Publisher: Earl Williams
Shop-Now Mini Mall
Turn on the news and you'll get an earful of how bad things are - not only in your community but around the world. Head to the coffee shop and conversations will battle for your attention as folks around you discuss their woes. The financial situation and the disposition of people around you are enough to make you want to bury your head in the sand.
Yet, when you can harness a positive mindset, the sky is the limit. A positive mindset not only helps you get through the tough times, it helps you profit from them and continue to grow and succeed. The trick, of course, is actually being able to think positively in tough times. Here are a few tips and ideas to help.
#1 Gratitude
Gratitude is one of the most powerful emotions human beings are capable of. It’s right up there with love as a potent and significant emotion. One of the easiest ways to stay in a state of gratitude is to create a gratitude habit. Start or end each day by listing the things you’re grateful for. Also consider turning to gratitude when you feel negative emotions sneaking in and taking over.
#2 Focus on What Is Working
If something is always going wrong, rest assured something is also going right. The trick is to focus on the things that are working. So make a list. Right now, make a list of the things that are going right in your life, in your business, and in your relationships. Print the list and hang it in a place where you often feel overwhelmed. When negative thoughts begin to creep in, take a glance at your list. Read it aloud if it helps. Absorb it and change your thoughts.
#3 Create Positive Surroundings
Surround yourself with things that you love and people that support you. Emotions are contagious. When the people around you are negative, it’s easy to become negative too. However, the contrary is true too. When you’re surrounded by positive people it’s much easier to feel positive.
And when you’re surrounded by things you love and things that make you feel good, it’s easier to focus on the good. Make your home comfortable. Place personal pictures on your desk. Buy pillows and blankets in colors that you like. Paint your room or office a color that makes you smile. Change your surroundings and change your life.
#4 Personal Care
Taking care of your mind and body makes a huge difference in your ability to stay positive. Exercise, eat well, get plenty of sleep and take time during the day to meditate. A little self-care goes a long way.
When it comes to maintaining a positive attitude, it can be a real challenge during the tough times. Small things matter and can make a big difference. Take care of yourself. Surround yourself with people and things that make you smile and remember to focus on what is good in your life. If you have to, make a list and keep it handy.
About the Publisher: Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Amazon.com Affiliate Program: Is It Worth the Effort?
Publisher: Earl Williams
Shop-Now Mini Mall
It seems like affiliate programs are all the rage these days. And why not? It is a good way to create an income stream with very little work. One such program is Amazon.com.
What Are Affiliate Programs?
In case you are a newbie in the world of affiliate marketing, here is a quick tutorial about the concept. Affiliate marketing basically involves selling products for others and earning a commission on those sales or sales leads.
There are many advantages to this model. First, you don’t have to house any inventory. The products are managed by the affiliate program owner, in this case Amazon.com. There is nothing for you to keep up with.
Second, you don’t even have to come up with tools to promote the products. The affiliate does that for you as well. They provide an affiliate’s toolbox filled with all sorts of goodies that help you to get started. You can use different codes on your site to embed pictures, text or both with your affiliate code so that it traces back to you when someone clicks on the links.
Third, you don’t have to monitor the clicks. All of that is done for you, by the affiliate owner. They compute your payment and send it to you.
So, what’s your responsibility? Successfully promote the product and drive traffic to your site so others will take advantage of the offers displayed there. But, that is a subject for another time.
What about Amazon.com?
Amazon is a pioneer in the affiliate marketing model. When you are growing a company it is often hard to also grow the advertising. There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. Amazon have developed a strategy whereby others help to promote the products and services that they offer for a percentage of the commission on the sales.
It’s ingenious, actually. Now, someone else is working for you so you can concentrate on other business aspects.
With Amazon.com, you are backed by a brand that people trust. When you promote any of their products, potential customers already know that it is good quality so you don’t have to sell them on that. The products practically sell themselves.
But, before joining any affiliate program, even Amazon.com, read the fine print. Know about fee structures, payment schedules and what you are getting to help you be a successful affiliate. This will help you evaluate whether the program itself is worth the effort.
If you are looking for a constant income stream that gets better over time, then this one may work for you. Some are skeptical about the low starting commission rate. However, while it is low compared to other programs, you can grow that as quickly or as slowly as you want with increased sales each month.
Also, Amazon.com pays quarterly. You won’t see a check until the end of the first three months depending on when you sign up. So, it is not a quick bucks kind of program.
Is Amazon.com worth it? That depends on your needs and affiliate marketing goals.
About the Publisher: Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Shop-Now Mini Mall
It seems like affiliate programs are all the rage these days. And why not? It is a good way to create an income stream with very little work. One such program is Amazon.com.
What Are Affiliate Programs?
In case you are a newbie in the world of affiliate marketing, here is a quick tutorial about the concept. Affiliate marketing basically involves selling products for others and earning a commission on those sales or sales leads.
There are many advantages to this model. First, you don’t have to house any inventory. The products are managed by the affiliate program owner, in this case Amazon.com. There is nothing for you to keep up with.
Second, you don’t even have to come up with tools to promote the products. The affiliate does that for you as well. They provide an affiliate’s toolbox filled with all sorts of goodies that help you to get started. You can use different codes on your site to embed pictures, text or both with your affiliate code so that it traces back to you when someone clicks on the links.
Third, you don’t have to monitor the clicks. All of that is done for you, by the affiliate owner. They compute your payment and send it to you.
So, what’s your responsibility? Successfully promote the product and drive traffic to your site so others will take advantage of the offers displayed there. But, that is a subject for another time.
What about Amazon.com?
Amazon is a pioneer in the affiliate marketing model. When you are growing a company it is often hard to also grow the advertising. There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. Amazon have developed a strategy whereby others help to promote the products and services that they offer for a percentage of the commission on the sales.
It’s ingenious, actually. Now, someone else is working for you so you can concentrate on other business aspects.
With Amazon.com, you are backed by a brand that people trust. When you promote any of their products, potential customers already know that it is good quality so you don’t have to sell them on that. The products practically sell themselves.
But, before joining any affiliate program, even Amazon.com, read the fine print. Know about fee structures, payment schedules and what you are getting to help you be a successful affiliate. This will help you evaluate whether the program itself is worth the effort.
If you are looking for a constant income stream that gets better over time, then this one may work for you. Some are skeptical about the low starting commission rate. However, while it is low compared to other programs, you can grow that as quickly or as slowly as you want with increased sales each month.
Also, Amazon.com pays quarterly. You won’t see a check until the end of the first three months depending on when you sign up. So, it is not a quick bucks kind of program.
Is Amazon.com worth it? That depends on your needs and affiliate marketing goals.
About the Publisher: Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Affiliate Marketers: How to Increase Conversion
Publisher: Earl Williams
Shop-Now Mini Mall
Your conversion rate is perhaps the most important factor to improve if you want to create a successful affiliate marketing campaign. If you have a 2% conversion while your competitor only has a 1% conversion, it becomes very hard for them to compete.
How do you raise your conversion rates as an affiliate marketer?
==> Start by Getting More Targeted Traffic
Start by improving the quality of your traffic.
One easy way to do this is to narrow down your keywords. For example, if you're selling sports shoes, instead of bidding for keywords like "Nike shoes" try going for specific models like "Nike Sprint Runner 2011."
Also try cutting down on broad match or phrase match terms, and go for exact match terms instead.
The principles of getting more targeted traffic apply no matter what kind of traffic source you're using.
==> Use Keyword Pass-Through & Geotargeting
Let's say someone who lives in Boulder, Colorado typed in "Nike Shoes" and landed on your site. Which of these headlines would be more appealing?
"Buy Sports Shoes Online Today" or "Buy Nike Shoes Online, Delivered to Boulder in 48 Hours"?
Naturally, the latter is going to be more appealing.
Two quick ways to increase your conversion rate on anything you're promoting is to add keyword pass-through and geotargeting.
Keyword pass-through simply means passing the keyword someone typed in to get to your website to your landing page, and using it in the headline or body copy.
Geotargeting involves using the IP address of the browser to detect where they're located and then using that to increase conversions. There's a free script you can use from MaxMind.
==> Split Testing
Ultimately, the only way to really increase your conversions consistently is to split test on a regular basis.
If you have a small amount of traffic, start with basic A/B split tests that tackle large differences in your website.
If you have a profitable campaign that's getting significant amounts of traffic, try using multivariable testing to figure out the best possible combination of factors.
==> Starting an Email List
If you have a campaign that's profitable or breaks even on the front end, you might want to consider setting up an email list.
Setting up an email list will allow you to promote multiple affiliate offers to the same traffic source. Since you've already proven that you're able to get buyers to your landing page, you're likely leaving money on the table if you don't try to get them on a list.
These are a few proven tactics for increasing your conversions as an affiliate marketer. The most important habit you could get into is regularly trying out different ideas. Affiliate marketing is often just about trying out as many different things as possible until one sticks. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
About the Publisher: Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Shop-Now Mini Mall
Your conversion rate is perhaps the most important factor to improve if you want to create a successful affiliate marketing campaign. If you have a 2% conversion while your competitor only has a 1% conversion, it becomes very hard for them to compete.
How do you raise your conversion rates as an affiliate marketer?
==> Start by Getting More Targeted Traffic
Start by improving the quality of your traffic.
One easy way to do this is to narrow down your keywords. For example, if you're selling sports shoes, instead of bidding for keywords like "Nike shoes" try going for specific models like "Nike Sprint Runner 2011."
Also try cutting down on broad match or phrase match terms, and go for exact match terms instead.
The principles of getting more targeted traffic apply no matter what kind of traffic source you're using.
==> Use Keyword Pass-Through & Geotargeting
Let's say someone who lives in Boulder, Colorado typed in "Nike Shoes" and landed on your site. Which of these headlines would be more appealing?
"Buy Sports Shoes Online Today" or "Buy Nike Shoes Online, Delivered to Boulder in 48 Hours"?
Naturally, the latter is going to be more appealing.
Two quick ways to increase your conversion rate on anything you're promoting is to add keyword pass-through and geotargeting.
Keyword pass-through simply means passing the keyword someone typed in to get to your website to your landing page, and using it in the headline or body copy.
Geotargeting involves using the IP address of the browser to detect where they're located and then using that to increase conversions. There's a free script you can use from MaxMind.
==> Split Testing
Ultimately, the only way to really increase your conversions consistently is to split test on a regular basis.
If you have a small amount of traffic, start with basic A/B split tests that tackle large differences in your website.
If you have a profitable campaign that's getting significant amounts of traffic, try using multivariable testing to figure out the best possible combination of factors.
==> Starting an Email List
If you have a campaign that's profitable or breaks even on the front end, you might want to consider setting up an email list.
Setting up an email list will allow you to promote multiple affiliate offers to the same traffic source. Since you've already proven that you're able to get buyers to your landing page, you're likely leaving money on the table if you don't try to get them on a list.
These are a few proven tactics for increasing your conversions as an affiliate marketer. The most important habit you could get into is regularly trying out different ideas. Affiliate marketing is often just about trying out as many different things as possible until one sticks. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
About the Publisher: Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Friday, August 19, 2011
How EBay Powersellers use Dropshipping to Boost Their Profits
Publisher: Earl Williams
Shop-Now Mini Mall
Dropshipping is a highly profitable, low-risk, easy to set up method of delivering products to customers. Because you hold no inventory, you preserve valuable capital that you can invest into other areas of your business. This is especially important with eBay businesses, where cash on hand is often limited and can't afford to be tied up in inventory.
How do "The Pros," i.e. powersellers, use dropshipping to boost their profits? Here are a few ways.
==> Launching a New Business
If you're launching a new business, there's no sense in sinking a bunch of money into it before you know if it'll work.
Instead, why not try it through dropshipping? The margins will be slimmer and you may even risk losing money. But you'll be able to prove how much volume you'll be able to generate before you risk cash in inventory.
It's much better to risk 30 cents per sale through dropshipping, than it is to risk $30,000 in inventory by stocking a thousand units.
==> Testing What to Upsell
Let's say you're selling fishing rods. What else should you sell? Hooks? Lines? Sinkers? Books on fishing? Bait boxes?
You never know. And you probably shouldn't buy 500 of each just to test out selling each one.
Instead, establish a dropshipping relationship with your wholesaler and try each of them. It won't cost you anything to figure out which products don't work. Once you find the ones that do, you can continue dropshipping, or order wholesale.
==> Seeing Customer Response for a New Product
Will they love it or hate it? Again, you don't have to take a financial risk to find out.
You can launch new products without risking your hard-earned cash by dropshipping. Read the reviews and talk to your customers to figure out if the product is up to snuff.
Once it's proven it's earning potential, then and only then do you stock up on hard inventory.
==> Testing a Vendor Relationship
Apart from the product itself, dropshipping is a great way to test out a new vendor relationship.
How "on the ball" are they with requests? Do they fulfill dropshipping orders promptly? Do they hassle you about billing before your net 30/60/90 period is up? Do you feel like you have connection and rapport?
It's much better to ferret out any problems in the relationship on a $20 dropshipping relationship than on a $20,000 wholesaling relationship.
These are just a few of the methods that smart eBay powersellers are using to boost their profits. Dropshipping can be a very powerful way of increasing your profits while decreasing your risks. You can use it to launch new businesses, test upsells, test new products and even test a new vendor relationship. You can do all this without tying up any significant amount of cash.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who own and operate his online mall. Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Shop-Now Mini Mall
Dropshipping is a highly profitable, low-risk, easy to set up method of delivering products to customers. Because you hold no inventory, you preserve valuable capital that you can invest into other areas of your business. This is especially important with eBay businesses, where cash on hand is often limited and can't afford to be tied up in inventory.
How do "The Pros," i.e. powersellers, use dropshipping to boost their profits? Here are a few ways.
==> Launching a New Business
If you're launching a new business, there's no sense in sinking a bunch of money into it before you know if it'll work.
Instead, why not try it through dropshipping? The margins will be slimmer and you may even risk losing money. But you'll be able to prove how much volume you'll be able to generate before you risk cash in inventory.
It's much better to risk 30 cents per sale through dropshipping, than it is to risk $30,000 in inventory by stocking a thousand units.
==> Testing What to Upsell
Let's say you're selling fishing rods. What else should you sell? Hooks? Lines? Sinkers? Books on fishing? Bait boxes?
You never know. And you probably shouldn't buy 500 of each just to test out selling each one.
Instead, establish a dropshipping relationship with your wholesaler and try each of them. It won't cost you anything to figure out which products don't work. Once you find the ones that do, you can continue dropshipping, or order wholesale.
==> Seeing Customer Response for a New Product
Will they love it or hate it? Again, you don't have to take a financial risk to find out.
You can launch new products without risking your hard-earned cash by dropshipping. Read the reviews and talk to your customers to figure out if the product is up to snuff.
Once it's proven it's earning potential, then and only then do you stock up on hard inventory.
==> Testing a Vendor Relationship
Apart from the product itself, dropshipping is a great way to test out a new vendor relationship.
How "on the ball" are they with requests? Do they fulfill dropshipping orders promptly? Do they hassle you about billing before your net 30/60/90 period is up? Do you feel like you have connection and rapport?
It's much better to ferret out any problems in the relationship on a $20 dropshipping relationship than on a $20,000 wholesaling relationship.
These are just a few of the methods that smart eBay powersellers are using to boost their profits. Dropshipping can be a very powerful way of increasing your profits while decreasing your risks. You can use it to launch new businesses, test upsells, test new products and even test a new vendor relationship. You can do all this without tying up any significant amount of cash.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who own and operate his online mall. Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Monday, August 01, 2011
Does Your Online Socializing Interrupt Your Productivity
Publisher: Earl Williams
Shop-Now Mini Mall
If you're like most internet entrepreneurs, you'll probably notice you spend a disproportionate amount of time checking Facebook, Twitter, your email or your web stats. How much productivity does this really cost you? And how can you cut down on this productivity loss?
==> The True Price of Socializing
If you check your Facebook for just five minutes, two or three times a day, plus your email another two or three times a day, that doesn't seem like much, does it? It seems like very normal online behavior in fact.
In reality, the costs are huge.
Let's say each time you decide to check Facebook, it interrupts your concentration and costs you momentum in a project. In addition, it takes you an additional ten minutes or so to get back "in the groove."
While you're on Facebook, you might see a cool link or video. Or perhaps a slightly political comment on a friend's wall that you want to discuss. You get sidetracked and spend an additional five or ten minutes.
When you add it all up, each distraction could easily cost you fifteen to thirty minutes of productivity.
Did you know that you can really just check your email once at the beginning of your work day and once at the end and still address all the important emails in a very reasonable time frame?
Did you also know that, even with 1,000 friends, you can easily view all the posts that were posted in a day in about twenty minutes - checking Facebook just once a day?
The cuts in productivity aren't necessary. You aren't missing out on anything by streamlining your online social networking.
==> What to Do about It
As mentioned above, one very effective system is to just check your email or Facebook once at the beginning of the workday and/or at the end of the workday.
If the interruptions feel like an addition (it does for many), consider getting a site blocker for a short period of time.
Even if it's just for two weeks, it can help you get in the habit. Set up the site blocker so Facebook.com, Gmail.com, Twitter.com, etc. aren't accessible during work hours. That way you won't even be tempted to access those sites.
Also consider trying a productivity monitoring system. These are systems that will actually watch how much time you spend on email, on work and on sites like Facebook and report it to you at the end of the day. You'll probably be shocked at how much time social networking really takes when you see the numbers.
You now know how much online social networking can really be costing you in terms of productivity. You also know a number of ways to break this habit. Remember: adding just an hour or two to your daily productivity can mean a lot of real money added to your bottom line in a few months' time.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who own and operate his online mall. Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Shop-Now Mini Mall
If you're like most internet entrepreneurs, you'll probably notice you spend a disproportionate amount of time checking Facebook, Twitter, your email or your web stats. How much productivity does this really cost you? And how can you cut down on this productivity loss?
==> The True Price of Socializing
If you check your Facebook for just five minutes, two or three times a day, plus your email another two or three times a day, that doesn't seem like much, does it? It seems like very normal online behavior in fact.
In reality, the costs are huge.
Let's say each time you decide to check Facebook, it interrupts your concentration and costs you momentum in a project. In addition, it takes you an additional ten minutes or so to get back "in the groove."
While you're on Facebook, you might see a cool link or video. Or perhaps a slightly political comment on a friend's wall that you want to discuss. You get sidetracked and spend an additional five or ten minutes.
When you add it all up, each distraction could easily cost you fifteen to thirty minutes of productivity.
Did you know that you can really just check your email once at the beginning of your work day and once at the end and still address all the important emails in a very reasonable time frame?
Did you also know that, even with 1,000 friends, you can easily view all the posts that were posted in a day in about twenty minutes - checking Facebook just once a day?
The cuts in productivity aren't necessary. You aren't missing out on anything by streamlining your online social networking.
==> What to Do about It
As mentioned above, one very effective system is to just check your email or Facebook once at the beginning of the workday and/or at the end of the workday.
If the interruptions feel like an addition (it does for many), consider getting a site blocker for a short period of time.
Even if it's just for two weeks, it can help you get in the habit. Set up the site blocker so Facebook.com, Gmail.com, Twitter.com, etc. aren't accessible during work hours. That way you won't even be tempted to access those sites.
Also consider trying a productivity monitoring system. These are systems that will actually watch how much time you spend on email, on work and on sites like Facebook and report it to you at the end of the day. You'll probably be shocked at how much time social networking really takes when you see the numbers.
You now know how much online social networking can really be costing you in terms of productivity. You also know a number of ways to break this habit. Remember: adding just an hour or two to your daily productivity can mean a lot of real money added to your bottom line in a few months' time.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who own and operate his online mall. Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
EBay: Tactics on How to Get More Bids on Auctions
Publisher: Earl Williams
Shop-Now Mini Mall
The more bids you have on your auctions, the higher your eventual sale price will be. The number of bids indicates to other bidders how popular your item is. The more popular it is, the more others tend to want that item.
So how do you get more bids on your auctions? Here are a few proven tactics.
=> Start Your Auction at $0.99
Starting your auction at $0.99 will virtually guarantee you'll get bids, especially if your item is worth significantly more.
You have to have a bit of confidence to do this; because often times your item won't actually get bidded up until the last hour of the auction.
While starting at $0.99 can often win you more bids, it can be a trade-off. Sometimes starting lower causes people to believe your product is worth less and therefore eventually sell for less; while at other times the extra bids drive the sales up.
Test it for yourself to see what works.
=> Aim for Snippable Times
Many eBay buyers prefer to bid at the last minute to prevent others from seeing their bid prematurely. This practice is called "sniping." As a seller, you want to make it as easy as possible for snipes to place their bid.
Therefore, look at ending your auctions either on weekends or at nights, when people can comfortably be in front of their computers.
When in doubt, take a look at when all your competitors end their auctions and time your items to be within a few hours of theirs.
Having a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) can really make the difference. So many sellers try to compete with one another selling basically the same item. It makes no sense.
Instead, come up with something unique about your item. It can be something as simple as a free guide to the product to be included when they buy; or a small related item for free.
Whatever it is, make sure you have something that sets you apart from your competition. Promote that USP shamelessly.
=> Clear Pictures, Description, Shipping and Refunds
Take several clear pictures of the product from all angles. Avoid using stock images or images from the manufacturer, as that's what everyone else will be using.
Answer common questions in your description. Make sure your shipping and refund policies are crystal clear. Know what questions others frequently have about the product and answer them pre-emptively.
Even in the competitive marketplace of eBay, there are a lot of bad listings. A lot of people just copy and paste their website into eBay.
By taking the time to really answer questions, take new pictures and create a professional description, you'll make your listing stand out.
If you craft your auction with clear pictures and description, have a rock-solid USP, end your auction at ideal times and start your auctions at $0.99, you'll almost certainly get a nice flow of bids for your items.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who own and operate his online mall. Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Shop-Now Mini Mall
The more bids you have on your auctions, the higher your eventual sale price will be. The number of bids indicates to other bidders how popular your item is. The more popular it is, the more others tend to want that item.
So how do you get more bids on your auctions? Here are a few proven tactics.
=> Start Your Auction at $0.99
Starting your auction at $0.99 will virtually guarantee you'll get bids, especially if your item is worth significantly more.
You have to have a bit of confidence to do this; because often times your item won't actually get bidded up until the last hour of the auction.
While starting at $0.99 can often win you more bids, it can be a trade-off. Sometimes starting lower causes people to believe your product is worth less and therefore eventually sell for less; while at other times the extra bids drive the sales up.
Test it for yourself to see what works.
=> Aim for Snippable Times
Many eBay buyers prefer to bid at the last minute to prevent others from seeing their bid prematurely. This practice is called "sniping." As a seller, you want to make it as easy as possible for snipes to place their bid.
Therefore, look at ending your auctions either on weekends or at nights, when people can comfortably be in front of their computers.
When in doubt, take a look at when all your competitors end their auctions and time your items to be within a few hours of theirs.
Having a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) can really make the difference. So many sellers try to compete with one another selling basically the same item. It makes no sense.
Instead, come up with something unique about your item. It can be something as simple as a free guide to the product to be included when they buy; or a small related item for free.
Whatever it is, make sure you have something that sets you apart from your competition. Promote that USP shamelessly.
=> Clear Pictures, Description, Shipping and Refunds
Take several clear pictures of the product from all angles. Avoid using stock images or images from the manufacturer, as that's what everyone else will be using.
Answer common questions in your description. Make sure your shipping and refund policies are crystal clear. Know what questions others frequently have about the product and answer them pre-emptively.
Even in the competitive marketplace of eBay, there are a lot of bad listings. A lot of people just copy and paste their website into eBay.
By taking the time to really answer questions, take new pictures and create a professional description, you'll make your listing stand out.
If you craft your auction with clear pictures and description, have a rock-solid USP, end your auction at ideal times and start your auctions at $0.99, you'll almost certainly get a nice flow of bids for your items.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who own and operate his online mall. Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Google Patents Search - What Are the Benefits
Publisher: Earl Williams
Shop-Now Mini Mall
Google's patent search system makes obtaining patent data fast, easy and free for everyone on the internet. In the past, obtaining patent data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) was a painstaking and potentially expensive process. By scanning all 7+ million patent documents filed with the USPTO, Google has made the process easier for everybody.
What are the benefits of being able to search for patents?
=> Determine If Your Idea Has Been Done
If you have a brilliant business or product idea, one of the first things you should do is make sure that nobody else has already come up with and patented the idea.
All you need to do is come up with a few keyword ideas to search for the patent. If your search doesn't turn up any patents, then you have a good shot at being first to the market.
=> Look for Patents to Lease
If you need a certain piece of technology but don't want to spend the money in developing it yourself, one cost-effective alternative would be to lease the technology instead.
But how do you find out who owns the right to certain technologies? Google Patent Search. As long as you can find the patent, you can also find who holds the rights to the patent, along with their contact information.
You can then contact them directly to strike a patent leasing deal.
=> Research into a Specific Inventor
If an inventor you know has created several products that have caught your attention and you want to see what else they've invented, you can find all the patents by that inventor using Google Patent Search.
Just click the "Advanced Patent Search" link next to the general search box and type in the inventor's name.
=> Find Inspiration for Product Designs
Need some inspiration for a product you're designing? Stuck on a specific engineering challenge? Why not look through past patent designs to see how previous designers tackled those issues?
Past patents can be ripe grounds for finding inspiration and solutions. That said, be careful - any idea that you want to patent yourself or use commercially needs to be sufficiently different from any past patent that it can be considered its own entirely different product.
Never take complete ideas from someone else's patent. Only use it as inspiration to come up with your own unique designs. If you absolutely need to use a design in someone else's patent, consider leasing just that part of the technology.
These are some of the uses for Google's Patent Search. With over seven million patents at your fingertips, you can now easily find just about any kind of information you want in relation to patents. From inventors to patent numbers to specific technologies, all the information is freely available.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who own and operate his online mall. Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Shop-Now Mini Mall
Google's patent search system makes obtaining patent data fast, easy and free for everyone on the internet. In the past, obtaining patent data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) was a painstaking and potentially expensive process. By scanning all 7+ million patent documents filed with the USPTO, Google has made the process easier for everybody.
What are the benefits of being able to search for patents?
=> Determine If Your Idea Has Been Done
If you have a brilliant business or product idea, one of the first things you should do is make sure that nobody else has already come up with and patented the idea.
All you need to do is come up with a few keyword ideas to search for the patent. If your search doesn't turn up any patents, then you have a good shot at being first to the market.
=> Look for Patents to Lease
If you need a certain piece of technology but don't want to spend the money in developing it yourself, one cost-effective alternative would be to lease the technology instead.
But how do you find out who owns the right to certain technologies? Google Patent Search. As long as you can find the patent, you can also find who holds the rights to the patent, along with their contact information.
You can then contact them directly to strike a patent leasing deal.
=> Research into a Specific Inventor
If an inventor you know has created several products that have caught your attention and you want to see what else they've invented, you can find all the patents by that inventor using Google Patent Search.
Just click the "Advanced Patent Search" link next to the general search box and type in the inventor's name.
=> Find Inspiration for Product Designs
Need some inspiration for a product you're designing? Stuck on a specific engineering challenge? Why not look through past patent designs to see how previous designers tackled those issues?
Past patents can be ripe grounds for finding inspiration and solutions. That said, be careful - any idea that you want to patent yourself or use commercially needs to be sufficiently different from any past patent that it can be considered its own entirely different product.
Never take complete ideas from someone else's patent. Only use it as inspiration to come up with your own unique designs. If you absolutely need to use a design in someone else's patent, consider leasing just that part of the technology.
These are some of the uses for Google's Patent Search. With over seven million patents at your fingertips, you can now easily find just about any kind of information you want in relation to patents. From inventors to patent numbers to specific technologies, all the information is freely available.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who own and operate his online mall. Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Do You Have What It Takes to Become a Social Media Virtual Assistant?
Publisher: Earl Williams
Shop-Now Mini Mall
Being a virtual assistant who's fluent in social media management is going to be an increasingly lucrative career in the coming years. Social media is quickly becoming one of the most talked about sources of traffic and brand building. More and more business owners are seeking virtual assistants who can manage their social media platforms well.
Social media is hot, but it can be confusing and time consuming to learn all this stuff. The Social Media Coaching Center walks you through with step-by-step tutorials, reviews and strategy tips to make your social media strategy successful.
Do you have what it takes to really succeed as a social media virtual assistant? What are the most important skills and qualities you need to succeed at the job? Read on.
=> Comfort with a Variety of Social Networks
Each of your clients will have different needs and different social networks. In order to be successful, you need to be fluent with at least Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Furthermore, specific clients will have more specific needs. For example, some clients might get a lot of traffic from StumbleUpon and need you to manage their account and relationships with other stumblers there.
In order to succeed as a social media virtual assistant, you need to be fluent in all the major social networks and be able to learn the smaller networks quickly.
=> Ability to Write in a Variety of Voices
You may have one client who'll require you to manage his LinkedIn profile in a professional and courteous voice. Simultaneously, you may have a client who needs you to manage his reddit and Digg accounts in a crass and satirical manner.
One of the most valuable skills you could have as a social media specialist is the ability to write in the voice that your clients want.
Remember that when you're representing someone in a social network, you're basically representing them and their brand. Their readers expect to hear from the brand in a certain voice. If you're able to adapt to and take on that voice, you'll become incredible valuable for your clients.
=> Consistency and Organization
Finally, being a social media virtual assistant requires being very organized and very consistent.
For example, one client might ask that you do certain tasks every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Other clients might ask that you make certain posts on certain dates. Other clients will ask you to handle certain basic tasks every single day.
It'll be on your shoulders to make sure you manage all these tasks properly and don't let any balls drop.
Furthermore, you'll need to be keeping tabs on all the different accounts and passwords of your clients, in addition to important relationships.
In short, you need to have organizational systems that work for you. You need to be able to keep track of notes, tasks, relationships, logins and more.
If you're fluent in social networks, you're organized and consistent and you can write in a variety of voices, then you may have the makings of a very successful social media virtual assistant.
The Social Media Coaching Center walks you through with step-by-step tutorials, reviews and strategy tips to make your social media strategy successful.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who own and operate his online mall. Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Shop-Now Mini Mall
Being a virtual assistant who's fluent in social media management is going to be an increasingly lucrative career in the coming years. Social media is quickly becoming one of the most talked about sources of traffic and brand building. More and more business owners are seeking virtual assistants who can manage their social media platforms well.
Social media is hot, but it can be confusing and time consuming to learn all this stuff. The Social Media Coaching Center walks you through with step-by-step tutorials, reviews and strategy tips to make your social media strategy successful.
Do you have what it takes to really succeed as a social media virtual assistant? What are the most important skills and qualities you need to succeed at the job? Read on.
=> Comfort with a Variety of Social Networks
Each of your clients will have different needs and different social networks. In order to be successful, you need to be fluent with at least Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Furthermore, specific clients will have more specific needs. For example, some clients might get a lot of traffic from StumbleUpon and need you to manage their account and relationships with other stumblers there.
In order to succeed as a social media virtual assistant, you need to be fluent in all the major social networks and be able to learn the smaller networks quickly.
=> Ability to Write in a Variety of Voices
You may have one client who'll require you to manage his LinkedIn profile in a professional and courteous voice. Simultaneously, you may have a client who needs you to manage his reddit and Digg accounts in a crass and satirical manner.
One of the most valuable skills you could have as a social media specialist is the ability to write in the voice that your clients want.
Remember that when you're representing someone in a social network, you're basically representing them and their brand. Their readers expect to hear from the brand in a certain voice. If you're able to adapt to and take on that voice, you'll become incredible valuable for your clients.
=> Consistency and Organization
Finally, being a social media virtual assistant requires being very organized and very consistent.
For example, one client might ask that you do certain tasks every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Other clients might ask that you make certain posts on certain dates. Other clients will ask you to handle certain basic tasks every single day.
It'll be on your shoulders to make sure you manage all these tasks properly and don't let any balls drop.
Furthermore, you'll need to be keeping tabs on all the different accounts and passwords of your clients, in addition to important relationships.
In short, you need to have organizational systems that work for you. You need to be able to keep track of notes, tasks, relationships, logins and more.
If you're fluent in social networks, you're organized and consistent and you can write in a variety of voices, then you may have the makings of a very successful social media virtual assistant.
The Social Media Coaching Center walks you through with step-by-step tutorials, reviews and strategy tips to make your social media strategy successful.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who own and operate his online mall. Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Best Link-Building Practices
Publisher: Earl Williams
Shop-Now Mini Mall
Link building is the number one most important factor to search engine rankings, yet it's one of the least understood topics. Not all links are treated equally. In fact, many links that webmasters seek out aren't even counted in Google at all!
If you want to succeed in the search engines, it's crucial that you follow link building best practices. What are these practices? Here they are.
=> Shoot for One-Way, High Authority Links from Related Sites
These three factors are the most important factors for determining link quality.
* One way - If the link is reciprocal, Google vastly discount the link.
* High authority - Getting one link from the New York Times is easily worth more than 10,000 links from brand new websites. Get links from high authority sites. In the past "authority" meant page rank, but today Google takes a lot more than just page rank into account.
* Related - If you have a ton of unrelated sites linking to you, Google will look at your site with suspicion. In natural markets, people link to one another within the same topics and industry. Search engine spammers on the other hand tend to buy links en mass from unrelated sites. Get links from within your industry.
These are the three most important factors for evaluating link quality.
Here's How You Can Build Thousands Of Incoming Links To Any Website with The Ultimate Link Building Dossier By Duncan Carver
=> Get a Mix of Link Sources
There are many different places you can get links from.
* Contextual - This is the best place you can get links from. If your site is mentioned in another site in relevant context, that's viewed very highly in Google's eyes.
* Static site links - Getting a link on someone else's site, especially authority and/or related sites is viewed highly by Google.
* Blog commenting - Blog commenting used to be an effective way to get ahead in the rankings, but comment spam has gotten commenting downgraded. That said, it can still help your rankings quite a bit.
* Forum postings - Forum postings with a link back to your site in the thread or in a signature can help your rankings as well, especially if the forum is related.
Getting a mix of link sources is the best way to appear organic while getting a fair volume of inbound links. Don't just use one technique - use them all.
=> Anchor Texts & Deeplinking
Most webmasters link primarily to their home page. If you do that, however, chances are you're missing out on a lot of link-juice opportunities to get sub-pages ranked.
Instead of sending all your links to your home page, link to relevant subpages. Get these ranked for long tail keywords. Your home page will also gain in ranking as a result. Focus on getting backlinks to pages deep in your site.
Also, make sure your anchor texts are relevant to the page they're linking to, rather than your home page. Anchor text is extremely important in determining the relevance of the link.
These are some of the more important link-building practices for getting ranked in the search engines. Diversify your link sources, deep link, get the right anchor texts and aim for high authority, related one-way links.
Here's How You Can Build Thousands Of Incoming Links To Any Website with The Ultimate Link Building Dossier By Duncan Carver
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who own and operate his online mall. Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Shop-Now Mini Mall
Link building is the number one most important factor to search engine rankings, yet it's one of the least understood topics. Not all links are treated equally. In fact, many links that webmasters seek out aren't even counted in Google at all!
If you want to succeed in the search engines, it's crucial that you follow link building best practices. What are these practices? Here they are.
=> Shoot for One-Way, High Authority Links from Related Sites
These three factors are the most important factors for determining link quality.
* One way - If the link is reciprocal, Google vastly discount the link.
* High authority - Getting one link from the New York Times is easily worth more than 10,000 links from brand new websites. Get links from high authority sites. In the past "authority" meant page rank, but today Google takes a lot more than just page rank into account.
* Related - If you have a ton of unrelated sites linking to you, Google will look at your site with suspicion. In natural markets, people link to one another within the same topics and industry. Search engine spammers on the other hand tend to buy links en mass from unrelated sites. Get links from within your industry.
These are the three most important factors for evaluating link quality.
Here's How You Can Build Thousands Of Incoming Links To Any Website with The Ultimate Link Building Dossier By Duncan Carver
=> Get a Mix of Link Sources
There are many different places you can get links from.
* Contextual - This is the best place you can get links from. If your site is mentioned in another site in relevant context, that's viewed very highly in Google's eyes.
* Static site links - Getting a link on someone else's site, especially authority and/or related sites is viewed highly by Google.
* Blog commenting - Blog commenting used to be an effective way to get ahead in the rankings, but comment spam has gotten commenting downgraded. That said, it can still help your rankings quite a bit.
* Forum postings - Forum postings with a link back to your site in the thread or in a signature can help your rankings as well, especially if the forum is related.
Getting a mix of link sources is the best way to appear organic while getting a fair volume of inbound links. Don't just use one technique - use them all.
=> Anchor Texts & Deeplinking
Most webmasters link primarily to their home page. If you do that, however, chances are you're missing out on a lot of link-juice opportunities to get sub-pages ranked.
Instead of sending all your links to your home page, link to relevant subpages. Get these ranked for long tail keywords. Your home page will also gain in ranking as a result. Focus on getting backlinks to pages deep in your site.
Also, make sure your anchor texts are relevant to the page they're linking to, rather than your home page. Anchor text is extremely important in determining the relevance of the link.
These are some of the more important link-building practices for getting ranked in the search engines. Diversify your link sources, deep link, get the right anchor texts and aim for high authority, related one-way links.
Here's How You Can Build Thousands Of Incoming Links To Any Website with The Ultimate Link Building Dossier By Duncan Carver
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who own and operate his online mall. Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Google PPC versus Bing PPC
Publisher: Earl Williams
Shop-Now Mini Mall
Google AdWords wasn't the first search engine to come out with the PPC model, but they certainly are the biggest and most well known today. Does that mean you should ignore other engines like Bing?
No! In fact, there are many marketers who are making full-time livings on search engines like Bing without spending any money on Google at all.
What are the differences between AdWords and Bing and why might you choose one over the other? Here are the differences.
=> Conversion Rates
Out of AdWords, Yahoo and Bing, Bing traffic tends to convert the best. That means that out of 1,000 visitors, you'll tend to get more sales from Bing than AdWords or Yahoo traffic.
There are many theories about why that is. One common theory is that people using Google tend to be more savvy computer users and more discerning about where they spend their money.
Bing users on the other hand tend to be people who just left their browsers on their default search engines. They're less discerning with their money and their internet habits.
=> Volume
This is where Google AdWords wins hands down. For any given keyword, you can expect to get 10% or less with Bing than what you'd get if you bid on the same keyword in AdWords.
Does that mean you can't make significant money on Bing? No, it just means your strategy needs to be different.
=> Bidding Strategy
Generally, with AdWords you don't want to go for high-profile, high-competition keywords with high volume. The bid prices are just too high.
With Bing however, it's different. Bing's PPC bids tend to be a little bit cheaper than AdWords. There also tends to be less competition.
That means that on AdWords a keyword like "Lose lower belly fat" may be far too competitive and expensive. On the other hand, on Bing there will be competition but you may have a good shot at making money with the keyword.
Basically, on Bing you'll need to take advantage of the lower competition to bid on broader keywords. This will help you offset the lower search volume: You increase your total traffic by bidding on higher traffic keywords.
=> AdWords versus Bing
There are many similarities in strategies between AdWords and Bing. The principles of writing great ads and split testing carefully apply to both systems equally. Choosing the right keywords is as important in one as it is the other.
On the flip side, these two systems require very different strategies to master. AdWords often requires drilling down to very precise keywords in order to create profitable campaigns.
On Bing, your main challenge is often getting enough volume rather than getting your traffic to convert.
Each search engine is different and need different approaches. There's a lot of money to be made in both.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is owner of -- Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Shop-Now Mini Mall
Google AdWords wasn't the first search engine to come out with the PPC model, but they certainly are the biggest and most well known today. Does that mean you should ignore other engines like Bing?
No! In fact, there are many marketers who are making full-time livings on search engines like Bing without spending any money on Google at all.
What are the differences between AdWords and Bing and why might you choose one over the other? Here are the differences.
=> Conversion Rates
Out of AdWords, Yahoo and Bing, Bing traffic tends to convert the best. That means that out of 1,000 visitors, you'll tend to get more sales from Bing than AdWords or Yahoo traffic.
There are many theories about why that is. One common theory is that people using Google tend to be more savvy computer users and more discerning about where they spend their money.
Bing users on the other hand tend to be people who just left their browsers on their default search engines. They're less discerning with their money and their internet habits.
=> Volume
This is where Google AdWords wins hands down. For any given keyword, you can expect to get 10% or less with Bing than what you'd get if you bid on the same keyword in AdWords.
Does that mean you can't make significant money on Bing? No, it just means your strategy needs to be different.
=> Bidding Strategy
Generally, with AdWords you don't want to go for high-profile, high-competition keywords with high volume. The bid prices are just too high.
With Bing however, it's different. Bing's PPC bids tend to be a little bit cheaper than AdWords. There also tends to be less competition.
That means that on AdWords a keyword like "Lose lower belly fat" may be far too competitive and expensive. On the other hand, on Bing there will be competition but you may have a good shot at making money with the keyword.
Basically, on Bing you'll need to take advantage of the lower competition to bid on broader keywords. This will help you offset the lower search volume: You increase your total traffic by bidding on higher traffic keywords.
=> AdWords versus Bing
There are many similarities in strategies between AdWords and Bing. The principles of writing great ads and split testing carefully apply to both systems equally. Choosing the right keywords is as important in one as it is the other.
On the flip side, these two systems require very different strategies to master. AdWords often requires drilling down to very precise keywords in order to create profitable campaigns.
On Bing, your main challenge is often getting enough volume rather than getting your traffic to convert.
Each search engine is different and need different approaches. There's a lot of money to be made in both.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is owner of -- Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....
Monday, January 17, 2011
How to Design Websites that Really Sell
Publisher: Earl Williams
The Affiliate Mini Mall
Designing a website can prove to be a challenge, especially if you are unsure what to include on your website. These days, customers are looking for more usability and less decoration – simple is better. Use the following tips to help design a website that will attract users and function well.
When designing a website, it is important to make a note of the aspects of the website that you want to shine through. If you are selling goods, you want to have a good layout for customers to access your products. Make sure you size your pictures small, but large enough to be shown. Because large pictures take longer to download, only make your pictures as large as they need to effectively showcase your products.
Avoid clutter. Too much information on one page will only serve to confuse your customers. This is not what you want to do. If your customers cannot navigate the website with ease, it is unlikely that they will purchase your products or service. It is also unlikely that they will ever return or recommend your site to friends and family.
Flash is not necessary. While attractive, it can take a long time to download and if your customers are running on dial-up you are talking several minutes. Many users will lose patience and move onto the next website in their list. If you like the look of Flash, offer it only as an entrance to your site, but also offer the option to skip the intro for those users who have slow connections.
Your content matters. If you sell products, emphasize why the products are so great. Draw your users in with catchy phrases and really sell the products to them. Avoid making your entire website sound like a sales pitch. Rather, leave the descriptions to the products and offer useful information on the rest of the website – such as articles, tips and recommendations.
Include color but do not overdo it. Colors really help a website to pop, but too many colors or obnoxiously bright colors can be a turn-off. You can have the best products in the world, but if your customers cannot stand to look at the website, you will not sell much. The same is true for services websites. If your website is distracting your users from the information, it will not be in your company’s best interest. It is okay to use color, but tone it down.
There are many tips out there to help you design an attractive website that will appease your customers. Keep it simple, yet attractive enough to draw viewers in. If you find that you are not happy with your results, it may be time to bring in a professional – make sure you hire one who enforces your ideas.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
The Affiliate Mini Mall
Designing a website can prove to be a challenge, especially if you are unsure what to include on your website. These days, customers are looking for more usability and less decoration – simple is better. Use the following tips to help design a website that will attract users and function well.
When designing a website, it is important to make a note of the aspects of the website that you want to shine through. If you are selling goods, you want to have a good layout for customers to access your products. Make sure you size your pictures small, but large enough to be shown. Because large pictures take longer to download, only make your pictures as large as they need to effectively showcase your products.
Avoid clutter. Too much information on one page will only serve to confuse your customers. This is not what you want to do. If your customers cannot navigate the website with ease, it is unlikely that they will purchase your products or service. It is also unlikely that they will ever return or recommend your site to friends and family.
Flash is not necessary. While attractive, it can take a long time to download and if your customers are running on dial-up you are talking several minutes. Many users will lose patience and move onto the next website in their list. If you like the look of Flash, offer it only as an entrance to your site, but also offer the option to skip the intro for those users who have slow connections.
Your content matters. If you sell products, emphasize why the products are so great. Draw your users in with catchy phrases and really sell the products to them. Avoid making your entire website sound like a sales pitch. Rather, leave the descriptions to the products and offer useful information on the rest of the website – such as articles, tips and recommendations.
Include color but do not overdo it. Colors really help a website to pop, but too many colors or obnoxiously bright colors can be a turn-off. You can have the best products in the world, but if your customers cannot stand to look at the website, you will not sell much. The same is true for services websites. If your website is distracting your users from the information, it will not be in your company’s best interest. It is okay to use color, but tone it down.
There are many tips out there to help you design an attractive website that will appease your customers. Keep it simple, yet attractive enough to draw viewers in. If you find that you are not happy with your results, it may be time to bring in a professional – make sure you hire one who enforces your ideas.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
Facebook Ads
Publisher: Earl Williams
The Affiliate Mini Mall
You would have to be living under a rock if you don’t know about popular social networking sites like Facebook. With its popularity, why not use it as a marketing tool? Here is the lowdown on Facebook ads and why they work.
If you haven’t been on Facebook then check it out. People have found relatives, old college friends and high school chums through the network on Facebook. You can create pages to be set up as a fan page for you, a forum-type page or some other idea you have in mind. What you want is to get your friends interested and then they can subscribe and interest their friends.
When you sign up for a Facebook account there are many different points of information that you can provide. All of these searching tools are up for grabs with your Facebook ads. Best of all, the traffic is already there. Millions of people flock to social networks. What you need to do is get their attention.
Here are a few steps to getting a Facebook ad going. First, create a page. You have to have a website promotion page, a fan page or something else that is owned by you. People can come and visit and learn things about your site.
You need an ad that says what you want and need to say. Keywords are important here but not the only consideration. Choose titles that are short and to the point. Use powerful and upbeat wording for the ads.
Here is the really fun part. You get to choose where you want the ads distributed. With Google ads, you can use relevant keywords to determine which search engine pages your ads appear on. With Facebook, you have many more variables based on information that is gathered by the site.
You can get as specific as you want with these ads for maximum target ability. Not just demographics or gender is considered, but relationship status, likes and dislikes. These ads will appear on pages that are relevant to your niche ads. Your ads will also appear on your page for your fans and their friends to see also.
Now, on to the price. How much you pay depends on what type of ad program you want. If you are paying per click, then you can evaluate how much business you are doing in relation to the amount you are paying for advertising.
You may not want to spend too much until you see how well your ads are doing. You will definitely get more visibility in a place where everyone congregates.
If you’ve tried Google, give Facebook ads a try. You might be surprised at the results. They can make your advertising dollars work smarter and not harder for you.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
The Affiliate Mini Mall
You would have to be living under a rock if you don’t know about popular social networking sites like Facebook. With its popularity, why not use it as a marketing tool? Here is the lowdown on Facebook ads and why they work.
If you haven’t been on Facebook then check it out. People have found relatives, old college friends and high school chums through the network on Facebook. You can create pages to be set up as a fan page for you, a forum-type page or some other idea you have in mind. What you want is to get your friends interested and then they can subscribe and interest their friends.
When you sign up for a Facebook account there are many different points of information that you can provide. All of these searching tools are up for grabs with your Facebook ads. Best of all, the traffic is already there. Millions of people flock to social networks. What you need to do is get their attention.
Here are a few steps to getting a Facebook ad going. First, create a page. You have to have a website promotion page, a fan page or something else that is owned by you. People can come and visit and learn things about your site.
You need an ad that says what you want and need to say. Keywords are important here but not the only consideration. Choose titles that are short and to the point. Use powerful and upbeat wording for the ads.
Here is the really fun part. You get to choose where you want the ads distributed. With Google ads, you can use relevant keywords to determine which search engine pages your ads appear on. With Facebook, you have many more variables based on information that is gathered by the site.
You can get as specific as you want with these ads for maximum target ability. Not just demographics or gender is considered, but relationship status, likes and dislikes. These ads will appear on pages that are relevant to your niche ads. Your ads will also appear on your page for your fans and their friends to see also.
Now, on to the price. How much you pay depends on what type of ad program you want. If you are paying per click, then you can evaluate how much business you are doing in relation to the amount you are paying for advertising.
You may not want to spend too much until you see how well your ads are doing. You will definitely get more visibility in a place where everyone congregates.
If you’ve tried Google, give Facebook ads a try. You might be surprised at the results. They can make your advertising dollars work smarter and not harder for you.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Boost Your Website Earnings
Publisher: Earl Williams
The Affiliate Mini Mall
Are you an online entrepreneur? That means you have a website set up. Every now and then it is good to evaluate how your marketing efforts are working with your website. This is one way to boost your earnings.
Is your website doing all that it can do for you? If not, then you may want to re-evaluate your website structure.
Ask yourself one question: Is my site relevant? If you are using SEO to create page titles, tag lines and anchor text within content, then you are on the right track. But, even an informational website can do more to pay for itself and create income for your business.
Here are some ways to boost the earnings.
* Affiliate programs – You can promote products that are complementary to yours on your website. Each time someone clicks on the links, they are directed to that site. You are credited based on the way the program is set up. Choose an affiliate program with a full toolbox of aids to help with your promotion and also incentives for top sellers.
* Create a newsletter – This encourages others to read and share your site. It is also one way to build your list of potential customers. Create an opt-in page where they can enter their name and email address in exchange for a free monthly newsletter in their inbox.
* Use clear navigation – Include a site map so visitors can see at a glance what your site has to offer. Use buttons that clearly tell customers what action you want them to perform. This way there will be no doubt in their minds. Your buttons can be a “call to action” for affiliate programs and your own products.
* Showcase your products – Create an online store or catalogue where visitors can see your products and read a description before they buy. Offer deals where they can get free items for buying certain products, or referral bonuses.
* FAQs page – This is where they can find out about you and your customer service. Use it to answer commonly asked questions so that you aren’t saddled with emails all containing obvious inquiries.
* Guest blogging – Agree to blog for others, in a complementary area of your niche, in exchange for links to your site. This way you can give their readers a taste of your style and what you have to offer. You can extend the same courtesy to the other blogger to create a mutually beneficial partnership.
* Look around – Find the sites that are the most popular in your niche and on the internet at large and see how they are using their website to maximize earnings. Try a few pages from their book and see how it works for you.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
The Affiliate Mini Mall
Are you an online entrepreneur? That means you have a website set up. Every now and then it is good to evaluate how your marketing efforts are working with your website. This is one way to boost your earnings.
Is your website doing all that it can do for you? If not, then you may want to re-evaluate your website structure.
Ask yourself one question: Is my site relevant? If you are using SEO to create page titles, tag lines and anchor text within content, then you are on the right track. But, even an informational website can do more to pay for itself and create income for your business.
Here are some ways to boost the earnings.
* Affiliate programs – You can promote products that are complementary to yours on your website. Each time someone clicks on the links, they are directed to that site. You are credited based on the way the program is set up. Choose an affiliate program with a full toolbox of aids to help with your promotion and also incentives for top sellers.
* Create a newsletter – This encourages others to read and share your site. It is also one way to build your list of potential customers. Create an opt-in page where they can enter their name and email address in exchange for a free monthly newsletter in their inbox.
* Use clear navigation – Include a site map so visitors can see at a glance what your site has to offer. Use buttons that clearly tell customers what action you want them to perform. This way there will be no doubt in their minds. Your buttons can be a “call to action” for affiliate programs and your own products.
* Showcase your products – Create an online store or catalogue where visitors can see your products and read a description before they buy. Offer deals where they can get free items for buying certain products, or referral bonuses.
* FAQs page – This is where they can find out about you and your customer service. Use it to answer commonly asked questions so that you aren’t saddled with emails all containing obvious inquiries.
* Guest blogging – Agree to blog for others, in a complementary area of your niche, in exchange for links to your site. This way you can give their readers a taste of your style and what you have to offer. You can extend the same courtesy to the other blogger to create a mutually beneficial partnership.
* Look around – Find the sites that are the most popular in your niche and on the internet at large and see how they are using their website to maximize earnings. Try a few pages from their book and see how it works for you.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Money-Saving Ideas for Your Home-Based Business
Publisher: Earl Williams
The Affiliate Mini Mall
The more money you save, the bigger your bottom line. Here are five money-saving ideas for your home-based business.
#1 Reduce, reuse and recycle
When it comes to office supplies and equipment you can spend a lot of money. A simple desk chair can cost hundreds. However, a used desk chair or a repurposed one can cost just a few dollars. And don’t forget to reuse items. For example, you can print on both sides of your printer paper. A PDF e-book can turn into scratch paper for planning purposes. You can use coffee cans and shipping boxes to store supplies and files. Take a look at the items you have around you. What can you reduce, reuse and recycle to save money?
#2 Get rid of your business credit card
If you don’t pay off your monthly balance on your business credit card, you’re paying interest. This is money you could be using to grow your business. Instead it’s helping the bank grow their business. Switch your credit card to a debit card. It offers all the same advantages a credit card does. It makes online purchasing a snap. However, you won’t have to pay interest or monthly fees.
#3 Analyze your existing merchant and bank accounts
When you opened your business you may have opened a merchant account. This would enable you to take credit cards. You may have also opened a PayPal account. Take a look at the various accounts you have and assess if there is a way to save money.
For example, can you close your merchant account and open a merchant account with PayPal? You’ll consolidate your accounts and perhaps save money each month. Also take a look at your existing bank accounts. Some accounts charge a hefty fee each month. There are free checking and savings accounts you can open for your business. IF you’re paying a lot in fees it’s worth the switch.
#4 Analyze your outsourcing plan
Do you outsource? Is your outsourcing plan as streamlined as it can be? For example, you may have one contractor managing transcription and another contractor managing your affiliates. Would it be cheaper to hire one person to manage both tasks? Take a look at your current outsourcing practices and make sure they make financial and business sense.
#5 Are you using the right technologies?
ABC company has the best Smartphone on the market. The owner loves her Smartphone and all of the wonderful tools and applications it offers. The phone costs her $60 a month, not including her $60 unlimited data fee. However, the owner of ABC company works from home. She’s never more than thirty seconds away from her laptop.
Thus email and planning and organizing tools are always available on her computer. This essentially makes her Smartphone nothing more than an expensive toy. She could get a $20 a month pay as you go phone and save herself $1200 annually.
This story is a common story. We love technology and we love to have the latest and greatest even if it isn’t important for business success. Analyze the technology you’re spending money on. Are you using it? Is it vital to the success of your business? If not, get rid of it.
Saving money is usually a simple process of taking a look at your expenses. What can you improve or eliminate? Remember - the more you save, the more you make!
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
The Affiliate Mini Mall
The more money you save, the bigger your bottom line. Here are five money-saving ideas for your home-based business.
#1 Reduce, reuse and recycle
When it comes to office supplies and equipment you can spend a lot of money. A simple desk chair can cost hundreds. However, a used desk chair or a repurposed one can cost just a few dollars. And don’t forget to reuse items. For example, you can print on both sides of your printer paper. A PDF e-book can turn into scratch paper for planning purposes. You can use coffee cans and shipping boxes to store supplies and files. Take a look at the items you have around you. What can you reduce, reuse and recycle to save money?
#2 Get rid of your business credit card
If you don’t pay off your monthly balance on your business credit card, you’re paying interest. This is money you could be using to grow your business. Instead it’s helping the bank grow their business. Switch your credit card to a debit card. It offers all the same advantages a credit card does. It makes online purchasing a snap. However, you won’t have to pay interest or monthly fees.
#3 Analyze your existing merchant and bank accounts
When you opened your business you may have opened a merchant account. This would enable you to take credit cards. You may have also opened a PayPal account. Take a look at the various accounts you have and assess if there is a way to save money.
For example, can you close your merchant account and open a merchant account with PayPal? You’ll consolidate your accounts and perhaps save money each month. Also take a look at your existing bank accounts. Some accounts charge a hefty fee each month. There are free checking and savings accounts you can open for your business. IF you’re paying a lot in fees it’s worth the switch.
#4 Analyze your outsourcing plan
Do you outsource? Is your outsourcing plan as streamlined as it can be? For example, you may have one contractor managing transcription and another contractor managing your affiliates. Would it be cheaper to hire one person to manage both tasks? Take a look at your current outsourcing practices and make sure they make financial and business sense.
#5 Are you using the right technologies?
ABC company has the best Smartphone on the market. The owner loves her Smartphone and all of the wonderful tools and applications it offers. The phone costs her $60 a month, not including her $60 unlimited data fee. However, the owner of ABC company works from home. She’s never more than thirty seconds away from her laptop.
Thus email and planning and organizing tools are always available on her computer. This essentially makes her Smartphone nothing more than an expensive toy. She could get a $20 a month pay as you go phone and save herself $1200 annually.
This story is a common story. We love technology and we love to have the latest and greatest even if it isn’t important for business success. Analyze the technology you’re spending money on. Are you using it? Is it vital to the success of your business? If not, get rid of it.
Saving money is usually a simple process of taking a look at your expenses. What can you improve or eliminate? Remember - the more you save, the more you make!
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
Saturday, December 18, 2010
CPM versus PPC Advertising – Which One Works for You
Publisher: Earl Williams
The Affiliate Mini Mall
Creating a search engine advertising campaign can boost your business. When you’re creating your campaign you’re going to have many decisions to make. One of those decisions is whether to choose CPM or PPC. If you’re new to search engine advertising, this can be a confusing choice. Let’s clear up some of the mystery and help you make the best decision for your ad goals.
What Are CPM and PPC?
CPM stands for Cost Per Thousand Impressions. That means for every thousand people who see your ad, you’ll pay an agreed-upon fee. An ‘impression’ is an instance of your ad appearing on a website.
PPC stands for Pay Per Click. This means that each time someone clicks on your advertisement you’ll pay an agreed-upon fee.
The Differences between PPC and CPM
In many cases you’ll likely find that CPM is much more cost effective than PPC. With a PPC ad you may pay a dollar each time someone clicks on your ad. Ten clicks means ten dollars out of your pocket. However, with CPM your ad may only cost you a dollar for a thousand impressions. So on a very basic level the ad is much less expensive if you choose CPM over PPC.
However, the click-through rate for a CPM ad may be much lower than a PPC ad. It depends largely on the goals for your ad. You can receive great awareness and exposure with a CPM ad.
CPM enables you to practically set it and forget it. If you have a PPC ad, you’re going to want to pay close attention to your budget and your ad’s performance. It’s also difficult to measure the success of a CPM advertisement. With PPC each click and/or conversion is relevant data you can analyze.
Finally, PPC makes you susceptible to click fraud. CPM doesn’t; since you don’t pay for each click it doesn’t matter how many times a fraudster clicks on your ad.
If you can afford it, consider trying both options to see which generates better results for you. Create a goal for your ad and establish systems to measure success. Make sure to use identical advertisements for both campaigns so you eliminate other variables. At the end of a specific period of time, examine the results. Take a look not only at your website traffic, sales, clicks and conversions but also at your return on investment.
If your budget is tight, consider starting with CPM. It’s low risk. If you are launching a new product or service and want to really drive traffic, then consider PPC. Watch your budget, your clicks and your conversions. It’s easy for a PPC campaign to get out of hand. To your success!
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
The Affiliate Mini Mall
Creating a search engine advertising campaign can boost your business. When you’re creating your campaign you’re going to have many decisions to make. One of those decisions is whether to choose CPM or PPC. If you’re new to search engine advertising, this can be a confusing choice. Let’s clear up some of the mystery and help you make the best decision for your ad goals.
What Are CPM and PPC?
CPM stands for Cost Per Thousand Impressions. That means for every thousand people who see your ad, you’ll pay an agreed-upon fee. An ‘impression’ is an instance of your ad appearing on a website.
PPC stands for Pay Per Click. This means that each time someone clicks on your advertisement you’ll pay an agreed-upon fee.
The Differences between PPC and CPM
In many cases you’ll likely find that CPM is much more cost effective than PPC. With a PPC ad you may pay a dollar each time someone clicks on your ad. Ten clicks means ten dollars out of your pocket. However, with CPM your ad may only cost you a dollar for a thousand impressions. So on a very basic level the ad is much less expensive if you choose CPM over PPC.
However, the click-through rate for a CPM ad may be much lower than a PPC ad. It depends largely on the goals for your ad. You can receive great awareness and exposure with a CPM ad.
CPM enables you to practically set it and forget it. If you have a PPC ad, you’re going to want to pay close attention to your budget and your ad’s performance. It’s also difficult to measure the success of a CPM advertisement. With PPC each click and/or conversion is relevant data you can analyze.
Finally, PPC makes you susceptible to click fraud. CPM doesn’t; since you don’t pay for each click it doesn’t matter how many times a fraudster clicks on your ad.
If you can afford it, consider trying both options to see which generates better results for you. Create a goal for your ad and establish systems to measure success. Make sure to use identical advertisements for both campaigns so you eliminate other variables. At the end of a specific period of time, examine the results. Take a look not only at your website traffic, sales, clicks and conversions but also at your return on investment.
If your budget is tight, consider starting with CPM. It’s low risk. If you are launching a new product or service and want to really drive traffic, then consider PPC. Watch your budget, your clicks and your conversions. It’s easy for a PPC campaign to get out of hand. To your success!
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Free Advertising Ideas for Small Businesses
Publisher: Earl Williams
The Affiliate Mini Mall
Advertising is often one of the least used methods to promote and market a business. Why? Because advertising can be expensive. Additionally, many advertising methods are unproven. The results can be unpredictable. Smart business owners are careful with their money. They generally tend to choose proven marketing methods. However, advertising doesn’t have to be expensive. There are many free advertising option small business owners can use.
Here are seven free advertising ideas for small businesses.
#1 Register the business website on free listing directories like DMOZ which would help increase the online traffic on the small business website.
#2 Utilize classified ad sites. Create ads to advertise a specific product or service. Make sure to create your ad like you would any other paid ad. Solve a problem. Create a compelling headline. Offer a call to action.
#3 Add your business to local search engines like Google Places, Local Yahoo, Local MSN and so on. Add reviews to your profile. Make sure the address and contact information is consistent with what you have published on your site. Also add a few local keywords to your website SEO strategy. For example, if you’re located in Austin Texas and your website is about fitness training, then you might choose “Fitness training Austin Texas.”
#4 Publish ads on social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace. Don’t go crazy with the advertising. Simply publish them on your profile page or include them occasionally in your posts.
#5 Swap advertisements with relevant websites. For example, if you’re a fitness trainer and you know a nutritionist, you can each publish an ad for the other on your website. It’s a simple advertising partnership. You can also publish ads in each other’s newsletters.
#6 Participate in industry forums that allow you to promote your business. You can create advertisements specifically for your forum audience.
#7 Use free listing sites like Craigslist to advertise for your business. Create the advertisements like you would for any other medium. Have a captivating headline, copy that provides a solution to a problem and then a call to action.
You can also print flyers and brochures and leave them around town. And while it’s not free, you can also print your website on stickers or magnets and place them on your car. These types of ads generally don’t cost much and they can have a good return on investment - particularly for local businesses.
Free advertising opportunities are all around you. It just takes a bit of creativity to recognize and capitalize on them. To your success!
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
The Affiliate Mini Mall
Advertising is often one of the least used methods to promote and market a business. Why? Because advertising can be expensive. Additionally, many advertising methods are unproven. The results can be unpredictable. Smart business owners are careful with their money. They generally tend to choose proven marketing methods. However, advertising doesn’t have to be expensive. There are many free advertising option small business owners can use.
Here are seven free advertising ideas for small businesses.
#1 Register the business website on free listing directories like DMOZ which would help increase the online traffic on the small business website.
#2 Utilize classified ad sites. Create ads to advertise a specific product or service. Make sure to create your ad like you would any other paid ad. Solve a problem. Create a compelling headline. Offer a call to action.
#3 Add your business to local search engines like Google Places, Local Yahoo, Local MSN and so on. Add reviews to your profile. Make sure the address and contact information is consistent with what you have published on your site. Also add a few local keywords to your website SEO strategy. For example, if you’re located in Austin Texas and your website is about fitness training, then you might choose “Fitness training Austin Texas.”
#4 Publish ads on social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace. Don’t go crazy with the advertising. Simply publish them on your profile page or include them occasionally in your posts.
#5 Swap advertisements with relevant websites. For example, if you’re a fitness trainer and you know a nutritionist, you can each publish an ad for the other on your website. It’s a simple advertising partnership. You can also publish ads in each other’s newsletters.
#6 Participate in industry forums that allow you to promote your business. You can create advertisements specifically for your forum audience.
#7 Use free listing sites like Craigslist to advertise for your business. Create the advertisements like you would for any other medium. Have a captivating headline, copy that provides a solution to a problem and then a call to action.
You can also print flyers and brochures and leave them around town. And while it’s not free, you can also print your website on stickers or magnets and place them on your car. These types of ads generally don’t cost much and they can have a good return on investment - particularly for local businesses.
Free advertising opportunities are all around you. It just takes a bit of creativity to recognize and capitalize on them. To your success!
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Should You Let Your Teen Start a Web Business?
Publisher: Earl Williams
The Affiliate Mini Mall
Many children are natural entrepreneurs. If your child is motivated to start their own web business, it can be a great way for them to harness that natural instinct. They’ll also learn a lot about themselves and how to run a business. It can be a valuable education.
On the other hand, the web can also be a dangerous place. There are scammers, thieves, and criminals just waiting to prey on children. Allowing your child to start an online business may feel scary and uncertain.
The following guidelines may help you feel more comfortable letting your teen start their own web business.
Do – Support your child to choose a web-based business model that fits their lifestyle. For example, becoming a service provider may take up too much of your child’s time. When grades and school activities are a priority, they might not be able to meet their responsibilities to their clients. However, affiliate marketing, information marketing and even selling products they’ve made online are all viable business models.
Do – Help them create a starting budget and financial systems. Children often jump into things without considering the costs. That can leave mom and dad footing the bill. Help your child realize what expenses they will have to start and operate their business. Help them plan for how to save them and how they’re going to manage cash flow. YOU might consider loaning them the start-up costs and creating a repayment plan.
Do – Help your child create a time management plan. This is one of the biggest challenges for any online marketer. Most teenagers struggle with this on a daily basis. Add an online business into the mix and it can get problematic.
Do – Set expectations. It may help to set firm ground rules and expectations. For example, no online business activities until all homework is done. And no online business if grades fall below a B.
Do – Help your child learn about privacy online. Not only for their customers but also for themselves. Help them learn about protecting their customer’s information, protecting themselves from hackers, protecting their online identity and keeping their information private. There are many online predators and scammers who perceive teenagers as potential targets. Unless their identity helps them market their business, they should keep their personal information quiet.
Do – Help your teen manage financial expectations. It’s easy to believe you’re going to be the next internet millionaire. However, that may not happen. Find the balance between supporting your child’s goals and objectives and helping them stay grounded. They’ll be better able to make business decisions if they can approach their business realistically.
Online business is a great way for many teens to make extra money. They have the freedom to control their hours, earn money doing something they enjoy and learn the ins and outs of owning their own business. It can be an amazing learning experience.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
The Affiliate Mini Mall
Many children are natural entrepreneurs. If your child is motivated to start their own web business, it can be a great way for them to harness that natural instinct. They’ll also learn a lot about themselves and how to run a business. It can be a valuable education.
On the other hand, the web can also be a dangerous place. There are scammers, thieves, and criminals just waiting to prey on children. Allowing your child to start an online business may feel scary and uncertain.
The following guidelines may help you feel more comfortable letting your teen start their own web business.
Do – Support your child to choose a web-based business model that fits their lifestyle. For example, becoming a service provider may take up too much of your child’s time. When grades and school activities are a priority, they might not be able to meet their responsibilities to their clients. However, affiliate marketing, information marketing and even selling products they’ve made online are all viable business models.
Do – Help them create a starting budget and financial systems. Children often jump into things without considering the costs. That can leave mom and dad footing the bill. Help your child realize what expenses they will have to start and operate their business. Help them plan for how to save them and how they’re going to manage cash flow. YOU might consider loaning them the start-up costs and creating a repayment plan.
Do – Help your child create a time management plan. This is one of the biggest challenges for any online marketer. Most teenagers struggle with this on a daily basis. Add an online business into the mix and it can get problematic.
Do – Set expectations. It may help to set firm ground rules and expectations. For example, no online business activities until all homework is done. And no online business if grades fall below a B.
Do – Help your child learn about privacy online. Not only for their customers but also for themselves. Help them learn about protecting their customer’s information, protecting themselves from hackers, protecting their online identity and keeping their information private. There are many online predators and scammers who perceive teenagers as potential targets. Unless their identity helps them market their business, they should keep their personal information quiet.
Do – Help your teen manage financial expectations. It’s easy to believe you’re going to be the next internet millionaire. However, that may not happen. Find the balance between supporting your child’s goals and objectives and helping them stay grounded. They’ll be better able to make business decisions if they can approach their business realistically.
Online business is a great way for many teens to make extra money. They have the freedom to control their hours, earn money doing something they enjoy and learn the ins and outs of owning their own business. It can be an amazing learning experience.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
Friday, November 05, 2010
Finding Inspiration and Motivation Every Day
Publisher: Earl Williams
The Affiliate Mini Mall
Even if you absolutely love your business, it can be difficult to find daily inspiration and motivation. However, when you can wake up each day excited and ready to go, your business and your personal life will thrive. There are tremendous benefits to finding inspiration and motivation every day. Here’s how to get it done:
#1 Gratitude - Gratitude accomplishes amazing things. One way to wake up motivated and inspired is to create a habit of gratitude. Journal the things you’re grateful for at the end of every day. Or wake up and before you get out of bed, journal what you’re grateful for today. Create a habit of gratitude and you’ll establish a positive and energetic mindset. There really is so much to be grateful for.
#2 Set small goals - Long-term goals are great. However, when a goal is far off in the future, it’s tough to find motivation to achieve them. However, smaller goals can be inspiring. You can set smaller daily or weekly goals to spur inspiration and motivation. Remember to set goals that get you excited. If you’re not a money-motivated person, for example, then a monetary goal isn’t going to motivate you.
#3 Do what you love first - It’s easy to get into a ritual rut. You wake in the morning, have your coffee, check your email and start working. The thing you love to do most is often down on your priority list. This makes starting your day less than exhilarating. However, if you rearrange your daily routine and do what you love first, then getting out of bed is easy and exciting.
#4 Affirmations - Mindset is powerful. An affirmation is a positive statement that helps you create inspiration and motivation. Affirmations help reaffirm and inspire a positive mindset. Determine what’s preventing you from feeling motivated and inspired each day and create an affirmation that supports change.
#5 Reward yourself - Some days are just tough to get through. Instead of trying to avoid them or forcing yourself to push through them, reward yourself. Rewards help you stay focused on the end result and the silver lining. Additionally, a reward doesn’t have to be huge. Sometimes a simple reward like your favorite coffee drink at the local coffee shop can be enough to help you stay positive and inspired all day long.
#6 Surround yourself - One great way to stay inspired and motivated is to surround yourself with inspiration. Listen to inspiring music. Create a home office that you enjoy spending time in. Surround yourself with the things you love. It’ll make each and every day so much more enjoyable.
#7 Take time off - When most people think about taking time off, they look at annual vacations. However, it’s important to take more time off than just a week or two a year. Consider taking time off each week or month. Even a few hours or a day or two can really make a difference. It gives you time to recharge and find that original source of inspiration and motivation.
Building and growing a business is difficult. Finding inspiration and motivation can make the difference between a struggling business and discontent to a thriving business and joy. Use these seven tips to help find inspiration and motivation each and every day.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
The Affiliate Mini Mall
Even if you absolutely love your business, it can be difficult to find daily inspiration and motivation. However, when you can wake up each day excited and ready to go, your business and your personal life will thrive. There are tremendous benefits to finding inspiration and motivation every day. Here’s how to get it done:
#1 Gratitude - Gratitude accomplishes amazing things. One way to wake up motivated and inspired is to create a habit of gratitude. Journal the things you’re grateful for at the end of every day. Or wake up and before you get out of bed, journal what you’re grateful for today. Create a habit of gratitude and you’ll establish a positive and energetic mindset. There really is so much to be grateful for.
#2 Set small goals - Long-term goals are great. However, when a goal is far off in the future, it’s tough to find motivation to achieve them. However, smaller goals can be inspiring. You can set smaller daily or weekly goals to spur inspiration and motivation. Remember to set goals that get you excited. If you’re not a money-motivated person, for example, then a monetary goal isn’t going to motivate you.
#3 Do what you love first - It’s easy to get into a ritual rut. You wake in the morning, have your coffee, check your email and start working. The thing you love to do most is often down on your priority list. This makes starting your day less than exhilarating. However, if you rearrange your daily routine and do what you love first, then getting out of bed is easy and exciting.
#4 Affirmations - Mindset is powerful. An affirmation is a positive statement that helps you create inspiration and motivation. Affirmations help reaffirm and inspire a positive mindset. Determine what’s preventing you from feeling motivated and inspired each day and create an affirmation that supports change.
#5 Reward yourself - Some days are just tough to get through. Instead of trying to avoid them or forcing yourself to push through them, reward yourself. Rewards help you stay focused on the end result and the silver lining. Additionally, a reward doesn’t have to be huge. Sometimes a simple reward like your favorite coffee drink at the local coffee shop can be enough to help you stay positive and inspired all day long.
#6 Surround yourself - One great way to stay inspired and motivated is to surround yourself with inspiration. Listen to inspiring music. Create a home office that you enjoy spending time in. Surround yourself with the things you love. It’ll make each and every day so much more enjoyable.
#7 Take time off - When most people think about taking time off, they look at annual vacations. However, it’s important to take more time off than just a week or two a year. Consider taking time off each week or month. Even a few hours or a day or two can really make a difference. It gives you time to recharge and find that original source of inspiration and motivation.
Building and growing a business is difficult. Finding inspiration and motivation can make the difference between a struggling business and discontent to a thriving business and joy. Use these seven tips to help find inspiration and motivation each and every day.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
Saturday, August 21, 2010
How Writing Can Help Heal Depression
Publisher: Earl Williams
The Affiliate Mini Mall
Depression is a difficult problem that often goes undetected in the sufferer. It can have a paralyzing effect, wrapping the depressed person in a fog of darkness that prevents him or her from thinking clearly and getting help.
It seems so enormous and overwhelming that many sufferers give up without even trying to help themselves. However, writing can be very therapeutic for a depressed person, especially because it does not involve having to face people (which can be difficult). While seeking therapy, counseling, and possibly medication are important steps to take in getting help, writing definitely has a place in healing from depression.
Define the Problem
One of the things that can make depression so frightening is that it is hard to define. When you write, your thoughts and feelings are in black and white and can be evaluated and read by you. Problems look more manageable that way. Being able to view these issues clearly can help you get a handle on them. It can even make your problems look smaller.
Record of Your Progress
As you write down your thoughts, you have a record of your thoughts and feelings to look back on and see your progression. What you were struggling with five years ago or five days ago may look quite different now. As you read your journal, it can help to see that you came through the struggles of the past. That means you can make it through your present struggles as well.
The Inner World
Sigmund Freud had a theory that depression is a symptom of some unaddressed issue of the subconscious that needs attention. He theorized that the inability of depressed people to go about their normal routine - you can not eat, sleep, or concentrate it seems - is your subconscious way of forcing you to stop everything and pay attention to it.
Regardless of what you think of Freud, writing does give you access to your personal inner world that you could ordinarily ignore. Learning what is actually in your innermost being can be very insightful and healing.
Keep It Private for Now
When you write, you do not need the judgment of others or the pressure to appear brilliant or "correct." You are not writing for others, but for yourself. If, in the back of your mind, you are thinking of who is going to read your writings and what he or she might think of them, you are inhibited. Eventually, you may want to share your writings, but only with your counselor, therapist, or trusted friend. For now, write only for your own healing and be accountable only to yourself.
Taking Action
Writing is helpful in that you are doing something - something that does not require money, making appointments, or anything else that can seem overwhelming when you are depressed. Depression can make you feel very helpless, but knowing that you can take solace in writing - and writing is actually something you can do to help yourself - can help you heal.
Making It Beautiful
As you write, you may be delighted to find that ugly, sad thoughts turn into beautiful phrases. Your depression can be transformed into something moving, meaningful, and creative. This can transform your view of your depression.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
The Affiliate Mini Mall
Depression is a difficult problem that often goes undetected in the sufferer. It can have a paralyzing effect, wrapping the depressed person in a fog of darkness that prevents him or her from thinking clearly and getting help.
It seems so enormous and overwhelming that many sufferers give up without even trying to help themselves. However, writing can be very therapeutic for a depressed person, especially because it does not involve having to face people (which can be difficult). While seeking therapy, counseling, and possibly medication are important steps to take in getting help, writing definitely has a place in healing from depression.
Define the Problem
One of the things that can make depression so frightening is that it is hard to define. When you write, your thoughts and feelings are in black and white and can be evaluated and read by you. Problems look more manageable that way. Being able to view these issues clearly can help you get a handle on them. It can even make your problems look smaller.
Record of Your Progress
As you write down your thoughts, you have a record of your thoughts and feelings to look back on and see your progression. What you were struggling with five years ago or five days ago may look quite different now. As you read your journal, it can help to see that you came through the struggles of the past. That means you can make it through your present struggles as well.
The Inner World
Sigmund Freud had a theory that depression is a symptom of some unaddressed issue of the subconscious that needs attention. He theorized that the inability of depressed people to go about their normal routine - you can not eat, sleep, or concentrate it seems - is your subconscious way of forcing you to stop everything and pay attention to it.
Regardless of what you think of Freud, writing does give you access to your personal inner world that you could ordinarily ignore. Learning what is actually in your innermost being can be very insightful and healing.
Keep It Private for Now
When you write, you do not need the judgment of others or the pressure to appear brilliant or "correct." You are not writing for others, but for yourself. If, in the back of your mind, you are thinking of who is going to read your writings and what he or she might think of them, you are inhibited. Eventually, you may want to share your writings, but only with your counselor, therapist, or trusted friend. For now, write only for your own healing and be accountable only to yourself.
Taking Action
Writing is helpful in that you are doing something - something that does not require money, making appointments, or anything else that can seem overwhelming when you are depressed. Depression can make you feel very helpless, but knowing that you can take solace in writing - and writing is actually something you can do to help yourself - can help you heal.
Making It Beautiful
As you write, you may be delighted to find that ugly, sad thoughts turn into beautiful phrases. Your depression can be transformed into something moving, meaningful, and creative. This can transform your view of your depression.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.shoptamm.com
Monday, March 22, 2010
The Importance of Website Advertising
Publisher: Earl Williams
The Affiliate Mini Mall
It is a common misconception that if you build a website, the traffic will come. The process from building to profit making takes a little more elbow grease than that. Website advertising is important.
Advertising gets the word out about who you are and what you are selling, whether it is goods or services. On the Internet, your site is one of thousands. To have a fighting chance, use every means available to you to advertise.
Website advertising can be done online. The Internet is a virtual reality. Think of each website as a different store. Some stores you like to go in and some you haven’t had a need to visit. But, if you saw some catchy ads for other stores while you were shopping, you might be inclined to visit them.
Since you want to advertise what you are selling, you’ll need to find a place online where that is possible. Choose sites that have something in common with your product but are not in direct competition with your market. Most sites sell advertising space as a way of making extra revenue.
Consider affiliate programs. You can advertise on sites where you will be noticed and do the same for others. As you grow, consider Google Ad Words for your own site to make some money and promote similar sites.
Make use of your signature line in emails. Include your business website address and a tagline in addition to your name. Now, anyone who gets email from you will know where to find your website. Your main purpose is to keep your website, and thus your products, in the forefront of everyone’s mind. Chances are people will visit you if they see the address everywhere they look.
Along that same line, you can advertise offline for online businesses. When you create your business cards, be sure to add your website address and in the same size font as the other pertinent information. It is easy to log on to the Internet in the office, at home, or at a cyber café and see what is going on at your website.
In fact, people would rather have a website address than a telephone number. A telephone number conjures up visions of someone with an annoying voice trying to pressure you into buying something. On the Internet, people can satisfy their curiosity without any strings attached. In that way, a website provides an excellent advertising opportunity.
The competition on the Internet is stiff. Each website is clamoring for their piece of the market right along with you. To increase your traffic, you have to stand above the rest. One way to do this is to advertise your website as often and in as many places as you can. But, not just any places — appropriate on and offline venues your potential customers will see.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.affiliateminimall.com
The Affiliate Mini Mall
It is a common misconception that if you build a website, the traffic will come. The process from building to profit making takes a little more elbow grease than that. Website advertising is important.
Advertising gets the word out about who you are and what you are selling, whether it is goods or services. On the Internet, your site is one of thousands. To have a fighting chance, use every means available to you to advertise.
Website advertising can be done online. The Internet is a virtual reality. Think of each website as a different store. Some stores you like to go in and some you haven’t had a need to visit. But, if you saw some catchy ads for other stores while you were shopping, you might be inclined to visit them.
Since you want to advertise what you are selling, you’ll need to find a place online where that is possible. Choose sites that have something in common with your product but are not in direct competition with your market. Most sites sell advertising space as a way of making extra revenue.
Consider affiliate programs. You can advertise on sites where you will be noticed and do the same for others. As you grow, consider Google Ad Words for your own site to make some money and promote similar sites.
Make use of your signature line in emails. Include your business website address and a tagline in addition to your name. Now, anyone who gets email from you will know where to find your website. Your main purpose is to keep your website, and thus your products, in the forefront of everyone’s mind. Chances are people will visit you if they see the address everywhere they look.
Along that same line, you can advertise offline for online businesses. When you create your business cards, be sure to add your website address and in the same size font as the other pertinent information. It is easy to log on to the Internet in the office, at home, or at a cyber café and see what is going on at your website.
In fact, people would rather have a website address than a telephone number. A telephone number conjures up visions of someone with an annoying voice trying to pressure you into buying something. On the Internet, people can satisfy their curiosity without any strings attached. In that way, a website provides an excellent advertising opportunity.
The competition on the Internet is stiff. Each website is clamoring for their piece of the market right along with you. To increase your traffic, you have to stand above the rest. One way to do this is to advertise your website as often and in as many places as you can. But, not just any places — appropriate on and offline venues your potential customers will see.
About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who is making money with his online marketing business using some of the largest Affiliate programs on the Internet. He uses the affiliate programs to setup Affiliateminimall.com where you can fine discount shopping along with great coupon deals. To learn more visit: www.affiliateminimall.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)