Everybody wants to make money¸ everybody is selling something, or joining the next best affiliate program, or talking social media, or Internet marketing. So the question now is, how do I weed out what works and what does not?
I sent a note to my FaceBook group about a business opportunity, which by the way, has the potential of making tons of money, and immediately, I received four affiliate offers on my inbox.
There are a lot of people that will graciously give you tips ant try to help you by telling you that their program is the best; and you know what? They might be right; and then, they might not. I am convinced that a majority of those who send you their promotions are: trying to make money, and not trying to swindle you.
Here is the bottom line. You want to make money online? The best two ways of doing it are:
1. Affiliate marketing. You either sell your own product, or, if you are not that good at writing, public speaking, or just talking for the sake of talking, sell someone else’s stuff. Nothing wrong with that, as long as it is a good product.
2. Provide content, and sell advertising.
I prefer the second way of making money. It allows me to express my many opinions, help others by answering honestly, and frees me to find the next best thing.
I can tell you that I have being called “a great teacher”, twenty two years of Army experience, teaching everything from survival, to how to read a map, and lately, cultural awareness, tend to make you good at what you do; and when you spend as much time as I have teaching, and some of the things that you teach, if you teach it incorrectly, can cost someone’s life, you better take it seriously. A blog is hardly that exciting, but again, if you are going to teach, is best if you have something to teach.
You can create a blog, like this one, or why not, an e-zine. But, if you are like me, you get bored with articles that are designed to just sell you stuff. So, the first and best tip that I have for you is to respect your readers enough to let them know when you are selling something.
I have read dozens of free books on how to write copy, or sales letters. I don’t know who came up with those names. To me, copy is what you make on a copy machine, and copyright is what you apply for and pay so nobody plagiarizes you. But, it annoys me beyond belief when I see sales letters with testimonies, some of them legit, some out of someone’s mind (read between the lines on this one), trying to tell me that if I do not jump now and buy whatever it is, I will be missing the opportunity.
So, the bottom line again, respect your reader, and provide them with something useful, like CONTENT.
It is ok to place ads on your blog. Just look to the left of this article and you will see ads; or read between the articles, and you see more ads intended to have you click on them. I make money when you do. And, if Google is reading this, please note that I have not asked readers to click on them.
So, spend some time often enough, researching your topics, so you can provide useful and up to date info to your readers.
Read many blogs, and make yourself useful. What do I mean by that? Contribute to their readers by commenting on their articles. Make it a legitimate contribution. Share your ideas. Become a regular. Once you have done this, email the blog creators, maybe they will be willing to add a back link to your blog. Back links will help you gain “authority”. The search engines will see that as a sign that you actually know what you are talking about. Your ranking will improve. Make sure that you understand that they, the bloggers, are not obligated to place your link on their blogs. It is not personal, it is just business.
And, of course, make sure that you grow your list of contacts, and potential customers.
This takes time. Be patient. Rome was not built in a day.
It is called social media for a reason; you need to cultivate friendships. The more friends you make, the more possible customers you get.
We talked about content, research, back links, and your list. If you follow these tips, you will make money, eventually.
Let me know what you think. I am always open to new ideas, and contributions.
Showing posts with label make money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label make money. Show all posts
Friday, September 5, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
What is an affiliate program?
What is an affiliate program? How do I find the one for me?
An affiliate program is any system that allows you to interact, contribute, improve upon, distribute, and or market a particular idea, product, or service.
An affiliate program has many of the benefits of owning your own business, without the hassle of actually having to run it by yourself. Payroll, storage, shipping, handling, delivery, etc, are some of the most gratifying tasks of owning your own business, but like everything in life, too much of a good thing, can be hazardous to your health. At first, you might be having fun, but unless you absolutely love what you do, it will eventually get old, and something will have to give, either your business suffers, or the freedoms, and perks of owning your own business will translate to slavery (working 10-16 hour days, always taking care of problems, and never being able to take a day of).
But how many affiliate programs are there for me to choose? Two words: TOO MANY. So, how do I find out, which are worth my time and hard earned money? Lets do this:
a. Find something that is worthy of receiving your endorsement. Remember, if you are going to advertise it, your name brand, your name, your image, will be associated with it. If you peddle every little junky product out there, you will loose credibility. On the same token, if you always recommend high quality products and or services, people will learn to trust you. So, the best I can tell you is that you make sure to do your research, because in everything that you invest money in, there is always the risk of loosing your shirt. It is a lot easier to maintain an honest image by virtue of being honest, than it is to reinvent yourself every few years.
b. Only you can determine what is too little money for you. You might be very altruistic, but the bottom line is that if you want to continue to be altruistic, you need to make money. The more you make, the more altruistic you can afford to be. So make sure that whatever program you get yourself involved with pays a decent commission. To me, a decent commission is anything over 30%. Some will pay you 50%, and if you are lucky, you might find something paying 60%. Who knows, it is up to you. But remember that if you are investing the time, you need to be paid.
c. Ensure that your affiliate program tracks every possible way to sell a product and service. Unfortunately, with the advent of the Internet, many affiliate programs concentrate only in the online portion of the business. So the fax orders, the mail orders, the phone orders, are fulfilled, but not credited to you. Make sure that whatever affiliate program you go into, can track the old fashion snail mail transactions.
d. Check out how easy it is to make a sale. If five people of every hundred that visit and inquire about the program joins, or purchase it, you will be doing great. The higher the percentage rate, the better.
e. Is your program sink or swim? When you get your affiliates, you should provide them with tools for success, from links, to examples of advertisement. The better the support, the longer they will stay being your affiliates.
f. Read all contracts, agreements, and websites. Also, do a web search for the names of the people affiliated with the management of the program, and try to find anyone who has done a review of the particular program you are contemplating joining. I have found that just five minutes and few well placed key words, can provide you with food for thought, and give you judgment elements that you will need in order to make an intelligent decision.
g. As with everything, only invest money that you can afford to loose.
Do not put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify, change niches, and try several programs. Life is flexible, you be too. Do your homework and you will be successful.
An affiliate program is any system that allows you to interact, contribute, improve upon, distribute, and or market a particular idea, product, or service.
An affiliate program has many of the benefits of owning your own business, without the hassle of actually having to run it by yourself. Payroll, storage, shipping, handling, delivery, etc, are some of the most gratifying tasks of owning your own business, but like everything in life, too much of a good thing, can be hazardous to your health. At first, you might be having fun, but unless you absolutely love what you do, it will eventually get old, and something will have to give, either your business suffers, or the freedoms, and perks of owning your own business will translate to slavery (working 10-16 hour days, always taking care of problems, and never being able to take a day of).
But how many affiliate programs are there for me to choose? Two words: TOO MANY. So, how do I find out, which are worth my time and hard earned money? Lets do this:
a. Find something that is worthy of receiving your endorsement. Remember, if you are going to advertise it, your name brand, your name, your image, will be associated with it. If you peddle every little junky product out there, you will loose credibility. On the same token, if you always recommend high quality products and or services, people will learn to trust you. So, the best I can tell you is that you make sure to do your research, because in everything that you invest money in, there is always the risk of loosing your shirt. It is a lot easier to maintain an honest image by virtue of being honest, than it is to reinvent yourself every few years.
b. Only you can determine what is too little money for you. You might be very altruistic, but the bottom line is that if you want to continue to be altruistic, you need to make money. The more you make, the more altruistic you can afford to be. So make sure that whatever program you get yourself involved with pays a decent commission. To me, a decent commission is anything over 30%. Some will pay you 50%, and if you are lucky, you might find something paying 60%. Who knows, it is up to you. But remember that if you are investing the time, you need to be paid.
c. Ensure that your affiliate program tracks every possible way to sell a product and service. Unfortunately, with the advent of the Internet, many affiliate programs concentrate only in the online portion of the business. So the fax orders, the mail orders, the phone orders, are fulfilled, but not credited to you. Make sure that whatever affiliate program you go into, can track the old fashion snail mail transactions.
d. Check out how easy it is to make a sale. If five people of every hundred that visit and inquire about the program joins, or purchase it, you will be doing great. The higher the percentage rate, the better.
e. Is your program sink or swim? When you get your affiliates, you should provide them with tools for success, from links, to examples of advertisement. The better the support, the longer they will stay being your affiliates.
f. Read all contracts, agreements, and websites. Also, do a web search for the names of the people affiliated with the management of the program, and try to find anyone who has done a review of the particular program you are contemplating joining. I have found that just five minutes and few well placed key words, can provide you with food for thought, and give you judgment elements that you will need in order to make an intelligent decision.
g. As with everything, only invest money that you can afford to loose.
Do not put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify, change niches, and try several programs. Life is flexible, you be too. Do your homework and you will be successful.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Money matters
When we talk money, as a business owner, we need to make sure that we keep tabs on income and expenses, keep a very through record of assets and liabilities, and generate adequate forms to fulfill the needs of our business.
You can track income and expenses using the register of your checkbook; or the old fashion way, using a ledger or notebook with columns. The main point here is that you should categorize your debits (income) into some sort of income category. Lets see, if you receive revenue form the selling of e-books as an Amazon.com affiliate, you can create a category called “Amazon income”, or if your income came from selling something on e-bay, “E-Bay”; while at the same time, you create categories for your liabilities (expenses). If you have a home office, you might deduct a portion of your utilities from your home, or a portion of your Internet bill. Do remember to consult our professional tax advisor for clarification of any doubts, and if nothing else, to ensure that you are familiar with the new laws. Our Tax Code grows by leaps and bounds every year.
Microsoft has it’s own accounting program that can help you with these items, and so does Quicken.
Using a checkbook program like Quicken assumes that you are using cash based system for your business, or in other words, you get paid in cash, you deposit the money, and you write a check for your expenses. If you have inventory, you should consult your Tax advisor, since you might get yourself in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service. Tracking cash advances, and services received in advance, can present its own variety of challenges to a cash based system.
Invoices, checks, credit memos, contracts, monthly statements, purchase orders, inventory forms, are just a few of the forms that you might need to standardize if you want to be effective accounting for your business traffic, inventories, sales, demand, liabilities, etc. Quick Books, Peachtree’s Complete Accounting, or Microsoft Business might help you out. I sometimes create mi own forms with Microsoft Office.
The computer you just bought for your business, your fax machine, your fancy teleconferencing phone, the scale you just bought to weight your packages before mailing them, your car if you use it for business, are some assets that you might need to keep track for tax purposes. Office supplies, alarm system, etc, are just but a few others. Again, check with your Tax Advisor.
There is no one formula to ensure that you will have an efficient accounting system if you insist on doing it yourself; just make sure that you keep the number of a professional CPA handy, in the event that you feel overwhelmed, and be weary of your buddy who tells you that you can take certain Tax deductions when he actually majored in “Partying and boozing” while in college.
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You can track income and expenses using the register of your checkbook; or the old fashion way, using a ledger or notebook with columns. The main point here is that you should categorize your debits (income) into some sort of income category. Lets see, if you receive revenue form the selling of e-books as an Amazon.com affiliate, you can create a category called “Amazon income”, or if your income came from selling something on e-bay, “E-Bay”; while at the same time, you create categories for your liabilities (expenses). If you have a home office, you might deduct a portion of your utilities from your home, or a portion of your Internet bill. Do remember to consult our professional tax advisor for clarification of any doubts, and if nothing else, to ensure that you are familiar with the new laws. Our Tax Code grows by leaps and bounds every year.
Microsoft has it’s own accounting program that can help you with these items, and so does Quicken.
Using a checkbook program like Quicken assumes that you are using cash based system for your business, or in other words, you get paid in cash, you deposit the money, and you write a check for your expenses. If you have inventory, you should consult your Tax advisor, since you might get yourself in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service. Tracking cash advances, and services received in advance, can present its own variety of challenges to a cash based system.
Invoices, checks, credit memos, contracts, monthly statements, purchase orders, inventory forms, are just a few of the forms that you might need to standardize if you want to be effective accounting for your business traffic, inventories, sales, demand, liabilities, etc. Quick Books, Peachtree’s Complete Accounting, or Microsoft Business might help you out. I sometimes create mi own forms with Microsoft Office.
The computer you just bought for your business, your fax machine, your fancy teleconferencing phone, the scale you just bought to weight your packages before mailing them, your car if you use it for business, are some assets that you might need to keep track for tax purposes. Office supplies, alarm system, etc, are just but a few others. Again, check with your Tax Advisor.
There is no one formula to ensure that you will have an efficient accounting system if you insist on doing it yourself; just make sure that you keep the number of a professional CPA handy, in the event that you feel overwhelmed, and be weary of your buddy who tells you that you can take certain Tax deductions when he actually majored in “Partying and boozing” while in college.
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Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Five not so secret keys to marketing
A lot of people talk about marketing, they want to develop a marketing business, they talk social media marketing, multi level marketing, and truth be told, many do not have the least idea of what marketing implies. Lets bounce five ideas that might give you a leg up and kick-start your business.
First things first: lets talk about your level of commitment to your product. Are you convinced that it is the best product available? What does that has to do with marketing? I am a firm believer that your integrity has to come first. I cannot advertise a product that I cannot honestly say it works, or has the true potential to work. As so, I am truly passionate about what I do, and the passion can be felt in my writing, in my speeches, and in everything I do. You would be surprised at the difference that commitment makes in an advertising campaign.
Number two: how is your support system? Who is your partner, and what kind of ideas he or she brings to the table? Are they zapping your energy with negativity? They need to be as committed to the product as you are. Their passion should complement yours.
Third: make sure that you give 100% effort to your customer, or whatever it is that you are marketing. A half-baked idea, or a lacking ad campaign will produce just that, mediocre results.
Fourth: do the absolute best job that you can do for every customer. Your fame will multiply, and you will get what others envy: repeat customers, and true referrals. If your product is good, you have the passion, and your firm exemplifies ethics, values, and an emphasis in customer service, you will have no problem later on, since your customers will give you the greatest compliment of them all: referrals.
And fifth: not everybody knows everything. So when you have doubts, talk to your loyal friends. If you are a good friend, the relationships that you have cultivated, will be there for you. Ask, and when your friends ask for suggestions, you be there for them too. In that way, it is a mutual benefit relationship.
Do this, and you will prosper.
First things first: lets talk about your level of commitment to your product. Are you convinced that it is the best product available? What does that has to do with marketing? I am a firm believer that your integrity has to come first. I cannot advertise a product that I cannot honestly say it works, or has the true potential to work. As so, I am truly passionate about what I do, and the passion can be felt in my writing, in my speeches, and in everything I do. You would be surprised at the difference that commitment makes in an advertising campaign.
Number two: how is your support system? Who is your partner, and what kind of ideas he or she brings to the table? Are they zapping your energy with negativity? They need to be as committed to the product as you are. Their passion should complement yours.
Third: make sure that you give 100% effort to your customer, or whatever it is that you are marketing. A half-baked idea, or a lacking ad campaign will produce just that, mediocre results.
Fourth: do the absolute best job that you can do for every customer. Your fame will multiply, and you will get what others envy: repeat customers, and true referrals. If your product is good, you have the passion, and your firm exemplifies ethics, values, and an emphasis in customer service, you will have no problem later on, since your customers will give you the greatest compliment of them all: referrals.
And fifth: not everybody knows everything. So when you have doubts, talk to your loyal friends. If you are a good friend, the relationships that you have cultivated, will be there for you. Ask, and when your friends ask for suggestions, you be there for them too. In that way, it is a mutual benefit relationship.
Do this, and you will prosper.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
So you want to make money online?
I want to make money with my blog.
Blogs, electronic journals, e-zines, e-books, online versions of paper magazines, the options are endless. How can you find the blog that you would like to read? That seems like a stupid question to ask, the stereotypical answer would be: “Google it”. Yeah right. Try it, and when you have pulled every hair on your head, let me know. Search engine categorize blogs by keywords, and there are exponentially, as many ways to find your blog, as there are words in whichever language(s) you are currently using.
The next problem that you will find, is that people tend to start a blog entry, and suddenly, a friend comments on the blog, but instead of adding content, they start a non-related conversation about the immortality of crabs or some nonsensical topic like last night’s dance. Don’t take me wrong, that is totally ok. But it does not serve the purpose if you are limited in time and want an expedite way of research.
The problem is that blogers are human beings, they get bored, they get busy, they become frustrated, and that lends itself to inconsistency. Inconsistency breeds the mess that we find now on the Internet.
The thing is, that this is supposed to be a blog about making money, business opportunities, and social media. So why did I started this post in such a convoluted way? You guessed it, here is the answer: you can make money with a blog if you follow a few very basic rules. Many people have done it. It does not take a rocket scientist. I read about a teenage girl that started designing “wallpaper” for her MySpace account, and gave it away for free on her blog. Suddenly, her popularity skyrocketed (went viral) and at seventeen, someone offered her over $1,000,000.00 for her blog. Yes, that is over one million dollars. She declined, the upped the offer, and the rest is history. John Chow, started a ranting blog, and now he receive tens of thousands of hits (visitors) a week. He makes a killing on advertisements.
How does that benefit you? Simple, start a blog; the experience alone, even if you make no money of the back, is worthy. You will get used to the pace, posting, replying to comments, and placing ads on your blog. You can start a blog for free, get an Adsense account (from Google) and start making modest amounts of money. But if you really want to make money, you need traffic; you need to drive visitors to your blog. Your writing needs to be interesting; your blog should have good content, and need to be updated often to keep people visiting you often.
Tell me again why I should start a blog? Here it goes again: a blog is a diary that others read, get interested on, comment on your postings, and gives you the opportunity to reply to those postings, thus establishing a relationship.
Follow me now... You suddenly get many friends to follow your writings, some will agree with you and some will not, no surprise there, but if you are honest, treat everybody with dignity, they will come back. You have managed to establish a following. You are establishing yourself as an authority.
Keep up now, I’m going fast here… what is marketing? Marketing is the art or science of advertising a product or service so people will purchase it. The marketer should be credible and savvy enough to advertise a product so the viewers, readers, friends, etc. accept his or her word for it, and want to purchase such product or service. But how can you advertise if you have no credibility? And how can you create or develop credibility if people don’t know you? Enter the BLOG… Got it?
Got it. Get your name out there, for the right reasons. Be serious about it. Research your postings before publishing. Treat others with a modicum of respect. Advertise your blog to your Social Media friends; hopefully you will have more than ten. Have your friends recommend your postings to their friends. Have them Digg, or Stumbelupon, or bookmark your articles. Soon enough, not overnight though, your name will be on the search engines. And your blog will have a good following; making you an authority. Oh, remember the adsense and other advertising that you started doing on your blog? With some luck, you will be bringing some revenue as your visitors click on your advertisements.
So, lets summarize:
a. Create a blog.
b. Add fairly good quality articles or postings; make sure that you research the topic.
c. Place some advertisements on it.
d. Tell your friends and ask them to ask your friends to visit your blog, if it is good, some will continue visiting and reading it.
Tell me what you think… leave your comments below.
Blogs, electronic journals, e-zines, e-books, online versions of paper magazines, the options are endless. How can you find the blog that you would like to read? That seems like a stupid question to ask, the stereotypical answer would be: “Google it”. Yeah right. Try it, and when you have pulled every hair on your head, let me know. Search engine categorize blogs by keywords, and there are exponentially, as many ways to find your blog, as there are words in whichever language(s) you are currently using.
The next problem that you will find, is that people tend to start a blog entry, and suddenly, a friend comments on the blog, but instead of adding content, they start a non-related conversation about the immortality of crabs or some nonsensical topic like last night’s dance. Don’t take me wrong, that is totally ok. But it does not serve the purpose if you are limited in time and want an expedite way of research.
The problem is that blogers are human beings, they get bored, they get busy, they become frustrated, and that lends itself to inconsistency. Inconsistency breeds the mess that we find now on the Internet.
The thing is, that this is supposed to be a blog about making money, business opportunities, and social media. So why did I started this post in such a convoluted way? You guessed it, here is the answer: you can make money with a blog if you follow a few very basic rules. Many people have done it. It does not take a rocket scientist. I read about a teenage girl that started designing “wallpaper” for her MySpace account, and gave it away for free on her blog. Suddenly, her popularity skyrocketed (went viral) and at seventeen, someone offered her over $1,000,000.00 for her blog. Yes, that is over one million dollars. She declined, the upped the offer, and the rest is history. John Chow, started a ranting blog, and now he receive tens of thousands of hits (visitors) a week. He makes a killing on advertisements.
How does that benefit you? Simple, start a blog; the experience alone, even if you make no money of the back, is worthy. You will get used to the pace, posting, replying to comments, and placing ads on your blog. You can start a blog for free, get an Adsense account (from Google) and start making modest amounts of money. But if you really want to make money, you need traffic; you need to drive visitors to your blog. Your writing needs to be interesting; your blog should have good content, and need to be updated often to keep people visiting you often.
Tell me again why I should start a blog? Here it goes again: a blog is a diary that others read, get interested on, comment on your postings, and gives you the opportunity to reply to those postings, thus establishing a relationship.
Follow me now... You suddenly get many friends to follow your writings, some will agree with you and some will not, no surprise there, but if you are honest, treat everybody with dignity, they will come back. You have managed to establish a following. You are establishing yourself as an authority.
Keep up now, I’m going fast here… what is marketing? Marketing is the art or science of advertising a product or service so people will purchase it. The marketer should be credible and savvy enough to advertise a product so the viewers, readers, friends, etc. accept his or her word for it, and want to purchase such product or service. But how can you advertise if you have no credibility? And how can you create or develop credibility if people don’t know you? Enter the BLOG… Got it?
Got it. Get your name out there, for the right reasons. Be serious about it. Research your postings before publishing. Treat others with a modicum of respect. Advertise your blog to your Social Media friends; hopefully you will have more than ten. Have your friends recommend your postings to their friends. Have them Digg, or Stumbelupon, or bookmark your articles. Soon enough, not overnight though, your name will be on the search engines. And your blog will have a good following; making you an authority. Oh, remember the adsense and other advertising that you started doing on your blog? With some luck, you will be bringing some revenue as your visitors click on your advertisements.
So, lets summarize:
a. Create a blog.
b. Add fairly good quality articles or postings; make sure that you research the topic.
c. Place some advertisements on it.
d. Tell your friends and ask them to ask your friends to visit your blog, if it is good, some will continue visiting and reading it.
Tell me what you think… leave your comments below.
Friday, August 1, 2008
E-Business 101, in layman's terms
An online business; that is the dream of many entrepreneurs. The old adage that “you have to spend money to make money” is still partially true in this day and age. But the days of spending thousands of dollars in order to start a business online are pretty much over, unless of course you get yourself swindled by some fast talking person. But how can you make it if you have no idea how to start your own business, much less an online business?
Here is the scoop. You will have some initials expenses, and if you are smart and lucky, you can keep them to a minimum.
First things first; what do you want to do with your business? Do you want to sell something tangible, intangible, your own products, someone else’s, do something in the entertainment industry (use your imagination on that one), or… you take your pick.
It does not matter what you want to do, you will need a website. Here is the warning: almost everyone who offers you a free website, is probably only offering you the website, not the “Domain name”, or the “hosting”, and for sure, not the advertising.
What does all that means in layman’s terms? The “Domain” is the name for your business. Here goes another warning: when you go to purchase your domain, make sure that you have the usual fee for the hosting (about $5.00-$25.00 per month) because when you enter your very original “name” and try to figure out if it is available, the search engine that you are using, or the company that is trying to sell you the hosting, will keep tabs of it, and if you do not snatch it right away, they will buy it, and then auction it back to you at a higher price. Also, “Hosting Companies” will give you the better rate if you pay for the entire year up front. I.E. you will pay about $20.00 per month, if you pay one month at a time; versus $5.95 per month, if you pay the entire year.
“Hosting” is the place where you are going to keep your files, and website. They have a server, or huge storage facility and can sell you a package that would allow to keep your site, provide you with emails for your business, and or give you the option to rent space for other entrepreneurs to hang their websites, that way you also make money from it. That of course is more expensive.
Web design, HTML, and whatchamacallits: You can buy a cheap WYSIWYG program (what you see is what you get) at your local software store, you can ask someone to do it for you and pay a few hundreds to thousands, or use the hosting company WYSIWYG software and hope you can figure it out. I suggest for you to go to blogspot.com, or officelive.com and create a free account, then, practice, practice, practice… figure out the colors, the layout, the advertising placement, etc. It will give you an opportunity to practice your decorator skills.
Once you figure it out with a few disposable blogs or websites, you are ready to get your feet wet. Do these next:
a. Buy your domain; the “Free domains” gimmick is to make you buy a hosting packet.
b. Buy your hosting packet. See if they throw an auto responder with it. Trust me, you will need it.
c. Get the auto responder if you did not get it with the hosting.
d. Create your website.
Now I am going to break your heart. Just because you have a great website, does not mean that you will have people coming to look at it. No visitors, no purchase, no advertising revenue. The only business that is really a sure thing is an “adult website business”. Other than that, you will need to do some serious “Search Engine Optimization” in order to get visitors.
“Search Engine what? Here it is in English: if search engines like Google, Dogpile, Ask Jeeves, etc. cannot find your website, nobody will see it. If your website is not within the first few results in the main search engines, people will not take the time to find it. So, you can do it yourself, or again, pay someone to do it.
Once you have your domain, your website, your hosting, your auto responder, and your site fully optimized, you need to ask yourself, how am I going to get pay?
E-Commerce, Electronic Shopping Cart, PayPal, SafePay, etc are topics for a future article, in the meantime, do not fall for every Tom, Dick, or Harry that promises to make you a millionaire. Only invest what you can afford to lose, and make yourself smart. I am not trying to be condescending; I am trying to tell you to start studying. Continue to read this blog, go to Technorati.com, check out their 100 top blogs, read some of those and learn, learn, learn.
Any doubts, feel free to ask.
Here is the scoop. You will have some initials expenses, and if you are smart and lucky, you can keep them to a minimum.
First things first; what do you want to do with your business? Do you want to sell something tangible, intangible, your own products, someone else’s, do something in the entertainment industry (use your imagination on that one), or… you take your pick.
It does not matter what you want to do, you will need a website. Here is the warning: almost everyone who offers you a free website, is probably only offering you the website, not the “Domain name”, or the “hosting”, and for sure, not the advertising.
What does all that means in layman’s terms? The “Domain” is the name for your business. Here goes another warning: when you go to purchase your domain, make sure that you have the usual fee for the hosting (about $5.00-$25.00 per month) because when you enter your very original “name” and try to figure out if it is available, the search engine that you are using, or the company that is trying to sell you the hosting, will keep tabs of it, and if you do not snatch it right away, they will buy it, and then auction it back to you at a higher price. Also, “Hosting Companies” will give you the better rate if you pay for the entire year up front. I.E. you will pay about $20.00 per month, if you pay one month at a time; versus $5.95 per month, if you pay the entire year.
“Hosting” is the place where you are going to keep your files, and website. They have a server, or huge storage facility and can sell you a package that would allow to keep your site, provide you with emails for your business, and or give you the option to rent space for other entrepreneurs to hang their websites, that way you also make money from it. That of course is more expensive.
Web design, HTML, and whatchamacallits: You can buy a cheap WYSIWYG program (what you see is what you get) at your local software store, you can ask someone to do it for you and pay a few hundreds to thousands, or use the hosting company WYSIWYG software and hope you can figure it out. I suggest for you to go to blogspot.com, or officelive.com and create a free account, then, practice, practice, practice… figure out the colors, the layout, the advertising placement, etc. It will give you an opportunity to practice your decorator skills.
Once you figure it out with a few disposable blogs or websites, you are ready to get your feet wet. Do these next:
a. Buy your domain; the “Free domains” gimmick is to make you buy a hosting packet.
b. Buy your hosting packet. See if they throw an auto responder with it. Trust me, you will need it.
c. Get the auto responder if you did not get it with the hosting.
d. Create your website.
Now I am going to break your heart. Just because you have a great website, does not mean that you will have people coming to look at it. No visitors, no purchase, no advertising revenue. The only business that is really a sure thing is an “adult website business”. Other than that, you will need to do some serious “Search Engine Optimization” in order to get visitors.
“Search Engine what? Here it is in English: if search engines like Google, Dogpile, Ask Jeeves, etc. cannot find your website, nobody will see it. If your website is not within the first few results in the main search engines, people will not take the time to find it. So, you can do it yourself, or again, pay someone to do it.
Once you have your domain, your website, your hosting, your auto responder, and your site fully optimized, you need to ask yourself, how am I going to get pay?
E-Commerce, Electronic Shopping Cart, PayPal, SafePay, etc are topics for a future article, in the meantime, do not fall for every Tom, Dick, or Harry that promises to make you a millionaire. Only invest what you can afford to lose, and make yourself smart. I am not trying to be condescending; I am trying to tell you to start studying. Continue to read this blog, go to Technorati.com, check out their 100 top blogs, read some of those and learn, learn, learn.
Any doubts, feel free to ask.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Marketing on a Budget
A successful marketing plan doesn't have to include an athletic superstar, prime-time placement, state-of-the-art computer graphics or a massive budget. Being resourceful and smart can be just as effective.
Business promotion doesn't have to cost a fortune. Often, it's the personal touch that seals the deal. Here are ideas gathered from marketing experts to help you make the most of a slim marketing budget:
Use Press Release Power
You might not realize it, but reporters sometimes need you as much as you need them. The key to getting their attention is coming up with a newsworthy item that is concisely written.
* Peg your release to real events, such as fundraising drives or a new service your business offers. Don't be witty to amuse yourself the idea must have a concrete purpose.
* If you can't figure out why your company might be newsworthy, ask your friends what they find interesting about your company.
* You can also utilize your built-in research tool your customers. If you have an offbeat idea, bounce it off them or have them fill out a short questionnaire. Ask them why they use your business.
Think Differently
Concoct an event to draw media coverage. For instance, a Japanese restaurant could create the world's largest sushi roll and advertise its record-breaking "sushi queue."
Put A Face On It
Placing your photograph on your business card creates a personal relationship, even if they don't know you. Not only will people remember your name, they'll remember your face.
Print The Praise
If someone says, "You do a great job," say, "Thanks, very much, that means an awful lot to me. I would appreciate it if you would write a testimonial letter." Then make the testimonial part of your promotional package.
Borrow A Message
When you see an article on a subject that might interest your clients, send them a photocopy with a note that says, "I thought you might be interested in this." You're making a personal connection with a client and associating yourself with the authority quoted in the article in the process.
Think Outside The Box
You don't have to outspend your competition, you just have to outthink them. Some examples: Buy a billboard ad every other month for a year. Chances are, the billboard won't be replaced on the off months, so you'll get more exposure at no extra cost.
This concept also relates to how you run your business: Always try to figure out how to give your customers something they can't find elsewhere, such as a children's play area at a restaurant.
Try The Old Faithfuls
Don't dismiss time-honored solutions that increase your company's community profile, such as sponsoring a charity event or outfitting a local little league team. You'll get your name out there, and that's what counts.
Business promotion doesn't have to cost a fortune. Often, it's the personal touch that seals the deal. Here are ideas gathered from marketing experts to help you make the most of a slim marketing budget:
Use Press Release Power
You might not realize it, but reporters sometimes need you as much as you need them. The key to getting their attention is coming up with a newsworthy item that is concisely written.
* Peg your release to real events, such as fundraising drives or a new service your business offers. Don't be witty to amuse yourself the idea must have a concrete purpose.
* If you can't figure out why your company might be newsworthy, ask your friends what they find interesting about your company.
* You can also utilize your built-in research tool your customers. If you have an offbeat idea, bounce it off them or have them fill out a short questionnaire. Ask them why they use your business.
Think Differently
Concoct an event to draw media coverage. For instance, a Japanese restaurant could create the world's largest sushi roll and advertise its record-breaking "sushi queue."
Put A Face On It
Placing your photograph on your business card creates a personal relationship, even if they don't know you. Not only will people remember your name, they'll remember your face.
Print The Praise
If someone says, "You do a great job," say, "Thanks, very much, that means an awful lot to me. I would appreciate it if you would write a testimonial letter." Then make the testimonial part of your promotional package.
Borrow A Message
When you see an article on a subject that might interest your clients, send them a photocopy with a note that says, "I thought you might be interested in this." You're making a personal connection with a client and associating yourself with the authority quoted in the article in the process.
Think Outside The Box
You don't have to outspend your competition, you just have to outthink them. Some examples: Buy a billboard ad every other month for a year. Chances are, the billboard won't be replaced on the off months, so you'll get more exposure at no extra cost.
This concept also relates to how you run your business: Always try to figure out how to give your customers something they can't find elsewhere, such as a children's play area at a restaurant.
Try The Old Faithfuls
Don't dismiss time-honored solutions that increase your company's community profile, such as sponsoring a charity event or outfitting a local little league team. You'll get your name out there, and that's what counts.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Freebie Force Review
Well, It had to happen, curiosity sometimes is a bad thing, but in this case it is a good one.
It is safe to assume that we all are always trying to get a good return on our investment. We would not be good business people if we did not; and with the high cost of groceries, gas, and everything that we use on a daily basis, it is harder than ever to find a good investment.
Enter Freebie Force. Freebie Force is an old fashion MLM Company in which you recruit people, your people recruit people, their people continues to do the same, and as long as most of them remain active, you get paid.
What is the product? Somehow; the company finds a lot of free stuff, which is why it is called Freebie Force, from software, to college classes, to detergents, you name it. So, you log to their website, and check out their offers, I spent 45 minutes, doing it and got about $400.00 worth of items that I can use. Guess what? I send for those items.
So I invested about $10.00, and in return, will receive about $400.00 worth of goods that I would otherwise buy. Not bad.
When you sign in, they will advertise the opportunity to make money filling out surveys, if this for you, go right ahead, otherwise, keep on going to the goodies.
As with all MLM systems, you get what you put in. So, if you want to make money, make sure to advertise the program to your friends.
Ops, I almost forgot, here is the link: http://joseacolon.makemoneywithfreebies.com.
Do make sure that you watch the short video.
Joe
It is safe to assume that we all are always trying to get a good return on our investment. We would not be good business people if we did not; and with the high cost of groceries, gas, and everything that we use on a daily basis, it is harder than ever to find a good investment.
Enter Freebie Force. Freebie Force is an old fashion MLM Company in which you recruit people, your people recruit people, their people continues to do the same, and as long as most of them remain active, you get paid.
What is the product? Somehow; the company finds a lot of free stuff, which is why it is called Freebie Force, from software, to college classes, to detergents, you name it. So, you log to their website, and check out their offers, I spent 45 minutes, doing it and got about $400.00 worth of items that I can use. Guess what? I send for those items.
So I invested about $10.00, and in return, will receive about $400.00 worth of goods that I would otherwise buy. Not bad.
When you sign in, they will advertise the opportunity to make money filling out surveys, if this for you, go right ahead, otherwise, keep on going to the goodies.
As with all MLM systems, you get what you put in. So, if you want to make money, make sure to advertise the program to your friends.
Ops, I almost forgot, here is the link: http://joseacolon.makemoneywithfreebies.com.
Do make sure that you watch the short video.
Joe
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