Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Nermine Shaker
Everyone has to negotiate at one stage or another. These negotiations could be in the form of promotions, sales calls, hiring, and more. For companies, negotiations are in the form of contracts, business deals and cost management. The rule of thumb for most negotiations remains the same although the situation, process, and result may be different.
Negotiation: Basic Techniques
1. This is the most important aspect of any negotiation - never be unprepared. Understand the subject, your benefits and losses, and how the outcome will affect the organization.
2. To maintain an advantage, try to understand what the other party may tend to ask for or believe in. Get as much information as possible on their stance on the subject, what they are looking for and also what they are expecting from you in the offer. Understand the rationale behind their negotiation to get a better insight into their negotiation tactics.
3. Know the least you may need to settle for without incurring losses. You can also treat this as a yardstick to build up your negotiation tactics.
4. Show an openness, flexibility and willingness to talk about the negotiation.
5. Calmness and patience should be your armor. If you sense that you are losing control of yourself or the situation, take a break. Decisions made in anger are almost always wrong.
6. Be as clear as possible with your terms and conditions.
7. If you have the slightest instinct that someone is bluffing, insist on their providing the proof to support their claims.
8. Stressing the common goals is a good way of keeping the negotiations workable.
9. Listen attentively to understand better.
10. Concentrate on one particular issue at a time.
11. Do not consider negotiations as a win or lose proposition or that to win you have to take advantage of the other party. Remember negotiations are the basis of a long and, hopefully, fruitful relationship. Carrying over the animosity by cheating or taking advantage of each other will lead to failure in the long run.
12. If the offer seems even remotely acceptable to you, finalize the deal immediately. Do not give the other party a chance to ponder over things.
Contract Negotiations
Contract negotiation is an intrinsic part of any business arrangement. This is especially true with telecom, since telecom and telecom expense management is vital to business operations and is usually among the top five company expenditures. The bottom line of any successful business venture depends on good communications systems controlled by expert telecom expense management.
Unfortunately, small and medium size businesses frequently do not consider contract negotiation a part of telecommunications management. Often, various people such as the office manager or a systems engineer or the IT or HR department handle the communications. While they may be skilled professionals in their fields, their knowledge and experience in terms of telecom contract negotiation is quite limited. Too often, the need to acquire or operate through a telecom management network is never considered.
By adopting and implementing telecom contract negotiation and control techniques, an average company can save 10 to 30 percent of their annual telecom expense. A professional in telecom expense management carries certain requisites to the negotiating table that a non-telecom professional may not have. People experienced in telecom contract negotiation know that the rate is not the only variable and that, in fact, many more costs can lie hidden in the terms and conditions of the contract. A telecom consultant or auditor that deals regularly in contracts would know the telecom rate traps.
The best way to know your telecom network requirements is to perform a thorough circuit and services inventory of local and distant data and wireless devices that you have and whether they are being fully utilized. Break down your telecom expenses to the minutest detail and understand your trends and needs. Modifying, changing or stopping services should be an ongoing process.
Also consider the refunds and benefits (and loss) from reducing services. A telecom audit will help uncover refunds due to invoice errors, lower certain ongoing expenses, and reveal techniques to improve or optimize existing telecom networks. Getting this done with experienced telecom auditors will reap many great benefits.
The next task is to eliminate unused phone lines. On average, a company with a 100-employee workforce has plenty of phone lines and some of them may remain unused over a period of time while the company is still paying for their service. This alone can run into thousands of dollars annually. Negotiating a workable deal with the telephone company is the best solution for these problems. Having a few negotiating techniques up your sleeve might make the job easier but having an experienced telecom professional on your side will guarantee the best results possible.
About the Author:
Nermine Shaker is a Partner at THE SYGNAL GROUP, a telecom consulting firm that offers telecom expense management, telecom auditing and VoIP management to businesses of all sizes. Find out how to lower your telecom expenses at http://www.SygnalGroup.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.TelecomExpertise.com/
Read more Articles written by Nermine Shaker.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Increase Your Sales With Blog Marketing
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Enzo F. Cesario
A savvy and free way to increase your business sales is through blog marketing. No matter what business you're in, you can increase your business with a focused blog marketing campaign. You may shy away from blog marketing because you feel that you might not be a good writer, or simply don't like to write. This is understandable. But the truth is that many blog marketers nowadays don't even write their own content. They pay someone else to do it.
In fact, you can pay someone else to write dozens of articles to keep your blog going. You can come up with ideas if you want to, but you can just as easily give your writers a broad general topic idea and have them come up with streamlined topics for blog entries. The best course of action is truly up to you, but paying writers to craft your blog entries is not expensive and may save you trouble in the long run.
Once you've determined how your blog will be written, the next thing you must do is focus on the keywords that your blog will include. There is a lot of information out there on keyword research and niche marketing but, in essence, what you want to do is find keywords that are searched highly and don't have a lot of competition. Competition means that there are a lot of other pages that come up when you search under that keyword.
You want to have less than 30,000 pages of competition in the Google search results in order to determine that a keyword is viable. And you want to use a keyword tool like the one on Wordtracker to determine how many searches the term receives per day. Go for keywords that get close to or over 100,000 searches with very little competition. This way, you have a really good chance to get to the top of the search engines with your blog.
The reason blog marketing is so effective is because blog marketing allows you to provide the ultimate content that the search engine spiders are looking for when they crawl webpages. The search engine spiders are looking for pages that provide content which contains a fair number of the keywords that the Internet user is looking for, along with information that the user might find useful.
The search engines know that readers don't just want a blatant sales pitch all the time. They want the reader to get the most accurate information for his or her needs.
Blogs provide information about products and services that customers might enjoy. Some of them contain reviews, opinions or instructions. There are no hard and fast rules for blogging.
Blogs are not ecommerce sites and are, therefore, viewed favorably by many of the search engines. You want to make sure, however, that you don't have too much keyword-density and too little real content filling up your blog. You want to have truly useful articles that people will find interesting.
One of the wonderful things about the Internet is that it can provide people with informative content that makes an interesting read. If you can become an information resource in your field, people will be more likely to buy from you. Why? Because they will trust you. They might not buy from you right away, but they will probably patronize you at some point in time.
The audience you build with your blog can help you in a number of ways. Some people will, of course, purchase from you. Others may help build your business by telling a friend, mentioning you on their website, or promoting your products or services on their blog.
Another important step in blog marketing is determining where you want to host your blog. There are many options and some of them are free. If you like, you can also build your blog within your website, but then you won't be taking advantage of an external link that your blog could provide to your website.
After you set up your blog, make sure your blog meta tags and titles are optimized to the best of your ability, just like your website. You may also want to add media, like videos. This can make your content more diverse and interesting to the search engines, as well.
Submit your blog to social marketing sites every day and submit unique keyword optimized articles to some of the most popular article directories every week. Eventually people will begin to read your blog and if they find the information useful, they will want to know more about your business.
Blog marketing, used in conjunction with many of the other online marketing strategies, is a valuable way to increase the public's view of your brand, and hopefully your sales.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. Go to http://www.Brandsplat.com/ or visit our blog at: http://www.brandsplatblog.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Enzo F. Cesario
A savvy and free way to increase your business sales is through blog marketing. No matter what business you're in, you can increase your business with a focused blog marketing campaign. You may shy away from blog marketing because you feel that you might not be a good writer, or simply don't like to write. This is understandable. But the truth is that many blog marketers nowadays don't even write their own content. They pay someone else to do it.
In fact, you can pay someone else to write dozens of articles to keep your blog going. You can come up with ideas if you want to, but you can just as easily give your writers a broad general topic idea and have them come up with streamlined topics for blog entries. The best course of action is truly up to you, but paying writers to craft your blog entries is not expensive and may save you trouble in the long run.
Once you've determined how your blog will be written, the next thing you must do is focus on the keywords that your blog will include. There is a lot of information out there on keyword research and niche marketing but, in essence, what you want to do is find keywords that are searched highly and don't have a lot of competition. Competition means that there are a lot of other pages that come up when you search under that keyword.
You want to have less than 30,000 pages of competition in the Google search results in order to determine that a keyword is viable. And you want to use a keyword tool like the one on Wordtracker to determine how many searches the term receives per day. Go for keywords that get close to or over 100,000 searches with very little competition. This way, you have a really good chance to get to the top of the search engines with your blog.
The reason blog marketing is so effective is because blog marketing allows you to provide the ultimate content that the search engine spiders are looking for when they crawl webpages. The search engine spiders are looking for pages that provide content which contains a fair number of the keywords that the Internet user is looking for, along with information that the user might find useful.
The search engines know that readers don't just want a blatant sales pitch all the time. They want the reader to get the most accurate information for his or her needs.
Blogs provide information about products and services that customers might enjoy. Some of them contain reviews, opinions or instructions. There are no hard and fast rules for blogging.
Blogs are not ecommerce sites and are, therefore, viewed favorably by many of the search engines. You want to make sure, however, that you don't have too much keyword-density and too little real content filling up your blog. You want to have truly useful articles that people will find interesting.
One of the wonderful things about the Internet is that it can provide people with informative content that makes an interesting read. If you can become an information resource in your field, people will be more likely to buy from you. Why? Because they will trust you. They might not buy from you right away, but they will probably patronize you at some point in time.
The audience you build with your blog can help you in a number of ways. Some people will, of course, purchase from you. Others may help build your business by telling a friend, mentioning you on their website, or promoting your products or services on their blog.
Another important step in blog marketing is determining where you want to host your blog. There are many options and some of them are free. If you like, you can also build your blog within your website, but then you won't be taking advantage of an external link that your blog could provide to your website.
After you set up your blog, make sure your blog meta tags and titles are optimized to the best of your ability, just like your website. You may also want to add media, like videos. This can make your content more diverse and interesting to the search engines, as well.
Submit your blog to social marketing sites every day and submit unique keyword optimized articles to some of the most popular article directories every week. Eventually people will begin to read your blog and if they find the information useful, they will want to know more about your business.
Blog marketing, used in conjunction with many of the other online marketing strategies, is a valuable way to increase the public's view of your brand, and hopefully your sales.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. Go to http://www.Brandsplat.com/ or visit our blog at: http://www.brandsplatblog.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
4 Keys to a Free Product That Grows Your Mailing List
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Judy Murdoch
If you are selling products and services on the Internet you are probably very aware of how valuable a list of subscribers is.
Periodic, relevant information is the main way to build the trust and credibility needed for customers and prospects to take action:
to click the Buy Now button
to pick up the phone to schedule an appointment
to complete an application
etc.
I cannot over-emphasize the importance of creating trust-based relationships in business. This is what periodic emails to your list allow you to do.
If your business is relatively new to online marketing, building a subscription list can feel pretty daunting. I've had many conversations with small business owners who are love the idea of email marketing and inevitably the question, "How do you get all these subscribers anyway?"
And that is the question I'm going to answer in this article.
=============================================
Why Building Your List Can Be a Struggle
=============================================
I know when I began my ezine, after the initial signups by folks in my immediate circle, adding new subscribers was a painfully slow process.
I received some glowing complements from subscribers and a couple marketing experts whose opinion I valued. And everything I read insisted that content is the most important component to succeeding in the online marketing game.
So I had good content; where was the rush of subscribers?
Simple: I was competing with thousands of other requests to subscribe.
People need a good reason to subscribe to your ezine. Why they should choose your ezine rather than the hundred other on the same topic.
One way to make your ezine the best choice is to give your subscribers something they can immediately use and get value from.
This is why a free product you give people when they subscribe to your ezine is so important.
=============================================
Providing Some Relief
=============================================
A lesson I learned from my coach, Mark Silver, is the importance of providing prospects some relief from a problem they're struggling with.
After all that's why most people are at your website to begin with yes? They have some sort of question or problem and they're looking for help. Whether they found your website doing a Google search or through a link on someone's blog, they're wanting help and they're hoping you'll provide it.
Free products that they can quickly download from your website are ideal for meeting this need.
In addition, when they use your free product and get some relief there is no better way to build your credibility! People are far more likely to purchase from you when they've already gotten a demonstration of the difference you make.
=============================================
What's the Best Free Product to Offer?
=============================================
The one question that comes up more than any other around the free give-away is "what should my give-away be?"
=============================================
4 Keys to Choosing a Free Product (with Subscription)
=============================================
Key #1 Easy to Get Online
Remember whatever it is you offer, you want to make it very easy for your prospect to get online.
Fortunately, it's cheap and simple to create a product that is easy to download. I recommend:
An article, report, or how-to guide people can download as an Adobe Acrobat file (.pdf)
An audio recording they can listen to on the Internet (mp3 is currently the most popular format)
A video they can watch from your website (many computers now have a built-in camera making it easy to create short videos)
Key #2 Solves a Problem Most of Your Ideal Customers Struggle With
When I was trying to decide what free product would be best to offer with my ezine, I initially chose a report on getting more referrals from customers.
How to get referrals is a hugely popular topic among small business owners for very good reasons. But there were a couple drawbacks to this product:
(1.) You need a few satisfied customers who will refer you to others. This can be difficult for many new businesses.
(2.) Referrals are largely an in-person phenomenon. Referral programs work best when you offer local, in-person services. This isn't to say that an online business can't leverage referrals but it takes a lot longer because you don't have the non-verbal cues that naturally come from live contact.
Instead I decided to offer a how-to workbook showing business owners how to create an "audio-logo"--a simple, conversational introduction they could use in situations in which they might be meeting prospective customers.
Most business owners I know struggle with introducing themselves in a way that tells the other person "this is who I help" without sounding like they're reading their "elevator" script.
Voilla, this is how my free workbook came about.
Key #3. Is a first Step (Not the Entire Solution)
It's important to offer a solution that is appropriate to the level of trust and commitment your intended user has with your business. It's meant to be an appetizer; not a meal
One of my clients offers money management services for people working in the arts many of whom find the topic of money boring, painful, and distasteful.
Rather than immediately ask them to get into the numbers, she created a fun, easy to do Money Beliefs Assessment. The assessment is light-hearted and empathetic AND anyone who takes the assessment will learn something important about how their money beliefs may be getting in the way of their success.
Key #4. Easy to Use So People Get Results
The reason you want to offer a first step to solving a common problem is you want to give your client an easy win.
Remember, the purpose of your product is to provide relief. If it doesn't help the person get some relief you hurt your credibility.
A product that gets used and produces results is more valuable than any claim you could make in your advertising.
When they get results what happens? They come back for more. They begin to trust you to help with their more complex problems. They feel safe to invest more time, effort, and money to work with you.
=============================================
Bottom Line
=============================================
If you are trying to build your email list, offering a free product with the subscription will help you attract subscribers faster than if you were offering the subscription alone.
The best product to give away with your subscription is one that:
is easy to get online
solves a problem that is common to most of your clients
addresses the first step to solving that problem
and is likely to produce a positive result
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Follow Judy Murdoch on Twitter.
Copyright © 2009 Judy Murdoch
If you are selling products and services on the Internet you are probably very aware of how valuable a list of subscribers is.
Periodic, relevant information is the main way to build the trust and credibility needed for customers and prospects to take action:
I cannot over-emphasize the importance of creating trust-based relationships in business. This is what periodic emails to your list allow you to do.
If your business is relatively new to online marketing, building a subscription list can feel pretty daunting. I've had many conversations with small business owners who are love the idea of email marketing and inevitably the question, "How do you get all these subscribers anyway?"
And that is the question I'm going to answer in this article.
=============================================
Why Building Your List Can Be a Struggle
=============================================
I know when I began my ezine, after the initial signups by folks in my immediate circle, adding new subscribers was a painfully slow process.
I received some glowing complements from subscribers and a couple marketing experts whose opinion I valued. And everything I read insisted that content is the most important component to succeeding in the online marketing game.
So I had good content; where was the rush of subscribers?
Simple: I was competing with thousands of other requests to subscribe.
People need a good reason to subscribe to your ezine. Why they should choose your ezine rather than the hundred other on the same topic.
One way to make your ezine the best choice is to give your subscribers something they can immediately use and get value from.
This is why a free product you give people when they subscribe to your ezine is so important.
=============================================
Providing Some Relief
=============================================
A lesson I learned from my coach, Mark Silver, is the importance of providing prospects some relief from a problem they're struggling with.
After all that's why most people are at your website to begin with yes? They have some sort of question or problem and they're looking for help. Whether they found your website doing a Google search or through a link on someone's blog, they're wanting help and they're hoping you'll provide it.
Free products that they can quickly download from your website are ideal for meeting this need.
In addition, when they use your free product and get some relief there is no better way to build your credibility! People are far more likely to purchase from you when they've already gotten a demonstration of the difference you make.
=============================================
What's the Best Free Product to Offer?
=============================================
The one question that comes up more than any other around the free give-away is "what should my give-away be?"
=============================================
4 Keys to Choosing a Free Product (with Subscription)
=============================================
Key #1 Easy to Get Online
Remember whatever it is you offer, you want to make it very easy for your prospect to get online.
Fortunately, it's cheap and simple to create a product that is easy to download. I recommend:
Key #2 Solves a Problem Most of Your Ideal Customers Struggle With
When I was trying to decide what free product would be best to offer with my ezine, I initially chose a report on getting more referrals from customers.
How to get referrals is a hugely popular topic among small business owners for very good reasons. But there were a couple drawbacks to this product:
(1.) You need a few satisfied customers who will refer you to others. This can be difficult for many new businesses.
(2.) Referrals are largely an in-person phenomenon. Referral programs work best when you offer local, in-person services. This isn't to say that an online business can't leverage referrals but it takes a lot longer because you don't have the non-verbal cues that naturally come from live contact.
Instead I decided to offer a how-to workbook showing business owners how to create an "audio-logo"--a simple, conversational introduction they could use in situations in which they might be meeting prospective customers.
Most business owners I know struggle with introducing themselves in a way that tells the other person "this is who I help" without sounding like they're reading their "elevator" script.
Voilla, this is how my free workbook came about.
Key #3. Is a first Step (Not the Entire Solution)
It's important to offer a solution that is appropriate to the level of trust and commitment your intended user has with your business. It's meant to be an appetizer; not a meal
One of my clients offers money management services for people working in the arts many of whom find the topic of money boring, painful, and distasteful.
Rather than immediately ask them to get into the numbers, she created a fun, easy to do Money Beliefs Assessment. The assessment is light-hearted and empathetic AND anyone who takes the assessment will learn something important about how their money beliefs may be getting in the way of their success.
Key #4. Easy to Use So People Get Results
The reason you want to offer a first step to solving a common problem is you want to give your client an easy win.
Remember, the purpose of your product is to provide relief. If it doesn't help the person get some relief you hurt your credibility.
A product that gets used and produces results is more valuable than any claim you could make in your advertising.
When they get results what happens? They come back for more. They begin to trust you to help with their more complex problems. They feel safe to invest more time, effort, and money to work with you.
=============================================
Bottom Line
=============================================
If you are trying to build your email list, offering a free product with the subscription will help you attract subscribers faster than if you were offering the subscription alone.
The best product to give away with your subscription is one that:
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Follow Judy Murdoch on Twitter.
Social Marketing: Not Nearly As Awful As I Feared
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Judy Murdoch
I have to admit I've been slow to jump on board with the whole social marketing trend.
After so many years spent in marketing and frequently hearing about the "next big thing", I've come to the decision that all these technologies are simply communication tools for building trusting relationships with prospective customers.
No one tool is going to make you a gazillion dollars.
But used with common sense and an understanding of where your customers hang out and what your customers are most wanting, I think social marketing technology is well worth learning to use.
Specifically, social marketing tools like Facebook, Twitter, and Linked extend your ability to make yourself known to prospective customers as well as people who may refer customers to you.
But it takes time and a focus on providing useful information and resources to others without any requirement for receiving in return.
I've always been a resource connector by nature (the one who is always emailing articles and snippets to you prefaced with an fyi") so social media is a comfortable place for me.
If you are wanting results RIGHT NOW, either stay out of social media or hire someone who has a lighter touch. Social media requires a lower key approach. Hype and in-your-face sales tactics turn most members of Social Marketing Land off.
==============================================================
Success Strategies for Using Social Marketing in Your Business
==============================================================
Some strategies that work for cultivating profitable connections in social media.
Think Conversation; not Presentation
Most people hang out on blogs and social networks because they are engaging with others who have similar interests.
Social networks are informal gatherings, like going to your friend's BBQ. You might talk business but if you do it will be a casual conversation. Not climbing up on a bench and bellowing, "Hey everyone, let me tell you about this great new service I'm offering."
It is of course possible that a casual business conversation will lead to a "how about we set up a time to talk more next week?" in which case the result is a meeting in which a presentation is appropriate.
Remember the point is to share information and resources that may be helpful to others in a give and take conversation.
Expect to reach out first
There's a funny T-shirt that reads "More People Have Read This Shirt than My Blog."
That about sums it up if you expect people to swarm to your blog or follow you on Twitter. Unless you're maybe Ashton Kuchner.
Actions you can take to reach out include:
- Finding others who are doing something that is useful to you and your customers and making a point to comment on their posts in a way that adds to the conversation in progress.
- If you, yourself post to your own blog, include links to articles that support or enhance the points you're making. Directing people to other blogs is not only helpful to your readers, it is very appreciated by the persons whose blogs you link to.
- They may even link back to you!
- Let people know about useful resources in all social media you participate in. I regularly post links to articles, statistics, and other bits of information my clients and colleagues may appreciate.
Be Yourself
Remember your mom telling you to be yourself when you were worried about being liked by people you didn't know?
Your mom was right.
In addition to sharing information and resources with real, actionable value to my clients and customers, I also share observations, reviews (books, movies, electronics), and of course the occasional anecdote about my cats.
And I share in my own voice similar to how I might talk with co-workers or people I know casually at a party.
Pick Just One and Try it Out
The first explanation I heard about Twitter was "it's microblogging."
I still have trouble explaining blogging to a lot of people let alone microblogging.
"Microblogging" is actually a pretty good description but it's also, in my opinion, somewhat geeky and intimidating if you're not a social media buff.
So rather than try to figure it all out, I strongly suggest you get yourself an account with Twitter or Facebook or Linked in.
Not all of them, pick just one.
Then give yourself some time to poke around and get a sense of what's going on.
Start with people you already know, trust and like
Once you get an account, invite people you know, trust, and like to join your network. Or follow them on Twitter. Or subscribe to their blog.
This way you start in a small box with others you may already be connected with. You can feel fairly confident that you'll be interested in engaged in the conversations they're having.
As you begin to feel more comfortable you can begin to check out their contacts or look for people interested in a particular topic you love to talk about.
==============================================================
Join Me
==============================================================
If you're looking to find some people to hang out with in Social Marketingland, I invite you to connect with me.#1
To join my Linkedin Network: http://xrl.us/bfau2p
To join me on Facebook: http://xrl.us/bfauzo
To follow me on Twitter: http://xrl.us/bfauxw
#1 - You need to first sign up for an account. All the social media accounts listed here are free.
Bottom Line
Once I began reaching out more and focused on hanging out with like- minded people, I got used to and even began to enjoy social marketing.
The most important thing to remember is social media is about connection and conversation. If people like what they're hearing and find value in what you offer, you will begin picking up business and business-related opportunities.
But like any online strategy, it takes time and effort on your end to reach out and contribute first.
And feel free to connect with me on one of the social media tools I mentioned.
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Follow Judy Murdoch on Twitter.
Copyright © 2009 Judy Murdoch
I have to admit I've been slow to jump on board with the whole social marketing trend.
After so many years spent in marketing and frequently hearing about the "next big thing", I've come to the decision that all these technologies are simply communication tools for building trusting relationships with prospective customers.
No one tool is going to make you a gazillion dollars.
But used with common sense and an understanding of where your customers hang out and what your customers are most wanting, I think social marketing technology is well worth learning to use.
Specifically, social marketing tools like Facebook, Twitter, and Linked extend your ability to make yourself known to prospective customers as well as people who may refer customers to you.
But it takes time and a focus on providing useful information and resources to others without any requirement for receiving in return.
I've always been a resource connector by nature (the one who is always emailing articles and snippets to you prefaced with an fyi") so social media is a comfortable place for me.
If you are wanting results RIGHT NOW, either stay out of social media or hire someone who has a lighter touch. Social media requires a lower key approach. Hype and in-your-face sales tactics turn most members of Social Marketing Land off.
==============================================================
Success Strategies for Using Social Marketing in Your Business
==============================================================
Some strategies that work for cultivating profitable connections in social media.
Most people hang out on blogs and social networks because they are engaging with others who have similar interests.
Social networks are informal gatherings, like going to your friend's BBQ. You might talk business but if you do it will be a casual conversation. Not climbing up on a bench and bellowing, "Hey everyone, let me tell you about this great new service I'm offering."
It is of course possible that a casual business conversation will lead to a "how about we set up a time to talk more next week?" in which case the result is a meeting in which a presentation is appropriate.
Remember the point is to share information and resources that may be helpful to others in a give and take conversation.
There's a funny T-shirt that reads "More People Have Read This Shirt than My Blog."
That about sums it up if you expect people to swarm to your blog or follow you on Twitter. Unless you're maybe Ashton Kuchner.
Actions you can take to reach out include:
- Finding others who are doing something that is useful to you and your customers and making a point to comment on their posts in a way that adds to the conversation in progress.
- If you, yourself post to your own blog, include links to articles that support or enhance the points you're making. Directing people to other blogs is not only helpful to your readers, it is very appreciated by the persons whose blogs you link to.
- They may even link back to you!
- Let people know about useful resources in all social media you participate in. I regularly post links to articles, statistics, and other bits of information my clients and colleagues may appreciate.
Remember your mom telling you to be yourself when you were worried about being liked by people you didn't know?
Your mom was right.
In addition to sharing information and resources with real, actionable value to my clients and customers, I also share observations, reviews (books, movies, electronics), and of course the occasional anecdote about my cats.
And I share in my own voice similar to how I might talk with co-workers or people I know casually at a party.
The first explanation I heard about Twitter was "it's microblogging."
I still have trouble explaining blogging to a lot of people let alone microblogging.
"Microblogging" is actually a pretty good description but it's also, in my opinion, somewhat geeky and intimidating if you're not a social media buff.
So rather than try to figure it all out, I strongly suggest you get yourself an account with Twitter or Facebook or Linked in.
Not all of them, pick just one.
Then give yourself some time to poke around and get a sense of what's going on.
Once you get an account, invite people you know, trust, and like to join your network. Or follow them on Twitter. Or subscribe to their blog.
This way you start in a small box with others you may already be connected with. You can feel fairly confident that you'll be interested in engaged in the conversations they're having.
As you begin to feel more comfortable you can begin to check out their contacts or look for people interested in a particular topic you love to talk about.
==============================================================
Join Me
==============================================================
If you're looking to find some people to hang out with in Social Marketingland, I invite you to connect with me.#1
To join my Linkedin Network: http://xrl.us/bfau2p
To join me on Facebook: http://xrl.us/bfauzo
To follow me on Twitter: http://xrl.us/bfauxw
#1 - You need to first sign up for an account. All the social media accounts listed here are free.
Bottom Line
Once I began reaching out more and focused on hanging out with like- minded people, I got used to and even began to enjoy social marketing.
The most important thing to remember is social media is about connection and conversation. If people like what they're hearing and find value in what you offer, you will begin picking up business and business-related opportunities.
But like any online strategy, it takes time and effort on your end to reach out and contribute first.
And feel free to connect with me on one of the social media tools I mentioned.
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Follow Judy Murdoch on Twitter.
Tweak Your Landing Page Design, Supercharge Your Sales
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Paul Marshall
One of the newest and most talked about Internet marketing strategies these days is Landing Page Optimization. Your Landing Page Design can make or break your conversion rate.
All the search engine optimization (SEO) Internet marketing and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising isn't going to create the sales you want with bad landing pages. You'd be just wasting your time and money.
And the truth is that almost EVERY page on your website is a landing page, except for your Privacy Policy, Terms of Use or Service, and possibly your About page.
I've seen websites more than DOUBLE their conversions with landing pages that are properly designed to convert traffic to conversions...those opt-in sign ups and direct sales.
Think about it -- doubling your sales without increasing your PPC advertising or without increasing your SEO efforts! How much money could that put in your pocket?
When you take advantage of strategies like that, that's when you start beating out your competition!
What's Landing Page Optimization All About?
When searchers come to our websites from the search engines, they are in a path from one website to another. We have to interrupt that process, drawing these searchers into our website and into our story. We must balance the connection with our visitors and make an emotional connection, while offering them real substance, as well.
We MUST answer these questions:
1. where am I?
2. what can I do here (what is your offer)?
3. Why should I look here and STAY rather than click away? This MUST be answered in the top 4 to 4/12 inches of your Web pages (above the fold)
How Do You Begin Optimizing Your Landing Page Design?
First, start by clearly explaining what you want your website visitors to do and WHY they should do it.
Why should they buy from you or opt-in for future contact? What's in it for them?
Why should they choose you over other websites they can visit? What separates you from your competition?
Essentially, what's your Value Proposition?
You should be able to clearly explain the advantage to your website visitors in 2 to 3 short sentences.
Right now, if you're not sure exactly how to describe your Value Proposition, you're surely NOT alone! The great majority of people I coach with their websites are in the same boat, when they start out.
My suggestion: Start brainstorming and making good notes. It also helps to have the input of a Internet marketing consulting coach outside your business, who can help you clearly define and explain what you offer your website visitors in a compelling manner, without using your industry jargon and lingo.
Reduce Anxiety From Your Purchase And Opt-In Processes
Anxiety can also be defined as fear or concern. Now, you can never have a anxiety-free website, if you sell a product or service or if you seek an opt-in email address.
Anxiety occurs in opt-in sign up processes, when providing an email address. When making a purchase, providing credit card information causes anxiety.
But how can you REDUCE the anxiety to the least level possible?
There are many techniques you can follow to accomplish this.
One of the best examples is to post your Privacy Policy page link right next to your sign up button, for your opt-in contact. This helps reassure your visitors you aren't selling their email address and will generate a higher opt-in conversion rate than not posting your privacy policy, all other things equal.
Other anxiety reducing techniques are:
1. emphasize credit card security when ordering 2. offer pricing guarantees 3. deal with product | service quality concerns with guarantees and third-party certifications, awards, etc.
These techniques must be used at the exact point where the anxiety occurs.
Next, Reducing Friction From Your Web Pages
Friction can also be defined as annoyance and irritation. To maximize your sales and opt-in conversion rate, you need to minimize the friction all across your website.
Friction occurs in the prospect's MIND, not really on the page.
It is a Psychological resistance to a given element in the sales process.
So, how can you reduce friction?
One way is to limit fields to the minimum number needed for both purchase and opt-in forms. Friction = Length and Difficulty.
While space here limits a complete discussion of all the techniques you can take advantage of, another way to limit friction is to make your landing page design take advantage of natural eye movement, working with it, rather than against it. You've got to be careful with multi-column designs.
Wrapping It Up
Consider the value to you of an Internet marketing consulting coach, who can help maximize your landing page design at an affordable cost.
Using Landing Page Optimization techniques will help you potentially DOUBLE your conversions...your direct sales and opt-in sign ups...without increasing your PPC advertising expenses and without requiring higher SEO rankings.
This is real money we're talking about. :-)
And there are even coaches out there who can train you to do the work yourself, without you having to pay full-service prices (and without you having to spend the money or the time to become fully trained and certified in Landing Page Optimization).
This could turn out to be the KEY element missing from your Internet marketing plan.
About the Author:
Marketing online since 2004, Paul Marshall can help you market on a budget. He's a Internet Marketing Consulting expert and an Landing Page Designer offering affordable marketing services (and d-i-y Coaching). Receive your Free Introductory Consultation, just visit Strategic Web Marketing.net today!
Read more of Paul Marshall's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Paul Marshall
One of the newest and most talked about Internet marketing strategies these days is Landing Page Optimization. Your Landing Page Design can make or break your conversion rate.
All the search engine optimization (SEO) Internet marketing and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising isn't going to create the sales you want with bad landing pages. You'd be just wasting your time and money.
And the truth is that almost EVERY page on your website is a landing page, except for your Privacy Policy, Terms of Use or Service, and possibly your About page.
I've seen websites more than DOUBLE their conversions with landing pages that are properly designed to convert traffic to conversions...those opt-in sign ups and direct sales.
Think about it -- doubling your sales without increasing your PPC advertising or without increasing your SEO efforts! How much money could that put in your pocket?
When you take advantage of strategies like that, that's when you start beating out your competition!
What's Landing Page Optimization All About?
When searchers come to our websites from the search engines, they are in a path from one website to another. We have to interrupt that process, drawing these searchers into our website and into our story. We must balance the connection with our visitors and make an emotional connection, while offering them real substance, as well.
We MUST answer these questions:
1. where am I?
2. what can I do here (what is your offer)?
3. Why should I look here and STAY rather than click away? This MUST be answered in the top 4 to 4/12 inches of your Web pages (above the fold)
How Do You Begin Optimizing Your Landing Page Design?
First, start by clearly explaining what you want your website visitors to do and WHY they should do it.
Why should they buy from you or opt-in for future contact? What's in it for them?
Why should they choose you over other websites they can visit? What separates you from your competition?
Essentially, what's your Value Proposition?
You should be able to clearly explain the advantage to your website visitors in 2 to 3 short sentences.
Right now, if you're not sure exactly how to describe your Value Proposition, you're surely NOT alone! The great majority of people I coach with their websites are in the same boat, when they start out.
My suggestion: Start brainstorming and making good notes. It also helps to have the input of a Internet marketing consulting coach outside your business, who can help you clearly define and explain what you offer your website visitors in a compelling manner, without using your industry jargon and lingo.
Reduce Anxiety From Your Purchase And Opt-In Processes
Anxiety can also be defined as fear or concern. Now, you can never have a anxiety-free website, if you sell a product or service or if you seek an opt-in email address.
Anxiety occurs in opt-in sign up processes, when providing an email address. When making a purchase, providing credit card information causes anxiety.
But how can you REDUCE the anxiety to the least level possible?
There are many techniques you can follow to accomplish this.
One of the best examples is to post your Privacy Policy page link right next to your sign up button, for your opt-in contact. This helps reassure your visitors you aren't selling their email address and will generate a higher opt-in conversion rate than not posting your privacy policy, all other things equal.
Other anxiety reducing techniques are:
1. emphasize credit card security when ordering 2. offer pricing guarantees 3. deal with product | service quality concerns with guarantees and third-party certifications, awards, etc.
These techniques must be used at the exact point where the anxiety occurs.
Next, Reducing Friction From Your Web Pages
Friction can also be defined as annoyance and irritation. To maximize your sales and opt-in conversion rate, you need to minimize the friction all across your website.
Friction occurs in the prospect's MIND, not really on the page.
It is a Psychological resistance to a given element in the sales process.
So, how can you reduce friction?
One way is to limit fields to the minimum number needed for both purchase and opt-in forms. Friction = Length and Difficulty.
While space here limits a complete discussion of all the techniques you can take advantage of, another way to limit friction is to make your landing page design take advantage of natural eye movement, working with it, rather than against it. You've got to be careful with multi-column designs.
Wrapping It Up
Consider the value to you of an Internet marketing consulting coach, who can help maximize your landing page design at an affordable cost.
Using Landing Page Optimization techniques will help you potentially DOUBLE your conversions...your direct sales and opt-in sign ups...without increasing your PPC advertising expenses and without requiring higher SEO rankings.
This is real money we're talking about. :-)
And there are even coaches out there who can train you to do the work yourself, without you having to pay full-service prices (and without you having to spend the money or the time to become fully trained and certified in Landing Page Optimization).
This could turn out to be the KEY element missing from your Internet marketing plan.
About the Author:
Marketing online since 2004, Paul Marshall can help you market on a budget. He's a Internet Marketing Consulting expert and an Landing Page Designer offering affordable marketing services (and d-i-y Coaching). Receive your Free Introductory Consultation, just visit Strategic Web Marketing.net today!
Read more of Paul Marshall's articles.
Frequent Mistake #3 While Naming a New Company or New Product
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
"Your business name must be bold." Look around the Internet, and you'll often find this advice. Your business name must grab people's attention. Sometimes this is a valid guideline, especially if you are in the entertainment, gadget or fashion industries. Too often, however, I see this rule lead business owners to strain for an unusual name, just for the sake of attention. And the very unusualness of the name then becomes a serious liability.
More ordinary names can sometimes work out much better than far-fetched ones. Here are two examples of this phenomenon.
When Susan Friedmann of Lake Placid, New York went out on her own, she christened her new company Diadem Communications. "Diadem means crown - a fitting name for what I felt was a crowning achievement," she recalls.
Unfortunately, however, the name meant nothing to potential customers. Most were unfamiliar with the word diadem and did not ask what it meant. Many didn't know how to pronounce it. More importantly, it did not clue them in on Susan's specialty - helping companies get results from exhibiting at trade shows.
"Going by name alone, no one would be able to determine the least bit of information about me, my company or the services we offer," she says.
Susan's new company name, The Trade Show Coach, communicates her expertise instantly. "I knew I needed a name that said what I did without people having to try and work it out." No longer does she need to explain her business focus after introducing herself and her company.
Graphic designer/web designer Eileen Parzek also decided she had made a mistake by getting too creative in her business name. For years, she went by the company name SOHO It Goes. Her tag line: Helping Small Businesses Make a Big Impression.
"Since I live in New York State, people assumed I meant Soho, the neighborhood in New York City rather than Small Office/Home Office," she explains. "In addition, because I had to explain the name to everyone I met, that was an extra hurdle to being remembered."
She now does business under the name Business Design Studio. "Even though it's boring, I've gotten really good feedback so far on the new name. People understand it the first time they hear or see it," Eileen says. "And now when I leave a voice mail message or introduce myself, people 'get it.' What a joy!"
Before you reach deep for a highly original, offbeat name, consider whether something more straightforward can better help you reach your business goals. Sometimes, a name that is simple and clear is best.
About the Author:
Marcia Yudkin is Head Stork of Named At Last, a company that brainstorms creative business names, product names and tag lines for clients. For a systematic process of coming up with an appealing and effective name or tag line, download a free copy of "19 Steps to the Perfect Company Name, Product Name or Tag Line" at http://www.namedatlast.com/19steps.htm
Read more of Marcia Yudkin's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
"Your business name must be bold." Look around the Internet, and you'll often find this advice. Your business name must grab people's attention. Sometimes this is a valid guideline, especially if you are in the entertainment, gadget or fashion industries. Too often, however, I see this rule lead business owners to strain for an unusual name, just for the sake of attention. And the very unusualness of the name then becomes a serious liability.
More ordinary names can sometimes work out much better than far-fetched ones. Here are two examples of this phenomenon.
When Susan Friedmann of Lake Placid, New York went out on her own, she christened her new company Diadem Communications. "Diadem means crown - a fitting name for what I felt was a crowning achievement," she recalls.
Unfortunately, however, the name meant nothing to potential customers. Most were unfamiliar with the word diadem and did not ask what it meant. Many didn't know how to pronounce it. More importantly, it did not clue them in on Susan's specialty - helping companies get results from exhibiting at trade shows.
"Going by name alone, no one would be able to determine the least bit of information about me, my company or the services we offer," she says.
Susan's new company name, The Trade Show Coach, communicates her expertise instantly. "I knew I needed a name that said what I did without people having to try and work it out." No longer does she need to explain her business focus after introducing herself and her company.
Graphic designer/web designer Eileen Parzek also decided she had made a mistake by getting too creative in her business name. For years, she went by the company name SOHO It Goes. Her tag line: Helping Small Businesses Make a Big Impression.
"Since I live in New York State, people assumed I meant Soho, the neighborhood in New York City rather than Small Office/Home Office," she explains. "In addition, because I had to explain the name to everyone I met, that was an extra hurdle to being remembered."
She now does business under the name Business Design Studio. "Even though it's boring, I've gotten really good feedback so far on the new name. People understand it the first time they hear or see it," Eileen says. "And now when I leave a voice mail message or introduce myself, people 'get it.' What a joy!"
Before you reach deep for a highly original, offbeat name, consider whether something more straightforward can better help you reach your business goals. Sometimes, a name that is simple and clear is best.
About the Author:
Marcia Yudkin is Head Stork of Named At Last, a company that brainstorms creative business names, product names and tag lines for clients. For a systematic process of coming up with an appealing and effective name or tag line, download a free copy of "19 Steps to the Perfect Company Name, Product Name or Tag Line" at http://www.namedatlast.com/19steps.htm
Read more of Marcia Yudkin's articles.
Friday, September 4, 2009
The Secret to Starting a Successful Online Business
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Ruth Barringham
It goes without saying that everyone who starts up an online business wants to be successful. Having an online business means you can "retire" and work online. With your own successful online business you quit your day job. No more commuting. No more boss. No more 9-to-5 drudgery.
But how do you set up an online business if you don't know where to start?
There is a secret to setting up a successful online business that no one ever wants to talk about. The so-called internet "gurus" don't talk about it because they want to sell you their product that they claim will make you instantly rich. Some of them will even offer to give you a free money-making web site. But why would anyone give away a web site that makes lots of money? Because these sites are designed to make them rich; not you.
There are lots of money-making scams on the internet and they are easy to spot because they are full of hype and promises that you can "get-rich-quick!"
None of this is true. Any logical person knows that it's impossible to go to bed poor and wake up rich (unless you win the lotto while you're asleep).
The real secret to a successful online business is just four small letters. W-O-R-K. And that really is all there is to it.
But because the word "work" conjures up mental images of toil and sweat, no one wants to talk about it. But it's worth doing if your goal is to have financial freedom and the luxury of working from home.
The way to create your own online business is to first build a web site from scratch and work your way up. This means knowing how to write HTML code which is the cornerstone of all web sites.
HTML code isn't difficult to understand once you know what you're doing. Even if you only understand basic HTML, you'll have a firm foundation to grow your business from. Web designers will try and tell you that building web sites is difficult and is best left the professionals (meaning them). But they only say that to serve their own interests because if you build your own web site, they're out of a job.
Understanding how to write HTML code is also handy if you do hire a professional web designer in the future because you'll understand their jargon and know if they're trying to over-charge you.
But ultimately being able to write HTML code and build all your own web sites gives you the freedom to design your sites exactly as you want them and it puts you more in control of your online business.
But before you build your first web site you need to know what niche you want to work in.You can have a web site in any niche (subject) you want but it needs to be something that you're really interested in so that you can stay enthusiastic about your site. If you can't get enthusiastic about your niche topic, it will show in your web site and ultimately your income will suffer.
Once you know what you want to make your web site about then you should start small with just a simple site that has only a few pages. A site that's too big too soon will quickly become too much.
You can place a few PPC (Pay Per Click) advertisements on your site by simply copying and pasting a small script onto your web pages. Ads are then displayed automatically and whenever a visitor clicks on an ad, you earn money. These ads vary in payment from only a few cents per click, up to several dollars. So you can imagine how quickly that adds up day after day.
Next you need to find a few affiliate products to sell. There are plenty of companies on the internet that use affiliate programs to boost sales. There are also quite a few giant affiliate directories where you can find hundreds of products from lots of different companies. You just join an affiliate program for free, place ads for the products on your web site, and whenever someone clicks on one of your ads and makes a purchase, you earn a commission. And some of the commissions pay as high as 75%.
Affiliate sales are a great way to generate income if you don't have a product of your own to sell. Some people earn their whole online income this way with some affilaites earning in excess of $200,000 a year. And it's easy to see how.
Say you have a web site that advertises exercise equipment and someone clicks through one of your links and buys a treadmill. You could earn over $600 from a sale like that by doing nothing more than placing a small advertisement on your site. Of course not all commissions are that high. But even if you're only making $20 a time from selling e-books, you only need to make a few sales every day to earn a full-time income.
Eventually you may even consider selling your own products online. Most people start by selling small information products such as e-books because there's no expensive production required and no shipping costs.
Of course, just because you have a web site doesn't mean that you'll get a lot of visitors. So you also need to do some online marketing to drive visitors (called "traffic") to your site.
Marketing can be done for free. You can market by writing articles and uploading them to the online article directories. You can give away free things such as short reports. Or you can market your site using free videos and audio pod casts.
But whichever method you use to drive traffic to your web site, you have to make sure that once your visitors get there, your web page content is appealing, informative and compelling enough to make them want to stay awhile and click on your PPC ads or make a purchase through one of your affiliate links.
Of course, these are not the only ways to build a profitable web site. But they are a great way to start. And once you know what works for your site and what doesn't, you can add more pages and make it as big as you want, or you can build more sites and create what is known as VRE (Virtual Real-Estate). And as you can probably imagine, more sites, means more sales and more PPC ads which all adds up to more money.
So although building your own successful online business might seem like W-O-R-K in the beginning, the quicker you can grow your site the quicker you will profit from it. So working 8 hours a day on your web site will build it quicker than working only 1-2 hours.
Just start with the basics; learn HTML code, learn how to write compelling web page content and learn the simplest ways to start making money online. Doing it this way will give you complete control over your online business.
And you'll find that running your own online business is not only interesting and fun but it's also extremely profitable.
And if that's what you really want, then you need to stop dreaming about it and get to work right now.
As the old saying goes; be a doer, not a gunner.
About the Author:
Written by: Ruth Barringham. Imagine how great it would be if you could live the life you've always desired by working from home running your own online business. If this is something you've always dreamed of doing, don't put if off any longer. Find out how how simple it is to start your own online business at http://www.newonlinecourse.net/
Read more of Ruth Barringham's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Ruth Barringham
It goes without saying that everyone who starts up an online business wants to be successful. Having an online business means you can "retire" and work online. With your own successful online business you quit your day job. No more commuting. No more boss. No more 9-to-5 drudgery.
But how do you set up an online business if you don't know where to start?
There is a secret to setting up a successful online business that no one ever wants to talk about. The so-called internet "gurus" don't talk about it because they want to sell you their product that they claim will make you instantly rich. Some of them will even offer to give you a free money-making web site. But why would anyone give away a web site that makes lots of money? Because these sites are designed to make them rich; not you.
There are lots of money-making scams on the internet and they are easy to spot because they are full of hype and promises that you can "get-rich-quick!"
None of this is true. Any logical person knows that it's impossible to go to bed poor and wake up rich (unless you win the lotto while you're asleep).
The real secret to a successful online business is just four small letters. W-O-R-K. And that really is all there is to it.
But because the word "work" conjures up mental images of toil and sweat, no one wants to talk about it. But it's worth doing if your goal is to have financial freedom and the luxury of working from home.
The way to create your own online business is to first build a web site from scratch and work your way up. This means knowing how to write HTML code which is the cornerstone of all web sites.
HTML code isn't difficult to understand once you know what you're doing. Even if you only understand basic HTML, you'll have a firm foundation to grow your business from. Web designers will try and tell you that building web sites is difficult and is best left the professionals (meaning them). But they only say that to serve their own interests because if you build your own web site, they're out of a job.
Understanding how to write HTML code is also handy if you do hire a professional web designer in the future because you'll understand their jargon and know if they're trying to over-charge you.
But ultimately being able to write HTML code and build all your own web sites gives you the freedom to design your sites exactly as you want them and it puts you more in control of your online business.
But before you build your first web site you need to know what niche you want to work in.You can have a web site in any niche (subject) you want but it needs to be something that you're really interested in so that you can stay enthusiastic about your site. If you can't get enthusiastic about your niche topic, it will show in your web site and ultimately your income will suffer.
Once you know what you want to make your web site about then you should start small with just a simple site that has only a few pages. A site that's too big too soon will quickly become too much.
You can place a few PPC (Pay Per Click) advertisements on your site by simply copying and pasting a small script onto your web pages. Ads are then displayed automatically and whenever a visitor clicks on an ad, you earn money. These ads vary in payment from only a few cents per click, up to several dollars. So you can imagine how quickly that adds up day after day.
Next you need to find a few affiliate products to sell. There are plenty of companies on the internet that use affiliate programs to boost sales. There are also quite a few giant affiliate directories where you can find hundreds of products from lots of different companies. You just join an affiliate program for free, place ads for the products on your web site, and whenever someone clicks on one of your ads and makes a purchase, you earn a commission. And some of the commissions pay as high as 75%.
Affiliate sales are a great way to generate income if you don't have a product of your own to sell. Some people earn their whole online income this way with some affilaites earning in excess of $200,000 a year. And it's easy to see how.
Say you have a web site that advertises exercise equipment and someone clicks through one of your links and buys a treadmill. You could earn over $600 from a sale like that by doing nothing more than placing a small advertisement on your site. Of course not all commissions are that high. But even if you're only making $20 a time from selling e-books, you only need to make a few sales every day to earn a full-time income.
Eventually you may even consider selling your own products online. Most people start by selling small information products such as e-books because there's no expensive production required and no shipping costs.
Of course, just because you have a web site doesn't mean that you'll get a lot of visitors. So you also need to do some online marketing to drive visitors (called "traffic") to your site.
Marketing can be done for free. You can market by writing articles and uploading them to the online article directories. You can give away free things such as short reports. Or you can market your site using free videos and audio pod casts.
But whichever method you use to drive traffic to your web site, you have to make sure that once your visitors get there, your web page content is appealing, informative and compelling enough to make them want to stay awhile and click on your PPC ads or make a purchase through one of your affiliate links.
Of course, these are not the only ways to build a profitable web site. But they are a great way to start. And once you know what works for your site and what doesn't, you can add more pages and make it as big as you want, or you can build more sites and create what is known as VRE (Virtual Real-Estate). And as you can probably imagine, more sites, means more sales and more PPC ads which all adds up to more money.
So although building your own successful online business might seem like W-O-R-K in the beginning, the quicker you can grow your site the quicker you will profit from it. So working 8 hours a day on your web site will build it quicker than working only 1-2 hours.
Just start with the basics; learn HTML code, learn how to write compelling web page content and learn the simplest ways to start making money online. Doing it this way will give you complete control over your online business.
And you'll find that running your own online business is not only interesting and fun but it's also extremely profitable.
And if that's what you really want, then you need to stop dreaming about it and get to work right now.
As the old saying goes; be a doer, not a gunner.
About the Author:
Written by: Ruth Barringham. Imagine how great it would be if you could live the life you've always desired by working from home running your own online business. If this is something you've always dreamed of doing, don't put if off any longer. Find out how how simple it is to start your own online business at http://www.newonlinecourse.net/
Read more of Ruth Barringham's articles.
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