Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Cecile Peterkin, All Rights Reserved
Turning on the television and watching the news at the end of the workday used to be a way to catch up on what happened while workers were in the office. These days, however, with the focus of much of the news being on the current economic crisis, workers are having more trouble separating themselves from what they are hearing. As a result, there is an increasing amount of tension in the workplace.
In addition to economic woes hitting your workers, however, you are going to find that the tightening of the economy , coupled with rising costs associated with health care and cost of living, has an impact on your business. While you are going to want to be sure that you are doing what you can to reduce costs in the workplace, it is essential that you are able to provide your employees with the benefits that they expect and with the support that they need to ride out the economic crisis.
As a result, if you are looking for ways in which you will be able to reduce costs to your business, you are going to need to think about your staff members and then, rather than simply looking at health care programs, you might want to consider implementing wellness programs. With wellness programs there are a number of benefits. Here are the two most significant:
1. During an economic crisis and other times of high stress, wellness programs in the workplace serve to reduce tension for your employees. With yoga or other fitness classes available for example, you will find that you are able to give your staff members an outlet and provide them with a healthier lifestyle.
2. During an economic crisis, and particularly when health care costs are high, you will find that wellness programs in the workplace serve to cut down on the expenses of health care. After all, wellness programs focus not only on reducing stress, but also on your staff members' overall health. This attention to prevention will help to reduce the costs associated with health care over the long term.
When you offer wellness programs in the workplace, you will find that your staff members are in a better position to cope with their stress. When your employees are less stressed out, they are going to be more productive at the office and there will be a reduction in the amount of time that your staff call out sick or otherwise need time off.
By focusing on the health and well-being of your staff members, particularly during times of high stress and the current economic crisis, you are going to find that you are in a better position to keep your business growing and moving forward. By helping your staff to take care of themselves, they will be able to contribute more to the business and everyone involved will be in a better position to get through the economic crisis. Economic woes can have a dramatic impact on morale, but so can those efforts that will enable your staff to reduce their stress.
Copyright 2008-2009, Cecile Peterkin. All rights reserved.
About the Author:
Cecile Peterkin, a Certified Career Coach and Speaker, helps businesses leverage the mind-share of retiring Baby Boomers and senior managers, and transfer it to the next generation of leaders with her ProMentoring program. For more information visit http://www.ProMentoringInc.com
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Should You Use Publicity to Defend Your Reputation? Publicity Dilemma 1
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
Suppose you inadvertently get involved in a project that receives public criticism. Maybe the founder of a charity for which you were a spokesperson embezzled the money. Or an anthology to which you contributed turned up at the scene of a crime. Should you issue a press release disassociating yourself from such dishonorable events?
In most cases, no.
Surprised? Keeping quiet when you feel your reputation is becoming tarnished certainly goes against the natural impulse to defend yourself. Ask yourself two all-important questions before you rush to act, however: First, were you directly named and attacked in reference to this event? And second, are you certain that nearly everyone you do business with already knows about the incident? If the answer to both questions is yes, then go ahead and defend yourself vigorously with a press release, a statement on your web site, an email to your subscriber list and every other form of messaging you can think of.
If your answer to both questions is not yes, then hold back. You might very likely be making things worse by responding.
Think of it this way: Someone you previously thought well of suddenly shows up proclaiming "I am not a crook!" or "I did nothing wrong!" If you had not heard of the incident that prompted this protest, or if you'd run across it but hadn't paid attention, you couldn't help becoming curious now. And one of three things can happen next. You learn the story and decide that the person protesting non-involvement did have some responsibility for the events. Or you don't look into the story but go on remembering that the person was accused of something terrible. Or you listen to the person's defense and decide they are indeed 100% blameless.
Two out of three of those outcomes - and maybe even the third as well - are worse than the original situation, where you were unaware of the incident. Ask someone wrongly accused of a crime sometime whether or not their acquittal totally washed away the taint of being charged and tried.
The same reasoning applies to defending your honor in the letters to the editor column of the newspaper. Too often an angry defense puts you in a worse light than the original article. Why? First, some people who did not see the offending article will read the letter, thus increasing awareness of the very news item you were trying to squelch. And second, people who write such letters in anger or indignation do not usually come off well to an uninvolved reader. Do you want people in your community to be thinking of you as a thin-skinned hothead? Third, understand that you are probably over-reacting. The material that upset you probably didn't come across as negatively to others as it did to you.
This goes for someone saying negative things about you online, also. I'll never forget receiving an email from a best-selling author who was upset about a critical review of one of his books that I posted on Amazon.com. He tried to convince me that I was wrong. I pitied the guy for wasting energy on me. A mix of negative and positive reviews is actually a good thing for an author - more convincing than just praise, praise, praise. Prospective book buyers can read the varying opinions and decide who they agree with. And ditto for opinions expressed on blogs or in discussion forums.
So don't be so quick to charge to your defense when someone says or implies something bad about you. If you truly feel your reputation is at stake, find a communication professional to review the situation and your reply with you before you send off a response. More often than not, you're best off keeping your indignation and self-vindication to yourself.
About the Author:
Publicity expert Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, Persuading on Paper, Web Site Marketing Makeover and eight other books. She has engineered coverage for herself or her company in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Success, Women in Business and dozens of newspapers around the world. Get free access to a one-hour audio recording in which she answers the most common questions about getting media coverage at http://www.yudkin.com/publicityideas.htm
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
Suppose you inadvertently get involved in a project that receives public criticism. Maybe the founder of a charity for which you were a spokesperson embezzled the money. Or an anthology to which you contributed turned up at the scene of a crime. Should you issue a press release disassociating yourself from such dishonorable events?
In most cases, no.
Surprised? Keeping quiet when you feel your reputation is becoming tarnished certainly goes against the natural impulse to defend yourself. Ask yourself two all-important questions before you rush to act, however: First, were you directly named and attacked in reference to this event? And second, are you certain that nearly everyone you do business with already knows about the incident? If the answer to both questions is yes, then go ahead and defend yourself vigorously with a press release, a statement on your web site, an email to your subscriber list and every other form of messaging you can think of.
If your answer to both questions is not yes, then hold back. You might very likely be making things worse by responding.
Think of it this way: Someone you previously thought well of suddenly shows up proclaiming "I am not a crook!" or "I did nothing wrong!" If you had not heard of the incident that prompted this protest, or if you'd run across it but hadn't paid attention, you couldn't help becoming curious now. And one of three things can happen next. You learn the story and decide that the person protesting non-involvement did have some responsibility for the events. Or you don't look into the story but go on remembering that the person was accused of something terrible. Or you listen to the person's defense and decide they are indeed 100% blameless.
Two out of three of those outcomes - and maybe even the third as well - are worse than the original situation, where you were unaware of the incident. Ask someone wrongly accused of a crime sometime whether or not their acquittal totally washed away the taint of being charged and tried.
The same reasoning applies to defending your honor in the letters to the editor column of the newspaper. Too often an angry defense puts you in a worse light than the original article. Why? First, some people who did not see the offending article will read the letter, thus increasing awareness of the very news item you were trying to squelch. And second, people who write such letters in anger or indignation do not usually come off well to an uninvolved reader. Do you want people in your community to be thinking of you as a thin-skinned hothead? Third, understand that you are probably over-reacting. The material that upset you probably didn't come across as negatively to others as it did to you.
This goes for someone saying negative things about you online, also. I'll never forget receiving an email from a best-selling author who was upset about a critical review of one of his books that I posted on Amazon.com. He tried to convince me that I was wrong. I pitied the guy for wasting energy on me. A mix of negative and positive reviews is actually a good thing for an author - more convincing than just praise, praise, praise. Prospective book buyers can read the varying opinions and decide who they agree with. And ditto for opinions expressed on blogs or in discussion forums.
So don't be so quick to charge to your defense when someone says or implies something bad about you. If you truly feel your reputation is at stake, find a communication professional to review the situation and your reply with you before you send off a response. More often than not, you're best off keeping your indignation and self-vindication to yourself.
About the Author:
Publicity expert Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, Persuading on Paper, Web Site Marketing Makeover and eight other books. She has engineered coverage for herself or her company in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Success, Women in Business and dozens of newspapers around the world. Get free access to a one-hour audio recording in which she answers the most common questions about getting media coverage at http://www.yudkin.com/publicityideas.htm
Friday, March 27, 2009
Learn From History - The Anatomy Of An Economic Meltdown
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Arlo Mooney
Over the last couple years, many consumers were burned badly by the state of the economy and the failing of many of the banks people have relied upon for generations.
At the beginning of 2007, the United States had five investment banks, through which a lot of investment transactions occurred. By the end of 2008, there were zero investment banks in the United States. The investment banks that did not fail outright, changed their charters to commercial banks, thereby eliminating all investment banks in the U.S. by the end of 2008.
Where people got hurt the worst in the recent economic meltdown was when banks stopped loaning money to consumers and businesses.
Banker fears turned our economy on its ear, erasing positive growth and replacing it with recession.
Bankers started to question the viability of their competitors and stopped loaning money to their competitors. Suddenly, when major banking institutions were no longer able to get money to loan to their own clients, banks began to turn off the business credit and consumer credit tap.
We knew the gig was up when General Electric could no longer get loans to float their production cycles. We also knew that the situation was getting bad when banks started freezing credit lines to the automakers. And when the State Of California could not get loans to carry the state through the course of a single economic year, we knew it was ready to hit the fan.
Economic Contraction Has Deep Roots
The lack of business credit is not what killed the auto industry. What brought the automakers to their financial knees was the inability of consumers to get auto loans for new vehicles. This started to happen nearly a year before the commercial credit began to dry up.
When consumers could no longer get loans for major purchases, the economy began to contract significantly, as manufacturers could no longer sell products already in inventory.
As major manufacturers begin to fall by the wayside, the ripple effects hurt hundreds of other businesses, employing thousands.
For every automaker that falls, there are companies that produce tires, car seats, carpet, radios, and automotive parts that will also have to lay off people. The automaker is the easiest example to show the ripple effects of a crumbling economy.
When auto sales fall, car dealerships begin to shut their doors. Dealerships provide hundreds of additional jobs in small towns across America, providing employment for sales people, mechanics, supplies and support. Once you get past the jobs supplied directly by the dealerships, then one must realize that local detail shops generally contract most of their work from car dealerships.
If General Motors fails, jobs are not lost only in Detroit, but in Oklahoma City; Lansing, Michigan; Doraville, Georgia; Ontario, Canada; Spring Hill, Tennessee; Moraine, Ohio; Flint, Michigan; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Ypsilanti, Michigan; and Portland, Oregon. (This list is actually derived from a GM plant closing list from 2005.)
In 2008, GM also closed plants in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Janesville, Wisconsin.
As 2009 approached, GM announced further plant closings. When the announcement came in December of 2008, there were 20 more GM plants on the cutting block for temporary shutdown. This round of plant closings will affect plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Specific states affected by these plant closings include plants in Delaware, Maryland and Texas.
Consumer Credit Dried Up One Year Before Commercial Credit Ended
I mostly respect Bill O'Reilly's view on the world, but one day, he went on a rampage about the economic meltdown, stating that he pays attention to things and did not see the economic meltdown coming. He was complaining that no one warned us of this happening.
I wrote to O'Reilly that day, for the first time ever. I told him that if he watched his own news channel - we knew it was coming. If only he had turned on Neil Cavuto once in a while or watched the Saturday morning business block, then he would have seen this mess coming too.
It all started with a real estate bubble that we all knew was there.
When the real estate bubble began to pop in remote areas of the country and banks started to realize that home foreclosures where on the rise, banks reacted by stopping consumer loans for big ticket purchases, such as homes, cars, furniture and electronics.
The economy began to contract, as consumers could no longer drive the economy unimpeded.
It took business a little while to notice the contraction of business. Most assumed the contraction in sales was more related to the price of gasoline, without noticing that the problems ran deeper than that.
Most business managers assumed that once the price of gasoline dropped back to its historical threshold that all would recover. But gasoline prices only masked the real problem - the lack of consumer credit.
The Roots Of The Real Estate Bubble
The roots of the real estate bubble and subsequent implosion began in the 1990's. Interestingly, both G.W. Bush and Bill Clinton opposed the policies that created this mess, but both were either ineffective or unable to change the course of government policy in this matter.
Bush and Clinton seemed to agree that the credit practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were bound to create problems that could not be overcome easily. In the discussion I was listening to about this issue assumed that both Bush and Clinton were "unable" to fix this problem, although both spoke about it regularly.
I tend to find it hard to believe that any President of the United States is "unable" to do anything... but then again, Bush was "unable" to address the political hot potato of Social Security in his second term.
In the early 1990's, the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was changed from helping the underprivileged to buy a home, to guaranteeing banks that wrote loans to anyone and everyone who wanted to buy a home.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began buying loans from banks, packaging those loans, and selling them to investors. Ah... you see the connection... you have heard about that stuff on the news... Good.
Since bank interest rates were so low, banks and mortgage brokers soon realized that they could not make their money collecting interest. So, they began the transition to selling loans to consumers based on closing costs. So long as the consumer could meet and pay for the required closing costs, then the bank would be able to write a loan to the consumer.
If that loan to the consumer was for a home, then the bank could sell those loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who would then package a group of loans to sell to investors.
Here is where the story goes south.
Since banks were selling loans only for the closing costs and selling the loans to a third-party investor, banks stopped looking at whether an individual could afford the loans being given to the consumer.
You know, if I can only afford $900 per month on my mortgage, what makes anyone believe that I can repay a mortgage worth $1200 per month?
Within the system as it was constructed, the bank could care less if I could afford to pay $1200 per month. They only cared that they could sell me the loan, get their closing costs, and then they would pass the liability of my problem loan to a third-party investor.
Because the bank had no financial interest in my ability to repay the loan, they did not concern themselves with writing loans that could be afforded by consumers.
As a result, banks lined up to write consumer loans that consumers could not afford to repay. (We can also slap the consumer at this point, because the people who took those loans also knew that they could not repay them.)
The Contribution Of The Consumer
Each consumer who took a mortgage they could not hope to repay contributed to our current economic meltdown.
I know that many felt strongly that they could repay the loan or that they could get a salary increase to help ends meet. But when consumers are struggling to get by, it only takes one unexpected car repair or other large expense to bring the house of cards tumbling down. The end of the road could also come as soon as one got sick enough to miss a couple days of work.
The consumer should have known better than to take the loans they were offered. But many people also expected that banks still worked the way they did in the 1970's and 1980's - making sure that consumers could afford a loan, before offering that loan.
Lining Up The Dominoes
Consumers had taken loans that they could barely hope to repay. But when an unexpected expense came up, people began to get behind on their mortgage payments. Eventually, the added pressure of being behind on payments pushed consumers to cut their losses and default their home mortgages.
Of course, this process was accelerated when the real estate bubble burst and homeowners began to realize that they owed $120,000 on a home only worth $100,000!
As consumers began to default on their home mortgages, banks started to tighten up their credit policies on other large consumer loans such as cars, furniture and electronics.
As consumers became unable to get loans for the things they desired to purchase, manufacturers and retailers began to struggle under slowing sales.
Slowing sales further complicated the issue, because banks began to realize that their business clients were having a harder time paying back business loans.
At this point, the banks worried about their business clients, but they did not close all commercial credit just yet.
Like you and I, banks borrow money from each other, in order to enable ensure that bank liquidity is maintained. In the banking industry, the government requires that a bank always has cash-on-hand to match 10% of the total loans it has in the marketplace.
On days like payday, banks will often borrow enough money from another bank to help them cash all of the checks that will be brought to their bank. They borrow that money to be able to meet their cash needs, without tapping into the money in their safe that is required to meet federal lending standards.
Of course, banks will cash a check on Friday and they will have that money back in their own coffers by the following Wednesday, when the employer's bank is able to send the money back to the bank who cashed the check. Within the banking industry, few-day loans and one-week loans between banks are common for this reason.
It did not really hit the fan until banks stopped loaning money to each other. When the investment banks began to fall, other major banks also began to fail. With banks failing everyday, bank managers began to wonder about the banks to whom they loan money.
Fear crept into the bank-to-bank lending cycle, and bank-to-bank credit came crashing to a halt.
This is the point where commercial credit died. It was September of 2008 - only weeks before the Presidential election. John McCain handled himself badly during this time frame, ensuring that he would forever be only a footnote in history. "I am suspending my campaign to focus on this problem," - John McCain, famous last words of the top dunce of 2008.
When banks stopped lending to each other, other banks had to freeze commercial credit lines. When General Electric's top lender was unable to get bank-to-bank loans, it was unable to loan money to GE, regardless of their belief in GE's ability to pay back the loan.
The Fallout Is Wide And Painful
When GE can no longer get loans to finance the manufacturing cycle of their products, then GE is forced to lay off workers.
When the automakers customers cannot get consumer loans and the automakers cannot get loans to keep them afloat during this economic downtown, the automakers are forced to lay off people. Along with the automakers laying off people, part suppliers and dealerships also have to lay off people.
When the State Of California cannot get loans to keep the state operational until tax payments start coming in, Governor Schwarzenegger has to make some hard decisions, stopping certain government services and stopping production of development projects. Of course, Schwarzenegger does not have the political courage to fix the problem, but only to survive the crisis. Either way, money stops flowing in California from government coffers, leading to taxpayers receiving IOU's from the California tax agency and people losing their jobs in state construction projects.
The Downward Spiral
Consumers cannot borrow money to buy consumer goods, which in turn slows sales at major manufacturers and major retailers. Slowed sales leads to more layoffs and fewer jobs. Slowed sales also leads to lower stock prices and fewer stock dividends.
Sometimes the pain felt at the business level leads to business failures, which in turn leads to more lost jobs. Fewer jobs leads to more defaulted loans and home foreclosures.
It is a cycle that is hard to break.
According to a story by the Fox Business Network last week, American consumers have lost $11 trillion dollars in their net worth over the last one year.
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Certainly there is, although it is a bit hard to see right now. Every down cycle in an economy ends with an up cycle. It is just that we have yet to discern a bottom in this economic downturn, so it is hard to predict when recovery will come.
I am an optimist by nature. I see good days ahead, although those good days will necessarily be preceded by some pain.
The best advice I can give anyone in this current recession is to only spend within your means, until this economy recovers its vitality. At my house, we are still spending, but we are not doing it with credit. Instead, we are paying cash for what we want and making darn sure not to increase our debt load during this down cycle.
Author's Note: This article was originally published at: http://cash-advance-payday-loans.org/blog/economic-meltdown/2009/03/
About the Author:
Arlo Mooney writes about the economy and credit. The only loans he will consider at this time are short term loans, in the form of payday loans or cash advance loans to bridge a cash shortage until the following payday. You can read more of Arlo's work at: http://cash-advance-payday-loans.org/blog/
Copyright © 2009 Arlo Mooney
Over the last couple years, many consumers were burned badly by the state of the economy and the failing of many of the banks people have relied upon for generations.
At the beginning of 2007, the United States had five investment banks, through which a lot of investment transactions occurred. By the end of 2008, there were zero investment banks in the United States. The investment banks that did not fail outright, changed their charters to commercial banks, thereby eliminating all investment banks in the U.S. by the end of 2008.
Where people got hurt the worst in the recent economic meltdown was when banks stopped loaning money to consumers and businesses.
Banker fears turned our economy on its ear, erasing positive growth and replacing it with recession.
Bankers started to question the viability of their competitors and stopped loaning money to their competitors. Suddenly, when major banking institutions were no longer able to get money to loan to their own clients, banks began to turn off the business credit and consumer credit tap.
We knew the gig was up when General Electric could no longer get loans to float their production cycles. We also knew that the situation was getting bad when banks started freezing credit lines to the automakers. And when the State Of California could not get loans to carry the state through the course of a single economic year, we knew it was ready to hit the fan.
Economic Contraction Has Deep Roots
The lack of business credit is not what killed the auto industry. What brought the automakers to their financial knees was the inability of consumers to get auto loans for new vehicles. This started to happen nearly a year before the commercial credit began to dry up.
When consumers could no longer get loans for major purchases, the economy began to contract significantly, as manufacturers could no longer sell products already in inventory.
As major manufacturers begin to fall by the wayside, the ripple effects hurt hundreds of other businesses, employing thousands.
For every automaker that falls, there are companies that produce tires, car seats, carpet, radios, and automotive parts that will also have to lay off people. The automaker is the easiest example to show the ripple effects of a crumbling economy.
When auto sales fall, car dealerships begin to shut their doors. Dealerships provide hundreds of additional jobs in small towns across America, providing employment for sales people, mechanics, supplies and support. Once you get past the jobs supplied directly by the dealerships, then one must realize that local detail shops generally contract most of their work from car dealerships.
If General Motors fails, jobs are not lost only in Detroit, but in Oklahoma City; Lansing, Michigan; Doraville, Georgia; Ontario, Canada; Spring Hill, Tennessee; Moraine, Ohio; Flint, Michigan; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Ypsilanti, Michigan; and Portland, Oregon. (This list is actually derived from a GM plant closing list from 2005.)
In 2008, GM also closed plants in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Janesville, Wisconsin.
As 2009 approached, GM announced further plant closings. When the announcement came in December of 2008, there were 20 more GM plants on the cutting block for temporary shutdown. This round of plant closings will affect plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Specific states affected by these plant closings include plants in Delaware, Maryland and Texas.
Consumer Credit Dried Up One Year Before Commercial Credit Ended
I mostly respect Bill O'Reilly's view on the world, but one day, he went on a rampage about the economic meltdown, stating that he pays attention to things and did not see the economic meltdown coming. He was complaining that no one warned us of this happening.
I wrote to O'Reilly that day, for the first time ever. I told him that if he watched his own news channel - we knew it was coming. If only he had turned on Neil Cavuto once in a while or watched the Saturday morning business block, then he would have seen this mess coming too.
It all started with a real estate bubble that we all knew was there.
When the real estate bubble began to pop in remote areas of the country and banks started to realize that home foreclosures where on the rise, banks reacted by stopping consumer loans for big ticket purchases, such as homes, cars, furniture and electronics.
The economy began to contract, as consumers could no longer drive the economy unimpeded.
It took business a little while to notice the contraction of business. Most assumed the contraction in sales was more related to the price of gasoline, without noticing that the problems ran deeper than that.
Most business managers assumed that once the price of gasoline dropped back to its historical threshold that all would recover. But gasoline prices only masked the real problem - the lack of consumer credit.
The Roots Of The Real Estate Bubble
The roots of the real estate bubble and subsequent implosion began in the 1990's. Interestingly, both G.W. Bush and Bill Clinton opposed the policies that created this mess, but both were either ineffective or unable to change the course of government policy in this matter.
Bush and Clinton seemed to agree that the credit practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were bound to create problems that could not be overcome easily. In the discussion I was listening to about this issue assumed that both Bush and Clinton were "unable" to fix this problem, although both spoke about it regularly.
I tend to find it hard to believe that any President of the United States is "unable" to do anything... but then again, Bush was "unable" to address the political hot potato of Social Security in his second term.
In the early 1990's, the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was changed from helping the underprivileged to buy a home, to guaranteeing banks that wrote loans to anyone and everyone who wanted to buy a home.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began buying loans from banks, packaging those loans, and selling them to investors. Ah... you see the connection... you have heard about that stuff on the news... Good.
Since bank interest rates were so low, banks and mortgage brokers soon realized that they could not make their money collecting interest. So, they began the transition to selling loans to consumers based on closing costs. So long as the consumer could meet and pay for the required closing costs, then the bank would be able to write a loan to the consumer.
If that loan to the consumer was for a home, then the bank could sell those loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who would then package a group of loans to sell to investors.
Here is where the story goes south.
Since banks were selling loans only for the closing costs and selling the loans to a third-party investor, banks stopped looking at whether an individual could afford the loans being given to the consumer.
You know, if I can only afford $900 per month on my mortgage, what makes anyone believe that I can repay a mortgage worth $1200 per month?
Within the system as it was constructed, the bank could care less if I could afford to pay $1200 per month. They only cared that they could sell me the loan, get their closing costs, and then they would pass the liability of my problem loan to a third-party investor.
Because the bank had no financial interest in my ability to repay the loan, they did not concern themselves with writing loans that could be afforded by consumers.
As a result, banks lined up to write consumer loans that consumers could not afford to repay. (We can also slap the consumer at this point, because the people who took those loans also knew that they could not repay them.)
The Contribution Of The Consumer
Each consumer who took a mortgage they could not hope to repay contributed to our current economic meltdown.
I know that many felt strongly that they could repay the loan or that they could get a salary increase to help ends meet. But when consumers are struggling to get by, it only takes one unexpected car repair or other large expense to bring the house of cards tumbling down. The end of the road could also come as soon as one got sick enough to miss a couple days of work.
The consumer should have known better than to take the loans they were offered. But many people also expected that banks still worked the way they did in the 1970's and 1980's - making sure that consumers could afford a loan, before offering that loan.
Lining Up The Dominoes
Consumers had taken loans that they could barely hope to repay. But when an unexpected expense came up, people began to get behind on their mortgage payments. Eventually, the added pressure of being behind on payments pushed consumers to cut their losses and default their home mortgages.
Of course, this process was accelerated when the real estate bubble burst and homeowners began to realize that they owed $120,000 on a home only worth $100,000!
As consumers began to default on their home mortgages, banks started to tighten up their credit policies on other large consumer loans such as cars, furniture and electronics.
As consumers became unable to get loans for the things they desired to purchase, manufacturers and retailers began to struggle under slowing sales.
Slowing sales further complicated the issue, because banks began to realize that their business clients were having a harder time paying back business loans.
At this point, the banks worried about their business clients, but they did not close all commercial credit just yet.
Like you and I, banks borrow money from each other, in order to enable ensure that bank liquidity is maintained. In the banking industry, the government requires that a bank always has cash-on-hand to match 10% of the total loans it has in the marketplace.
On days like payday, banks will often borrow enough money from another bank to help them cash all of the checks that will be brought to their bank. They borrow that money to be able to meet their cash needs, without tapping into the money in their safe that is required to meet federal lending standards.
Of course, banks will cash a check on Friday and they will have that money back in their own coffers by the following Wednesday, when the employer's bank is able to send the money back to the bank who cashed the check. Within the banking industry, few-day loans and one-week loans between banks are common for this reason.
It did not really hit the fan until banks stopped loaning money to each other. When the investment banks began to fall, other major banks also began to fail. With banks failing everyday, bank managers began to wonder about the banks to whom they loan money.
Fear crept into the bank-to-bank lending cycle, and bank-to-bank credit came crashing to a halt.
This is the point where commercial credit died. It was September of 2008 - only weeks before the Presidential election. John McCain handled himself badly during this time frame, ensuring that he would forever be only a footnote in history. "I am suspending my campaign to focus on this problem," - John McCain, famous last words of the top dunce of 2008.
When banks stopped lending to each other, other banks had to freeze commercial credit lines. When General Electric's top lender was unable to get bank-to-bank loans, it was unable to loan money to GE, regardless of their belief in GE's ability to pay back the loan.
The Fallout Is Wide And Painful
When GE can no longer get loans to finance the manufacturing cycle of their products, then GE is forced to lay off workers.
When the automakers customers cannot get consumer loans and the automakers cannot get loans to keep them afloat during this economic downtown, the automakers are forced to lay off people. Along with the automakers laying off people, part suppliers and dealerships also have to lay off people.
When the State Of California cannot get loans to keep the state operational until tax payments start coming in, Governor Schwarzenegger has to make some hard decisions, stopping certain government services and stopping production of development projects. Of course, Schwarzenegger does not have the political courage to fix the problem, but only to survive the crisis. Either way, money stops flowing in California from government coffers, leading to taxpayers receiving IOU's from the California tax agency and people losing their jobs in state construction projects.
The Downward Spiral
Consumers cannot borrow money to buy consumer goods, which in turn slows sales at major manufacturers and major retailers. Slowed sales leads to more layoffs and fewer jobs. Slowed sales also leads to lower stock prices and fewer stock dividends.
Sometimes the pain felt at the business level leads to business failures, which in turn leads to more lost jobs. Fewer jobs leads to more defaulted loans and home foreclosures.
It is a cycle that is hard to break.
According to a story by the Fox Business Network last week, American consumers have lost $11 trillion dollars in their net worth over the last one year.
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Certainly there is, although it is a bit hard to see right now. Every down cycle in an economy ends with an up cycle. It is just that we have yet to discern a bottom in this economic downturn, so it is hard to predict when recovery will come.
I am an optimist by nature. I see good days ahead, although those good days will necessarily be preceded by some pain.
The best advice I can give anyone in this current recession is to only spend within your means, until this economy recovers its vitality. At my house, we are still spending, but we are not doing it with credit. Instead, we are paying cash for what we want and making darn sure not to increase our debt load during this down cycle.
Author's Note: This article was originally published at: http://cash-advance-payday-loans.org/blog/economic-meltdown/2009/03/
About the Author:
Arlo Mooney writes about the economy and credit. The only loans he will consider at this time are short term loans, in the form of payday loans or cash advance loans to bridge a cash shortage until the following payday. You can read more of Arlo's work at: http://cash-advance-payday-loans.org/blog/
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
5 Ideas to Help Sell Out Your Events
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Jim Romanik
Unless attendance at an event is mandatory, getting people to register comes down to sales. You, as the event planner need to convince the event participants that attending your event is the best use of their time and money. Even if your event is free and intended to be fun such as a Christmas party, you still need to show people that attending your event is better than anything else that they could be doing.
For some events, the promotional material (mailers, emails, etc.) will list the benefits and do a good job of communicating the value of an event to prospective attendees. This will help get people to the registration form, but the sale isn't closed until they click the submit button.
Here are five tips to keep in mind for your promotional material and your registration forms to help you get the sale.
Clearly state the benefits of attending.
Clearly stating how people will benefit by attending your event is one of the best ways to encourage people to register. Make your benefit statements descriptive and put them in terms that prospective event participants can relate to. Here are two examples:
"When you leave this event, you will have ten new strategies for motivating your staff that will result in less turnover."
"In this workshop, you will learn the real differences between software A and B, so you can make the right decision for your business and avoid a buying mistake that will cost you time and money."
Use a good title
Most event titles are similar to "2006 Annual Convention". This tells you what it is, but doesn't really catch your attention. Try adding a benefit or other interest grabbing words to the title such as the one below.
2006 Annual Convention - See the new industry technology that will keep you competitive.
Clearly state what the price includes
Everyone perceives price differently. Some may say it's too high, while other people will pay it and not complain. Itemizing what your event includes will help to show people who think it's too high the value of what they will receive. Outline items such as speaking events and the number of instructional hours, to meals and conference materials.
Talk about the food
Everyone likes a good dinner and most conventions have several meal functions and usually a final banquet.
Rather than listing the meals as "Monday Lunch" or "Dinner and Awards Banquet" create some anticipation around the event by giving more details such as the dinner options, what is for dessert, how fresh the ingredients will be, how many awards the chef has won, etc.
Use testimonials
Testimonials from previous events can be a powerful motivator. Make sure the testimonials you use are descriptive and demonstrate how the person benefited by attending the event.
About the Author:
Jim Romanik - founder of ePly Online Event Registration Software (http://www.eply.com)
We are online registration experts and treat your reputation as our own to build registration forms that help your events succeed and make people wonder how you did it.
Download our Free Guide - "What Every Event Planner Should Know About Online Event Registration" at: http://www.eply.com/lp/articles.html
Copyright © 2009 Jim Romanik
Unless attendance at an event is mandatory, getting people to register comes down to sales. You, as the event planner need to convince the event participants that attending your event is the best use of their time and money. Even if your event is free and intended to be fun such as a Christmas party, you still need to show people that attending your event is better than anything else that they could be doing.
For some events, the promotional material (mailers, emails, etc.) will list the benefits and do a good job of communicating the value of an event to prospective attendees. This will help get people to the registration form, but the sale isn't closed until they click the submit button.
Here are five tips to keep in mind for your promotional material and your registration forms to help you get the sale.
Clearly state the benefits of attending.
Clearly stating how people will benefit by attending your event is one of the best ways to encourage people to register. Make your benefit statements descriptive and put them in terms that prospective event participants can relate to. Here are two examples:
"When you leave this event, you will have ten new strategies for motivating your staff that will result in less turnover."
"In this workshop, you will learn the real differences between software A and B, so you can make the right decision for your business and avoid a buying mistake that will cost you time and money."
Use a good title
Most event titles are similar to "2006 Annual Convention". This tells you what it is, but doesn't really catch your attention. Try adding a benefit or other interest grabbing words to the title such as the one below.
2006 Annual Convention - See the new industry technology that will keep you competitive.
Clearly state what the price includes
Everyone perceives price differently. Some may say it's too high, while other people will pay it and not complain. Itemizing what your event includes will help to show people who think it's too high the value of what they will receive. Outline items such as speaking events and the number of instructional hours, to meals and conference materials.
Talk about the food
Everyone likes a good dinner and most conventions have several meal functions and usually a final banquet.
Rather than listing the meals as "Monday Lunch" or "Dinner and Awards Banquet" create some anticipation around the event by giving more details such as the dinner options, what is for dessert, how fresh the ingredients will be, how many awards the chef has won, etc.
Use testimonials
Testimonials from previous events can be a powerful motivator. Make sure the testimonials you use are descriptive and demonstrate how the person benefited by attending the event.
About the Author:
Jim Romanik - founder of ePly Online Event Registration Software (http://www.eply.com)
We are online registration experts and treat your reputation as our own to build registration forms that help your events succeed and make people wonder how you did it.
Download our Free Guide - "What Every Event Planner Should Know About Online Event Registration" at: http://www.eply.com/lp/articles.html
Tips For Restoring Your Credit In The Aftermath Of Foreclosure
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Fred Vanhoosen
With foreclosures hitting record levels, many people are having to sit down today and wonder how they should go about restoring their credit in the aftermath of a foreclosure.
I am not going to lie to you. It will not be easy, and it will take some time to work out, but it can be done.
Most people simply file bankruptcy and wait ten years for that foreclosure and bankruptcy to drop from their record. At this point in this article, it is very important to note that you just cannot wait for the for foreclosure and bankruptcy to drop off your credit report. The law says that after ten years, the credit bureau must drop those records from your credit report, but they will not do so unless requested to do so by the consumer. So when your time comes, be sure to get in touch with the credit bureaus and request for them to drop the records that will hamper your credit status.
Secured Credit Cards
One of the easiest methods available to help people rebuild their credit starts with a savings account. With as little as $300 in hand, one can go to companies such as the Bank Of America to request a savings-backed credit card.
The Bank Of America Secured Visa Credit Card required a minimum deposit of $300 and a maximum deposit of $10,000, and it requires a $29 annual fee.
In essence, you will deposit money into a Bank Of America security deposit account, and BofA will make available to you a credit card that has a maximum limit equal to the amount of money you have in your BofA security deposit account.
You can use your BofA Secured Visa Credit Card as you use any credit card, to make purchases at stores or to get a cash advance from an ATM machine.
Keep in mind that Bank Of America will not draw money from your security deposit account to make your monthly payments. You will still be required to make the minimum monthly payment each month that you have a balance, and your security deposit account only exists to ensure that BofA will be paid in the event that you default on your secured credit card.
Although you are only required to make the minimum payment each month on your secured credit card, BofA recommends that in order to rebuild your credit more quickly, you should pay your payment in full each month.
The Bank Of America Secured Visa Credit Card is one of the most recommended secure credit cards available in the marketplace, although it is not the only one.
Another popular secured credit card is the one issued by the New Millennium Bank, which you can learn about here:
http://www.creditcardnewsroom.com/brand/new-millennium-bank/secured/black-diamond.html
Secured Bank Loans
Back in the 1980's, I had built my credit using a process that was recommended in a book.
I started with a cash deposit of $1000 at a local bank. I then acquired a loan from that bank, secured by the savings account that I had opened there.
I took that money borrowed from the first bank, and deposited it in a second bank. From that second bank, I obtained a second loan secured by my second savings account.
With the money acquired from that second loan, I set up a savings account at a third bank, and then I left that money alone.
You can trail this process out as far as you want, but I only did it with two loans myself.
Each month, I paid my loan payment when it became due. If I was short cash that month to pay both of my bank loans, I would take money from the third savings account to make that payment. Otherwise, I would just pay the loan payments out of pocket.
For what amounted to be a few dollars interest, I managed to pay off two $1000 loans in one-year, at two different banks. At the end of the cycle, I repeated the cycle, letting my first bank keep the cash on hand, and the third bank to become a new lender.
Of course, I had managed to save some money over that first year, so when I repeated the process in the second year, I did it with $2000 instead of the original $1000.
By the end of the second year, three banks were offering me loans and many credit card companies were also looking to loan me money.
Bank Loan Advice
The trick to borrowing from a bank is to pay off your loans over the stated term of the loan. If you take a one-year loan and pay it off in a couple of months, then you will have gained no positive favor on your credit report. The reason why paying early does not always benefit the borrower, is because the bank was not able to see that loan payments can be paid "on time".
Whatever loans you may take from a lender, you should always maintain payments for a minimum of six months, before paying off that loan. To do otherwise will not yield a positive mark on your credit report.
So long as you keep your loan running for a minimum of six months, there is no problem in paying off your loan early. Some people get ahead on their credit reports by paying double payments each month.
As recommended by some economic guru's, you may also consider making thirteen payments a year, instead of the standard twelve payments per year. If you think about that, all you need to do is to make one payment every four weeks, as opposed to making one payment each calendar month. This works really well towards paying down your principle on a home mortgage or car loan.
Another recommendation that many guru's suggest is to make semi-monthly payments - payments every two weeks. This is beneficial in that it reduces the overall interest you will have to pay over the life of the loan, since interest is always calculated against the amount of principle due on payment dates.
Small Loan Companies
In the small consumer loan market, there are a lot of loan choices available to the consumer.
Of course, there are the loan companies who specialize in loans that can be used to purchase furniture or consumer electronics.
There are also loan companies that specialize in loans of up to $500.
With these types of loan companies, the same rules apply as recommended above. Also with these loan companies, if you ask them to do so, they will report your positive payment history to the credit bureaus.
There are also the loan companies that specialize in what is called payday loans or cash advance loans. With these companies, you are in effect getting a loan that will come due on your next payday, hence the description - payday loans.
Payday loan companies should not be employed to build credit, as it is the most expensive type loan you can acquire. You can use it when you are meeting a cash shortage to help you get over that next hump, but you should only borrow from the cash advance company when you know for certain that you will be able to pay the loan back on your next paycheck.
Rebuilding Your Credit
Rebuilding your credit requires determination, dedication and discipline. You have to start small and work your way up the credit ladder.
I know that what I am getting ready to tell you is going to be hard to believe, but my hand on my heart honest, it is God's honest truth.
A couple decades back, I knew a kid - I say kid, but he was in his twenties - who worked for minimum wage as a dishwasher in a restaurant.
This lowly dishwasher had better credit than I did; he even had better credit than the guy who managed the restaurant - I was friends with the restaurant's manager. This is true... I swear.
This young man lived within his means and paid all of his bills on time, and in full, every month.
Soon, he started receiving credit card offers, which he accepted. With his credit cards, he played by the same rules. He lived within his means, and paid all of his bills in full and on time every month.
After about five years, he bought a motorcycle to help him meet his transportation needs. Of course, he made those payments on time and in full every month.
Soon, he was able to finance the purchase of a home. And as you would imagine, he always made his house payment on time and in full every month.
When I last chatted with him, he was still working as a dishwasher for a bit more than minimum wage. He owned his own transportation and his own one-bedroom house, and he had credit cards in his pocket that he could tap any time he wanted to do so that in total offered him a credit line of - get this - $120,000!
This lowly minimum wage employee had a credit line large enough to buy the best stuff money could buy, but he maintained the lifestyle that he was accustomed to living - living within his means and never spending more money that he could afford to pay back.
Now, that is discipline. He has the credit available to run out and buy a nice big screen television, yet he would not do so, because he knew his finances would not let him pay that money back quickly.
I learned a lot about credit in having known that young man. I hope that you have also learned something by knowing his story.
About the Author:
Fred Vanhoosen writes about the payday loan / cash advance industry. To learn more about the payday loans industry, we recommend reading the following overview of the cash advance loans concept. Learn more at: http://www.fastcash4all.net/
Copyright © 2009 Fred Vanhoosen
With foreclosures hitting record levels, many people are having to sit down today and wonder how they should go about restoring their credit in the aftermath of a foreclosure.
I am not going to lie to you. It will not be easy, and it will take some time to work out, but it can be done.
Most people simply file bankruptcy and wait ten years for that foreclosure and bankruptcy to drop from their record. At this point in this article, it is very important to note that you just cannot wait for the for foreclosure and bankruptcy to drop off your credit report. The law says that after ten years, the credit bureau must drop those records from your credit report, but they will not do so unless requested to do so by the consumer. So when your time comes, be sure to get in touch with the credit bureaus and request for them to drop the records that will hamper your credit status.
Secured Credit Cards
One of the easiest methods available to help people rebuild their credit starts with a savings account. With as little as $300 in hand, one can go to companies such as the Bank Of America to request a savings-backed credit card.
The Bank Of America Secured Visa Credit Card required a minimum deposit of $300 and a maximum deposit of $10,000, and it requires a $29 annual fee.
In essence, you will deposit money into a Bank Of America security deposit account, and BofA will make available to you a credit card that has a maximum limit equal to the amount of money you have in your BofA security deposit account.
You can use your BofA Secured Visa Credit Card as you use any credit card, to make purchases at stores or to get a cash advance from an ATM machine.
Keep in mind that Bank Of America will not draw money from your security deposit account to make your monthly payments. You will still be required to make the minimum monthly payment each month that you have a balance, and your security deposit account only exists to ensure that BofA will be paid in the event that you default on your secured credit card.
Although you are only required to make the minimum payment each month on your secured credit card, BofA recommends that in order to rebuild your credit more quickly, you should pay your payment in full each month.
The Bank Of America Secured Visa Credit Card is one of the most recommended secure credit cards available in the marketplace, although it is not the only one.
Another popular secured credit card is the one issued by the New Millennium Bank, which you can learn about here:
http://www.creditcardnewsroom.com/brand/new-millennium-bank/secured/black-diamond.html
Secured Bank Loans
Back in the 1980's, I had built my credit using a process that was recommended in a book.
I started with a cash deposit of $1000 at a local bank. I then acquired a loan from that bank, secured by the savings account that I had opened there.
I took that money borrowed from the first bank, and deposited it in a second bank. From that second bank, I obtained a second loan secured by my second savings account.
With the money acquired from that second loan, I set up a savings account at a third bank, and then I left that money alone.
You can trail this process out as far as you want, but I only did it with two loans myself.
Each month, I paid my loan payment when it became due. If I was short cash that month to pay both of my bank loans, I would take money from the third savings account to make that payment. Otherwise, I would just pay the loan payments out of pocket.
For what amounted to be a few dollars interest, I managed to pay off two $1000 loans in one-year, at two different banks. At the end of the cycle, I repeated the cycle, letting my first bank keep the cash on hand, and the third bank to become a new lender.
Of course, I had managed to save some money over that first year, so when I repeated the process in the second year, I did it with $2000 instead of the original $1000.
By the end of the second year, three banks were offering me loans and many credit card companies were also looking to loan me money.
Bank Loan Advice
The trick to borrowing from a bank is to pay off your loans over the stated term of the loan. If you take a one-year loan and pay it off in a couple of months, then you will have gained no positive favor on your credit report. The reason why paying early does not always benefit the borrower, is because the bank was not able to see that loan payments can be paid "on time".
Whatever loans you may take from a lender, you should always maintain payments for a minimum of six months, before paying off that loan. To do otherwise will not yield a positive mark on your credit report.
So long as you keep your loan running for a minimum of six months, there is no problem in paying off your loan early. Some people get ahead on their credit reports by paying double payments each month.
As recommended by some economic guru's, you may also consider making thirteen payments a year, instead of the standard twelve payments per year. If you think about that, all you need to do is to make one payment every four weeks, as opposed to making one payment each calendar month. This works really well towards paying down your principle on a home mortgage or car loan.
Another recommendation that many guru's suggest is to make semi-monthly payments - payments every two weeks. This is beneficial in that it reduces the overall interest you will have to pay over the life of the loan, since interest is always calculated against the amount of principle due on payment dates.
Small Loan Companies
In the small consumer loan market, there are a lot of loan choices available to the consumer.
Of course, there are the loan companies who specialize in loans that can be used to purchase furniture or consumer electronics.
There are also loan companies that specialize in loans of up to $500.
With these types of loan companies, the same rules apply as recommended above. Also with these loan companies, if you ask them to do so, they will report your positive payment history to the credit bureaus.
There are also the loan companies that specialize in what is called payday loans or cash advance loans. With these companies, you are in effect getting a loan that will come due on your next payday, hence the description - payday loans.
Payday loan companies should not be employed to build credit, as it is the most expensive type loan you can acquire. You can use it when you are meeting a cash shortage to help you get over that next hump, but you should only borrow from the cash advance company when you know for certain that you will be able to pay the loan back on your next paycheck.
Rebuilding Your Credit
Rebuilding your credit requires determination, dedication and discipline. You have to start small and work your way up the credit ladder.
I know that what I am getting ready to tell you is going to be hard to believe, but my hand on my heart honest, it is God's honest truth.
A couple decades back, I knew a kid - I say kid, but he was in his twenties - who worked for minimum wage as a dishwasher in a restaurant.
This lowly dishwasher had better credit than I did; he even had better credit than the guy who managed the restaurant - I was friends with the restaurant's manager. This is true... I swear.
This young man lived within his means and paid all of his bills on time, and in full, every month.
Soon, he started receiving credit card offers, which he accepted. With his credit cards, he played by the same rules. He lived within his means, and paid all of his bills in full and on time every month.
After about five years, he bought a motorcycle to help him meet his transportation needs. Of course, he made those payments on time and in full every month.
Soon, he was able to finance the purchase of a home. And as you would imagine, he always made his house payment on time and in full every month.
When I last chatted with him, he was still working as a dishwasher for a bit more than minimum wage. He owned his own transportation and his own one-bedroom house, and he had credit cards in his pocket that he could tap any time he wanted to do so that in total offered him a credit line of - get this - $120,000!
This lowly minimum wage employee had a credit line large enough to buy the best stuff money could buy, but he maintained the lifestyle that he was accustomed to living - living within his means and never spending more money that he could afford to pay back.
Now, that is discipline. He has the credit available to run out and buy a nice big screen television, yet he would not do so, because he knew his finances would not let him pay that money back quickly.
I learned a lot about credit in having known that young man. I hope that you have also learned something by knowing his story.
About the Author:
Fred Vanhoosen writes about the payday loan / cash advance industry. To learn more about the payday loans industry, we recommend reading the following overview of the cash advance loans concept. Learn more at: http://www.fastcash4all.net/
Selling Expired Domain Names - Simple Ways to Monetize Your Domain Trading Business
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 John Khu
Selling expired domain names forms an important aspect of domain trading, and a domain trader who excels in this activity can accumulate internet riches within a short time. A domain trader who is also a seasoned web master will have an edge over an inexperienced trader. An expired domain name that displays a considerable amount of traffic tend to have a lot of commercial value and it may sell for a very high price. There are a few numbers of domain-trading entrepreneurs, who are earning thousands of dollars every year. With little bit of basic knowledge and trading skills, even you can buy and sell domains to make a handsome amount of profits.
Here is some basic information and details that will help you conduct your domain trading business:
Step# 1: The first right step in domain trading business is finding a good and relevant keyword attached with the domain. Ensure that you are choosing a keyword not used frequently by people. A good keyword analyzer will help you evaluate and assess the commercial viability of a particular keyword. You can find a number of free keyword search tools in the market. But, they may not offer the best of features required to conduct a research. As far as possible, buy a good keyword tool that offers additional utilities to make your research better and complete. Paid keyword trackers also offer you additional details on a selected keyword like density, search probability and keyword demand placed by people. A carefully chosen keyword will assist you choosing the most suitable expired domain name.
Step# 2: Monetizing an expired domain name means adding value and empowering it to earn more money for your efforts. Monetization is an economic activity of entailing an expired domain with an opportunity to earn meaningful income. Hence, you may wish to buy a web hosting package and design a good web site. You may ask why you need a web hosting package and a dedicated web site. You can use the designed web site to drive traffic from that site to the purchased expired domain. Your overall focus should be to ensure enough traffic to the domain.
Step# 3: Selecting a good themed web site works wonder for your site visitors. You can even design a web site with a page or two to attract your visitors. If you wish you can add and incorporate relevant content to your web site.
Step# 4: You will also need to help and assistance of other service providers to monetize the expired domain name. Possible ways of monetizing your expired domain are enrolling your web portal with a good affiliate program or other commercial programs like Adsense. These lucrative programs provide you an opportunity to earn income by the way of click-through commission.
Step# 5: Traffic building is perhaps the best known monetization technique. If you are confident, you can even buy traffic from a commercial seller; ensure that you are buying a good pack of organic and generic traffic and not incentive ones. A good traffic pack will enable you to increase the overall traffic to your site by other portals. To enhance the viability of your traffic, you can register and upload the domain with major search engines and online directories. The ultimate secret to your expired domain trading business is to build links over a period, so that the domain becomes commercially ready to reap a rich harvest.
Finally, when you feel that your expired domain is ready for auction with a rich deposit of traffic, you can initiate the process by subscribing to major auction sites. If the expired domain based site is good, you can expect to sell it for a premium price.
About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com and http://www.expireddomaingains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Copyright © 2009 John Khu
Selling expired domain names forms an important aspect of domain trading, and a domain trader who excels in this activity can accumulate internet riches within a short time. A domain trader who is also a seasoned web master will have an edge over an inexperienced trader. An expired domain name that displays a considerable amount of traffic tend to have a lot of commercial value and it may sell for a very high price. There are a few numbers of domain-trading entrepreneurs, who are earning thousands of dollars every year. With little bit of basic knowledge and trading skills, even you can buy and sell domains to make a handsome amount of profits.
Here is some basic information and details that will help you conduct your domain trading business:
Step# 1: The first right step in domain trading business is finding a good and relevant keyword attached with the domain. Ensure that you are choosing a keyword not used frequently by people. A good keyword analyzer will help you evaluate and assess the commercial viability of a particular keyword. You can find a number of free keyword search tools in the market. But, they may not offer the best of features required to conduct a research. As far as possible, buy a good keyword tool that offers additional utilities to make your research better and complete. Paid keyword trackers also offer you additional details on a selected keyword like density, search probability and keyword demand placed by people. A carefully chosen keyword will assist you choosing the most suitable expired domain name.
Step# 2: Monetizing an expired domain name means adding value and empowering it to earn more money for your efforts. Monetization is an economic activity of entailing an expired domain with an opportunity to earn meaningful income. Hence, you may wish to buy a web hosting package and design a good web site. You may ask why you need a web hosting package and a dedicated web site. You can use the designed web site to drive traffic from that site to the purchased expired domain. Your overall focus should be to ensure enough traffic to the domain.
Step# 3: Selecting a good themed web site works wonder for your site visitors. You can even design a web site with a page or two to attract your visitors. If you wish you can add and incorporate relevant content to your web site.
Step# 4: You will also need to help and assistance of other service providers to monetize the expired domain name. Possible ways of monetizing your expired domain are enrolling your web portal with a good affiliate program or other commercial programs like Adsense. These lucrative programs provide you an opportunity to earn income by the way of click-through commission.
Step# 5: Traffic building is perhaps the best known monetization technique. If you are confident, you can even buy traffic from a commercial seller; ensure that you are buying a good pack of organic and generic traffic and not incentive ones. A good traffic pack will enable you to increase the overall traffic to your site by other portals. To enhance the viability of your traffic, you can register and upload the domain with major search engines and online directories. The ultimate secret to your expired domain trading business is to build links over a period, so that the domain becomes commercially ready to reap a rich harvest.
Finally, when you feel that your expired domain is ready for auction with a rich deposit of traffic, you can initiate the process by subscribing to major auction sites. If the expired domain based site is good, you can expect to sell it for a premium price.
About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com and http://www.expireddomaingains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
How to Create a Bad Website and Frustrate Your Visitors
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Jason OConnor
If you're a sadistic kind of webmaster or website owner and have a burning desire to royally frustrate and anger your site visitors each and every time they visit your site, these three lists are just for you. If you want to have a terrible website that looks bad, works horribly and breaks fundamental marketing rules, read on.
First let me explain why there are three lists. One way to look at any website is to break it up into three equally important segments; design, technical and marketing. In other words, every site on the Web contains these three components. They all have a design or look and feel (design), they all have to be on a server and coded properly to be live on the Internet (technical) and they all have ways in which they attract visitors and make sales (marketing).
So let's look at the top ten ways in which you can annoy your website visitors and basically fail miserably at the whole website endeavor in each of these three segments. The following is a list, broken up into the three categories, defining exactly what NOT to do.
Top 10 Web Design Mistakes:
1. Never using Web conventions, instead use crazy and wacky formats that no one's ever seen and no one can understand
2. Writing trite, predictable, boring or copied content only and never updating your site
3. Creating totally different and unique navigation for every page so that your visitors need to waste time re-learning your navigation every time they go to a new page. Also creating totally different look and feels for every page so that your visitors never know if they're on the same site or clicked away.
4. Using confusing, obfuscated and mysterious labels for all your links and buttons so that no one ever has any idea where they're going if they click. The more confusing, the better.
5. Making it impossible to search the site. Offering no search box, no site map and basically no possible way to find anything on your website.
6. Including content that only talks about you. Never mentioning anything about your visitors or how you can help them, just talk about you and your history and all your achievements. Including a big picture of you and your office building right on the home page.
7. Including only poorly-written copy with lots of grammar mistakes, and ubiquitous, curious and horrendous spelling and punctuation mistakes throughout your site.
8. Not including any text. Making every page on your site one big picture. So for instance, on your home page have one giant picture of you and your office building and have no text so search engines can't see your site at all.
9. Using buttons for your navigation only, or use complicated JavaScript drop down menus that complicate your sites navigation. Either way, if you do this and include no text links, the search engines won't be able to spider (navigate and record) your website.
10. Making your site as difficult to read as possible. Use teeny, tiny fonts that are hard to read against some funky-colored background. For instance, use blue fonts on a black background.
Top 10 Technical Mistakes:
1. Making your website take forever to load in people's browsers. The longer the better.
2. Making it so that your site looks completely different on everybody's computer. So for Macs your site looks like one way, and for PCs it looks another way. Or having it look totally different in Internet Explorer, Chrome and FireFox.
3. Making it so that any functionality on the site is confusing to figure out and works improperly and inconsistently every time it's used.
4. Including lots of broken links and missing images throughout.
5. Setting it up so that it regularly crashes. For example, if more than three people are visiting the site at the same time, the home page becomes inaccessible.
6. Has no form validation. Allowing visitors to enter any thing under the sun into your website forms. Maybe some smart hacker-types will enter executable code that corrupts or takes over your server.
7. Making all your site visitors have to download and install lots of plug ins to view your site properly. If they don't, too bad.
8. Telling people that they have to view your site in a specific browser and browser version only.
9. Making it so that there are tons of pop-ups, moving newsletter sign-up boxes, running videos, animations and Flash movies that take forever to download before you can view the site.
10. Using lots of frames
Top Ten E-Marketing Mistakes:
1. Making your website completely bounce-friendly. In other words, make it 'un-sticky' so that when people arrive on one of your pages, they leave immediately
2. Including no calls to action so that your site never asks your website visitors to do a thing. Making it so that every page is a dead end that leaves your visitors scratching their heads and then clicking away.
3. Does absolutely nothing to build your brand
4. Has no terms or policies page
5. Evoke no emotions. Making your site flat, boring, gray, dull and forgettable.
6. Making sure there is no way for anyone who visits your site to sign up for anything or give you their contact info or email address. Certainly don't use your site to build any kind of email list.
7. Converting absolutely no one who visits your site into a paying customer. Ever.
8. Forgetting to ever use an analytics program like Google Analytics or Web Trends and never measuring or even looking at your website referrals and activity
9. Including no phone number, email and absolutely no other way to contact you. Hiding behind your website.
10. Making it so that search engine can't read your site and make it so that people can't really read your site either.
Follow these three lists to the letter and you may win the Worst Website in the World list (if that even exists) and you will definitely anger and frustrate your website visitors as much as humanly possible.
About the Author:
Jason OConnor writes for The Net Gazette, a free business website design and marketing newsletter. Mr. O'Connor also owns Oak Web Works, LLC, a Web development and marketing company based min Boston. Read the latest edition and all archives at http://www.thenetgazette.net/
Copyright © 2009 Jason OConnor
If you're a sadistic kind of webmaster or website owner and have a burning desire to royally frustrate and anger your site visitors each and every time they visit your site, these three lists are just for you. If you want to have a terrible website that looks bad, works horribly and breaks fundamental marketing rules, read on.
First let me explain why there are three lists. One way to look at any website is to break it up into three equally important segments; design, technical and marketing. In other words, every site on the Web contains these three components. They all have a design or look and feel (design), they all have to be on a server and coded properly to be live on the Internet (technical) and they all have ways in which they attract visitors and make sales (marketing).
So let's look at the top ten ways in which you can annoy your website visitors and basically fail miserably at the whole website endeavor in each of these three segments. The following is a list, broken up into the three categories, defining exactly what NOT to do.
Top 10 Web Design Mistakes:
1. Never using Web conventions, instead use crazy and wacky formats that no one's ever seen and no one can understand
2. Writing trite, predictable, boring or copied content only and never updating your site
3. Creating totally different and unique navigation for every page so that your visitors need to waste time re-learning your navigation every time they go to a new page. Also creating totally different look and feels for every page so that your visitors never know if they're on the same site or clicked away.
4. Using confusing, obfuscated and mysterious labels for all your links and buttons so that no one ever has any idea where they're going if they click. The more confusing, the better.
5. Making it impossible to search the site. Offering no search box, no site map and basically no possible way to find anything on your website.
6. Including content that only talks about you. Never mentioning anything about your visitors or how you can help them, just talk about you and your history and all your achievements. Including a big picture of you and your office building right on the home page.
7. Including only poorly-written copy with lots of grammar mistakes, and ubiquitous, curious and horrendous spelling and punctuation mistakes throughout your site.
8. Not including any text. Making every page on your site one big picture. So for instance, on your home page have one giant picture of you and your office building and have no text so search engines can't see your site at all.
9. Using buttons for your navigation only, or use complicated JavaScript drop down menus that complicate your sites navigation. Either way, if you do this and include no text links, the search engines won't be able to spider (navigate and record) your website.
10. Making your site as difficult to read as possible. Use teeny, tiny fonts that are hard to read against some funky-colored background. For instance, use blue fonts on a black background.
Top 10 Technical Mistakes:
1. Making your website take forever to load in people's browsers. The longer the better.
2. Making it so that your site looks completely different on everybody's computer. So for Macs your site looks like one way, and for PCs it looks another way. Or having it look totally different in Internet Explorer, Chrome and FireFox.
3. Making it so that any functionality on the site is confusing to figure out and works improperly and inconsistently every time it's used.
4. Including lots of broken links and missing images throughout.
5. Setting it up so that it regularly crashes. For example, if more than three people are visiting the site at the same time, the home page becomes inaccessible.
6. Has no form validation. Allowing visitors to enter any thing under the sun into your website forms. Maybe some smart hacker-types will enter executable code that corrupts or takes over your server.
7. Making all your site visitors have to download and install lots of plug ins to view your site properly. If they don't, too bad.
8. Telling people that they have to view your site in a specific browser and browser version only.
9. Making it so that there are tons of pop-ups, moving newsletter sign-up boxes, running videos, animations and Flash movies that take forever to download before you can view the site.
10. Using lots of frames
Top Ten E-Marketing Mistakes:
1. Making your website completely bounce-friendly. In other words, make it 'un-sticky' so that when people arrive on one of your pages, they leave immediately
2. Including no calls to action so that your site never asks your website visitors to do a thing. Making it so that every page is a dead end that leaves your visitors scratching their heads and then clicking away.
3. Does absolutely nothing to build your brand
4. Has no terms or policies page
5. Evoke no emotions. Making your site flat, boring, gray, dull and forgettable.
6. Making sure there is no way for anyone who visits your site to sign up for anything or give you their contact info or email address. Certainly don't use your site to build any kind of email list.
7. Converting absolutely no one who visits your site into a paying customer. Ever.
8. Forgetting to ever use an analytics program like Google Analytics or Web Trends and never measuring or even looking at your website referrals and activity
9. Including no phone number, email and absolutely no other way to contact you. Hiding behind your website.
10. Making it so that search engine can't read your site and make it so that people can't really read your site either.
Follow these three lists to the letter and you may win the Worst Website in the World list (if that even exists) and you will definitely anger and frustrate your website visitors as much as humanly possible.
About the Author:
Jason OConnor writes for The Net Gazette, a free business website design and marketing newsletter. Mr. O'Connor also owns Oak Web Works, LLC, a Web development and marketing company based min Boston. Read the latest edition and all archives at http://www.thenetgazette.net/
Sunday, March 22, 2009
What's the Right Timing for Publicity? Publicity Dilemma 2
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
Media outlets are in the news business. And as you can tell from the close resemblance between the words "news" and "new," the mission of the media is to bring you interesting and timely reports on what's new. If you're an entrepreneur or organizational marketer and you feed your news about what's new to the media at the appropriate time, you're helping both them and yourself. You give them news to share, and you receive credibility and exposure to potential customers.
Ah, but what is the appropriate time? Media deadlines are the most important element in proper timing. Follow these guidelines to make the publicity process work in your favor.
In one group are radio, television, newspapers and web sites, which have short-range deadlines, and in another group are magazines, which have considerably longer-range deadlines. For the short-range deadline media, one week is generally enough lead time for those media outlets to pick up your story. For magazines, the lead time depends on the publication schedule: Monthly magazines need to receive your press releases or pitches 3-6 months ahead of time, while those published every other month need even longer lead time. Weekly magazines need 3-6 weeks advance notice, whenever possible.
When announcing events or looking for coverage for them (as opposed to, say, announcing a new product or providing perspective on a trend), you often need to add a few weeks to the lead time, because daily media often have a weekly rather than daily publication schedule for their calendar listings. That is, upcoming events get published in a batch once a week on Thursday or Friday rather than every day.
The biggest timing complications arise with a product launch, because magazines need to receive your publicity materials 2-3 months before the newspapers, radio, TV and websites in order for them to feature new stuff around the same time. If you rely simply on press release distribution for publicity, either magazine coverage will lag way behind the other media or the newspaper etc. coverage will be premature.
Solve that dilemma by sending publicity materials directly to the magazines at least three months before you want the coverage to appear, then wait until the week before you want the coverage to hit up the newspapers, radio, TV and websites, either by contacting them directly as well or by doing a general press release distribution. That's right - do publicity in two batches.
Using the guidelines above, plan your timing carefully so you don't have publicity appearing before your product is ready for purchase or after it's too late for customers to plan to attend your events.
Bonus Tip: Improve your timing even more by looking up or requesting a publication's "editorial calendar." This is an issue-by-issue rundown of planned topics - for instance, the March 16 issue will cover network security, the March 23 issue software upgrades and so on. If you dovetail your publicity with a particular publication's editorial calendar, you're practically a shoo-in!
About the Author:
Publicity expert Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, Persuading on Paper, Web Site Marketing Makeover and eight other books. She has engineered coverage for herself or her company in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Success, Women in Business and dozens of newspapers around the world. Get free access to a one-hour audio recording in which she answers the most common questions about getting media coverage at http://www.yudkin.com/publicityideas.htm
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
Media outlets are in the news business. And as you can tell from the close resemblance between the words "news" and "new," the mission of the media is to bring you interesting and timely reports on what's new. If you're an entrepreneur or organizational marketer and you feed your news about what's new to the media at the appropriate time, you're helping both them and yourself. You give them news to share, and you receive credibility and exposure to potential customers.
Ah, but what is the appropriate time? Media deadlines are the most important element in proper timing. Follow these guidelines to make the publicity process work in your favor.
In one group are radio, television, newspapers and web sites, which have short-range deadlines, and in another group are magazines, which have considerably longer-range deadlines. For the short-range deadline media, one week is generally enough lead time for those media outlets to pick up your story. For magazines, the lead time depends on the publication schedule: Monthly magazines need to receive your press releases or pitches 3-6 months ahead of time, while those published every other month need even longer lead time. Weekly magazines need 3-6 weeks advance notice, whenever possible.
When announcing events or looking for coverage for them (as opposed to, say, announcing a new product or providing perspective on a trend), you often need to add a few weeks to the lead time, because daily media often have a weekly rather than daily publication schedule for their calendar listings. That is, upcoming events get published in a batch once a week on Thursday or Friday rather than every day.
The biggest timing complications arise with a product launch, because magazines need to receive your publicity materials 2-3 months before the newspapers, radio, TV and websites in order for them to feature new stuff around the same time. If you rely simply on press release distribution for publicity, either magazine coverage will lag way behind the other media or the newspaper etc. coverage will be premature.
Solve that dilemma by sending publicity materials directly to the magazines at least three months before you want the coverage to appear, then wait until the week before you want the coverage to hit up the newspapers, radio, TV and websites, either by contacting them directly as well or by doing a general press release distribution. That's right - do publicity in two batches.
Using the guidelines above, plan your timing carefully so you don't have publicity appearing before your product is ready for purchase or after it's too late for customers to plan to attend your events.
Bonus Tip: Improve your timing even more by looking up or requesting a publication's "editorial calendar." This is an issue-by-issue rundown of planned topics - for instance, the March 16 issue will cover network security, the March 23 issue software upgrades and so on. If you dovetail your publicity with a particular publication's editorial calendar, you're practically a shoo-in!
About the Author:
Publicity expert Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, Persuading on Paper, Web Site Marketing Makeover and eight other books. She has engineered coverage for herself or her company in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Success, Women in Business and dozens of newspapers around the world. Get free access to a one-hour audio recording in which she answers the most common questions about getting media coverage at http://www.yudkin.com/publicityideas.htm
8 Ways To Get Attendees To Book In Your Hotel Room Block
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Jim Romanik
During one of the sessions at a recent CanSPEP conference, I overheard several of the event planners talking about how their conference attendees continually book hotel rooms through online services, rather than booking rooms within the conference hotel room block.
This causes problems because room blocks aren't being filled and event planners are still charged for the rooms.
As I sat in the session, I thought of several reasons why a registrant should want to book in the room block. I encourage event planners to consider adding some, or all, of the following wording to their registration forms and confirmation emails to help fill the room block.
Reasons to book in the room block and not online:
1. You don't have to pre-pay for your room if you book in the block, but you do if you are booking through a discount service.
2. The room you book online may not be comparable to the rooms in the conference room block. Remember, you get what you pay for!
3. Booking in the block will allow you to make changes to your reservation if needed.
4. If you book online through a discount service, you can't cancel and get any of your money back.
5. If there happens to be a room drop (i.e.: conference message, schedule change or gift), you may miss out.
6. If you book in the block, you get to claim award points.
7. If you are using a discount service, your hotel may not be close to the conference hotel, so you won't be able to sneak back to your room for a nap, snack, or to check email between sessions.
8. If your hotel is not within reasonable walking distance of your event, you will incur cab costs which may offset any savings that you received.
At ePly, we are always making suggestions to our clients on how they can increase the success of their events. By using some, or all, of the eight ideas above on your registration form, you have a better chance of filling your room block and avoiding attrition fees.
About the Author:
Jim Romanik - founder of ePly Online Event Registration Software (http://www.eply.com)
We are online registration experts and treat your reputation as our own to build registration forms that help your events succeed and make people wonder how you did it.
Download our Free Guide - "What Every Event Planner Should Know About Online Event Registration" at: http://www.eply.com/lp/articles.html
Copyright © 2009 Jim Romanik
During one of the sessions at a recent CanSPEP conference, I overheard several of the event planners talking about how their conference attendees continually book hotel rooms through online services, rather than booking rooms within the conference hotel room block.
This causes problems because room blocks aren't being filled and event planners are still charged for the rooms.
As I sat in the session, I thought of several reasons why a registrant should want to book in the room block. I encourage event planners to consider adding some, or all, of the following wording to their registration forms and confirmation emails to help fill the room block.
Reasons to book in the room block and not online:
1. You don't have to pre-pay for your room if you book in the block, but you do if you are booking through a discount service.
2. The room you book online may not be comparable to the rooms in the conference room block. Remember, you get what you pay for!
3. Booking in the block will allow you to make changes to your reservation if needed.
4. If you book online through a discount service, you can't cancel and get any of your money back.
5. If there happens to be a room drop (i.e.: conference message, schedule change or gift), you may miss out.
6. If you book in the block, you get to claim award points.
7. If you are using a discount service, your hotel may not be close to the conference hotel, so you won't be able to sneak back to your room for a nap, snack, or to check email between sessions.
8. If your hotel is not within reasonable walking distance of your event, you will incur cab costs which may offset any savings that you received.
At ePly, we are always making suggestions to our clients on how they can increase the success of their events. By using some, or all, of the eight ideas above on your registration form, you have a better chance of filling your room block and avoiding attrition fees.
About the Author:
Jim Romanik - founder of ePly Online Event Registration Software (http://www.eply.com)
We are online registration experts and treat your reputation as our own to build registration forms that help your events succeed and make people wonder how you did it.
Download our Free Guide - "What Every Event Planner Should Know About Online Event Registration" at: http://www.eply.com/lp/articles.html
How To Write A 300 Page Book In Four Months
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Mark Silver
There's a lot of hoopla about becoming an author of your very own business book. The promise of fame and fortune is very alluring.
Yet your book remains perpetually 'about to be' written. Or, you've sequested yourself for weeks or months to write your book, only to come out with something you feel luke-warm about.
Meanwhile your business has ground to a halt.
Hmmm.... might there be a better way to get a book written?
Immersion is needed.
The purpose of a novel is to entertain. The author takes you out of your reality into a world they've constructed or described. To do that, many fiction authors do go on retreat, or sequester themselves in some way in order to immerse themselves in their created world.
The purpose of your business' book is... why do you want to write a book, really? Besides the fame and fortune ;), I mean...
Why you need to write your book.
You need it for many of the same reasons you need a website. It allows people to enter into the world of your solution, without betting the farm.
Never mind if they're too shy to make your workshop, or not ready to hire you for whatever it is you do. They can, and will, get your book.
And, once they read your book, if it's good, they'll come back for more.
But what about the 'if it's good' piece? How do you write a good book?
The secret: You're not writing a book.
Stop thinking of your project as a 'book.' What you're really doing is writing a workbook. Or an instruction manual. A how-to guide.
Your business solves a problem of some sort. Your product or service helps them solve this problem. Your 'book' should tell them how to do it.
Your book gives your readers and customers what they need in order to solve the problem on their own. It gives them an accurate description of the problem. It gives them the process of how to face and solve the problem. It gives the philosophical foundation, if necessary.
How I wrote a 300 page book in four months.
Here's the secret: it actually took four years. I gave my very first workshops. Then, participants asked if I could 'write up these exercises' for them. So I did.
Those exercises evolved into handouts. Which evolved into multiple handouts. Which evolved into workbooks.
Then I taught several different workshops, and with each one I went through the process of handouts to workbooks. Then I beefed up each of the workbooks a bit, in response to folks who weren't clear about what I had written.
After a few years it dawned on me: hmmm, I have about 150 pages in five different workbooks. Over about four months, with the support of my wife and my master mind group, I went through those workbooks so they could stand alone, and added an introduction and a conclusion.
The result: 300 pages and tens of thousands of dollars in sales, because the book is solid, and actually applies to real life. I didn't dream it up on retreat, far from the people who would be using it.
Are you getting the drift here? Your book should be written while immersed in your business, with your customers, with the problems they face, and the questions they ask you.
There must be more to it than that, eh? Well, yes, a few things. Keep reading:
Keys to Writing Your Book
It can be short, to begin with.
I wrote a 300 page book, but, in retrospect, it could've been shorter. If the first thing you write is a 20 page workbook, and it's useful and works for your customers, then go with it!
You can keep expanding it later as you need to.
You don't need a publisher.
For your business, forget about a publisher. Even if a publisher picked you up, what would happen? They would leave you the responsibility of doing 95% of the marketing anyway.
This is a bigger subject to be addressed, but believe me when I say that you can be very successful without a publisher, going the self-published route. Check out:
http://www.lulu.com
or
http://www.cafepress.com
It's not your book, it's your FIRST book.
You might be tempted to never finish your book, because you keep learning and growing, and thinking of things to add in.
Use your heart, and look at it from your reader's perspective. Where is a natural stopping point? Then, you can save the rest of your material for your second book. And your third. Believe me, once your finish your first book, it's addictive, and you'll start writing others.
Getting a book written doesn't need to be a mysterious or artificial process. Let your work with your customers organically pull it out of you, then polish it off. Then write your next one. The 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 © 2009 Mark Silver
There's a lot of hoopla about becoming an author of your very own business book. The promise of fame and fortune is very alluring.
Yet your book remains perpetually 'about to be' written. Or, you've sequested yourself for weeks or months to write your book, only to come out with something you feel luke-warm about.
Meanwhile your business has ground to a halt.
Hmmm.... might there be a better way to get a book written?
Immersion is needed.
The purpose of a novel is to entertain. The author takes you out of your reality into a world they've constructed or described. To do that, many fiction authors do go on retreat, or sequester themselves in some way in order to immerse themselves in their created world.
The purpose of your business' book is... why do you want to write a book, really? Besides the fame and fortune ;), I mean...
Why you need to write your book.
You need it for many of the same reasons you need a website. It allows people to enter into the world of your solution, without betting the farm.
Never mind if they're too shy to make your workshop, or not ready to hire you for whatever it is you do. They can, and will, get your book.
And, once they read your book, if it's good, they'll come back for more.
But what about the 'if it's good' piece? How do you write a good book?
The secret: You're not writing a book.
Stop thinking of your project as a 'book.' What you're really doing is writing a workbook. Or an instruction manual. A how-to guide.
Your business solves a problem of some sort. Your product or service helps them solve this problem. Your 'book' should tell them how to do it.
Your book gives your readers and customers what they need in order to solve the problem on their own. It gives them an accurate description of the problem. It gives them the process of how to face and solve the problem. It gives the philosophical foundation, if necessary.
How I wrote a 300 page book in four months.
Here's the secret: it actually took four years. I gave my very first workshops. Then, participants asked if I could 'write up these exercises' for them. So I did.
Those exercises evolved into handouts. Which evolved into multiple handouts. Which evolved into workbooks.
Then I taught several different workshops, and with each one I went through the process of handouts to workbooks. Then I beefed up each of the workbooks a bit, in response to folks who weren't clear about what I had written.
After a few years it dawned on me: hmmm, I have about 150 pages in five different workbooks. Over about four months, with the support of my wife and my master mind group, I went through those workbooks so they could stand alone, and added an introduction and a conclusion.
The result: 300 pages and tens of thousands of dollars in sales, because the book is solid, and actually applies to real life. I didn't dream it up on retreat, far from the people who would be using it.
Are you getting the drift here? Your book should be written while immersed in your business, with your customers, with the problems they face, and the questions they ask you.
There must be more to it than that, eh? Well, yes, a few things. Keep reading:
Keys to Writing Your Book
I wrote a 300 page book, but, in retrospect, it could've been shorter. If the first thing you write is a 20 page workbook, and it's useful and works for your customers, then go with it!
You can keep expanding it later as you need to.
For your business, forget about a publisher. Even if a publisher picked you up, what would happen? They would leave you the responsibility of doing 95% of the marketing anyway.
This is a bigger subject to be addressed, but believe me when I say that you can be very successful without a publisher, going the self-published route. Check out:
http://www.lulu.com
or
http://www.cafepress.com
You might be tempted to never finish your book, because you keep learning and growing, and thinking of things to add in.
Use your heart, and look at it from your reader's perspective. Where is a natural stopping point? Then, you can save the rest of your material for your second book. And your third. Believe me, once your finish your first book, it's addictive, and you'll start writing others.
Getting a book written doesn't need to be a mysterious or artificial process. Let your work with your customers organically pull it out of you, then polish it off. Then write your next one. The 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
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Do We Need to Buy Ads to Get Media Coverage? Publicity Dilemma 4
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
A well-known product development expert claims that few magazines feature new products these days, and of those that do, almost all of them print articles only about companies that advertise in the magazine. The game is "pay to play," he says, so if you write and distribute a release about a new product without buying ads in the magazines that reach your target market, you are wasting your time.
Is that true?
As a publicity expert and a former freelance writer for national magazines, I'm a bit more tuned in to magazines than the average person, and from my vantage point, this claim seems wildly mistaken.
Here's what I find in a consumer magazine that happens to be on my kitchen counter today - Everyday with Rachael Ray. This magazine covers cooking and entertaining tips, tied into a popular TV show on the Food Network. In the front of the magazine, Everyday contains a section called "Yum" that highlights new products from Orville Redenbacher, Target, Bed and Bath, Hammacher Schlemmer, and products or services from smaller companies Ilium Software, ThinkGeek and Banpresto. Not a single one of those companies has an advertisement in that issue.
Taking the same kind of look at a business magazine, Fast Company, I find in the "what's new" section near the front (which is where most publications cover new stuff), articles on new offerings from Panjiva, David Rockwell, Philips and StemSave. Again, not one of these companies has an advertisement in that issue of the magazine.
I agree that sometimes, in some magazines and papers, advertisers do get favored treatment in the non-ad pages, either in advertorial columns that are not clearly labeled as such, or through implications by sales representatives or editors that they'll be covered if they advertise. But this happens almost exclusively with smaller publications. The larger and more prestigious the publication, the less this happens. That's because it's a time-honored principle of journalistic ethics that advertising and editorial copy must be functionally separate.
By and large, then, you do not have to buy advertising to get media coverage for a new product. Follow the tips below and maximize your chances for publicity.
New Product Publicity Tips
1. Focus your release or product pitch on the benefits buyers get from the product. What can they do, have or avoid because of it? Whenever pitching, don't forget to mention the price and where people can buy the item.
2. Take advantage of three prime opportunities to promote your product: First, whenever it's brand new; second, for the Christmas holiday season; and third, for special sections related to other holidays like Mother's Day, Father's Day, or graduation season, or to a traditional time of year for promoting certain items, like cruises in January, wedding guides in February or March or back-to-school items in late August. For the Christmas holiday season, get the scoop on who's looking for which kinds of items at GiftListMedia.com.
3. Make photos available. Some press release distribution services now allow you to send a photo or even a short video along with a release for no extra charge. And if you go to the trouble of sending a product sample to publications, include photos too or indicate on your accompanying cover letter how they can get high-resolution photos from you instead of having to take them themselves.
4. Do you have a do-good angle? If you donate a portion of profits to a charity, or have something like organic or LEED certification, mention it in your publicity materials. Some publications and some product roundups focus on environmentally safe or child-safe or charity-friendly products only.
About the Author:
Publicity expert Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, Persuading on Paper, Web Site Marketing Makeover and eight other books. She has engineered coverage for herself or her company in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Success, Women in Business and dozens of newspapers around the world. Get free access to a one-hour audio recording in which she answers the most common questions about getting media coverage at http://www.yudkin.com/publicityideas.htm
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
A well-known product development expert claims that few magazines feature new products these days, and of those that do, almost all of them print articles only about companies that advertise in the magazine. The game is "pay to play," he says, so if you write and distribute a release about a new product without buying ads in the magazines that reach your target market, you are wasting your time.
Is that true?
As a publicity expert and a former freelance writer for national magazines, I'm a bit more tuned in to magazines than the average person, and from my vantage point, this claim seems wildly mistaken.
Here's what I find in a consumer magazine that happens to be on my kitchen counter today - Everyday with Rachael Ray. This magazine covers cooking and entertaining tips, tied into a popular TV show on the Food Network. In the front of the magazine, Everyday contains a section called "Yum" that highlights new products from Orville Redenbacher, Target, Bed and Bath, Hammacher Schlemmer, and products or services from smaller companies Ilium Software, ThinkGeek and Banpresto. Not a single one of those companies has an advertisement in that issue.
Taking the same kind of look at a business magazine, Fast Company, I find in the "what's new" section near the front (which is where most publications cover new stuff), articles on new offerings from Panjiva, David Rockwell, Philips and StemSave. Again, not one of these companies has an advertisement in that issue of the magazine.
I agree that sometimes, in some magazines and papers, advertisers do get favored treatment in the non-ad pages, either in advertorial columns that are not clearly labeled as such, or through implications by sales representatives or editors that they'll be covered if they advertise. But this happens almost exclusively with smaller publications. The larger and more prestigious the publication, the less this happens. That's because it's a time-honored principle of journalistic ethics that advertising and editorial copy must be functionally separate.
By and large, then, you do not have to buy advertising to get media coverage for a new product. Follow the tips below and maximize your chances for publicity.
New Product Publicity Tips
1. Focus your release or product pitch on the benefits buyers get from the product. What can they do, have or avoid because of it? Whenever pitching, don't forget to mention the price and where people can buy the item.
2. Take advantage of three prime opportunities to promote your product: First, whenever it's brand new; second, for the Christmas holiday season; and third, for special sections related to other holidays like Mother's Day, Father's Day, or graduation season, or to a traditional time of year for promoting certain items, like cruises in January, wedding guides in February or March or back-to-school items in late August. For the Christmas holiday season, get the scoop on who's looking for which kinds of items at GiftListMedia.com.
3. Make photos available. Some press release distribution services now allow you to send a photo or even a short video along with a release for no extra charge. And if you go to the trouble of sending a product sample to publications, include photos too or indicate on your accompanying cover letter how they can get high-resolution photos from you instead of having to take them themselves.
4. Do you have a do-good angle? If you donate a portion of profits to a charity, or have something like organic or LEED certification, mention it in your publicity materials. Some publications and some product roundups focus on environmentally safe or child-safe or charity-friendly products only.
About the Author:
Publicity expert Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, Persuading on Paper, Web Site Marketing Makeover and eight other books. She has engineered coverage for herself or her company in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Success, Women in Business and dozens of newspapers around the world. Get free access to a one-hour audio recording in which she answers the most common questions about getting media coverage at http://www.yudkin.com/publicityideas.htm
Follow an Easy System
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Michelle Penfold
Although a large number of people join network marketing businesses the rate of failure is very high. Much of the reason for this is the fact that they fail to understand the importance of developing a simple system. If you do not have a system you are setting yourself and your team up for failure.
Why you need a simple system:
Starting off right: you need a proven system to propel you to success. Your system will allow you to recruit new team members and sell products easily.
Duplicating your system by teaching your team members: Team members' success is the basis for your success. The key to success is a simple system that your team members can duplicate easily. Always bear in mind that you can only be successful when your team is successful.
What are the elements of a good system?
A marketing method that does not cost too much but will still reach your niche market. It is critical for your success to understand that your team members will not have too much capitol to invest. Many people joining network marketing opportunities are completely new to a business and do not have too much money initially.
A popular market: marketing a product will be easier if you choose one that appeals to many people. Because health supplements can vary you will need to choose products carefully.
Easy to copy: if you want a successful enterprise you need a system that is easy to do and reproduce. This will allow your team members implement it fast and well. Bear in mind the more straightforward your system is the more successful you and your team will be.
With these points in mind you can understand the urgency of creating a system before you start recruiting team members. Your network marketing business will not succeed if you fail to do this. Your team members and you will not be focused and you will experience many drop outs.
To stop this from happening it is vital to make a plan. The best policy is to join opportunities that have a tried and true stem for you to use. This will greatly help you to expand your enterprise. With a good system it will be easy for you to teach your team to duplicate it. By this means you will all be able to develop your business into a profitable enterprise.
About the Author:
Michelle Penfold is a Network Marketer. She specializes in Health and Wellness products. Please visit her at: http://www.network-marketingopportunity.com
Copyright © 2009 Michelle Penfold
Although a large number of people join network marketing businesses the rate of failure is very high. Much of the reason for this is the fact that they fail to understand the importance of developing a simple system. If you do not have a system you are setting yourself and your team up for failure.
Why you need a simple system:
What are the elements of a good system?
With these points in mind you can understand the urgency of creating a system before you start recruiting team members. Your network marketing business will not succeed if you fail to do this. Your team members and you will not be focused and you will experience many drop outs.
To stop this from happening it is vital to make a plan. The best policy is to join opportunities that have a tried and true stem for you to use. This will greatly help you to expand your enterprise. With a good system it will be easy for you to teach your team to duplicate it. By this means you will all be able to develop your business into a profitable enterprise.
About the Author:
Michelle Penfold is a Network Marketer. She specializes in Health and Wellness products. Please visit her at: http://www.network-marketingopportunity.com
Friday, March 20, 2009
Useful Tips To Expired Domain Fresher
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 John Khu
New domain entrepreneurs starting out on expired domain business activities tend to commit a number blinders and mistakes. Unbridled enthusiasm and excessive zeal to make money tends to make an inexperienced expired domain trader extremely careless and callous. New expired domain name traders also tend to spend a lot of money in buying useless or average domain names, even when they are still learning the tricks of trade. With careless purchases and faulty decisions, they may get discouraged with the business itself and later disassociate from the business itself. Accumulated yearly renewal fees on a number of inferior expired domains will ultimately result in a big loss!
To prevent avoidable losses and to make your expired domain business a successful venture, here are some practical tips and suggestions:
a) All business ventures need a minimum amount of capital and expired domain trading business is no different. As a starter, you will need to assess and evaluate financial ability to spend money on expired domains. To start with, you will need to create a budget that is sufficient enough for the first six months.
b) To be the best domain trader in the world, you must educate yourself with the nitty-gritty's of expired domain trading business. There is so much to learn and understand as a new player. Ensure that you read a lot of books, articles and blog postings to stay ahead in the business. Register yourself and spend some time on well known internet forums and blog sites to read and know about the most recent trends of the industry.
c) The next important thing to consider with this business is to detect and identify the most efficient and complete expired domain name that can sell for a better marketable price. Choosing a good expired domain name is actually a difficult exercise and people find this exercise the most challenging one.
d) An extremely successful expired domain trader possesses an impeccable ability to differentiate between domain names that are "brandable" and those that are "keyword rich". Though it is quite difficult to find a brandable domain name, you can still lay your hand on potential one.
e) Commercial keyword rich expired domains are the most preferred ones compared to other non-keyword rich domains. As a newbie, you will need to dedicate your time and energy towards searching for a domain with a potential to earn money. Whatever you do, just ensure that your expired domain business earns enough money for your efforts.
f) As a starter in this business, you must also develop that killer instinct to know what other people are doing right now, what they are searching, how they do it and the kind of keywords that they show an interest. You may also wish to learn how to use an effective and useful keyword tracker tool to arrive at the best possible keywords.
Once you empower yourself with the insider techniques and secrets of expired domain business, you can surge ahead to grab the best possible expired domains with an ability to earn you a hefty sum of profit.
About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com and http://www.expireddomaingains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Copyright © 2009 John Khu
New domain entrepreneurs starting out on expired domain business activities tend to commit a number blinders and mistakes. Unbridled enthusiasm and excessive zeal to make money tends to make an inexperienced expired domain trader extremely careless and callous. New expired domain name traders also tend to spend a lot of money in buying useless or average domain names, even when they are still learning the tricks of trade. With careless purchases and faulty decisions, they may get discouraged with the business itself and later disassociate from the business itself. Accumulated yearly renewal fees on a number of inferior expired domains will ultimately result in a big loss!
To prevent avoidable losses and to make your expired domain business a successful venture, here are some practical tips and suggestions:
a) All business ventures need a minimum amount of capital and expired domain trading business is no different. As a starter, you will need to assess and evaluate financial ability to spend money on expired domains. To start with, you will need to create a budget that is sufficient enough for the first six months.
b) To be the best domain trader in the world, you must educate yourself with the nitty-gritty's of expired domain trading business. There is so much to learn and understand as a new player. Ensure that you read a lot of books, articles and blog postings to stay ahead in the business. Register yourself and spend some time on well known internet forums and blog sites to read and know about the most recent trends of the industry.
c) The next important thing to consider with this business is to detect and identify the most efficient and complete expired domain name that can sell for a better marketable price. Choosing a good expired domain name is actually a difficult exercise and people find this exercise the most challenging one.
d) An extremely successful expired domain trader possesses an impeccable ability to differentiate between domain names that are "brandable" and those that are "keyword rich". Though it is quite difficult to find a brandable domain name, you can still lay your hand on potential one.
e) Commercial keyword rich expired domains are the most preferred ones compared to other non-keyword rich domains. As a newbie, you will need to dedicate your time and energy towards searching for a domain with a potential to earn money. Whatever you do, just ensure that your expired domain business earns enough money for your efforts.
f) As a starter in this business, you must also develop that killer instinct to know what other people are doing right now, what they are searching, how they do it and the kind of keywords that they show an interest. You may also wish to learn how to use an effective and useful keyword tracker tool to arrive at the best possible keywords.
Once you empower yourself with the insider techniques and secrets of expired domain business, you can surge ahead to grab the best possible expired domains with an ability to earn you a hefty sum of profit.
About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com and http://www.expireddomaingains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Tips To Choose Best Expired Domains And Make Profit By Selling Them
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 John Khu
Researching, detecting and later choosing good expired domains are a sure way to create an ongoing online source of income. Zeroing on good and commercially viable domains expired can accrue you handsome gains in the longer run. Searching though an extensive expired domain list needs some amount of patience and dedication as well! Good research skills, expired domain name knowledge and a willingness to succeed in the business are the most essential ingredients. However, you may need to have a small amount of capital to start off with this wonderful business. The ultimate secret to succeed in this business is to buy expired domain names that display a character of definite winner.
Once you learn and understand the ways and methods of choosing and selecting an expired domain name, you can surge ahead to register your favorite domains. Here are some simple and effective tips to buy lucrative expired domain names that can earn you handsome profits:
#1: If possible, check the number of back links and traffic of the expired domain name. In its previous avatar, an expired domain might have had a very good repository of traffic and inbound links. Laying hands on such domains will help you get better ranking for your sensitive keywords.
Tip: Go to Google search engine and conduct a simple search by typing link:domainname.com, where you can type the actual domain name in place of domainname.com. In Yahoo search engine, type linkdomain:domainname.com to have a look at the links and traffic. Yahoo Site Explorer is another place, where you can conduct your research. A listing in the Yahoo site directory is an added bonus because of its immense value. A listing in this directory costs you around @299 every year and it will help you in saving a considerable amount of money.
#2: The quality of back links and traffic: Links are not always equal and they tend to vary from search engine to engine. Generic type of sites and branded sites tend to display high quality of links.
#3: DMOZ listing is yet another indicator of an expired domain's commercial value. DMOZ listing has a lot of internet value and you may wish to look out for these domains.
#4: You may also need to evaluate and analyze the history of the expired domain that you wish to buy. There are a number of web portals that allow you to check the authenticity of a given expired domain. For example, you can search in a site called http://www.archive.org to check how an expired domain looked in its previous incarnation.
#4: It pays you to check the PageRank of a particular expired domain name. Some of the expired domain names may still have PageRank assigned to them. If you would like to know what PageRank really is, here are some intricate details: You may have seen a green bar in Google's search tool bar. This is the window that measures the number and quality of incoming links to a particular web site. If you see a number of 8 and above, it means that the web site that displays that number is premium and top grade.
All these tips and techniques will help you segregate the best expired domain names from average ones; this simple exercise will also save you lot of money and precious time.
About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com and http://www.expireddomaingains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Copyright © 2009 John Khu
Researching, detecting and later choosing good expired domains are a sure way to create an ongoing online source of income. Zeroing on good and commercially viable domains expired can accrue you handsome gains in the longer run. Searching though an extensive expired domain list needs some amount of patience and dedication as well! Good research skills, expired domain name knowledge and a willingness to succeed in the business are the most essential ingredients. However, you may need to have a small amount of capital to start off with this wonderful business. The ultimate secret to succeed in this business is to buy expired domain names that display a character of definite winner.
Once you learn and understand the ways and methods of choosing and selecting an expired domain name, you can surge ahead to register your favorite domains. Here are some simple and effective tips to buy lucrative expired domain names that can earn you handsome profits:
#1: If possible, check the number of back links and traffic of the expired domain name. In its previous avatar, an expired domain might have had a very good repository of traffic and inbound links. Laying hands on such domains will help you get better ranking for your sensitive keywords.
Tip: Go to Google search engine and conduct a simple search by typing link:domainname.com, where you can type the actual domain name in place of domainname.com. In Yahoo search engine, type linkdomain:domainname.com to have a look at the links and traffic. Yahoo Site Explorer is another place, where you can conduct your research. A listing in the Yahoo site directory is an added bonus because of its immense value. A listing in this directory costs you around @299 every year and it will help you in saving a considerable amount of money.
#2: The quality of back links and traffic: Links are not always equal and they tend to vary from search engine to engine. Generic type of sites and branded sites tend to display high quality of links.
#3: DMOZ listing is yet another indicator of an expired domain's commercial value. DMOZ listing has a lot of internet value and you may wish to look out for these domains.
#4: You may also need to evaluate and analyze the history of the expired domain that you wish to buy. There are a number of web portals that allow you to check the authenticity of a given expired domain. For example, you can search in a site called http://www.archive.org to check how an expired domain looked in its previous incarnation.
#4: It pays you to check the PageRank of a particular expired domain name. Some of the expired domain names may still have PageRank assigned to them. If you would like to know what PageRank really is, here are some intricate details: You may have seen a green bar in Google's search tool bar. This is the window that measures the number and quality of incoming links to a particular web site. If you see a number of 8 and above, it means that the web site that displays that number is premium and top grade.
All these tips and techniques will help you segregate the best expired domain names from average ones; this simple exercise will also save you lot of money and precious time.
About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com and http://www.expireddomaingains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Business Opportunities Are Made Better with Outsourcing
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM
Mary saw it coming. The economy had dramatically impacted the company she worked for and there were several of pink slips handed out on Friday afternoon - her job had been axed, along with several of her coworkers.
What now? She and her husband had talked about the possibility of a lay-off when the economy first slumped, and Mary had said at the time that she had dreamed of owning her own business. In her spare time she painted watercolor and friends and family had encouraged her to pursue it as a career but she had never had the nerve or opportunity. Until now.
She spent the weekend enjoying time with her family and talking about the future. That Monday, she officially went into business for herself... although what it meant was still a puzzle. She wasn't great at sales. She couldn't design a website to save her life. Bookkeeping wasn't a strong suit. But she could paint!
So Mary painted. But she did something else: She called an outsourcing firm.
An outsourcing firm is one that provides a number of services that are necessary to run a business but are often not core to the business. In Mary's case, she hired an outsourcing firm that could create and maintain her website and blog, answer a telephone around the clock when orders came in, handle her finances, and even track down corporate leads and make sales.
Outsource firms make business possible. They allow business owners to focus on the core of the business - the thing that they entered business to do - by doing for the business owner all the other things that need to happen for the business to run: administration, marketing, sales, finance, you name it.
Outsource firms make business possible in another way. Aside from helping the business owner focus on the core of their business, outsourcing also makes sure that the phone can be answered 24/7, or that there is always someone available to answer questions asked through IM or chat on the website.
And, outsource firms make business profitable. One of the challenges of businesses (especially those operating in today's economy) is the problem of staff. Hiring staff can be costly. And what if sales decline? There is overhead to consider, too. But outsource staff can scale with the business, increasing as the need demands and decreasing if necessary. This keeps costs down (and more closely tied to sales than a salaried employee would). And yet another profitability factor - time spent on the right things. Business owners should be focused on their area of expertise and, if possible, on sales and marketing. Everything else takes away their attention from those more important tasks.
On her own, Mary's painting would have remained a dream and she would be out with her resume looking for another job in a very difficult hiring climate. But with outsourcing to help her, Mary's business prospects look bright.
To be successful in today's highly competitive global market, businesses need to outsource. If you are starting a business, or are running a business right now, there's a good chance that it will be a stronger business when you put more of your focus on the core and push the non-core activities to an outsource firm.
About the Author:
Heather Villa's professional philosophy is that her role in the success of others will ultimately bring about her own success. Whether she is working from an advanced accounting or challenging marketing angle, offering guidance in development, organization, supervision, or administration, Heather makes sure that her clients get accurate answers from a professional that they can depend on. As CEO of IAC Professionals (http://www.iacprofessionals.com), Heather instituted a company-wide philosophy of professional and personal integrity, and IAC soared. Would you like to find out how Heather Villa can help drive your business toward greater success? http://www.hireheathervilla.com
Copyright © 2009 Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM
Mary saw it coming. The economy had dramatically impacted the company she worked for and there were several of pink slips handed out on Friday afternoon - her job had been axed, along with several of her coworkers.
What now? She and her husband had talked about the possibility of a lay-off when the economy first slumped, and Mary had said at the time that she had dreamed of owning her own business. In her spare time she painted watercolor and friends and family had encouraged her to pursue it as a career but she had never had the nerve or opportunity. Until now.
She spent the weekend enjoying time with her family and talking about the future. That Monday, she officially went into business for herself... although what it meant was still a puzzle. She wasn't great at sales. She couldn't design a website to save her life. Bookkeeping wasn't a strong suit. But she could paint!
So Mary painted. But she did something else: She called an outsourcing firm.
An outsourcing firm is one that provides a number of services that are necessary to run a business but are often not core to the business. In Mary's case, she hired an outsourcing firm that could create and maintain her website and blog, answer a telephone around the clock when orders came in, handle her finances, and even track down corporate leads and make sales.
Outsource firms make business possible. They allow business owners to focus on the core of the business - the thing that they entered business to do - by doing for the business owner all the other things that need to happen for the business to run: administration, marketing, sales, finance, you name it.
Outsource firms make business possible in another way. Aside from helping the business owner focus on the core of their business, outsourcing also makes sure that the phone can be answered 24/7, or that there is always someone available to answer questions asked through IM or chat on the website.
And, outsource firms make business profitable. One of the challenges of businesses (especially those operating in today's economy) is the problem of staff. Hiring staff can be costly. And what if sales decline? There is overhead to consider, too. But outsource staff can scale with the business, increasing as the need demands and decreasing if necessary. This keeps costs down (and more closely tied to sales than a salaried employee would). And yet another profitability factor - time spent on the right things. Business owners should be focused on their area of expertise and, if possible, on sales and marketing. Everything else takes away their attention from those more important tasks.
On her own, Mary's painting would have remained a dream and she would be out with her resume looking for another job in a very difficult hiring climate. But with outsourcing to help her, Mary's business prospects look bright.
To be successful in today's highly competitive global market, businesses need to outsource. If you are starting a business, or are running a business right now, there's a good chance that it will be a stronger business when you put more of your focus on the core and push the non-core activities to an outsource firm.
About the Author:
Heather Villa's professional philosophy is that her role in the success of others will ultimately bring about her own success. Whether she is working from an advanced accounting or challenging marketing angle, offering guidance in development, organization, supervision, or administration, Heather makes sure that her clients get accurate answers from a professional that they can depend on. As CEO of IAC Professionals (http://www.iacprofessionals.com), Heather instituted a company-wide philosophy of professional and personal integrity, and IAC soared. Would you like to find out how Heather Villa can help drive your business toward greater success? http://www.hireheathervilla.com
Options for Affordable Health Insurance
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Kevin Kielty
If you have lost your job and need to find affordable health insurance coverage for yourself and your family, there are many options available. The first step is to learn what the different plans have to offer and how they differ.
What COBRA has to Offer
If you have just lost your job, the first thing you will need to do is to check into COBRA. COBRA allows you to continue on your employer's health insurance plan for up to 18 months after loosing your job. If you have a pre-existing condition, COBRA can be a good option, however it can be expensive because your employer will no longer be paying a portion of the cost. You will have to pay the entire amount yourself.
If COBRA does not look like a good option for your family, there are a number of other types of insurance plans available. You will need to do some research and become familiar with some of the terms and what they mean before you can make a wise decision about which plan to choose.
Types of Insurance
There are basically 2 types of health insurance. One is fee-for-service which, is the traditional type of health insurance in which you can choose any doctor or hospital you wish. The amount of choices you get with a fee-for-service plan is a plus, but the cost of this type of insurance can be quite high. Alternatives to a fee-for-service plans are managed-care plans and Health Savings Accounts.
Managed care plans include Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) and Point-of-Service Plans (POS).
Under a Health Maintenance Organization or HMO, you choose a primary doctor who participates in the plan's network and then all of your care is directed by that physician. If any test or visits to a specialist are required, that primary care physician must issue a referral and the specialist must be a part of that HMO's network. HMO's have the buying power of a large organization so you can often get your medical services for less and they are also focused on keeping costs down. Therefore, an HMO can be a less expensive option for health insurance. However, if you see a physician out-of-network or have any procedures done without prior approval, it can be expensive.
With a Preferred Provider Organization or PPO plan, there is also a list of participating doctors and hospitals, however you have the freedom to see any doctor who is part of the plan's network. You do not have to designate a primary care physician. If you wish to be able to see health care providers outside the plan's network, you will have to pay a higher coinsurance rate.
A Point-of-Service Plan or a POS has some similarities to an HMO and a traditional health insurance plan. With a POS, if you choose your primary doctor from within the plan's network of physicians, then your costs will stay low. However, if you choose to go outside of the network, your costs will be much higher. The advantage of a POS health insurance plan is that you get the cost savings of an HMO but you still have the freedom to see physicians outside the network as well.
A Health Savings Account
Another option for saving on your health insurance coverage is to open a Health Savings Account or an HSA. An HSA is a savings account for people who have a high deductible health insurance plan. Money is deposited into a special HSA account where it earns interest that is tax-free and the money is not taxed when it is used for qualified medical expenses. HSAs will also have a network of health care providers and your cost will be lower if you choose to stay within the network. As with the POS, you do have the option to go outside the network but at a higher cost to you.
If you have lost your job and find yourself in need of affordable health insurance, the first step is to look into COBRA to see if it is the best option. If it is not, then the next step is to research the managed care options as well as a health care savings account. After you learn about the different plans and how they work, you will be able to make the best choice for meeting your family's health insurance needs.
About the Author:
Kevin Kielty lives in North Carolina and writes articles on health insurance. If you are looking for rate quotes on health insurance in North Carolina, visit BCBSNC, also known as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina at: http://www.ncinsuranceplan.com/
Copyright © 2009 Kevin Kielty
If you have lost your job and need to find affordable health insurance coverage for yourself and your family, there are many options available. The first step is to learn what the different plans have to offer and how they differ.
What COBRA has to Offer
If you have just lost your job, the first thing you will need to do is to check into COBRA. COBRA allows you to continue on your employer's health insurance plan for up to 18 months after loosing your job. If you have a pre-existing condition, COBRA can be a good option, however it can be expensive because your employer will no longer be paying a portion of the cost. You will have to pay the entire amount yourself.
If COBRA does not look like a good option for your family, there are a number of other types of insurance plans available. You will need to do some research and become familiar with some of the terms and what they mean before you can make a wise decision about which plan to choose.
Types of Insurance
There are basically 2 types of health insurance. One is fee-for-service which, is the traditional type of health insurance in which you can choose any doctor or hospital you wish. The amount of choices you get with a fee-for-service plan is a plus, but the cost of this type of insurance can be quite high. Alternatives to a fee-for-service plans are managed-care plans and Health Savings Accounts.
Managed care plans include Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) and Point-of-Service Plans (POS).
Under a Health Maintenance Organization or HMO, you choose a primary doctor who participates in the plan's network and then all of your care is directed by that physician. If any test or visits to a specialist are required, that primary care physician must issue a referral and the specialist must be a part of that HMO's network. HMO's have the buying power of a large organization so you can often get your medical services for less and they are also focused on keeping costs down. Therefore, an HMO can be a less expensive option for health insurance. However, if you see a physician out-of-network or have any procedures done without prior approval, it can be expensive.
With a Preferred Provider Organization or PPO plan, there is also a list of participating doctors and hospitals, however you have the freedom to see any doctor who is part of the plan's network. You do not have to designate a primary care physician. If you wish to be able to see health care providers outside the plan's network, you will have to pay a higher coinsurance rate.
A Point-of-Service Plan or a POS has some similarities to an HMO and a traditional health insurance plan. With a POS, if you choose your primary doctor from within the plan's network of physicians, then your costs will stay low. However, if you choose to go outside of the network, your costs will be much higher. The advantage of a POS health insurance plan is that you get the cost savings of an HMO but you still have the freedom to see physicians outside the network as well.
A Health Savings Account
Another option for saving on your health insurance coverage is to open a Health Savings Account or an HSA. An HSA is a savings account for people who have a high deductible health insurance plan. Money is deposited into a special HSA account where it earns interest that is tax-free and the money is not taxed when it is used for qualified medical expenses. HSAs will also have a network of health care providers and your cost will be lower if you choose to stay within the network. As with the POS, you do have the option to go outside the network but at a higher cost to you.
If you have lost your job and find yourself in need of affordable health insurance, the first step is to look into COBRA to see if it is the best option. If it is not, then the next step is to research the managed care options as well as a health care savings account. After you learn about the different plans and how they work, you will be able to make the best choice for meeting your family's health insurance needs.
About the Author:
Kevin Kielty lives in North Carolina and writes articles on health insurance. If you are looking for rate quotes on health insurance in North Carolina, visit BCBSNC, also known as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina at: http://www.ncinsuranceplan.com/
How Much Should I Spend on My Website?
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Kevin Kielty
How do you plan to use your website?
Some business owners plan to use their website to acquire customers or generate leads and expect it to act as a 24/7 sales person. Other business owners plan to use their website as more of a secondary marketing tool, a place to send prospects after they have made contact through a face-to-face meeting or a phone call. Either way, your website is going to account for a percentage of your annual budget.
If you plan to use your site as a secondary marketing tool, then you may only need a static website. Static websites are usually under 15 pages and do not include a content management system. It is like an online brochure. You will want it to have a polished, professional look because it does represent your business, but you may not need any interactive features. It is simply a place prospective customers can go to learn more about your business and decide if they wish to contact you. Make sure that the graphics and colors are impressive and that you have the right look and feel because your site could be the determining factor in your prospective customer deciding to go with you or not.
If you plan to use your website as a primary marketing tool, then obviously you will want to allocate a greater percentage of your advertising budget towards it. You will probably want some interactive features such as a contact form or a search feature which will make the cost of your site go up, but if you plan to use your site as a marketing tool, you must invest the money to get it right, otherwise you will convert very few visitors into customers.
How much to spend on marketing?
You will also want to allocate a portion of your budget for marketing. Many business owners are still under the impression that simply building a website is enough to start generating business online. This is not true unless you happen to be in an extremely niche market with few competitors. For everyone else, showing up high in the search engine results requires an investment of time and money.
It is important when starting out, to properly allocate your web design and marketing budget. If for example, you have a $10,000 budget for the first year, you don't want to spend $1,000 on your website and the other $9,000 on advertising because you will probably have a low conversion rate. If you're going to spend money sending people to your website, you want it to represent your business well and for that, you won't want to scrimp on the design. On the other hand, you cannot spend all your money on the design and not have any left for marketing.
How to divide up your online advertising budget
A good way to determine how to carve up your web design and advertising budget is based on how long you've been in business and how you're planning to use your site.
If you are an established business looking for a website redesign, then you will want to spend more on the marketing than on the website, approximately a 70/30 split. If it's a new business, you will want it to be more evenly split, approximately 50/50. For a business that relies solely on the website for its income, such as an ecommerce site with no brick and mortar storefront, an a little less on the marketing and more on the website. Approximately a 40/60 split would be reasonable.
Choosing a designer
When you contact a designer to create your website, make sure they take the time to sit down with you and get to know you and your business. You will want someone who understands how you plan to use your website. After all, you don't need an expensive custom-designed site with a plethora of interactive features if you're planning to use your site as an online brochure. If you plan to use your site as a primary marketing tool, then it needs to have all the necessary features to convert prospects into customers.
About the Author:
Kevin Kielty writes for Internet Marketing Advantage in Raleigh. Web design is his area of expertise. Internet Marketing Advantage specializes in Raleigh website design at: http://www.raleighseocompany.net
Copyright © 2009 Kevin Kielty
How do you plan to use your website?
Some business owners plan to use their website to acquire customers or generate leads and expect it to act as a 24/7 sales person. Other business owners plan to use their website as more of a secondary marketing tool, a place to send prospects after they have made contact through a face-to-face meeting or a phone call. Either way, your website is going to account for a percentage of your annual budget.
If you plan to use your site as a secondary marketing tool, then you may only need a static website. Static websites are usually under 15 pages and do not include a content management system. It is like an online brochure. You will want it to have a polished, professional look because it does represent your business, but you may not need any interactive features. It is simply a place prospective customers can go to learn more about your business and decide if they wish to contact you. Make sure that the graphics and colors are impressive and that you have the right look and feel because your site could be the determining factor in your prospective customer deciding to go with you or not.
If you plan to use your website as a primary marketing tool, then obviously you will want to allocate a greater percentage of your advertising budget towards it. You will probably want some interactive features such as a contact form or a search feature which will make the cost of your site go up, but if you plan to use your site as a marketing tool, you must invest the money to get it right, otherwise you will convert very few visitors into customers.
How much to spend on marketing?
You will also want to allocate a portion of your budget for marketing. Many business owners are still under the impression that simply building a website is enough to start generating business online. This is not true unless you happen to be in an extremely niche market with few competitors. For everyone else, showing up high in the search engine results requires an investment of time and money.
It is important when starting out, to properly allocate your web design and marketing budget. If for example, you have a $10,000 budget for the first year, you don't want to spend $1,000 on your website and the other $9,000 on advertising because you will probably have a low conversion rate. If you're going to spend money sending people to your website, you want it to represent your business well and for that, you won't want to scrimp on the design. On the other hand, you cannot spend all your money on the design and not have any left for marketing.
How to divide up your online advertising budget
A good way to determine how to carve up your web design and advertising budget is based on how long you've been in business and how you're planning to use your site.
If you are an established business looking for a website redesign, then you will want to spend more on the marketing than on the website, approximately a 70/30 split. If it's a new business, you will want it to be more evenly split, approximately 50/50. For a business that relies solely on the website for its income, such as an ecommerce site with no brick and mortar storefront, an a little less on the marketing and more on the website. Approximately a 40/60 split would be reasonable.
Choosing a designer
When you contact a designer to create your website, make sure they take the time to sit down with you and get to know you and your business. You will want someone who understands how you plan to use your website. After all, you don't need an expensive custom-designed site with a plethora of interactive features if you're planning to use your site as an online brochure. If you plan to use your site as a primary marketing tool, then it needs to have all the necessary features to convert prospects into customers.
About the Author:
Kevin Kielty writes for Internet Marketing Advantage in Raleigh. Web design is his area of expertise. Internet Marketing Advantage specializes in Raleigh website design at: http://www.raleighseocompany.net
Why Is The Wellness Industry So Popular?
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Michelle Penfold
There is a lot of money to be made in the wellness industry. The field is large but there are many niche markets within it. The health supplement industry is one of the most popular niches. Health supplement juices and products abound.
What is the reason that people are so interested in this niche?
Health supplement products: they are some of the most popular products in the whole wellness industry.
Convenient and fast: there are a number of different health products. Juice and capsules are 2 of the most well liked forms of product. Customers take these products twice or once per day. People find this very convenient.
More health awareness: the public is getting more health conscious, resulting in a rapid growth of the wellness industry. There is a growing concern to stay fit and healthy. With more public awareness about nutrition, health supplements have become a necessary part of diet.
An abundance of research: A lot of research has been done with wellness products especially health supplements. This research proves to the public that these products really work. This means that they will trust these products more and be wiling to try them out.
Hungry market: there are many people from all walks of life that are concerned about their health. This fact has led to huge growth in the wellness industry. Because of this fitness and health supplements are easy to sell. This marketing is booming due to the increasing number of people wanting to know more about improving their health and lifestyle.
Network marketing is a highly efficient way of selling products. This marketing method has contributed to the rapid growth of the health industry as people become more familiar with products and are encouraged to buy them. Companies have found this method of product distribution to be fast and cost effective. New entrepreneurs have flocked to network marketing as an exciting start up business.
Books by Paul Zane Pilzer have increased the popularity of the wellness industry still further. He is a celebrated for his expert market analysis and as an economist. He also recommends network marketing and has backed this up with informative books.
There is a general consensus in the business world that the wellness industry is the up and coming market of today. This is the time to carve your niche in this market. Forecasters predict that by 2010 the wellness industry will be worth around 1 trillion dollars.
About the Author:
Michelle Penfold is a Network Marketer. She specializes in Health and Wellness products. Please visit her at: http://www.network-marketingopportunity.com
Copyright © 2009 Michelle Penfold
There is a lot of money to be made in the wellness industry. The field is large but there are many niche markets within it. The health supplement industry is one of the most popular niches. Health supplement juices and products abound.
What is the reason that people are so interested in this niche?
Health supplement products: they are some of the most popular products in the whole wellness industry.
Network marketing is a highly efficient way of selling products. This marketing method has contributed to the rapid growth of the health industry as people become more familiar with products and are encouraged to buy them. Companies have found this method of product distribution to be fast and cost effective. New entrepreneurs have flocked to network marketing as an exciting start up business.
Books by Paul Zane Pilzer have increased the popularity of the wellness industry still further. He is a celebrated for his expert market analysis and as an economist. He also recommends network marketing and has backed this up with informative books.
There is a general consensus in the business world that the wellness industry is the up and coming market of today. This is the time to carve your niche in this market. Forecasters predict that by 2010 the wellness industry will be worth around 1 trillion dollars.
About the Author:
Michelle Penfold is a Network Marketer. She specializes in Health and Wellness products. Please visit her at: http://www.network-marketingopportunity.com
Sunday, March 15, 2009
FDA's New Process Validation Guidance Recommends Team Approach
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Norm Howe
The November 2008 FDA draft guidance for process validation says "We recommend an integrated team approach to process validation that includes expertise from a variety of disciplines..." But when different people from different backgrounds work together, disagreements can stall your team. How do you get your project back on track?
In fact, a certain level of conflict, properly managed, is essential for a high performance team. If you're a team leader, you have to deal with conflict as part of your daily job. Sometimes it can take up all your time and leave you feeling stressed out before the day is over. You may wonder, "Why can't they just get along?" and wish that your team could be transformed into a group of angels. But the reality is that you don't want that either. Here's why.
You need a diverse assortment of talent in order to cover all the types of technical expertise that are required by the project. In today's complex world those different technical specialties are becoming even more necessary.
In addition to the diverse technical skills the team also needs people who think differently. It needs detail people and big-picture people. It needs people who like to work with others and those who can work alone. It needs people who insist on taking the time to get the job done right and also those who are driven by deadlines. All these different types of people will contribute to better decision making on your team. Truly high performance teams need to have diversity in their personnel.*
But people who have diverse ways of thinking don't easily come to agreement with one another. There is a myth that opposites attract, but, in fact, people who are most alike get along better.*People who think differently will take longer to reach agreements. Thus we have met the essential dilemma of high performance teams. If we want high performance teams, then they must be diverse. But diversity also implies conflict. Therefore, our high performance team leader must accept the premise that some level of conflict will always be present in the team. The question is, how does the leader channel that conflict into creative energy?
One typical answer is to have the team members learn something about the technical functions that other members of the team must execute. If, for example, manufacturing personnel spend some time in the lab, they may learn why sample analysis sometimes take longer than they'd like. This knowledge doesn't mean that the samples immediately get done any quicker, but at least manufacturing understands why. And this new familiarity with each others' problems can then form the foundation for continued dialogue and mutual problem solving.
However, different technical functions are far from the only characteristic that can make two people different. It's not widely known, but people simply think differently, and this leads to many misunderstandings. For instance, some people focus on details and some people focus on the big picture. One is NOT better than the other. But you really need to have BOTH viewpoints on your project, (and they can't be fighting each other) if you want it to be done right.
How do you make that happen? That understanding can be gained through an instrument like Meyers-Briggs Personality Types. If, by analogy to the cross-functional training mentioned above, we could train employees to understand how their teammates think, we would be well on the way to developing a better relationship among the employees.
This new familiarity with each others' ways of thinking can then form the foundation for continued dialogue and mutual problem solving. There are consultants that provide Myers-Briggs based training to help companies improve team performance in a regulated environment.
*The Decision Maker Matters: Individual versus Group Behaviour in Experimental Beauty-contest Games. By Martin Kocher and Matthias Sutter. Economic Journal. January, 2005.
**Assortative Mating and Marital Quality in Newlyweds: A Couple-Centered Approach. By Luo, Shanhong; Klohnen, Eva C. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 88(2), Feb 2005, 304-326
About the Author:
Norm Howe, Senior Partner at Validation and Compliance Institute, consultants for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. He got his BS at UC, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in chemistry at UCLA. He has held many management positions in FDA regulated industries, most at BASF. http://www.vcillc.com
Copyright © 2009 Norm Howe
The November 2008 FDA draft guidance for process validation says "We recommend an integrated team approach to process validation that includes expertise from a variety of disciplines..." But when different people from different backgrounds work together, disagreements can stall your team. How do you get your project back on track?
In fact, a certain level of conflict, properly managed, is essential for a high performance team. If you're a team leader, you have to deal with conflict as part of your daily job. Sometimes it can take up all your time and leave you feeling stressed out before the day is over. You may wonder, "Why can't they just get along?" and wish that your team could be transformed into a group of angels. But the reality is that you don't want that either. Here's why.
You need a diverse assortment of talent in order to cover all the types of technical expertise that are required by the project. In today's complex world those different technical specialties are becoming even more necessary.
In addition to the diverse technical skills the team also needs people who think differently. It needs detail people and big-picture people. It needs people who like to work with others and those who can work alone. It needs people who insist on taking the time to get the job done right and also those who are driven by deadlines. All these different types of people will contribute to better decision making on your team. Truly high performance teams need to have diversity in their personnel.*
But people who have diverse ways of thinking don't easily come to agreement with one another. There is a myth that opposites attract, but, in fact, people who are most alike get along better.*
One typical answer is to have the team members learn something about the technical functions that other members of the team must execute. If, for example, manufacturing personnel spend some time in the lab, they may learn why sample analysis sometimes take longer than they'd like. This knowledge doesn't mean that the samples immediately get done any quicker, but at least manufacturing understands why. And this new familiarity with each others' problems can then form the foundation for continued dialogue and mutual problem solving.
However, different technical functions are far from the only characteristic that can make two people different. It's not widely known, but people simply think differently, and this leads to many misunderstandings. For instance, some people focus on details and some people focus on the big picture. One is NOT better than the other. But you really need to have BOTH viewpoints on your project, (and they can't be fighting each other) if you want it to be done right.
How do you make that happen? That understanding can be gained through an instrument like Meyers-Briggs Personality Types. If, by analogy to the cross-functional training mentioned above, we could train employees to understand how their teammates think, we would be well on the way to developing a better relationship among the employees.
This new familiarity with each others' ways of thinking can then form the foundation for continued dialogue and mutual problem solving. There are consultants that provide Myers-Briggs based training to help companies improve team performance in a regulated environment.
*The Decision Maker Matters: Individual versus Group Behaviour in Experimental Beauty-contest Games. By Martin Kocher and Matthias Sutter. Economic Journal. January, 2005.
**Assortative Mating and Marital Quality in Newlyweds: A Couple-Centered Approach. By Luo, Shanhong; Klohnen, Eva C. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 88(2), Feb 2005, 304-326
About the Author:
Norm Howe, Senior Partner at Validation and Compliance Institute, consultants for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. He got his BS at UC, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in chemistry at UCLA. He has held many management positions in FDA regulated industries, most at BASF. http://www.vcillc.com
Saturday, March 14, 2009
List Building - 10 Super Fast Ways To Build Your Opt-in List
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Titus Hoskins
It is a well known fact that the key to successful online marketing comes from building a well targeted and responsive opt-in email list. This is mainly because your online marketing success comes from building relationships with a large subscriber base, but just how do you go about doing this?
An opt-in list is when you are given the option to receive bulk emails that are also sent to a large majority of other people. Generally you need a person's permission to add them to such a list otherwise it will be seen as spam. Regardless of what you're promoting or selling, if you want to succeed online you need to build up your own opt-in list. Most professional marketers use double opt-in which means subscribers must fill in an opt-in form on a web page and then confirm or verify their subscription in an email sent to them. This eliminates any spam complaints.
Virtually everyone uses email so it won't be too hard to build your list if you use some of the simple tactics listed below. Keep in mind, using an opt-in contact list should have a place in everyone's marketing plan as it is cheap, fast, and still more effective than other outdated methods of promotion and marketing. This is because a large majority of the people who are making money on the Internet are those who have built up a large opt-in list or are using strategic follow-up emails in their marketing. They will have refined, looked after and built up a trust with the people on their list who they can contact in the future.
If you need any help with how to approach compiling your opt-in email list then below are 10 quick and sure ways of getting people to sign up for your contact list:
1. Set up an auto-responder which will automatically send out messages to your visitor. It can be set up with a series of compelling messages, which will encourage your subscribers to buy your products or join your business. Using Pop-Ups, Pop-Ins and Slide-In forms on web pages will quickly build your list. Some professional marketers make the "Close" button on this pop-up form very hard to see, so that visitors will subscribe as a means of closing out the window. Use your own judgment here, do you want to be this sneaky? It's not exactly the best way to start a relationship, but many savvy marketers use it. This is the equivalent of "getting your foot in the door" and then these marketers follow-up with quality content to really get and hold your attention.
2. Have a concrete image or graphic of your ezine or newsletter when giving people the opportunity to sign up as this will increase your conversion rate. Your ezine or newsletter can then be sent out daily, weekly, monthly or whenever you need to send it. Relationship building is the key here because you just don't want a list, you want a responsive list.
3. Make it real simple for people to subscribe to your opt-in email; it needs to be quick and easy in order to encourage people to do it. For example you could put a simple form in the left hand column of your websites home page and other pages if possible. Most professional marketers place their opt-in form on EVERY page of their site.
4. Use social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter... truth be told all of these sites are only glorified List Builders; make sure you're taking advantage of them to build your list of contacts.
5. Use Forums - there are literally thousands of forums and discussion boards so all you have to do is find one that relates to your particular business and then participate in the discussion. The key is to get targeted subscribers, ones interested in your topic or subject.
6. Promote your website and yourself - this can be done through such things as article writing. This will promote your site in a way that will get your site known and recognized by more people; become an expert and people will want to get to know you and what you have to say.
7. Ezine advertising is a cost effective and quick way to attract visitors to your site in order to get more subscribers. Ezine ads can be a very cheap and effective way of building your list quickly. Many professional marketers also use co-registration strategies - this can be simply done by adding a form where your subscribers can check to subscribe to other related ezines or newsletters. You promote my list, I promote yours.
8. Have well written content - you need to ensure that your website content is well written, informative and appealing so that when people visit your site they will hopefully opt-in to your email list. Again, if you have nothing valuable to offer your visitors, they won't join your list.
9. Always use incentives to reward people for joining your opt-in list. Enticing potential subscribers with a free report, video, article, ebook or software is still the quickest way to get subscribers on your list.
10. Provide access to "Members Only" areas of your site - this part of your website will be accessible only when people have signed up to your opt-in email list. Same can be done for articles or reports... give your visitors a good teaser and then they have to opt-in to get access to the rest.
These are just some of the ways to build your list quickly but there are countless others, especially if you have a product to sell and you can do JVs (Joint Ventures) with other marketers or big-name Gurus. Then using a "Squeeze Page" to collect contact information to quickly build your list. So too is creating an affiliate program and letting your affiliates build your list for you!
Just remember, building up the perfect opt-in email list won't happen over night but by following the above steps it will build quickly. Just make sure that as your opt-in list grows, you provide your users with quality content and you keep the list organized and managed in order to keep your subscribers happy and satisfied so that they will be willing to do business with you over the long term.
About the Author:
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous niche sites. If you want to learn how to make your online marketing much more effective by building your lists try here: list building ecourse Copyright (c) 2009 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached. To learn more Internet Marketing Tactics try: http://www.bizwaremagic.com
Copyright © 2009 Titus Hoskins
It is a well known fact that the key to successful online marketing comes from building a well targeted and responsive opt-in email list. This is mainly because your online marketing success comes from building relationships with a large subscriber base, but just how do you go about doing this?
An opt-in list is when you are given the option to receive bulk emails that are also sent to a large majority of other people. Generally you need a person's permission to add them to such a list otherwise it will be seen as spam. Regardless of what you're promoting or selling, if you want to succeed online you need to build up your own opt-in list. Most professional marketers use double opt-in which means subscribers must fill in an opt-in form on a web page and then confirm or verify their subscription in an email sent to them. This eliminates any spam complaints.
Virtually everyone uses email so it won't be too hard to build your list if you use some of the simple tactics listed below. Keep in mind, using an opt-in contact list should have a place in everyone's marketing plan as it is cheap, fast, and still more effective than other outdated methods of promotion and marketing. This is because a large majority of the people who are making money on the Internet are those who have built up a large opt-in list or are using strategic follow-up emails in their marketing. They will have refined, looked after and built up a trust with the people on their list who they can contact in the future.
If you need any help with how to approach compiling your opt-in email list then below are 10 quick and sure ways of getting people to sign up for your contact list:
1. Set up an auto-responder which will automatically send out messages to your visitor. It can be set up with a series of compelling messages, which will encourage your subscribers to buy your products or join your business. Using Pop-Ups, Pop-Ins and Slide-In forms on web pages will quickly build your list. Some professional marketers make the "Close" button on this pop-up form very hard to see, so that visitors will subscribe as a means of closing out the window. Use your own judgment here, do you want to be this sneaky? It's not exactly the best way to start a relationship, but many savvy marketers use it. This is the equivalent of "getting your foot in the door" and then these marketers follow-up with quality content to really get and hold your attention.
2. Have a concrete image or graphic of your ezine or newsletter when giving people the opportunity to sign up as this will increase your conversion rate. Your ezine or newsletter can then be sent out daily, weekly, monthly or whenever you need to send it. Relationship building is the key here because you just don't want a list, you want a responsive list.
3. Make it real simple for people to subscribe to your opt-in email; it needs to be quick and easy in order to encourage people to do it. For example you could put a simple form in the left hand column of your websites home page and other pages if possible. Most professional marketers place their opt-in form on EVERY page of their site.
4. Use social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter... truth be told all of these sites are only glorified List Builders; make sure you're taking advantage of them to build your list of contacts.
5. Use Forums - there are literally thousands of forums and discussion boards so all you have to do is find one that relates to your particular business and then participate in the discussion. The key is to get targeted subscribers, ones interested in your topic or subject.
6. Promote your website and yourself - this can be done through such things as article writing. This will promote your site in a way that will get your site known and recognized by more people; become an expert and people will want to get to know you and what you have to say.
7. Ezine advertising is a cost effective and quick way to attract visitors to your site in order to get more subscribers. Ezine ads can be a very cheap and effective way of building your list quickly. Many professional marketers also use co-registration strategies - this can be simply done by adding a form where your subscribers can check to subscribe to other related ezines or newsletters. You promote my list, I promote yours.
8. Have well written content - you need to ensure that your website content is well written, informative and appealing so that when people visit your site they will hopefully opt-in to your email list. Again, if you have nothing valuable to offer your visitors, they won't join your list.
9. Always use incentives to reward people for joining your opt-in list. Enticing potential subscribers with a free report, video, article, ebook or software is still the quickest way to get subscribers on your list.
10. Provide access to "Members Only" areas of your site - this part of your website will be accessible only when people have signed up to your opt-in email list. Same can be done for articles or reports... give your visitors a good teaser and then they have to opt-in to get access to the rest.
These are just some of the ways to build your list quickly but there are countless others, especially if you have a product to sell and you can do JVs (Joint Ventures) with other marketers or big-name Gurus. Then using a "Squeeze Page" to collect contact information to quickly build your list. So too is creating an affiliate program and letting your affiliates build your list for you!
Just remember, building up the perfect opt-in email list won't happen over night but by following the above steps it will build quickly. Just make sure that as your opt-in list grows, you provide your users with quality content and you keep the list organized and managed in order to keep your subscribers happy and satisfied so that they will be willing to do business with you over the long term.
About the Author:
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous niche sites. If you want to learn how to make your online marketing much more effective by building your lists try here: list building ecourse Copyright (c) 2009 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached. To learn more Internet Marketing Tactics try: http://www.bizwaremagic.com
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