Search engine optimization (SEO), a subset of search engine marketing, is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results, or the higher it "ranks," the more searchers will visit that site. SEO can also target image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.
A typical Search Engine Results Page (SERP)
As a marketing strategy, SEO considers how search algorithms work and what people search for in order to increase a site's relevancy. SEO efforts may involve a site's coding, presentation, and structure, as well as fixing problems that could prevent search engine indexing programs from fully spidering a site. Other, more noticeable efforts may include adding unique content to a site, and making sure that the content is easily indexed by search engines and also appeals to human visitors.
The term SEO can also refer to "search engine optimizers," a term adopted by an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform SEO services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer SEO as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign. Because effective SEO depends upon the source code of a site, SEO tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design. The term "search engine friendly" describes designs, menus, content management systems and shopping carts that are easy to optimize.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Friday, May 11, 2007
Succeeding At Your Yahoo! Business
The Yahoo! Stores have grown into one of the largest online shopping destinations on the Web today. The nearly 20,000 Yahoo! Stores have a 71% reach among online consumers, the highest on the Web. Many of these stores have become so successful that they have grown from small ‘mom and pop’ or part time businesses into full time money-making ventures. A whole new set of skills and knowledge are needed to operate a Yahoo Store like a full time eCommerce business.
Succeeding At Your Yahoo! Business teaches you how to customize a Yahoo! Store using the basic elements of the popular web design program Dreamweaver, including architecting an eCommerce web site. It then takes three different types of Yahoo! Stores and deconstructs them, showing you how they are formed and how they sell the products or services they offer. There is also an entire section on how to position a Yahoo! Store, acquire customers, and retain those customers. Finally, the book will show you how to set up the necessary accounting and operations systems, and how to hire the staff necessary to successfully run your business.
About the AuthorFrank Fiore from Paradise Valley, Arizona, is an acknowledged eBusiness expert and accomplished author of six eBusiness books that have sold over 50,000 copies. His most recent book from Que Publishing is Writing a Business Plan in No Time. He was the Online Shopping Guide for About.com and is a prolific writer of eBusiness features on Informit.com. Linh Tang is an award winning web designer, certified search engine optimizer and an e-Marketing expert. Linh has been developing Yahoo Stores since 2000. He is the founder of Beyond Ideas, an internet development and marketing consulting company and cofounder of Paper Models, Inc., both based in San Diego, California
Succeeding At Your Yahoo! Business teaches you how to customize a Yahoo! Store using the basic elements of the popular web design program Dreamweaver, including architecting an eCommerce web site. It then takes three different types of Yahoo! Stores and deconstructs them, showing you how they are formed and how they sell the products or services they offer. There is also an entire section on how to position a Yahoo! Store, acquire customers, and retain those customers. Finally, the book will show you how to set up the necessary accounting and operations systems, and how to hire the staff necessary to successfully run your business.
About the AuthorFrank Fiore from Paradise Valley, Arizona, is an acknowledged eBusiness expert and accomplished author of six eBusiness books that have sold over 50,000 copies. His most recent book from Que Publishing is Writing a Business Plan in No Time. He was the Online Shopping Guide for About.com and is a prolific writer of eBusiness features on Informit.com. Linh Tang is an award winning web designer, certified search engine optimizer and an e-Marketing expert. Linh has been developing Yahoo Stores since 2000. He is the founder of Beyond Ideas, an internet development and marketing consulting company and cofounder of Paper Models, Inc., both based in San Diego, California
Make Easy Money with Google: Using the AdSense Advertising Program
Please download here
Free Books : Make Easy Money with Google: Using the AdSense Advertising Program
Get your Web site to "show you the money" by using Google to draw more eyes--and wallets--to your content. In this friendly, four-color guide from veteran author and Web developer Eric Giguere, you'll learn all about Google's AdSense program and how you can use it to make your Web site or blog more profitable. Written in an easy-to-read, non-technical style, this book follows three average people--Claude, Stef, and Anita--as they learn to create money-making blogs and Web sites. Through their experiences, you'll learn: basic Web terminology; the Google Adsense nuts and bolts; how to host, build, and publish targeted ads and Google search boxes to your Web site; filter out inappropriate ads; track page performance; drive traffic to your site; and more. A four-part companion Web site features a blog, includes reader resources, and details the techniques discussed in the book.Online marketers agree that AdSense is one of the best tools you can use to draw dollars to your site. Let Giguere show you how to make the most of Google and have fun doing it!About the AuthorEric Giguere is a Web developer and technical writer who has monetized his own Web site and is developing various Web properties. As the author of numerous books and articles--including Palm Database Programming--Eric excels at explaining complicated computing topics to the average person
Password: ebookspyder.net
Free Books : Make Easy Money with Google: Using the AdSense Advertising Program
Get your Web site to "show you the money" by using Google to draw more eyes--and wallets--to your content. In this friendly, four-color guide from veteran author and Web developer Eric Giguere, you'll learn all about Google's AdSense program and how you can use it to make your Web site or blog more profitable. Written in an easy-to-read, non-technical style, this book follows three average people--Claude, Stef, and Anita--as they learn to create money-making blogs and Web sites. Through their experiences, you'll learn: basic Web terminology; the Google Adsense nuts and bolts; how to host, build, and publish targeted ads and Google search boxes to your Web site; filter out inappropriate ads; track page performance; drive traffic to your site; and more. A four-part companion Web site features a blog, includes reader resources, and details the techniques discussed in the book.Online marketers agree that AdSense is one of the best tools you can use to draw dollars to your site. Let Giguere show you how to make the most of Google and have fun doing it!About the AuthorEric Giguere is a Web developer and technical writer who has monetized his own Web site and is developing various Web properties. As the author of numerous books and articles--including Palm Database Programming--Eric excels at explaining complicated computing topics to the average person
Password: ebookspyder.net
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Build The AGLOCO Community
Big companies are making money off our every move on the Internet. Small companies are making getting sold for hundreds of billions and the users that create these companies aren’t seeing a cent. This is not right. I finally found a company that wants to give me my fair share. It’s called AGLOCO (short for “A Global Community”), and they want to give us a piece of the money we generate every time we’re on the Internet. I signed up, and I’d like you to do the same. First because you have nothing to lose and I don’t want you to miss out if it’s the next Google. Second, I’m trying to help build their community, since they recognize my help and pay me extra for the people I refer. Again, we’ve got nothing to lose for signing up and it could be a great opportunity. When you sign up, just make sure you use my reference ID: AGLO-0017 so I can get credit as a community builder. Or click on this www.agloco.com/r/BBCV422
Monday, April 30, 2007
About AGLOCO
About AGLOCO
Do You Realize How Valuable You Are?Advertisers, search providers, and online retailers are paying billions to reach you while you surf. How much of that money are you getting?
You Deserve A Piece of the ActionAGLOCO gets paid by companies to reach our Members through our Viewbar™ software.We give that money back to you.
Build the Community, Make More MoneyThrough our Referral Program, we reward those who are helping to build this Global Community. The bigger the community, the more money AGLOCO makes for its Members.
What’s the Catch?No catch. Sign up, refer your friends, download the free Viewbar™ software and surf the Internet as you normally would.
Privacy Counts.Your information will never be sold, rented,or shared with anyone else. Bulletproof privacy is a core commitment of AGLOCO.
Visit http:// www.agloco.com/r/BBCV4224. for more information
Do You Realize How Valuable You Are?Advertisers, search providers, and online retailers are paying billions to reach you while you surf. How much of that money are you getting?
You Deserve A Piece of the ActionAGLOCO gets paid by companies to reach our Members through our Viewbar™ software.We give that money back to you.
Build the Community, Make More MoneyThrough our Referral Program, we reward those who are helping to build this Global Community. The bigger the community, the more money AGLOCO makes for its Members.
What’s the Catch?No catch. Sign up, refer your friends, download the free Viewbar™ software and surf the Internet as you normally would.
Privacy Counts.Your information will never be sold, rented,or shared with anyone else. Bulletproof privacy is a core commitment of AGLOCO.
Visit http:// www.agloco.com/r/BBCV4224. for more information
Make Money with AGLOCO
Why AGLOCO?
If you haven’t yet heard about AGLOCO, you need to listen up! This new company, founded by a bunch of Stanford MBA students, is creating quite a buzz. Their slogan is ‘Own the Internet’… and that’s what it’s about: you’re getting back some of the money you generate for e-businesses just by surfing as you usually do. Skeptical? Well, here’s why I chose to join: 1) $$$ - I will earn ownership in the company (in the form of shares) and will then begin earning substantial money if this thing blows up (and I have nothing to lose if it doesn’t.) 2) Simplicity - I use the Internet just as I always have… I just get paid to do it! 3) Getting my share! - I like the idea of getting my share of all the billions of wealth being created on the Internet – even if I am not going to be a millionaire because of this. The company has a very solid privacy structure in place, so your information won’t be shared and you won’t start receiving loads of spam. AND, you can earn for not only the time you spend on the net, but for the time your FRIENDS spend on the net. Think about it: you’re driving users to the site, so the company earns more, and you, in turn, earn more. Fair and square, right? I used the AGLOCO member calculator – I can get over 5,000 shares a month if I sign up 10 good people who recruit more new members; and, once the site has grown enough, I will start earning actual checks. SIGN UP NOW – this is the key! Remember that you can maximize your earnings by getting referrals to the site… and YOU want to be the one referring everyone! Here is a link to sign up – it has my ID code in it. www.agloco.com/r/BBCV4224
If you haven’t yet heard about AGLOCO, you need to listen up! This new company, founded by a bunch of Stanford MBA students, is creating quite a buzz. Their slogan is ‘Own the Internet’… and that’s what it’s about: you’re getting back some of the money you generate for e-businesses just by surfing as you usually do. Skeptical? Well, here’s why I chose to join: 1) $$$ - I will earn ownership in the company (in the form of shares) and will then begin earning substantial money if this thing blows up (and I have nothing to lose if it doesn’t.) 2) Simplicity - I use the Internet just as I always have… I just get paid to do it! 3) Getting my share! - I like the idea of getting my share of all the billions of wealth being created on the Internet – even if I am not going to be a millionaire because of this. The company has a very solid privacy structure in place, so your information won’t be shared and you won’t start receiving loads of spam. AND, you can earn for not only the time you spend on the net, but for the time your FRIENDS spend on the net. Think about it: you’re driving users to the site, so the company earns more, and you, in turn, earn more. Fair and square, right? I used the AGLOCO member calculator – I can get over 5,000 shares a month if I sign up 10 good people who recruit more new members; and, once the site has grown enough, I will start earning actual checks. SIGN UP NOW – this is the key! Remember that you can maximize your earnings by getting referrals to the site… and YOU want to be the one referring everyone! Here is a link to sign up – it has my ID code in it. www.agloco.com/r/BBCV4224
Saturday, April 28, 2007
CARA MENDAFTAR GOOGLE ADSENSE
Sebelum anda mendaftar ke google Adsense , anda harus mempunyai web/blogs yang sudah aktif dan usahakan berisi content dalam bahasa inggris, karena adsense masih kurang suka dengan bahasa Indonesia (kurang ajar juga tuh..google).
Cara nya gampang cari saja artikel yang berisi bahasa inggris lalu copy dan paste kan ketempat web/blogs anda, tetapi jangan lupa sebutkan sumbernya…
Langkah pertama klik www.google.com /adsense
Maka akan keluar gambar seperti
Cara nya gampang cari saja artikel yang berisi bahasa inggris lalu copy dan paste kan ketempat web/blogs anda, tetapi jangan lupa sebutkan sumbernya…
Langkah pertama klik www.google.com /adsense
Maka akan keluar gambar seperti
Klik yang dilingkari merah
Setelah itu akan keluar form yang harus kita isi.
pada kolom website/URL isikan dengan alamat web/blog anda.
Ingat untuk mengisikan nama harus sesuai dengan KTP, sekali lagi sesuai KTP. Sekali saja anda salah menuliskan nama setelah di-approve, maka anda tidak akan bisa mencairkan Cheque anda dari Google. Berhati-hatilah dengan itu. Masalah nama ini sudah tidak bisa diganti-ganti lagi bila sudah di-approve, berbeda dengan masalah alamat, boleh diganti-ganti kalau ada kesalahan atau pindah alamat.
Centang semua produk yaitu Adsense for Content dan Adsense for Search.
Select Language : pilih bahasa yang ada di blog kita.(inggris aja..)
Setelah anda isi semua yang dibutuhkan, klik tombol submit maka akan ada tampilan layar yang berisi Terms & Condition, klik 'I Agree' Selesai..........................
Kini akan ada halaman ucapan terima kasih dari Google karena telah mendaftar di Google Adsense dan anda diminta untuk membuka email anda dimana anda mendaftarkan adsense karena Google akan meminta verifikasi. Segera email anda dan klik link verifikasi tsb, sebelum anda mengklik link verifikasi tsb, permohonan anda belum bisa diproses.
Singkat kata setelah anda mengklik link verifikasi, maka akan ada halaman yang menyatakan bahwa permohonan anda sedang diproses, dan akan selesai biasanya dalam waktu 1 x 24 jam s/d 2 x 24 jam. Berarti 1 s/d 2 hari. Tetapi pengalaman saya sendiri adalah dalam waktu sekitar 12 jam sudah di-approve. Tetapi ada juga yang memang dalam waktu 2 hari di-approve. Entahlah.....bagaimana cara kerja Google itu yang penting kita tunggu saja hasilnya.....
Sekarang kalau web/blog anda sudah di-aprove maka anda akan dikirmkan email berisi selamat datang publisher Google Adsense yang baru. Klik link biru untuk mulai login pertama kalinya ke rekening Adsene anda. Login dengan alamat email anda dan password yang telah kita isikan sebelumnya pada waktu mendaftar.
Disana anda tinggal mengambil kode HTML anda sendiri untuk dipasangkan pada web/blog anda. Beres.....tinggal anda promosikan web blog anda agar mendapatkan trafik yang banyak. Selalu perbaharui web/blog anda supaya penjung selalu berkunjung dan berkunjung terus ke web anda. Dengan banyaknya kunjungan/traffic ke web/blog anda maka semakin banyak pula kemungkinan klik yang anda dapatkan dan semakin banyak pula $$$-nya.
Jangan sekali-sekali anda mengklik iklan sendiri. Pasti akan ketahuan oleh Google, ini yang dinamakan Fraud Click, sangsinya tegas.....account anda akan di banned (PHK) dan nama anda tidak akan bisa mendaftar kembali menjadi publisher selamanya.......
Sekarang bagaimana kalau 'lamaran' anda tidak di-approve, jangan berkecil hati dulu......sebab Google pasti akan mengirimkan email berisi alasan penolakannya. Dan bila alasan penolakan itu telah dibetulkan oleh kita, segera daftarkan kembali web/blog kita ke Google Adsense, tidak perlu mulai dari awal lagi, sebab Google akan memberikan link pada email penolakan itu yang mana kita tinggal submit kembali setelah ketidak-beresan-nya kita betulkan. Gampang kan???
Apa saja yang bisa kita promosikan dan apa syaratnya
Yang bisa dipromosikan disini adalah Google For Content, dimana berisi iklan-iklan dari pemasang Adword, Link Ads dimana ada sekelompok Adword yang digabungkan dan kita tinggal memilih yang cocok buat kita, Google for Search dimana pengunjung mencari sesuatu dan mengklik link yang berisi Adword dan terakhir Google for Referral.
Dalam satu halaman web/blog ada maksimal yang bisa dipasang adsense atau search atau referral. Untuk pemasangan Google for Content maksimal 3 buah dengan berbagai variasi ukuran, 1 buah untuk Google for Search, 1 buah untul Text Link, 1 buah untuk masing-masing referral. Semua pemasangan baik adsense for content, text link, Google for Search maupun ketiga referral boleh/bisa dikombinasikan dengan berbagai variasi/ukuran yang telah ada di Google.
Persyaratan yang untuk diterima sebagai publisher
Web harus menggunakan bahasa yang mendukung. Lihat di atas.
Tidak ada pornografi apalagi pornografi anakanak.
Tidak ada anjuran kekerasan/SARA/ras diskriminasi.
Web tentang cara-cara hacking/cracking.
Obat-obat bius/Narkoba.
MP3, Video dsb yang menyangkut CopyRight.
Perjudian
Kata-kata tak senonoh/umpatan.
Iklan/link berlebihan
Popup yang akan mengganggu tampilan Google Adsense.
Penjualan senjata termasuk senjata tajam
Minuman keras, tembakau/rokok, obat-obatan dengan resep
Memanipulasi isi web agar menaikkan ranking di search engine
Meminta pengunjung untuk mengklik iklan-iklan, termasuk permintaan donasi dengan cara mengklik iklan.
Meminta penguunjung mendownload sesuatu agar web anda bisa tampil.
Persyaratan setelah diterima menjadi publisher
Jangan pernah mengklik iklan sendiri. Tekhnologi Google sudah sedemikian canggih untuk mengetahui klik yang tidak jujur tsb.
Tidak boleh memasang iklan Google di halaman kosong.
Tidak boleh mengganti kode HTML yang diberikan oleh Google kecuali mengganti color dari text dan background.
Tidak boleh menggunakan software untuk menghasilkan klik pada Google.
Dilarang menyarukan iklan Google dengan iklan lainnya. Yang diperbolehkan, menyarukan iklan Google dengan isi dari web kita, untuk menghasilkan klik dari pengunjung yang ingin tahu lebih banyak. Ini yang disebut teknik blend.
SELAMAT MENCOBA.....
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Monday, April 16, 2007
How to Earn $24,000
lars' worth of stuff is being sold on the Internet, or about how the Internet is changing the world—yadda, yadda, yadda—let's just cut to the chase.
Let me show you the money ... or more precisely, the e-money.
In this chapter, I describe how, using the principles in this book, I earned almost $100,000 cash in only 24 hours using the Internet. Then I will show you how you can do exactly what I have done. Does that get your heart racing?
In my previous three New York Times best-sellers, Nothing Down, Creating Wealth, and Multiple Streams of Income, I've helped thousands of people to achieve financial freedom—even to become millionaires and multimillionaires. Now it's your turn.
Your Next Fortune Is Only a Click Away
Although I've been in business for over 20 years, I was slow to adopt the power of the Internet to market my own seminars and information prod-ucts. I wasn't alone. Even today, tens of millions of businesses, small and large, still haven't tapped into this power. For me, it took something dra-matic to open my eyes.
In the fall of 1998, a friend, David LeDoux, called excitedly to tell me how he had stumbled onto an interesting method of marketing using the Internet.
"Bob," he said, "I made $13,000 in one day!"
I was intrigued. "How did you do it?"
"Rather than tell you, let me show you."
A few days later, sitting at the keyboard of my home office computer in San Diego, California, David explained how he was attracting visitors to his recently launched Web site. Many of these visitors registered for his free Internet newsletter. After only a few short months, he managed to accumulate about 1,500 subscribers. Every week he sent an e-mail to his growing list of subscribers sharing his latest research. In each e-newsletter (called an e-zine}, he included advertisements for other products or ser-vices. He explained that because the e-mails cost him almost nothing to send, the sales he made were extremely profitable: "Let me show you how it works. Right now, before your very eyes, I'm going to make some money for you."
Yes, he had my attention.
Using my computer, he composed a short e-mail message. It read something like this:
asked me to verify the exact time. Then he sent the message to his 1,500 subscribers. I had no idea what to expect.
Sixty-one seconds later, the first response arrived. Ding! (Does your e-mail make a sound when you receive a message?) This first response included a full address and complete credit card information. Over the next hour, as David was trying to explain to me the benefits of marketing over the Internet, I could hardly pay attention. I just kept listening to the sound of each e-mail response—Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Hundreds of dollars of orders. I was amazed. In front of my eyes, with very little market-ing cost and almost no effort, he had generated a tidy profit for me.
But it wasn't the instant profit that excited me. It was the potential for huge streams of cash flow with almost zero marketing costs. Do the math with me.
Suppose you want to market a $100 audio program in the bricks-and-mortar world. You rent a mailing list of 10,000 target prospects, create a direct mail letter, and pay for postage. All told, it will cost in excess of 50 cents per letter just to drop the letters in the mail. In other words, it will cost a minimum of $5,000 to mail 10,000 marketing pieces.
However, the response rate through direct mail is usually less than one-half of 1 percent, which means that these 10,000 letters may generate only 50 paid responses. Fifty customers at $100 apiece is $5,000—just enough to recoup your mailing costs. There's no money left to pay for the tapes, the packaging, and the postage to send the product to the customer via snail mail. You've lost money!
Now, let's assume we do the same mailing using the Internet. This time, however, instead of marketing an audiocassette program, we offer a package of powerful information—digital special reports, digital books, even digital video and audio in a powerful multimedia presentation. Since the information is digital, it can be delivered over the Internet instantly at almost zero cost. Now let's send 10,000 e-mails to a list of targeted e-mail prospects assuming the same one-half of 1 percent response rate.
We generate the same 50 orders at $100 apiece, except this time the marketing costs and the product costs are nearly zero. The entire $5,000 in proceeds is almost pure profit!
Did you get that? Let's do a profit and loss statement for our new Internet business:
Marketing costs 0
Product costs 0
Shipping charges 0
Credit card charges 5%
Profit 97%
Now, let's think big. If 10,000 e-mails generate $5,000, then 100,000 e-mails produce $50,000, right? And a million e-mails could generate a $500,000 profit! Talk about a bottom line! What if you did this once a month? Heck, once a week?! Now you can see why I was so excited.
I began immediately to develop my own Web site. After several false starts, we finally launched www.robertallen.com during the first week of August 1999. Using various methods (which I'm going to teach you), during the next nine months we gathered an opt-in list of over 11,500 subscribers to my free Internet newsletter. (Just to set the record straight, I don't believe in sending unauthorized e-mail, or spam, and nothing I teach you will resemble anything illegal, immoral, or in violation of the spirit of the Internet.)
People often say that those who ask for free information are not willing to spend money. They're just "looky-loos." This is generally correct. The vast majority of the "free" subscribers to my Web site are not willing to spend a penny on any of my products or services. They are perfectly con-tent to sample my free offerings. However, I also know that if the offer is right, a small percentage of any interested audience (free or paying) can
Let me show you the money ... or more precisely, the e-money.
In this chapter, I describe how, using the principles in this book, I earned almost $100,000 cash in only 24 hours using the Internet. Then I will show you how you can do exactly what I have done. Does that get your heart racing?
In my previous three New York Times best-sellers, Nothing Down, Creating Wealth, and Multiple Streams of Income, I've helped thousands of people to achieve financial freedom—even to become millionaires and multimillionaires. Now it's your turn.
Your Next Fortune Is Only a Click Away
Although I've been in business for over 20 years, I was slow to adopt the power of the Internet to market my own seminars and information prod-ucts. I wasn't alone. Even today, tens of millions of businesses, small and large, still haven't tapped into this power. For me, it took something dra-matic to open my eyes.
In the fall of 1998, a friend, David LeDoux, called excitedly to tell me how he had stumbled onto an interesting method of marketing using the Internet.
"Bob," he said, "I made $13,000 in one day!"
I was intrigued. "How did you do it?"
"Rather than tell you, let me show you."
A few days later, sitting at the keyboard of my home office computer in San Diego, California, David explained how he was attracting visitors to his recently launched Web site. Many of these visitors registered for his free Internet newsletter. After only a few short months, he managed to accumulate about 1,500 subscribers. Every week he sent an e-mail to his growing list of subscribers sharing his latest research. In each e-newsletter (called an e-zine}, he included advertisements for other products or ser-vices. He explained that because the e-mails cost him almost nothing to send, the sales he made were extremely profitable: "Let me show you how it works. Right now, before your very eyes, I'm going to make some money for you."
Yes, he had my attention.
Using my computer, he composed a short e-mail message. It read something like this:
asked me to verify the exact time. Then he sent the message to his 1,500 subscribers. I had no idea what to expect.
Sixty-one seconds later, the first response arrived. Ding! (Does your e-mail make a sound when you receive a message?) This first response included a full address and complete credit card information. Over the next hour, as David was trying to explain to me the benefits of marketing over the Internet, I could hardly pay attention. I just kept listening to the sound of each e-mail response—Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Hundreds of dollars of orders. I was amazed. In front of my eyes, with very little market-ing cost and almost no effort, he had generated a tidy profit for me.
But it wasn't the instant profit that excited me. It was the potential for huge streams of cash flow with almost zero marketing costs. Do the math with me.
Suppose you want to market a $100 audio program in the bricks-and-mortar world. You rent a mailing list of 10,000 target prospects, create a direct mail letter, and pay for postage. All told, it will cost in excess of 50 cents per letter just to drop the letters in the mail. In other words, it will cost a minimum of $5,000 to mail 10,000 marketing pieces.
However, the response rate through direct mail is usually less than one-half of 1 percent, which means that these 10,000 letters may generate only 50 paid responses. Fifty customers at $100 apiece is $5,000—just enough to recoup your mailing costs. There's no money left to pay for the tapes, the packaging, and the postage to send the product to the customer via snail mail. You've lost money!
Now, let's assume we do the same mailing using the Internet. This time, however, instead of marketing an audiocassette program, we offer a package of powerful information—digital special reports, digital books, even digital video and audio in a powerful multimedia presentation. Since the information is digital, it can be delivered over the Internet instantly at almost zero cost. Now let's send 10,000 e-mails to a list of targeted e-mail prospects assuming the same one-half of 1 percent response rate.
We generate the same 50 orders at $100 apiece, except this time the marketing costs and the product costs are nearly zero. The entire $5,000 in proceeds is almost pure profit!
Did you get that? Let's do a profit and loss statement for our new Internet business:
Marketing costs 0
Product costs 0
Shipping charges 0
Credit card charges 5%
Profit 97%
Now, let's think big. If 10,000 e-mails generate $5,000, then 100,000 e-mails produce $50,000, right? And a million e-mails could generate a $500,000 profit! Talk about a bottom line! What if you did this once a month? Heck, once a week?! Now you can see why I was so excited.
I began immediately to develop my own Web site. After several false starts, we finally launched www.robertallen.com during the first week of August 1999. Using various methods (which I'm going to teach you), during the next nine months we gathered an opt-in list of over 11,500 subscribers to my free Internet newsletter. (Just to set the record straight, I don't believe in sending unauthorized e-mail, or spam, and nothing I teach you will resemble anything illegal, immoral, or in violation of the spirit of the Internet.)
People often say that those who ask for free information are not willing to spend money. They're just "looky-loos." This is generally correct. The vast majority of the "free" subscribers to my Web site are not willing to spend a penny on any of my products or services. They are perfectly con-tent to sample my free offerings. However, I also know that if the offer is right, a small percentage of any interested audience (free or paying) can
Timeless Principles of Marketing
The success of any business venture boils down to using timeless princi-ples of marketing. According to marketing guru Jay Abraham, a marketer has only three basic goals:
1. To increase the number of customers
2. To increase the amount of the average order
3. To increase the frequency of orders
That's it. There ain't no more. If you can master these three fundamen-tals, you can grow any business, whether you're on the Internet or not. It doesn't matter whether your product is information or a fly swatter. If you understand marketing, you can make serious income. If you don't under-stand marketing, your business is going to die.
I understand marketing. In the past 20 years, through trial and error, I have marketed over $250 million worth of information with my name on it. For the first time, I offer in print what I've learned about marketing in my career. I believe that anyone can learn these timeless principles and double their current business in less than a year . . . even without utilizing the Internet. Any current or future entrepreneur will profit from reading this book. But those who wish to profit from the Internet must learn these time-less principles of marketing or they will end up in the dot-corn graveyard.
The world of technology is changing so rapidly that a book like this can be outdated before the manuscript makes it to press. Because this book is based on timeless principles of marketing, I want you to be able to pick it up 10 years from now and still find relevant strategies for creating endless cash flow.
Finally, I've aimed to make this more than a book about business on the Internet. This is a business in a book. This is not just a book that you read. It is a book that you do. We don't just talk about making money. When you are finished with the last chapter, I want you to be online and actually earning steady streams of cash—starting from scratch.
Is this possible? Well, I'm famous for my challenges. When I wrote my first book, Nothing Down, I threw down the following gauntlet:
"Send me to any city. Take away my wallet. Give me $100 for living
expenses. And in 72 hours I'll buy an excellent piece of real estate
using none of my own money."
The Los Angeles Times challenged me to live up to this claim. They flew me to San Francisco with an LA Times reporter by my side. In 57 hours I bought seven properties and returned $20 in change to the reporter.
In these pages, I show you how to launch an Internet business in hours, not days or weeks. To prove it, I gave myself another challenge (notice how the word challenge has my name embedded in it):
"Sit me at the keyboard of any computer in the world with access to the Internet, and in just 24 hours I'll earn at least $24,000 in cash."
In the next few chapters, I show you how I did it. Then I teach you how to do it! Are you ready? Let's get started.
1. To increase the number of customers
2. To increase the amount of the average order
3. To increase the frequency of orders
That's it. There ain't no more. If you can master these three fundamen-tals, you can grow any business, whether you're on the Internet or not. It doesn't matter whether your product is information or a fly swatter. If you understand marketing, you can make serious income. If you don't under-stand marketing, your business is going to die.
I understand marketing. In the past 20 years, through trial and error, I have marketed over $250 million worth of information with my name on it. For the first time, I offer in print what I've learned about marketing in my career. I believe that anyone can learn these timeless principles and double their current business in less than a year . . . even without utilizing the Internet. Any current or future entrepreneur will profit from reading this book. But those who wish to profit from the Internet must learn these time-less principles of marketing or they will end up in the dot-corn graveyard.
The world of technology is changing so rapidly that a book like this can be outdated before the manuscript makes it to press. Because this book is based on timeless principles of marketing, I want you to be able to pick it up 10 years from now and still find relevant strategies for creating endless cash flow.
Finally, I've aimed to make this more than a book about business on the Internet. This is a business in a book. This is not just a book that you read. It is a book that you do. We don't just talk about making money. When you are finished with the last chapter, I want you to be online and actually earning steady streams of cash—starting from scratch.
Is this possible? Well, I'm famous for my challenges. When I wrote my first book, Nothing Down, I threw down the following gauntlet:
"Send me to any city. Take away my wallet. Give me $100 for living
expenses. And in 72 hours I'll buy an excellent piece of real estate
using none of my own money."
The Los Angeles Times challenged me to live up to this claim. They flew me to San Francisco with an LA Times reporter by my side. In 57 hours I bought seven properties and returned $20 in change to the reporter.
In these pages, I show you how to launch an Internet business in hours, not days or weeks. To prove it, I gave myself another challenge (notice how the word challenge has my name embedded in it):
"Sit me at the keyboard of any computer in the world with access to the Internet, and in just 24 hours I'll earn at least $24,000 in cash."
In the next few chapters, I show you how I did it. Then I teach you how to do it! Are you ready? Let's get started.
Your Internet Business
With that in mind, let's design a way to make the most money in the least time that will lead to the greatest freedom. Agreed?
In this book I show multiple ways for the average nontechie to earn serious amounts of income from the Internet. This is 24/7/365 money . . . the kind of income that most people only dream about. And it can happen fast.
How fast? In testing ideas for this book, I was able to generate almost $100,000 cash in only 24 hours. How did I do it? By using only one of the many powerful methods for making serious money on the Internet that you learn in this book.
I also help you avoid the pitfalls of the Internet. Frankly, too many peo-ple jump onto the Net hoping to find fortune. They launch a Web page and expect the money to start pouring in. It doesn't work that way.
When you think of the World Wide Web, it sounds impressive. It's less impressive when you realize that the Web consists of millions of pages of information stored on millions of linked computers. According to Scientific American, another million pages of information are being added every single day. Swirling in this blizzard of data is your Web site. The more popular the Web becomes, the harder it is for people to find you. Hiring someone to create an eye-popping Web site for you is not the answer. This is not the "field of dreams": If you build it, they won't come—not unless you give them a darn good reason.
You need to view the Internet as just another marketing medium, simi-lar to radio or TV with the added advantage of instant interactivity. Once you understand this, then you can use this incredible communication tool to deliver your marketing message faster, cheaper, and more easily to larger and larger numbers of upscale consumers.
In this book I show multiple ways for the average nontechie to earn serious amounts of income from the Internet. This is 24/7/365 money . . . the kind of income that most people only dream about. And it can happen fast.
How fast? In testing ideas for this book, I was able to generate almost $100,000 cash in only 24 hours. How did I do it? By using only one of the many powerful methods for making serious money on the Internet that you learn in this book.
I also help you avoid the pitfalls of the Internet. Frankly, too many peo-ple jump onto the Net hoping to find fortune. They launch a Web page and expect the money to start pouring in. It doesn't work that way.
When you think of the World Wide Web, it sounds impressive. It's less impressive when you realize that the Web consists of millions of pages of information stored on millions of linked computers. According to Scientific American, another million pages of information are being added every single day. Swirling in this blizzard of data is your Web site. The more popular the Web becomes, the harder it is for people to find you. Hiring someone to create an eye-popping Web site for you is not the answer. This is not the "field of dreams": If you build it, they won't come—not unless you give them a darn good reason.
You need to view the Internet as just another marketing medium, simi-lar to radio or TV with the added advantage of instant interactivity. Once you understand this, then you can use this incredible communication tool to deliver your marketing message faster, cheaper, and more easily to larger and larger numbers of upscale consumers.
Imagine Making Money While You Sleep
imagine making money while you sleep. Imagine waking up richer every morning than when you went to bed the night before. Imagine receiving streams of money from people all over the world. Imagine a business that operates on automatic pilot— whether you show up or not. Imagine low overhead and high profits. Imagine operating your business from exotic worldwide locations—from a cell phone on the beach in Tahiti or from your laptop in a restaurant atop the Eiffel Tower. If you can imagine these things, you can achieve them using the vehicle of the Internet.
I'm so excited to be sharing this information with you. I know that if you follow the strategies and techniques in this book, you will be well on your way to Internet riches and a lifestyle that will be envied by almost everyone you meet.
If you ask most fledgling entrepreneurs why they want to be in business the usual answer is "to make some money." But when you pin them down with some more probing questions, it will most likely boil down to some-thing like this. . . .
After I've taken care of my basic needs, I want to be free . . . To do what I want When I want Where I want With whomever I want For as long as I want Without having to worry about money.
Does that describe you?
If so, then let's make sure that the by-product of your start-up Internet business is freedom. It's not to sell a bunch of stuff, or to get 15 gazillion hits a day, or to hire 1,000 employees, or have the coolest graphics, or to have the fastest-growing company in the world, or to have the best prod-ucts, or to get your name in the paper, or to launch an IPO. Some of these things may even be counterproductive to obtaining freedom. If free-dom is your goal, don't lose sight of it.
I mention this because thousands of beginning entrepreneurs launch new businesses each week without asking this all-important question: Why are we doing this? If they do ask, they usually come up with the fol-lowing answer: "Because we want to break free from our jobs." Therefore, they escape the low-paying "job prison" for a potentially higher-paying "self-employment prison." Even if you trade golden handcuffs for plat-inum handcuffs, you're still locked up.
Friday, March 30, 2007
How to use ebay
For sellers who constantly have to put up with bid snipers, non-paying bidders and other anti-social, timewasting buyers, eBay’s ‘pre-approved buyer’ feature is a godsend.
Pre-approving buyers lets you choose in advance who you’re going to allow to bid: not by banning people you don’t want, but by explicitly allowing people you do want. Anyone who is not on the pre-approved list will have to email you and ask you to let them bid.
While that might sound great, it’s only really a good idea to do it on very, very high value items. After all, half the point of eBay is that it’s such an open marketplace – if you’re going to restrict bidding to a few people, why not just email them to offer the item?
Most buyers will be very upset if they come across an item that they need to be pre-approved to bid in. They almost certainly won’t have heard of the rule before, and they’ll think this ‘new feature’ (it must be new if they’ve never heard of it, right?) is absolutely terrible. The one time I required pre-approval for an item, someone actually wrote to eBay to complain about the auction’s format – as if eBay had nothing to do with letting me list that way! The chances are that almost no-one will ever email you asking to be included in the auction – they’ll go somewhere else instead.
Of course, it’d be better if you could just require that bidders have a minimum feedback level, but then that might overly restrict the choices of new buyers, and make them less likely to buy anything to begin with. There’s a delicate balance at play between trust and openness, and pre-approval tends to violate it. If one of your regular buyers wants to bid on your item only to find out they weren’t pre-approved, the chances are they’ll be more than a little offended at your lack of trust.
The only situations in which you might find an advantage in pre-approving bidders are if your auctions get consistently disrupted. Jokers sometimes bid millions because they think it’s funny, or people bid high and then don’t pay as a protest against whatever you’re selling – this is a pain to deal with. Requiring approval makes sense on very high-ticket items simply because it shows the buyer is serious about wanting to buy.
Before you can restrict an item to pre-approved buyers, you have to list it and get an item number. You can then set up pre-approved bidding on this page: http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?PreApproveBidders. From there on, it’s a simple process – just type the usernames of the people whose bids you want to accept, and then keep checking your email.
Remember, though, that you don’t need to restrict your auction to pre-approved bidders to keep people you don’t like from bidding on your auctions. You can simply cancel these buyers’ bids when they appear, and then use eBay’s ‘block bidder’ function to ban them from bidding on any of your auctions again. Edit your block list here: http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?bidderblocklogin.
In the next email, we’ll take a look at whether your eBay design is as effective as it could be.
Pre-approving buyers lets you choose in advance who you’re going to allow to bid: not by banning people you don’t want, but by explicitly allowing people you do want. Anyone who is not on the pre-approved list will have to email you and ask you to let them bid.
While that might sound great, it’s only really a good idea to do it on very, very high value items. After all, half the point of eBay is that it’s such an open marketplace – if you’re going to restrict bidding to a few people, why not just email them to offer the item?
Most buyers will be very upset if they come across an item that they need to be pre-approved to bid in. They almost certainly won’t have heard of the rule before, and they’ll think this ‘new feature’ (it must be new if they’ve never heard of it, right?) is absolutely terrible. The one time I required pre-approval for an item, someone actually wrote to eBay to complain about the auction’s format – as if eBay had nothing to do with letting me list that way! The chances are that almost no-one will ever email you asking to be included in the auction – they’ll go somewhere else instead.
Of course, it’d be better if you could just require that bidders have a minimum feedback level, but then that might overly restrict the choices of new buyers, and make them less likely to buy anything to begin with. There’s a delicate balance at play between trust and openness, and pre-approval tends to violate it. If one of your regular buyers wants to bid on your item only to find out they weren’t pre-approved, the chances are they’ll be more than a little offended at your lack of trust.
The only situations in which you might find an advantage in pre-approving bidders are if your auctions get consistently disrupted. Jokers sometimes bid millions because they think it’s funny, or people bid high and then don’t pay as a protest against whatever you’re selling – this is a pain to deal with. Requiring approval makes sense on very high-ticket items simply because it shows the buyer is serious about wanting to buy.
Before you can restrict an item to pre-approved buyers, you have to list it and get an item number. You can then set up pre-approved bidding on this page: http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?PreApproveBidders. From there on, it’s a simple process – just type the usernames of the people whose bids you want to accept, and then keep checking your email.
Remember, though, that you don’t need to restrict your auction to pre-approved bidders to keep people you don’t like from bidding on your auctions. You can simply cancel these buyers’ bids when they appear, and then use eBay’s ‘block bidder’ function to ban them from bidding on any of your auctions again. Edit your block list here: http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?bidderblocklogin.
In the next email, we’ll take a look at whether your eBay design is as effective as it could be.
list online business
ttp://www.doteasy.com
Free, bannerless web hosting...'nuff said. The only complaint I have is that reliability is not up to par with the paid hosts, but then again, what do you expect -- IT'S FREE! While I wouldn't use it to host my main site, it's great for testing mini sites and new products.
http://www.linkcounter.com
LinkCounter is a free service that tracks clicks on any link you want to track, from inside, outside, or within your site itself. It's a great way to track affiliate programs and link exchanges, or to create referring links for sites you trade traffic with. They provide you with an unbiased report that you can use to keep track of your outgoing and incoming hits.
http://www.securitymetrics.com
Worried about your own site's security? Afraid you might be vulnerable to hackers? Don't wonder -- find out! Security Metrics will give your computer a "FREE Port Scan" where it will test for the 20 most common TCP/IP ports that are often vulnerable. If you're like me, the results will surprise you.
http://www.score.org
S.C.O.R.E stands for the Service Corps of Retired Executives, and they pride themselves on being the Counselors to Americas Small Business. In effect, S.C.O.R.E. is a non-profit group that offers FREE counseling to anyone who has, or is thinking about starting, a small business. I've utilized their trained counselors on numerous occasions, and have been grateful every time.
http://www.spyonit.com
Spyonit has dozens of FREE spy tools that allow you to keep tabs on all the sites and auctions that matter most to you. (Including your competition's.) There's too much there to describe it all, so go to the site now to check it out. They're also adding new "spies" fairly frequently, so check back often. Who knows what they'll come up with next?
http://www.tracerlock.com
TracerLock is another "spy" type tool that monitors search engines, UseNet groups, and personal ads for whatever word or phrase you tell it to. It's great for keeping tabs on the competition, and seeing what others are saying about you or your business. They have both a FREE and a paid service, so check it out.
http://www.scumware.com
If you've been keeping up with software or e-biz news, then you've no doubt heard of the controversy surrounding traffic stealing software such as Top Text and Surf+. This site is dedicated to eradicating the world of such thieves. It will tell you if your computer is currently "infected", and give you some lines of code that will disable the traffic thieves when they "invade" your site.
http://www.trafficology.com
This is easily my new favorite newsletter. Trafficology's creator, Wayne Yeager, gives away literally THOUSANDS of dollars each month for new and creative traffic generating ideas. He then turns around and gives these ideas to his subscribers for FREE. I've been receiving the newsletter for a few months now, and I have yet to be disappointed. While some of the ideas are WAY too crazy for me to EVER try, the newsletter is *always* entertaining, and often useful.
http://www.onebox.com
Onebox is an incredibly low-cost service (I believe I pay around $10 a month for it) that provides you with an email address, a fax number, and voice mailbox -- all in one place! If you're just starting out and you need a phone service, but don't want to pay hefty charges to your local phone company, this could be an ideal solution.
Free, bannerless web hosting...'nuff said. The only complaint I have is that reliability is not up to par with the paid hosts, but then again, what do you expect -- IT'S FREE! While I wouldn't use it to host my main site, it's great for testing mini sites and new products.
http://www.linkcounter.com
LinkCounter is a free service that tracks clicks on any link you want to track, from inside, outside, or within your site itself. It's a great way to track affiliate programs and link exchanges, or to create referring links for sites you trade traffic with. They provide you with an unbiased report that you can use to keep track of your outgoing and incoming hits.
http://www.securitymetrics.com
Worried about your own site's security? Afraid you might be vulnerable to hackers? Don't wonder -- find out! Security Metrics will give your computer a "FREE Port Scan" where it will test for the 20 most common TCP/IP ports that are often vulnerable. If you're like me, the results will surprise you.
http://www.score.org
S.C.O.R.E stands for the Service Corps of Retired Executives, and they pride themselves on being the Counselors to Americas Small Business. In effect, S.C.O.R.E. is a non-profit group that offers FREE counseling to anyone who has, or is thinking about starting, a small business. I've utilized their trained counselors on numerous occasions, and have been grateful every time.
http://www.spyonit.com
Spyonit has dozens of FREE spy tools that allow you to keep tabs on all the sites and auctions that matter most to you. (Including your competition's.) There's too much there to describe it all, so go to the site now to check it out. They're also adding new "spies" fairly frequently, so check back often. Who knows what they'll come up with next?
http://www.tracerlock.com
TracerLock is another "spy" type tool that monitors search engines, UseNet groups, and personal ads for whatever word or phrase you tell it to. It's great for keeping tabs on the competition, and seeing what others are saying about you or your business. They have both a FREE and a paid service, so check it out.
http://www.scumware.com
If you've been keeping up with software or e-biz news, then you've no doubt heard of the controversy surrounding traffic stealing software such as Top Text and Surf+. This site is dedicated to eradicating the world of such thieves. It will tell you if your computer is currently "infected", and give you some lines of code that will disable the traffic thieves when they "invade" your site.
http://www.trafficology.com
This is easily my new favorite newsletter. Trafficology's creator, Wayne Yeager, gives away literally THOUSANDS of dollars each month for new and creative traffic generating ideas. He then turns around and gives these ideas to his subscribers for FREE. I've been receiving the newsletter for a few months now, and I have yet to be disappointed. While some of the ideas are WAY too crazy for me to EVER try, the newsletter is *always* entertaining, and often useful.
http://www.onebox.com
Onebox is an incredibly low-cost service (I believe I pay around $10 a month for it) that provides you with an email address, a fax number, and voice mailbox -- all in one place! If you're just starting out and you need a phone service, but don't want to pay hefty charges to your local phone company, this could be an ideal solution.
list online business
ttp://www.doteasy.com
Free, bannerless web hosting...'nuff said. The only complaint I have is that reliability is not up to par with the paid hosts, but then again, what do you expect -- IT'S FREE! While I wouldn't use it to host my main site, it's great for testing mini sites and new products.
http://www.linkcounter.com
LinkCounter is a free service that tracks clicks on any link you want to track, from inside, outside, or within your site itself. It's a great way to track affiliate programs and link exchanges, or to create referring links for sites you trade traffic with. They provide you with an unbiased report that you can use to keep track of your outgoing and incoming hits.
http://www.securitymetrics.com
Worried about your own site's security? Afraid you might be vulnerable to hackers? Don't wonder -- find out! Security Metrics will give your computer a "FREE Port Scan" where it will test for the 20 most common TCP/IP ports that are often vulnerable. If you're like me, the results will surprise you.
http://www.score.org
S.C.O.R.E stands for the Service Corps of Retired Executives, and they pride themselves on being the Counselors to Americas Small Business. In effect, S.C.O.R.E. is a non-profit group that offers FREE counseling to anyone who has, or is thinking about starting, a small business. I've utilized their trained counselors on numerous occasions, and have been grateful every time.
http://www.spyonit.com
Spyonit has dozens of FREE spy tools that allow you to keep tabs on all the sites and auctions that matter most to you. (Including your competition's.) There's too much there to describe it all, so go to the site now to check it out. They're also adding new "spies" fairly frequently, so check back often. Who knows what they'll come up with next?
http://www.tracerlock.com
TracerLock is another "spy" type tool that monitors search engines, UseNet groups, and personal ads for whatever word or phrase you tell it to. It's great for keeping tabs on the competition, and seeing what others are saying about you or your business. They have both a FREE and a paid service, so check it out.
http://www.scumware.com
If you've been keeping up with software or e-biz news, then you've no doubt heard of the controversy surrounding traffic stealing software such as Top Text and Surf+. This site is dedicated to eradicating the world of such thieves. It will tell you if your computer is currently "infected", and give you some lines of code that will disable the traffic thieves when they "invade" your site.
http://www.trafficology.com
This is easily my new favorite newsletter. Trafficology's creator, Wayne Yeager, gives away literally THOUSANDS of dollars each month for new and creative traffic generating ideas. He then turns around and gives these ideas to his subscribers for FREE. I've been receiving the newsletter for a few months now, and I have yet to be disappointed. While some of the ideas are WAY too crazy for me to EVER try, the newsletter is *always* entertaining, and often useful.
http://www.onebox.com
Onebox is an incredibly low-cost service (I believe I pay around $10 a month for it) that provides you with an email address, a fax number, and voice mailbox -- all in one place! If you're just starting out and you need a phone service, but don't want to pay hefty charges to your local phone company, this could be an ideal solution.
Free, bannerless web hosting...'nuff said. The only complaint I have is that reliability is not up to par with the paid hosts, but then again, what do you expect -- IT'S FREE! While I wouldn't use it to host my main site, it's great for testing mini sites and new products.
http://www.linkcounter.com
LinkCounter is a free service that tracks clicks on any link you want to track, from inside, outside, or within your site itself. It's a great way to track affiliate programs and link exchanges, or to create referring links for sites you trade traffic with. They provide you with an unbiased report that you can use to keep track of your outgoing and incoming hits.
http://www.securitymetrics.com
Worried about your own site's security? Afraid you might be vulnerable to hackers? Don't wonder -- find out! Security Metrics will give your computer a "FREE Port Scan" where it will test for the 20 most common TCP/IP ports that are often vulnerable. If you're like me, the results will surprise you.
http://www.score.org
S.C.O.R.E stands for the Service Corps of Retired Executives, and they pride themselves on being the Counselors to Americas Small Business. In effect, S.C.O.R.E. is a non-profit group that offers FREE counseling to anyone who has, or is thinking about starting, a small business. I've utilized their trained counselors on numerous occasions, and have been grateful every time.
http://www.spyonit.com
Spyonit has dozens of FREE spy tools that allow you to keep tabs on all the sites and auctions that matter most to you. (Including your competition's.) There's too much there to describe it all, so go to the site now to check it out. They're also adding new "spies" fairly frequently, so check back often. Who knows what they'll come up with next?
http://www.tracerlock.com
TracerLock is another "spy" type tool that monitors search engines, UseNet groups, and personal ads for whatever word or phrase you tell it to. It's great for keeping tabs on the competition, and seeing what others are saying about you or your business. They have both a FREE and a paid service, so check it out.
http://www.scumware.com
If you've been keeping up with software or e-biz news, then you've no doubt heard of the controversy surrounding traffic stealing software such as Top Text and Surf+. This site is dedicated to eradicating the world of such thieves. It will tell you if your computer is currently "infected", and give you some lines of code that will disable the traffic thieves when they "invade" your site.
http://www.trafficology.com
This is easily my new favorite newsletter. Trafficology's creator, Wayne Yeager, gives away literally THOUSANDS of dollars each month for new and creative traffic generating ideas. He then turns around and gives these ideas to his subscribers for FREE. I've been receiving the newsletter for a few months now, and I have yet to be disappointed. While some of the ideas are WAY too crazy for me to EVER try, the newsletter is *always* entertaining, and often useful.
http://www.onebox.com
Onebox is an incredibly low-cost service (I believe I pay around $10 a month for it) that provides you with an email address, a fax number, and voice mailbox -- all in one place! If you're just starting out and you need a phone service, but don't want to pay hefty charges to your local phone company, this could be an ideal solution.
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SIAPA YANG MAU TAHU, BAGAIMANA MENDAPATKAN UANG DARO GOOGLE ADSENSE, SEPERTI BLOG INI..KIRIM E-MAIL KE dianatae@gmail.com
saya akan beritahu rahasianya...
saya akan beritahu rahasianya...
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Plan for Success
Planning is mandatory for business success. Fail to plan and you plan to fail.
Planning is difficult because there is no immediate feedback as to its value. But if you think of starting and operating your business in the same way you might think about climbing a mountain, the purpose and advantages of planning become clearer.
When you start up the mountain you never know what to expect: sudden change in weather, lost or broken equipment, mistakes in maps, an injury. Planning for these eventualities will allow you to deal with them and still reach your objective in spite of temporary setbacks. On the other hand, lack of planning can spell disaster. The more careful the planning, the more likely problems will be anticipated and not allowed to interfere with your ultimate business objective.
The Business PlanCountless books have been written on how to write an "effective" business plan. The traditional business plan is a very well defined and structured document. It is written as a presentation to lenders, potential investors, and bankers in order to raise capital. As such, it is sort of an advertising document and, well, maybe tends to exaggerate a little.
Although many will argue the business plan is a planning document, it frequently is not because of these exaggerations. After a while YOU will start to believe the business plan ... even if you know that what is contained within the document is absurd in places. (Yes sir, there is no doubt about it, sales will easily double each year ... as long as we can obtain adequate financing.)
If your business is going to require investor capital at the onset, you will need that traditional business plan. But BEFORE you even get to this point, or if you are like so many of us and are starting a small business venture where little or no formal investment is needed, you need another plan ... A plan for YOURSELF ... A HONEST plan for you. You need a strategic plan.
The Strategic PlanA strategic plan is your plan for success. It will define your business mission, your present situation, and where you want to be in three to five years. A strategic plan, like the traditional business plan, should be well-structured, and include a number of short succinct statements covering the following areas:
Vision Statement
Mission/Purpose Statement
Scope of Business
Assumptions
Goals and Objectives
Risks
Strategies
Progress Reporting Methods
Planning is difficult because there is no immediate feedback as to its value. But if you think of starting and operating your business in the same way you might think about climbing a mountain, the purpose and advantages of planning become clearer.
When you start up the mountain you never know what to expect: sudden change in weather, lost or broken equipment, mistakes in maps, an injury. Planning for these eventualities will allow you to deal with them and still reach your objective in spite of temporary setbacks. On the other hand, lack of planning can spell disaster. The more careful the planning, the more likely problems will be anticipated and not allowed to interfere with your ultimate business objective.
The Business PlanCountless books have been written on how to write an "effective" business plan. The traditional business plan is a very well defined and structured document. It is written as a presentation to lenders, potential investors, and bankers in order to raise capital. As such, it is sort of an advertising document and, well, maybe tends to exaggerate a little.
Although many will argue the business plan is a planning document, it frequently is not because of these exaggerations. After a while YOU will start to believe the business plan ... even if you know that what is contained within the document is absurd in places. (Yes sir, there is no doubt about it, sales will easily double each year ... as long as we can obtain adequate financing.)
If your business is going to require investor capital at the onset, you will need that traditional business plan. But BEFORE you even get to this point, or if you are like so many of us and are starting a small business venture where little or no formal investment is needed, you need another plan ... A plan for YOURSELF ... A HONEST plan for you. You need a strategic plan.
The Strategic PlanA strategic plan is your plan for success. It will define your business mission, your present situation, and where you want to be in three to five years. A strategic plan, like the traditional business plan, should be well-structured, and include a number of short succinct statements covering the following areas:
Vision Statement
Mission/Purpose Statement
Scope of Business
Assumptions
Goals and Objectives
Risks
Strategies
Progress Reporting Methods
How to Find a Product to Market
Any product you bring to market is going to be the direction of your life force for the next four or five years - maybe longer. So the first rule of thumb in the selection of a product is to make sure you love the product, the industry it serves, the prospects, and the purchasers - because you’re going to be immersed in their bathwater for quite a while. Better make sure you like the scent.
If you have no product in particular you’re thinking about bringing to market, how do you select one? Well… do you have a hobby? Do you have a passion? For example, do you love computers? How about plastics? Are you interested in metals? Or in manufacturing? Can you sit and talk about antiques endlessly with your friends? Does the conversation always turn to airplanes? Or to food? All of these passions are great pursuits that become industries you can get involved in. The industries become markets to sell your products.
Or… do you have an industry that you’re familiar with? Have you been on the distribution end of a particular field? Are you in retail (ouch, those long retail hours!) Are you familiar with direct mail? Do you enjoy catalogs?
What are you good at? Are you a good writer? A great chef? Do you enjoy working with your hands? Are you creative? Are you good at design? Are you good at art? Are you skillful at creating mechanical objects? Are you a great negotiator? Are you detail oriented? Do you have a special gift in any one area? These are all considerations in product selection.
Once you figure out some product ideas and the industry you’d like to be involved in, ask yourself if, somewhere down the road, there are other products you can market to the same audience. Keep in mind that some products can’t be marketed profitably by themselves. You may need to have additional depth in your product line and companion sales to make a profit. For example, if you sell a book, can you sell your purchasers additional books by the same author or by other authors in the same field? A person who buys one book on computer programming is likely to purchase a second on the same topic.
Throw the above mix into a hat, swish it around with a few beers, and these are your considerations for product selection. Stay with product fields in which you have a great interest. If you decide that you can stick it out, selling the same products to the same group without getting bored or tired of it, here’s where to find the products.
The U.S. Patent Office holds a wealth of stimulating ideas for products in every field. There are 81 patent depositories, located in libraries around the United States, where you can look up patents to find hundreds of thousands of both great and poor ideas in any particular field. Since patents are only good for 17 years, any patent issued before 1980 is fair game for you to duplicate, improve, or borrow from. Take a look at the product; if you can improve it - all the better! Voilà - your product concept is ready to go.
If you see a product with a patent issued after 1980, call the patent holder and ask if you can license the patent. Don’t offer - or pay - any money up front, and only offer a very small percentage - 2% to 5% of any net income - “if and when” your marketing of the product is successful. Most patent holders never market their inventions and will be happy to grant you permission to sell their products. Most inventors are just that - inventors; they invent a product, then move on to the next invention. Most aren’t marketers, which is a profession far removed from inventing.
By the way, one of the most fun government publications to read is the Patent Gazette. It’s the weekly publication of the Patent Office, and it shows all the patents issued for that particular week - usually 1,500 to 2,000. The booklet shows a line drawing of the invention and a one-paragraph description of the device. A single copy costs $50, but you can find it at the patent depositories.
No luck at the Patent Office? Go to the library and ask to see their copy of the Thomas Register of American Companies. This set of reference books weighs in at an incredible 270 pounds and contains products and their manufacturers in EVERY field. There are about 30 books in the Thomas Register set, each containing well over 1,000 pages. Just imagine all those manufacturers and distributors, all referenced in this one huge directory for only one reason: just to increase their sales. Can you find products and manufacturers to help you? Heck, yes. And in great depth.
So look up the industries you’re interested in, and get a look at all of the manufacturers and the multitude of products in each. Call any of them and see if they have any inventory - or tooling - of products they’ve tried to market and haven’t been successful with. Remember, most manufacturers are good at… well, manufacturing. They may be horrible at marketing, and as a result, they may have had little success in launching new products. These may be great products. Of course, they may be terrible products, too. But you never know until you ask and explore.
One thing is for sure - if you're an OK negotiator, the price will be right. Products sitting in their basements for a couple of years have little value to manufacturers - and have already cost them time, and still cost them space. They may just want to get rid of them. They may take 5¢ on the dollar. Plastics houses, like injection molders, are a good source of overstock and unsold inventory. Toy manufacturers, too!
If a manufacturer already offers a product you’d like to market, the price goes up. Naturally, as a “special marketing licensee” of their products, you’ll want their best pricing structure. But if you have to go through their set of distributors and retailers, there won’t be enough profit for your nontraditional marketing efforts. You may ask to license their products only for select industries, or through special avenues where they have no presence, such as only marketing through the mail or through TV ads. Make an offer.
If you have no product in particular you’re thinking about bringing to market, how do you select one? Well… do you have a hobby? Do you have a passion? For example, do you love computers? How about plastics? Are you interested in metals? Or in manufacturing? Can you sit and talk about antiques endlessly with your friends? Does the conversation always turn to airplanes? Or to food? All of these passions are great pursuits that become industries you can get involved in. The industries become markets to sell your products.
Or… do you have an industry that you’re familiar with? Have you been on the distribution end of a particular field? Are you in retail (ouch, those long retail hours!) Are you familiar with direct mail? Do you enjoy catalogs?
What are you good at? Are you a good writer? A great chef? Do you enjoy working with your hands? Are you creative? Are you good at design? Are you good at art? Are you skillful at creating mechanical objects? Are you a great negotiator? Are you detail oriented? Do you have a special gift in any one area? These are all considerations in product selection.
Once you figure out some product ideas and the industry you’d like to be involved in, ask yourself if, somewhere down the road, there are other products you can market to the same audience. Keep in mind that some products can’t be marketed profitably by themselves. You may need to have additional depth in your product line and companion sales to make a profit. For example, if you sell a book, can you sell your purchasers additional books by the same author or by other authors in the same field? A person who buys one book on computer programming is likely to purchase a second on the same topic.
Throw the above mix into a hat, swish it around with a few beers, and these are your considerations for product selection. Stay with product fields in which you have a great interest. If you decide that you can stick it out, selling the same products to the same group without getting bored or tired of it, here’s where to find the products.
The U.S. Patent Office holds a wealth of stimulating ideas for products in every field. There are 81 patent depositories, located in libraries around the United States, where you can look up patents to find hundreds of thousands of both great and poor ideas in any particular field. Since patents are only good for 17 years, any patent issued before 1980 is fair game for you to duplicate, improve, or borrow from. Take a look at the product; if you can improve it - all the better! Voilà - your product concept is ready to go.
If you see a product with a patent issued after 1980, call the patent holder and ask if you can license the patent. Don’t offer - or pay - any money up front, and only offer a very small percentage - 2% to 5% of any net income - “if and when” your marketing of the product is successful. Most patent holders never market their inventions and will be happy to grant you permission to sell their products. Most inventors are just that - inventors; they invent a product, then move on to the next invention. Most aren’t marketers, which is a profession far removed from inventing.
By the way, one of the most fun government publications to read is the Patent Gazette. It’s the weekly publication of the Patent Office, and it shows all the patents issued for that particular week - usually 1,500 to 2,000. The booklet shows a line drawing of the invention and a one-paragraph description of the device. A single copy costs $50, but you can find it at the patent depositories.
No luck at the Patent Office? Go to the library and ask to see their copy of the Thomas Register of American Companies. This set of reference books weighs in at an incredible 270 pounds and contains products and their manufacturers in EVERY field. There are about 30 books in the Thomas Register set, each containing well over 1,000 pages. Just imagine all those manufacturers and distributors, all referenced in this one huge directory for only one reason: just to increase their sales. Can you find products and manufacturers to help you? Heck, yes. And in great depth.
So look up the industries you’re interested in, and get a look at all of the manufacturers and the multitude of products in each. Call any of them and see if they have any inventory - or tooling - of products they’ve tried to market and haven’t been successful with. Remember, most manufacturers are good at… well, manufacturing. They may be horrible at marketing, and as a result, they may have had little success in launching new products. These may be great products. Of course, they may be terrible products, too. But you never know until you ask and explore.
One thing is for sure - if you're an OK negotiator, the price will be right. Products sitting in their basements for a couple of years have little value to manufacturers - and have already cost them time, and still cost them space. They may just want to get rid of them. They may take 5¢ on the dollar. Plastics houses, like injection molders, are a good source of overstock and unsold inventory. Toy manufacturers, too!
If a manufacturer already offers a product you’d like to market, the price goes up. Naturally, as a “special marketing licensee” of their products, you’ll want their best pricing structure. But if you have to go through their set of distributors and retailers, there won’t be enough profit for your nontraditional marketing efforts. You may ask to license their products only for select industries, or through special avenues where they have no presence, such as only marketing through the mail or through TV ads. Make an offer.
How to Research your Business Ideas
If you read parts one and two of "Choosing the Right Small Business", and if you completed the exercises, you will have a good idea of what you are good at doing, and you will have several related business ideas or possibilities. Next, you will want to add your personal skills, abilities and experience into the mix. So, add to your lists your related experiences--work experience, volunteer experience, school experience, hobby experience and so on. Your resume might come in handy here. Look at the industries you have worked for or been involved with. And, look at the professional skills you have learned—making customers happy, completing projects on deadline, budgeting, --whatever you have done that you think would be helpful in your business. For example, if you are a charming person who loves music and travel, and you also have 3 years experience in retail, you might look at opening your own music store, selling to retail outlets, publishing a newsletter to help music stores increase their sales, and so on. Again, the ideas are unlimited until you compare them to who you are. If you have experience in retail but hate it, then opening your own store should not make your list! So, take your business ideas list and circle the ones you have some experience in and some qualities which will be helpful in running those businesses. Circle the top 5 ideas from your list –the ones you are most excited by. Then, call or visit some of those types of businesses. Check out the environment. Make notes of what you like and dislike. Do you think they are profitable? If you can talk with some of the people who work there, ask them what they like about their jobs, what they dislike, how long they have been there, and so on. If you can meet or talk with the owner, ask for some information. Tell them you are doing research (which is true!) and would like to have a few minutes of their time to ask some questions. Possible questions include the positive and negative aspects of their business, how did they get started, what is their biggest expense, what are their growth plans, how do they "keep up" with industry trends, and so on. Or, apply for a part-time job there (or full-time if that would work for you). The best way to learn any business is by actually being there, doing the work, seeing the whole operation. A paid apprenticeship is a time-honored way to learn a profession, and it can help pay bills or save for your business in the meantime. In talking with people who want to go into business for themselves, I often find they like the idea but don’t know the real gist of their chosen business. For example, it seems like everybody wants to start their own restaurant. It appears glamorous and fun and heck, anybody can cook. Having worked for several years in restaurants, I can attest to the fact that it is very hard work with extremely long hours. It’s messy. There is always cleaning that needs to be done. Customers can and will be rude and obnoxious (and also fun and generous). Profit margins are low. Costs have to be tightly controlled—food costs, labor costs, and supply costs. A bad location can kill you. Employees will steal from you, fail to show up for work, quit without notice, and you need them because they are key to your success. You have to market it constantly and be smart about it. You have to predict sales so you can make schedules and order the right amount of food. You need quite a bit of expensive equipment (coolers, freezers, grills, computers, dishwashers, and etc.). That equipment will break during your busiest time. You won’t know how to fix it. The glamorous part—you might meet some celebrities, you will meet some great people, you will (hopefully) be complimented on your great food and/or service, you can have fun, and you probably won’t go hungry! So, be sure to check out the "unglamorous" side of whatever business you are interested in. A job in the industry is one of the best ways to learn this before you sink your money into something and discover that you really don’t like it, after all. You can also continue your research online. Many industries have associations which have good articles and links to good information sites. Also search for related forums where you can read posts and ask questions of others who are working in the industry. After this exercise, you should have narrowed the ideas list considerably. You might have even crossed off all of your top 5! Don’t despair—you have learned valuable information without spending your savings! Go back to your list and using what you now know, choose another five. You can repeat these exercises until you have enough information to make a valid decision about what kind of business you want to start. You might find out that there is a gaping hole in the industry just waiting for you to step in and open your business which fills that hole. You will have much better odds of succeeding because you have chosen a business that is based around who you are and how you want to spend your work-time, which is a huge part of your life-time.
21 Home Business Ideas
If you are thinking about starting your own home-based business, the available options can be almost dizzying. However, there are many tried and true home-based businesses that may be just what you are looking for. Below are the top 21 home business ideas, in no particular order.
1. Personal trainer. If you are fitness-minded, you can start your own career as a personal trainer.
2. Yoga instructor. Begin sharing your expertise with others by teaching yoga classes. There are a number of online resources, depending on the school of yoga that you practice. The Yoga Alliance Web site provides information on yoga schools, certification, insurance, and so on.
3. Tutoring. You can start a business tutoring students by advertising at schools, the local YMCA, and other places frequented by families. If you have children, talk to their teachers and determine the needs of your school district.
4. Business coaching. Have experience with management or some other specialized business skill? Share it with others by becoming a business coach. The International Coach Federation provides certification and a coach referral service for its members.
5. Making and selling candles and crafts is a great way to involve your children in your work. If you are handy at making attractive crafts, you can have your children help you create them and you can easily market these items from your home.
6. Catering can be a good fit for busy parents who love to cook and entertain. Most of the work can be done in your home while looking after your children, with only a minimum of time spent out of the house.
7. Medical claims billing. This industry is one of the most popular work-from-home businesses — so much so that suspect companies have been popping up on the Internet and in classified advertisements. ELearners.com can help you locate transcription training courses online.
8. Accounting. There are many franchises and opportunities available for certified public accountants. If you are interested in getting certified, take a look at the Web site of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants for information on specific state requirements.
9. Web design. If you can design quality Web sites, consider turning your skills into a home-based business. Although the software and hardware costs can be steep, good Web designers tend to be well-compensated for their efforts.
10. Online affiliate programs do not require you to directly interact with customers or worry about finding room for products in your home. You can start a successful affiliate business by finding companies that offer products you are interested in and marketing them on the Internet.
11. Freelance typing jobs are a great way to earn money from home. Even in this age of ubiquitous computers, there continues to be a demand for skilled typists.
12. Publishing e-books can be a great way to share your knowledge with a vast market. You can write and sell e-books on any number of topics. If you have been successful at juggling a family and a home business, an e-book is a great way to share your secret with others.
13. Remodeling. If you are a gifted carpenter or contractor, you can turn your passion into your own business. The SBA provides loans to experienced contractors looking to renovate homes or businesses in order to sell them.
14. Interior design. If you have a flair for the creative, consider interior design. The American Society of Interior Designers Web site provides resources for aspiring interior designers, including a list of each state's requirements for licensing.
15. Catering or personal chef. Consider starting your own catering or personal chef business from your own kitchen. You can set yourself apart from competitors by providing specialized services such as low-carb or vegetarian menus.
16. Gift baskets. Gift basket creation is a popular and creative home-based business. Target both individuals and businesses to increase potential sales.
17. Wedding planner. If you are an ace at organizing important events and have a rolodex full of contacts, consider becoming a wedding planner. There are numerous online certification courses online, including one from Weddings Beautiful.
18. Personal shopper. If you are a great shopper with an eye for people's personal styles, you can offer your services to those less inclined. In addition, consider providing a gift shopping service for those too busy to shop themselves.
19. Concierge. If you have a lot of energy, a love for the mundane, and the ability to juggle multiple tasks, consider providing a personal concierge to busy business people or parents.
20. Custom jewelry creation. Designing your own custom design jewelry can be a lucrative pastime. Make sure to wear your own creations as a way to drum up business.
21. Computer repair. Are you the person everyone calls when they have a computer problem? Turn this into a business and start getting paid for fixing fatal errors. Check out Geeks on Call America and Rescuecom if you are interested in franchise opportunities.
1. Personal trainer. If you are fitness-minded, you can start your own career as a personal trainer.
2. Yoga instructor. Begin sharing your expertise with others by teaching yoga classes. There are a number of online resources, depending on the school of yoga that you practice. The Yoga Alliance Web site provides information on yoga schools, certification, insurance, and so on.
3. Tutoring. You can start a business tutoring students by advertising at schools, the local YMCA, and other places frequented by families. If you have children, talk to their teachers and determine the needs of your school district.
4. Business coaching. Have experience with management or some other specialized business skill? Share it with others by becoming a business coach. The International Coach Federation provides certification and a coach referral service for its members.
5. Making and selling candles and crafts is a great way to involve your children in your work. If you are handy at making attractive crafts, you can have your children help you create them and you can easily market these items from your home.
6. Catering can be a good fit for busy parents who love to cook and entertain. Most of the work can be done in your home while looking after your children, with only a minimum of time spent out of the house.
7. Medical claims billing. This industry is one of the most popular work-from-home businesses — so much so that suspect companies have been popping up on the Internet and in classified advertisements. ELearners.com can help you locate transcription training courses online.
8. Accounting. There are many franchises and opportunities available for certified public accountants. If you are interested in getting certified, take a look at the Web site of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants for information on specific state requirements.
9. Web design. If you can design quality Web sites, consider turning your skills into a home-based business. Although the software and hardware costs can be steep, good Web designers tend to be well-compensated for their efforts.
10. Online affiliate programs do not require you to directly interact with customers or worry about finding room for products in your home. You can start a successful affiliate business by finding companies that offer products you are interested in and marketing them on the Internet.
11. Freelance typing jobs are a great way to earn money from home. Even in this age of ubiquitous computers, there continues to be a demand for skilled typists.
12. Publishing e-books can be a great way to share your knowledge with a vast market. You can write and sell e-books on any number of topics. If you have been successful at juggling a family and a home business, an e-book is a great way to share your secret with others.
13. Remodeling. If you are a gifted carpenter or contractor, you can turn your passion into your own business. The SBA provides loans to experienced contractors looking to renovate homes or businesses in order to sell them.
14. Interior design. If you have a flair for the creative, consider interior design. The American Society of Interior Designers Web site provides resources for aspiring interior designers, including a list of each state's requirements for licensing.
15. Catering or personal chef. Consider starting your own catering or personal chef business from your own kitchen. You can set yourself apart from competitors by providing specialized services such as low-carb or vegetarian menus.
16. Gift baskets. Gift basket creation is a popular and creative home-based business. Target both individuals and businesses to increase potential sales.
17. Wedding planner. If you are an ace at organizing important events and have a rolodex full of contacts, consider becoming a wedding planner. There are numerous online certification courses online, including one from Weddings Beautiful.
18. Personal shopper. If you are a great shopper with an eye for people's personal styles, you can offer your services to those less inclined. In addition, consider providing a gift shopping service for those too busy to shop themselves.
19. Concierge. If you have a lot of energy, a love for the mundane, and the ability to juggle multiple tasks, consider providing a personal concierge to busy business people or parents.
20. Custom jewelry creation. Designing your own custom design jewelry can be a lucrative pastime. Make sure to wear your own creations as a way to drum up business.
21. Computer repair. Are you the person everyone calls when they have a computer problem? Turn this into a business and start getting paid for fixing fatal errors. Check out Geeks on Call America and Rescuecom if you are interested in franchise opportunities.
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