Diversifying your exposure types will keep them interested. I must state that I do not mail information packets to everybody. Only those that I have talked with and that have expressed interest. Mailing the packets can become expensive if you mail them to everyone. That said, putting the pack together is very easy. I used the ad copy on my website to develop the packet. Then I throw in a business card or flyer and send it on its way. This also makes sure that people actually see the content of your site. Many have seen so many websites that they just browse them. They are more apt to sit down and read printed text than to sit at their computer and read through your website.

Step 5; Direct Mail Postcard.

Postcards, like direct mail, give you another way to expose yourself to your prospects. They are fun to design and can be sent quickly and easily. Because they are less expensive than the direct mail packets, I send a postcard to all of my leads. People love getting postcards. They do have the junk mail stigma and if designed well, they can give a personal touch to your business. I actually send a postcard campaign that sends multiple postcards over a period of 45 - 60 days to my prospects. I use a service that does this automatically and even personalizes each card for me.

Always remember this, it takes on average 5 to 12 exposures to get somebody into your business. My 5-step process actually includes multiple exposures within each step. For example, my emails include phone numbers to live calls and links to movies to watch. One email can get me three or more exposures. The key to any business is to have a formula or process to follow. Knowing what you are going to do each day keeps you focused and allows you to track how your business is doing and what may or may not be working.

That's it! Those 5 simple steps earn me a consistent 6-figure income from home. Your results may differ based on your business, and your compensation plan among other things, but this process will definitely increase your sign up rate.

About the Author

Copyright © Nick Bramble has been marketing home business programs successfully for 8 years. He enjoys spending time helping others learn to work from home and realize their financial dreams. For more information on Nick and his success, please visit: http://www.nickbramble.com

2005-10-08T10:20:00.000-04:00

Been Gone a While

Sorry I've been gone a while. I've been busy with school and other things. I hope you enjoy my new posts and comeback regurlarly for new posts.

2005-08-24T16:48:00.000-04:00

Solving the Million Dollar Mystery: 4 Steps To Create A Turn-Key Business

by Stephanie Frank

You're a smart, hardworking entrepreneur, and you're moving fast. You are highly educated in your field and your business is growing and getting busier each day. But somehow, you find yourself stuck. You're doing more tasks that take you away from your core business, you are working more and earning less. You need help. Wouldn't it be great if there was someone, anyone out there who could help you take away some of the daily tasks so you could focus on the things you really love?

Maybe you've looked, tried to work with or even hired people to help you manage your business. But somehow, every time, things just didn't go right, and there you were, left again with the mounds of paperwork, details and projects to manage. Alone.

"No problem," you tell yourself. "I can do it faster myself anyway."

In that one statement, you just fell into the biggest trap of your entrepreneurial career.

Growing and leading your business is by far the biggest challenge a business owner faces. After all, you are highly specialized in your field - which is not business management. Unfortunately for most business owners, when a new employee or contractor comes into the business, one of two things usually happens.

1. The business owner and new hire spend hours, days, weeks and sometimes months working side by side, with the business owner explaining all of the intricacies of the job. When the employee or contractor gets good at the job, the business owner begins to panic, wondering if the person will stay. When the person leaves the company, the process repeats. Frustration, fear and doubt plague the business owner.

2. The new person is hired and told briefly what is expected of him/her. The big picture is provided and the person is left up to his or her own judgment as to how the job gets done. The person does the job in a different manner than the owner and is reprimanded for doing things a new way. The employee feels disempowered, afraid, and leaves. Frustration, fear and doubt plague the business owner once again.

It doesn't have to be that way.

You can have the freedom, focus and results you want in business. Solving this problem is simple. You probably weren't trained in school as a business manager, so you must first understand that business operations management is a required skill for a success in business. Most people make it too hard, by hoping for a single person to show up on their doorstep, smart, focused, creative and able to take away the tasks that lay before them with hardly a second thought. I'm about to burst your bubble, because that person is probably already in business for themselves. It's up to you to create the environment where other people can be empowered to assist you. Here are four simple steps to get you started on the road to turn-key success.

1. Create total focus.

Get out a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. Title the page Total Focus. On the left side, write down all of the tasks you do in a week, from answering the phone to shipping to providing service and creating new products. On the right side, write down the three things you love doing. Compare the lists.

2. Group tasks for easy delegation.

Next to each task, label it with one of the three major business areas:

- Administrative (office paperwork)
- Sales/Marketing (attracting customers or making the sale)
- Production (producing/shipping and delivery of products or services)

3. Start Documenting.

For each task, write down the steps to completion. You might start with “Here's How We _____________” to prompt you. Use whatever method is simplest for you - a screenshot, written or typed steps, diagrams - just get it down on paper and put it in a binder called Procedure Manual.

4. Get Help.

Begin looking for people to work on tasks that are not in your "love to do" column. Start small. The right person works only a few hours per week on the things that take you days.

There is no magic person who can do all business tasks (except you, of course!). With your Procedure Manual in hand, you can delegate properly, relax and enjoy building your business, the simple way.

About the Author

Stephanie Frank is an internationally known author and speaker. Take the free quiz "Do You Have What It Takes To Be The Next Accidental Millionaire?" and receive $1,574 of business building tools and resources at http://www.AccidentalMillionaire.com

2005-08-15T16:57:00.000-04:00

Affiliate Marketing - The 10 Keys To Success

Copyright 2005 Michael Gates

Where can an average person start a home business without investing any money? The wonderful world of affiliate marketing.

For those looking to enter the world of affiliate marketing, there are some key concepts that can help you succeed. These 10 tips will help you maximize potential profit in the affiliate marketing
industry.

1. Focus on a specific area of interest. It can be tempting to sign up for a variety of programs on different topics, or areas of interest, to appeal to a large audience. You need to understand, there are already hundreds of thousands of online shopping malls, which is essentially what you'll have. It will be almost impossible for you to compete with well established sites offering a variety of products. You need to focus on a particular topic, or niche.

2. Find the best affiliate programs for your niche. This seems to be a "no brainer", but there are some things you need consider when choosing the most profitable affiliate program. Does the merchant offer products that people will buy? Is the commission you will be paid high enough to pay for some advertising and still be profitable? Usually, products that are difficult to sell, or are higher priced, offer a higher commission. And products that are easy to sell, and have a lower price, offer lower percentage cuts. Try to find the best commission rate for products that are priced at mid range, and products that will be easy to sell.

3. Build a content-filled web site focused on your niche. The primary focus of your web site is to sell the affiliate products you have chosen. But, if your site does not attract visitors, sales conversion will be virtually impossible. Create a site that focuses on the area of interest you have chosen, and populate it with rich, informative content that people would love to read. Good content will establish you as an expert in the niche. Plus, search engines love content which will give you a better position in the search engine listings.

4. Market your web site. You have to let the online community know about your site. Just because you now have a web site, doesn't mean people will come. Submit online press releases related to your niche, submit your site to search engines. Exchange links with well-visited sites related to your niche, promote your site in online communities, and start a blog (web log). You have to spread the word that your site exists, and that it contains information that will fill the need of your target audience.

5. Market your affiliate products. After you have a consistent number of visitors, it’s time to promote the affiliate products you’re selling. This is usually done with a sales page that is part of your web site. A sales page is basically an article listing the benefits of your product, and what it will do for your niche audience. Benefits can be "it can improve the quality of your life", or "learn the secrets the experts don’t want you to know". These sales page benefits may seem exaggerated, but they work.

6. Build an email list. How many web sites have you visited? Have you visited a site, found something of interest, gotten interrupted, left the site and never returned? Of course you have. Don't let this happen to your visitors. Ask your visitors for a first name and an email address when they visit your site. Offer them something in return for that information. If they have some interest in your offering, but leave the site for whatever reason, you can email them later, reminding them to come back to your site.

7. Don't hide behind a web site. I am amazed at how many web sites I see with no name or contact information. Most people prefer to do business with someone with a real name, someone they can contact, someone they can get to know. Provide your real name, and an email address on your website so potential customers can contact you with questions, and know there is a real person behind that website.

8. Build a network. Become friends with other affiliate marketers. Share information about the best deals, the most effective strategies, and perhaps, even some lists of potential buyers. Remember, the world is all about a network of contacts, and you never know when one of your contacts will help you out.

9. Do not limit yourself to one affiliate program. Join as many as you can without losing the focus of what you want to sell. Greater variety is good, as long as your products are niche related. The more niche products you offer, the greater the chances that one will be bought.

10. Be patient and don't quit. Don't expect great results overnight. It takes time to build traffic to your site, to build your email list, and to build relationships. If you quit, you certainly won't be successful. But if you're patient and stick with it, affiliate marketing can be very profitable and rewarding.

About the Author

Mike Gates is a 16 year corporate America castoff, showing people how to make a living online.
Learn a sure-fire way of retiring by working affiliate programs, and grab over 3 hours of exclusive audio from a super affiliate.
http://www.affiliatepayday.com

2005-08-15T16:54:00.000-04:00

Gone on Vacation

Sorry I haven't posted any new content for a while. I was gone on vacation. Then, when I got back I forgot my username and password! Sad, yes I know, but after a week I finally figured it out. So, now I can post new content for you to read and digest.

2005-07-14T00:37:00.000-04:00

Autoresponders - Simple Tweaks to Boost Returns

by Hamish Hayward

Autoresponders are, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most powerful and important tools available to anyone marketing on the internet today. They allow you to automatically send out a sequential series of email messages to prospects who have signed up to receive your information and who you therefore know are interested in what you’re offering.

They make it easy to build a relationship and establish interest and trust with your prospective customer or recruit and they minimise the amount time you need to devote to busy work. By the time your prospect has got through your series of messages, if they feel the need to make further contact with you prior to making a decision, you are at least assured that they are sufficiently interested to merit your manual input and the time taken to communicate.

It depends very much on the type of product, service or opportunity that you’re marketing but it is generally accepted that somewhere between 5 and 9 “contacts”, or messages, are required before a customer is comfortable enough to make a decision. Seven is often quoted as the ideal number but it does vary and this should not be taken as gospel.

I am constantly surprised by the number of marketers, some of them very experienced, who load up their autoresponders with 7 messages, capture the email addresses of interested parties, send them their message series and leave it at that. If that’s what you’re doing then there are a couple of very simple tweaks you can make to improve your return on the time and money you spend to collect those valuable email addresses.

The first is simplicity itself and requires very little effort on your part – no need to even change your message series. Let’s assume that your message series consists of the standard 7 and that this suits the type of product your promoting perfectly well (it probably does). You send out these messages spaced one day apart over the course of a week, messages 1 to 5 are probably largely informative and messages 6 and 7 may well contain a “call to action”, possibly with a sense of urgency being introduced – although you may have introduced a call to action earlier in the series depending upon the product type.

Your prospects go through this series of messages and a percentage of them will take your advice and sign up for whatever your promoting. The majority of them won’t – that’s just statistics I’m afraid.

However, you can increase your sign up rate by something as simple as introducing an eighth and ninth message. Send message 8 a week after they receive the last in the main series of messages and send message 9 about 3 weeks after message 8. Just give them a gentle reminder about your offer and see if they’re still interested. Keep the wording generic and don’t repeat a hard sell – your original message series should have done all the selling – this is just a reminder.

This is a very simple technique and if it seems obvious to you – congratulations, you clearly know your stuff. Nevertheless, you’d be amazed at how many marketers omit this easy memory jogger. Speaking from personal experience, I get about 20% of my signups this way, either after message 8 or 9. Some prospects were waiting for pay day, some were going to do it after they came back from holiday, some just plain forgot. Whatever reason they may have had for not signing up at the first or second call to action, this technique boost my return by 20%.

The second simple tweak takes advantage of the ability of most modern autoresponders to send out a “broadcast” to those prospects on your mailing list. This can be considered as a supplementary message and you can use it to either update your prospects on your original offer or introduce them to a new, but related product or opportunity.

This needs to be used with a little more care. I send out an update at least once every 6 months and preferably once every 3 months (it depends upon the nature of the individual list). I make sure these broadcasts only go to people who have been on the list for at least 3 months. My earlier emails will have already highlighted the fact that they would be provided with important updates in future.

There are plenty reasons for you to communicate. If you are promoting a product you can advise of any feature upgrades or special price promotions. If you are promoting an opportunity then you can update them on any new features which might make them think again. One technique which works very well with opportunity seekers is to update them once about any new benefits they should know of and then, if they still don’t sign up, follow up 3 months later with details of a slightly different opportunity.

Both of these techniques work and will produce a welcome boost to your signup rate. Certainly you can expect to get a few unsubscribes, but if they’re genuinely not interested that’s no great loss. There’s no point in making the effort of building your list and then not communicating with them – both you and your prospects stand to gain from a little extra communication.

About the Author

Discover the key criteria you need to evaluate in order to ensure success in your home business. Now available as a free downloadable e-book.
http://www.perfectsystem.co.uk

2005-07-14T00:31:00.000-04:00

Experience the Benefits of an Internet Business

Copyright © 2005 Benjamin Scott

The Internet industry is booming and offers opportunities galore for internet businesses. Internet businesses are not just for computer whizzes anymore, not just for people with multiple college degrees or a rich background in business. Internet businesses are a viable economic solution to anyone owning a computer and willing to research their options. There are many benefits to owning an Internet business, and the list below contains only the very few to scratch the surface.

The first benefit to owning this sort of business is the freedom you have to enjoy the rest of your life. You will be able to call the shots and name your own hours because you are the boss. You are the one in charge, and you make the rules. You can decide what hours are most productive for you, and which hours to reserve for your family or your friends. This incentive is particularly attractive to people with young families. Why should you miss out on baseball games, piano recitals, and first steps to make someone else money and be little appreciated for it? Wouldn't you rather put in a hard day's work during the hours you choose and then be able to show up for the obligations you consider more important?

The next benefit of the industry is unlimited financial opportunity. Owning an Internet business is working in a business with no salary cap. In this industry, you choose how much you work, how far your market, what your bottom line dollar amount will be. You can decide how much money you need to live comfortably, and you can evaluate how hard you should work to achieve that amount. This success can be yours and will be once you enter the industry and start your own business.

The third benefit of the industry is personal growth and pride. You are creating something when you start your own business. You are developing a business you can leave behind you, that you know will touch lives and deliver necessary services and products. You can take pride at the end of the day, knowing you met your own goals and achieved your own successes. This feeling comes with the independence of choices and freedoms of time and constraint. These benefits do not take years to achieve. YOU do not have to wait until retirement to feel you have earned time with your friends and family. You can experience these qualities of life right now when you own your own Internet business. This opportunity is open to you, and information abounds to get you started down the road to success. You can make your own dreams come true, and provide for your family as you never have before. Whether this becomes a full time career or a part time hobby, your business will change your life and your outlook.

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

Benjamin Scott operates a successful internet business working from his home personal computer. Ben will take you by the hand and show you how to duplicate his success using the internet as a roadmap to financial freedom. Subscribe to his free e-business and marketing tips newsletter at http://www.eazyhomebusiness.com/

2005-07-14T00:20:00.000-04:00

Website Conversion Rate: More Keywords Equals More Sales

by Joe Duchesne

Your website conversion rate should concern you. This simply refers to how many visitors to your website it takes before you make a sale. It is called conversion because you are 'converting' a casual visitor into a buyer. Website conversion should concern you because when you can increase the rate at which your website visitors convert into buyers, you make more money without increase your costs. Let me explain.

If you get one sale for every one hundred visitors to your sales page on your website, you effectively have a conversion rate of one percent. It may be possible for you to make simple changes to your website that can result in an increased number of sales conversions.

So if you can get two people to convert to a sale per hundred instead of only one, you've effectively doubled your sales without increasing your costs, your traffic or your effort. It's for this reason that your website conversion rate should be something you know and are working to improve.

So how can I improve my conversion rate?

Improve your conversions by making changes to the headline of your website. The very first text that appears on a web page will most often determine if someone keeps reading or clicks away. The headline you use should speak to the visitor and make them want to keep reading to find out what you have to say.

Avoid being cute or witty just to get a laugh. Your objective is to get them to read more. Do this well and your job is more than half done. Do it poorly though, and nothing else will help much.

Write with the 'skimmer' in mind

Studies of people using the internet have found that the vast majority of surfers skim through a document before they decide to read it. This is a big reason why the headline is important. You should also write your sales page with sub headings that are focused on benefits your target visitor will get by using your product or service.

As your visitor skims your sales page, they will stop to read what grabs their attention. If enough of the content interests them, then and only then will they go back to the top of your web page and start reading from the beginning. People are in a hurry. They want to know what's in it for them right away. Make sure your page answers that question clearly and quickly.

Above all, make sure you test everything you do. Don't simply rely on gut feeling. Too many marketers make that mistake and it end up costing them a lot of money and lost sales.

About the Author

Joe Duchesne is the co-founder of Yowling. They offer a web site builder that allows anyone to create their own website in no time at all with little computer skills. Reprint this article freely as long as you keep the links in this resource box live and clickable.

2005-07-11T04:35:00.000-04:00

Ebay And Dropshipping - A Perfect Fit!

By Joe Clare

Ebay and Dropshipping go together like a hand in a glove. As you read this article, right now, thousands of eBayers are running there own auction business. Some of them make little money, and some of them make real huge profits. Why? It is mostly due to the products they choose to sell, the Dropshippers they use and how they promote their eBay Business.

If you are new to Internet Marketing, promotion of your new eBay Business is key. Also, staying up to date with all the new and better ways to advertise and promote your business is cruical. Things on the Internet can change almost over night and to keep your eBay Business making money you must keep up with those changes. But don't be discouraged, the ease of using dropshippers will allow you more time to concentrate on improving your sales skills and learning how to bring more customers to your eBay auctions.

The great thing about dropshipping, as outline in my book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" is that it will allow you to operate a Home Based Business as an Internet Marketer with out ever worrying about storage of inventory, packaging of inventory, or even shipping of that inventory. How? The dropship supplier will look after all of that for you. And even greater still is the fact that your auction business will cost you very little to get started. The fact is, most dropshippers charge you nothing to become a member to sell their products. While others may charge just a nominal administration fee. So, with such a low financial risk the only thing you have to lose is a bit of your time.

How does one put together eBay and Dropshipping? It's really very simple. First, browse eBay to see what kind of product(s) you would like to sell. Then sign up as a member with eBay. Once you have decided on a product(s), locate a dropshipper for that product(s). Sign up with that dropshipper and then place an auction on eBay for the item.. Once your auction is over and you have a buyer for the product email your dropshipper the required information. The dropshipper will ship the product directly to your customer, and charge your account the wholesale price for that product. The difference between the wholesale price and your retail price is pure profit!.

To run a successful eBay Business you will need to sell what the public wants to buy. Always research any product before you decide to sell it. Make sure it is popular and you can get it at a great price.

Happy Selling!
Joe Clare

About the Author:

Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to succeed on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com

Source: www.isnare.com

2005-07-11T01:26:00.000-04:00

How to start a Home Business

by Carolyn B Smith

Let me first tell you why I started my home business. Retiring after 30 years of service with the post office, my income was reduced by 50%. I needed to supplement my income. I knew that I did not want to go back to a forty hour per week job in order to do this, so I decided to start a home based business.

Just like me, I am sure that your first obstacle is what am I going to do and how can I do it? Do I want an online store or residual income? After about two weeks of searching for a suitable business, I discovered that with the right resources, one can do both. After initial setup, you will be able to work 15 to 20 hours per week. The whole key to whether the business sinks or swims is traffic. If you don’t get the people to the site, there is no sell. The same thing does not work all the time; therefore, you must test and retest. To generate traffic you must work, build e-mail list, write articles to name a few but do something each day.

There are many home business companies on the internet who, will be there with you to support you on your path to making thousands of dollars. In choosing your business, you will see many which require a small investment; however don’t expect to make millions without making an investment. There are some freebies but not a lot. You must research each opportunity and choose what is best suitable for you. Whatever your choice, be sure that you believe in it. You must be committed in order for your business to flourish. In most cases you already have the tools that are necessary to start a home business. Items such as a computer and being linked to an internet provider are some examples. You can find warehouses with huge inventories that are ready to sell. You do the advertising and they will ship. They keep the inventory and deposit your profits. You advertise and spend profit! Actually they do everything, they keep up with the inventory, even when someone places an order the order goes to the warehouse, and they fill the order, ship, and send you the profit. You can also be an affiliate of these companies. You sell the company and collect a percentage of the profit from the sell of the company. The best part about the business is that you are apart of a team that is helping others.

My favorite support team is Plug-in-Profit. They have a support team that is always available who will keep you focused and encouraged. During the time of the initial set up of your business, they provide a detailed outline for your business. They even tell you what sites you can go to for advertising, email, or trafficking assistance. Many of these are free or have a minimum free. You will love stating a business with the right tools.

About the Author

Carolyn Bell Smith retired as a Lead Sales Clerk from the Postal Service. In addition to her home businesses, she enjoys gardening, sewing, and most of all helping people. She is married with two adult children.

2005-07-09T15:43:00.000-04:00

Franchises: How To Find The Best Franchise Opportunity For You

By Nick Carter

If you are looking for a franchise opportunity, the choice is mind boggling. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of different types of franchise available for you to invest in, with the same variety in cost. Each have their own benefits and usually the more you pay the more potential to earn. You obviously want to select a profitable business venture so it is important that you thoroughly research.

The major benefit of starting a franchised business is that the business model has already been proven. As a result, only 5% of franchises fail in a year compared to the 30% to 35% of non-franchise small businesses. This means that franchises are the most successful way to set up your own business.

Selecting the franchise that’s right for you.

Types of business franchises.

Have you ever wanted to take control of your life, run your own business from home and spend more time with your family? If you have you’ve probably already searched on the Internet using keywords like ‘Home Business Opportunity’ or ‘Work From Home’, and you’ve probably also failed miserably only finding scam opportunities and sites that want to take your money for nothing in return.

There are virtually no free opportunities on the Internet anymore. You just can’t get something for nothing. You can, though, buy the franchise for an established company and run it how you want to.

Some franchises, like Press-A-Print will offer you full training so that you can truly hit the ground running. Press-A-Print are a printing company and you get full training helping you become fully skilled at printing any image onto any product. Hands on sessions mean you will learn all the tricks of the trade, and the easy to use equipment is, of course, provided. This lucrative opportunity is available for around $20,000.

There are many different types of franchise businesses available including computer service businesses and even car repairs. There are a few examples at the end of this article.

Costs of buying a franchise.

There are other costs associated with buying and running a franchise of your own. There are usually less costs associated with beginning a home business; there are no building costs, no utility costs and no purchase costs but an online home based business isn’t for everyone and there are franchises to suit all your needs and requirements, whatever those needs may be.

There are always costs associated with setting up your own business, and owning a franchise is no different. The big difference, of course, is that you are buying a business that already has a proven brand and often popular well known name.

You will have to pay the initial franchise costs as well as the purchase of land or buildings or a security deposit on rented buildings. Often your dream location will need a little work to make it your perfect dream and this will all cost money. If your new franchise business is a produce selling business you may need the initial outlay to purchase goods or raw materials to create the goods. Shipping, sales tax, insurance, labour cost and solicitors and accountants fees may all play a part too and should be budgeted for but don’t let this put you off buying a franchise. They can be extremely profitable in the right hands. These costs can combine to total anything from under $50,000 right up to $1,000,000

Examples of franchises available.

V2K has a product that really sets itself apart from the rest of the competition. They specialise in creating window fashions, and their selling point is the virtual shop window. They create a computerized graphic representation of the window so that potential customers can see for themselves exactly what it would look like. Previously one of the main reasons that potential customers wouldn’t become paying customers was because they couldn’t ‘visualize’ the end result.

The V2K program means there is no need to purchase premises, and should you wish to do so, a simple storefront would do. No need to purchase any inventory thus saving you a little more money. No need to purchase a special company vehicle. Initial training is included in the start up fee along with ongoing support. The average total investment for this franchise is approximately $50,000.

Looking on the Internet for franchise opportunities you will see plenty of success stories pertaining to ‘The Little Gym’ franchise. As a stand-alone business, The Little Gym has been in operation since 1976 so you really are buying a proven business. The Little Gym helps children develop motor skills and builds confidence as well as burning energy and keeping fit and healthy.

The average outlay needed to own and run The Little Gym as a franchise is approximately $150,000 but you are not only buying into a proven name you are also helping make a difference to children in your area. A small price to pay.

The key to making a success in a franchised business is to choose a franchise that matches your interest. Is it food, automobiles, fitness perhaps? These days there’s a franchise for just about everything. Then, narrow down your options , taking into account the capital you can invest, the track record of the brand and the success stories of other franchisees. Due diligence is the key – thorough research at this stage, is the solid foundation for a successful business.

©2005 Nick Carter

About the Author:

Nick Carter is Webmaster of http://www.best-franchise-resources.com . As the name suggests, the website is aimed at being a comprehensive resource for anyone considering purchasing a business franchise.

Source: www.isnare.com

2005-07-08T15:07:00.000-04:00

From Ebay Zero to Power Selling Hero: Don't Be That Random Ebay Guy

By Isaiah Hull

If I could convey only one concept to someone who was about to start selling on Ebay, it would be this: no one has ever purchased anything on Ebay with this in mind--"I think I'll buy something on Ebay from some random guy and pay more than I would at the store down the street."

No one has ever said that. Not once. That is why Ebay sellers who appear to be "that random guy" always fail miserably. It's not enough to simply be professional and responsible. You have to make an active effort to appear professional and responsible.

To begin with, you must actually have a good deal. There are dozens of liquidators and wholesale outlets. If you do your research, you should have no problem finding good prices on anything you want to sell. I list a number of the best ones in my book.

Once you have something good to sell and a good source to buy it from, you have to decide how you are going to present it.

At this point, you are giving your customers a good deal --which is important--but if you don't present it as a good deal, they will have no way of knowing.

One way you can do this is by setting yourself apart from the pack with a unique selling proposition: tell potential customers exactly why they should shop at your store over other Ebay sellers' stores.

For instance, if you know that the sellers in your category who undersell you can only do it because they are selling damaged or refurbished products, then tell that to your customers. Let them know that your products may cost a few more dollars. . .but if they buy it somewhere else for less on Ebay, it is probably broken.

You will also want to add extra services and guarantees to your product that no one else offers. For example, you could give free support or free shipping. Or you could guarantee to ship everything within 24 business hours of purchase. Or you could bundle your product with other products. Whatever you do, your goal should be to gain a competitive edge over big sellers by adding an unquantifiable amount of value to your item.

. . .but even this is not enough to make you appear professional and responsible.

You must frame your products in a template that looks professionally-designed. You will need to either learn HTML or purchase a template from Ebay or elsewhere. In the end, you need to ask yourself this: "if I stumbled over this auction, would I think it was professional--or would I immediately move on?"

It is also a good idea to ask another person what they would do, since it is often hard to judge your own work.

In addition to this, you will want to operate like a real business would. You should email your customers with shipping confirmation numbers. You should be polite to customers and use a systematic process to conduct all transactions and customer interactions.

Everything I mentioned in this lesson is relatively simple. Most of it can be accomplished in a matter of hours; however, the vast majority of Ebay sellers neglect to do it. If you put everything in this lesson into practice, you will immediately put yourself light-years ahead of all stores that look like "that random Ebay guy."

http://www.workathomerightnow.net/ebay.html - Written by Isaiah Hull, author of "How to Profit on Ebay In Seven Days Without Spending A Single Penny." For a limited time only you can get a pre-publication copy of his book for ONE-FOURTH the post-publication price!

2005-07-08T14:49:00.000-04:00

From Ebay Zero to Power Selling Hero: The Devil Is In The Details

by By Isaiah Hull

If you've ever heard the expression "the devil is in the details," you can probably already guess how it relates to today's lesson. The bulk of the work you do as an Ebay seller will be easy and repetitive, but it is the minor details that will make or break your business. In today's lesson, I am going to talk about the single most important "detail" - and why you absolutely must pay attention to it if you want to be successful selling on Ebay.

At some point in your career as an Ebay seller, you probably stumbled over two types of sellers that completely bewildered you: the first type was selling items for absolutely stupid prices--so low that they couldn't possibly be making a profit; in contrast, the second type was selling items for unbelievably high prices. . .and somehow getting bids.

The second type of seller knows that the devil is the details--the details being your auction title and description.

Knowing this seemingly insignificant piece of information and putting it into practice makes all the difference in the world. It can literally mean the difference between 25 and 250 auction views.

The amount of traffic you receive on Ebay is dependent on the keyphrases and keywords you use to form your title and the keywords and keyphrases you pepper throughout your description.

While there are a number of ways to navigate Ebay, almost every visitor uses either "titles" or "titles and descriptions" to search for auctions. If they search for "green ipod mini" and your title or description includes "green ipod mini," your search result will be displayed.

When most sellers create auctions, they concentrate on describing the item or converting visitors with powerful sales copy; however, what they don't do-- almost without exception--is add traffic-pulling keywords to their titles and pepper keywords throughout their descriptions.

In fact, some sellers neglect this to such a great extent that they misspell important keywords in their titles and description. This is the first type of seller we talked about. As a result, they attract no buyers-- with the possible exception of people who scour misspelled auctions to purchase underbid items that are unintentionally"hidden."

. . .so don't fool around when you create your auction title and description! You now know better.

This is the single most important determinant of the amount and quality of traffic you receive as a seller on Ebay. Use it, and you will immediately attract more interested buyers; ignore it, and you voluntarily give interested buyers to the seller who is already selling the same products as you for twice the price.

http://www.workathomerightnow.net/ebay.html - Written by Isaiah Hull, author of "How to Profit on Ebay In Seven Days Without Spending A Single Penny." For a limited time only you can get a pre-publication copy of his book for ONE-FOURTH the post-publication price!

2005-07-05T22:09:00.000-04:00

Pay Per Click Advertising Works If You Do It Right

by Jeff Schuman

The fastest way to get your product or service out to the
marketplace is with a pay per click advertising campaign. In a
matter of minutes you can be on page one of some of the most
popular keywords relating to the theme of your website.

A pay per click advertising campaign is easy to start. You will
open an account and deposit some money as a starting balance
with the search engine company that you are advertising with. To
start you enter your site's URL, title and description and bid
on relevant keywords. A site selling jewlery would bid on
keywords such as, "jewelry," "gold jewelry," "silver jewlery"
etc.

When someone searches for "jewlery" the details of your site
appear, in the form of a search result with the URL, title and
description you entered. If they then click on your listing,
your account is debited the amount you have bid on that keyword.

What makes this so effective is that someone who has searched
for your product is already qualified when they come to your
site, which is selling the product or service they are looking
for.

It is important that your keywords are relevant and link to the
page that contains information relating to that keyword.

Also be sure and only bid on keywords for the minimum bid amount
when you are first starting. Generally you can bid as low as .05
cents on lesser searched keywords. This strategy makes it more
affordable for you as you learn how to use pay per click
advertising more profitably. It will take you more keywords to
get the traffic you want, but it will cost you less.

An excellent source for information on pay per click advertising
is payperclicksearchengines.com. You can find out everything
from how to set up your own campaign to the top 10 pay per click
search engines to advertise with. You will find ideas and
articles on pay per click search engine advertising or pay per
click internet advertising as it is also called. Here's that
website: http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com

The key to pay per click advertising lies in choosing keywords
that people are searching for, but spending the least amount of
money doing it. This will take you some time to develop your own
list of keywords, but once you have done that you are off and
running.

Assuming you have a product or service that people will buy
there is no end to the amount of money you can make. You are
only limited by the amount of websites you want to build and the
time you want to spend managing your pay per click advertising
campaign.

The bottom line is this. Pay Per Click programs allow you to
compete with the big boys in your niche. A targeted advertising
campaigin is a very fast way to get on top of the search engines
without spending hours and hours optimizing your own website
with the search engines.

If you have a small amount of money to get started then there is
no reason not to use the pay per click strategy. As your website
becomes more profitable you can reinvest some of your profits
back into more advertising and more expensive keywords.

This is exciting. You are off and running with your own pay per
click advertising program and making sales that your competition
isn't because you have mastered this targeted advertising medium.

About the Author:

Team-Schuman.com contains the best of everything you need to
make money online. Their pay per click advertising website contains
links to the Top 10 webites to help you start your own pay per
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http://www.team-schuman.com/pay-per-click-advertising.html

2005-07-05T20:42:00.000-04:00

Optimizing Adsense For Better Performance and More Money!

by By Martin Lemieux

So you want to make money with Google Adsense? I don't blame you, who doesn't want residual income! This article will show you how to better optimize Google Adsense to make more money from your web site(s).

Before we get into it, learn more about Google Adsense here: http://www.google.com/services/adsense_tour/

First and foremost is: Positioning

Where you position your Adsense link boxes and banner ads is extremely important. Trying to make money from the bottom of your pages within your website just won't cut it. You need to add your Adsense links right in the heart of your template or right in the heart of your content. I would personally suggest both actually.

Adding Adsense in the heart of your template:

Link Units:

Since the introduction of Google Adsense "link units", we can now add what looks like a "menu system" to compliment our menu system within our website. This is HUGE. Have you ever just clicked on a website and kept clicking on the menu links? I know we all have. By adding a "Google link units" to your menu, you will get more clicks than you thought possible. Try adding the link units near the top for better performance and try creating your link units to match the color of your menu system in place. Once in a while I find myself clicking on a menu link unit without even realizing it which in turn gives more money to the website owner.

Leaderboards & Skyscrapers:

These may very well be your "bread & butter". I only say this because of the sheer size of these ads units. The best place to add these ad units is obvious; Straight across the very top of your website (leaderboards), and straight down the side of your template (skyscrapers). Anywhere else may not look proper within your template and may look unprofessional.

Square & Rectangle Ad Units:

These are great to compliment the mass amount of content within your website and also within your recommended resources. You want to compliment your content, you don't want Adsense to BE your content because this will look poor on your part. Adsense is very popular with webmasters; who doesn't want to make some extra money. However, don't forget that many of your visitors are also used to seeing Adsense within a website, and need a good reason to click on them.

Square and rectangular units are great to use within articles posted on your website or within your link resources. Try adding your Adsense boxes above your resource links within a page to give your Adsense account that added extra exposure.

Just remember that Google allows up to 3 ad units per page. Using these 3 strategies will help to better optimize Adsense for positioning! Let's now go onto targeting...

Optimizing Adsense: Taking out non-related ads!

Do you ever wonder how ads like "business card specials" ever get displayed on to your website when your company content is all about baby clothing? Since the introduction of "Adwords Site Targeting", we now have to keep an eye on the ads being displayed on our website(s). Companies may now specifically target your website for more exposure. There is no restriction whether the website is content related or not, just more marketing exposure for the advertiser.

Filtering Adsense Advertisers:

Within your Adsense manager, you have the option of using the "Competition Filter" which allows us to remove certain websites from the ads being displayed regularly. This is going to be an on-going optimization task in the future. Without filtering the ads being displayed within your website, you might find yourself with ads unrelated to your industry and possibly some ads that have a negative effect within your site.

If you don't remove all the unwanted ads being displayed on your website, you might end up hurting your Adsense performance online. The more targeted you can get your Google Adsense ads to display on each page, the better your chances at being able to make more money. Try to take a moment every week to study the ads being displayed on your website.

Open up a note pad, or word document and record all the websites you don't want to be displayed anymore. Add these sites to your "filter list" within your Adsense account.

Remember to add the website (within your filter list) like so: smartads.info - without the www. Adding anything after or before the url will only prevent the company from displaying one of their many ads like so (www.site.com/ads/1.html). This way you stop anything from the entire website from showing up within your Adsense campaign online. The more you optimize your Adsense filter, the better your performance will pick up and the less non-related ads will be displayed on your website.

One constant that holds true with Adsense:

The more pages you have with your Adsense campaign being displayed, the more you WILL make. People who have online networks immediately can profit from Google Adwords because they have the power to add their Adsense boxes & banners onto multiple websites, possibly 1000's of pages.

Should you add Adsense to your website?

If you own a small company that has a brochure type website that gets maybe 50-100 visitors a day, I recommend NOT adding Adsense to your site. It will never make enough money with that kind of traffic. Remember: Your Adsense campaign needs to make over $100 to get paid out.

If your company receives around 500-1000+ visitors a day, you can now start considering to make money through Google. Adsense is all about numbers. Play the numbers to make more money. In fact, try making goals for yourself to make X amount of dollars through your Adsense account by a certain time. Doing this will only increase your business and make your company more powerful online by increasing the amount of traffic it receives.

For multiple websites, channels are important:

Google allows you to track the performance of multiple websites all in one account which ultimately gives you the ability to track how many visitors you're getting for each website. It also allows you to work harder on those sites that aren't up to par.

I consistently look at each individual website channel to work harder at promoting the ones that aren't performing well. By doing this, we increase the amount of promotion going into the websites that under perform, and in turn eventually increase the business for those websites as well. The more you promote your website, the more the exposure you will ultimately deliver for your Adsense campaign and your company.

Google Search with Adsense:

To top all that off, you can add Google search within your site to give visitors a search function for your content and to allow people to also click on your Adsense program. Please note that for Google search to work, your website and all of its content pages must already be indexed by Google. Adding the Google search bar to your site right away won't help your visitors at all.

For more Google Adsense optimization tips, go here: https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/static.py?page=tips.html

Don't forget to read the Google Adsense Policies & Procedures: https://www.google.com/adsense/policies

I hope this article helps you to make more money!

About The Author:

Martin Lemieux is the president of Smartads. We help small-large companies to grow their business online and offline.

International: http://www.smartads.info

Web Designers Directory: http://www.3dimentionaldesign.com

Copyright © 2005 Smartads Advertising Network - Reprints Accepted

2005-07-04T17:46:00.000-04:00

International Gambling 101- What You Absolutely Need to Know

by Mansi gupta

All of us are familiar with what does gambling stand for. But the fact is that gambling is not just of one kind. There are several types of gambling. In other words, there are various ways to steer and plunge yourself into disaster.
Gambling ranges from card games, lotteries, incompetent video poker, slots to betting on games, blackjack and skilful poker. The odds of winning in slots, which is a matter of sheer luck, are more than any other table game, which requires little skill. An in experienced person who wants to try his hand at gambling should read the game first. Like if it is slots, gather the requisite information about them first. Talk to someone who has ample of adequate knowledge about the winning strategy and loopholes of the game. This facility is also available online. If it is the game of Black jack that you want to hit at, observe the game prior to making any move. Don’t hesitate in talking to the dealer there for perhaps he can tell you the best. Initially you should try and imitate the dealer for he will not make a deliberate wrong move.

Remember nothing is learnt instantly, it takes time to win the race.
If taken in a positive sporty spirit, gambling can be a good change to refresh oneself. Nowadays many casinos, resorts, tourist destinations have various set ups for gambling lovers, at times with special provision of demonstration for the new comers.

However the truth is that gambling addiction like every other addiction is detrimental. Surveys on gambling addicts reveal that addicts are of different types. Those who madly gamble on skilful games are termed as Action Gamblers. While the ones who go in for the destiny driven slots etc. are the Escape problem gamblers. There are also those who hide from the rest and gamble online.
The gamblers not just gamble with their money but with their lives. The hunger to win more or to recover that which is lost so far, drives one crazy and out of his senses. Gamblers go out of their ways to gamble and become desperate just to have a single win.

For this they are ready to compromise on their friends, family and health. The situation worsens more when they stoop to illicit means (theft, hold ups etc.) in order to obtain money to gamble. They even get addicted to drugs in the illusion of getting satisfaction and as a means to overcome (forget) their losses.
Gambling has drastic socio-economic effects. That is why the common consensus is that gambling should not be legalized. Often thoughts are made in the direction of banning lotteries, casinos etc. globally but no concrete step is taken as yet.

However the government promulgates the serious implications of gambling and prohibits it. Government has also opened certain rehabilitation centers to help people move out of this addiction. Besides this there are some non-government organizations that have done remarkable work in this area by drifting people away from this disaster, saving their lives.

Ultimately it is the individual who has to rationally decide what is good and bad for him. But it should be borne in mind that life and wealth are precious which is not meant to ruin in gambling.

About the Author

Mansi gupta writes about International Gambling topics.

2005-07-04T17:33:00.000-04:00

Poker tournaments for beginners

by Mansi gupta

As the game of Poker is scaling new heights, casinos and resorts where the game is played along with the media have left no opportunity untouched to accrue contemporaneous benefits. This is evident from the rise in number of Poker tournaments.
Since past decade there are significant number of Poker tournaments held at the local as well as the national level. The highly played poker games in these tournaments are- Seven Card Stud, Seven Card High-Low, Omaha Hold 'Em, and Texas Hold 'Em, community poker etc.

Poker tournaments can be of different types. For instance- shootout tournaments where the tables along with players are not eliminated but continue to be there till one player emerges as a winner. Unlike to this are the elimination tournaments were the game commences with all players having equal amount of chips and prolongs until one player manages to get all the chips. Here the tables are removed and at the end a single table is left. All those who survive in the game till the last table get some sort of reward to cherish. Such tournaments have no re-buys but the ‘Re-buy’ tournaments provide the chance to re buy the chips once they are all gone. The chips are to be purchased by paying extra money. So the game continues for long and there are little odds of being segregated from the game.

Besides this there are also satellite games in some areas of United States like Las Vegas. These tournaments involve a group of people that gathers and each places in a portion of his money. The fortunate winner gets a good amount (even more than a million dollar) to invest in other costly large-scale crucial tournaments.

Usually the prize money for the poker tournaments comes from the entry fees. This fees is most often known as the ‘buy- in’ fees. Sometimes the money flows in from an external source or agency. But this amount gets invested in buying the invitations only. The buy-in fetches you a calculated amount of chips to start your game with. These chips act as your ‘play money’. Play money can be re purchased only in ‘re-buy’ tournaments.
The betting on these tournaments can be of three types:
·Structured Betting – bets can only be of a particular amount
·Semi structured betting – the bet can vary to some extent and not more than that.
·Non structured betting – there is no fixed limit to bet. It is at the discretion of the player to bet as much he desires.

Then there are two basic strategies to decide upon who will be the winner – Fixed Winnings and Proportional Winnings. The former are those where the organization holding the tournament beforehand decides upon the winner. While in the latter the winner is calculated proportionally. These are split between the players left at the end proportional to the amounts of play money each has accumulated during the game.
The escalating popularity of the game and the increasing number of tournaments have attracted players from all over the world. It is due to the fascinating and mouth watering amount that one gets on winning the tournaments that women as well as celebrities too want to try their luck.
So, do you want to be a part of the Poker world!

About the Author

Mansi gupta writes about poker tournaments topics.

2005-07-04T17:22:00.000-04:00

Poker popularity for Beginners

by Mansi gupta

The game of poker is cherished since a long time. It has caught a lot of publicity and fanfare in past few decades. Now there are many poker tournaments across the world and even online. Poker lovers all over the world are glued to their television channels like ESPN when these tournaments are telecasted.

Poker is not just confined to casinos or bars. In fact it has traveled back to our homes from where it supposedly originated. A surge in the popularity of the game has given rise to many different types of poker games. Like Hold Em, Omaha Hold Em, Razz, Seven Card Stud, and Eight or Better High-Low Stud etc. These games can be played by anyone who loves and wishes to play poker. If someone is naïve to this game, better start with home poker, which has the advantage of not being labeled as a form of gambling. So a young group of guys and gals can try their hands at Texas Hold Em or Five Card Draw.
The players should preferably be more than five or at least five to play the game authentically. Else the game can be played with the dealer’s choice. But before commencing the game it is necessary for everyone playing it to have knowledge of the rules and regulations of the game. If the is played domestically the information might be that perfect but if you move out to play in casinos, it is advisable to have requisite and adequate knowledge of this game.

Like every other game Poker tournaments too have certain specified rules about the structuring of prizes, fees and betting. Those who win have the opportunity to take millions back to their homes. The best place to enjoy the charming game is known to be a casino in Las Vegas. Nowadays almost all big casinos have some or the other poker tournament going on. The Caribbean Stud form of poker is adorable and acclaimed by the players. This game is derived from the Five Card Stud form of poker. It is popular because the game is for a relatively short duration of time, as it does not require an entire group to be settled before its commencement. Despite of it the pot is high for this comparatively easily comprehensible game. Besides Caribbean Stud games like Texas, hold em and seven card stud are also cherished by people.

Many casinos like Excalibur offer free demonstration classes to tutor the beginners about this addictive game. It brings to them lot of crowd and sale. The aura and charisma of the game is such that it makes many celebrities too try their hands at it. Even women are getting attracted to the widespread popularity of this game. Surveys reveal that those sports channels telecast good number of poker tournaments are most liked by people. The best show is supposed to be The World Poker Tour, which can be viewed on the Travel Channel. According to the staggering rise in the glory of this game it would perhaps be right to say –if you want to have fun, play poker once!

About the Author

Mansi gupta writes about poker popularity topics.

2005-07-03T18:58:00.000-04:00

How to Start a Home Based Travel Businesses

by Randy Wilson

Home based travel businesses are no longer the wave of the future. Home based travel businesses are the hot trend right now! So if you’re considering becoming a travel agent, this brief guide will provide you with information you need to know.

First, there are generally two types of home travel businesses:

* Referral agencies
* Booking and selling agencies

Home based travel businesses that fall into the referral agency category do just that: they refer people to a travel agency. They may have several agencies they refer people to, but most generally have one travel agency that they work with on a regular basis. In return for the referrals from a home based business travel agent, the travel agency pays a referral fee or commission percentage on what the travel agency receives from the supplier. Part-time referral agents can earn up to $500 on each sale, and sometimes even more.

The home based travel businesses that fall into the booking and selling agencies category usually work with one travel agency. These booking and selling travel agencies actually do the booking and planning involved in making all the necessary arrangements for great trips.

These are people who enjoy attending to all the little details. They serve, more or less, as facilitators between their clients and a travel agency. Booking and selling home based travel business agents earn a lot higher percentage of the overall commission—but they DO do a great deal more work. A full-timer at this, however, can earn $50,000 or more a year.

Some things you want to consider before you decide to open your own home based travel business are:

* Do I need any special training or education?
* Should I pursue this part-time or full-time?
* Is my family supportive of my decision?
* Do I have a room in my home where I can set up an office?
* Should I get an extra phone line?
* What sort of office equipment do I need?
* What will I do about accounting?
* How do I manage my tax needs?
* Is this a job I will love?
* How much money do I want to make?
* Should I do any advertising?
* Do I have the contacts I need to pursue this business opportunity?
* If I don’t, how do I make the contacts I need?
* Am I willing to put the necessary effort into this business?
* Does my state require me to have a business license?

Once you’ve answered all or at least most of these questions, you will need to make a business plan, outlining the steps you’ll have to take to achieve your goal of having your own home based travel business. And a plan just isn’t any good unless you follow it.

You also need to make sure your business plan is realistic. If you have to take a course to run the type of travel agent home business you want to have, deciding to open up shop next week isn’t reasonable. By being realistic in your business plan, you will save yourself an untold amount of frustration as you start and grow your business.

And starting your own business, whether it’s a cruise travel home business or a European vacation home travel business, can be frustrating. Be prepared for obstacles to raise their ugly little heads when you least expect them to, and roll with them as much as you can.

Your goal is to offer superior, professional travel services. Don’t let a cranky client get to you. Always keep a pleasant, cheerful demeanor. You can scream later. Better yet, you have a laugh or two over it with friends, while sipping a glass of fine wine that you bought with the money you’ve earned as a home based business travel agent.

© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.

About the Author

Randy is owner of Profitable Home Businesses. For more information on Successful Businesses check out Successful At Home Businesses. Randy owned and operated a very successful storefront/mailorder business from 1988 to 2003.

2005-07-03T18:42:00.000-04:00

10 Creative Ways to Sell and Market Resale Rights Products Offline

by Cecil L. Anderson

Are you having a tough time selling that ebook or resale rights product online? Is the online market for your info product over saturated? Maybe your ebook is too niche focused and doesn't draw much traffic from online keyword searches.

Let's not get discouraged. It's time to do something about those lackluster ebook sales.

It's time to think outside the box with ten of the best methods for selling any ebook, software or resale rights product offline.

1. Copy the Resale Rights product onto a CD. Use the included ebook or website graphics to print CD stickers or CD labels. Now it will be easier for you to market your ebooks offline. This works especially well with Niche resell products. Example: recipe ebooks, special interests, finance software, and ect.

2. Write ads for your ebooks and software and place them in offline classifieds such as pennysavers, townshoppers or thriftynickles papers. Any of the classified ads newspapers will do. Don't spend too much. Start small and test your ads. Take notice of other ads that sell information products.

3. With your resale rights product copied onto CDs, start selling them to friends and relatives. This works great if you are selling digital products targeted to specific niches such as losing weight ebooks or how to make crafts ebooks.

4. Sell your resale rights ebook or software at cooking parties. Do you sell cookware or throw cookware parties? You could sell a recipe ebook or offer it as a bonus gift at your next sales party. You can try this technique with Mary Kay and Avon or most any party sales type program.

6. Allow small business owners to resell ebooks on a consignment basis (meaning you split the revenue once the sale is made). Make arrangements with local business owners to offer the ebook on CD at their retail stores with no up front cost to them. Try to match the theme of the ebooks or software with the theme of the retail store. Just place a small display on the front counter and watch the sales pour in.

7. Provide fundraising opportunities to schools, non profits, Churches, and youth groups. Just copy your ebooks onto CD as mentioned in idea #1. Call on some non profit groups and tell them that you provide fund raising opportunities at no up front cost. Explain that they can resell ebooks and software and get a large percentage of every sale.

8. Market your digital products as giveaway incentives for local businesses. Ebooks and software can be used as customer incentives by local businesses. For example: Get free software to help you manage your finances when you stop in to open a new checking account.

9. Sell those resale rights products and ebooks door to door. Why not? It works for Mary Kay doesn't it?

10. Put up a sales display at a flea market ... Offer them for $5 a CD. OK, so I saved the best idea for last. ;)

Discover how to successfully market and sell ebooks online and offline. A complete database of Niche Products on popular topics to help earn you money. www.NicheProfitZone.com

© Cecil Anderson

Set up your own business today. Get immediate access to over 106 Niche Products with resale rights. Best Resale Rights Resource

About the Author

© Cecil Anderson 2005
You may republish this article with full credit to the author and a website link to www.NicheProfitZone.com

2005-07-03T18:26:00.000-04:00

How to Start a Home Decor Business for Profit

by Randy Wilson

Love home decorating? Then a Home Decor Home Business is something you want to know about. Interior decorating has exploded in the years since 9/11 as people began seeking security and comfort in their homes. And home decorating businesses have benefited tremendously.

There are some home decorating businesses that are part of the home show business trend. You sign up as a sales representative with a company specializing in home decor or home decorating products and have shows where you present the items—and sale them. You can offer these shows in your own home or go into other people’s homes and give them. These shows can be a great deal of fun and are a way of having your own home decor business. If you’re a little unsure of your abilities or afraid of getting in over your head as you start your home decorating business, this could be a good home decorating businesses opportunity for you.

If, however, you’re more independent and have a flair for interior decorating, you may want to start a home decorating business all your own. You don’t have to go for entire home overhauls, either. You can specialize in draperies, kitchen remodeling, carpeting, art and accessories, or color scheme choices, just to name a few, as the focus of your home decor home business. The possibilities are as endless as your home decorating ideas for the home decor home business concept.

As you start your home decor home business, some contacts you’ll want to make are with:

* Interior designers
* Home builders and contractors
* Architects
* Art galleries
* Carpet companies
* Paint companies
* Antique dealers
* Thrift stores
* Surplus stores
* Arts and crafts stores
* Lighting specialists
* Furniture stores and dealers

Why, you ask, do I need contacts with businesses like these? Because they know people who may need the services of a home decor home business. They can spread the word about your business and put you in touch with prospective clients. Which means you can get to work more quickly, and often with more upscale clients than you could reach on your own, especially when you’re just starting a home decor home business.

Now some questions to ask yourself before you run off to tell that antique dealer you love so much about your new home decor home business are:

* Do I have space in my home for an office and the necessary supplies?
* Is my family supportive of my having a home decor home business?
* What will I do about accounting?
* Where are my special skills and talents?
* Do I enjoy this kind of work?
* What are the zoning regulations concerning home businesses for my neighborhood?
* What’s the competition in my area?
* Is my area saturated with interior decorators and designers?
* If it is, can I find a way to work with them on a commission basis, perhaps?
* Do I need to take courses or get a certification of some kind?

Ask yourself lots of questions about the “business” side of having a home decor home business. When turning a hobby or passion into a business, it’s easy to forget the nitty-gritty details like how you will pay your taxes. Don’t let your excitement and enthusiasm get you in over your head.

Because it will be a business. And you’ll need to think like a business person and make a business plan for your home decor home business. So think things through carefully. Do a lot of research, and find out all you can about a home decorating business and a home decor business.

Learn what people are looking for right now in terms of interior decorating. You may love country home decorating, but the people in your area may be on an Oriental or Southwestern home decorating kick. Go to furniture stores and see what they’re stocking. Talk with owners about what’s hot and what they think will be next season.

And after you’ve done all these things, by all means, run off to tell that antique dealer all about your new home decor home business. He or she may have just the right person in mind for your first client.

© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.

About the Author

Randy is has dozens of home based business articles such as Mattress Cleaning Business and Nutrition Home Business.

2005-06-28T20:42:00.000-04:00

10 Ways To Sell Your Products Faster

1. Give people a deadline to order. Tell people if they order by Jan 28, 2000 they will get a discount or free bonuses. This will create an urgency so they don't put off buying.

2. Offer people a money back guarantee. The longer the guarantee the more effective it will be. It could be a 30 day, 60 day, 1 year, or lifetime guarantee.

3. Offer a free on-site repair service for products you sell. This is convenient for people because they won't have to send it away for repair and they won't have to be without the product for a long period of time.

4. Publish testimonials on your ad copy. They will give your business credibility and you'll gain peoples trust. It's important to include the persons full name and location with the testimonial.

5. Give people free bonuses when they order your product or service. The free bonuses could be books, jewelry, reports, newsletters, etc.

6. Allow people to make money reselling the product or service. Tell people they can join your affiliate program, if they order. You could pay them per sale, per click, per referral, etc.

7. Offer free 24 hour help with all products you sell. Allow customers to ask you questions by e-mail, by toll free phone, by free fax, etc.

8. Provide free shipping with all orders. If you can't afford it, you could offer free shipping on orders over a specific dollar amount.

9. Give away a free sample of your product. You will gain people's trust when you allow them to try out a free sample of your product. If they like it they won't hesitate buying it.

10. Offer a buy one get one free deal. If you sell more than one product this type of deal works great. People will feel they are getting more for their money and order quicker.

Sincerely,

Anton Cheranev

Can You Afford to Lose 200,000 Potential Customers Every Month? How Easily to Get Over 200,000 Potential Customers (Every Month) From All Chief Search Engines Similarly Google, Yahoo and MSN! Using a "Little-Known Robot"! If You Think I'm Kidding, You Might Like To Know That This Is Something That Has Been Tested and Proven To Work! Check up it Here --->http://www.atargetedvisitors.com

2005-06-28T20:31:00.000-04:00

The Reality Of How To Make Money In An Online Business

By Joel Teo 2005 All Rights Reserved

“Making money online quick and easy” seems to be the buzz word today in the home business and money making arena online these days. It would seem at first glance that making money online seems to be a very simple thing. However, as most internet marketers would tell you, this is not true as making money online is a serious business and hard work has to go into it.

This article aims to help anyone trying to make money online with a website by suggesting ways to increase your online money making profits today.

1. Increase your website traffic

Increasing your website traffic today can and will increase your online profits because the more people that you get to visit your website, the more chances of a sale being made. The more qualified the website traffic the better meaning that it would be best for someone to get “Biscuits” if they were searching for it online. Some ways to increase your website traffic are found below.

Firstly, traffic exchanges today are used by many people to increase website traffic to their websites. While this is not wrong, you must know the type of website traffic you are getting and how to use it. The website traffic that you are getting from such programs are website owners and if you promote a tool that they can use to increase their own website traffic or promote a website traffic generation newsletter to them, you can increase your own website traffic substantially when you send a newsletter telling them about the latest traffic generation tool you got. Therefore to make money from traffic exchanges you need to use it with a landing page leading to a newsletter signup otherwise you are wasting your surfing time.

On the other hand, most people who use such exchanges remark that a plain signup page for a business opportunity does not really work. A better idea some have argued is to promote a newsletter signup page which will then send automated emails to the signup via an autorespondor. Internet marketing studies have shown that it takes 7 views of an offer online before anyone would consider making a purchase thus validating this strategy.

Secondly, search engine optimisation (SEO) is the key term that most people online seem to be fascinated about when trying to make money online. The reason for this is simple. Most people today go to search engines to find out about anything online. If you can get more high search rankings for your own website, this can translate into more qualified visitors to your website from the search engines and greater sales and you can then make more money with anything that you are promoting. Casting aside the more technical programming jargon, the twin most important things to making money online in terms of SEO is inbound links and good content on your website. There are several ways to get good inbound links. You can buy them online, or you can do reciprocal linking or you can write articles and publish them. In all these ways, you can increase the number of inbound links to your website and increase its website traffic as well both from the website that you link is on but from the search engines eventually.

2. Start a Newsletter

This is a quick tip that even the smallest website owner can adopt. If you are new to starting a newsletter, why not just go to Yahoogroups.com and create a Yahoogroup for your newsletter and post the code onto your website so that people can subscribe for your Newsletter. Most people with websites selling things have discounts from time to time or have new products. You can make more money from your existing customers that like your products by telling them about your latest promotion or latest new food item. Signup for this free online service here http://www.YahooGroups.com

3. Make money from your website using Google Adsense

Once you gain website traffic to your website, you could always signup as a publisher with Google and make money from people that land at your website. Even if the person does not want to purchase anything from your website, they might click on the Ad by Google and you make money from that visitor. A quick tip that has proven very useful is that you should always match your Google Adsense settings to the colour of your website page as far as possible so that the visitor to your website thinks its part of the website. This would result in higher clickthrough ratios and allow you to make more money from Adsense.

Finally, one would have to spend time writing out a plan of action before any of the ideas mentioned above can help you make more money with your website. The golfing adage paralysis by analysis still rings through in this situation. Many people get so fascinated with the various internet marketing strategies available online that they forget to actually sit down and carry it out. Write a plan of action, including timelines and amount of money and time you are willing to spend and show it to your friends and then get down to doing it. Making money online, coupled with great determination can yield you massive profits. Here’s wishing you all the best in your quest for online profits.

http://www.MakeThousandsToday.info

About the Author

Joel Teo is a work at home business owner, the owner of several highly successful money making websites.

Make Money online with our Money Making Directory

Work at Home Business Opportunity Website

http://www.GlobalProsperity.info

2005-06-27T15:38:00.000-04:00

How to Build A Niche Web Site in 9 Simple Steps

by Donna Monday

Maybe you’ve been wondering how to go about setting up a niche web site. Well, here’s a quick little article that will show you how to create your very own affiliate web site. Please note: this is the cheat sheet version. There is a lot more information you should learn about this subject before you get started.

Step 1. Pick a Niche Subject

This may be the hardest part of your web site project. There’s literally tons of subjects to choose from. People are interested in a variety of things – from parrots to pilots. You don’t have to necessarily pick something you’re interested in, but it helps.

You’re more likely to do a better job at building your site when you have some interest in the subject matter. It’s like taking a high school or college class. Some subjects are more interesting than others.
Make sure you choose something that a reasonable amount of people are actually searching for online and want to find out more information about.

Here’s a free tool that will help you check the popularity of specific subjects: (http://www.nichebot.com)

Step 2. Do Keyword Research

This is a part that many people skip. I’ve made that mistake myself and suffered the consequences – a failed web site. Even though it’s nice to think that you can write anything you want and have total creative freedom, not using keyword rich content is a BIG mistake.

I’d rather lose some creative freedom and attract visitors to my site, than have a lot of flowery prose that zero people will see. You MUST include targeted keywords in your web site copy. Also, make sure you use your targeted keywords in the upper third portion of your web site pages. This is also called optimizing your web site for the search engines. Use the Overture Keyword Tool for research:
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion

Note: keywords must be relevant to the THEME (subject) of your site. Be careful not to over use them. Search engines don’t like keyword SPAM.

Step 3. Get A Domain Name

Having a unique domain name is important, although some don’t agree. However, a unique domain name makes your site look more professional and trustworthy to visitors. I use BuyDomains (http://www.buydomains.com). They are not the cheapest, but I stick with them because I like their easy interface and good customer service. Nameboy (http://www.nameboy.com) is also good.

Step 4. Write Keyword Rich Content

This may be a hard step for those of you who don’t consider yourselves writers. But, writing web site copy is not as hard as it seems. Just think of it as having a conversation with a friend about a product or service you’re really enthusiastic about.

Don’t think you can extol the benefits of your subject? Tune your TV into QVC or one of the other shopping networks to see how they can spend several minutes talking about the benefits of all kinds of mundane products. This is what you’ll be doing for your web site.

Your copy should feature a good balance of friendliness and professionalism. Remember, you’re passing along useful information to your visitor. Put yourself in their shoes. What would you want to know about xyz subject if you were them? Now, write that down. Don’t forget to sprinkle targeted keywords throughout your copy. I print out a list of them to use for my sites.

If you simply can’t put words onto the page and find yourself staring at a blank screen, then visit Internet marketing forums like Willie Crawford’s (http://www.williecrawford.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi) for suggestions on finding writers. Or, visit Elance (http://www.elance.com).

Step 5. Build Your Web Site

Ok. You’ve created your copy. Now it’s time to build the actual physical web site. I use Homestead (http://www.homestead.com), but there are many good point and click web site builders out there.

You have a lot of creative freedom on how you want your site to look (I prefer black copy on white backgrounds with photos), but remember that people are looking for attractive, easy-to-navigate sites with useful information.

Step 6. Sign Up for Matching Affiliate Programs

You’ve created a web site about xyz subject. Now look for affiliate vendors who perfectly match the theme of your site. Integrate your affiliates attractively into your web site copy. Don’t confuse your visitors by giving them too many choices.

If you want to list a lot of affiliates on the same page, you can create a helpful “resource guide” page.

Step 7. Include Google Adsense Ads

Google has a great program for web site owners who wish to make a little extra money for simply displaying google ads on their web site.
It’s easy to sign up and free. Just visit google
(http://www.google.com/ads) and sign up for their Adsense program. They’ll give you some html code to copy and paste on your site.

While google decides which ads will actually appear on your site, you can decide how the google ads will look – choose colors, borders, etc. and where to put them on your pages.

Step 8. Find Link Partners

I found out that exchanging links with other web site owners is a MUST if you want to improve your search engine rankings. Google especially will consider your site more relevant if your site has other sites linking to it. Also the ad copy from other sites, if relevant, can add more valuable keyword content to your own site.

I use Linkmarket (http://www.linkmarket.net) to find credible web sites to exchange links with. It’s free to join.

Step 9. Write Articles to Promote Your Site

Oh oh. Here’s that writing thing again. Well, you better get used to it, because writing articles like this one (normally your articles will be about the subject matter of your web site) will help give your affiliate web site much needed exposure. It doesn’t matter if you write them yourself or hire others (ghostwriters) to write them for you.

You’ll find that the best Internet marketers all write articles to promote themselves, their newsletters, and products and services. Remember, there’s a reason the Internet is called the “information” super highway.

After writing your articles, you can post them to article submission sites, which you can find by typing “article submission” in Google. People can easily find your articles to use as free content for their sites.

Now, I suggest that you print this article out and refer to it often as you go about creating the next great affiliate web site. Good luck!

About the Author

Donna Monday
Copyright 2005
Find it Quick in a Click
http://www.1MinuteSolutions.com

2005-06-26T16:25:00.000-04:00

3 Great Tips To Make More Money Playing Online Poker

by Ispas Marin

There are three very important things that you should have in mind before playing online poker. First you should know how to choose a table, second you should know were to sit at the table you choose and last but not least you should know when to live the table.

How to choose an online poker table.

First of all when you are choosing an online poker table you should think of choosing one with players who are of a lesser skill level than you. So when you select a table the statistics will appear. Usually you will be given the following info:hands per hour, percentage of players seeing the flop, and average pot size. An important thing is that hands per must be very high, because when the game is fast you can make more money.

The perfect table is a loose one. So you should carefully look at the of players seeing the flop. So if the percentage is at least 30 at a table with 10 players than it's good. You should look for lower limits.

The next thing you should check before sitting at an online poker table is the pot size. You can tell by the pot size if it's an active or an passive table. Here are now rules, because you can win at a passive table as much as you can at an active table.

The last thing you can look at before choosing an online poker table is the stacks of the other players. If they are playing with much money usually means that they are serious players. But many great players sit down at the table with small stacks in order to remain inconspicuous. There are also many poor players with lot of money to spend.

Where to position yourself at an online poker table

The best thing for you is to have the stronger players on your right. This way you can act after they do. If you never saw those players playing you should try to watch them for a while. You should observe and take in mind if a player is loose or tight. After this try to position yourself in order to have the tight players on your right.

If you have the luck to find any maniacs at the online poker table on your left you dispose of many advantages. A maniac is a person who loves to raise with little to back up. So you can see how the other players react to his bets, if they have good hands to call him.

When to leave from an online poker table

Before every hand you have to questions in your mind: to leave or not to leave. It's important that you are the one that makes this choice not the other players at the table.

If you feel that you are loosing you should ask your self another two questions. Is this the best table for me? Am i in shape? So try too see if the reasons that made you choose that online poker table still exist. Check if any of the poor players have left or if any good players have arrived. Is everyone still playing as loose as they were when you began? Even after you decided that there are the same table conditions you should check the other tables. Maybe you can find a better one.

So in the end in order to make the right decision you must be honest with your self. You must be able to make the difference between a simple bad luck or the fact that you could be outmatched. You also might be tired or stressed. There are many factors that can lead you to a bad game. The most important thing is to stay calm so you can make the right decision.

In conclusion this are the three most important matters that you should keep in mind when you want to play online poker.

About the Author

Online Poker Secrets, Make a living at texas hold'em poker online. Pro secrets revealed at http://www.pokerliving.net

2005-06-26T16:21:00.000-04:00

Blackjack for Beginners

by Mansi gupta

‘Blackjack’ is one of the oldest games played in United States of America. Generally it is believed that the game got its name from the manner in which it is played. When a player had a jack along with an ace of spade in the first hand, the player was paid extra money. So, in this game the black spades are as crucial as jacks. From this it was termed as ‘Blackjack’. The origination of the game can be traced back to world war I, when the game was quite popular among the troops since it had the benefit to be played at any time and anywhere. Now the game has entered all the casinos and has a huge fan following. Blackjack beat Faro is largely adored and played in the casinos of Las Vegas and Reno.

The Game-

This game is played by more than a few players on a horseshoe kind of table. The base player is the one who is at the end to the dealer’s right. The initial step will be the shuffling of the cards by the dealer. Later you are supposed to cut the cards with a card sized piece of plastic by sliding it between the deck of cards. The dealer will lift the cards above the plastic along with the plastic to place them below the deck. A cautious eye at the placement activity of dealer will be helpful in the game. Next, the top card is set aside by the dealer in order to avoid any kind of cheating in the game. This is known as the burning of the card. This is followed by the dealer’s putting a colored card at about the third way from the bottom of the deck and placement of another card at the last place i.e. at the bottom of the deck.

If the table is full, it signifies an already commenced game. You ask for the chips to play the game and make a bet, which should match at least the minimum bet for the game. Its at the player’s discretion to decide if he wants to with big or small bets and the table accordingly. The dealer deals each player a card face up. The final card that the dealer receives is face down and is known as the ‘hole card’. Then each player is given a face up card as his second card. The value of this second card is the measure to decide whether to take further cards or not. After all players complete their hands ultimately the dealer selects the dealer card for completing the dealer’s hand.

The winner-

The person who is crowned as the winner is the one who has a higher total than the dealer without braking 21. In other words, he comes closest to 21 without exceeding or lagging behind too much. The stand off situation is that when the player and the dealer have the same total and so there is no winner and so no loser.

When you bet, keep this strategy in mind that you have to get 21 on your first two cards. There are various pay off ratios like 2:3 etc. at different casinos. Similarly there are other features attached to the betting process like ‘insurance’ etc. It is advisable to have a prior knowledge of the rules of the game and its betting strategies.

Move into and explore the world of Blackjack…only as game for fun and not as an addiction.

About the Author:

Mansi gupta writes about blackjack topics.

2005-06-26T01:12:00.000-04:00

Tips on Gambling

By Waheed Adegbite

Gambling is a gamble itself, but so are other ways of making money, such as starting a business and investing in stocks. It's true some play more of a risk than the other. Gambling is a very high risk, true, but if you gamble right and have some self-control you can find yourself losing little or gaining a lot. Also, make sure you have a good understanding of whatever game you are playing.

Another good thing to do is when you gamble set your limit. Once you reach your limit don't go past it for anything. Tell yourself that's enough, “I can't afford to lose the money for next month's bill or for my car or file for bankruptcy and be a bum". I don't think you or anyone else would want to be in any of those predicaments! Also, gamble whenever you can afford to and don’t gamble frequently like everyday or every few days. You'll be more susceptible to addiction. Gamble a little (5% or less of your paycheck) once a week to the maximum. If it is a lifestyle I suggest you be careful, just play it really safe and just gamble every once in a while or so. You don't want to get addicted!

Follow these tips and everything will be okay. I guarantee you won't be in any type of MC Hammer situation. In the meantime play some games for free online and then play for money later if you're ready to. Just remember to keep my words and your pockets in mind, whether online or offline.

2005-06-25T13:37:00.000-04:00

Advertising Business Opportunity Reaches New Levels

by Randy Wilson

An Advertising business opportunity on the Internet is just exploding with possibilities. This is one of the most profitable endeavors available in the field of Internet advertising. If you have advertising experience and know even the basics of Internet, you have potential to start your own advertising business on the Internet.

There are many areas of the Internet that need to be learned before starting your advertising business opportunity. Multi level marketing, or MLM, is one way of generating advertising and sales at the same time. MLM is a system that allows someone to collect commissions on their own sales as well as on people they recruit under them. This used to be known as pyramid schemes.

MLM has become very popular with product sales, helping the organization build wealth by paying commissions on multiple levels. The concept from an advertising point of view is great, the more motivation you have to recruit people to sell your product, the more your product is out there on the market. Some examples of companies that use MLM are nutritional product lines, make up product lines, and home decoration lines.

Multi level marketing has been around for years and not likely to go away anytime soon. Focus needs to be clear however on what the drive is for the company. If your focus is only on recruiting people to recruit more people, then your product sales are going to suffer. When your product sales suffer, your business as a whole suffers and then no one wants to be a part of the industry. Keep your focus when dealing with MLM with your advertising business opportunity.

Ezines are another emerging way to get a product or service out to the public. Ezines, or electronic magazines, are usually specialized to a certain areas of interest. This is very much like conventional magazines. However, advertising in ezines is low-cost and even occasionally free. Another advertising business opportunity that is wide open.

Ezines in themselves will need advertising to get their word out. A perfectly written ezine does no one any good if no one knows that it is out there to be seen. Finding an audience for your ezine may be easier than you think. Make sure when going into ezines that you know your material and that the writing is concise and accurate.

SEO, or search engine optimization, is a proven method of advertising on the Internet and a field, which is very much in demand at this time. SEO is a system of writing web content that uses specific key words and phrases that will pull the page up when that keyword or phrase is typed into any of the search engines. Knowing how to effectively use keywords to get a site recognized is critical for small businesses on the web.

When you open a search engine such as 'Yahoo!' or 'Google', and type in the phrase Internet advertising, you will get a list of results. Those results are formulated by the words Internet and advertising. Sites that have those two words incorporated consistently throughout the site will come up on the list. These lists are in order by the most hit on sites at the top of this list. Of course, that is where you want your advertising business opportunity clients to be.

Educating your self on these concepts and a few more will allow you to start marketing your Internet advertising business. Becoming an Internet business advertising consultant to companies who are looking to expand their presence on the web is a first step in building your reputation and presence in this field.

You must have a well-written profile centered on your Internet advertising experience and an up to date resume'. Businesses today are being inundated with new, and sometimes bogus, advertising opportunities and you need to stand out above all those other offers. Keep your presence, online and in the field, professional at all times and make sure you can deliver what you promise. With those things in mind, you should be successful.

© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.

About the Author

Randy is owner of Profitable Home Businesses. Randy owned and operated a very successful storefront/mailorder business from 1988 to 2003. Currently full time owner/operator of several online businesses.

2005-06-24T15:06:00.000-04:00

Marketing and Selling Through The Mind Of Your Customer...

by Don L. Price

There is plenty of anecdotal evidence and scientific brain research showing that human emotions and the unconscious plays a major role in consumer selection of products and services.

As our multi cultural society matures; it becomes evident that those companies and individual who want to advantage themselves in sales and marketing must understand the perception and mind of other cultural groups. That will require a better understanding of your conscious and unconscious mind - how memory, experience, and associated emotions exert a force on the thinking and buying behaviors of consumers.

According to Gerald Zaltman, Professor of Marketing at Harvard Business School: as much as 95 percent of consumers’ thinking occurs in their unconscious minds. Much thinking surfaces through metaphors and consumers’ memories which are much more malleable than previously thought— which is why "confidence" adds great persuasive power. Artificial confidence does not work, but authentic confidence will decisively engender a winning edge every time when a salesperson truly believes in his/her products and services.

Fostering a shift in sales and marketing will require a deeper understanding of how pervasive the unconscious mind of the consumer works. Breaking into new ground requires breaking out of traditional thinking about features and benefits selling. You need to enter into the mental activity of unconscious thoughts, feelings, memories, intentions, metaphors and just how they direct consumers’ attention, influence perception and manipulate their decisions and actions.
6 key strategic solutions for sales and marketing.

1. Metaphor making in the mind of the consumer is a powerful fundamental that helps them make sense of information received. When eliciting information from a potential client. I asked him what success felt like. His metaphor was; "Success feels like the power of driving a Porsche down the highway at top speed." Tying his metaphor to several service benefits closed the sale securely. Understanding and having collected a large range of metaphors consumers’ use to think about you, your services and products enable you to sculpt a more effecting communication strategy and increase the potential of a purchase.

2. Improve your mental outlook about you, your products and services. "You Are The Message." Eliminate negative clues by preparing yourself with the confidence of a winner. Use friendly language and genuine enthusiasm; reflecting energy, trust and openness will open up the consumer when probing for their thinking and core metaphors. Assertive and outgoing personalities, regardless of ethnic background, will outpace those people whose characteristics display shy and timid behaviors.

3. Design your office, retail store layout, waiting rooms, ads and brochures that reflect the Metaphors of your market. Example of how one Doctors office focused on outpatients care as being more nurturing and responsive. Patients view rooms with chairs lined up in rows as boring, frustrating and long waits. The office was rearranged to promote friendliness and privacy and was supplied with several TV’s and a computer. The results were a decline in waiting time complaints and patients felt they were receiving a better quality of care, referral rates increased more that 18 percent and patient cancellations decreased by 23 percent.

4. Build into your oral and written marketing/sales communications stories using metaphors gathered from your market.

5. Probing the mind of your customer/client requires you uncovering the metaphors they use when thinking about purchasing your products and services. Once you have uncovered their metaphors you can identify some or most of the important and hidden drivers of your customer/client buying behaviors.

6. Develop an organizational climate and a workplace attitude that strengthens sales and marketing creativity. This requires breaking into more boxes and not applying the metaphor that suggests you step out of the box. Breaking into more boxes enables you to gather gleaning new knowledge and will help pry you loose of conventional thinking. How you think is more important and will produce more productive and innovational ideas than what you think.

About the Author

Don L. Price – Professional Speaker, Sales, Marketing & High Performance Mental Fitness Coach, International Speaker, Consultant and Author of Secrets of Personal Marketing Power-Strategies for Achieving Greater Personal & Business Success.
donprice@donlprice.com
http://www.donlprice.com

2005-06-24T14:16:00.000-04:00

Top 3 Online Business Success Needs

by Ispas Marin

1) Web Site

This is for sure the most important part of your online business, this is how you create your presence on the Internet. Being in business online and not having a web site means you have no place where your customers can find you. After getting your web site up, you also need to make sure that it's as easy to navigate as possible and that the information provided is well written so the visitor won't lose time trying to figure it out. If your web site is hard to understand it's a fact that you will lose customers. In order to establish a web site you need to get your own domain name, http://www.godaddy.com is a very good registrar and at an affordable price. The second step is getting the hosting for your web site, http://www.hostexcellence.com/ is a good choice.

2) Business Plan

The second most important need is a business plan. The business plan will help give a direction to your business and will help you plan your strategies. If the business plan is missing, losing sight of where your business is going or you want it to go. Once the business plan has been established do your best to stick to it. There is software that helps you create a plan for your business, you just need to search for it.

3) Advertising/Marketing

In order to have customers, people first need to know that you exist. So, even if it's the third need, the marketing is one of the most important. No marketing usually means nobody knows about your product/service. Even if you have an online business it doesn't mean that you should advertise only online, you can do offline advertising as well. A good low cost offline advertising method is using flyers. You can create them on your computer, and print at you local print shop. There are many online advertising methods too, some are very cheap and some are more expensive, a lot of research should be made in order to chose the best.

Keep these three needs in mind and you will have the base to start you online business and make it a very profitable one.

About the Author

Check http://www.30daysinjuly.com if you are interested in having a 'coach' that will guide you to Internet Success and will show you how to create a profitable online business.

2005-06-22T22:46:00.000-04:00

Ten Hypnotic Sentences To Increase Your Sales

by Scott F. Geld

http://www.MarketingBlaster.com

Tell your readers what they are probably thinking,
feeling or doing as they read. This strategy will trigger
their own subconscious mind to bring out these feelings
or actions.

You can add these sentences into any ad copy. You may have
to change one or two words so it relates more to the
product or service you're selling.

1. As you keep reading this ad copy, you are feeling more
and more compelled to experience all the benefits of our
product.

2. The more you understand just how valuable our product
could be to your life, the less you think about delaying
this important purchase.

3. After you read this short ad you will feel like your
problems are almost completely solved, all you will have
to do is order.

4. As you're skimming through this, you're beginning to
think you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by
trying out our product.

5. As you're scanning over this ad copy, you are beginning
to imagine using our product and enjoying all the benefits
it brings.

6. The more you keep reading our ad the more you feel it
would be a waste to let this opportunity slip by.

7. The more you review our ad the more you begin to find
yourself getting very excited about our product and
starting to feel the urge to buy now.

8. You don't know it yet but, at the conclusion of this
ad, you will feel driven to order and experience all the
benefits of our product.

9. You don't realize it yet but, in a few short minutes
you'll realize that you can't put off this vital purchase
and then you'll be yanking out your credit card.

10. As every word you read travels from this ad to your
brain, you start to understand just how much our product
could benefit your life.

About the Author

Scott F. Geld is the Director of Marketing for
MarketingBlaster.com, a company providing targeted traffic
starting at just 10 cents per visitor and links starting
at just $10 per month. For more information, please
visit: http://www.MarketingBlaster.com

2005-06-21T14:56:00.000-04:00

How to Start a House Cleaning Business under $200.00

By Patti Page

Information on Starting and Running a House Cleaning Business

I started a successful house cleaning business in 1998. I am going to share some tips that I think will be helpful to you when starting your own cleaning business. I would like share what I have learned over the years about the cleaning service business and hope that it will help others that are thinking about starting a house cleaning business.

Advertising

Advertise in Local Paper: Start by running a text ad in your local newspaper. Running the ad by the month is usually less expensive. Make it short and simple. Something like " Professional, affordable house cleaning services. Call for a free estimate"

Magnetic Signs or Lettering for your Vehicle: Having your business name and contact information on your vehicle is a great way to advertise. Magnetic signs can be purchased for as little as 60.00. We use the vinyl lettering. The lettering looks much more professional.

Flyers: You can print nice flyers on your home computer. Hang flyers at Hair Dressers, Laundromats, Restaurants, Bakeries, Grocery Stores, etc. Put flyers on car windows at local groceries stores and businesses. You can even go door to door in neighborhoods you would like to work in. You cannot put them in mailboxes. but you can put them in the front door.

Door Hangers: Door hangers are a great way to get new clients. Pick the neighborhood you would like to work in and hang the door hangers on the doors. Door hangers are very professional looking and can be purchased at http://www.direct-color.com/doorhanger.html You can purchase 200 door hangers for as little as 64.00.

Business Cards: One of the most inexpensive online shops for business cards is Vista Print. They have professional quality cards at a very affordable rate. Start passing out your business cards to friends and family members. You can also ask your local businesses if you can leave some cards on their counters.

Referral Program: A great way to obtain new clients is through a referral program. Offer existing clients a free house cleaning or discount when they refer a friend. We offer a free house cleaning when a client refers a friend and the friend uses our services three times.

Website: These days people live very busy lives so they use the convenience of the internet to shop for the services they need. A lot of working women will shop for services while at work. We obtain 90% of our new clients from our website. You can purchase a website for as little as $300.00. If you are interested in having a website designed for your cleaning service please send an email to ppage@att.net

Supplies

You can purchase all the cleaning supplies you need to start your cleaning business for about $100.00. Home Depot or Sam's Club is a great place to buy cleaning supplies . A step stool, bath cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, window cleaner, all purpose cleaner, soft scrub cleanser, furniture polish, wood floor cleaner, a cleaning carrier and a sack of cleaning cloths and your ready to clean. Remember most customers prefer that you bring your own cleaning supplies. That way they don’t have to worry about going to the store for cleaning supplies before you clean. Some customers have special cleaners for certain appliances or floors in their houses. These customers usually will have these cleaners on hand for you to use. I almost always use the customers vacuum cleaner. That way you don’t have to carry a heavy vacuum from house to house. I usually use one mop for tile and linoleum and another just for wood floors. Some cleaning services use a mixture of water, 1 tablespoon vinegar and 3 drops of lemon oil. We use Zep Wood and Laminate Floor Cleaner. We also use Holloway House Cleaners (floor wash, lemon oil and Hexol cleaner and deodorizer.

What to Charge

This all depends on the area you live in. Always charge by the job, not by the hour. If a client knows they have to pay 65.00, they don’t care if you take 2 hours or 5 hours. Also your clients will know what they are paying upfront and won’t have to worry about added expenses. Normally, for a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath you can expect to make 75.00 to 85.00 for each maintenance cleaning. You should charge between $125.00 and $150.00 for the initial cleaning since the initial cleaning should be a thorough cleaning to get the home cleaned well the first visit. For the larger houses you can add 10.00 to 20.00 for maintenance cleanings if they have 4 bedrooms and 4 baths. For spring/fall cleanings the starting rate is 150.00 to 175.00. For move-in/move-out cleanings the stating rate is 150.00 and up depending on if the client wants windows, refrigerator and oven cleaned. You can add 20.00 each for refrigerators and ovens. Some companies charge $25.00 for refrigerators and ovens. Window cleaning depends on the amount of windows in a house. A word of advise: Make sure when you start your company that you charge what you would charge if you had employees. Some people make the mistake of under charging when they start out just to get customers and then later on when they grow and need to hire help they aren't making enough money on their houses to pay help. Also if you are too cheap, customers will think you aren't experienced. Don’t under price your work. Cleaning homes is very hard work.

New Construction Cleaning

If you decide to do this type of work you will need more equipment. You will need ladders, window cleaning kits with long extensions, a shop vac, etc. These types of jobs are usually 2 to 3 person jobs. New construction cleaning requires a lot more cleaning. You may have to remove stickers and labels from windows and bathroom showers, sinks and toilets. Some require that you clean the vents to remove dust from construction work. There will be ceiling fans to clean, scrubbing floors, and cleaning woodwork to remove dust. New construction cleaning rates depend on the area you live in. Normally they run from .12 cents per sq.ft. to .18 cents per sq.ft.

Insurance and Bonding

You need to be an honest person and somewhat personable. People will need to trust you to be in their homes. Most clients are concerned about having someone new in their house, with good reason. You should be bonded and fully insured. Liability insurance runs between 350.00 to 500.00 per year. Note that this price is for one employee only. Each person you hire will increase your liability insurance. It’s well worth the cost. You can pay quarterly or yearly. You can purchase your bond through your local insurance company. You will need to renew the bond every year. *Note: if you hire employees and cover them under your insurance, they must be an employee on payroll and not a sub-contractor. If you employ them as a sub-contractor your insurance will not cover them. If they are a sub-contractor they are required to carry their own insurance.

Taxes

I have listed a few links that are very helpful with answering questions about taxes for your cleaning service business: starting a business and keeping records, deductions for your business, employee taxes and a very nice withholding calculator:

Business Taxes
Starting a Business and Keeping Records
Businesses with Employees
IRS Withholding Calculator

Credit Cards

The easiest way to accept credit cards is through your website. PayPal offers credit card services with no set up and only 2.9 percent per transaction. Some clients will prefer to pay with a credit card. They simply sign on to your website and make the payment. The payment goes into your account immediately.

Gift Certificates

House cleaning gift certificates make great gifts for any occasion. Birthdays, Anniversaries, Housewarmings, Weddings, Baby Showers, Christmas and Valentines Day. I have a lot of requests for gift certificates around Christmas. If you have a website you can email the gift certificates to the recipient. Always remember to keep a record of gift certificate sales. Some clients who receive gift certificates wait several months to use them.

Hiring Help

If you start out cleaning the homes by yourself, you will eventually get to the point where you need to expand your business. Start out with one part time employee. Train her and let her take your place one day a week. Then have her take your place 2 days a week and so on. This will give you the free time that you need to market your business and obtain more clients. After you get more clients you will be able to hire more part time help. Eventually you will be able to stop doing the cleaning yourself and just run the business end, which is the only way you will be able to grow your business. When training new employees, always either train them yourself or have a lead person train them.

Remember one of the most important qualifications for a cleaning service is TRUST. A client has to know they can trust you alone in their home. After you acquire a few cleaning positions ask the clients if you can use them for a reference. Most of the time they are more than willing to let you use them for a reference. This is how you build your business and acquire new clients is through referrals. Be dependable. Most clients will want to be set up on an every week or every other week schedule on the same day of the week. Try to always keep this same schedule unless the client asks you to switch to another day. If you have to cancel a cleaning date, make sure you try to reschedule at the earliest possible date to make up the cleaning.

Below is a quote that I read from someone in the cleaning service business and I really believe this to be true.

"If you use Emotion and Love to drive your sales and your business, you will create Loyalty Beyond Reason. And I promise you, you will build relationships and enjoy a business that exceeds beyond your wildest expectations".

About the Author

Patti Page is the owner of Page's Personal Cleaning in Cincinnati OH. Website: http://www.pagespersonalcleaning.net
Email: patti@pagespersonalcleaning.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

2005-06-20T13:51:00.000-04:00

How To Insure Your Business

by Jakob Jelling

Even if you're sure you don't have to worry about earthquakes, you should still find out how to insure your business.

The most important thing that you should do is to make sure that your business is insured as well as it should be. After all, the last thing you want to have happen is for your business to be insufficiently insured - especially when you consider all of the things that could go wrong. Not only that, but there are also several laws that require businesses to have some types of insurance in order to operate.

Some of the insurance policies are for catastrophic events. These are definitely the types of insurance that everybody should have. For instance, fire insurance is pretty important - if there is a fire in your building, then you could stand to lose everything that holds your business together, and that will at the very least result in the loss of a considerable amount of your money.

If you're trying to figure out how to insure your business, the first thing that you should do is sit down and make a list to figure out what types of insurance you're sure to need. Pretty much everybody should get insurance against huge disasters, howeer, you may also want to get insurance to cover several other things as well.

Another type of insurance that you will need to get is worker's comp. This is required in every single state in the United States. Essentially, this insurance will make sure that your company will be able to pay if one of your workers is injured and needs to sue in order to pay for medical bills. One problem with worker's comp, however, is that it can get pretty expensive depending on the type of business you have.

You will also want to make sure that you get auto insurance if you are going to have any sort of company car. Not only is this just a good idea, but it is also required by law if you are going to have anybody driving vehicles while they're on the job for you.

The most important thing to consider when you're trying to decide what type of insurance to get is that you should always check with the regulations of the area that you're in to make sure that you will get enough insurance to cover the right things.

About the Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.cashbazar.com. Visit his website for the latest on personal finance, debt elimination, budgeting, credit cards and real estate.

2005-06-20T13:48:00.000-04:00

Outsourcing - Is It For My Business?

by Jakob Jelling

There are definitely advantages, but make sure you make an informed decision!

There are a lot of advantages to outsourcing, however, there are also some disadvantages. Since this is such a huge issue, and such a large decision for you to make regarding your company, you should make sure that you take a good look at both sides of the issue before you make your decision. Make sure you know exactly what you stand to gain or lose by outsourcing your work.

First of all, the advantages of outsourcing for your business are that you'll be able to get some of the less important jobs done for cheaper. For instance, if you're finding that you do not have enough money in your budget to make necessary changes in order to keep your business afloat, then you should probably find a way to reduce the amount of money that you're spending.

Another advantage of outsourcing is that there are actually other companies and places where you can get the work done better than you are already in your own company. Not only that, but if you have a company that requires a large number of different products or services in order to function, it might take less time for you to find a good outsourcer than it would take you to train new people.

There are a few disadvantages to outsourcing, however, and you should definitely take those into account as well. For one thing, if you outsource, it means that you're going to have to work very closely with the company that you outsource your work to. Otherwise, you won't get the finished work as soon as you need it. Having another company involved in your business might get tiresome after a while.

Another thing that you should consider is that depending on where you outsource to, it might hurt your business. This is generally only a big deal if who your customers are really matters, or if you're a very small business. Some people shop at small businesses because they're local - and if you're a business like that, then outsourcing might be to your disadvantage.

In the end, however, the question of whether or not outsourcing is right for your business can only be answered by you.

About the Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.cashbazar.com. Visit his website for the latest on personal finance, debt elimination, budgeting, credit cards and real estate.

2005-06-20T13:44:00.000-04:00

Strong Future

by Roger Riney

Thinking of starting your own online business? Or, have you tried a business before and it never got off the ground?

Last October I was looking on the Internet for ideas about getting rid of unpleasant odors from the house when I stumbled onto SFI Marketing Group. My search lead to a lot of different articles published by Ideamarketers.com. They have articles for just about any subject you want to research. While browsing through the articles I found a link to SFI Marketing Group’s affiliate program and clicked on it just because I was curious and wanted to know more about it. I liked what I read about it and went on and signed up because around that time I’ve thought a lot about my future with my job and it’s uncertainties. The main thing right then that caused me to sign up was that I could test drive it for free as long as I want. Well I’m going into my sixth month and I’m still sort of test-driving it. SFI stands for Strong Future International.

Serious Business

Actually, I’ve gotten pretty serious about it from day one. I know there is no such thing as get rich overnight. But I also know that in three years time a person could make him or

herself a fair amount of money in a business such as SFI, And three years isn’t a very long time once you look back on it. Looking ahead three years and anxiously waiting for,

“something good”, to happen can cause you to become so impatient that you might give up trying to make that, “something good”, to happen. The keyword there is, MAKE, and

the secret is, don’t give up!

Look Ahead…

Looking ahead is only for setting goals, not daydreaming about what you are going to be doing three years from now after you have gained wealth. A little dream now and then doesn’t hurt, especially if it will help you focus on your goals. While you are dreaming, ask yourself, “where will I be three years from now?” and think about what you are doing now to reach your goals. As for myself, I know that if I don’t do anything now to help

Insure my future, I might not even be at the point I’m at today, because as far as jobs and

Job advancements are concerned, it’s almost null.

Temporaries and American made in Taiwan…

Large corporations that usually pay well have learned that they can keep more of their money by hiring temporaries and turning them over every sixty to ninety days. Or, take the operation out of the country altogether to a lower wage earner country. It’s already been happening where I work. We are an American made brand, but lots of my company’s product is made in or assembled in Mexico and Taiwan. Does that make sense? I guess it does to our CEO who evidently doesn’t care about those American employees who have already lost their jobs. The great thing about SFI Marketing Group is that the, “I” stands for international. It’s a global organization that is willing to share its profits with affiliates who are willing to work. As a sponsor, you could have someone in India, Australia, the America’s or almost 200 other countries in your downline. That’s a pretty broad outreach to make money from don’t you think? It’s by far a greater outreach than my job will ever offer or any other job for that matter.

My Main Plan…

My main plan is, not to give up, and to make it happen. I have other plans of action that falls under that and will change and develop others as I can. One of my plans

Is to try as much as possible to help others to succeed. Because most of what I’ve read

About affiliate marketing success is about helping others succeed. But your success depends mostly on you and the amount of effort that you put into your own business.

You can easily sign up under me or some other sponsor, but if that’s all you do than you

May as well opt out of the marketing business altogether so that your name and all your records can be cleared from the companies’ record and your sponsor’s record as well.

That pretty bluntly put, but if you plan on being in business, even if it’s a lawn mowing business, then you have to get serious with it in order to make it work. I have affiliates who haven’t so much as looked at any their own affiliate web sites that are so generously supplied by SFI for free. Other than an encouraging email now and than, there isn’t much help that I can offer to them. You can’t help those that won’t help themselves.

More Information…

If you would like more information about SFI Marketing Group you may contact me at rogriney@bscn.com. I won’t kid you one bit. It takes work and some money too if you want to grow your business quicker, but there are lots of resources on SFI’s main web site and most of it is free for affiliates to use. We don’t promise overnight success, but after three years, or maybe less of dedicated work you may just look back and think, “well! that didn’t take long”. “Now I can tell my boss good-by, for good.”

Have a great life,

Roger Riney

About the Author

Roger Riney has written articles concerning spiritual matters, business, and family. Visit Roger's Blogs at http://www.businesszone.blogspot.com and http://www.rogcountry.blogspot.com To find out more about SFI Marketing Group visit http://www.ezinfocenter.com/8817305.063/sim

rogriney@bscn.com

2005-06-20T10:20:00.000-04:00

Why You Should Use (Not Abuse) Forums to Increase Your Traffic

by: Tinu AbayomiPaul

There are dozens of reasons why you should look up the forums that are related to your market and post to them often. Here are 3 to get you started.

1- Get to Know Your Market as both an Associate and An Expert

The research alone is a good enough reason to at least sign up to some forums and read. Just by reading posts in forums, you can hear what your market concerns are, straight from consumers. You'll be able to find what their pains are - look particularly for frequent questions that don't appear to have solutions.

For example, if you sell timeshares, and you join travel communities, you may often hear questions asking for the best times of year to visit a certain region or locale. With this information you could start a section at your site for every listing that tells the cheapest time to travel for that area, the best time of year for good weather, and other special bits of information a traveler might want.

When you're comfortable enough to begin posting, after watching the conversation for a few days, or perhaps even a week, you might find that new people have questions that you can help them with. By consistently becoming the go-to person, you increase your credibility as a knowledgeable expert, and people begin to trust your ability to provide information.

2- Increase Your Site's Visibility With More Targeted Links Back to Your Site

Many forums are run by hobbyists who aren't so much concerned with marking money from their visitors, as having an established community for discourse on certain issues. These forums will often allow you to leave a link to your site in every post. The ones that are open to public viewing for visitors are also frequently spidered by search engines.

If you set up your link correctly, you'll then have topical links back to your own forum. Even if the search engine spiders can't see these links at forums that can be viewed by registered users only, you will also find that once you become a part of the community, other members will click your link out of curiosity or because they're looking for something specific that you may have at your site.

Even forums that exist to gain more sales of their own products often allow you to post your link, especially if it isn't to a competing site. For example, internet marketing forums run by people who sell do-it-yourself SEO products may allow infopreneurs who sell a different type of product, such as an autoresponder service, to post their link freely.

The focus here, at all times, is to help other members, not just to promote your product. Your link is in your signature, so unless someone asks you a specific question, you get far better results from being helpful than you do by posting forum spam that gets deleted anyway.

3- Lurk, Listen and Learn

If you've been around forums at all, you already know that there are often 8 to ten times more people registered and not posting than there are people who actually visit and participate.

Reading without ever posting is commonly known as "lurking". I usually suggest that at least for the first week, you should monitor the community you wish to join in this way, just reading posts, and learning the personality of the forum you'd like to post in - this keeps you from committing any faux pas that might have you corrected by another member, or even worse, banned.

Sometimes you'll find a forum that is appropriate to read, but doesn't seem like the right place for commercial posting. Or you might find that you're there to learn and not to teach - or maybe you just don't have the time to post as you'd like to. You can still learn a lot by being a lurker.

When lurking in forums, your primary job is to listen (figuratively speaking) and learn. Again, pay attention to questions that come up repeatedly over the course of a month or so. Be on the look out for rumored product or technology developments. Find out who is the resident expert - maybe this is the key person for an interview you want to do, or an affiliate program you can join.

The most important thing you can learn from this exercise is what annoyances your market is experiencing. If you sell cat furniture, and you find out that a common complaint is availability in remote markets, maybe you can change your shipping policy to add international ordering and increase the scope of your business.

Anywhere you can fit a solution to a problem can bring you the sales you need. You may find out that you need to change your product, to enhance it, or perhaps to take out features your prospects just aren't interested in.

This is a good solution when you have the time to visit forums and post or read. As you become more busy, you'll find yourself at the forums less and less as a poster, so this isn't necessarily a permanent solution. However, if you follow these steps correctly, you'll soon have the traffic to foster more community relations at your own site as well.

Copyright 2005 Tinu AbayomiPaul

About the Author

Tinu is a website promotion specialist who posts free information on a variety of traffic tips in her blog at http://www.freetraffictip.com.

2005-06-18T18:07:00.000-04:00

Be Creative to Get Money

By Waheed Adegbite

Creativity alone can make you money and no matter what anyone tells you or what you think, anyone can be creative. Creativity is like a skill that needs to be developed. The more you work at being creative the better you will get. You have to allow yourself to think. Just sit back, read some books, look at TV. Keep feeding your brain with ideas until you find the one or one(s) that will make you that fortune you have been working hard for and waiting to come.

Also, educate yourself in business and marketing. Look at different businesses and types of businesses. You can get ideas from them. Read books on businesses and business and marketing related material. Pull ideas together from all these different sources and make them into your very own business idea.

In your spare time instead of doing something unimportant and worthless you could sit down and read a book on investing in stocks or a business. You could also read biographies about CEO's and see how they started their businesses' and what motivated them and so on. As you learn more then you can try different approaches to starting your own business and marketing it. Just be careful when starting a business because there are risks, but again if you can be creative as well as resourceful you can actually start a business with little or no risk on a shoestring budget and wield huge profits. Trust me, it's possible! Just remember the saying "if you believe you can achieve."

2005-06-17T16:04:00.000-04:00

How to Use Viral Marketing for Online Profit

by Daegan Smith

When Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith founded Hotmail.com they promoted it with a simple idea they called “Word of computer” advertising. Every message sent by a subscriber had a one-line promotional message attached….”Get Your Private, Free E-mail from Hotmail at www.hotmail.com”. Within the first 18 months of business they claimed 12 million sign-ups to their service… more than what CNN and AOL could garner in the same time period. With a cost per acquisition of just 4 cents this was a resounding success and a brilliant use of Viral Marketing Technique.

Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message’s exposure and influence. Like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message to thousands, to millions."

It is an extremely effective form of word-of – mouth online promotion strategy used for amazing success by web frontrunners like Hotmail and Bluemountain.com. For a home based or small business, viral marketing is a smart and cost effective way to promote business and generate new sales leads. It is easy and fun.

The biggest benefit of viral marketing is that it helps you maintain a cost effective level of brand awareness at all times. It can reach beyond your target audience and mine for new leads; it creates a buzz around your products and services and provides accountability when tracked.

Also see: http://hackvan.com/pub/stig/etext/viral-marketing.html

Here are some tips for you to get your viral marketing campaign on the right track:

1. Have a great idea: Unless you have a really remarkable idea, it is going to be hard to get people interested in it; much less share it with others. A boring idea doesn’t get passed on. If you have a regular consumer product to sell and still want to use viral marketing, put on your creative hat and craft a promotional message that will make people want to pass it on to others.

2. Identify your core group: your core group or “hive” is a group of people who share a common interest and talk to each other about it. The core group can also be called ‘agents’. These are the guys who will be responsible for sending your ‘virus’ ahead. If your product/idea/ service doesn’t move this group, it isn’t going to get any further.

3. Ease of use: have you ever received an email with a mile long URL in it, asking to be sent to “15 people for a free gift”? if your answer is ‘yes’ then you know what I am talking about. Make it easy for your agents to tell their friends about your company. if they have to download pages of text or heavy graphics, they are more likely to hit the “delete” button and get out of there, fast!

4. Make it persistent: When you have built a sizeable community of converts, keep them happy. It is harder to go out and get new agents than making the existing ones work for you.

5. Referrals: A good way of utilizing viral marketing for your site is through referrals. If you are offering content or service, you can put up a “Tell a Friend” button that lets customers recommend products or Web pages via email to friends. Recommend-It and BigNoseBird.com are some of the sites that offer these services for free. These services allow you to keep track of those who recommend your site and the people they recommend it to.

Once you have started off the process all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
For more information on viral marketing take a look at:

http://www.nmk.co.uk/article/2003/04/02/viral-marketing

About the Author

Perfect Home Based Business Opportunities - The Net’s Top Growing Source for Home Business Information.Attention:Free Web Site Content

2005-06-17T15:04:00.000-04:00

Make Profits off of Anything!

by Waheed Adegbite

What is your talent? Are you a good writer, a good artist, good singer/rapper, are you a good athlete. Take some time think about what your talent is. Now have you ever thought bout making money with your talent. Yes, no, maybe? Maybe, yes because you're a good athlete that wants to go pro and make some big bucks. Maybe, no because you have some other talent that seems like something stupid know one could ever make money with. Maybe you've thought about it, but never given it a serious thought.

The thing is anyone can turn almost any talent into profits with a little effort and creativity.

Look at Martha Stewart. Her talent was homemaking. She was considered an expert on everything from cooking, baking, crafting, gardening, and other things in the category of lifestyles and homemaking. She turned her talents into profit by publishing books and hosting her own tv show.

Now think about that, you could do the same. If you like sports and are very knowledgeable about it you could write about that and share your knowledge, opinions, and experience to the world on that topic. If you don't like writing you could hire someone to do it for you. If you're just not a good writer work on perfecting your writing skills. Read some books, take some classes, practice, etc. It maybe hard, but it could pay off BIG in the end.

Even if your talent is something bizzare like swallowing gasoline without dying and farting out flames. You too could profit. People pay to have and see the most strangest things. You could assemble a team of other people with bizzare talents and start the world's greatest circus and make a fortune. Maybe you could put the Ringling Brothers circus out of business, along with others. Of course you would have to learn how to start a business first. You can find information on that from books, the internet, chamber of commerce, magazines, etc.

2005-06-16T22:41:00.000-04:00

Stock Market Investments

by Charles M O'Melia

If there is one term over-used when talking about making investments in the stock market I would think that term
would be: buy low, sell high. Buy low? Sell high? How low is low and how high is high? I like the term buy low;
sell dear, much better! But better still are the terms buy and hold, and dollar-cost-averaging (buying the same stock at different prices through the years). For within those two stock market terms, in my opinion, lies the path for successful stock market investments.

For me, if a buy and hold strategy is used, then I want to be paid for using it, and if a dollar-cost-averaging
strategy is used, I don’t want to be charged commission fees for the future dollar-cost-averaging purchases.

Therefore, in order to be paid for the buy and hold strategy the companies purchased must pay me every 3 months. If a company cannot pay me every 3 months for buying and holding their stock, then I don’t want to buy and hold their stock. The payment is called a dividend, and the dividend varies with each buy and hold company owned.
This buy and hold strategy co-exist with
dollar-cost-averaging. The monies paid by the company every quarter through the buy and hold strategy is used to purchase more shares of their company. The company does this commission-free, and is automatic every quarter through the years of ownership.

The brokerage houses of today, to compete with most dividend paying companies, now offer the same
commission-free service when having dividends rolled back into a company’s stock. Only you are going to have to tell them you want the dividends rolled back into the stock (sometimes you have to tell them twice, since it is not one
of their high priorities; after all, they are in the commission business).

To read the PREFACE from the book ‘The
Stockopoly Plan - Investing for Retirement.’ Visit:
http://www.thestockopolyplan.com

About the Author

Charles M. O’Melia is an individual investor with almost 40 years of experience and passion for the stock market. The author of the book The Stockopoly Plan – Investing for Retirement; published by American-Book Publishing. You can invest in the book at
http://www.pdbookstore.com/comfiles/pages/CharlesMOMelia.shtml

2005-06-16T22:29:00.000-04:00

Are You Really A Twenty First Century Investor?

by Steven Battle

Real Estate Investors that educate themselves about CURRENT MARKET TRENDS will reap huge returns NOW!!! Information concerning NEW TRENDS in financial resources will open new and more profitable real estate opportunities for your business.

Today’s residential real estate market for investors has become very competitive in most major markets. The vast majority of real estate investing seminars and clubs are encouraging you to search out desperate home owners or distressed properties to be rehabbed.

Not to mention the fact that today’s disillusioned stock investors have now realized that residential real estate investing offers better returns, with less capital risks. As you seek to identify your lucrative real estate opportunities, have you noticed that the good deals are getting harder to find? I am not here to discourage you from investing in real estate, but would like to share real estate investment opportunities and information with you…..opportunities that only a few people are aware of and regularly participate in. That’s right; I am referring to a niche investment market that has VERY LITTLE competition. This unique information is currently setting new trends within the commercial real estate investment community!

I know you are ready for me to tell you about this quiet niche investment market, so I will...... it is….……. ………..Commercial Real Estate. There are HUNDREDS, maybe THOUSANDS of niche market investment opportunities within Commercial Real Estate. And by the way........ the main reason why so few investors go after commercial real estate, and that might include yourself, is that you're not convinced that you would qualify for commercial financing ! ! Most investors are lead to believe that a 20% down payment is required to start the process for purchasing commercial properties. WELL, THIS IS NOT TRUE!

Let’s do the math now…… financing a property that cost $5 Million dollars with 20% down would require you to put down $1,000,000 and you would still have to add in legal fees and closing costs. Yes, I know that only a few investors or even investment groups are able to meet these down payment requirements. Your first mistake as an investor would be to go to your local bank to seek financing, or worse, go to private or hard money lenders. First, remember the banks are regulated by the federal government and they are required to underwrite conforming loans and second, bank loans tend to be very structured and are generally inflexible to your project needs. In most cases, THESE LOANS will require a 20% DOWN PAYMENT OR MORE! The only benefit of using private or hard money lenders is when" NO OTHER FINANCING OPTIONS EXIST FOR YOU!"

FINANCING is the key ingredient to identifying lucrative real estate investment opportunities, yet, so few people truly understand the power of knowing WHERE to find the right financing and HOW to get it! WHAT IF you had several lenders, today, that would only require you have 2 to 3% down payments (on certain qualified projects)… WOULD THIS BE OF INTEREST TO YOU? A $5,000,000 loan with 2- 3% down payment equates to putting down $100,000 to $150,000. As an individual investor, this down payment would still be pretty steep for you however, today, many residential investors are already joining and forming Investment clubs to increase and enhance their purchasing power. TO ALL residential real estate investors....... the REAL MESSAGE here is that you are closer to buying commercial real estate than you think! This example should make it clear to you that finding the right financing is the FIRST step and the key ingredient to your real estate investing…….. however, there is a PROBLEM.

The problem is that as an investor, you have been trained to shop for properties FIRST, and almost never for financing. Finding the right financing FIRST will save you and make you more money over time, than you purchasing the undervalued properties and selling them later at or above market prices. I will repeat this….. MOST REAL ESTATE INVESTORS DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF FINANCING within the investment equation. The ability to save on the amount of the interest rate you are being charged…. month after month….. year after year… 2 or 3 % or more is huge. You may also find out what I already know….. . by securing the financing first…..THIS OPENS UP NEW INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES!

Let’s review some of the BENEFITS that come with purchasing Commercial Real Estate:

1. Unlike residential real estate, commercial real estate’s only purpose is to make money for its investors. If there was a 7% cap rate on the $5,000,000 sample property, it would cash flow $350,000 annually.

2. Do you think you would enjoy having professional tenants with long term leases?

3. Would it excite you if your investment projects qualify for Non recourse financing?

4. You can totally eliminate the process of rehabbing properties.

5. How about this…… YOU no longer have to chase tenants down to collect rent.

6. You no longer have to pay penalties to lenders for not being in owner occupied properties.

7. Expand your investment search throughout all 50 states.

8. Last and probably the MOST BENEFICIAL of all of the perks….You can qualify to purchase these properties using your commercial tenant's credit rating, business cash flow and their long-term rental leases!

In an era where information rules, the small to medium sized real estate investor can NOW be a "Front Runner" AND a major player within the commercial real estate market!, says Steven Battle

We are searching for like -minded real estate investors and investment clubs that would like to join a Commercial Real Estate Investor Forum. We welcome that you come and ask your commercial financing questions and share your investment experiences with the group. Go to www.amoneybroker.com and click on "Join Our Investor Forum."

About the Author

Steven Battle, Commercial Financing Specialist with Amoneybroker.com, has over twenty years of experience in financing, property management, real estate investing, and direct sales.

www.amoneybroker.com/

Copyright © 2005 AMONEYBROKER.COM - All Rights Reserved

2005-06-16T20:52:00.000-04:00

Blogging for Profit Using AdSense

by Chris Rivers

This article is designed to teach you how to profit from blogging, writing to a website in the form of regular posts, without spending anything. The keys to this idea lie in two of Google’s programs, Blogger.com and AdSense.

The first obvious step is to find a niche. While it is possible to have a general interest blog, it may not be as profitable as targeting a specific subject (click here to read the logic behind targeted advertising).

Once you settled on a subject you like, its time to set up your blog. Blogger.com is great for beginners. Not only is it free (and free of ads, unlike most free hosting services), it has integrated support for AdSense (more on this later). For now, pick a suitable but catchy name and choose one of the pre-made designs.

Of course, now you have to start making posts to your blog. There are two main types of posts. The most common type of content on blogs seems to be commentary plus a link to the actual news source or website of interest. Then there are original content posts which will have others link to you (much like you do in your commentary posts). Either way, make sure its interesting to have readers coming back.

Now its time to apply for Google’s AdSense program. AdSense is a pay per click program which matches ads to the content of your page. Every time a visitor to your site clicks on one of these links, you receive a small amount of revenue (the minimum advertisers can bid for a link is $0.05, of which you receive a percentage. Many phrases can have bids as high as several dollars per click).

The content of your site determines what ads appear, and therefore how much you will ultimately make. The placement and appearance of ads, however, can have just as great an impact on how much you make.

There are a few tips for maximizing ad revenue. First, the appearance of the add itself is important. Google clearly labels all its units as advertising, but allows you to determine the colors of the links and the background. It is important that this match the look of your site. The more blatant an ad is, the more likely it is to turn off visitors. Just as important is the location of the ad units. They should appear on the top half of your page, and preferably on the left side. This insures the ad is viewed by most visitors.

Having covered the basics, its now time for you to experiment to discover what works best for your new blog. The best part is, it costs nothing to try.

About the Author

Chris Rivers is a writer for http://www.ClickForDeals.net. Visit the site to learn more about maximizing profits through affiliate and pay per click programs. Articles appear on the site exclusively one week before they are syndicated.