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Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Today we look at another way to bring traffic to our sites and opportunities. We have to be careful to follow the rules of the Forums but, as today's article shows, it is possible to pick up some extra customers if we are sufficiently subtle. Enjoy! Author's Name: John Corcoran TC,BA,Assoc.Dip.Small Bus.(The AffiliateAngel)17 POSTING TO CHAT FORUMS CAN BRING IN BUSINESS......HERE'S HOW! If you're a frequent visitor to chat forums, you can use them to your advantage without worrying about spamming anyone. That doesn't mean that you have to go in there with the sole intention of promoting your business; but there are a few things that you can do in a subtle way that can possibly land you some new customers. It can be one of the easiest ways in the world to draw business to your website, and you don't even have to do any work to accomplish it. Most chat forums allow registered users to add a signature line underneath their name. This information shows up each time you post a message to the forum, and can be advantageous to someone who is looking for any of your products and services. Some forum posters don't bother looking at the websites of users unless they are regular users of the forum, and then they might get curious. Another thing is, if there was a discussion and you just happened to mention that you have a website, some people may decide to check it out just out of curiosity. It doesn't matter why they chose to do it, the important thing is that you provided enough interest to make someone want to check your website in order to obtain more information. Another way a chat forum may help you draw traffic to your website is to casually weave your business into conversations, as appropriate. For example, if you distribute parts for race cars, and someone is discussing where to find a particular part, and you know that you can get it for the poster at a better price than he has been quoted, you can casually mention that your company has that part at a lower price and let the poster make the decision to go to your website or to ask you the question specifically. You don't want to make yourself a nuisance, or you will find that the forum owner or moderator will remove you from the forum. Some don't care but others are very choosy about the subjects that are discussed in the forum, especially if it's a specialized subject forum. A third way to bring in business using a chat forum is to search for one that is specific to the type of products or services you provide. Although this may not always be possible, it's an avenue worth researching. It will definitely allow you more freedom in saying things that will draw attention to your website than a generalized forum. The key is to get the word out that you have a business and what it involves so that you generate enough interest for posters in the forum to want to visit. You don't want to blatantly advertise unless the forum was created for that purpose. You just want to drop subtle hints and indirect invitations to visit your website. ======================== Author Resource Box ======================== John Corcoran is a retired High School Teacher of Business Studies, from NSW, Australia. His aim is to help people to be successful while building his own internet business. He recommends the following sites as helpful: http://www.AffiliateAngel.biz/optin.htmlhttp://www.affiliateangel.biz/blog/http://www.affiliateangel.bizhttp://www.AffiliateAngel.biz/pips.htmlhttp://www.pluginprofitsite.com/main-15217Folks, as I indicated some time back, it was my intention to sometimes list another website, without further comment, to allow you to explore it for yourself. While my first priority is to promote the above URLs I must make mention of another; and most strongly recommend it to you as one of the very best business opportunities on the internet. Please visit: http://JCorcoran1.successuniversity.com/newThat's all for now. Cheerio till next time! John
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Thursday, September 13, 2007
You've all heard the expression when looking for some thing that can't be found " It's like looking for a needle in a hay stack". In terms of building your internet business,is your web site like the bright shiny needle glinting in the sunshine on top of the hay stack, or is it lost somewhere in the depths of the stack where no one can find it? When people search the web using any of the well known search engines, is your web site one of the bright shiny ones at or near the top? Fortunately, there is a way to improve your position, called Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, which is the subject of today's article. Enjoy! Author's Name: John Corcoran TC,BA,Assoc.Dip.Small Bus.(The AffiliateAngel)16 SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION THAT ANYONE CAN UNDERSTAND Search engine optimization, or SEO, is used by online businesses as a way to increase their chances of being in the top ten rankings on search engines. Because most consumers only look at the top three or five websites listed, being that high in the ranking increases the possibility of making a sale. Because there are many tricks to using SEO, you may become confused easily if you are not used to it. The best ways to use SEO is to add keywords and phrases to your web pages and create back links to your website so potential customers will be able to find your site regardless of whether they use a search engine or not. Search engines use web spiders that search each website and sites connected to it in order to create rankings. While this occurs very quickly, search engines actually check millions of pages, checking for sites that are frequently mentioned online. Adding keywords and phrases and adding back links on other websites are easy ways to increase your web presence. Keywords and phrases are used by those using search engines. After creating your website, you should conduct research to find the most popular keywords that people use when looking for goods and services similar to the ones on your website. Each page within your site should include keywords in the content, Meta tags, and in the heading of your page. Choosing keywords is not an exact science. Since you cannot read the minds of those using search engines, you will need to choose words and phrases that are common. Search engines have free tools you can use to determine which words are the most popular for your website. You will have to update keywords each month since the popularity will chance and words will no longer be used as much as they used to. Update your web pages when adding new content or sections of your website. This will help increase the number of hits you receive. Track your hits to see where they are coming from so you can have a better understanding of which words work the best. Creating back links is another way to increase your web presence. Back links are simply links to your web site. They can be added to your blog, articles you submit to article directories, press releases, and other web sites. The more back links you have, the higher your search engine ranking will be. Adding keywords to your press releases and articles will also help. SEO is not difficult to achieve once you get the hang of it. Start by adding keywords and phrases in order to begin using SEO. Add back links whenever possible so you will gain more exposure on the web. Track where all of your traffic is coming from so you can market in areas that generate the most traffic. ======================== Author Resource Box ======================== John Corcoran is a retired High School Teacher of Business Studies, from NSW, Australia. His aim is to help people to be successful while building his own internet business. He recommends the following sites as helpful: http://www.AffiliateAngel.biz/optin.htmlhttp://www.affiliateangel.biz/blog/http://www.affiliateangel.bizhttp://www.AffiliateAngel.biz/pips.htmlhttp://www.pluginprofitsite.com/main-15217That's it for now. Cheerio till next time. John
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Tuesday, September 11, 2007
All of us know that you can have the best product or service in the world, but if no-one knows about it we won't make a dollar out of it. Today's article looks at the cost and possible effectiveness of online advertising. Dare I say, in relation to 'free advertising' we generally get what we pay for! Enjoy! Author's Name: John Corcoran TC,BA,Assoc.Dip.Small Bus.(The AffiliateAngel)15 ARE ONLINE ADS WORTH THE COST? Whenever you are surfing the internet looking for information you will see a plethora of online advertising offering virtually every conceivable product or service under the sun. As more people hit the information highway, often shunning traditional information sources such as print, television and radio, advertisers are also making the switch. Online advertising can a cost-effective method of reaching web surfers and getting their message in front of a different audience. One of the biggest advantages of online ads is also one of the biggest disadvantages. Online ads can reach a wider audience and if you have a global internet business can expand the boundaries of your customer base. In most cases you have the ability to determine the types of sites on which your online ads will appear, but in many instances once you place the ad, especially if going through an online ad agency, your site could end up on sites that are inconsistent with you beliefs. If your business is strictly locally based; with print, television or radio advertising you can restrict the geographic locations where the ads will be heard or seen. For many local-only businesses, this type of target advertising reaches only those who are likely to be interested in your business and be reasonably expected to visit in person. It all depends on whether you want your advertising effort to have a shotgun effect or a rifle shot. While a shotgun approach can reach more people in the least amount of time in a much wider area, it will also have many of the ads whiz out into cyberspace with no contact with potential customers. With the rifle approach you can aim your advertising at a specific customer base and even with a potentially higher cost can often realize a better return on the advertising dollar. When considering online advertising you have to look at the potential returns to determine if they are worth your investment. With internet advertising, as will many other forms, it is a numbers game. If you anticipate that 10 percent of those who see the ad will respond and ten percent of those respondents will result in a sale, you should consider that 10,000 advertisement in print media would see 1,000 respondents resulting in 100 sales. With online ads, your advertisement may reach a million viewers, resulting in 100,000 respondents and 10,000 sales. Weighing these purely hypothetical numbers would seem to make online advertising a good investment. However, depending on the placement of online ads, such as on sites that customers for your products or service rarely if ever visit, the number of respondents may be considerably lower, reducing the potential return on your online ad investment. If you have an online business, it may pay to advertise where your customers are looking. If your business is completely offline, advertising online may simply make the business with which you advertise the recipient of any income. As with all other forms of advertising, online advertising is both an art and a science. ======================== Author Resource Box ======================== John Corcoran is a retired High School Teacher of Business Studies, from NSW, Australia. His aim is to help people to be successful while building his own internet business. He recommends the following sites as helpful: http://www.AffiliateAngel.biz/optin.htmlhttp://www.affiliateangel.biz/blog/http://www.affiliateangel.bizhttp://www.AffiliateAngel.biz/pips.htmlGood luck with your online advertising. May it bring you abundance and great prosperity. Bye till next time. John
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I'm sure you all know the oldest profession in the world........No! It's not that; it is, in fact, salesmanship. I remember hearing from a very capable salesman one time: "Always sell the sizzle, not the sausage!" Today's article shows that to sell successfully, we must first find some hungry people; then we can sell them both the sizzle and the sausage. Enjoy! Author's Name: John Corcoran TC,BA,Assoc.Dip.Small Bus.(The AffiliateAngel)14 SELLING YOUR SERVICES WITHOUT SOUNDING PUSHY Selling your services without sounding pushy is the great hairbreadth that divides the successful salesperson – be it a telemarketer, mail order solicitor, or car salesperson seeking to foist an undercarriage coating – from the one who will be hung up on habitually, whose glossy brochures end up in the recycling bin, and who could not sell a big flannel towel to a beachgoer who forgot his. While there are a number of reasons why some folks simply sound pushy even when they do not mean to, there are also a few tips and tricks to overcome this problem and to rise up in the ranks of those who have the art of selling in their blood. Here are the three most important things to remember for selling your services without sounding pushy: 1. First and foremost, you must come to terms with the product and the process. Perhaps you are working at a call center and instead of being able to enter into a person conversation with the consumers – as is your personal style – you are forced to follow a specific script. This is a hard one for many people to do, and trying to sell anything when you are not comfortable with the process will have you come across as being pushy and impersonal. Thus, become dedicated to using the script, memorize it so that it does not sound like you are reading something, and make every effort to find a personal approach even when using a script. Establishing personal rapport will allow you to sell without sounding pushy. 2. When someone is accused of being pushy, it is usually synonymous with someone trying to convince a potential customer of the service’s quality even though the customer is not sold on the concept yet. As a sales person, you have missed a crucial step in the process by failing to communicate undeniable reasons why your potential customer needs the service. This in turn requires you to listen to the customer and understand their needs – which sometimes you will only be able to do after the first few minutes of the conversation. Therefore, do not be so quick to sell your service but instead be quick to listen and then focus on the reasons why your service will be a need for the customer. 3. Selling your services without sounding pushy requires the salesperson to understand what they are selling. Sure, you may know that you are selling a widget protection plan, but just going into the money saving, how much it will cost the customer, and what great benefits there are does precious little to convince the consumer who is practiced in saying ‘No” to anyone who calls. Instead, you need to focus on the end-result your service will have for the customer. The widget protection plan is great, but if it means the customer gets to spend time with his or her family playing golf since they no longer have to worry about fixing the widget, then this is the hook on which to bait the sale. Once the customer is interested in what the service can do for them, it is the time to enter into your spiel about cost, and so on. I guess it means that if we don't want to sound pushy we just have to remember "to walk in the other person's shoes". ======================== Author Resource Box ======================== John Corcoran is a retired High School Teacher of Business Studies, from NSW, Australia. His aim is to help people to be successful while building his own internet business. He recommends the following sites as helpful:
http://www.AffiliateAngel.biz/optin.htmlhttp://www.affiliateangel.biz/blog/http://www.affiliateangel.bizhttp://www.AffiliateAngel.biz/pips.htmlSo folks, look for lots of hungry buyers; and happy selling! Bye for now. John.
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Sunday, September 9, 2007
We humans have some very strange behaviours. One of them is being superstitious about all sorts of things. Of course, I'm not superstitious even though today's article is the 13th I've put together in this series! As you will see in today's article, one way to deal with disasters in business is to have appropriate and adequate insurance. Enjoy! Author's Name: John Corcoran TC,BA,Assoc.Dip.Small Bus.(The AffiliateAngel)13 PROTECTING YOUR HOME BUSINESS AND EQUIPMENT The success of a business, whether large or small, is largely dependent on hard work and ingenuity. No matter how industrious you are, one disaster can wipe out all your profits and even the business. There are several ways to protect your business equipment. When buying equipment for a home business, buy the extra extended warranties. The longer the warranty, the more the cost, but it is worth it. One trip to the repair shop can exceed the cost of the extended warranty. Most power problems can be eliminated with proper wiring and grounding. Avoiding circuit overloads can also reduce electrical problems. Circuit breakers are designed to protect against overloads and short circuits. It is probably a good idea to have a licensed electrician inspect all the wiring in the house before starting the business. Properly installed electrical service meter surge protection devices used in conjunction with individual SPDs offer a high level of protection for business equipment. Surge protectors protect equipment by reducing power strikes and surges. High quality surge suppressors offer reliable protection for years. If you are running a business from your home, you may not have enough insurance to protect your business equipment. Most home owner policies only cover about $2500.00 for equipment. If that is what your policy states, you will definitely need more coverage. Simple endorsements to your existing home owner’s policy can double your standard coverage. An in-home business policy provides more comprehensive coverage for business equipment. Some of these policies will pay the income that you lose in the event your home is so badly damaged by a disaster, that it can’t be used for a while. These policies are available from home owner’s insurance companies and specialty insurers. Business owner policies are created specifically for small-to-mid size businesses. This type of policy is an excellent solution if your home based business operates in more than one location. A business owner policy covers business equipment on a much larger scale. Since we humans have no control over the weather it is important to secure your business equipment. Conduct a room by room walk through to determine what needs to be secured. Attach equipment and cabinets to walls and other stable equipment. Place heavy or breakable objects on low shelves. Move work stations away from large windows, if possible. Elevate equipment off the floor to avoid electrical hazards in the event of flooding. Keep an up-to-date inventory of your business equipment. Also, remember to include leased equipment that is not insured by the rental company. When you buy equipment, record the serial numbers and store them in a safe place. Two more tips that you might want to consider are installing a security system and extra security lighting. You should install a security alarm and visibly display the alarm company's shield. These extra security measures will help reduce your extra insurance premiums. ======================== Author Resource Box ======================== John Corcoran is a retired High School Teacher of Business Studies, from NSW, Australia. His aim is to help people to be successful while building his own internet business. He recommends the following sites as helpful: http://www.AffiliateAngel.biz/optin.htmlhttp://www.affiliateangel.biz/blog/http://www.affiliateangel.bizhttp://www.AffiliateAngel.biz/pips.htm
lUntil next time, just to be sure, don't walk under any ladders or go looking for black cats. Bye for now. John.
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Sunday, September 2, 2007
We human beings always seem to be looking for the next new thing, and today's article on Permission Marketing is just a further example of that phenomenon. As marketers we are always trying to gain peoples' attention. If this method works, so much the better. Enjoy! Author's Name: John Corcoran TC,BA,Assoc.Dip.Small Bus.(The AffiliateAngel)12 THE NEXT GENERATION OF MARKETING: PERMISSION MARKETING If a company paid you to watch their commercials on television, you would probably be more inclined to not get up for a snack, or reach for the mute button. However, this is not happening and your favorite programs are interrupted. Your family time may be interrupted by pleas for donations from charitable organizations or political organizations; and your computer screen is bombarded thousands of times each day you turn it on, and when you sign onto the internet. In an effort to reduce the number of interruptions every person has everyday through every media available, the push is on for companies to get permission before taking your time. It would be like a television commercial giving you a choice of whether to watch the commercial or continuing with the program. No advertiser in their right mind would offer that choice because they know their message is broadcast to thousands of viewers and if they had to get permission from them all, their commercial would never see the light of day. With the internet, the number of advertising emails sent out on a daily basis is staggering and most of them are a waste of money as people simply hit the delete key. They may be interested in the message, but not in the interruption. A new trend for internet marketing is sending advertising only to those who give their permission. Whether the next generation of marketing involving permission marketing is successful will depend on the internet surfers' hatred of unsolicited marketing materials. However, no one is going to tell a company it is OK to send them advertising, unless there is something in it for them. Back to the television commercial; if the company said watch this commercial and we will send you a free sample of the advertised product, they would probably get more people to watch. However, that is not going to happen. With permission marketing, recipients may agree to receive information through email or links to websites because they have been entered into a contest, promising them the chance to win a prize. A solid permission marketing plan may entail monthly, annual or semiannual contests that invite people to sign up. The company offers to enter them in a drawing, or offers online game competition in return for their permission to send them emails about the sponsor of the contest or game. Potential customers are more willing to receive the information once they are entered in the contest. It may also require them to participate in the game for a certain time period to maintain their eligibility for winning, but in many cases as long as their permission was given during the time of the contest, they are considered eligible contestants. ======================== Author Resource Box ======================== John Corcoran is a retired High School Teacher of Business Studies, from NSW, Australia. His aim is to help people to be successful while building his own internet business. He recommends the following sites as helpful: http://www.AffiliateAngel.biz/optin.htmlhttp://www.affiliateangel.biz/blog/http://www.affiliateangel.bizhttp://www.AffiliateAngel.biz/pips.htmlBye for now! John Explore: http://www.income4beginners.com/index.php?uid=3725
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