Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Introverted Business Owners: Don't Believe These Three Myths About Introverts' Marketing Abilities

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Marcia Yudkin



An introvert is someone who needs to recharge their energy alone rather than with other people. An extrovert is someone who gains energy being with other people and loses energy being alone. These definitions come from Carl Jung, whose work formed the basis for the Myers-Briggs personality test. If you're not sure whether or not you're an introvert, I encourage you to take that test.

If you do know you're an introvert, you may believe you're at a huge disadvantage when it comes to marketing. Many experts define the "shoulds" of marketing in such a way that introverts seem to need a personality transplant in order to do the outreach needed to get their business known. At the same time, much of the stigma attached to being an introvert in business for oneself comes from misconceptions about introverts, and that's what I'll be tackling in this article.

Watch out for these three myths that are harmful to a lot of introverts when it comes to marketing.

Myth #1: Introverts are shy and don't like to be around other people. True, introverts can also be shy, but not all shy people are introverts. These are two different phenomena. Shy people wish they were better at being around other people and want to be around other people. Introverts who understand themselves are content to be by themselves. Shy people are the ones who wish they were invited to the party, wish desperately to be invited to dance or talk but hold back. Introverts are often not interested in going to the party to begin with.

The harmfulness of this myth comes about when you think that because you enjoy being by yourself, you're shy and therefore socially incompetent, and then you convince yourself that you shouldn't pursue any form of marketing that involves social contact. Keep reading to learn more about why that's wrong.

Myth #2 is related to #1: Introverts have poor social skills and poor relationships. In fact, introverts can be very good at getting along with people. They may just have a different style of getting along with people. Instead of using small talk as all-purpose social grease, they may be better at having quiet, meaningful conversations. Introverts tend to relate better one person at a time than to a group of people. They can be very good salespeople because they tend to listen well and be interested in getting at what matters instead of more superficial things. They may have a smaller circle of friends and clients but have more intense, loyal relationships with people who matter to them.

In business, this myth is damaging to introverts because it may get them to discount the less obvious social skills they have. They may therefore put someone in charge of sales and marketing who seems to have the right personality but doesn't have the ability to get down to brass tacks and nail the sale. That's exactly what happened to me in an ill-fated business partnership early in my career. It took me nearly two years to figure out that I, the back-room person, was actually much better at marketing than my front-room partner who could talk up a storm but not much else.

Myth #3 is that introverts lack leadership ability. They're not rah-rah kinds of leaders, but they can certainly inspire the troops and keep followers committed to the right path. Again, their leadership style may be different. Introverted CEOs include Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Andrea Jung of Avon, Vic Conant of Nightingale Conant and many others, by one estimate about 40 percent of CEOs.

Yet in an informal survey on the job site TheLadders.com, 65 percent said introversion is an impediment to climbing the corporate ladder. That's a matter of perception, not reality. Introverted leaders may not be the life of the company party, but they may have vision that gets broad buy-in, integrity that earns respect, smarts that run rings around the competition, discipline that gets things done and marketing savvy that attracts no end of customers.

Socrates said it best: Know yourself. Use that knowledge to pursue success regardless of whether or not other people think you have the right stuff!


About the Author:
A bookworm as a child, Marcia Yudkin grew up to discover she had a surprising talent for creative marketing. She's the author of more than a dozen books, including 6 Steps to Free Publicity, now in its third edition, and Persuading People to Buy. She also mentors introverts so they discover their uniquely powerful branding and most comfortable marketing strategies. To learn more about the strengths and preferences of introverts, download her free Marketing for Introverts audio manifesto: http://www.yudkin.com/introverts.htm


Follow Marcia Yudkin on Twitter.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The Top Four Introvert Marketing Strengths, As Rated by Introverts Themselves and the Public

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Marcia Yudkin



To many people, the concepts "introvert" and "marketing" seem as incompatible a combination as oil and water. After all, marketing has to do with getting your name and your business reputation out there, and introverts are by definition inward-looking people, right?

Not really. Introverts are simply folks who need to recharge their energy alone rather than in a group, in contrast to extroverts, who lose energy by themselves and gain it with other people. It's true that introverts will never grab center stage at a party, and they are not masterful at small talk. However, introverts have many other abilities that take them far in business, and it can make a huge difference to potential clients when those qualities are spotlighted in their marketing.

In a survey I recently did of people who identified themselves as introverts, the introvert characteristic mentioned by far more people than any other as being helpful to them in business was creativity. Creative people have flexible thinking and good problem solving skills. They're good at creating opportunities and moving things forward without a lot of resources. Creative people can also find humor where others don't. Does all this matter to clients? Yes! IBM's Institute for Business Value found in a 2010 study that chief executives from every corner of the world value creativity higher than any other business-related competency.

The second most often mentioned introvert strength in my survey was listening. People who listen get better results than those who don't, and clients recognize this, too. In a 2009 study by Rain Today, the most widely cited complaint, named by 38 percent of those buying professional services, was: "Service provider did not listen to me." Additionally, 55 percent of those surveyed said they would be "much more likely" to consider hiring a provider if they listened better.

The third most common introvert strength mentioned in my survey was trustworthiness. Because introverts are careful in what they say, they tend to be more likely than extroverts to deliver what they promise when they have promised it, as well as to claim only what they can back up. Trustworthiness matters greatly to clients, too. In 2010, the annual Edelman Trust Barometer survey found that 83 percent of college-educated, savvy and well-to-do individuals in the U.S. ranked "transparent and honest practices" as important.

Fourth in my survey was critical thinking. Introverts don't care as much as extroverts about what everyone else thinks of them, so they're more able to think independently and voice contrary views. An introvert is the person who doesn't hesitate to say the supposedly sour soup is actually salty or that the color the client has chosen for the restaurant's decor won't go over well with patrons. Discerning leaders value someone who can be trusted to say what's what rather than what the client would prefer to hear.

According to Dr. Marti Olsen Laney, author of The Introvert Advantage, introverts are disproportionately represented among high earners. Perhaps the above four qualities explain why. If you're an introvert, forget about the silver tongue and social finesse you may not have, and highlight your less obvious personality strengths that matter and have value in the marketplace.


About the Author:
A bookworm as a child, Marcia Yudkin grew up to discover she had a surprising talent for creative marketing. She's the author of more than a dozen books, including 6 Steps to Free Publicity, now in its third edition, and Persuading People to Buy. She also mentors introverts so they discover their uniquely powerful branding and most comfortable marketing strategies. To learn more about the strengths and preferences of introverts, download her free Marketing for Introverts audio manifesto: http://www.yudkin.com/introverts.htm


Follow Marcia Yudkin on Twitter.

Developing A Facility Response Plan To Comply With the EPA

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Rathi Niyogi



The EPA has been very proactive in requiring businesses, both large and small, to adhere to standards that prevent pollution activities through oil and chemical spills. Since August 1990, in response to public outrage over the Exxon Valdez incident, the Oil Pollution Act has been a law that puts the responsibility of prevention on industry. This law includes the requirement for businesses to file a Facility Response Plan (FRP) with the EPA.

The FRP requirement is specifically designed for businesses that meet certain conditions:

1.The facility has a total oil storage capacity greater than or equal to 42,000 gallons and transfers oil over water to/from vessels; or

2.The facility has a total oil storage capacity greater than or equal to one million gallons AND meets ONE of the following conditions:

  • Does not have sufficient secondary containment for each aboveground storage area

  • Is located at a distance such that a discharge from the facility could cause "injury" to fish, wildlife, and sensitive environments

  • Is located at a distance such that a discharge from the facility would shut down a public drinking water intake

  • Has had, within the past five years, a reportable discharge greater than or equal to 10,000 gallons

  • The EPA also considers whether a facility could cause substantial harm to the surrounding environment in the event of a spill or discharge or oil or chemicals into navigable waters, shorelines, or other groundwater. There are several test factors to assist in determining "substantial harm," including storage of tanks, age of tanks and drums, drum management, oil and chemical transfer methods, as well as location.

    The most efficient way of providing a sound FRP is to demonstrate ownership and use of proper spill containment equipment. This equipment can include overpack drums, spill pallets, oil drum racks and trucks, and spill containment berms.

    Your FRP should include your current oil and chemical management plan to demonstrate worker training on spill prevention, with emphasis on their understanding of the correct use of the spill protection equipment within your facility. These things include storage of drums on drum pallets or spill pallets, use of drum racks for dispensing oil into safety cans, as well as working with oil storage tanks within the confines of a spill containment berm and the use of overpack drums for older drums and potentially-leaking drums.

    Depending on your facility layout and workplan and your state's FRP requirements, your FRP may not be exactly the same as another business. You can contact your EPA Regional Administrator to for more information to assist in the development of your FRP.


    About the Author:
    Rathi Niyogi is the CEO of CriticalTool, a national distributor of industrial equipment. If you thought this article was helpful, additional information on spill containment products can be found at http://www.IndustrialSafetyCabinets.com/


    Read more of Rathi Niyogi's articles.

    Saturday, December 25, 2010

    Types of Spill Containment Equipment

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Rathi Niyogi



    When evaluating your spill containment equipment needs, you will find there are a wide variety of spill containment tools that are available for various applications. Let's start by looking at some typical spill containment applications.

  • Leaking Vehicles

  • Drum Storage

  • Tap Drips

  • Leaking Tanks

  • Overflow Tanks

  • Battery Storage

  • While there are probably many more specific spill protection needs, these represent very typical uses of standard spill protection equipment. Below is a list of spill containment equipment and where they would be used:

    Drum Spill Pallets - For use on floors so that drums are not resting directly on the floor. The drums sit on a polyethylene platform that allows chemicals to leak into a 6-inch-deep tray rather than on the floor. This is best for drums that do not frequently dispense liquids.

    IBC Spill Pallets - Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC) present a larger challenge due to their immense size and weight. IBC Spill Pallets are typically 28-inch-deep and can support weights of up to 8500 pounds, and contain a 36-gallon sump to contain an IBC that may be leaking.

    Spill Trays - These 3-inch-deep spill pallets are ideal for storage of batteries and other small containers that may leak fluid. Depending on length and width these trays have a 14-gallon capacity. These trays rest on the floor.

    Drum Racks - When a facility has drums that are used frequently for dispensing liquids, the ideal solution is the Drum Rack. These racks contain up to fours stalls for 55-gallon drums within polyethylene holding channels. Usually they contain a Dispensing Shelf option, which should be utilized to hold a container steady as it is being filled from the drum. It typically also contains a 66-gallon sump capacity as well as the ability to hold 3,000 pounds of weight.

    Drum Containment Systems - Some facilities must keep drums stored outdoors, whether for waste disposal or hazardous fumes, but this presents a challenge to keep them out of the elements. The ideal solution for this need is the Drum Containment System, which allows drums to be stored on a spill pallet while a hard cover is mounted to cover the drums entirely. The polyethylene cover resists chemicals and the elements to keep the drums from breaking down.

    Spill Containment Berms - Many facilities contain larger areas where tanks and drums are stored together and within close proximity to each other. Pallets and racks would not be wise use of the space, so instead a spill containment berm would meet this challenge. Usually built with collapsible walls, these berms allow easy access to the area and provide sufficient protection against small leaks that are typical with tanks and drums. Spill containment berms can be small enough for a single tank or large enough to park a tractor-trailer within.

    The investment in these equipment options is far cheaper than the cost of clean-up and remediation for a spill. Consider this when reviewing solutions that will fit your facilities needs.


    About the Author:
    Rathi Niyogi is the CEO of CriticalTool, a national distributor of Spill Pallets and Spill Containment Berms and other safety products. If you thought this article was helpful, additional information on safety storage can be found at http://www.IndustrialSafetyCabinets.com/


    Read more of Rathi Niyogi's articles.

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010

    Article Marketing Tips: How Consumers Read Your Articles

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Bill Platt



    If you are an article marketer, or you have entertained the possibility of writing articles, then keep reading...

    In this article, I define the Six Essential Elements of writing articles that generates traffic and produces sales for your website...

    It will all begin to make sense to you when you step into the shoes of your readers... Because once you understand how your readers read your articles, it becomes rather obvious what your articles need to include in order for you to generate interest in your article, and successfully deliver visitors to your website...

    Once you understand the "how and why" of writing great articles, you will have the knowledge necessary to help you join the ranks of the article marketing superstars... But if you miss the point of this article, you are instead likely to join the ranks of the people who whine about how Article Marketing a scam...

    There Are Six Essential Elements of Successful Article Marketing:

    1. Title - Many people suggest that you should put your top keywords at the front of your article title, but I don't subscribe to that methodology. I do include my target keywords in the title, when I can, but an article that is well-optimized for the search engines is worthless if it does not get published... The #1 goal of your articles' title is to get the article opened!! You must present a title that is going to get the attention of publishers and readers; you must present a title that is going to compel a person to at least open your article to see if they will want to read it...

    2. Opening Paragraph - The title got your article opened, but now you need your reader to read the article... Tell your reader why they should keep reading your article and read it to its conclusion... Any reader who does not reach your website from your article is a "missed opportunity" to sell your stuff... Show people why it will be in their best interest to finish reading your article...

    3. The Article Body - The article body must meet the promise of the Article Title and the opening paragraph... The article body must retain the interest of the reader to the last word... The article body should tell a story people want to read, and leave them wanting more... The article body must successfully carry the reader to the articles' closing paragraph and to your Author's Resource Box...

    4. Your Closing Paragraph - Ideally, when your reader reaches the last paragraph of an article, the reader should be happy to have read the article to its conclusion. This is the first point about your closing paragraph. The second is that the closing paragraph should successfully bridge the reader from the article to the Authors' Resource Box. After all, the Authors' Resource Box is where the writer will get paid for having invested the effort into writing the article. When the reader reads the resource box and takes the action the author asked him or her to take, then the process of writing has the opportunity to offer the writer great rewards.

    5. The Authors' Resource Box - The Authors' Resource Box needs to transition the reader from your article to your website, by offering a compelling call-to-action to get the reader to go to your website... Tell who you are, but don't go overboard... People do not care who you are or what you have done - they only care about what else you can do for them... Jeff Herring wrote a great article that elaborates a bit further on how to construct an effective Resource Box here ( http://ezinearticles.com/?id=3624961 )...

    6. Your Landing Page - You should never try to sell your products or services in your Authors' Resource Box. Instead, you should try to get the reader to your website, where you have an unlimited number of words, videos, pictures and testimonials to tell the real story of your products or services. Few vendors have the ability to sell a product or service in 500 characters, so you should use your Authors' Resource Box to get the reader to your website, where you will do the real selling...

    Tell A Story People Want To Read

    Often, the difference between someone who will try to write an article for $5 and the professional writer who understands the value of his or her work can be defined simply...

    The person writing an article for $5 will "beat around the bush" for five hundred words, without ever actually saying anything of any real value to anyone... The person who works for $5 an article is just putting words on a page so that he or she can be paid...

    The person who demands $40 to $500 to write an article is a master of story-telling... He or she will tell a story that people will want to read, and therefore a story that publishers will want to publish...

    The authors who tell a story that "people are happy to have read" will find their articles on more high-quality websites, and they will find more people visiting their websites, as a result of having read the article...

    Words on a page only please search engines, but a story on a page will ALSO attract readers, visitors and paying customers to your website...

    Interestingly, most online marketing gurus who advise hiring people to write $5 articles fail to tell the whole truth -- they fail to point out that articles that pass real link popularity to a website must have link popularity to pass on to your website...

    People don't link to articles that are nothing more than "words on a page", but people will link to a story that needs telling... Just like with Jeff Herring's article linked above; his story is worth sharing with you, and as a result, it has gained its own links from people who do not know Jeff personally... (I have never met Jeff Herring or talked to him by phone or email. It was an honest recommendation for a great article written by him.)

    Jeff's article has gained its own link popularity, by merit of it being a good story... As a result, Jeff's article will pass real link popularity back to his website, because it has real value for readers and real link popularity to share...

    Article Marketing Will Not Work For Everyone...

    There are a great number of us who have made a lot of money with article marketing... Then there are thousands of others who have never made any money at all with article marketing...

    When you want to find success with an online business, you should mirror those people who have been successful...

    Article Marketing is no different... If you have ever visited a website or purchased a product, as a result of having read an article that mentioned the website or product, take another look at the article that drove you to action... Try to understand the "how" and "why" that article worked, and then try to figure out how you can duplicate the formula for yourself...

    Chances are good that you will see my "Six Essential Elements of Successful Article Marketing" in those articles that you are reviewing...

    Fortunately, you don't have to take my word for what I am telling you in this article... Whenever you find an article that moves you to visit the website shown in the Authors' Resource Box, take another look at the article to see how closely it matches with the "Six Essential Elements" I shared with you in this article... You may be surprised by what you learn...


    About the Author:
    Reviewers are widely praising Bill Platt's "Multiple Traffic Streams: The Magic of Attracting Buyers" traffic guide for its quality and attention to detail. One reviewer called it, "Comprehensive!!" Another said, "You could always spend $1500 or more for one of the 'guru' courses and still get less info." Get your copy here: http://thephantomwriters.com/multiple-traffic-streams/ If you are available on Friday or Saturday night, join Bill and other online marketers at: http://LiveMarketingChat.com/


    Read more of Bill Platt's articles.

    Monday, December 20, 2010

    Create A Chemical Spill Response Plan

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Rathi Niyogi



    While following all appropriate precautions significantly reduces the chance of a chemical spill, it is mandatory that any facility that uses chemicals or chemical agents in the course of production has a Chemical Spill Response Plan in place. This plan enables all employees to be properly trained in the ability to respond to a chemical spill, and as a result they can minimize the harmful effects a spill would produce.

    The first part of implementing a plan is to create a chemical management protocol, which defines who is responsible for care and storage of chemicals, and where they should be stored in relation to where they are used. Making sure that chemicals are stored in the appropriate safety cabinets, as well making sure that large distances do not have to be traveled while carrying chemicals to the work area is crucial to minimizing spill hazards. In addition, when chemicals do have to be stored, carried and dispensed, the correct safety can should be utilized. Refer to the MSDS sheet of the chemical to determine the correct type of safety can for the chemical. As part of this protocol, use of spill protection equipment is necessary as well, such as use of spill pallets ,drum racks for drums, spill containment berms for tanks, and floor spill mats for taps and other potential drip spots.

    The next part of the plan is to create a first aid procedure for each chemical in the facility. This is extremely important because treating all chemical burns the same way can make a bad situation much worse. All workers using the chemicals should be well-versed in the first aid procedures of each type, so providing in-depth training is a must. First Aid Response Kits should be located in close proximity to where chemicals will be used and be clearly marked and accessible. For extremely caustic and dangerous chemicals, workers should work in teams so that a worker can assist in the application of first aid to an injured worker.

    Next, the plan should have a list of items required for chemical spill management at your facility. Those items include:

    Personal Protective Equipment

  • Chemical Splash Goggles

  • Chemical Resistant Gloves

  • Chemical Resistant Shoe-Covers

  • Tyvek Suits

  • Chemical Vapor Respirators

  • Hazardous Spill Signs

  • Clean-Up Materials

  • Spill Pillows

  • Spill Socks

  • Neutralizers for Acids, Caustics, and Solvents

  • Polypropylene Brush

  • Polypropylene Scoop

  • pH test papers

  • Waste signs, stickers

  • Seal tape

  • Polypropylene waste bags

  • Spill Containment

  • Drain Covers and Seals

  • Spill Trays for smaller containers

  • Overpack Drums

  • The plan should provide training and instruction on communication of the spill, as well as crowd management. It should clearly define how to provide defense against the chemical spreading into other areas first, then focus on applying the appropriate materials to clean up the chemical.

    The final part of the plan is to have it approved and endorsed by management and give your employees the authority to implement it. Set up a training program to review the program with employees at least once a year, and run a drill to make sure that they can put the plan into practice as conceived.


    About the Author:
    Rathi Niyogi is the CEO of CriticalTool, a national distributor of industrial equipment. If you thought this article was helpful, additional information on spill containment products can be found at http://www.IndustrialSafetyCabinets.com/


    Read more of Rathi Niyogi's articles.

    3-30-3 Rule of Online User Behaviour

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Jamie Lee



  • More than 1 Trillion unique URLS online

  • 3-30-3 Rule of User Online Behaviour

  • 3 Seconds before pressing the "Back" button

  • 30 Seconds to evaluate your landing page

  • 3 Minutes to decide to make a particular action

  • With over 1 trillion unique URLs and 122 million domain names online, the internet has become a very crowded place.

    An effective sales funnel design is instrumental to maximising conversion. According to Joel, an Internet Strategy Consultant from Conversion Hub (a Singapore based usability and conversion optimization consultancy), an average web visitor would give you a mere 3 seconds before deciding to press the "Back" button of his browser. If you succeed in capturing his attention, you gain an additional 30 seconds where he will evaluate your value proposition. Finally, you will have an additional 3 minutes to persuade him to perform a particular action.

    This is also known as the 3-30-3 rule.

    What Is A Sales Funnel?

    You should have a specific goal that acts as a funnel to drive all incoming traffic into your goal. The sales funnel begins by capturing the attention of prospects. Some prospects are convinced to become buyers of the product or adopters of the action your website is persuading. The sales funnel continues to nurture the best customers, filtering out mismatches and refining the specific target customer, offering them more specialised products and services, often at higher prices. By the end of the process the funnel has identified the highly-responsive customers who have heeded your message.

    Give your visitors exactly what they came to find and you will be edging them along the sales funnel. This includes an eye-catching design to draw your target audience's directly to the sales funnel, a clear marketing message communicating a strong and clear value proposition, and one or more clear, concise actions to take.

    Measurement And Analysis

    An integral step of developing a sales funnel design is measurement and analysis. Such action will tell you many things that will help you develop an effective sales funnel, such as which marketing activities are bringing in the right visitors, where visitors are losing interest and leaving your site, which chains of presentations and related visitor actions are producing your sales and so forth. Conducting measurement and analysis allows you to drop ineffective marketing activities and messages, determine which marketing activities are bringing the right people to your site, where they are dropping out of your sales pathway and in what percentages. All these means you can squeeze out more results of your marketing investments. An effective sales funnel is supposed to be designed to filter out the misses at each layer, so in that sense, attrition at a certain percentage rate along the way is both expected and good. This means that your funnel is focusing on the target audience you are expecting action from - the customers that have found a reason to stay on your site for that extra 3 minutes.

    Developing your sales funnel or improving on it could be as simple as the creation of a new top banner or homepage restructuring to give your visitors a sense of purpose and the development of a conversion driven goal page.

    If your strategies and messages are all over the place, find out how you can coordinate and synchronise your efforts with an effective sales funnel design. With 87% of visitors giving you a very unforgiving 3 seconds to make that first impression, and only 30 further seconds to evaluate what you have to offer, a successful sales funnel design could essentially be what makes or breaks your website.


    About the Author:
    Jamie Lee is a Consultant in Singapore's leading Search Marketing Firm - Conversion Hub. She also actively contributes to forums on topics related to PPC Advertising and social media marketing. http://www.conversion-hub.com/


    Read more of Jamie Lee's articles.

    Sunday, December 19, 2010

    Help Desk Software: Exploring Deployment Options

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Clark Tanner



    IT professionals of today tend to have high expectations with regard to the software tools they use to track and manage their customer issues. Almost everyone who is researching Help Desk software is looking for the application that has the most powerful feature set at the best price. Obviously it is easier to work with prospects who have a very good idea of their core requirements for the particular project they are focused on. This allows the sales agent to help them determine whether his or her particular product offering is a match. And since these calls are usually coming from IT Managers (or IT staff members who help manage hardware and infrastructure), it is almost always "understood" that they are looking for a solution that can be installed on their own server(s) inside their own IT environment.

    Some providers of Help Desk software are now offering various deployment models for their solutions. This means that there are additional options that need to be talked about during the buyer's product research phase. There can be some confusion around these deployment options, so it is important to be clear about what is actually available and the various names for these models. The three main deployment models are In-House (Perpetual), Hosted (SaaS), and Annual Subscription.

    Most everyone has heard of a "Perpetual License" model. This means that the license has no expiration date associated with it, so once purchased, it can be used indefinitely by the customer. We call this an In-House option, since it is installed on a server inside the customer's environment. While this model typically requires the greatest initial investment, it is often still the most popular of the three. The main reason for this is the current mindset that continues to prevail in the IT world that says "we want to manage the application internally in our own environment so we will have ultimate control of the software, the backend database, the configuration, etc." However, current trends show that some firms are becoming more open to other deployment models.

    Another well-known deployment model is the "Hosted" model. This is also often referred to as SaaS (Software as a Service) or "Cloud Computing" and is becoming more and more popular these days. This particular model is not installed at the customer site, but instead is hosted by the provider (so the software actually runs on a server in the provider's data center). The greatest benefit of the Hosted model is that there is no requirement to set up servers or build out infrastructure, which is typically required for most In-House installations. Cost-wise, this model is typically the most affordable as it requires the smallest initial out-of-pocket investment to get started.

    Still another deployment type is known as the "Annual Subscription" model. Some companies who use this term are referring to a pre-paid 12-month contract on what we previously referred to as the Hosted model. Other companies offer a 12-month license that works almost exactly like the In-House model, except that the license must renewed before the end of the 12 months, or it will shut down. At Novo Solutions, our Annual Subscription model seems to be growing in popularity - mainly because it offers the best of both worlds. The software can still be installed internally in the customer's own environment, and is also less expensive than the In-House/Perpetual model. This option is also drawing more attention because of the current economic climate and the need to cut back on spending.

    This means that everyone can evaluate the various solutions that are on the market and can determine which software truly is the best fit for their needs and their IT infrastructure, as well as their budget. It helps to have an idea of which deployment model you are focused on at the beginning of a new software research project. And since some vendors only offer one of the models described above, this should save time by helping you to narrow your list before investing lots of time and digging in deep with product demonstrations and trials.

    Researchers who have "done their homework" and have a clear understanding of what their IT Director is looking for will save their company time and money by narrowing the playing field and knowing which vendors to invest quality time with. By understanding the various deployment models and asking questions the right questions in advance, a solid "research plan" can be drafted prior to beginning the project. This can also be a great way to gain favor with Senior Executives as they will begin to see who is better at researching and managing software projects.


    About the Author:
    Written by: Clark Tanner, Account Manager for Novo Solutions, Inc. Novo Solutions, Inc., is an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) in Virginia Beach, Virginia specializing in Customer Support Software. Free trial versions of the Novo Help Desk Software, and a suite of web-based Customer Support Solutions are available.  Contact us for more information. http://www.novosolutions.com/


    Read more Articles written by Clark Tanner.

    Use Online Fax To Lower Your Faxing Costs

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Titus Hoskins



    Regardless of which business you're operating, cutting down on operating costs is always a major concern. The same goes for all your faxing expenses - any program or system which lowers your monthly costs should be considered. That's where Internet or online fax enters the equation.

    Online fax is the modern way to fax. It uses the Internet and your email system to send and receive all your faxes. Your faxes are sent as email attachments and can be easily stored on your computer and/or in your online account for easy access and filing. It is paperless faxing which requires no inks and toners, or even a conventional fax machine for that matter. But most of all it is a cheaper way to fax.

    First, because it is web based your start-up costs are very low since you don't need an extra fax phone line. And since everything is out-sourced to a third party online fax provider you can set-up a local or toll-free number within minutes. Most of these providers have no set-up fees and most will give you a 30 Day Trial period where you can test out their services. All this will save you money, especially when you consider the cost of setting up a traditional fax line and system in your office or company.

    Next, monthly costs of running your new online fax account are very low, on average these charges run around $7 - $10 a month. Some services are priced lower and some higher, so it does pay to shop around to find the service which perfectly matches your faxing needs, especially when you consider each provider has slightly different faxing plans (number of faxes your can send/receive each month) and slightly different rates for overage faxes.

    Then you have to realize, online faxing is completely portable and available anytime and anywhere you have web access. This means that your company is virtually open for business around the clock. This can save you money on commuting expenses especially if you have workers who work out of their homes, a trend that is becoming very popular these days. Online fax fits neatly into this new workplace or workforce, cutting down your operating expenses.

    Online faxing is also completely scalable for any company or business, you can quickly add or subtract fax lines since there is no hardware to install. For a growing business this can be a great money-saver which shouldn't be ignored, especially if your company depends upon faxing to bring in new sales and clients.

    Lastly, online fax is very secure, easy to use, and brings your whole faxing system into the modern world of the computer and the net. Your faxes are accessible around the clock, regardless of where you are in the world. It completely liberates any business or company from just a physical location and totally modernizes your faxing, while cutting your operating costs - what more can you ask for?


    About the Author:
    For more information on Internet Fax Services use this handy online Comparison Guide to: online fax Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing try here: internet fax services.
    Copyright (c) 2010 Titus Hoskins. http://www.bizwaremagic.com This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.


    Read more of Titus Hoskins's articles.

    Saturday, December 18, 2010

    How to Work Well With Introverted Clients: Four Guidelines

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Marcia Yudkin



    Skittish. Cocooned. Loyal. Disciplined. Introverts are those who enjoy their own company and need time alone to recharge. They may or may not be shy, but they don't talk for the sake of talking and aren't at their best in a loud, crowded situation.

    You're more likely to describe introverts as interesting people than as exciting folks to be around. (To an introvert, that's a compliment, rather than a put-down.) According to researchers, the percentage of introverts gets higher as you go up the income scale, so if you work with the affluent or with those in professions that attract quiet workers, you're more likely to run into them. As clients, they may require special interpersonal measures - particularly if you yourself have backslapping, chatty, everyone's-a-friend tendencies.

    1. Respect the Introvert's Reserve

    Introverts understand the need for a handshake as a social greeting, but don't go beyond that. They dislike social hugs, and even a casual hand on the shoulder may feel out of line to them if they regard you as a business associate. Personal comments, like compliments on what they're wearing or guesses about the ethnic origin of their name, which might establish rapport with someone else, can feel intrusive to introverts. A jokey style that prods them to respond in kind starts off with them on the wrong foot.

    They appreciate it when you get down to business with a minimum of preliminaries. Allow them to talk without finishing their sentences for them or interrupting.

    2. Respect the Introvert's Privacy

    Introverts do not relish the idea of others knowing personal information about them, unless it's absolutely necessary. They're the ones who come up "private" on caller ID, who have unlisted telephone numbers, who bring up the issue of confidentiality at the outset of a relationship. They may balk at writing a testimonial even when they're extremely pleased with how you've helped them, because it exposes something about themselves.

    Don't expect them to carry on business in a packed restaurant, where the waiter and people at neighboring tables can overhear. Without their permission, don't disclose even innocuous facts about an introvert, such as the fact that you saw them last Wednesday or that they went to Cornell, to others. Reassure them that everything that goes on in your meetings stays within your four walls. If you set up a working lunch, choose a quiet place and reserve a table in a corner - or order in for your conference room.

    3. Deal With an Introvert One on One

    Introverts come out of their shells most easily with just one other person at a time. In a group, they fear looking stupid or feeling vulnerable. They appreciate having your full attention when face to face. Don't allow telephone or walk-in interruptions, and don't "unobtrusively" check your BlackBerry or your computer monitor. They notice.

    If you're advising a pair of clients where one doesn't say much, don't presume silence means the quiet person has no questions or agrees with the talkative one. Draw out the introvert by asking for their input and waiting for them to gather their thoughts.

    4. Don't Pressure an Introvert

    Introverts process information better on their own and may need time and space to make decisions. Expecting them to respond on the spot may get you nowhere. Impatience with their "what ifs" will backfire, big time.

    In a setting that suits them, introverts can be funny, creative, warm, congenial, productive and loyal. Create that setting for them, and you can enjoy doing business with them for years and years and years.




    About the Author:
    A bookworm as a child, Marcia Yudkin grew up to discover she had a surprising talent for creative marketing. She's the author of more than a dozen books, including 6 Steps to Free Publicity, now in its third edition, and Persuading People to Buy. She also mentors introverts so they discover their uniquely powerful branding and most comfortable marketing strategies. To learn more about the strengths and preferences of introverts, download her free Marketing for Introverts audio manifesto: http://www.yudkin.com/introverts.htm


    Follow Marcia Yudkin on Twitter.

    Friday, December 17, 2010

    Selling to Introverts: 10 Ways to Appeal to Introverts' Marketing Preferences

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Marcia Yudkin



    Whether you're an introvert or an extrovert, you probably have an unthinking tendency to market to people the way you yourself prefer to be communicated with and treated. If your target audience resembles you, that approach succeeds. But if your target audience differs greatly from you, you're shooting yourself in the foot when you do that. Worse, unless you've investigated or learned about the preferences of those with a different personality, you may not realize the extent of this disconnect.

    For best results, you must market to people the way they prefer to be marketed to, not the way you prefer to market or be marketed to.

    When you are selling to people who are reserved, quiet, comfortable with themselves, independent thinkers and not the life of the party - in other words, introverts - here are 10 important guidelines to keep in mind.

    10 Ways to Sell Successfully to Introverts

    1. Third-party credibility boosters. Introverts tend to be less gullible than extroverts, because they're less swayed by enthusiasm or the desire to follow the crowd. You want to win their respect, and they respect media coverage, awards, certifications, credentials and endorsements from industry leaders who are known as the most competent in their field. Any relatively objective indicator of excellence influences introverts to become more interested in what you offer.

    2. Confidentiality. Introverts treasure privacy, and they retreat when they see that you might not keep their patronage of you private. Coaches and consultants who illustrate their points with examples from clients raise this suspicion, even if the clients are identified only by a first name. Likewise, offering feedback as part of a package but only in public can make introverts hang back. Explicit reassurances about confidentiality can be crucial to earn the trust of introverts.

    3. Opportunity to ask questions before the sale. Because introverts are less likely to get swept along by the breathless enthusiasm of a sales pitch, they value the chance to contact the seller to clarify something that's important to their decision-making process. Saying there will be an opportunity to get questions answered after the sale helps, also. If the question-asking occurs in private rather than in a group setting, all the better.

    4. No gratuitous videos. Don't force a prospective buyer to sit through a video in order to access introductory information about your product. Introverts enjoy watching videos for entertainment or for demonstrating how to do something, but when you deliver information on video that that could easily have been conveyed in text, they'll resent you for wasting their time. Forget about "talking head" videos for this group.

    5. No fluff or filler. Introverts hate hype. They also dislike it when people don't get to the point. High-content communications with some promotion woven into it or appended at the end therefore go over best with introverts.

    6. Samples. Because introverts prefer substance to fluff, they're more eager to buy when they've seen a sample that impresses them. So if you are selling a book, provide a free sample chapter; if you are selling a coaching program, make a sample session available, with the participant's permission noted.

    7. No name dropping. Some marketers like to refer to colleagues as "my good friend (or buddy) so and so," but if you do that too many times, introverts may lose respect for you. They'd rather have fewer, closer friends, and they'll think you're blowing hot air when you claim to have close relationships with a lot of people. In addition, the mere fact that you know someone important doesn't raise your status even a millimeter with an introvert.

    8. Personal attention. Introverts prefer to interact one-on-one or in small groups. They don't like crowds. So if you offer seminars, coaching, tours or workout facilities, do so on an intimate scale. You won't catch introverts yearning to cruise on a thousand-passenger ship, enjoying stadium-sized lectures or belonging to a crowded, cavernous gym if they have another choice.

    9. Minimal pressure. If you sell overly aggressively and don't give an introvert time and space to think through their decision, they'll duck out and go elsewhere to buy. Deadlines are fine, but not ten minutes down the line.

    10. Practice what you preach. Introverts value consistency. They're put off by a proofreading service that has a typo in its marketing copy, a purportedly "green" company that wastes paper or someone who says he's not selling something yet proceeds to do exactly that. Make sure you embody the principles you espouse in the way you promote your offerings and the way you treat customers.

    Above all, communicating in a calm, respectful, content-rich manner wins over introverts. Be prepared, be succinct, be substantive with them and you'll be successful.


    About the Author:
    A bookworm as a child, Marcia Yudkin grew up to discover she had a surprising talent for creative marketing. She's the author of more than a dozen books, including 6 Steps to Free Publicity, now in its third edition, and Persuading People to Buy. She also mentors introverts so they discover their uniquely powerful branding and most comfortable marketing strategies. To learn more about the strengths and preferences of introverts, download her free Marketing for Introverts audio manifesto: http://www.yudkin.com/introverts.htm


    Follow Marcia Yudkin on Twitter.

    Public Speaking Skills: First Principle of Great Communication

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Dr Jeannette Kavanagh



    We all need public speaking skills, even if it's only the skill of asking a question at a local meeting of the Parents and Teachers' Association. Over the years I have seen even very experienced public speakers forget the most basic principle of oral (spoken) communication.

    Before sharing with you some general advice about principles of oral or spoken communication, I am assuming that you know that great presentations take hours, sometimes days, of dedicated preparation. I do realize that if you make presentations to clients on a regular basis and it's only the actual content that changes, you won't have to spend a great deal of time preparing after the first couple of times.

    However, I base all my seminars on the principle that to present at your best, you must be prepared to prepare. Both your material and your self.

    First Principle: Aural and Visual Communication Are Very Different

    The saying that 'a picture is worth a thousand words' can be true. Keep that saying in mind when using visual aids. Use a picture, diagram, flow chart or other image to convey visually what you'd need a thousand words (or so) to say. Your use of visuals in a presentation should illuminate the meaning of your spoken words.

    Great presenters support their visual images by speaking in detail about what is being conveyed visually. That tactic is very useful and extremely powerful. It focuses the minds of the listeners simultaneously on the message which they're receiving both visually and aurally (by listening).

    When you show a slide of a rose but you talk about lemons - not that you'd dream of something as silly as that - but when there is a conflict between the visual image and what you're talking about, I need hardly spell out for you the sort of confusion that follows. Human beings find it difficult to combine aural and visual media of communication. That is, we find it difficult to listen to your words (aural communication), while simultaneously being asked to take in even slightly different information which you're conveying using on visual aids.

    Yet, time and again that is precisely what even the most experienced public speakers do.

    They spend their preparation time really well by distilling some complex information into a great diagram. By 'great diagram' I mean one that is clear and easy to understand. They prepare by creating that great visual and then go on and on and on -about something else.

    Once again, I've often been astounded to pay a huge entry fee to hear great public speakers present their information to a targeted audience of people keen to hear them. I'm just relaxing into the presentation when up on the screen comes a diagram that looks like a circuit for a computer. Boxes all over the place, a few arrows going both ways or in circles and a colour scheme that confuses the listeners even more.

    Given my background I'm sorry to have to say this, but University lecturers have been the worst offenders to date. The others are the people whose information is extremely up-to-date and very valuable but they haven't ever invested even a second of their lives learning how to present their gems.

    To quote Dorothy Sarnoff, one of my favourite writers on the subject of public presentations:

    "Speechmaking confidence comes from knowing that you have something worth saying, and that you can say it in a way that's worth listening to". (Sarnoff 1981: 42)

    My approach to public presentations is inspired by something Albert Einstein is alleged to have said:

    "If you really understand something, you can make it understandable to a ten year old."

    So, be like Einstein: keep it simple. Your words and your visuals.

    There's a related rule I use in my own presentations. You don't have to follow it, it's just my advice. That rule is:

    If your visual aids don't stand alone, or make sense by themselves, dump them. If you don't discard them, please at least have a very good second look at them. If your visual material is going to require lots and lots of verbal explanation, sorry sweetness, but they're too complex for a public presentation. You can of course include them in your conference paper. That's a different medium of communication altogether.

    So to sum up that fundamental principle of good oral communication: never confuse your eager listeners by presenting difficult-to-follow visuals which in turn, are out of synch with what you're actually talking about.

    Public Speaking Fear Can Mar Your Presentation

    A big reason for under par presentations is one with which we all feel some empathy. The person speaking is a world expert on the topic but....s/he is has such high levels of fear of public speaking that it becomes easier to hide in visuals. Worse still, some very nervous speakers resort to standing there and reading their presentation. I know from having worked with even the most nervous people imaginable that everyone can conquer their public speaking fear. If fear of public speaking is more of an issue for you than preparing your talks and presenting them using clear and simple visual and verbal language, I urge you to get the help that will conquer that fear.


    About the Author:
    Dr Kavanagh works in Melbourne, Australia to help people overcome their public speaking fears. Jeannette has helped thousands of people overcome their fear of public speaking. For more information, visit her website http://www.conquerpublicspeakingfears.com/ Sign up for a FREE Public Speaking Success program.


    Read more Articles written by Dr Jeannette Kavanagh.

    Thursday, December 16, 2010

    Create Staggering Wealth With An Efficient Marketing Sales Funnel Process

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Ryan Parenti



    Did you know a marketing sales funnel process can make you or break you? It's easy and you can make big bucks online quickly if you do this right.

    First Off What Is A Sales Funnel?

    A sales funnel is a way to tier your buyers. A lot of people come in at the beginning the it leads them down to higher priced products where you will have less buyers.

    But there are a few main elements that many people leave out. The traditional sales funnel is missing a key competent.

    It doesn't show you how you create value for your market. Value is defined by what the market does.

    It is defined by what people are willing to take action to get or to keep.

    The value you provide needs to be in the process not in the products you sell. That's why an effective sales process is a step by step process leading a person to make multiple buying decisions.

    What If People Don't Buy?

    If people are not taking the next step in your sales process you didn't provide value earlier in the sales funnel.

    So the value is not only in the product but in the entire process that you lead your customers through. You can measure the value you give by the actions your customers take.

    The truth is the process you send people through is the funnel in which you coordinate all of your sales.

    For your marketing you need finely tuned selling systems, known as the sales funnel management or marketing sales funnel processes.

    You need to find, get, and keep customers and you do this through your sales funnel.

    If you can find and get people in your sales process you can make some money but when you master keeping them and selling them more products then you become wealthy.

    Here is an example.

    You can look at something like your car. This is a 'system' that allows you to go from point a to point b.

    But if one of the parts goes out, like the axis, the entire system shuts down.

    So every part of your sales process needs to be working or else the entire system shuts down and bleeds to death.

    Where Do You Start The Your Marketing Sales Funnel Process?

    The first step is to do some research. Find some markets that you want to get into.

    Then you need products and then you need to advertise.

    Look for solo mailings where people have paid to get on lists. Then look at the offers of the solo lists and then mimic the their sale product.

    You do this because you know what price range to target and what type of way to position your product to these people.

    I am telling you that when you are looking for solo mailings to advertise in you can then simply mimic the product that they have already bought because you know they want it.

    A suggestion that works!

    So What About The Sales Process?

    The first step of your actual sales process is to differentiate yourself. To position yourself in a unique way.

    If you are the same as everyone else it will be very difficult for you to build a extremely profitable business. You need to develop a USP (Unique Selling Proposition).

    After you know how your going to uniquely position yourself you want to shape and influence your prospect with education that can help them make a buying decision.

    This is how you follow up with people who are in your funnel. Presell them on your offers and show them why you are uniquely qualified.

    Every time you make contact influence their buying decisions through education and preselling.

    Perhaps make mention of something that your competitors are missing. When you are educating your prospects you want to plant the seeds in them to make the choice to do business with you.

    You also want to connect what they need, want or wish to the solutions your offering. Every point of your sales system needs to move people to the next step on their path..

    Are You Flushing Money Down The Toilet?

    You have to measure your business. Really, you have to measure your business.

    It is important to say twice because it is that essential to success.

    You need to measure success so you know what to improve. If you don't measure whats going on you don't know what to change.

    This will help you understand what is meaningless and what is meaningful.

    Honestly there is no reason even doing something if you can't measure it. If you don't know what the results are why would you even do it?

    On the flip side if you can't change something there is no need to measure it. It is a waste of time and resources.

    So focus your resources and energies on things that you can have an impact on. Then you can do something in these areas to grow the business. Increase or decrease what you do to impact your numbers.

    Add more bonuses, bundling products, ect.

    Here is the easy way to measure if you are doing well.

    Measuring customer actions is where you start. Every time you ask your customer to do something (like buy another product) you can determine if you are giving value or not by if they take action.

    If customers are taking action then you are providing value. If not then you need to provide more value.

    Taking note of customer action is probably the biggest way to measure how good you are at creating value and giving them what they want.

    The trick is to create a sales process that has value built inside of it. As a person walks through your sales process you want to give them exactly what they need at that point in the sales process.

    If you measure your numbers you can tell if you are providing that to them.

    So you need to create a sales process then measure what goes on so you can look at what it is that you can change and improve.

    Do You Know The #1 Thing That Will Increase Your Profits?

    If not you need to find out!

    When your testing and tracking results your looking for the thing that is undermining your sales. This is a vital point for improvement and when you do something about it you will have much better results.

    Listen, if you have a whole as big as a bus in your sales process then some people are falling through it! So you want to patch up your leaks and create a finely tuned engine.

    So you need to decide out of all the areas that can be improved what is the one area that you want to focus on.

    Look for your weak links because if you improve them they will give the best results overall. Basically this is saying to find out what your biggest weakness is and focus your efforts into improving the sales funnel management.


    About the Author:
    If you are serious about increasing sales, traffic and affiliates on autopilot without spending a small fortune setting it all up go ahead and download this free audio and learn the exact steps you need for increased internet profits: http://BuildOnlineWealth.com/crazyfreeoffer/ Written by: Ryan Parenti


    Read more of Ryan Parenti 's articles.

    Beginner's Guide To Multiple Domain Web Hosting

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Adrian Aditya



    Gone are the days when you had to open a separate account for each of your website. Since the past few years website owners have been able to enjoy the various advantages offered by multiple domain hosting services.

    As the name implies, this kind of hosting plan allows you to host more than one website under one hosting account. This means there is no any additional fee required every time you have a new site. In the long run this can save you a great amount of money.

    To add a new domain, what you need to do first is to go to the web hosting control panel. Then go to a section called Addon Domains and fill in the boxes provided therein with your new domain, document root, username and password. Finally click the Add Domain button. It is that simple!

    The username and password that you insert in the above section will be used to access the files of your website through an FTP program. In fact, each of your site has its own FTP account.

    After that you should create at least one email account for your new domain name. Once again, you can set up several email accounts dedicated for a certain domain.

    Not only FTP accounts and email accounts, the multiple domain hosting service also provides one or more statistical reports for each of your domains. The most common programs used for this purpose are AWStats and Webalizer. With these features you can find out how each of your sites has performed.

    The same also applies for database. A multiple domain hosting service enables users to install different databases for different websites. As you know scripts like WordPress or Joomla require database to operate. This means you can develop a different type of websites for each of your domain.

    Usually multiple domain hosting providers provide a feature called Fantastico. Using this tool it will be very easy for you to install various scripts for all of your sites. From web log to image gallery, all can be installed with a few mouse clicks with Fanstastico.

    Another advantage of using a multiple domain web host is that you can use some of your domains for redirection. This can be very useful to hide affiliate links for instance.

    Once again, a hosting service with multiple domain features lets you host all the sites that you own without having to open different hosting accounts. It is like opening more than one accounts, except it is cheaper because what you use for the additional domains is actually the subfolder of your root directory.

    Although basically multiple domain hostings are offered as shared hosting services, some providers allow you to use a dedicated IP for all of your domains with no cost or for a small fee.

    Before choosing a hosting company that provides this feature there are several things to take into account. You should know how many domains are allowed to be hosted. There are companies that allow you to host a maximum of 10 domains, while others allow you to host domain names in an unlimited number.

    Another important thing to consider is the amount of monthly data transfer as well as disk space offered. Generally, the more sites you want to build the larger disk space and monthly data transfer you will need.

    Clearly, this type of web host is very suitable for you who have a plan to build numerous sites covering different niches. So if your business plan incorporates more than one website, multiple hosting plan is something that you should consider.


    About the Author:
    Find tips and tricks on how to utilize an unlimited domain hosting. Adrian Aditya is the owner of http://www.unlimitedhostingplan.com/ offering solutions for people who intend to host multiple websites.


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    List Building Tips For The Affiliate Marketer

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Titus Hoskins



    If you're into affiliate marketing you will probably already know how important list building is to your overall success. However, I sometimes get the feeling from close examination of my competitor's sites that list building takes a back seat in their site layout and design. One also gets the general feeling that list building is not as important as it once was, especially in the early days of online marketing before the advent of so many social media/networking sites.

    Granted for the ordinary webmaster, in the age of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, building your own personal autoresponder lists have taken a backseat to these social networking sites which obviously builds your subscriber list for you. But these are third-party sites controlling your subscribers and while they more or less eliminates the whole notion of unwanted spam, they do present issues regarding the use of these lists.

    Coming from the old school of marketing, I realized the importance of my lists from the start. I also realized the most difficult part of building a list was not getting the subscribers, but connecting in some way with them and building trusting relationships with lists in the tens of thousands is not an easy thing to accomplish.

    List building in regards to affiliate marketing is of special interest to me since I am a full-time affiliate marketer and anything which makes my job easier I will try. Like most affiliate marketers, I have created niche sites dealing with the products and services which I promote. One major component of these sites is the list building element. On almost all my sites I try to capture my visitor's contact information to give follow-up information which lets me market to these subscribers in a very subtle way.

    The important thing here is to offer free ebooks, guides or e-courses in order to capture this contact information before these customers are sent along to the merchant's site. This is the "old squeeze page" which many online marketers use in order to build their own list of potential prospects for their offers.

    This must be a "win-win" situation for everyone involved so I like connecting these lists to special sales, coupons and deals which are offered by the merchants. These customers can get $100's off the price of the products featured so that they end up with a good deal and you end up with a sale.

    All this couldn't be possible if you didn't build your list of targeted clients or customers looking for the products you're promoting. List building in this area has proven very effective for my affiliate marketing, so effective I try to put my subscriber form or box on all my webpages. So if you're an affiliate marketer who is sending your visitors directly to your merchant's site, think again, and see if building or capturing your visitor's contact information is worth your while? If done properly, this can be an excellent way of increasing your sales and commissions.

    Another form of list building which I believe too many affiliate marketers take for granted is the powerful little "cookie". For those not in the business, a cookie is simply a piece of code which identifies your referrals as belonging to you or your affiliate ID, if a sale is made immediately or for any time in the future you will get credit for the sale because you referred the customer or client.

    Now, the trick here is to pick affiliate products and programs which have a 90 Day Cookie or more; if a sale is made in those 90 days you get credit for the sale. The longer the length the better, there are even some products and companies which give life-time cookies.

    Why is this so important you ask?

    Well, if you have a popular site you can quickly build up a long list of potential customers cookied with your affiliate IDs. The larger the list, the more sales you will make. Affiliate marketing is a numbers game, the more numbers you have, the easier it is to succeed. I have found this so profitable that I try to "cookie" all the lists I build in the process mentioned above, so that all these potential customers have my affiliate IDs attached.

    So it doesn't take a genius to realize, used in combination, this can be an extremely profitable form of list building which every affiliate marketer should be doing if they haven't already figured out this simple marketing strategy. Build your lists, cookie your lists, and then sit back and reap the rewards.


    About the Author:
    If you want to find out more about list building, why try this handy eCourse: list building. Or it you. want to find out more about affiliate marketing try here: internet marketing.
    Copyright (c) 2010 Titus Hoskins. http://www.bizwaremagic.com This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.


    Read more of Titus Hoskins's articles.

    Wednesday, December 15, 2010

    Disaster Preparedness | Safeguarding Your Most Valuable Assets - Company Knowledge

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Anne Sych



    Nobody likes to have to think about disaster preparedness, and many do not give thought to safeguarding 'company knowledge', but among other tangible catastrophic losses, it can mean the difference between your business making it or going under when a disastrous event occurs.

    We all ensure that we have adequate insurance to cover physical property loss - but what about safeguarding your company knowledge? Critical company knowledge must be retained and readily accessible to return your business to its 'normal' operating state as quickly as possible.

    Some examples of critical company knowledge are:

  • Employee knowledge: In an emergency employees may not be able to get to work, leaving others to have to step in and perform their tasks. Documenting standard procedures and vital employee knowledge empowers others to quickly step in and do essential jobs.

  • Emergency procedures: Having 'easy to access' emergency procedures in place is critical to every business. Documenting emergency procedures for physical facilities, customer and employee care, financial, and organizational management may not only help reduce the level of crisis, but for some businesses may reduce injury and harm. Centralized documentation ensures that everyone instantly has access to the same protocol.

  • Legal Documentation: A knowledge base is an ideal place to store electronic copies of tax and legal documents, licenses, warranties, insurance documents, etc. Should an event occur and you lose paper documentation, you will have immediate access to electronic copies.

  • Business Recovery: It is also essential to document what is involved in restoring your business to normal conditions. This includes:

  • employee communications - informing employees of important and timely information

    customer communications - policies on 'what' to say to your customers 'when'

    data communications - protocol for setting up computers and servers (logins/passwords, etc) in the correct sequence.

    When selecting a knowledge management solution, it is essential that your information is stored on a web-based platform, so that it is accessible everywhere with a web browser. In an emergency you may not be able to get to your physical building; anything stored there may be useless if you cannot access it. In addition, if you are well prepared you have more to offer the community, who may not be as prepared as you are. This is one way we can all support one another in difficult times.

    So take the time to ensure your business is fully prepared for any unexpected disaster, whether it is something as ordinary as a snowstorm, or disastrous as a tornado. You have invested so much of your time and resources building your business....ensure you are protecting your investment.


    About the Author:
    Written by: Anne Sych, Marketing Manager for Novo Solutions, Inc.
    Novo Solutions, Inc. is an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) in Virginia Beach, Virginia specializing in Customer Support Software. Free trial versions of the Novo Help Desk Software, Knowledge Base Software and suite of web-based Customer Support Solutions are available. Contact: sales@novosolutions.com for more information. http://www.novosolutions.com/


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    Developing A Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plan

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Rathi Niyogi



    If you operate a facility with above-ground oil storage capacity greater than 1,320 gallons using storage tanks, drums, containers, or utilize equipment that contains oil in excess of this amount, the EPA requires your facility to maintain a Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plan (SPCC). The facility should also be non-transportation-related, such as oil drilling facilities, oil refineries, oil-tanker and railroad-car-loading facilities, waste treatment facilities, and oil pipelines.

    An SPCC plan must go through a process of development, approval, and certification. Development must be handled by the facility in question so as to make sure the plan is specific to the concerns of that facility. Approval must be done by company management, specifically by a manager authorized to implement the plan. And finally, the plan must be certified by a registered professional engineer. Once the plan has passed these steps it must be sent to the EPA Regional Administrator for review. If the administrator reviews the plan and find elements of it unacceptable, at his/her discretion they can require amendments to the plan to bring it within compliance. The plan developers have the right to appeal such decisions and submit written arguments to the EPA.

    Failure to follow this process and adequately train personnel to work within a SPCC plan can result in fines of $25,000 per day, per violation. The EPA Administrator may make on-site inspections to evaluate use of the plan, as well as the facility's preparedness.

    At the heart of a SPCC Plan is the description of the oil and chemicals used at the facility, as well as the various media used to store or transfer the material between areas of the facility. In question is also the use of containment or diversionary equipment that is on-site to prevent spilled material from reaching waterways. Operating procedures should be clearly outlined, as well as the training and education plans that are implemented to prevent spills, and re-training programs for workers after a spill has occurred. Most of all, a SPCC Plan should specifically outline complete procedures that the facility will follow in the event of a spill, including spill control equipment, communications, and clean-up.

    Not all facilities who fall into this category consistently utilize the correct spill control equipment available in the market. Spill control pallets, spill containment berms, drum racks, and overpack drums greatly minimize the risks of spill accidents, provide a strong investment in your SPCC, and demonstrate your commitment to prevention. It would be wise to consider all of these products while devising your SPCC and at the same get management to commit to the budget required to be compliant.


    About the Author:
    Rathi Niyogi is the CEO of CriticalTool, a national distributor of Spill Pallets and Spill Containment Berms and other safety products. If you thought this article was helpful, additional information on safety storage can be found at http://www.IndustrialSafetyCabinets.com/


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    Monday, December 13, 2010

    Marketing to Introverts: Seven Marketing Pitches That Leave Introverts Cold

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Marcia Yudkin



    According to Dr. Marti Olsen Laney, introverts make up roughly 25% of the population. Yet when you look at high-IQ people and high earners, the percentage is far higher. So if you hope to capture the attention and patronage of introverts, it's vital to downplay or avoid marketing tactics that don't influence them to buy - or send them running in the opposite direction.

    Unlike extroverts, who thrive on social interaction, introverts recharge their batteries by being alone. They tend to be more private, quiet and to-the-point than extroverts.

    Here are seven types of marketing pitches that are common in Internet marketing - and elsewhere - that leave introverts cold.

    1. Earnings brags. Screen shots of earnings as they appear in a shopping cart program or merchant account report are pervasive in Internet marketing promotions. Some proponents of this tactic claim that this is the only way to prove that the seller is as successful as he says. Introverts aren't swayed by such "proof," however, because someone who shows exactly how much money they made is utterly unlike them. To the introvert, what such a person made doesn't indicate how much they themselves might make. The introvert is far more likely to take an interest in customer testimonials from people who sound like themselves.

    2. Name dropping. Introverts make decisions on substance, not on who knows who, so referring constantly to big-name people as your friends doesn't influence them at all. Likewise, some speakers boast that they "shared the stage with so-and-so," but to an introvert that is no credential - not even a weak one. Trotting out the names of famous clients and sharing things they said is considerably worse, because it gets introverts thinking that you do not respect confidences.

    3. Numbers served or sold. A bio in a direct mail piece I received yesterday starts off: "Dr. XXX currently owns and operates a clinic in YYY with over 20,000 patients." To an introvert, this fails to impress at all. Who wants to be one of 20,000? Introverts dislike being part of a herd, following the crowd or being treated as a number. If this bio said instead that Dr. XXX deliberately keeps his practice small, so he can give each patient personal attention, and that there's a waiting list of several months to see him, that would make him far more interesting to the introvert.

    4. Saying large is small. "We're limiting this seminar to just 150 people, so act fast," said one promotion I heard recently, but to an introvert that statement is totally absurd. A room containing 150 people is a crowd, not by any stretch of the introvert's imagination an intimate event. To the introvert, any group larger than about 12 is no longer small. It's fine to run large events. Just don't call them small!

    5. Pressure to decide fast. Introverts have certainly been known to make impulse buys, but since they pride themselves on thinking things through, they resent and reject pressure to make up their mind before they're ready. Introverts generally want a lot of information before pressing the "buy" button, and if you use a countdown clock saying there's only XX minutes or hours until the offer goes away forever, they're gone instantly, never to return.

    6. Talking head videos. Since introverts usually love to read and can read quickly, they feel tortured when a web site conveys crucial information in a video that could have been conveyed in text. They don't hate the video medium in itself, only when it seems to be used out of laziness or self-aggrandizement rather than to show something that couldn't be as easily communicated any other way.

    7. Too much personal information. Introverts prefer you to get to the point. Therefore, when you go on and on and on about your spouse, kids, pets, vacation or new yacht they tune out. If you want introverts as clients, beware of revealing facts that may reflect badly on you, even if you believe you've cast them in a positive light. For example, you may think discussing having gone bankrupt makes your current success more impressive. The introvert may not be able to get past your confessing this failure so blithely, since this is something they'd never abide others knowing about themselves. For introverts, either minimize the personal revelations or segregate them in a section of a newsletter or web site they can skip.

    My own clients tend to be about 75 percent introverts, and this probably has to do with how easily introverts can identify that I'm someone like them whose success they can model. Take a look at the personality profile of your own customer base and how you market, and you may well find some eye-opening patterns.

    You may certainly decide to continue to turn off introverts, but do make that a conscious choice rather than a side effect of simply following popular marketing tactics.


    About the Author:
    A bookworm as a child, Marcia Yudkin grew up to discover she had a surprising talent for creative marketing. She's the author of more than a dozen books, including 6 Steps to Free Publicity, now in its third edition, and Persuading People to Buy. She also mentors introverts so they discover their uniquely powerful branding and most comfortable marketing strategies. To learn more about the strengths and preferences of introverts, download her free Marketing for Introverts audio manifesto: http://www.yudkin.com/introverts.htm


    Follow @marciasmantras on Twitter.

    Saturday, December 11, 2010

    Get Paid Like An Expert By Developing A USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Ryan Parenti



    Want to get paid more for doing the same amount of work? Simply develop a USP to get paid like an expert. Here is how you make more money now...

    Developing a USP (unique selling proposition) is your unique way of positioning yourself. Your unique selling position is vital if you want to be paid well. Get paid well here.

    It is essential to position yourself in a unique way because you will always have competition. Even if you have no competition you are still competing with a your prospects saying "no" to your offer.

    Most people know that they need to position themselves in a unique way but rarely do you learn how to do this. Here is a way to set your self above the crowd and get paid like an expert.

    You need to map out the desires of your target market. This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with your market.

    What do they want? How do they want to get it? In what ways do they think they should get it? Who are the people who make up your target market anyways?

    Firstly you want to look at the people who you want to sell to. The typical person in the market. Who are the types of people that make up your market?

    Start mapping out the these types of answers and group them in categories. For example the people could be sales people, executives, human resources people, ect.

    So you want to put them all in one group in a visual way on perhaps a simple piece of paper.

    After you know who your market is then you want to figure out what they want or the role they are playing.

    For example do they want rapid business growth or to know more about business planning? Or both? Put everything they want on a piece of paper as well.

    Then you want to start determine how they are going to measure their goals. You want to look at what their goals, end results, and objectives are.

    As an example, are they going to measure success by customer growth, ROI, and/or achieving performance goals?

    After that you have a list of who they are, what they want, and how they will measure how to get there.

    The next step is to define the general strategies they will use and the challenges they will face.

    You want to know how they plan on getting from where they are to where they want to be as well as the roadblocks they will face along the way.

    Learn what they are measuring as well as how they are being measured. You also want to know what their strategies are as well as the challenges they have.

    Perhaps some techniques they will use are things like marketing, product improvement, getting better workers and so on.

    You are doing all of this so you know what places you can and should position yourself to help them in.

    After that you want to list the problems they will have along the way. Cashflow, cost control, customer satisfaction and distribution are all real challenges they might face.

    What you have done in a nutshell is find out?

  • Who your market is (the types of people)

  • What they want

  • How they will measure their success to go to where they want to go

  • The strategies they will take to get there

  • And the challenges they will face

  • You just want to know everything that is valuable to your market.

    Then once you have it all mapped out you want to ask yourself if your product makes a significant impact on the information you have collected. After that you want to know in what way or how you impact the information you collected.

    Then all you need to do is find out what your product actually does for them relative to what they want.

    Then you know which areas you can make a difference. After that you just make your USP based on the areas in which you impact.

    This helps you understand what your customers actually want and how you can really fill a role in their lives. So now you know how what you do impacts the areas of their life.

    This gives you an understanding of the people your marketing to so you can know how to position yourself in their lives.

    You want to have all of your messages directed to what is most important to your market and how you will effect that.

    The best thing you can do is have an understanding of your market and know the areas that are important to your market that you want to effect.

    So simply take all the data you have gathered and put all of the areas you impact into a USP unique selling proposition. Here is the final result:

    "We help sales and marketing people achieve growth and revenue goals through business planning for increased customer and income growth all while increasing cash flow, product development, and competitive positioning."

    Here are four more good questions to ask to deepen your understanding of your USP.

    These four questions are good to ask to determine what makes your business unique.

    Why should they listen to you?

    Why should the market even care what you have to say. Is there something special about you or are you just another person trying to sell them something.

    The idea here is to give them a real reason that they should listen to you instead of your competition.

    Why should they do business with you instead of anybody and everybody else?

    Is there any real reason to do business with you? Why should your prospects do business with you instead of your competition?

    What can your product do for me that no other product can do?

    What does your product uniquely do that no other service can claim to do? Or maybe you just do it in a unique way.

    Leverage what is is that you do differently so you can give yourself more exclusive positioning.

    What can you guarantee me that nobody else can guarantee?

    "Can you guarantee me a 365 day satisfaction guarantee on these French fries?" Said the man to the clerk. "No, but I our policy states that if anyone is unhappy with our service their next 7 dinners are free." Now that is a good start for a USP unique selling proposition...

    I will sum it all up in one sentence.

    Make yourself unique by having an original claim to give your potential customers something they can't get anywhere else then deliver on it.


    About the Author:
    If you are serious about increasing sales, traffic and affiliates on autopilot without spending a small fortune setting it all up go ahead and download this free audio and learn the exact steps you need for increased internet profits: http://BuildOnlineWealth.com/crazyfreeoffer/ Written by: Ryan Parenti


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    Friday, December 10, 2010

    How to Improve Your Online Marketing Results

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2010 Jamie Lee



    Several factors are integral in determining your advertising campaign success and conversion rates. A good frame work to assess your campaign would be to base it on the 40-40-20 rule.

    The 40-40-20 dictum is that 40 percent of your marketing success is dependent on your ability to target your audience, another 40 percent is dependent on your value proposition, and the last 20 percent is reserved for everything else, including creatives.

    Identify Your Target Audience Segment (40%)

    Firstly, to capture the attention of your target audience, you first need to be able to segregate and identify this group of people you are trying to reach.

    You cannot advertise effectively if you don't know who your message is intended for. 40% of how your campaign turns out is dependent on your ability to distinctively target your audience segments. Clearly marketing beer to pre-school children is recipe for disaster.

    An audience segment is a sub-set of a market that displays characteristics that cause them to demand similar products or services based on qualities of those products. Segments could be identified based on price tolerance, gender or geography.

    A true market segment is one that meets all of the following criteria: it is distinct from other segments, it is homogenous within the segment, it responds similarly to a market stimulus, and it can be reached by a market intervention.

    Only when you have clearly identified your market segment can you tailor your advertising campaign to target these people. But first, you need a sound understanding of your product and the market segment that the product caters to. Then, you need to understand your market segment - their demographic and psychographic characteristics, purchase behaviour, media habits, and so forth.

    Depending on your advertising channel, this targeting can be done through demographic filters or behavioural filters.

    Efficient keyword portfolio management across major search engines and optimisation of the entire bidding process is especially important. Managing a keyword portfolio is essential: analysing each keyword on its individual merit and as a unit.

    Chances are, you need to have thousands of keywords to maximise your ROI through search. However, automation and bid management tools can save you a large amount in click costs.

    Just remember to bear in mind that these tools also need management, rules setting, objectives planned and control over a valuable marketing budget often too large to solely place in the hands of a software device. Also, be aware of the technical variations and differences in performance of the search engine.

    Value Proposition and Funnel Design (40%)

    The next 40% depends on your sales funnel design and overall value proposition articulation. You have a specific goal for your ad campaign and your advertisements are supposed to serve as a funnel to drive all incoming traffic into your goal.

    The sales funnel begins by capturing the attention of prospects. Some prospects are convinced to become buyers of the product your ad campaign is marketing, demonstrating that they have a need for what is on offer and are willing to invest money to solve their problem.

    The sales funnel continues to nurture the best customers, filtering out mismatches and refining the specific target customer, offering them more specialised products and services, often at higher prices.

    By the end of the process the funnel has identified the highly-responsive customers who purchase everything on offer and experience the most value and satisfaction from every purchase made. It is from these responsive consumers that the majority of profits are made.

    More than just selling a product, you want to be seen as selling a solution.

    Because the shift to solutions selling also tends to require changing customers' perceptions, one of the most crucial aspects to success is understanding and convincingly communicating to your target audience the value proposition - the benefits specific to the customer and to the solution - as well as the most powerful differentiators that enable that value to be delivered.

    This is depends on how you articulate your overall value proposition. As always, a compelling message is crucial. That said, the message is meaningful to a potential customer only if it is relevant, impactful, credible and clear. Remember these points while trying to be persuasive.

    Advertising Design And Creative Collaterals (20%)

    The remaining 20% is a function of design and creatives. Humans are, after all, visual creatures, and respond better to visually-appealing and attention-grabbing material. Be it print ads, TV or radio commercials or viral ads, there's nothing like creative, smart and clever advertising that grabs eyeballs.

     As we have seen, to create a successful advertising campaign you have to start with knowing the people you are selling to, then creating a strategy with your sales funnel design, overall value proposition and design creatives that is tailored to them.


    About the Author:
    Conversion Hub is the appointed digital advisor to Direct Marketing Association of Singapore (DMAS). Conversion Hub is also the Gold Recipient to the 2009 W3 Awards - Best Visual Appeal and Silver Award Winner in the International Davey Awards 2009.

    Jamie Lee is a Consultant in Singapore's leading Search Engine Marketing and Conversion Rate Optimization Company - Conversion Hub. She also actively contributes to forums on topics related to Search Advertising and social media marketing. http://www.conversion-hub.com/


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