Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Acey Gaspard
You want to keep all your customers happy. The problem is that everyone thinks differently and experiences things uniquely. You can't please 100% of your customers. But you can focus on the needs of a smaller amount of customers. Please them, and you'll automatically have a lot more happy customers.
Amy has a jewelry store. She has been in business for a few years and has a lot of experience in this field. One of her business policies is to get feedback from her customers. Although this is an excellent technique for finding out what your customers want, you must use the feedback with discretion.
Amy's problem was that she took each comment too seriously; she tried to please everyone and was constantly changing her business practices and product line. This constant change not only caused her frustration, a lot of extra work, and the extra cost involved with each change, it also made her business unstable.
Customer feedback is an essential part of running a business, but the way you interpret those results is critical. Since you can't please everyone, please those that you can. Find out what your customers want, and then choose products and services along that line. Do less, do a better job, and you'll do better in your business. You'll find that your profits grow, you're more focused on what needs to be done and you're more at ease. Don't go after quantity, but rather focus on quality.
You can't please everyone, so please those that you can and you'll end up pleasing more customers. If you try to please everyone, you'll end up pleasing no one. When you combine your strengths and the desires of the majority of your customers, you'll be able to create a better, stronger business.
Let's take the above example of Amy's jewelry shop. Amy has expertise in diamonds, and 60% of her customers come to her shop to purchase diamonds. Amy also has gold rings, gold bracelets, and silver as well as other types of jewelry. Now, if Amy were to focus only on diamonds and build her business in this area instead of spreading herself thin with the other categories of jewelry, she would do much better.
She could take surveys to find out what areas of the diamond trade customers are interested in and determine what services are also needed. She can easily become one of the leading diamond retailers in her area simply by making an adjustment in her focus.
What part of your business do you need to focus on? What are your strengths? Focus on those areas, and eliminate the areas in which you're not doing so well and that are not what your customers want. You'll find that your business will prosper, and you'll move up the ranks with regard to branding, customer service, and quality.
Do your best at pleasing the people you can and forget about those you can't. You'll end up with happier customers, and more of them, along with a stronger, stable business!
That's the way I see it.
Acey Gaspard
http://www.atouchofbusiness.com
Action Steps to Please Your Customers
1. Keep in mind that you can't please everyone, so please those people you can.
2. Find out what your customers want.
3. Eliminate those areas that do not focus on your customers' desires.
4. Build on those areas that cater to your customers desires.
Important Points to Keep When Trying to Please Your Customers
•Everyone thinks differently and experiences things uniquely.
•Customer feedback is an essential part of running a business, but the way you interpret those results is critical.
•You can't please everyone, so please those that you can and you'll end up pleasing more customers.
•When you combine your strengths and the desires of the majority of your customers, you'll be able to create a better, stronger business.
About the Author:
Acey Gaspard has over 20 years of business experience. His site, A Touch of Business.com, http://www.atouchofbusiness.com is steadily growing with well over 1,100 original pages to help you run and market your small business. Get Tips you can use today! http://www.atouchofbusiness.com/tips.html
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
How Traffic Exchanges Work: A Short Review
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Elizabeth Adams
Successful internet marketers use various tools to assist web surfers find their web pages. Blogs, article submissions, traffic exchanges--these are just a few tools in the marketer's tool kit. This article will present an overview of how traffic exchanges work.
We all want to maximize traffic to our web sites. There is a large body of web surfers who participate in traffic exchanges in order to do just that. You can guide thousands of new visitors to your targeted web pages by participating in such exchanges.
After registering with a traffic exchange, members can surf the exchange's network. Network members exchange views of ads promoting their pages, products, or services.
Depending on the exchange type, exchange members are able to create banner ads that will be displayed on the exchange network. Members can also list web page URLs that will cause entire web pages to be displayed over the network.
Normally, in order for a member's ads or pages to be shown to other network members, the member must first surf the exchange. After logging onto the exchange, a member begins to earn "credits" for viewing the pages broadcast by the exchange service. The page displays will include the ads or pages of other members. The "credits" earned "pay" for the display of a member's ads and pages over the network.
If you are an exchange member, another member clicking your banner ad will be taken to the web page of your choice: each ad is associated with a target URL. If the exchange is displaying your web page instead of a banner, another member can "stop" or "pause" the display to fully explore your page.
In the discussion so far, a member's ads and URLs are shown to members registered on the same exchange network. Belonging to multiple exchanges can dramatically increase the number of potential visitors to targeted web pages. As an example, if each exchange has 10,000 members, registering with 10 such exchanges would then cause ads and pages to be shown to 100,000 individuals. The odds of getting a click on an ad or a stop/pause on your web page increases dramatically.
The basic operation of a traffic exchange is not difficult to understand, "You look at my ads and I'll look at yours." Traffic exchanges can help guide more visitors to specific web pages. The targeted web pages can be designed to contain interesting content, offer a service, or sell a product.
About the Author:
Elizabeth Adams learned in direct mail how to tweak her sales copy on the run and improve her sales conversion by as much as 400% in only one mailing. She learned how to write a great headline and effective sales copy. Get "Great Headlines — Instantly" today to learn how to do for yourself what Elizabeth learned in the trenches: http://www.elizabethadamsdirect.com/greatheadlines, or learn more about traffic exchanges, also on her website.
Copyright © 2008 Elizabeth Adams
Successful internet marketers use various tools to assist web surfers find their web pages. Blogs, article submissions, traffic exchanges--these are just a few tools in the marketer's tool kit. This article will present an overview of how traffic exchanges work.
We all want to maximize traffic to our web sites. There is a large body of web surfers who participate in traffic exchanges in order to do just that. You can guide thousands of new visitors to your targeted web pages by participating in such exchanges.
After registering with a traffic exchange, members can surf the exchange's network. Network members exchange views of ads promoting their pages, products, or services.
Depending on the exchange type, exchange members are able to create banner ads that will be displayed on the exchange network. Members can also list web page URLs that will cause entire web pages to be displayed over the network.
Normally, in order for a member's ads or pages to be shown to other network members, the member must first surf the exchange. After logging onto the exchange, a member begins to earn "credits" for viewing the pages broadcast by the exchange service. The page displays will include the ads or pages of other members. The "credits" earned "pay" for the display of a member's ads and pages over the network.
If you are an exchange member, another member clicking your banner ad will be taken to the web page of your choice: each ad is associated with a target URL. If the exchange is displaying your web page instead of a banner, another member can "stop" or "pause" the display to fully explore your page.
In the discussion so far, a member's ads and URLs are shown to members registered on the same exchange network. Belonging to multiple exchanges can dramatically increase the number of potential visitors to targeted web pages. As an example, if each exchange has 10,000 members, registering with 10 such exchanges would then cause ads and pages to be shown to 100,000 individuals. The odds of getting a click on an ad or a stop/pause on your web page increases dramatically.
The basic operation of a traffic exchange is not difficult to understand, "You look at my ads and I'll look at yours." Traffic exchanges can help guide more visitors to specific web pages. The targeted web pages can be designed to contain interesting content, offer a service, or sell a product.
About the Author:
Elizabeth Adams learned in direct mail how to tweak her sales copy on the run and improve her sales conversion by as much as 400% in only one mailing. She learned how to write a great headline and effective sales copy. Get "Great Headlines — Instantly" today to learn how to do for yourself what Elizabeth learned in the trenches: http://www.elizabethadamsdirect.com/greatheadlines, or learn more about traffic exchanges, also on her website.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
The Top 7 Secrets for Home-Based Business Success
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Pat Pearson, MSSW
Many home-based business owners, while passionate about the product they market, still struggle to increase sales, grow their downlines and find the right work-life balance in their lives.
According to the internationally recognized, direct sales expert and motivational speaker Pat Pearson, these seven success secrets can make the difference between a home-based business floundering and flourishing:
1. Motivation - What keeps you motivated? Motivation represents a delicate balance between the push of discomfort and the pull of hope. Too much of either can be discouraging, so find the balance that works for you.
2. Overcoming Challenges - Overcoming adversity in business requires resilience-the ability to bounce back quickly. How can you do this? First, decide to change. Second, commit to doing things differently. Third, honor your process as you deal with the challenge. Lastly, learn from your struggles and note what you can do better next time.
3. Stop the Self-Sabotage - Most of us say we want greater success, better health or more loving relationships, but our unconscious limiting beliefs keep us from having those very things. In essence, we "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory." Learn the skills to eliminate these self-defeating barriers.
4. Think Abundantly - Quite simply, this means changing your focus from scarcity to abundance by aiming your thoughts toward what you want rather than on what you don't want. Then, expect that the desired results will be yours.
5. Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence - Self-esteem is unconditional loving and appreciation of yourself for who you are, for "being" you. Self-confidence is conditional acknowledgment for performing, for "doing" something well, such as earning a sales bonus. Both are required to feel that you deserve the very best.
6. Work Smarter, Not Harder - You've no doubt heard this one before, and for good reason. We can all learn to do better in less time. The secret to working smarter is to do what you love and are good at, and then delegate the rest. Remember to break large goals down into small bites...and have fun!
7. Recruiting Magic - Gain an understanding of the four cycles of change-Go For It, Doldrums, Cocooning, Getting Ready-and how they affect your ability to recruit. Also consider, what is the gift your business has given you? Your efforts will be most effective when you start with gratitude and approach recruitment as a gift that you are offering to someone else.
Whether your business is skin care, nutrition or fashion, these insider tips are sure to bring you all the success you can handle-if you follow them!
About the Author:
Pat Pearson, MSSW is an internationally known author and motivational speaker with a passion for inspiring individuals to claim their own personal excellence. A clinical therapist for over 30 years, Pat has given more than 6,000 talks and seminars worldwide and has spoken to over 250,000 direct selling professionals and has worked with more than 300 companies in the U.S. More information on Pat Pearson's approach can be found at: http://www.PatPearson.com
Copyright © 2008 Pat Pearson, MSSW
Many home-based business owners, while passionate about the product they market, still struggle to increase sales, grow their downlines and find the right work-life balance in their lives.
According to the internationally recognized, direct sales expert and motivational speaker Pat Pearson, these seven success secrets can make the difference between a home-based business floundering and flourishing:
1. Motivation - What keeps you motivated? Motivation represents a delicate balance between the push of discomfort and the pull of hope. Too much of either can be discouraging, so find the balance that works for you.
2. Overcoming Challenges - Overcoming adversity in business requires resilience-the ability to bounce back quickly. How can you do this? First, decide to change. Second, commit to doing things differently. Third, honor your process as you deal with the challenge. Lastly, learn from your struggles and note what you can do better next time.
3. Stop the Self-Sabotage - Most of us say we want greater success, better health or more loving relationships, but our unconscious limiting beliefs keep us from having those very things. In essence, we "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory." Learn the skills to eliminate these self-defeating barriers.
4. Think Abundantly - Quite simply, this means changing your focus from scarcity to abundance by aiming your thoughts toward what you want rather than on what you don't want. Then, expect that the desired results will be yours.
5. Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence - Self-esteem is unconditional loving and appreciation of yourself for who you are, for "being" you. Self-confidence is conditional acknowledgment for performing, for "doing" something well, such as earning a sales bonus. Both are required to feel that you deserve the very best.
6. Work Smarter, Not Harder - You've no doubt heard this one before, and for good reason. We can all learn to do better in less time. The secret to working smarter is to do what you love and are good at, and then delegate the rest. Remember to break large goals down into small bites...and have fun!
7. Recruiting Magic - Gain an understanding of the four cycles of change-Go For It, Doldrums, Cocooning, Getting Ready-and how they affect your ability to recruit. Also consider, what is the gift your business has given you? Your efforts will be most effective when you start with gratitude and approach recruitment as a gift that you are offering to someone else.
Whether your business is skin care, nutrition or fashion, these insider tips are sure to bring you all the success you can handle-if you follow them!
About the Author:
Pat Pearson, MSSW is an internationally known author and motivational speaker with a passion for inspiring individuals to claim their own personal excellence. A clinical therapist for over 30 years, Pat has given more than 6,000 talks and seminars worldwide and has spoken to over 250,000 direct selling professionals and has worked with more than 300 companies in the U.S. More information on Pat Pearson's approach can be found at: http://www.PatPearson.com
Friday, April 25, 2008
Sales Pages With Style - Create Quality Sales Pages With CSS
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Elizabeth Adams
Sales pages, to be effective, must immediately catch the attention of even a casual web surfer. The sales message contained in the sales page needs to be both easy to read and understand. If the content-display styling is well-crafted, the sales message can be absorbed with just a rapid page scan. An interested reader will re-read the page for the details.
Sales copy provides the content which entices the reader to move deeper into the page towards the "Order Now" button.
The job of a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS), is to
facilitate page navigation,
improve readability, and
call attention to important content.
There are lots of articles and ebooks available on the Web about "writing" profitable sales copy. You can easily find them with a quick search. This article focuses on "styling" the sales page and its content with CSS.
There are several advantages to using CSS for display styling. One of the best reasons is that it frees the copywriter from initial concerns about page formatting. Using very basic HTML code, such as that allowed for submissions to ezinearticles, the page content can be written with any basic text editor without concern for special content formatting.
Before any CSS styling has been applied, the sales page would not convert any prospects. At this stage, the HTML document contains all of the "content" that will be used. Text and images will typically be positioned on the page in roughly the order these elements will be used in the final sales page. CSS will make everything "pop" and "sizzle" when it is applied to the page.
After the sales copy is written, important page elements (identified through HTML tags) and content (information between HTML tags) can be identified and linked to the appropriate CSS formatting code, contained in separate CSS text file, for browser display. A previous article of mine, published at ezinearticles, explains how the HTML content gets linked to the CSS file. Briefly, the HTML-CSS link is done through the HTML "link" meta tag and content is identified through class and id tag attributes and through the use of the HTML span tag.
Content-specific styling includes special text formatting, such as highlighting and quotations, and the placement of items such as images and forms within the page.
I like to display the content in roughly the middle half of the monitor display and use a line length of about 60 characters. I also like to use a large enough font size to make blocks of text easy to read.
Because the page layout is so important, I use a fixed table design for the content: the content is placed in the center of the display and is framed in by wide right and left margins and narrow top and bottom margins. If the width of the browser page is narrowed by the reader, the right and left margins will narrow equally but the content area will remain the same width, and thus the content layout remains the way it was designed (i.e., not "liquid").
Essentially, my basic page layout consists of 4 nested "boxes:"
HTML Box -- demarcated by html tags and contains all other boxes.
BODY Box -- demarcated by body tags and contains the table and main-content boxes.
Table Box -- demarcated by table tags and contains the main-content box.
Main-Content Box -- demarcated by div tags and contains the sales-page content.
The HTML box includes the entire HTML document (except for the document-type declaration). The Body box contains everything visible to the reader. The Table box contains the sales page. The Main-Content box, as the name implies, includes all of the visible content of the sales page.
A sales page requires both global and content-specific CSS styling. Global styling includes such considerations as the page background, default font and line attributes, and page margins. Here is the global code I include in my CSS text file for sales pages:
body
{
font-size : 62.5%;
font-family : Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif;
color : black;
line-height : normal;
background-image : Specify the image URL here;
}
#main_content
{
font-size : 1.6em; /* this sets the default font size for the sales page and will display at 16px */
margin : 5%;
}
h1
{
font-size : 2.25em; /* will display at 36px */
}
h2
{
font-size : 1.5em; /* will display at 24px */
}
h3
{
font-size : 1.25em; /* will display at 20px */
}
h4
{
font-size : 1.125em; /* will display at 18px */
}
table.sales-letter
{
width : 60em;
margin-left : auto;
margin-right : auto;
table-layout : fixed;
background : #ffffff;
}
The body code above sets the default for the document's font size to 62.5% of 16px or 10px (px = pixels). This is too small for my sales page, and I adjust it in the #main_content section. The CSS body code also sets the font color to black, the line spacing to normal, the font family to sans-serif (with Verdana as the first choice), and specifies a blue background image used for the body background.
I use the #main_content code to set the actual base font size I use for the sales page text. All other font sizes in the sales page are sized relative to this base. Unless otherwise specified, all text in the sales page will be 1.6em or 16px. I use the margin attribute to provide content spacing between the content and borders around content.
The "Hn" tags set the basic header sizes and are calculated based on the font size I specified for the #main_content. As an example, since I will be using a default font size of 16px for the sales-page content, the H1 font size would be 2.25x16px or 36px. The "Hn" tags can later be modified with additional attributes, such as color and centering.
The CSS table attributes I use place the sales page in roughly the middle half of the full-size display page (1024 x 768 pixels). The width of the table, 600px, is just right for the line length I want to use. Since the table-layout attribute is "fixed," the table layout in the browser will be preserved at all times.
Since all of the font sizes are relative to the font size I set in the #main_content section, all sizes can be made larger or smaller by changing just the one value. For more information about the use of ems for sizing, I would suggest a visit to a blog post by Richard Rutter.
After the global formatting is applied page now has some nice-appearing structure.The content now lies between attractive borders and the content is contained on a "page" with adequate margins and on a background of choice.
Below are 12 additional tips, including the CSS code, you can use to stylize specific elements and text in your sales pages.
(1) I want my headline to be big, bold, red, and centered. Here is the CSS code I use:
h1.headline
{
line-height : 1.5;
color : #cc0000;
text-align : center;
}
(2) I use a smaller, blue, bold, and centered sub-headline.
h2.subheadline
{
line-height : 1.5;
color : #1b356e;
text-align : center;
}
(3) I use a small font size for the spider text and copyright. I position the spider text at the top of the page for the benefit of search engines.
#spidertext, #copyright
{
font-size : 1.2em;
}
(4) I use CSS code to position my photo so that it "floats" to the right and any text to the left flows around the photo.
.photo
{
float : right;
display : inline;
}
(5) If you want to center section headings and color the text red or blue, here is usable code:
h3.red
{
line-height : 1.5;
color : #cc0000;
text-align : center;
}
h4.blue
{
line-height : 1.5;
color : #1b356e;
text-align : center;
}
(6) I change the font type for quotations. Using Courier New sets the quotes apart from normal body text.
.quote
{
font-family : "Courier New", Courier, monospace;
}
(7) I use an unnumbered list for my benefits list. The list can be customized to use a custom bullet and extra space between list elements. The CSS code to accomplish my custom list formatting is as follows:
li
{
list-style-position: inside;
list-style-image: Specify the image URL here;
list-style-type: none;
margin-bottom: 1em
}
(8) You can highlight important text with a yellow background.
.highlight
{
background-color : yellow;
}
(9) You can emphasize text by making it bold.
.bold
{
font-weight : bold;
}
.boldred
{
font-weight : bold;
color : #cc0000;
}
.boldblue
{
font-weight : bold;
color : #0000ff;
}
(10) I like to make sales-page testimonials special by framing them and using a pastel background for the text.
.testimonial
{
display : block;
margin-left : auto;
margin-right : auto;
background : #fffacc;
padding : 1em;
border : double;
border-width : thick;
border-color : #999999;
}
(11) The purchase form is a very important component of the sales page. I use a red-dashed border for the form.
.purchase-form
{
padding : 1.5em;
border : dashed;
border-width :medium;
border-color : #FF0000 ;
background : #fffac6;
}
(12) If you use an image and associate a link with it, you will want to turn off the border or you will get a distracting blue border around the image.
a img
{
border : 0;
}
After all CSS styling has been applied, the sales page now has some "snap" and "pop". The colorful headline immediately catches the attention of even a casual web surfer. The sales message contained in the sales page is now easy to read and much easier to understand. The well-crafted content-display makes it possible for the sales message to be absorbed with just a rapid page scan. After a preliminary scan, an interested reader will more than likely re-read the page for the details.
To get a ZIP file of the HTML and CSS files mentioned in this article and that you can use for practice or for your own templates, please visit http://www.elizabethadamsdirect.com A full-color PDF of the article is also available for download.
Sample web pages showing the template sales page without CSS applied, with just global CSS applied, and with all CSS applied can be seen at http://www.elizabethadamsdirect.com/template/exhibits.html
To look at a "real" sales page that used the CSS techniques discussed in this article, you can visit http://www.elizabethadamsdirect.com/greatheadlines
About the Author:
Elizabeth Adams has been writing direct sales copy since the early 1990's, when she employed several people to handle mailings and product fulfillment for her postcard marketing business. Elizabeth learned in direct mail how to tweak her sales copy on the run and improve her sales conversion by as much as 400% in only one mailing. She learned how to write a great headline and effective sales copy. Get "Great Headlines - Instantly" today to learn how to do for yourself what Elizabeth learned in the trenches: http://www.elizabethadamsdirect.com/greatheadlines
Copyright © 2008 Elizabeth Adams
Sales pages, to be effective, must immediately catch the attention of even a casual web surfer. The sales message contained in the sales page needs to be both easy to read and understand. If the content-display styling is well-crafted, the sales message can be absorbed with just a rapid page scan. An interested reader will re-read the page for the details.
Sales copy provides the content which entices the reader to move deeper into the page towards the "Order Now" button.
The job of a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS), is to
There are lots of articles and ebooks available on the Web about "writing" profitable sales copy. You can easily find them with a quick search. This article focuses on "styling" the sales page and its content with CSS.
There are several advantages to using CSS for display styling. One of the best reasons is that it frees the copywriter from initial concerns about page formatting. Using very basic HTML code, such as that allowed for submissions to ezinearticles, the page content can be written with any basic text editor without concern for special content formatting.
Before any CSS styling has been applied, the sales page would not convert any prospects. At this stage, the HTML document contains all of the "content" that will be used. Text and images will typically be positioned on the page in roughly the order these elements will be used in the final sales page. CSS will make everything "pop" and "sizzle" when it is applied to the page.
After the sales copy is written, important page elements (identified through HTML tags) and content (information between HTML tags) can be identified and linked to the appropriate CSS formatting code, contained in separate CSS text file, for browser display. A previous article of mine, published at ezinearticles, explains how the HTML content gets linked to the CSS file. Briefly, the HTML-CSS link is done through the HTML "link" meta tag and content is identified through class and id tag attributes and through the use of the HTML span tag.
Content-specific styling includes special text formatting, such as highlighting and quotations, and the placement of items such as images and forms within the page.
I like to display the content in roughly the middle half of the monitor display and use a line length of about 60 characters. I also like to use a large enough font size to make blocks of text easy to read.
Because the page layout is so important, I use a fixed table design for the content: the content is placed in the center of the display and is framed in by wide right and left margins and narrow top and bottom margins. If the width of the browser page is narrowed by the reader, the right and left margins will narrow equally but the content area will remain the same width, and thus the content layout remains the way it was designed (i.e., not "liquid").
Essentially, my basic page layout consists of 4 nested "boxes:"
The HTML box includes the entire HTML document (except for the document-type declaration). The Body box contains everything visible to the reader. The Table box contains the sales page. The Main-Content box, as the name implies, includes all of the visible content of the sales page.
A sales page requires both global and content-specific CSS styling. Global styling includes such considerations as the page background, default font and line attributes, and page margins. Here is the global code I include in my CSS text file for sales pages:
body
{
font-size : 62.5%;
font-family : Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif;
color : black;
line-height : normal;
background-image : Specify the image URL here;
}
#main_content
{
font-size : 1.6em; /* this sets the default font size for the sales page and will display at 16px */
margin : 5%;
}
h1
{
font-size : 2.25em; /* will display at 36px */
}
h2
{
font-size : 1.5em; /* will display at 24px */
}
h3
{
font-size : 1.25em; /* will display at 20px */
}
h4
{
font-size : 1.125em; /* will display at 18px */
}
table.sales-letter
{
width : 60em;
margin-left : auto;
margin-right : auto;
table-layout : fixed;
background : #ffffff;
}
The body code above sets the default for the document's font size to 62.5% of 16px or 10px (px = pixels). This is too small for my sales page, and I adjust it in the #main_content section. The CSS body code also sets the font color to black, the line spacing to normal, the font family to sans-serif (with Verdana as the first choice), and specifies a blue background image used for the body background.
I use the #main_content code to set the actual base font size I use for the sales page text. All other font sizes in the sales page are sized relative to this base. Unless otherwise specified, all text in the sales page will be 1.6em or 16px. I use the margin attribute to provide content spacing between the content and borders around content.
The "Hn" tags set the basic header sizes and are calculated based on the font size I specified for the #main_content. As an example, since I will be using a default font size of 16px for the sales-page content, the H1 font size would be 2.25x16px or 36px. The "Hn" tags can later be modified with additional attributes, such as color and centering.
The CSS table attributes I use place the sales page in roughly the middle half of the full-size display page (1024 x 768 pixels). The width of the table, 600px, is just right for the line length I want to use. Since the table-layout attribute is "fixed," the table layout in the browser will be preserved at all times.
Since all of the font sizes are relative to the font size I set in the #main_content section, all sizes can be made larger or smaller by changing just the one value. For more information about the use of ems for sizing, I would suggest a visit to a blog post by Richard Rutter.
After the global formatting is applied page now has some nice-appearing structure.The content now lies between attractive borders and the content is contained on a "page" with adequate margins and on a background of choice.
Below are 12 additional tips, including the CSS code, you can use to stylize specific elements and text in your sales pages.
(1) I want my headline to be big, bold, red, and centered. Here is the CSS code I use:
h1.headline
{
line-height : 1.5;
color : #cc0000;
text-align : center;
}
(2) I use a smaller, blue, bold, and centered sub-headline.
h2.subheadline
{
line-height : 1.5;
color : #1b356e;
text-align : center;
}
(3) I use a small font size for the spider text and copyright. I position the spider text at the top of the page for the benefit of search engines.
#spidertext, #copyright
{
font-size : 1.2em;
}
(4) I use CSS code to position my photo so that it "floats" to the right and any text to the left flows around the photo.
.photo
{
float : right;
display : inline;
}
(5) If you want to center section headings and color the text red or blue, here is usable code:
h3.red
{
line-height : 1.5;
color : #cc0000;
text-align : center;
}
h4.blue
{
line-height : 1.5;
color : #1b356e;
text-align : center;
}
(6) I change the font type for quotations. Using Courier New sets the quotes apart from normal body text.
.quote
{
font-family : "Courier New", Courier, monospace;
}
(7) I use an unnumbered list for my benefits list. The list can be customized to use a custom bullet and extra space between list elements. The CSS code to accomplish my custom list formatting is as follows:
li
{
list-style-position: inside;
list-style-image: Specify the image URL here;
list-style-type: none;
margin-bottom: 1em
}
(8) You can highlight important text with a yellow background.
.highlight
{
background-color : yellow;
}
(9) You can emphasize text by making it bold.
.bold
{
font-weight : bold;
}
.boldred
{
font-weight : bold;
color : #cc0000;
}
.boldblue
{
font-weight : bold;
color : #0000ff;
}
(10) I like to make sales-page testimonials special by framing them and using a pastel background for the text.
.testimonial
{
display : block;
margin-left : auto;
margin-right : auto;
background : #fffacc;
padding : 1em;
border : double;
border-width : thick;
border-color : #999999;
}
(11) The purchase form is a very important component of the sales page. I use a red-dashed border for the form.
.purchase-form
{
padding : 1.5em;
border : dashed;
border-width :medium;
border-color : #FF0000 ;
background : #fffac6;
}
(12) If you use an image and associate a link with it, you will want to turn off the border or you will get a distracting blue border around the image.
a img
{
border : 0;
}
After all CSS styling has been applied, the sales page now has some "snap" and "pop". The colorful headline immediately catches the attention of even a casual web surfer. The sales message contained in the sales page is now easy to read and much easier to understand. The well-crafted content-display makes it possible for the sales message to be absorbed with just a rapid page scan. After a preliminary scan, an interested reader will more than likely re-read the page for the details.
To get a ZIP file of the HTML and CSS files mentioned in this article and that you can use for practice or for your own templates, please visit http://www.elizabethadamsdirect.com A full-color PDF of the article is also available for download.
Sample web pages showing the template sales page without CSS applied, with just global CSS applied, and with all CSS applied can be seen at http://www.elizabethadamsdirect.com/template/exhibits.html
To look at a "real" sales page that used the CSS techniques discussed in this article, you can visit http://www.elizabethadamsdirect.com/greatheadlines
About the Author:
Elizabeth Adams has been writing direct sales copy since the early 1990's, when she employed several people to handle mailings and product fulfillment for her postcard marketing business. Elizabeth learned in direct mail how to tweak her sales copy on the run and improve her sales conversion by as much as 400% in only one mailing. She learned how to write a great headline and effective sales copy. Get "Great Headlines - Instantly" today to learn how to do for yourself what Elizabeth learned in the trenches: http://www.elizabethadamsdirect.com/greatheadlines
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Online Auctions - An Indirect Branding Strategy
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 T.C. Gaity
While many people use the web for research and education, millions of people still jump online for fun and entertainment. Games and puzzles have long been a popular online activity, and continue to draw thousands of visitors each day; whether people want to test their skills, win prizes, or even develop a new hobby, they can be found visiting the web's top gaming sites on a daily basis.
These high-traffic communities are an attractive platform for online advertising, banner ads, text links, and branding campaigns. With the tremendous shift towards online activities over television and other forms of entertainment, it has become increasingly challenging for advertisers to reach their target market in a unique way.
Any company or brand that sponsors online games or activities is in an ideal position for reaching their target market; the users are happy, engaged, and are much more likely to make a positive connection with the logo or messages presented to them.
Online Gaming Sites: The Community Awaits
High traffic gaming sites are some of the fastest-growing communities on the web, and are made of a wide range of users. Few community websites on the internet can grow as quickly as an online game site, and the snowball effect means any company or brand involved with sponsoring the site can enjoy a significant advantage over competitors.
Building a brand around a game, or vice versa, is an effective way to attract a particular group. Whether players are looking for a new contest, a tournament, or simply a prize drawing, the sponsor of that game is likely to 'stick' with each participant.
The demographic makeup of these sites generally depends on the types of games, themes, and ages of the players on the site. These visitors tend to spend long periods of time on the site exploring, interacting, sharing information, and clicking on banners and links. The important thing to remember with the activity on gaming sites is that visitors are navigating the site voluntarily; they are willingly clicking on links and banners as they explore, and this is a tremendously valuable opportunity for advertisers to present relevant information, links, and products.
The Rise of Online Auction Sites
The most popular online game sites are those that include extra incentives for participating. People enjoy being a part of games they can win frequently, and are much more likely to participate when they can 'cash' in their prizes for something larger. Online lottery sites, word games, puzzles, and skills-based contests are thriving on the internet, but only a few can maintain a high level of users for an extended period of time.
The addition of online auctions makes these games sites even more attractive for participants of all ages because each visitor has an incentive to keep playing. Online auction sites are designed to encourage gamers to cash in their winnings for real prizes - this opportunity is enough to keep visitors coming back, playing regularly, and building their own online gaming identity after just a few plays. Online auctions also help build a community, as users can trade personal goods and cash in their winnings for real merchandise.
The Value of Online Auctions for Marketers
Tournaments, contests, and simple skill-based games can keep people occupied for hours, in an informal, relaxed, and casual setting - and this usually happens in the comfort of the participant's home. Players are relaxed, focused, and paying attention to the website and activities at hand. This is an ideal setting for marketers and advertisers to reach the customer, the same setting that TV advertisers have long profited from.
Any logos, banners, text ads, or even branding messages can easily be weaved into this experience without offending or 'spamming' the user. Online auctions and game sites are an opportunity for advertisers and sponsors to connect with their target market, since people are much more likely to have a favorable impression of a new company or brand when it is linked to something they already enjoy doing. Branding in this form is appealing to many companies who cannot effectively reach their target market with other methods.
As it becomes more and more challenging to reach specific groups on the internet, sponsoring a game or online auction site offers many benefits. Advertisers, sponsors, and marketing campaigns can all reach the rapidly growing games communities using an indirect branding strategy.
About the Author:
T.C. Gaity writes about the Internet. Trader Auction Games (TAG City) is a portal for online games. Whereas most online game sites lets you stroke your ego with your winning streak, Trader Auction Games gives you the opportunity to win real prizes, when you play well. Advertising opportunities are also available for businesses who are interested in bartering products for advertising. Learn more: http://www.traderauctiongames.com
Copyright © 2008 T.C. Gaity
While many people use the web for research and education, millions of people still jump online for fun and entertainment. Games and puzzles have long been a popular online activity, and continue to draw thousands of visitors each day; whether people want to test their skills, win prizes, or even develop a new hobby, they can be found visiting the web's top gaming sites on a daily basis.
These high-traffic communities are an attractive platform for online advertising, banner ads, text links, and branding campaigns. With the tremendous shift towards online activities over television and other forms of entertainment, it has become increasingly challenging for advertisers to reach their target market in a unique way.
Any company or brand that sponsors online games or activities is in an ideal position for reaching their target market; the users are happy, engaged, and are much more likely to make a positive connection with the logo or messages presented to them.
Online Gaming Sites: The Community Awaits
High traffic gaming sites are some of the fastest-growing communities on the web, and are made of a wide range of users. Few community websites on the internet can grow as quickly as an online game site, and the snowball effect means any company or brand involved with sponsoring the site can enjoy a significant advantage over competitors.
Building a brand around a game, or vice versa, is an effective way to attract a particular group. Whether players are looking for a new contest, a tournament, or simply a prize drawing, the sponsor of that game is likely to 'stick' with each participant.
The demographic makeup of these sites generally depends on the types of games, themes, and ages of the players on the site. These visitors tend to spend long periods of time on the site exploring, interacting, sharing information, and clicking on banners and links. The important thing to remember with the activity on gaming sites is that visitors are navigating the site voluntarily; they are willingly clicking on links and banners as they explore, and this is a tremendously valuable opportunity for advertisers to present relevant information, links, and products.
The Rise of Online Auction Sites
The most popular online game sites are those that include extra incentives for participating. People enjoy being a part of games they can win frequently, and are much more likely to participate when they can 'cash' in their prizes for something larger. Online lottery sites, word games, puzzles, and skills-based contests are thriving on the internet, but only a few can maintain a high level of users for an extended period of time.
The addition of online auctions makes these games sites even more attractive for participants of all ages because each visitor has an incentive to keep playing. Online auction sites are designed to encourage gamers to cash in their winnings for real prizes - this opportunity is enough to keep visitors coming back, playing regularly, and building their own online gaming identity after just a few plays. Online auctions also help build a community, as users can trade personal goods and cash in their winnings for real merchandise.
The Value of Online Auctions for Marketers
Tournaments, contests, and simple skill-based games can keep people occupied for hours, in an informal, relaxed, and casual setting - and this usually happens in the comfort of the participant's home. Players are relaxed, focused, and paying attention to the website and activities at hand. This is an ideal setting for marketers and advertisers to reach the customer, the same setting that TV advertisers have long profited from.
Any logos, banners, text ads, or even branding messages can easily be weaved into this experience without offending or 'spamming' the user. Online auctions and game sites are an opportunity for advertisers and sponsors to connect with their target market, since people are much more likely to have a favorable impression of a new company or brand when it is linked to something they already enjoy doing. Branding in this form is appealing to many companies who cannot effectively reach their target market with other methods.
As it becomes more and more challenging to reach specific groups on the internet, sponsoring a game or online auction site offers many benefits. Advertisers, sponsors, and marketing campaigns can all reach the rapidly growing games communities using an indirect branding strategy.
About the Author:
T.C. Gaity writes about the Internet. Trader Auction Games (TAG City) is a portal for online games. Whereas most online game sites lets you stroke your ego with your winning streak, Trader Auction Games gives you the opportunity to win real prizes, when you play well. Advertising opportunities are also available for businesses who are interested in bartering products for advertising. Learn more: http://www.traderauctiongames.com
Small Business: Don’t Be a Dunce, Get a D-U-N-S
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Melissa Mashtonio
Maybe you're contemplating starting a business. Maybe you're past that step and it's time to start doing business.
Your idea is great. You've got a great product,but are you really ready to start doing business? This is the 21st century and "charge it" is the mantra of the day. And credit is just as important to a business owner as it is to a consumer. That's why every new business needs to establish a credit file. That's where a D-U-N-S number comes in.
A Dun and Bradstreet D-U-N-S(r) Number ("D-U-N-S" stands for "Data Universal Numbering System") is a unique nine-digit sequence recognized as the universal standard for identifying and keeping track of more than 100 million businesses worldwide. According to D&B, a D-U-N-S Number:
enhances the credibility of your business in the marketplace
enables potential customers, suppliers and lenders to easily identify and learn about your company
Businesses aren't required to have a D-U-N-S Number but the U.S. government and many major corporations require their suppliers and contractors to have one. Basically, if you ever plan to open credit accounts with major vendors or suppliers, you have to go through this process.
Just like individuals, businesses need to build credit. Establishing a business credit file helps you get better interest rates, increase the likelihood that others will extend credit to you, lower your insurance premiums and, most important, make it easier for business partners to assess the risk of doing business with you.
Not having a business credit file with D&B (or having an incomplete file) can make your company appear to be unsound financially and could cost you valuable business.
There are two ways to start building a credit file:
1. Almost any large company that you have an account with will automatically report on a monthly basis to D&B
2. You can specifically request that D&B contact your smaller non-reporting suppliers and query them on your payment history (D&B charges a small fee for this).
Wait! Aren't We Putting the Cart Before Horse?
If companies use your D&B credit file in order to grant you credit, how do you do enough business to establish credit without a credit file? That's the challenge all businesses face.
When you start a new business, you have no credit history, and your D&B file reflects this, so the file is worthless to suppliers trying to evaluate your creditworthiness. But there is no harm in having an "empty" D&B file for a while; even an empty file can help you establish certain kinds of accounts. The best ways to start building your file:
Launch new supplier relationships paying with cash/check or credit card
Establish a personal relationship with your primary contacts at your "key" suppliers.
The goal is to build trust in you—and, by extension, your company. These relationships will be reflected in your file and you start building credit.
The bottom line is that it will take time for the file to collect data. This is just another reason to apply for your DUNS number as part of your new business checklist. The sooner you get a D-U-N-S Number, the sooner it has the potential to start helping you.
About the Author:
Melissa Mashtonio writes for Manta, the go-to site for researching company profiles. The site (http://www.manta.com) offers free research on more than 45 million companies in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the UK. Use Manta.com to find the largest companies in your city.
Copyright © 2008 Melissa Mashtonio
Maybe you're contemplating starting a business. Maybe you're past that step and it's time to start doing business.
Your idea is great. You've got a great product,but are you really ready to start doing business? This is the 21st century and "charge it" is the mantra of the day. And credit is just as important to a business owner as it is to a consumer. That's why every new business needs to establish a credit file. That's where a D-U-N-S number comes in.
A Dun and Bradstreet D-U-N-S(r) Number ("D-U-N-S" stands for "Data Universal Numbering System") is a unique nine-digit sequence recognized as the universal standard for identifying and keeping track of more than 100 million businesses worldwide. According to D&B, a D-U-N-S Number:
Businesses aren't required to have a D-U-N-S Number but the U.S. government and many major corporations require their suppliers and contractors to have one. Basically, if you ever plan to open credit accounts with major vendors or suppliers, you have to go through this process.
Just like individuals, businesses need to build credit. Establishing a business credit file helps you get better interest rates, increase the likelihood that others will extend credit to you, lower your insurance premiums and, most important, make it easier for business partners to assess the risk of doing business with you.
Not having a business credit file with D&B (or having an incomplete file) can make your company appear to be unsound financially and could cost you valuable business.
There are two ways to start building a credit file:
1. Almost any large company that you have an account with will automatically report on a monthly basis to D&B
2. You can specifically request that D&B contact your smaller non-reporting suppliers and query them on your payment history (D&B charges a small fee for this).
Wait! Aren't We Putting the Cart Before Horse?
If companies use your D&B credit file in order to grant you credit, how do you do enough business to establish credit without a credit file? That's the challenge all businesses face.
When you start a new business, you have no credit history, and your D&B file reflects this, so the file is worthless to suppliers trying to evaluate your creditworthiness. But there is no harm in having an "empty" D&B file for a while; even an empty file can help you establish certain kinds of accounts. The best ways to start building your file:
The goal is to build trust in you—and, by extension, your company. These relationships will be reflected in your file and you start building credit.
The bottom line is that it will take time for the file to collect data. This is just another reason to apply for your DUNS number as part of your new business checklist. The sooner you get a D-U-N-S Number, the sooner it has the potential to start helping you.
About the Author:
Melissa Mashtonio writes for Manta, the go-to site for researching company profiles. The site (http://www.manta.com) offers free research on more than 45 million companies in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the UK. Use Manta.com to find the largest companies in your city.
Why You Should Never Discount Your Prices
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2006-2008 Mark Silver
It seems like such an easy fix: "25% off!" "Buy now and I'll reduce the price by $100!" Discounting as a selling tactic seems as natural and easy as all get-out.
Which is why you should never, ever discount.
Discounting is a cancer in business, that eats at your heart, and at the heart of your customers. It is smoke and mirrors.
"Good ol' Wal-Mart. That multi-billion dollar global company, which is the discounter of all discounters. They started with good in their heart. Sam Walton looked around him and saw lots of great things he thought 'the little guy' should have. Why should only the rich have luxuries, now that our great industrial society can produce so much so easily?"
It's a good intention. Unfortunately, this focus on low prices has done incalculable damage to our economies, to our health care, and to the way we use resources. 'Inexpensive' has come to mean 'cheap' which has come to mean 'disposable.'
Which has come to mean huge landfills and global warming, among other things.
Is discounting really that much of a demon? Surely, just taking some money off the top of your prices doesn't mean you're contributing to the environmental, economic and political collapse of the globe?
Not exactly. But let's look at what discounting means, and what it does.
Discounting assumes that:
1. The difference in price between your 'regular' price and the discounted price is what is stopping your customer from buying;
2. It's worth it to acquire a customer whose most important consideration is how cheap your offer is.
Customers hesitate for a number of reasons, which all boil down to: does this offer really work, and will it get me the results that I need?
Discounting your prices means that instead of addressing this question head-on, you are trying to cover up with smoke and mirrors. 'Sure it works... but don't look too closely, and I'll take some money off the top for you.'
You may not be doing this consciously, and certainly not with any ill intent, but all the same this is the set up.
What you are really trying to do: help someone get help sooner rather than later.
Your offer helps someone with a struggle they have. The sooner the right people get your product, the sooner their struggle is over. Understanding that your intention is to get what you offer to the right people sooner, in order to alleviate suffering, well, that's a good intention, isn't it?
Now it's not about smoke and mirrors, but about urgency. One of the ways to help someone purchase sooner rather than later is to offer them a good deal. But not by discounting.
People love a good deal. Is there any way to offer a good deal without discounting?
Keys to the Offer They Can't Refuse
* Understand the difference between a discount and a good deal.
A discount is when you lower the price for the sole purpose of trying to increase sales. It's a strong-arm tactic that often signals desperation- and as such, it actually decreases trust between you and your customer.
There are good reasons to have a lower price. For instance, one company I buy from every month gives me a discount once a year on the anniversary of my first purchase, equivalent to the number of years I've been a customer times 10%. After ten years I'll get that month's purchase free. But that's not a discount in order to get me to buy- it's a thank you and appreciation given to me after a buy. A subtle, but important difference.
* You can announce price rises in advance.
Early-bird and early registration pricing, where you offer a lower price up until a certain date, is not a discount, because you aren't just giving away money, but there is an advantage to you. For me, having classes fill several weeks in advance before the start date means that I have much less to do at the last minute. That's worth charging a lower price. I charge more after the early-registration deadline because it represents more work for me.
This is similar to a pre-launch price. Someone who buys your products before they exist is showing a great deal of trust and faith in you, and you benefit in many ways by having someone purchase ahead of time. That's makes the lower price worth it.
* Cheese, please. Offer bonuses.
You may think bonuses are a cheesy thing to offer, but what if your favorite cafe offered you a free cookie with each fancy coffee drink you bought? Would that help you to choose their cafe over someone else's? If I liked the coffee and the cookie, it would get me nearly every time.
Bonuses work because they show generosity, because they can enhance the experience of the original product, and because you can offer them at very little cost to your business. A good bonus can be a simple thing, as long as it's valuable.
Have fun creating a great offer that's also a good deal for your customers. But don't discount, or you'll be giving away the trust you've been working so hard to build with them.
My very best to you and your business,
Mark Silver
About the Author:
Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line. He has helped hundreds of small business owners around the globe succeed in business without losing their hearts. Get three free chapters of the book online: http://www.heartofbusiness.com
Copyright © 2006-2008 Mark Silver
It seems like such an easy fix: "25% off!" "Buy now and I'll reduce the price by $100!" Discounting as a selling tactic seems as natural and easy as all get-out.
Which is why you should never, ever discount.
Discounting is a cancer in business, that eats at your heart, and at the heart of your customers. It is smoke and mirrors.
"Good ol' Wal-Mart. That multi-billion dollar global company, which is the discounter of all discounters. They started with good in their heart. Sam Walton looked around him and saw lots of great things he thought 'the little guy' should have. Why should only the rich have luxuries, now that our great industrial society can produce so much so easily?"
It's a good intention. Unfortunately, this focus on low prices has done incalculable damage to our economies, to our health care, and to the way we use resources. 'Inexpensive' has come to mean 'cheap' which has come to mean 'disposable.'
Which has come to mean huge landfills and global warming, among other things.
Is discounting really that much of a demon? Surely, just taking some money off the top of your prices doesn't mean you're contributing to the environmental, economic and political collapse of the globe?
Not exactly. But let's look at what discounting means, and what it does.
Discounting assumes that:
1. The difference in price between your 'regular' price and the discounted price is what is stopping your customer from buying;
2. It's worth it to acquire a customer whose most important consideration is how cheap your offer is.
Customers hesitate for a number of reasons, which all boil down to: does this offer really work, and will it get me the results that I need?
Discounting your prices means that instead of addressing this question head-on, you are trying to cover up with smoke and mirrors. 'Sure it works... but don't look too closely, and I'll take some money off the top for you.'
You may not be doing this consciously, and certainly not with any ill intent, but all the same this is the set up.
What you are really trying to do: help someone get help sooner rather than later.
Your offer helps someone with a struggle they have. The sooner the right people get your product, the sooner their struggle is over. Understanding that your intention is to get what you offer to the right people sooner, in order to alleviate suffering, well, that's a good intention, isn't it?
Now it's not about smoke and mirrors, but about urgency. One of the ways to help someone purchase sooner rather than later is to offer them a good deal. But not by discounting.
People love a good deal. Is there any way to offer a good deal without discounting?
Keys to the Offer They Can't Refuse
* Understand the difference between a discount and a good deal.
A discount is when you lower the price for the sole purpose of trying to increase sales. It's a strong-arm tactic that often signals desperation- and as such, it actually decreases trust between you and your customer.
There are good reasons to have a lower price. For instance, one company I buy from every month gives me a discount once a year on the anniversary of my first purchase, equivalent to the number of years I've been a customer times 10%. After ten years I'll get that month's purchase free. But that's not a discount in order to get me to buy- it's a thank you and appreciation given to me after a buy. A subtle, but important difference.
* You can announce price rises in advance.
Early-bird and early registration pricing, where you offer a lower price up until a certain date, is not a discount, because you aren't just giving away money, but there is an advantage to you. For me, having classes fill several weeks in advance before the start date means that I have much less to do at the last minute. That's worth charging a lower price. I charge more after the early-registration deadline because it represents more work for me.
This is similar to a pre-launch price. Someone who buys your products before they exist is showing a great deal of trust and faith in you, and you benefit in many ways by having someone purchase ahead of time. That's makes the lower price worth it.
* Cheese, please. Offer bonuses.
You may think bonuses are a cheesy thing to offer, but what if your favorite cafe offered you a free cookie with each fancy coffee drink you bought? Would that help you to choose their cafe over someone else's? If I liked the coffee and the cookie, it would get me nearly every time.
Bonuses work because they show generosity, because they can enhance the experience of the original product, and because you can offer them at very little cost to your business. A good bonus can be a simple thing, as long as it's valuable.
Have fun creating a great offer that's also a good deal for your customers. But don't discount, or you'll be giving away the trust you've been working so hard to build with them.
My very best to you and your business,
Mark Silver
About the Author:
Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line. He has helped hundreds of small business owners around the globe succeed in business without losing their hearts. Get three free chapters of the book online: http://www.heartofbusiness.com
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
How To Use Social Bookmarking As a Business Tool-Can You Digg It?
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Kimberly Clay
Before discussing the use of social bookmarking as a business tool, we should first have a quick look at the phenomenon and discuss why it has become so popular. By understanding that, then it will become easier to understand potential business uses. The uses outlined here are just that: outlines, since the particular applications to which these sites can be put will be specific to your type of online business.
The original intention of social bookmarking is to enable you to store websites and pages that you have found and want to refer to later, and also to refer them to others that you think might benefit from them or just enjoy visiting them. You can bookmark any type of web content from articles to blogs to videos, and to start doing so you have first to register with one or more social bookmarking sites.
Among the more popular of such services are Digg, Reddit, Del.icio.us, Blink, Furl and StumbleUpon. They are easy to join, and having done so all you have to do to make a bookmark is simply to add a button or chicklet linking to the specific social bookmarking site, and click on it. The URL of the page you are viewing will be added to your bookmarks and you can categorize it by means of tags. Tags are no more than the keywords that you feel best describe the page you are viewing. You can use just the one tag or a number of them.
All of your bookmarks within each site are accessible by clicking on one of the tags in your �tag cloud�, which is basically a list of tags, although it is possible to categorize them in order to make it easier to find bookmarks on specific topics.
So how can you use social bookmarking as a business tool? For a start it is a way to increase the visibility of your blogs, websites and even your affiliate programs, and increased visibility leads to more visitors. Social bookmarking sites can provide you with back-links that will improve your Google PageRank: this in turn can improve your search engine results position. Because they are free you have nothing to lose by using these sites in this way, unless you overdo it and are regarded as a spammer.
Here are the steps needed to use bookmarking sites effectively for your business while avoiding the spamming trap.
Let�s assume that you have registered with a social bookmarking site such as del.icio.us, and are ready to go. The same steps here will apply to the others, and like most other aspects of an online business, best results will be obtained by using as many social bookmarking sites as you can find. Repetition brings best results.
1. Check out the site. Not all social bookmarking sites have the same type of users, and it is essential that there are other users on the site that are liable to be interested in your website content and products. Check out the blogs and websites that get the highest number of bookmarks � that is often a good guide as to the type of user, and if you can produce content similar to the more popular stuff on the bookmarking site in question, then you should be able to use that site in your business.
2. Produce content close to that which gets most bookmarks on each specific site, and twist it towards your business. It is possible to use practically any social bookmarking site this way if you are clever enough. The bookmarks that you make of your own web pages or blogs should contain good content that is interesting, entertaining or educational, and not outright sales material. Leave the conversion of traffic to sales until you actually have them on your website, and then provide links to your sales pages. People are more liable to purchase from you if you have shown expertise in the subject in hand by solving a problem or presenting a new angle on a specific topic.
3. Avoid the advice given in some quarters to open several accounts with the same social bookmarking site. That is liable to damage your reputation, and at worst can result in the site banning you and canceling all of your registrations. Even if under different names and email addresses, they can identify you through your IP address.
These are the general ways in which you can begin using social bookmarking as a business tool in order to generate new business. However, there is more to these sites than just getting business, and they are useful as administrative tools in their own right. Here are some ways in which they can help make your business easier to run:
1. Use social bookmarking as a cataloging system for the knowledge base of your business. Any employees that come across sites that deal with specific aspects of your business can bookmark them under specific tags predefined by you to be used for certain types of information. Good restaurants and excellent hotels for business clients, inexpensive sources of office equipment and reference materials relating to your business are all categories that you can predefine, and that you and your employees can build up on approved social bookmarking sites.
2. Use them when seeking new suppliers or customers. Staff can make a bookmark when they come across websites or blog postings of potential clients or suppliers for specific services you are seeking. Let�s say you are seeking a new limo company to transport important clients to and from airports. After a while you can access the social bookmarking site to find out what your staff has bookmarked, and so make your choice much easier.
3. If you are able to establish if your clients, customers or vendors have a registration with a social bookmarking site, you can register with the same site yourself and bookmark your own blog postings and web content. If you get advance notice that a particular potential client is seeking a new service or supplier, then you can get ahead of the field by making a bookmark on the site that they use.
One of the advantages of such sites is that the keywords, or tags, are user defined rather than search engine defined. They should therefore define the content in a more human way that the machines would. If you are looking for specific information you should be able to find it easier by using the language that others would also use. There is a disadvantage to this in that misspellings are common, so make sure that your spelling is correct because the social bookmarking site will not ask you if you are sure, as a search engine such as Google does.
There are many ways in which to use social bookmarking as a business tool, both as an administration and a traffic and sales tool. Once you understand how such sites work, then you will doubtless find many more uses in addition to those outlined above.
About the Author:
Kimberly Clay is a successful business woman with over twenty years of experience and success to her credit. She is an online entrepreneur with a passion for educating and helping others to develop online success and create wealth. For more information, visit her website at http://www.GetMyWealthNow.com or her blog at http://www.blog.GetMyWealthNow.com
Copyright © 2008 Kimberly Clay
Before discussing the use of social bookmarking as a business tool, we should first have a quick look at the phenomenon and discuss why it has become so popular. By understanding that, then it will become easier to understand potential business uses. The uses outlined here are just that: outlines, since the particular applications to which these sites can be put will be specific to your type of online business.
The original intention of social bookmarking is to enable you to store websites and pages that you have found and want to refer to later, and also to refer them to others that you think might benefit from them or just enjoy visiting them. You can bookmark any type of web content from articles to blogs to videos, and to start doing so you have first to register with one or more social bookmarking sites.
Among the more popular of such services are Digg, Reddit, Del.icio.us, Blink, Furl and StumbleUpon. They are easy to join, and having done so all you have to do to make a bookmark is simply to add a button or chicklet linking to the specific social bookmarking site, and click on it. The URL of the page you are viewing will be added to your bookmarks and you can categorize it by means of tags. Tags are no more than the keywords that you feel best describe the page you are viewing. You can use just the one tag or a number of them.
All of your bookmarks within each site are accessible by clicking on one of the tags in your �tag cloud�, which is basically a list of tags, although it is possible to categorize them in order to make it easier to find bookmarks on specific topics.
So how can you use social bookmarking as a business tool? For a start it is a way to increase the visibility of your blogs, websites and even your affiliate programs, and increased visibility leads to more visitors. Social bookmarking sites can provide you with back-links that will improve your Google PageRank: this in turn can improve your search engine results position. Because they are free you have nothing to lose by using these sites in this way, unless you overdo it and are regarded as a spammer.
Here are the steps needed to use bookmarking sites effectively for your business while avoiding the spamming trap.
Let�s assume that you have registered with a social bookmarking site such as del.icio.us, and are ready to go. The same steps here will apply to the others, and like most other aspects of an online business, best results will be obtained by using as many social bookmarking sites as you can find. Repetition brings best results.
1. Check out the site. Not all social bookmarking sites have the same type of users, and it is essential that there are other users on the site that are liable to be interested in your website content and products. Check out the blogs and websites that get the highest number of bookmarks � that is often a good guide as to the type of user, and if you can produce content similar to the more popular stuff on the bookmarking site in question, then you should be able to use that site in your business.
2. Produce content close to that which gets most bookmarks on each specific site, and twist it towards your business. It is possible to use practically any social bookmarking site this way if you are clever enough. The bookmarks that you make of your own web pages or blogs should contain good content that is interesting, entertaining or educational, and not outright sales material. Leave the conversion of traffic to sales until you actually have them on your website, and then provide links to your sales pages. People are more liable to purchase from you if you have shown expertise in the subject in hand by solving a problem or presenting a new angle on a specific topic.
3. Avoid the advice given in some quarters to open several accounts with the same social bookmarking site. That is liable to damage your reputation, and at worst can result in the site banning you and canceling all of your registrations. Even if under different names and email addresses, they can identify you through your IP address.
These are the general ways in which you can begin using social bookmarking as a business tool in order to generate new business. However, there is more to these sites than just getting business, and they are useful as administrative tools in their own right. Here are some ways in which they can help make your business easier to run:
1. Use social bookmarking as a cataloging system for the knowledge base of your business. Any employees that come across sites that deal with specific aspects of your business can bookmark them under specific tags predefined by you to be used for certain types of information. Good restaurants and excellent hotels for business clients, inexpensive sources of office equipment and reference materials relating to your business are all categories that you can predefine, and that you and your employees can build up on approved social bookmarking sites.
2. Use them when seeking new suppliers or customers. Staff can make a bookmark when they come across websites or blog postings of potential clients or suppliers for specific services you are seeking. Let�s say you are seeking a new limo company to transport important clients to and from airports. After a while you can access the social bookmarking site to find out what your staff has bookmarked, and so make your choice much easier.
3. If you are able to establish if your clients, customers or vendors have a registration with a social bookmarking site, you can register with the same site yourself and bookmark your own blog postings and web content. If you get advance notice that a particular potential client is seeking a new service or supplier, then you can get ahead of the field by making a bookmark on the site that they use.
One of the advantages of such sites is that the keywords, or tags, are user defined rather than search engine defined. They should therefore define the content in a more human way that the machines would. If you are looking for specific information you should be able to find it easier by using the language that others would also use. There is a disadvantage to this in that misspellings are common, so make sure that your spelling is correct because the social bookmarking site will not ask you if you are sure, as a search engine such as Google does.
There are many ways in which to use social bookmarking as a business tool, both as an administration and a traffic and sales tool. Once you understand how such sites work, then you will doubtless find many more uses in addition to those outlined above.
About the Author:
Kimberly Clay is a successful business woman with over twenty years of experience and success to her credit. She is an online entrepreneur with a passion for educating and helping others to develop online success and create wealth. For more information, visit her website at http://www.GetMyWealthNow.com or her blog at http://www.blog.GetMyWealthNow.com
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Beware of the Online Business Minefield
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Paul Marshall
"Thar's gold in them thar hills," was proclaimed around the world in 1849, when gold was discovered in the hills of northern California.
More than 100,000 people descended upon California to find their own wealth in the hills and the streams of California. Fast-forward 150 years, and people are saying the same thing about the Internet today.
"Thar is gold in them thar web pages," for the person who doesn't get their clock cleaned by the snake oil salesmen of the Internet.
Early Victors in the Online Business Success Story
In 1994, Stanford students Jerry Yang and David Filo created the Yahoo web directory. One year later, they co-founded Yahoo, Inc., which remains one of the largest, most profitable websites on the Internet today.
In 1998, Stanford students Larry Page and Sergey Brin created and launched the Google search engine, the largest and most popular search company on the Internet today.
In 2005, three former PayPal employees joined forces to create YouTube. The three founders of YouTube were Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim. Only 21 months after the launch of YouTube, Google purchased the website for $1.65 billion in Google stock.
True Friends For Life and in Business
The success stories behind Yahoo, Google and YouTube had similar foundations for success.
In each of these three cases, the founders of these companies were friends going into the process and they will likely remain friends for life.
The friends each brought with them unique qualities and skills to ensure that they could bring together their ideas without having to employ outside companies to help them to get where they wanted to go.
All of these companies had computer programmers among their founders, so these companies were able to get started and build upon their early successes, through their own wit and skills.
As friends, they all trusted in one another, and that trust enabled them to build powerhouse websites on the Internet. And as the websites grew in size and influence, all of these founders became very rich people.
One Does Not Have to be "On Leave from the Stanford Ph.D. Program"
It's amazing when you look at the biographies of the Who's Who in Internet business startup success. Many on the list have as part of his or her biography, "currently on a leave of absence from Stanford's ... Ph.D. program."
This reference is actually an inside joke, pointing to the fact that nearly all of these people dropped out of college to start their Internet businesses.
The founders of Yahoo, Google and Apple were all college dropouts. The founders of YouTube were simply paid staff of PayPal before striking out on their own with YouTube.
The point is that if college dropouts can make it online, then we can too, if we only choose to learn from those who came before us.
Creating Online Business Success Today
There are many companies online offering business-building services to others. Some are good, some are bad, and others may be good, and yet, they may not be the right service providers for your company.
Take for example the Google AdWords pay-per-click advertising system. Millionaires have been made through the Google AdWords system.
Just to put this into perspective, through June of 2007, eBay had been spending $25 million every quarter with Google AdWords.
When major businesses spend $100 million per year in advertising with one advertiser, you can believe that the company is making that much back and more from the advertising provider.
It had been estimated that Google was delivering 12% of eBay's traffic, which is a very sound investment, since eBay generated $7.67 billion in revenues in 2007.
In theory, eBay was earning nearly $920 million per year from its $100 million investment into Google's AdWords advertising model. That is a very sound profit indeed.
For Every Online Success, There Are Dozens of Failures
Not all of us will create the next Yahoo, Google, eBay or Amazon. But, good money can be made online if you don't fall into the traps where many before you have fallen.
AdWords is a powerful advertising model. It can make millionaires and it does every year.
But the thing is that AdWords may not be the right advertising model for you to follow. It may not be the right advertising for you now and it may not be right for you ever.
If you understand that, it is less likely that you will fall into the poor house using Google AdWords.
Unfortunately, too many people have mortgaged their homes and driven themselves into bankruptcy using Google AdWords and other online companies to promote their online businesses.
I know of one person who threw tons of money into advertising, only to go $100,000 into debt, because he did not properly track his advertising and ROI (return-on-investment). In effect, he was spending $1.10 to get one person to his website, and he was getting one sale for every 200 people that visited his website.
So, he spent $220 to get one sale valued at $45. As you can imagine, he just went deeper and deeper into debt until one day he woke up and realized that he was on the road to ruin.
Had he properly tracked his advertising and ROI from the beginning, he would have been able to adjust his sales copy to see if he could turn a bad situation better.
If he could have simply improved his sales conversion rate to get five times as many sales (from half a percent conversion to two-and-a-half percent conversion), then he could have ridden the same bullet to mass profits.
Deep Pockets Are Not the Solution, But Wise Choices Are
First and foremost, a business must design itself to make a profit on its activities.
I know people who have developed businesses online that did well financially in the sales column, but the business owner failed in the quest to turn that income into a profit.
Imagine being the website owner who generated his first $120,000 year and then nearly went under because his prices were too low for the kind of service being offered.
After having been a successful sole proprietor online for five years, my friend said that his first six-figure year nearly put him out of business. He is just now beginning to recover financially from his mistakes, 18 months later.
Personal Business Mentors Could Help You Avoid The Landmines
When starting an online business, there are people who have been down the road you are getting ready to travel. They know where the potholes are in the road and they know where the landmines are buried.
To add a person of this caliber to your contact list could mean the difference between success and failure online.
It is a real added-benefit for online business people to have someone to turn to for advice, regarding how to overcome the hurdles they may face in their online business.
A good business mentor is an invaluable asset for many online businesses today. After all, as individual business owners, we can't be expected to know everything we need to know about running our online businesses.
We might have the basics covered, but there is always going to be a time when the experiences of others can help light the path in front of us.
None of us can know everything, especially in today's complicated world.
There are affordable business mentors and marketing coaches offering their services to online business owners.
What if you could benefit from their experiences -- both good and bad -- without having to spend the money and the time they did?
Think of their services as being like an insurance policy, helping ensure your success.
Over my many years online, I have learned a lot from the school of hard knocks. After having gone through SEO training and AdWords Professional training, one of my SEO mentors told me that people should never invest in Search Engine Optimization, until after they have spent six months doing another important task.
By utilizing that one very important piece of information, I was able to stop wasting my limited advertising resources and to start making a profit more quickly.
If you would like to know what this advice was, I would be happy to mentor your success as well.
You can even start with my Free Online Business Success and Marketing Course, available at my website.
ID: BP SWM 001 08.04.10
About the Author:
Are you considering starting your own online business? Have you been struggling with making money with your first business venture? Paul Marshall has been where you are now. Paul is a Strategic Marketing Coach, who has formal training and experience as a SEO Target Marketing consultant. To learn more about how Paul can assist you or to obtain his Free 7-Day Online Business and Marketing Course, please visit: http://strategicwebmarketing.net
Copyright © 2008 Paul Marshall
"Thar's gold in them thar hills," was proclaimed around the world in 1849, when gold was discovered in the hills of northern California.
More than 100,000 people descended upon California to find their own wealth in the hills and the streams of California. Fast-forward 150 years, and people are saying the same thing about the Internet today.
"Thar is gold in them thar web pages," for the person who doesn't get their clock cleaned by the snake oil salesmen of the Internet.
Early Victors in the Online Business Success Story
In 1994, Stanford students Jerry Yang and David Filo created the Yahoo web directory. One year later, they co-founded Yahoo, Inc., which remains one of the largest, most profitable websites on the Internet today.
In 1998, Stanford students Larry Page and Sergey Brin created and launched the Google search engine, the largest and most popular search company on the Internet today.
In 2005, three former PayPal employees joined forces to create YouTube. The three founders of YouTube were Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim. Only 21 months after the launch of YouTube, Google purchased the website for $1.65 billion in Google stock.
True Friends For Life and in Business
The success stories behind Yahoo, Google and YouTube had similar foundations for success.
In each of these three cases, the founders of these companies were friends going into the process and they will likely remain friends for life.
The friends each brought with them unique qualities and skills to ensure that they could bring together their ideas without having to employ outside companies to help them to get where they wanted to go.
All of these companies had computer programmers among their founders, so these companies were able to get started and build upon their early successes, through their own wit and skills.
As friends, they all trusted in one another, and that trust enabled them to build powerhouse websites on the Internet. And as the websites grew in size and influence, all of these founders became very rich people.
One Does Not Have to be "On Leave from the Stanford Ph.D. Program"
It's amazing when you look at the biographies of the Who's Who in Internet business startup success. Many on the list have as part of his or her biography, "currently on a leave of absence from Stanford's ... Ph.D. program."
This reference is actually an inside joke, pointing to the fact that nearly all of these people dropped out of college to start their Internet businesses.
The founders of Yahoo, Google and Apple were all college dropouts. The founders of YouTube were simply paid staff of PayPal before striking out on their own with YouTube.
The point is that if college dropouts can make it online, then we can too, if we only choose to learn from those who came before us.
Creating Online Business Success Today
There are many companies online offering business-building services to others. Some are good, some are bad, and others may be good, and yet, they may not be the right service providers for your company.
Take for example the Google AdWords pay-per-click advertising system. Millionaires have been made through the Google AdWords system.
Just to put this into perspective, through June of 2007, eBay had been spending $25 million every quarter with Google AdWords.
When major businesses spend $100 million per year in advertising with one advertiser, you can believe that the company is making that much back and more from the advertising provider.
It had been estimated that Google was delivering 12% of eBay's traffic, which is a very sound investment, since eBay generated $7.67 billion in revenues in 2007.
In theory, eBay was earning nearly $920 million per year from its $100 million investment into Google's AdWords advertising model. That is a very sound profit indeed.
For Every Online Success, There Are Dozens of Failures
Not all of us will create the next Yahoo, Google, eBay or Amazon. But, good money can be made online if you don't fall into the traps where many before you have fallen.
AdWords is a powerful advertising model. It can make millionaires and it does every year.
But the thing is that AdWords may not be the right advertising model for you to follow. It may not be the right advertising for you now and it may not be right for you ever.
If you understand that, it is less likely that you will fall into the poor house using Google AdWords.
Unfortunately, too many people have mortgaged their homes and driven themselves into bankruptcy using Google AdWords and other online companies to promote their online businesses.
I know of one person who threw tons of money into advertising, only to go $100,000 into debt, because he did not properly track his advertising and ROI (return-on-investment). In effect, he was spending $1.10 to get one person to his website, and he was getting one sale for every 200 people that visited his website.
So, he spent $220 to get one sale valued at $45. As you can imagine, he just went deeper and deeper into debt until one day he woke up and realized that he was on the road to ruin.
Had he properly tracked his advertising and ROI from the beginning, he would have been able to adjust his sales copy to see if he could turn a bad situation better.
If he could have simply improved his sales conversion rate to get five times as many sales (from half a percent conversion to two-and-a-half percent conversion), then he could have ridden the same bullet to mass profits.
Deep Pockets Are Not the Solution, But Wise Choices Are
First and foremost, a business must design itself to make a profit on its activities.
I know people who have developed businesses online that did well financially in the sales column, but the business owner failed in the quest to turn that income into a profit.
Imagine being the website owner who generated his first $120,000 year and then nearly went under because his prices were too low for the kind of service being offered.
After having been a successful sole proprietor online for five years, my friend said that his first six-figure year nearly put him out of business. He is just now beginning to recover financially from his mistakes, 18 months later.
Personal Business Mentors Could Help You Avoid The Landmines
When starting an online business, there are people who have been down the road you are getting ready to travel. They know where the potholes are in the road and they know where the landmines are buried.
To add a person of this caliber to your contact list could mean the difference between success and failure online.
It is a real added-benefit for online business people to have someone to turn to for advice, regarding how to overcome the hurdles they may face in their online business.
A good business mentor is an invaluable asset for many online businesses today. After all, as individual business owners, we can't be expected to know everything we need to know about running our online businesses.
We might have the basics covered, but there is always going to be a time when the experiences of others can help light the path in front of us.
None of us can know everything, especially in today's complicated world.
There are affordable business mentors and marketing coaches offering their services to online business owners.
What if you could benefit from their experiences -- both good and bad -- without having to spend the money and the time they did?
Think of their services as being like an insurance policy, helping ensure your success.
Over my many years online, I have learned a lot from the school of hard knocks. After having gone through SEO training and AdWords Professional training, one of my SEO mentors told me that people should never invest in Search Engine Optimization, until after they have spent six months doing another important task.
By utilizing that one very important piece of information, I was able to stop wasting my limited advertising resources and to start making a profit more quickly.
If you would like to know what this advice was, I would be happy to mentor your success as well.
You can even start with my Free Online Business Success and Marketing Course, available at my website.
ID: BP SWM 001 08.04.10
About the Author:
Are you considering starting your own online business? Have you been struggling with making money with your first business venture? Paul Marshall has been where you are now. Paul is a Strategic Marketing Coach, who has formal training and experience as a SEO Target Marketing consultant. To learn more about how Paul can assist you or to obtain his Free 7-Day Online Business and Marketing Course, please visit: http://strategicwebmarketing.net
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Several Pitfalls Of Buying An Expired Domain Name
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 John Khu
Some Simple Methods And Tricks To Choose The Best Expired Domain Name Choosing a good and workable expired domain name could be very confusing and tricky; most of us tend to choose and pick one that will eventually turns out a dud and wastage of time and money. Picking a good domain from thousands upon thousands may pose you some problems, because you just can't buy one looking at its name and syntax. Before choosing any, you will need to follow a strict guideline and protocol considered to be the norm of the business.
Several types of expired domain names could be purchased through a vendor. There are some perceptible differences that exist in the nature of the nomenclature of the domain names. Even though, a shorter version is costly, there are some longer domain names that are excellent as well. Before choosing one, you will need to look the following aspects that usually make expired domain names priceless and premium.
Top level domains: Many of the premium expired domain names are usually top level and you just have to type their name on the address bar of the browser to navigate to the web site.
Top level expired domain name is easy to remember and recall: It is very crucial to pick up a top level domain name because people can easily recall the URL of the web site. Big league names like Yahoo, Google and MSN are easy to recall web URLs that are so premium and rare. Proprietary nature: Most of the famous web URL's have one thing in common; each of them represent a particular business idea or concept. As you look at their name, you can easily create in instant opinion about what they sell and deal with. For example: Look at Amazon.com or Half.com.
Choosing a good expired domain name is as critical as creating a great looking web site. If possible, go for a top level domain and as far as possible, avoid a sub domain that resides within a main domain. Here is a classical example: Let us say that you have a memento selling business and you wish to go online to sell your products. Now, if you wish to buy an expired domain name, which one of the following do you prefer?
a) http://www.freewebsite.com/yourname/memento, b) http://www.your-online-memento-store.com c) http://www.YourOnlineMemento-CompanyName.com d) http://www.BuyMemento.com
Without any doubt, it makes a perfect sense to buy the last domain name (http://www.BuyMemento.com ). The reasons are very simple and straightforward: The simpler and brief you are, more visible and credible you will be! People flock to buy only simple and top level type of expired domain names. A simple top level expired domain name is more productive, result oriented and it offers better leverage to the owner. Such domains also offer and fetch you instant results and enhanced acceptance from site visitors. If you are intending to sell expired domain names to prospective buyers, your main goal should focus on buying those domains that are top level and effective in their nature.
About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is the owner of the path breaking web site called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Copyright © 2008 John Khu
Some Simple Methods And Tricks To Choose The Best Expired Domain Name Choosing a good and workable expired domain name could be very confusing and tricky; most of us tend to choose and pick one that will eventually turns out a dud and wastage of time and money. Picking a good domain from thousands upon thousands may pose you some problems, because you just can't buy one looking at its name and syntax. Before choosing any, you will need to follow a strict guideline and protocol considered to be the norm of the business.
Several types of expired domain names could be purchased through a vendor. There are some perceptible differences that exist in the nature of the nomenclature of the domain names. Even though, a shorter version is costly, there are some longer domain names that are excellent as well. Before choosing one, you will need to look the following aspects that usually make expired domain names priceless and premium.
Top level domains: Many of the premium expired domain names are usually top level and you just have to type their name on the address bar of the browser to navigate to the web site.
Top level expired domain name is easy to remember and recall: It is very crucial to pick up a top level domain name because people can easily recall the URL of the web site. Big league names like Yahoo, Google and MSN are easy to recall web URLs that are so premium and rare. Proprietary nature: Most of the famous web URL's have one thing in common; each of them represent a particular business idea or concept. As you look at their name, you can easily create in instant opinion about what they sell and deal with. For example: Look at Amazon.com or Half.com.
Choosing a good expired domain name is as critical as creating a great looking web site. If possible, go for a top level domain and as far as possible, avoid a sub domain that resides within a main domain. Here is a classical example: Let us say that you have a memento selling business and you wish to go online to sell your products. Now, if you wish to buy an expired domain name, which one of the following do you prefer?
a) http://www.freewebsite.com/yourname/memento, b) http://www.your-online-memento-store.com c) http://www.YourOnlineMemento-CompanyName.com d) http://www.BuyMemento.com
Without any doubt, it makes a perfect sense to buy the last domain name (http://www.BuyMemento.com ). The reasons are very simple and straightforward: The simpler and brief you are, more visible and credible you will be! People flock to buy only simple and top level type of expired domain names. A simple top level expired domain name is more productive, result oriented and it offers better leverage to the owner. Such domains also offer and fetch you instant results and enhanced acceptance from site visitors. If you are intending to sell expired domain names to prospective buyers, your main goal should focus on buying those domains that are top level and effective in their nature.
About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is the owner of the path breaking web site called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Most Important Ingredient for Info Product Success (is You)
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Judy Murdoch
Last week I was attending a conference and mentioned to someone I help small
business owners create information products. The other person was very friendly until I said "information products." Then the temperature in the room dropped about 10-degrees.
When I asked her why she seemed less than enthusiastic, she told me how disappointed she was with most of the information products she bought. In her experience, the products seemed like they were "just slapped together" and that "all the business owner seemed to care about was making money."
When people tell me this, I feel sad.
One reason I feel sad is because I've had the same experience. I buy an information product that seems to be what I need and what I get is a poorly written data dump. Even if there's useful information, I have to work so hard to figure out what it is and how to apply it, I give up in frustration. The other reason I feel said is because it doesn't need to be this way.
======================================= Why Information Products Suck =======================================
You see, the reason these products suck is not so much because they're information dumps or even because they're poorly written. It's because they're missing the essential ingredient that customers want: connection with the business owner.
Usually, when I buy something from a small business, it's because there's something about the business owner that resonates with me. It may be their take on business, or their sense of humor, or their way of explaining something. When this happens I want to hang out with them and learn more. If they offer information products such as books, articles, podcasts, and so on, this is a great way for me to get my daily, weekly, or monthly dose.
When a small business owner slaps something together and calls it an information product without investing themselves in the product, they may be
providing some helpful information but they're not providing customers with what they really want: a bit of themselves. When this happens, customers feel cheated.
======================================= How to Make Sure There's a Little Bit of You in Your Products =======================================
1. Tell a story --------------- Stories also allow you to personalize your experience and knowledge and allow others to experience you as your customers do. There's nothing better than a story about how you used your experience, knowledge, and resources to illustrate how add value.
2. Be real ----------
One of the greatest assets you have as a small business owner, is the human face you give your business.
When you can be real which means revealing your quirks and imperfections, you give your client permission to trust and ask for help. When I returned to school to get my MBA, I felt overwhelmed and scared for the first few months. All the other first year students seemed to be doing well and I assumed there was something wrong with me feeling the way I did.
Lucky for me, I was in a class taken mostly by second year students. I remember one of them asking me how things were going. "Oh, just great," I lied, "everything is going really well." "Really?" the second year student said. He was genuinely surprised. "Man, I hated my first year, especially the first semester. I almost dropped out." He then went on to say that as he got to know and trust the other students, the program got a lot easier.
Hearing this was a huge relief. It gave me permission to stop acting and start being myself. And when I started being myself, I began making friends with other students and actually enjoying school. The point is, you don't need to be perfect and your information products don't need to be perfect either. If you struggled to learn what you're teaching, say so. If you make mistakes and typos, apologize, fix them, and move on.
3. Take a stand, even if it's controversial -------------------------------------------
A few years ago, I spoke to a group of local business owners about guerrilla
marketing. I could tell the presentation didn't go well but I wasn't sure why. Over coffee, I asked the woman who booked me, why the audience seemed "less than thrilled." She told me a few people complained that when they asked me questions I kept qualifying my answers with "this is just my opinion." "We brought you in because you're an expert. We assume you're giving us your
opinion based on your experience in the field," she said, "when you apologize it sounds like you don't know what you're doing"
It's scary to take a stand on an issue when you're a business owner because you worry about losing prospective customers who disagree. But you are also demonstrating leadership for those who do agree and are looking for someone willing to speak up. There are issues in every industry that people have strong opinions on. If you sincerely have a position, and it's relevant within the context of your products, speak up and let your customers know where you stand and why.
4. Use your voice -----------------
You know when you read an article or listen to a podcast and you can just tell author is trying to be someone he or she thinks their customer wants them to be?
I'm not saying they sound bad. They just don't sound like themselves. The best thing that ever happened to me was when I stopped trying to write like a Corporate Marketing Android and started writing the way I would if I were explaining something to a respected friend or colleague.
======================================= Bottom Line =======================================
It's not hard to create information products customers love. Provide a bite-sized solution to a problem that they can easily implement. And put a little of yourself into your product using stories, being human, taking a stand, and writing in a conversational tone.
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Copyright © 2008 Judy Murdoch
Last week I was attending a conference and mentioned to someone I help small
business owners create information products. The other person was very friendly until I said "information products." Then the temperature in the room dropped about 10-degrees.
When I asked her why she seemed less than enthusiastic, she told me how disappointed she was with most of the information products she bought. In her experience, the products seemed like they were "just slapped together" and that "all the business owner seemed to care about was making money."
When people tell me this, I feel sad.
One reason I feel sad is because I've had the same experience. I buy an information product that seems to be what I need and what I get is a poorly written data dump. Even if there's useful information, I have to work so hard to figure out what it is and how to apply it, I give up in frustration. The other reason I feel said is because it doesn't need to be this way.
======================================= Why Information Products Suck =======================================
You see, the reason these products suck is not so much because they're information dumps or even because they're poorly written. It's because they're missing the essential ingredient that customers want: connection with the business owner.
Usually, when I buy something from a small business, it's because there's something about the business owner that resonates with me. It may be their take on business, or their sense of humor, or their way of explaining something. When this happens I want to hang out with them and learn more. If they offer information products such as books, articles, podcasts, and so on, this is a great way for me to get my daily, weekly, or monthly dose.
When a small business owner slaps something together and calls it an information product without investing themselves in the product, they may be
providing some helpful information but they're not providing customers with what they really want: a bit of themselves. When this happens, customers feel cheated.
======================================= How to Make Sure There's a Little Bit of You in Your Products =======================================
1. Tell a story --------------- Stories also allow you to personalize your experience and knowledge and allow others to experience you as your customers do. There's nothing better than a story about how you used your experience, knowledge, and resources to illustrate how add value.
2. Be real ----------
One of the greatest assets you have as a small business owner, is the human face you give your business.
When you can be real which means revealing your quirks and imperfections, you give your client permission to trust and ask for help. When I returned to school to get my MBA, I felt overwhelmed and scared for the first few months. All the other first year students seemed to be doing well and I assumed there was something wrong with me feeling the way I did.
Lucky for me, I was in a class taken mostly by second year students. I remember one of them asking me how things were going. "Oh, just great," I lied, "everything is going really well." "Really?" the second year student said. He was genuinely surprised. "Man, I hated my first year, especially the first semester. I almost dropped out." He then went on to say that as he got to know and trust the other students, the program got a lot easier.
Hearing this was a huge relief. It gave me permission to stop acting and start being myself. And when I started being myself, I began making friends with other students and actually enjoying school. The point is, you don't need to be perfect and your information products don't need to be perfect either. If you struggled to learn what you're teaching, say so. If you make mistakes and typos, apologize, fix them, and move on.
3. Take a stand, even if it's controversial -------------------------------------------
A few years ago, I spoke to a group of local business owners about guerrilla
marketing. I could tell the presentation didn't go well but I wasn't sure why. Over coffee, I asked the woman who booked me, why the audience seemed "less than thrilled." She told me a few people complained that when they asked me questions I kept qualifying my answers with "this is just my opinion." "We brought you in because you're an expert. We assume you're giving us your
opinion based on your experience in the field," she said, "when you apologize it sounds like you don't know what you're doing"
It's scary to take a stand on an issue when you're a business owner because you worry about losing prospective customers who disagree. But you are also demonstrating leadership for those who do agree and are looking for someone willing to speak up. There are issues in every industry that people have strong opinions on. If you sincerely have a position, and it's relevant within the context of your products, speak up and let your customers know where you stand and why.
4. Use your voice -----------------
You know when you read an article or listen to a podcast and you can just tell author is trying to be someone he or she thinks their customer wants them to be?
I'm not saying they sound bad. They just don't sound like themselves. The best thing that ever happened to me was when I stopped trying to write like a Corporate Marketing Android and started writing the way I would if I were explaining something to a respected friend or colleague.
======================================= Bottom Line =======================================
It's not hard to create information products customers love. Provide a bite-sized solution to a problem that they can easily implement. And put a little of yourself into your product using stories, being human, taking a stand, and writing in a conversational tone.
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Persuasion—a Powerful Tool
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Alvin Day
Without the ability to persuade people to agree with your ideas and propositions, your attempts to influence others will be ineffective and your success will be unpredictable. In order to get the end result you desire from a given situation, seek to further your knowledge of the art of persuasion. Whether you want to influence others in business or personal matters, the power to persuade is the most important tool you can add to your arsenal.
In my many years in the sales profession, I have observed human behavior, a subject that fascinates me greatly. I learned that a deep understanding of people's motivations is the most powerful tool anyone can use to persuade others. My experiences so far have led me to record and document a process that has created repeatable and predictable success for people who desire to get YES.
Take the following example: I recently helped a colleague create some promotional material for a community organization that she runs. In need of funds, she had decided to approach local store owners for donations, so she showed me the first draft of her pamphlet.
She had created an impressive flyer that spoke about the organization, its purpose, its achievements, and its future plans. I could see that a great deal of work had gone into informing prospects of the organization's background as well as other formal information. It was detailed and well organized, but it was completely ineffective in terms of persuasion power.
My colleague wrote the document from her point of view. She focused on issues that were important to her and paid little attention to the fact that the business owners she planned to approach may not share her interest. In the dangerous fashion of those who do not consider their customer, she had created something that many of them would never even read all the way through.
A mental shift was necessary in order to create a persuasive pamphlet that would inspire local business owners to answer her call to action. As one example, instead of beginning the pamphlet with a call for contribution, she would have been more effective by opening with a paragraph that included a benefit statement.
Evaluate these two opening statements:
1) "Contribute and Help Support the Arts in your Local Community." 2) " Become Known in your Community as a Generous Supporter of the Arts."
The first statement is a plain request for contribution; the second clearly leads with a benefit to potential contributors...esteem, recognition and reputation. One is far more persuasive than the other.
When you consider the first statement, it may seem obvious that contributing to a local community organization will have all of the great effects promised in the second statement. Naturally, everyone knows that when a business sponsors a community organization it will automatically be given a prestigious standing as a local contributor, a good reputation for "giving back," and a favorable opinion in the minds of local patrons. However, leaving this information to be intuitively figured out by the prospect is a big mistake.
What if your prospect does not figure it out? What if your prospect does not make the connection? Within your proposition, your prospect is looking for benefits; things he or she will get out of performing the action you are proposing.
When your prospect makes a final decision, it will be based mostly on his or her perception of these benefits. The only way you can be certain that all the benefits you feel your proposition offers are taken into consideration is if you clearly explain these benefits instead of hoping that the prospect will simply understand them.
Try this exercise to help you construct a more persuasive proposition.
Plan out what you will say as you present your product, service, idea, request etc. Visualize yourself having a conversation with the prospect about your proposition. Every time you make a point, picture your prospect asking the question, "Why would I want that?"
Doing this exercise, you should come up with answers that directly reflect what the prospect will gain from agreeing to your proposition.
Remember, in trying to persuade, your prospects are always wondering how your proposition will serve them. Approach your prospects by clearly communicating what is in it for them; this is more likely to heighten interest in your proposal and improve your chances of getting a "yes".
About the Author:
After 27 years leading Fortune 500 companies to earn millions of dollars, Alvin Day now simplifies the success principles to help people achieve and prosper in business and job. Get his free eBook, Ask and You Shall Receive -- visit this website: http://alvinday4free.com/ebook5/
Copyright © 2008 Alvin Day
Without the ability to persuade people to agree with your ideas and propositions, your attempts to influence others will be ineffective and your success will be unpredictable. In order to get the end result you desire from a given situation, seek to further your knowledge of the art of persuasion. Whether you want to influence others in business or personal matters, the power to persuade is the most important tool you can add to your arsenal.
In my many years in the sales profession, I have observed human behavior, a subject that fascinates me greatly. I learned that a deep understanding of people's motivations is the most powerful tool anyone can use to persuade others. My experiences so far have led me to record and document a process that has created repeatable and predictable success for people who desire to get YES.
Take the following example: I recently helped a colleague create some promotional material for a community organization that she runs. In need of funds, she had decided to approach local store owners for donations, so she showed me the first draft of her pamphlet.
She had created an impressive flyer that spoke about the organization, its purpose, its achievements, and its future plans. I could see that a great deal of work had gone into informing prospects of the organization's background as well as other formal information. It was detailed and well organized, but it was completely ineffective in terms of persuasion power.
My colleague wrote the document from her point of view. She focused on issues that were important to her and paid little attention to the fact that the business owners she planned to approach may not share her interest. In the dangerous fashion of those who do not consider their customer, she had created something that many of them would never even read all the way through.
A mental shift was necessary in order to create a persuasive pamphlet that would inspire local business owners to answer her call to action. As one example, instead of beginning the pamphlet with a call for contribution, she would have been more effective by opening with a paragraph that included a benefit statement.
Evaluate these two opening statements:
1) "Contribute and Help Support the Arts in your Local Community." 2) " Become Known in your Community as a Generous Supporter of the Arts."
The first statement is a plain request for contribution; the second clearly leads with a benefit to potential contributors...esteem, recognition and reputation. One is far more persuasive than the other.
When you consider the first statement, it may seem obvious that contributing to a local community organization will have all of the great effects promised in the second statement. Naturally, everyone knows that when a business sponsors a community organization it will automatically be given a prestigious standing as a local contributor, a good reputation for "giving back," and a favorable opinion in the minds of local patrons. However, leaving this information to be intuitively figured out by the prospect is a big mistake.
What if your prospect does not figure it out? What if your prospect does not make the connection? Within your proposition, your prospect is looking for benefits; things he or she will get out of performing the action you are proposing.
When your prospect makes a final decision, it will be based mostly on his or her perception of these benefits. The only way you can be certain that all the benefits you feel your proposition offers are taken into consideration is if you clearly explain these benefits instead of hoping that the prospect will simply understand them.
Try this exercise to help you construct a more persuasive proposition.
Doing this exercise, you should come up with answers that directly reflect what the prospect will gain from agreeing to your proposition.
Remember, in trying to persuade, your prospects are always wondering how your proposition will serve them. Approach your prospects by clearly communicating what is in it for them; this is more likely to heighten interest in your proposal and improve your chances of getting a "yes".
About the Author:
After 27 years leading Fortune 500 companies to earn millions of dollars, Alvin Day now simplifies the success principles to help people achieve and prosper in business and job. Get his free eBook, Ask and You Shall Receive -- visit this website: http://alvinday4free.com/ebook5/
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Writing Articles With Style - Create Quality Articles With CSS
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Elizabeth Adams
Writing your quality articles using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) will insure that your articles will be both easy to read and aesthetically pleasing to the viewer.
A CSS style sheet allows the HTML code for your articles to be cleaner, table-less, easily customizable, and "liquid."
Removing the display attributes of your articles from the HTML code allows you to concentrate on using the HTML for organizing your document's content.
When you use CSS, a new approach is possible to writing your articles for the Web:
First, you write your article in a very basic HTML document, using simple HTML code. At this stage, use only the most common HTML tags. Focus on organizing your article's content first.
Next, you identify parts of your document for special display formatting.
Finally, you define the formatting in the CSS file.
Once you work through this process, you can reuse both the HTML document and the CSS file as templates for your future, quality articles.
This article will provide the tips, tricks, and sample code to give you a head start in creating your own quality articles and templates using CSS. If this all seems complex and intimidating at first, don't despair--read on. I will explain the basic HTML and CSS terminology throughout the article.
THE BASIC HTML DOCUMENT
The basic HTML document is devided into several sections: html, head, and body.
Tags are used to demarcate document sections, or "elements." Content lies between the tags. For example, the article you are now reading lies between the body tags of an html document.
Tags usually exist in pairs, a start tag and and end tag. The start tag is surrounded by less-than and greater-than angle brackets. An end tag is bracketed with the same symbols but the first character of the tag is a forward slash (/). For example, HTML code for a paragraph element would include the start and end "p" tags with the content sandwiched between the two.
The basic tag pairs found in web pages are:
html -- These tags tell a browser that this is an HTML document and define the start and end of the document.
head -- The head element can contain information about the document. Although the browser does not present the information to a viewer, the information can be "seen" and used by search engines.
title -- The title tags define the title element that will be used by a browser for the document's title.
body -- The document's content is placed between the body tags.
In HTML 4.01, not all tags exist in pairs. The "!DOCTYPE" and "meta" tags do not use an end tag, for instance.
The first line of code in the basic document is the Document Type Definition (DTD). The !DOCTYPE tag tells the browser which HTML or XHTML specification the document uses. HTML 4.01 specifies three document types: Strict, Transitional, and Frameset.
The first meta tag in the basic HTML document provides information about how the page-content characters are encoded so that a browser can interpret them correctly.
If you want your articles to be widely seen on the Internet, you need to be particularly interested in the meta tags for keywords and description. These can be seen and used by search engines.
Use the "keyword name" and its related "content" in a meta tag to list your keywords or keyword phrases.
Keywords ought to be appropriate for the article content. They should also reflect what internet surfers actually type into a search engine's query box when hunting for the information you are offering.
Keyword research is a study in itself. Freeware is available on the Internet that can help you determine the best keywords to use in your article and keyword list. Keywords or keyword phrases within the meta tag need to be separated from each other with a comma.
Although not all search engines will utilize the description meta tag for their search results, you still need to include a good description for those that do.
If you had just a few characters to describe your article, or to entice a surfer to select yours from the results of a search, what would you write? What you would write is what should go into the description.
USING CASCADING STYLE SHEETS (CSS)
I have already suggested several reasons why today's preferred method of creating web pages is to separate a page's content from it's display properties. It's time for a demonstration of how this can be accomplished.
In the past, HTML tags included attributes to define how the content was to be displayed by a browser.
Today, CSS is used to concentrate these attributes in a single, separate file. Simple HTML code specifies "what" content is to be displayed; the CSS code defines "how" the content is to be displayed.
Before CSS can be used to format an HTML document, the name and location of the CSS file must be known to the browser. The browser gets this information through the HTML "link" tag that is coded between the head tags.
Once the CSS file is linked, the browser will check the CSS file for display attributes. For example, if the browser encounters an "h1" tag in the HTML code, it will check the CSS file for "h1" formatting. Here is the "h1" formatting information I included in the article.css file I use for my article titles:
h1
{
color:maroon;
text-align:center
}
When a browser encounters an "h1" tag in the HTML code, it would display the title centered and maroon.
SELECTING CONTENT FOR FORMATTING
Content formatting can be applied to an HTML document only after the content to be formatted has been identified to the browser. An easy way to do this is to place a "class" or "id" attribute within a start tag. The same class name can be used many times on a web page; each id name should be used just once per page.
Once content is identified, the class or id name can be referred to in the CSS file and the browser will apply any formatting attributes found there.
Selections Using Class Names
As an example of using the class name, I used the following CSS for in an article about writing ad headlines. In the HTML code, I used divisions tags with a class name of "headline" to demarcate the headline text. I added the following code to the CSS file:
.headline
{
font-size: 24px;
color: red;
font-weight:bold;
text-align:center
}
In the CSS file, I specified the font-size, color, font-weight, and text-align attributes. The class name was added to the CSS file by preceeding the name with a period. I used a semicolon to separate attributes in the list. The HTML and CSS code combine to produce a bold, 24px, red headline centered in the HTML page.
It should be noted that there are some basic HTML tags that are their own class names and do not require a preceding period in the CSS file. These include p, h, body, li, and others. That being said, these tags can be modified by appending an additional class name to them. For example, if I wanted to make the next paragraph blue, I could add a "blue" class attribute to the opening HTML "p" tag and then add this code to the CSS file:
p.blue
{
color:#0000FF
}
This would be a blue paragraph if this HTML were displayed in color.
Selections Using ID Names
The CSS syntax for an ID is a little different from that used for a class. In the CSS file, ID names are proceeded with a pound sign (#). The example below "floats" my 288px by 59px logo image to the left of the following paragraph: the text flows around the image. I added an ID attribute with a name of "logo" to the HTML "div" start tag I used to demarcate the image information. Here is the CSS code I used:
#logo
{
float:left
}
The HTML and CSS code would combine to produce the following results:
~~~LOGO WOULD FLOAT HERE~~ Text here would flow around the logo.
Selections Using Span Tags
If you want to format just a bit of content, you can use span tags
In the article.css file, I defined a background-color attribute for a "highlight" class that will put a yellow background behind selected text. For the next paragraph, I used span tags to bracket the text, "separate attributes." Here is the CSS code:
.highlight
{
background-color:yellow
}
As a result, and if this were in color, the phrase "separate attributes" would be highlighted with a yellow background.
LOOKS AND LAYOUT
A careful selection of the "global" characteristics used for the body element of your web page will insure that your articles will be both easy to read and aesthetically pleasing to the viewer. These characteristics include font, font color, page background color, and page margins.
I use the "body" code in the CSS file to define the default body display attributes. Here is the CSS body code from the article.css file:
body
{
background: #fffef2;
color: black;
line-height: normal;
margin: 3% 25% 3% 25%;
}
Fonts
In the CSS body code, I specify the font family I want to use. The first font listed, Verdana, will be used by a browser if it exists on a viewer's PC. If Verdana is not available, the other fonts will be checked, in order. If none of the specific fonts are available, the browser will default to any available sans-serif font.
If you use a commonly available font/font-family for your articles, the chances are good that a reader will see the article as expected. Otherwise, your article might not look the way it should.
Verdana was designed for easy readability on computer monitors and, for this reason, is my font of choice. Since Verdana is commonly available on PCs, using this as the default font will also increase the likelihood that my article text will be displayed as I intended.
Page Background
I set the background color to a light color, the font color to black, and the line height, or spacing between lines, to normal. The background color I like to use (#fffef2) shows colored text and graphics to good advantage.
Margins
I like to adjust the article on my page to show content in roughly the middle half of the page. I think it is easier for the eye to process than content that goes edge to edge. I use the CSS margin attribute to adjust this. The margin attribute defines the top, right, bottom, and left margins respectively (margin: top right bottom left).
In the CSS body code above, I set the left and right margins to 25% of the available display width. Using 25% places about 60 characters per line of text on my 1024x768 pixel full-screen display. I also set a small 3% margin above and below the content.
Lists
If you use a list in your article, you can use the CSS file to customize the way your list looks. Two important considerations of list design are the list bullet and the spacing between list elements. The example below shows how to change the bullet graphic and element spacing of an unordered list:
li
{
list-style-position: inside;
list-style-image: url
(http://www.elizabethadamsdirect.com/articles/images/small_blob.gif);
list-style-type: none;
margin-bottom: 1em
}
I added two list attributes to customize the list:
1. list-style-image - used to specify the URL to a bullet image (not shown below), and
2. margin-bottom - used to provide some extra space between list items.
For a complete description of possible list attributes--as well as great tutorials on using HTML and CSS--you can visit http://www.w3schools.com
Entity Names
Some characters have special meaning in HTML documents. When you want to use these characters in your text, you can use their "entity names" to prevent browsers from misinterpreting them for HTML code. I used entity names extensively for my web version of this article to display many symbols, particularly in the code samples.
Most commonly, I use entity names in my HTML code for quote marks. By doing this, I get the look and feel I want in my text when I use quotes. For example, when I want to use distinctly different left and right quote-marks in my web-based titles and headlines, I use specific entity names to do so.
Careful attention to the entity names you use can add "that extra touch of class" to your articles.
For HTML 4.01, there are entity names for both ASCII and extended characters and symbols. I use an entity name to insert a copyright symbol at the bottom of all of my web pages. You can find a complete list of entity names at w3schools.
I use Dreamweaver 8 for my HTML and CSS editing. With Dreamweaver, I can validate my code as I write it. I have optioned the validator to warn me when entity name substitution might be appropriate.
Validating Your HTML and CSS Code
I like to write valid HTML code for the "!DOCTYPE" version I use. If you click on the w3 validation icon at the bottom of my full-color, web-site version of this article, you will see that the HTML code for the article is valid and error free. You can use the validator accessible through w3schools to check your code, too.
CONCLUSIONS
When you separate your article's content from the code browsers use to display your article, you can focus on using simple, basic HTML code to organize your content. A Cascading Style Sheets(CSS) can accomplish the separation.
A CSS style sheet allows the HTML code for your articles to be cleaner, table-less, easily customizable, and "liquid."
You can look at one of my recently published articles to see the results of using the techniques outlined in this article. The article is "Profitable Ads: How to Write Ads that Pull."
Sincerely Yours,
Elizabeth Adams
About the Author:
Elizabeth Adams has been writing direct sales copy since the early 1990's, when she employed several people to handle mailings and product fulfillment for her postcard marketing business. Elizabeth learned in direct mail how to tweak her sales copy on the run and improve her sales conversion by as much as 400% in only one mailing. She learned how to write a great headline and effective sales copy. Get "Great Headlines — Instantly" today to learn how to do for yourself what Elizabeth learned in the trenches: http://www.elizabethadamsdirect.com/greatheadlines
Copyright © 2008 Elizabeth Adams
Writing your quality articles using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) will insure that your articles will be both easy to read and aesthetically pleasing to the viewer.
A CSS style sheet allows the HTML code for your articles to be cleaner, table-less, easily customizable, and "liquid."
Removing the display attributes of your articles from the HTML code allows you to concentrate on using the HTML for organizing your document's content.
When you use CSS, a new approach is possible to writing your articles for the Web:
Once you work through this process, you can reuse both the HTML document and the CSS file as templates for your future, quality articles.
This article will provide the tips, tricks, and sample code to give you a head start in creating your own quality articles and templates using CSS. If this all seems complex and intimidating at first, don't despair--read on. I will explain the basic HTML and CSS terminology throughout the article.
THE BASIC HTML DOCUMENT
The basic HTML document is devided into several sections: html, head, and body.
Tags are used to demarcate document sections, or "elements." Content lies between the tags. For example, the article you are now reading lies between the body tags of an html document.
Tags usually exist in pairs, a start tag and and end tag. The start tag is surrounded by less-than and greater-than angle brackets. An end tag is bracketed with the same symbols but the first character of the tag is a forward slash (/). For example, HTML code for a paragraph element would include the start and end "p" tags with the content sandwiched between the two.
The basic tag pairs found in web pages are:
In HTML 4.01, not all tags exist in pairs. The "!DOCTYPE" and "meta" tags do not use an end tag, for instance.
The first line of code in the basic document is the Document Type Definition (DTD). The !DOCTYPE tag tells the browser which HTML or XHTML specification the document uses. HTML 4.01 specifies three document types: Strict, Transitional, and Frameset.
The first meta tag in the basic HTML document provides information about how the page-content characters are encoded so that a browser can interpret them correctly.
If you want your articles to be widely seen on the Internet, you need to be particularly interested in the meta tags for keywords and description. These can be seen and used by search engines.
Use the "keyword name" and its related "content" in a meta tag to list your keywords or keyword phrases.
Keywords ought to be appropriate for the article content. They should also reflect what internet surfers actually type into a search engine's query box when hunting for the information you are offering.
Keyword research is a study in itself. Freeware is available on the Internet that can help you determine the best keywords to use in your article and keyword list. Keywords or keyword phrases within the meta tag need to be separated from each other with a comma.
Although not all search engines will utilize the description meta tag for their search results, you still need to include a good description for those that do.
If you had just a few characters to describe your article, or to entice a surfer to select yours from the results of a search, what would you write? What you would write is what should go into the description.
USING CASCADING STYLE SHEETS (CSS)
I have already suggested several reasons why today's preferred method of creating web pages is to separate a page's content from it's display properties. It's time for a demonstration of how this can be accomplished.
In the past, HTML tags included attributes to define how the content was to be displayed by a browser.
Today, CSS is used to concentrate these attributes in a single, separate file. Simple HTML code specifies "what" content is to be displayed; the CSS code defines "how" the content is to be displayed.
Before CSS can be used to format an HTML document, the name and location of the CSS file must be known to the browser. The browser gets this information through the HTML "link" tag that is coded between the head tags.
Once the CSS file is linked, the browser will check the CSS file for display attributes. For example, if the browser encounters an "h1" tag in the HTML code, it will check the CSS file for "h1" formatting. Here is the "h1" formatting information I included in the article.css file I use for my article titles:
h1
{
color:maroon;
text-align:center
}
When a browser encounters an "h1" tag in the HTML code, it would display the title centered and maroon.
SELECTING CONTENT FOR FORMATTING
Content formatting can be applied to an HTML document only after the content to be formatted has been identified to the browser. An easy way to do this is to place a "class" or "id" attribute within a start tag. The same class name can be used many times on a web page; each id name should be used just once per page.
Once content is identified, the class or id name can be referred to in the CSS file and the browser will apply any formatting attributes found there.
Selections Using Class Names
As an example of using the class name, I used the following CSS for in an article about writing ad headlines. In the HTML code, I used divisions tags with a class name of "headline" to demarcate the headline text. I added the following code to the CSS file:
.headline
{
font-size: 24px;
color: red;
font-weight:bold;
text-align:center
}
In the CSS file, I specified the font-size, color, font-weight, and text-align attributes. The class name was added to the CSS file by preceeding the name with a period. I used a semicolon to separate attributes in the list. The HTML and CSS code combine to produce a bold, 24px, red headline centered in the HTML page.
It should be noted that there are some basic HTML tags that are their own class names and do not require a preceding period in the CSS file. These include p, h, body, li, and others. That being said, these tags can be modified by appending an additional class name to them. For example, if I wanted to make the next paragraph blue, I could add a "blue" class attribute to the opening HTML "p" tag and then add this code to the CSS file:
p.blue
{
color:#0000FF
}
This would be a blue paragraph if this HTML were displayed in color.
Selections Using ID Names
The CSS syntax for an ID is a little different from that used for a class. In the CSS file, ID names are proceeded with a pound sign (#). The example below "floats" my 288px by 59px logo image to the left of the following paragraph: the text flows around the image. I added an ID attribute with a name of "logo" to the HTML "div" start tag I used to demarcate the image information. Here is the CSS code I used:
#logo
{
float:left
}
The HTML and CSS code would combine to produce the following results:
~~~LOGO WOULD FLOAT HERE~~ Text here would flow around the logo.
Selections Using Span Tags
If you want to format just a bit of content, you can use span tags
In the article.css file, I defined a background-color attribute for a "highlight" class that will put a yellow background behind selected text. For the next paragraph, I used span tags to bracket the text, "separate attributes." Here is the CSS code:
.highlight
{
background-color:yellow
}
As a result, and if this were in color, the phrase "separate attributes" would be highlighted with a yellow background.
LOOKS AND LAYOUT
A careful selection of the "global" characteristics used for the body element of your web page will insure that your articles will be both easy to read and aesthetically pleasing to the viewer. These characteristics include font, font color, page background color, and page margins.
I use the "body" code in the CSS file to define the default body display attributes. Here is the CSS body code from the article.css file:
body
{
background: #fffef2;
color: black;
line-height: normal;
margin: 3% 25% 3% 25%;
}
Fonts
In the CSS body code, I specify the font family I want to use. The first font listed, Verdana, will be used by a browser if it exists on a viewer's PC. If Verdana is not available, the other fonts will be checked, in order. If none of the specific fonts are available, the browser will default to any available sans-serif font.
If you use a commonly available font/font-family for your articles, the chances are good that a reader will see the article as expected. Otherwise, your article might not look the way it should.
Verdana was designed for easy readability on computer monitors and, for this reason, is my font of choice. Since Verdana is commonly available on PCs, using this as the default font will also increase the likelihood that my article text will be displayed as I intended.
Page Background
I set the background color to a light color, the font color to black, and the line height, or spacing between lines, to normal. The background color I like to use (#fffef2) shows colored text and graphics to good advantage.
Margins
I like to adjust the article on my page to show content in roughly the middle half of the page. I think it is easier for the eye to process than content that goes edge to edge. I use the CSS margin attribute to adjust this. The margin attribute defines the top, right, bottom, and left margins respectively (margin: top right bottom left).
In the CSS body code above, I set the left and right margins to 25% of the available display width. Using 25% places about 60 characters per line of text on my 1024x768 pixel full-screen display. I also set a small 3% margin above and below the content.
Lists
If you use a list in your article, you can use the CSS file to customize the way your list looks. Two important considerations of list design are the list bullet and the spacing between list elements. The example below shows how to change the bullet graphic and element spacing of an unordered list:
li
{
list-style-position: inside;
list-style-image: url
(http://www.elizabethadamsdirect.com/articles/images/small_blob.gif);
list-style-type: none;
margin-bottom: 1em
}
I added two list attributes to customize the list:
1. list-style-image - used to specify the URL to a bullet image (not shown below), and
2. margin-bottom - used to provide some extra space between list items.
For a complete description of possible list attributes--as well as great tutorials on using HTML and CSS--you can visit http://www.w3schools.com
Entity Names
Some characters have special meaning in HTML documents. When you want to use these characters in your text, you can use their "entity names" to prevent browsers from misinterpreting them for HTML code. I used entity names extensively for my web version of this article to display many symbols, particularly in the code samples.
Most commonly, I use entity names in my HTML code for quote marks. By doing this, I get the look and feel I want in my text when I use quotes. For example, when I want to use distinctly different left and right quote-marks in my web-based titles and headlines, I use specific entity names to do so.
Careful attention to the entity names you use can add "that extra touch of class" to your articles.
For HTML 4.01, there are entity names for both ASCII and extended characters and symbols. I use an entity name to insert a copyright symbol at the bottom of all of my web pages. You can find a complete list of entity names at w3schools.
I use Dreamweaver 8 for my HTML and CSS editing. With Dreamweaver, I can validate my code as I write it. I have optioned the validator to warn me when entity name substitution might be appropriate.
Validating Your HTML and CSS Code
I like to write valid HTML code for the "!DOCTYPE" version I use. If you click on the w3 validation icon at the bottom of my full-color, web-site version of this article, you will see that the HTML code for the article is valid and error free. You can use the validator accessible through w3schools to check your code, too.
CONCLUSIONS
When you separate your article's content from the code browsers use to display your article, you can focus on using simple, basic HTML code to organize your content. A Cascading Style Sheets(CSS) can accomplish the separation.
A CSS style sheet allows the HTML code for your articles to be cleaner, table-less, easily customizable, and "liquid."
You can look at one of my recently published articles to see the results of using the techniques outlined in this article. The article is "Profitable Ads: How to Write Ads that Pull."
Sincerely Yours,
Elizabeth Adams
About the Author:
Elizabeth Adams has been writing direct sales copy since the early 1990's, when she employed several people to handle mailings and product fulfillment for her postcard marketing business. Elizabeth learned in direct mail how to tweak her sales copy on the run and improve her sales conversion by as much as 400% in only one mailing. She learned how to write a great headline and effective sales copy. Get "Great Headlines — Instantly" today to learn how to do for yourself what Elizabeth learned in the trenches: http://www.elizabethadamsdirect.com/greatheadlines
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Top 10 US Cities and Their Biggest Companies
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Melissa Mashtonio
Have you ever wondered what the largest company is in your city? I did. I'm in Columbus, Ohio, and I was sure that Nationwide Insurance was the largest company (by revenue) here. I was wrong. It turns out there's an entire JP Morgan Chase entity based right here in my hometown. So that got me wondering about other big cities. And an easy search shows that the largest cities in the world rarely are home to the largest companies.
According to U.S. Census statistics from July 1, 2006, the 10 most populated cities in the United States are:
1. New York City
2. Los Angeles
3. Chicago
4. Houston
5. Phoenix
6. Philadelphia
7. San Antonio
8. San Diego
9. Dallas
10. San Jose
See if you can guess the biggest company in all these cites. Read on to find out if you're right.
New York City
When you think of NYC, you think of money, so this is probably an easy one to guess. Despite a disastrous couple of years, Citigroup is still No. 1 in NYC. One of the largest financial services firms on the planet, Citigroup has offices all over the world.
Los Angeles
When you think L.A., you think Hollywood studios, right? Wrong. In fact, it's unlikely you'll ever see a celebrity wandering the halls of LA's largest company. Northrop Grumman is the world's No. 1 shipbuilder and a top defense supplier. The company made news in early 2008 after being awarded a hefty contract to build Air Force refueling tankers. Northrop Grumman's partnership with Netherlands-based Airbus sparked a "Buy American" outcry from its archrival Boeing Corp.
Chicago
Speaking of Boeing, would it surprise you to know that the aerospace company (of Seattle-area fame) is actually the largest company based in Chicago? With more than $61.5 billion in sales in 2007, the profits keep flying in the windy city.
Houston
It's Texas, so it must be oil. But it's not ExxonMobil or Chevron that dominates the Houston market. Its ConocoPhillips, formed by the merger in 2002 of Conoco and Phillips Petroleum. The company owns Marathon Oil Corp. but did you know ConocoPhillips also owns Continental Airlines and trash giant Waste Management?
Phoenix
Spring training, sun and semiconductors? That's right. The biggest company in Phoenix is Avnet, Inc., one of the world's largest distributors of semiconductors, electromechanical components and other technology products. Another Phoenix tidbit: Petsmart, the nation's largest pet services store (and a personal favorite of my pooch) is No. 4 in Phoenix.
Philadelphia
When Ben Franklin flew that kite in the 18th century and jump-started America's insatiable need for energy, he may never have dreamed that in the 21st century, his City of Brotherly Love would be home to one of the largest petroleum refining companies in the world. Formed by the merger of many other companies, Sunoco has been around in one form or another since 1905.
San Antonio
It seems like sun and energy companies go hand in hand. Topping all other companies in San Antonio is Valero Energy. Named after the Alamo (the Mission San Antonio de Valero), the company is the largest independent oil refiner in the U.S.
San Diego
And in keeping with the energy theme, San Diego-based Sempra Energy serves the largest customer base of any energy utility in the United States. Maybe they've figured a way to turn sun, surf and sailors into renewable energy.
Dallas
Dallas means big oil and big hair, but neither ExxonMobile nor Nieman-Marcus is tops in Dallas. (Exxon's based in nearby Irving; Nieman's is only Dallas' 13th largest company.) But Dallas' largest company depends on who you ask and when. Homebuilder Centex Corp. and tech maker Texas Instruments are so close in earnings that the No. 1 ranking is constantly changing.
San Jose
The only question when trying to guess the biggest employer in San Jose is which tech company is on top. That'd be Cisco Systems, the ubiquitous maker of network routers, switches and other computer peripherals.
About the Author:
Melissa Mashtonio writes for Manta, the go-to site for researching company profiles. The site (http://www.manta.com) offers free research on more than 45 million companies in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the UK. Use Manta.com to find the largest companies in your city.
Copyright © 2008 Melissa Mashtonio
Have you ever wondered what the largest company is in your city? I did. I'm in Columbus, Ohio, and I was sure that Nationwide Insurance was the largest company (by revenue) here. I was wrong. It turns out there's an entire JP Morgan Chase entity based right here in my hometown. So that got me wondering about other big cities. And an easy search shows that the largest cities in the world rarely are home to the largest companies.
According to U.S. Census statistics from July 1, 2006, the 10 most populated cities in the United States are:
1. New York City
2. Los Angeles
3. Chicago
4. Houston
5. Phoenix
6. Philadelphia
7. San Antonio
8. San Diego
9. Dallas
10. San Jose
See if you can guess the biggest company in all these cites. Read on to find out if you're right.
New York City
When you think of NYC, you think of money, so this is probably an easy one to guess. Despite a disastrous couple of years, Citigroup is still No. 1 in NYC. One of the largest financial services firms on the planet, Citigroup has offices all over the world.
Los Angeles
When you think L.A., you think Hollywood studios, right? Wrong. In fact, it's unlikely you'll ever see a celebrity wandering the halls of LA's largest company. Northrop Grumman is the world's No. 1 shipbuilder and a top defense supplier. The company made news in early 2008 after being awarded a hefty contract to build Air Force refueling tankers. Northrop Grumman's partnership with Netherlands-based Airbus sparked a "Buy American" outcry from its archrival Boeing Corp.
Chicago
Speaking of Boeing, would it surprise you to know that the aerospace company (of Seattle-area fame) is actually the largest company based in Chicago? With more than $61.5 billion in sales in 2007, the profits keep flying in the windy city.
Houston
It's Texas, so it must be oil. But it's not ExxonMobil or Chevron that dominates the Houston market. Its ConocoPhillips, formed by the merger in 2002 of Conoco and Phillips Petroleum. The company owns Marathon Oil Corp. but did you know ConocoPhillips also owns Continental Airlines and trash giant Waste Management?
Phoenix
Spring training, sun and semiconductors? That's right. The biggest company in Phoenix is Avnet, Inc., one of the world's largest distributors of semiconductors, electromechanical components and other technology products. Another Phoenix tidbit: Petsmart, the nation's largest pet services store (and a personal favorite of my pooch) is No. 4 in Phoenix.
Philadelphia
When Ben Franklin flew that kite in the 18th century and jump-started America's insatiable need for energy, he may never have dreamed that in the 21st century, his City of Brotherly Love would be home to one of the largest petroleum refining companies in the world. Formed by the merger of many other companies, Sunoco has been around in one form or another since 1905.
San Antonio
It seems like sun and energy companies go hand in hand. Topping all other companies in San Antonio is Valero Energy. Named after the Alamo (the Mission San Antonio de Valero), the company is the largest independent oil refiner in the U.S.
San Diego
And in keeping with the energy theme, San Diego-based Sempra Energy serves the largest customer base of any energy utility in the United States. Maybe they've figured a way to turn sun, surf and sailors into renewable energy.
Dallas
Dallas means big oil and big hair, but neither ExxonMobile nor Nieman-Marcus is tops in Dallas. (Exxon's based in nearby Irving; Nieman's is only Dallas' 13th largest company.) But Dallas' largest company depends on who you ask and when. Homebuilder Centex Corp. and tech maker Texas Instruments are so close in earnings that the No. 1 ranking is constantly changing.
San Jose
The only question when trying to guess the biggest employer in San Jose is which tech company is on top. That'd be Cisco Systems, the ubiquitous maker of network routers, switches and other computer peripherals.
About the Author:
Melissa Mashtonio writes for Manta, the go-to site for researching company profiles. The site (http://www.manta.com) offers free research on more than 45 million companies in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the UK. Use Manta.com to find the largest companies in your city.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Learning More About Expired Web Domain Expiry And Deletion Patterns
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 John Khu
Just before a particular expired web domain expires and becomes available for open sale, it will undergo several passages of legal procedures. Here is a brief flowchart of the presumed life cycle through which a typical expired web domain traverses its eventful passage: abo An active web domain may become redundant, when the buyer of that domain somehow misses renewing the domain name for another term. An expired web domain is an open marketable commodity that is available and open for all internet surfers. Just before a web domain expires, the concerned authorities will place the said domain under a series of legal procedures. As an expired web domain entrepreneur, you may need to know these simple legal procedures.
Holding period: This is the first of the series of legal procedures through which a said expired web domain traverses through. Holding period is a specific stage that lies within the registrar\'s exclusive control and hold.
Redemption Period: This is a grace period, when the registrar forwards a special favor by paying the renewal fees for the expired web domain in question. This facility is available for the first 45 days, soon after the non-receipt of renewal fees. The registrar will pay the fees in the real hope that the owner of the domain will pay the renewal charges.
The 2nd Stage of Redemption: Once the said expired web domain passes its 45 days of grace period, the registrar will soon announcement the non-payment of renewal fees. In essence, this is the end of the waiting period and the owner may soon loose the control over the expired web domain.
The Stage of Expiry: The final stages of expiry and deletion of an expired web domain lasts to about a month and at this stage the said domain comes back the registrar due to the non-payment of renewal fees.
The Stage of Deletion: This marks the end of the process and the web domain soon turns an expired web domain. This is the most critical stage, when the said expired web domain reverts back to the open market, when anyone can pay the fees and buy it.
Here are some more additional details about expired web domain registration and deletion:
You can register a web domain for a period of one to ten years If you do not pay renewal fees on time, you will get a series of e mail notices about the nonpayment, with an additional instruction to pay the fees. When you pay up the fees on time, you will never need to worry about your domain becoming an expired web domain.
Learning more on how a domain turns into an expired web domain is very critical and important. Additional information and details on this unique topic will help you enrich your skills and knowledge of acquiring expired web domains in an effective manner.
About the Author:
John Khu is the well-known author of a new e-book titled "Expired Domain Secret". He is also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web site called www.expireddomainsecret.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Copyright © 2008 John Khu
Just before a particular expired web domain expires and becomes available for open sale, it will undergo several passages of legal procedures. Here is a brief flowchart of the presumed life cycle through which a typical expired web domain traverses its eventful passage: abo An active web domain may become redundant, when the buyer of that domain somehow misses renewing the domain name for another term. An expired web domain is an open marketable commodity that is available and open for all internet surfers. Just before a web domain expires, the concerned authorities will place the said domain under a series of legal procedures. As an expired web domain entrepreneur, you may need to know these simple legal procedures.
Holding period: This is the first of the series of legal procedures through which a said expired web domain traverses through. Holding period is a specific stage that lies within the registrar\'s exclusive control and hold.
Redemption Period: This is a grace period, when the registrar forwards a special favor by paying the renewal fees for the expired web domain in question. This facility is available for the first 45 days, soon after the non-receipt of renewal fees. The registrar will pay the fees in the real hope that the owner of the domain will pay the renewal charges.
The 2nd Stage of Redemption: Once the said expired web domain passes its 45 days of grace period, the registrar will soon announcement the non-payment of renewal fees. In essence, this is the end of the waiting period and the owner may soon loose the control over the expired web domain.
The Stage of Expiry: The final stages of expiry and deletion of an expired web domain lasts to about a month and at this stage the said domain comes back the registrar due to the non-payment of renewal fees.
The Stage of Deletion: This marks the end of the process and the web domain soon turns an expired web domain. This is the most critical stage, when the said expired web domain reverts back to the open market, when anyone can pay the fees and buy it.
Here are some more additional details about expired web domain registration and deletion:
Learning more on how a domain turns into an expired web domain is very critical and important. Additional information and details on this unique topic will help you enrich your skills and knowledge of acquiring expired web domains in an effective manner.
About the Author:
John Khu is the well-known author of a new e-book titled "Expired Domain Secret". He is also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web site called www.expireddomainsecret.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
The Secret To Making Successful Business Connections
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2006-2008 Kate Smalley
If you have a hard time making successful business connections, don't despair. Anyone can be good at meeting people-if they use the right technique. The whole secret to making a positive connection is knowing how to attract people and inspire them to want to give you a chance.
Here are seven proven strategies to help you make successful business connections:
1. Carry yourself well and look professional. If people don't know you at ALL, they are going to completely judge you by the way you look. It's unfortunate, but it's true. So, make sure you dress appropriately and your hair is well groomed. And be sure to look people straight in the eye and firmly shake their hand when meeting them.
Also, make a special effort to have a clear, professional speaking voice-particularly if your first encounter is over the phone. Practice what you're going to say in your head or out loud, so you don't stumble on your words.
2. Know your outcomes. What do you want from this person and what's your objective? You should ALWAYS ask yourself this question before you make contact with anyone. In a business situation, you want to be really clear as to what your outcomes are. For most business people, the outcomes are to let prospects know who you are, why they should be interested in you, and what your goal is.
3. Always smile. When you see someone smile, it tells you that they're approachable. People like people who seem approachable because they feel more comfortable with them and will trust them more. So make sure you show those pearly whites and practice being sincere with your smile. And if you're contacting someone over the phone, it's important to still smile because people can tell by your voice if you're not.
4. Be honest. People can tell when someone is giving them baloney, so be sincere when you make contact with someone. You're taking up their most precious commodity - time. And if you're in sales and have to read from a script, memorize it so you can talk naturally. This will make you seem more genuine and credible.
5. Offer something they need. It's so important to not bother people with things that they don't have time for or need. If you're not sure that they'll be interested in what you have to say, make your introduction short and sweet. Then see if they're interested in hearing the rest of what you're articulating. To position your introduction to impress them, do some research to find out what would interest them. You can conduct your research by going on the Internet, reading about them in magazines, going to the library, talking with their employees or meeting their business associates.
6. Go out of your way. If someone is legitimately busy and they can't talk with you, go out of your way to find out what's convenient for them. Also, if the person you're trying to contact tells you they feel more comfortable meeting you in person rather than having a telephone discussion, go meet them if it's really important to you.
7. Be bold and daring...but in a tactful way. Make the call or make an in-person introduction to the person you want to meet. Don't sit around and contemplate if you should do it because it will never happen. It's natural to get intimidated, but be bold and daring by pushing your fear away and taking action. However, always conduct yourself in a tactful way, so you don't harass people. Otherwise, people won't like you and won't want to listen to what you have to say.
Don't be intimidated at the thought of contacting successful people. Remember: They are still people, and they're no different from you. So get out there and make contact. The worst that could happen is that they say, "No, I'm not interested". The best thing that could happen is that they are interested! So as Nike says: "Just do it." Start taking steps toward making successful connections.
About the Author:
Copyright 2006, Kate Smalley
Connecticut Secretary
Transcription Services and Secretarial Support
http://www.connecticutsecretary.com
kms@connecticutsecretary.com
Copyright © 2006-2008 Kate Smalley
If you have a hard time making successful business connections, don't despair. Anyone can be good at meeting people-if they use the right technique. The whole secret to making a positive connection is knowing how to attract people and inspire them to want to give you a chance.
Here are seven proven strategies to help you make successful business connections:
1. Carry yourself well and look professional. If people don't know you at ALL, they are going to completely judge you by the way you look. It's unfortunate, but it's true. So, make sure you dress appropriately and your hair is well groomed. And be sure to look people straight in the eye and firmly shake their hand when meeting them.
Also, make a special effort to have a clear, professional speaking voice-particularly if your first encounter is over the phone. Practice what you're going to say in your head or out loud, so you don't stumble on your words.
2. Know your outcomes. What do you want from this person and what's your objective? You should ALWAYS ask yourself this question before you make contact with anyone. In a business situation, you want to be really clear as to what your outcomes are. For most business people, the outcomes are to let prospects know who you are, why they should be interested in you, and what your goal is.
3. Always smile. When you see someone smile, it tells you that they're approachable. People like people who seem approachable because they feel more comfortable with them and will trust them more. So make sure you show those pearly whites and practice being sincere with your smile. And if you're contacting someone over the phone, it's important to still smile because people can tell by your voice if you're not.
4. Be honest. People can tell when someone is giving them baloney, so be sincere when you make contact with someone. You're taking up their most precious commodity - time. And if you're in sales and have to read from a script, memorize it so you can talk naturally. This will make you seem more genuine and credible.
5. Offer something they need. It's so important to not bother people with things that they don't have time for or need. If you're not sure that they'll be interested in what you have to say, make your introduction short and sweet. Then see if they're interested in hearing the rest of what you're articulating. To position your introduction to impress them, do some research to find out what would interest them. You can conduct your research by going on the Internet, reading about them in magazines, going to the library, talking with their employees or meeting their business associates.
6. Go out of your way. If someone is legitimately busy and they can't talk with you, go out of your way to find out what's convenient for them. Also, if the person you're trying to contact tells you they feel more comfortable meeting you in person rather than having a telephone discussion, go meet them if it's really important to you.
7. Be bold and daring...but in a tactful way. Make the call or make an in-person introduction to the person you want to meet. Don't sit around and contemplate if you should do it because it will never happen. It's natural to get intimidated, but be bold and daring by pushing your fear away and taking action. However, always conduct yourself in a tactful way, so you don't harass people. Otherwise, people won't like you and won't want to listen to what you have to say.
Don't be intimidated at the thought of contacting successful people. Remember: They are still people, and they're no different from you. So get out there and make contact. The worst that could happen is that they say, "No, I'm not interested". The best thing that could happen is that they are interested! So as Nike says: "Just do it." Start taking steps toward making successful connections.
About the Author:
Copyright 2006, Kate Smalley
Connecticut Secretary
Transcription Services and Secretarial Support
http://www.connecticutsecretary.com
kms@connecticutsecretary.com
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Business Advertising and Branding: What Online Tools Are Effective?
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 T.C. Gaity
Marketing has always been an essential element of business - both back in the day when brick and mortar stores and mail order businesses were the only options and now that the internet has become so central to so many people's lives. Business advertising - along with many businesses as well - have gone online and become even more competitive as business owners learn more about the value of text links, banner ads and other ways of getting their message out to the world.
Online advertising, however, is not limited to text links and banner ads: there are other tools that many businesses have put to work as well. For example, a number of businesses have discovered that blogging allows them to create additional text links back to their websites and to connect a more personal voice and tone with their message, reminding readers that behind every business there are people who recognize the customers' needs and have developed products and services to meet those needs.
Similarly, there's a great deal of business advertising that's found its way into forums online. From gaming communities to fitness sites, from cooking gear and kitchen supplies to crafters, a number of companies have found that there are ways of communicating with their prospective customers that are more subtle, that meet them on their level. Because that ability to communicate has done so much for business, many professionals are looking for additional ways of branding and communicating with their prospects online.
One such tool that many business owners are finding to be extremely effective includes finding sponsorship opportunities. In some cases, adding banner ads and text links to online game communities has become an ideal means of business advertising. After all, members of these communities often spend a great deal of time on the sites, doing more than just playing online games, but also contributing to site blogs, maintaining a website and participating in tournaments where there are great prizes to won.
Sponsoring those prizes - along with becoming more engaged within the communities - is a means of branding that many businesses are finding to be extremely effective. Those businesses wanting to increase their online presence with more than banner ads and text links ads find that becoming a member of these communities offers a number of benefits:
1. The chance to establish relationships with members of the community.
2. The opportunity to develop a web page within the online games community that can be used to market their websites.
3. The chance to ad banner ads and text link ads within the community to further drive traffic to their websites.
4. By donating prizes for the online games, businesses are able to get the word out about the products that they offer, and when their items are offered in site auctions, they will find that those who are playing the game to win are willing to compete to get those items.
In other words, what many find is that by focusing on business advertising and branding in communities for online games, they are able to interact with their prospective customers, establish relationships and to provide information about the products that they offer and answer any questions that others have.
Branding is all about creating relationships with your current and prospective clients; that's why sponsoring online games contributes to establishing brand identity. Online advertising - focusing on banner ads and text link ads - when done in conjunction with sponsoring online games, helps to further motivate prospective customers to look into your company and the products and services that you have to offer. By making the information that these customers are looking for available to them, you'll find that you are able to forge a relationship.
In business, the relationships that you have with your customers are the key to growth. Why not look into online advertising tools that are designed so that the relationship builds naturally? When you're able to use business advertising and promotions in order to meet prospective customers where they are, you'll find that it's easy to get them interested in your business, your products and in learning more about what you stand for. That combination helps to ensure your success.
About the Author:
T.C. Gaity writes about the Internet. Trader Auction Games (TAG City) is a portal for online gamers. Whereas most online game sites lets you stroke your ego with your winning streak, Trader Auction Games gives you the opportunity to win real prizes, when you play well. Advertising opportunities are also available for businesses who are interested in bartering products for advertising. Learn more: http://www.traderauctiongames.com
Copyright © 2008 T.C. Gaity
Marketing has always been an essential element of business - both back in the day when brick and mortar stores and mail order businesses were the only options and now that the internet has become so central to so many people's lives. Business advertising - along with many businesses as well - have gone online and become even more competitive as business owners learn more about the value of text links, banner ads and other ways of getting their message out to the world.
Online advertising, however, is not limited to text links and banner ads: there are other tools that many businesses have put to work as well. For example, a number of businesses have discovered that blogging allows them to create additional text links back to their websites and to connect a more personal voice and tone with their message, reminding readers that behind every business there are people who recognize the customers' needs and have developed products and services to meet those needs.
Similarly, there's a great deal of business advertising that's found its way into forums online. From gaming communities to fitness sites, from cooking gear and kitchen supplies to crafters, a number of companies have found that there are ways of communicating with their prospective customers that are more subtle, that meet them on their level. Because that ability to communicate has done so much for business, many professionals are looking for additional ways of branding and communicating with their prospects online.
One such tool that many business owners are finding to be extremely effective includes finding sponsorship opportunities. In some cases, adding banner ads and text links to online game communities has become an ideal means of business advertising. After all, members of these communities often spend a great deal of time on the sites, doing more than just playing online games, but also contributing to site blogs, maintaining a website and participating in tournaments where there are great prizes to won.
Sponsoring those prizes - along with becoming more engaged within the communities - is a means of branding that many businesses are finding to be extremely effective. Those businesses wanting to increase their online presence with more than banner ads and text links ads find that becoming a member of these communities offers a number of benefits:
1. The chance to establish relationships with members of the community.
2. The opportunity to develop a web page within the online games community that can be used to market their websites.
3. The chance to ad banner ads and text link ads within the community to further drive traffic to their websites.
4. By donating prizes for the online games, businesses are able to get the word out about the products that they offer, and when their items are offered in site auctions, they will find that those who are playing the game to win are willing to compete to get those items.
In other words, what many find is that by focusing on business advertising and branding in communities for online games, they are able to interact with their prospective customers, establish relationships and to provide information about the products that they offer and answer any questions that others have.
Branding is all about creating relationships with your current and prospective clients; that's why sponsoring online games contributes to establishing brand identity. Online advertising - focusing on banner ads and text link ads - when done in conjunction with sponsoring online games, helps to further motivate prospective customers to look into your company and the products and services that you have to offer. By making the information that these customers are looking for available to them, you'll find that you are able to forge a relationship.
In business, the relationships that you have with your customers are the key to growth. Why not look into online advertising tools that are designed so that the relationship builds naturally? When you're able to use business advertising and promotions in order to meet prospective customers where they are, you'll find that it's easy to get them interested in your business, your products and in learning more about what you stand for. That combination helps to ensure your success.
About the Author:
T.C. Gaity writes about the Internet. Trader Auction Games (TAG City) is a portal for online gamers. Whereas most online game sites lets you stroke your ego with your winning streak, Trader Auction Games gives you the opportunity to win real prizes, when you play well. Advertising opportunities are also available for businesses who are interested in bartering products for advertising. Learn more: http://www.traderauctiongames.com
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