Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
One of the most important elements of any venture is inspiration. Humans like to have heroes or idols to look up to, people to examine and hold up as the best examples of success. It is reassuring on a very basic level to be able to point to someone and say; "They did it, so I know it can be done."
With that in mind, consider the following web branding success stories. These are not the names that are usually thrown about, like YouTube or Facebook. Rather, these are people who have developed a niche success in their own field, and have become world-famous brands in their own way, and their own time.
Zero Punctuation: The Saga of Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw
Few stories are as appealing as those of overnight success, and the story of Yahtzee seems to fit the bill. Around late 2007, he posted a pair of video animations to YouTube. In these videos little paper-cutout-style characters enacted humorous scenes against a yellow backdrop while Yahtzee reviewed video games in a slightly frantic tone of voice. Yahtzee tore into the games' flaws with a vigor and incisive sense of humor that spoke directly to the irony-conscious gamers of today. Shortly thereafter, an online gaming magazine called The Escapist hired Yahtzee to produce the videos on a weekly basis for its site.
The result was an explosion of interest. The Escapist's traffic jumped nearly 400 percent following the addition of Yahtzee's series, dubbed "Zero Punctuation" because of his increasingly trademark style of rapid-fire speech with few pauses for breath. The white avatars on yellow background have become icons of the gaming world, recognizable at a glance. Major game designers such as Fable's Peter Myoleneaux have responded directly to Yahtzee's criticism and sent him their newest game to review as well, even knowing that he is likely to treat this second effort even more brutally than the first.
Of course, Yahtzee actually isn't an example of overnight success at all. He's been a gamer for more than 20 years, having played others' games and designed his own as well. He's developed his signature style with dedicated hard work, and the hard work ultimately was rewarded when the right audience was found. The lesson here is both that brands must be ready to jump on the opportunities of the moment, but also be prepared to put in a great deal of work and effort for their brand to succeed.
Yahtzee currently writes for the Escapist, as well as his own website, Fully Ramblomatic, and the Australian magazine Hyper. He resides in Australia, and still produces the weekly ZP show.
Nostalgia Critic: Remembering It So You Don't Have To
Continuing the theme of YouTube branding success, another tale is that of Doug Walker, popularly known as That Guy With the Glasses. A few years ago, Doug began uploading a series of short videos to YouTube touching on things he found entertaining. His 5-second-movies feature was a deconstructionist look at popular films by editing them down to brief impressions, while the Nostalgia Critic was a persona he used to examine popular films and series his generation grew up with. From there, everything exploded into a story of epic web success.
He left YouTube to found his own site with several friends who had lost their retail day jobs. They expanded on the content of the site, adding new characters, additional writers and performers. A team of fellow critics and reviewers became Team TGWTG, video gamers come to the site under the title of Blistered Thumbs, and the site has gradually prospered (if by gradually of course one means that from 2008 to 2009 the site began making $10,000 per month).
Perhaps the biggest element of this brand's success is Walker's rivalry with fellow nostalgic reviewer, the Angry Video Game Nerd. AVGN is a series reviewing nostalgic cartridge video games, and the similarities between the two series sparked comments among the series' fans that one or the other might be stealing the concept. Taking this idea to a perhaps bizarre new level, the Critic and the Nerd launched a series of videos detailing their epic battles and struggles to claim the title of "winner," and both their viewerships prospered from it.
Walker's story is an inspiring one because of the sheer scale of his success. In less than a decade he has gone to making sums of money one would normally associate with a major business venture. Yet at the core of it, he and his friends make short videos about old movies from the 1980s, in their homes, with software and equipment you can pick up at any computer store. Yet now there are people going to comic and movie conventions costumed as the Critic or his cronies, and the various pop culture lines he references have become a new canon of online in jokes.
Closing Thoughts
These two stories are not the rule. There are many reviewers out there who haven't achieved the level of success these people have. However, the fact that they have achieved it at all shows that it can be done, and both stories share the same important lesson for anyone interested in branding: Do what you love.
Neither of these two Internet heroes has branding as his first priority. Instead, the priority is on doing something they love, and always doing it well. Walker's first Nostalgia Critic video is of noticeably poorer quality than his newest videos, and Zero Punctuation has grown more eclectic and daring in its animations as time has gone on. These two have a passion for what they want to see done, and the brand has grown as a result of the effort and love they have put into it. If you take no other lesson from their story, take this one: do something you love, and do it well.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Payday Advance Loans Are Now Only One Toll Free Call Away
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Tom Tierney
A friend of mine recently went through financial troubles and asked me, knowing that I'm a finance writer, if I could push him in the right direction for a short term loan to help out with his expenses. Here's his story:
I have finally taken a positive step. I made one phone call and took out a payday advance loan. Our finances are stretched to the limit and one more unexpected expense will sink the family budget. I decided not to take any chances.
The past months
The past few months have been one expense after another. It started when the head gasket in the engine of our 9 year old car blew. I got a quote and fainted on the spot when I heard what it was going to cost. I tried to do it myself and added to the final cost. Then Jimmy turned 10 and we had to give him the bicycle that we had been promising all year. Have you priced a good bicycle lately? The washing machine motor died and I couldn't complain - it had worked faithfully for years. Luckily we got a good deal on a new machine.
Every month
In short, there has been a major expense, sometimes more than one, every month this year and I'm sinking under the weight of all these unexpected expenses.
How about a loan?
"Can't you take a loan?" asked Lisa one evening. "I could I suppose, but that's a last resort. I have to search through the loan company ads, find a company and call them. Then I have to bare myself in front of some person who is going to ask me a million questions. They will ask for every detail of our lives, how we live, how we spend, where we shop, what we buy, how often we go to the movies, every detail of our lives. I can't even stand the thought of all that! There must be some other way..."
The last straw
The note that came up on my computer screen at the office was the final straw. "Until further notice, all overtime work is cancelled". Short, sweet and to the point. Almost as if the bosses know that I survive on overtime work. If it wasn't for the overtime we would be in deep trouble financially. But we like our lifestyle and I don't mind taking work home or staying late at the office a couple of times a week. Now I don't have a choice, I have to take a loan to get us through the next couple of months. Where do I start?
The ads
The papers are full of loan company ads. Many of them are sleazy, mixed in with the night clubs and the racing results. So I asked my good friend Tom who I remembered writes about money stuff, for his job. He told me about one of his clients who give short term cash loans, honest company, no bs etc etc, so I checked it out.
They offered up to $1500 in one hour and I could either apply online or call their toll free number, this was at 11pm and I always prefer to speak to a real person instead of using the computer so I called them up. Everything was smooth and I had the cash in my bank the next morning, simple as that. So ok it costs a bit more in interest than a normal loan but I only took it out for like a week and half. Anyway it saved me a lot of hassle and stress.
About the Author:
Tom Tierney is a writer who covers finance and where to get great deals. His specialty is loans and payday advances. He highly recommends http://www.Advanceloan.net/ for cash advance and payday loans, noting that they offer an online service and a toll free telephone service.
Copyright © 2010 Tom Tierney
A friend of mine recently went through financial troubles and asked me, knowing that I'm a finance writer, if I could push him in the right direction for a short term loan to help out with his expenses. Here's his story:
I have finally taken a positive step. I made one phone call and took out a payday advance loan. Our finances are stretched to the limit and one more unexpected expense will sink the family budget. I decided not to take any chances.
The past months
The past few months have been one expense after another. It started when the head gasket in the engine of our 9 year old car blew. I got a quote and fainted on the spot when I heard what it was going to cost. I tried to do it myself and added to the final cost. Then Jimmy turned 10 and we had to give him the bicycle that we had been promising all year. Have you priced a good bicycle lately? The washing machine motor died and I couldn't complain - it had worked faithfully for years. Luckily we got a good deal on a new machine.
Every month
In short, there has been a major expense, sometimes more than one, every month this year and I'm sinking under the weight of all these unexpected expenses.
How about a loan?
"Can't you take a loan?" asked Lisa one evening. "I could I suppose, but that's a last resort. I have to search through the loan company ads, find a company and call them. Then I have to bare myself in front of some person who is going to ask me a million questions. They will ask for every detail of our lives, how we live, how we spend, where we shop, what we buy, how often we go to the movies, every detail of our lives. I can't even stand the thought of all that! There must be some other way..."
The last straw
The note that came up on my computer screen at the office was the final straw. "Until further notice, all overtime work is cancelled". Short, sweet and to the point. Almost as if the bosses know that I survive on overtime work. If it wasn't for the overtime we would be in deep trouble financially. But we like our lifestyle and I don't mind taking work home or staying late at the office a couple of times a week. Now I don't have a choice, I have to take a loan to get us through the next couple of months. Where do I start?
The ads
The papers are full of loan company ads. Many of them are sleazy, mixed in with the night clubs and the racing results. So I asked my good friend Tom who I remembered writes about money stuff, for his job. He told me about one of his clients who give short term cash loans, honest company, no bs etc etc, so I checked it out.
They offered up to $1500 in one hour and I could either apply online or call their toll free number, this was at 11pm and I always prefer to speak to a real person instead of using the computer so I called them up. Everything was smooth and I had the cash in my bank the next morning, simple as that. So ok it costs a bit more in interest than a normal loan but I only took it out for like a week and half. Anyway it saved me a lot of hassle and stress.
About the Author:
Tom Tierney is a writer who covers finance and where to get great deals. His specialty is loans and payday advances. He highly recommends http://www.Advanceloan.net/ for cash advance and payday loans, noting that they offer an online service and a toll free telephone service.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Online Fax Solutions For Your Small Home Business
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Titus Hoskins
Mainly because of these uncertain economic times, more and more individuals are starting their own small companies or operating a business from home. In most cases, their place of work has shifted from a large crowded office building to the comfort of their own home. And that as they say, has made all the difference in the world.
However, along with this freedom comes some major problems of how to stay in contact with the outside world on a limited budget. If you have your own business you will know operating expenses have a nasty habit of increasing quickly and subtracting from your profit margin. A small business owner or anyone working from their home must be able to keep all their operating expenses in check.
As mentioned before, one of the ongoing expenses will be your communication costs. Phone bills, fax costs, Internet fees... if you're not careful all these can add up to a hefty monthly charge or expense. You must find a solution that is cost-effective while still giving you the freedom or the convenience of operating a small business can produce.
One solution many small business owners are turning to is online fax. Instead of operating the traditional fax machine, they are opting for a virtual fax machine or service, where all your faxing chores are outsourced to an online fax service provider.
Online or Internet faxing is simply using your email program and your web connection to send and receive all your faxes. Your chosen fax service provider acts as your intermediary to handle all your faxes for you and your faxes are sent as email attachments (Tiff or Pdf format).
Now, there are many benefits for the small business owner by going this route. First, online fax is truly mobile, you can do your faxing anywhere, anytime. You can fax from any mobile device such as a cell phone, netbook, laptop, smart phone or PDA. This mobility can give any home business or small company extra freedom and reach.
Next, online fax is much cheaper than using a regular fax machine mainly because it is web based so you don't need an extra fax phone line and because it's paperless faxing, you don't have the ongoing expenses or costs of inks, paper and toners. Depending on the amount of faxing your company or home business requires... costs can run as low as $4 or $5 a month, although the average monthly charge is around $8-$10.
To get online fax you have to sign-up to one of the many Internet fax service providers, where you're given a Local or Toll-Free fax number to use. You are also given an online interface or site where your faxes are stored. You can also logon to check and/or send your faxes from here. Keep in mind, each of these different fax providers have different prices and rates; plus, they also vary in the numbers of faxes you can send each month. The average is around 300, but shop around and you will find better deals.
If you're on a strict budget and watching your pennies, you should make sure you check the overage fee which is charged to your faxes once you go over the monthly limit. The average here is around 10 cents but shop around and you will find much better rates. This factor is very important if you send a lot of faxes each month. Actually, if you will be sending a lot of faxes, you should look into an unlimited fax plan, these will cost more but you could save money over the long-run. Likewise, another option which many home business go for is a complete PBX service where fax is just one component, you get all your phone services, call forwarding, voice mail... handled through one convenient system.
One of the best reasons for any small business or home office to use online fax concerns scalability. Because everything is computer and web based you can quickly scale up or down the number of fax lines you have since there is no extra hardware to install. For a small business this is ideal because it gives you great flexibility and growth potential. You can quickly tailor your fax services to meet your company's needs.
One last point to mention about operating a small business and online fax is competitiveness. Having your business totally reachable 24/7, simply means your office or store is open around the clock. This can make your business more competitive in these uncertain economic times and it something you should consider.
Overall, online fax is the perfect solution for the small business owner. It is cost-effective, convenient, portable and available anywhere you have Internet access. It can truly make any business or company more competitive in this dog eat dog business world. It is one solution you should definitely consider for your business.
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.
Copyright © 2010 Titus Hoskins
Mainly because of these uncertain economic times, more and more individuals are starting their own small companies or operating a business from home. In most cases, their place of work has shifted from a large crowded office building to the comfort of their own home. And that as they say, has made all the difference in the world.
However, along with this freedom comes some major problems of how to stay in contact with the outside world on a limited budget. If you have your own business you will know operating expenses have a nasty habit of increasing quickly and subtracting from your profit margin. A small business owner or anyone working from their home must be able to keep all their operating expenses in check.
As mentioned before, one of the ongoing expenses will be your communication costs. Phone bills, fax costs, Internet fees... if you're not careful all these can add up to a hefty monthly charge or expense. You must find a solution that is cost-effective while still giving you the freedom or the convenience of operating a small business can produce.
One solution many small business owners are turning to is online fax. Instead of operating the traditional fax machine, they are opting for a virtual fax machine or service, where all your faxing chores are outsourced to an online fax service provider.
Online or Internet faxing is simply using your email program and your web connection to send and receive all your faxes. Your chosen fax service provider acts as your intermediary to handle all your faxes for you and your faxes are sent as email attachments (Tiff or Pdf format).
Now, there are many benefits for the small business owner by going this route. First, online fax is truly mobile, you can do your faxing anywhere, anytime. You can fax from any mobile device such as a cell phone, netbook, laptop, smart phone or PDA. This mobility can give any home business or small company extra freedom and reach.
Next, online fax is much cheaper than using a regular fax machine mainly because it is web based so you don't need an extra fax phone line and because it's paperless faxing, you don't have the ongoing expenses or costs of inks, paper and toners. Depending on the amount of faxing your company or home business requires... costs can run as low as $4 or $5 a month, although the average monthly charge is around $8-$10.
To get online fax you have to sign-up to one of the many Internet fax service providers, where you're given a Local or Toll-Free fax number to use. You are also given an online interface or site where your faxes are stored. You can also logon to check and/or send your faxes from here. Keep in mind, each of these different fax providers have different prices and rates; plus, they also vary in the numbers of faxes you can send each month. The average is around 300, but shop around and you will find better deals.
If you're on a strict budget and watching your pennies, you should make sure you check the overage fee which is charged to your faxes once you go over the monthly limit. The average here is around 10 cents but shop around and you will find much better rates. This factor is very important if you send a lot of faxes each month. Actually, if you will be sending a lot of faxes, you should look into an unlimited fax plan, these will cost more but you could save money over the long-run. Likewise, another option which many home business go for is a complete PBX service where fax is just one component, you get all your phone services, call forwarding, voice mail... handled through one convenient system.
One of the best reasons for any small business or home office to use online fax concerns scalability. Because everything is computer and web based you can quickly scale up or down the number of fax lines you have since there is no extra hardware to install. For a small business this is ideal because it gives you great flexibility and growth potential. You can quickly tailor your fax services to meet your company's needs.
One last point to mention about operating a small business and online fax is competitiveness. Having your business totally reachable 24/7, simply means your office or store is open around the clock. This can make your business more competitive in these uncertain economic times and it something you should consider.
Overall, online fax is the perfect solution for the small business owner. It is cost-effective, convenient, portable and available anywhere you have Internet access. It can truly make any business or company more competitive in this dog eat dog business world. It is one solution you should definitely consider for your business.
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.
Cloud Computing: Does Your Business Belong in 'The Cloud'?
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Anne Sych
The 'Cloud' has rolled in and by all accounts is here to stay, but is it really the magic bullet for most businesses and is it right for you? And are all clouds the same? Here's what you need to know about computing in 'the Cloud'.
The SaaS model that began a few years ago has now evolved into the 'Cloud' computing model being utilized today. Improvements were made to enhance performance and strengthen security. It is a great option for many organizations because it provides:
Lower maintenance and support costs than premise based alternatives
Lower entry point than a licensed purchase
Fast Deployment
Reduced challenges associated with upgrades, updates, and security patches
The ability for remote employees to stay connected
Reduce workload on already busy IT departments
Highly customizable user settings
Lower risk with the ability to easily change vendors if desired
Pushing information in the cloud improves collaboration; business partners, employees and customers all benefit from the ease and availability that Cloud computing delivers. Anyone with access to the Internet can now engage in operations through these web based services.
Another key benefit of computing in the Cloud is the cost savings. Businesses today are cash strapped and are looking to reduce costs without compromising services. The financial benefits of Cloud computing are huge. The Yankee Group estimates that Cloud computing brings cost reductions of 50% or more for IT spending. Typically IT savings demands high up front costs, with savings being realized over time. Cloud computing brings almost instants savings, since there are no large, front end costs around implementation.
Types of Clouds:
Cloud computing offers organizations improved options that were not available with SaaS. Cloud models include:
Private/Internal Clouds -emulate cloud computing on private networks capitalizing on data security, corporate governance, and reliability concerns. Users "still have to buy, build, and manage them" and as such do not benefit from lower up-front capital costs and less hands-on management.
Hybrid Clouds - consist of multiple internal and/or external providers; an organization provides and manages some resources in-house and has others provided externally.
Community Clouds - several organizations have similar requirements and seek to share infrastructure so as to realize some of the benefits of cloud computing.
Public Clouds - a shared environment where service provider makes resources, such as applications and storage, available to the general public over the Internet. Public clouds may have hundreds or even thousands of businesses running in isolated containers within the same physical environment.
With the advances is security and delivery, Cloud computing is proving to be an excellent tool to improve business services while reducing costs. Author Nicholas Carr, argues that the cloud computing paradigm shift is similar to the displacement of electricity generators by electricity grids early in the 20th century. At first there was fear about pooling services with other businesses, but security measures were put in place and costs were greatly reduced by sharing infrastructure.
The Novo Private Cloud:
Through Rackspace, a trusted leader in Cloud computing services, Novo Solutions has adopted a secure, private cloud for our customer's data. Novo data is physically separated on dedicated hardware exclusively for Novo Solutions, providing high levels of security, reliability, and performance.
At Novo Solutions we offer all of our software as Cloud, Annual Subscription, and Licensed On-premise software deployment options. This gives you the option to try one environment, and switch to other if desired - keeping your data in tact. Please contact us for a free trial, so you can try our software using your own data. Quickly, you can be expediting services and saving money 'in the Cloud'.
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/
Read more of Anne Sych's articles.
Copyright © 2010 Anne Sych
The 'Cloud' has rolled in and by all accounts is here to stay, but is it really the magic bullet for most businesses and is it right for you? And are all clouds the same? Here's what you need to know about computing in 'the Cloud'.
The SaaS model that began a few years ago has now evolved into the 'Cloud' computing model being utilized today. Improvements were made to enhance performance and strengthen security. It is a great option for many organizations because it provides:
Pushing information in the cloud improves collaboration; business partners, employees and customers all benefit from the ease and availability that Cloud computing delivers. Anyone with access to the Internet can now engage in operations through these web based services.
Another key benefit of computing in the Cloud is the cost savings. Businesses today are cash strapped and are looking to reduce costs without compromising services. The financial benefits of Cloud computing are huge. The Yankee Group estimates that Cloud computing brings cost reductions of 50% or more for IT spending. Typically IT savings demands high up front costs, with savings being realized over time. Cloud computing brings almost instants savings, since there are no large, front end costs around implementation.
Types of Clouds:
Cloud computing offers organizations improved options that were not available with SaaS. Cloud models include:
With the advances is security and delivery, Cloud computing is proving to be an excellent tool to improve business services while reducing costs. Author Nicholas Carr, argues that the cloud computing paradigm shift is similar to the displacement of electricity generators by electricity grids early in the 20th century. At first there was fear about pooling services with other businesses, but security measures were put in place and costs were greatly reduced by sharing infrastructure.
The Novo Private Cloud:
Through Rackspace, a trusted leader in Cloud computing services, Novo Solutions has adopted a secure, private cloud for our customer's data. Novo data is physically separated on dedicated hardware exclusively for Novo Solutions, providing high levels of security, reliability, and performance.
At Novo Solutions we offer all of our software as Cloud, Annual Subscription, and Licensed On-premise software deployment options. This gives you the option to try one environment, and switch to other if desired - keeping your data in tact. Please contact us for a free trial, so you can try our software using your own data. Quickly, you can be expediting services and saving money 'in the Cloud'.
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/
Read more of Anne Sych's articles.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Can Our Dreams Be Our Teachers?
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Scott Bywater
I managed to get away for a night with my wife this weekend in the beautiful Southern Highlands.
Never been to Bowral before, but is that a magical place or what?
Sometimes things take you by surprise.
Anyway, the place we stayed was stunning. Like a heaven away from home...
And during the night, here's the dream I woke up to...
I was playing golf.
But whenever I went to hit the ball I couldn't find the right club.
Firstly, because I didn't have the right club.
And secondly because even the clubs I had, didn't have the right ends to them.
And then when I lost a ball, I couldn't find another ball in my bag.
Now a couple of things to remember here...
I haven't played golf since I was like a teenager
I rarely remember my dreams.
But when I woke up, I asked myself the question:
"What was the message in that dream?"
And it came to me that when I used to play golf, I didn't have that problem.
Why?
Because I went to the game prepared.
And that got me thinking about my business.
After all, you wouldn't play a game of golf without ensuring you had all your balls, tees and clubs.
You wouldn't go on a holiday without ensuring you had all your clothes, tickets, passport, etc.
And the same should apply in our business.
We should prepare before each day.
We should prepare before each week.
We should set up our office (as I am doing now) so we can access everything and it's nice and tidy, etc.
... because this preparation makes us far more effective when we get out on the course (which is our day to day business life).
For instance, last week I took some time to organise my swipe files (swipe files are sample files of ads I can draw on when I am writing copy)...
... so that next time I write copy I can find what I am looking for faster and more easily.
The same goes with daily planning.
If you know the most important things you need to achieve that day, there's a much greater chance you'll achieve it than if you don't do the preparation and just do whatever happens to be urgent at the time.
So today, take time out to prepare before you walk onto the golf course of your business.
In fact, do it every day. And do it every week. And we should really do a quick summary at least every quarter of what we have achieved and what our outcomes are for the next 3 months.
I did this years ago. And do you know what I realised.
Some of my greatest breakthroughs came from what I learnt.
The seminars I had attended. The books I had read. The audio tape programs I had listened to.
Perhaps you might find a breakthrough in taking the time to learn how to get more customers by checking out http://www.morecustomersmadeeasy.com
or learning how to create killer ads and sales letters: http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/cashflow
But whatever you do, make sure you listen to your dreams - they often have incredible messages in them.
And take time out to prepare on a regular basis.
About the Author:
Scott Bywater is a direct mail copywriter and the author of Cash-Flow Advertising. To get access to his highly prized complimentary copy of "7 Ways To Get More Customers" (valued at $29.95) and to join his controversial and insighful "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter where you'll uncover the truth about why most ads and sales letters don't work (and how to make yours stand out from the rest) head on over to his web site at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Read more of Scott Bywater's articles.
Copyright © 2010 Scott Bywater
I managed to get away for a night with my wife this weekend in the beautiful Southern Highlands.
Never been to Bowral before, but is that a magical place or what?
Sometimes things take you by surprise.
Anyway, the place we stayed was stunning. Like a heaven away from home...
And during the night, here's the dream I woke up to...
I was playing golf.
But whenever I went to hit the ball I couldn't find the right club.
Firstly, because I didn't have the right club.
And secondly because even the clubs I had, didn't have the right ends to them.
And then when I lost a ball, I couldn't find another ball in my bag.
Now a couple of things to remember here...
I haven't played golf since I was like a teenager
I rarely remember my dreams.
But when I woke up, I asked myself the question:
"What was the message in that dream?"
And it came to me that when I used to play golf, I didn't have that problem.
Why?
Because I went to the game prepared.
And that got me thinking about my business.
After all, you wouldn't play a game of golf without ensuring you had all your balls, tees and clubs.
You wouldn't go on a holiday without ensuring you had all your clothes, tickets, passport, etc.
And the same should apply in our business.
We should prepare before each day.
We should prepare before each week.
We should set up our office (as I am doing now) so we can access everything and it's nice and tidy, etc.
... because this preparation makes us far more effective when we get out on the course (which is our day to day business life).
For instance, last week I took some time to organise my swipe files (swipe files are sample files of ads I can draw on when I am writing copy)...
... so that next time I write copy I can find what I am looking for faster and more easily.
The same goes with daily planning.
If you know the most important things you need to achieve that day, there's a much greater chance you'll achieve it than if you don't do the preparation and just do whatever happens to be urgent at the time.
So today, take time out to prepare before you walk onto the golf course of your business.
In fact, do it every day. And do it every week. And we should really do a quick summary at least every quarter of what we have achieved and what our outcomes are for the next 3 months.
I did this years ago. And do you know what I realised.
Some of my greatest breakthroughs came from what I learnt.
The seminars I had attended. The books I had read. The audio tape programs I had listened to.
Perhaps you might find a breakthrough in taking the time to learn how to get more customers by checking out http://www.morecustomersmadeeasy.com
or learning how to create killer ads and sales letters: http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/cashflow
But whatever you do, make sure you listen to your dreams - they often have incredible messages in them.
And take time out to prepare on a regular basis.
About the Author:
Scott Bywater is a direct mail copywriter and the author of Cash-Flow Advertising. To get access to his highly prized complimentary copy of "7 Ways To Get More Customers" (valued at $29.95) and to join his controversial and insighful "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter where you'll uncover the truth about why most ads and sales letters don't work (and how to make yours stand out from the rest) head on over to his web site at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Read more of Scott Bywater's articles.
Do You Want to Say Goodbye to Penny-Pinchers?
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Scott Bywater
Before I get going on today's rant, I have some good news.
After sending out my email the other day about not recording the webinar, I received an email from one of my listeners in Penrith who had recorded it.
They sent it to me. I uploaded it. And you can check it out at:
http://www.scottbywater.com/rightcustomers
Of course, you cannot ask me questions as the people on the live call did.
Anyway, let me tell you a story from my early days in business about the importance of getting the right customers.
When I first started out, I was clutching at straws.
I was broke. I was desperate. And I was trying a lot of different things to see what worked.
So since I had run a hairdressing salon I thought that was a good place to start.
I would cold call these salons... go and meet with them... present... and try and clutch the sale.
I met with a dozen salons.
I made like one sale and had generated a grand total of a couple of hundred bucks from memory.
Why?
Because the businesses I was calling on were totally unqualified.
They had a business and they were a hairdressing salon. That's about it. So they didn't like the idea (and probably didn't have the money) of paying me for my services.
Then I grabbed the phone directory. Looked for all of those companies who had quarter page advertisements.
And called them.
After meeting with three of them, I had made two sales.
And one of the sales I made from targeting the phone directory advertisers became an ongoing client who was worth more than $50,000 to me.
Similar presentation.
Same salesperson.
But I targeted the right customers. And that made all the difference.
They didn't penny-pinch because they were pre-qualified as being willing to invest funds into advertising.
The others did because they weren't qualified.
Chasing the wrong customers is the single biggest mistake people make in business.
That's why I ran my webinar last week.
And you can check it out here:
http://www.scottbywater.com/rightcustomers
Do it now because the special offer on the call expires at midnight tomorrow.
What's more, when you listen to it, you are going to learn:
The best way to stay in touch with a customer to rutn them into a customer for life
The trick to avoiding the question about giving a discount or special deals
When to give up on somebody who is never going to use your services
The best way to canvas for customers (should you use the internet, newspaper, direct mail or door knocking)
How to get the best leads
Does fax broadcasting work? And what are the drawbacks?
And much, much more
Anyway, after returning from a long weekend there is work to be done.
So let's hop to it.
About the Author:
For quick results, you'll want to get your hands on this leading direct response copywriter's ebook "7 Ways To Get More Customers" at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/ Scott Bywater shows you how to get all the customers you need in just 60 days. This popular ebook has been downloaded by over 8,247 business owners over the past five years. Packed with information, this ebook will show you copywriting and marketing strategies which could have you getting new clients within just a couple of days.
Copyright © 2010 Scott Bywater
Before I get going on today's rant, I have some good news.
After sending out my email the other day about not recording the webinar, I received an email from one of my listeners in Penrith who had recorded it.
They sent it to me. I uploaded it. And you can check it out at:
http://www.scottbywater.com/rightcustomers
Of course, you cannot ask me questions as the people on the live call did.
Anyway, let me tell you a story from my early days in business about the importance of getting the right customers.
When I first started out, I was clutching at straws.
I was broke. I was desperate. And I was trying a lot of different things to see what worked.
So since I had run a hairdressing salon I thought that was a good place to start.
I would cold call these salons... go and meet with them... present... and try and clutch the sale.
I met with a dozen salons.
I made like one sale and had generated a grand total of a couple of hundred bucks from memory.
Why?
Because the businesses I was calling on were totally unqualified.
They had a business and they were a hairdressing salon. That's about it. So they didn't like the idea (and probably didn't have the money) of paying me for my services.
Then I grabbed the phone directory. Looked for all of those companies who had quarter page advertisements.
And called them.
After meeting with three of them, I had made two sales.
And one of the sales I made from targeting the phone directory advertisers became an ongoing client who was worth more than $50,000 to me.
Similar presentation.
Same salesperson.
But I targeted the right customers. And that made all the difference.
They didn't penny-pinch because they were pre-qualified as being willing to invest funds into advertising.
The others did because they weren't qualified.
Chasing the wrong customers is the single biggest mistake people make in business.
That's why I ran my webinar last week.
And you can check it out here:
http://www.scottbywater.com/rightcustomers
Do it now because the special offer on the call expires at midnight tomorrow.
What's more, when you listen to it, you are going to learn:
Anyway, after returning from a long weekend there is work to be done.
So let's hop to it.
About the Author:
For quick results, you'll want to get your hands on this leading direct response copywriter's ebook "7 Ways To Get More Customers" at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/ Scott Bywater shows you how to get all the customers you need in just 60 days. This popular ebook has been downloaded by over 8,247 business owners over the past five years. Packed with information, this ebook will show you copywriting and marketing strategies which could have you getting new clients within just a couple of days.
Why Attracting Web Site Traffic is Overrated
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Scott Bywater
One of the big things which sells online is information on how to get more traffic.
And while that is obviously important, I believe it is given far more importance than it should.
I mean obviously it's easy to sell.
It's the carrot, right?
But here's the thing.
It's not actually that difficult to get traffic. All you need to be able to do is pay lots of cash in order to get more traffic.
Simple, really.
And there's plenty of places where you can do this...
google adwords
classified ads
banner ads
etc.
But here's where the problem lies.
If you cannot convert that traffic into sales, then you cannot afford to continue to advertise.
Putting traffic before conversion is, quite frankly, like putting the horse before the cart.
Think about it.
Imagine you find a way to generate 5,000 visitors a week.
That's great.
But that's going to cost you something. Let's say $2,000 a week.
Here's the bottom line. If you cannot generate at least $2,000 a week through having good sales copy on the page that traffic hits, you'll go broke before you do it well.
Listen, conversion isn't sexy.
It takes work. It takes effort.
But the bottom line is conversion is what will make all the traffic worth it. And without the ability to convert your web site visitors into cash in the bank, traffic is worthless.
About the Author:
Scott Bywater is a direct response copywriter with extensive experience in B2B and B2C writing. Mr Bywater is the author of Cash-Flow Advertising and More Customers Made Easy. You can gain access to his copywriting and marketing tips via his entertaining and eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Visit Scott Bywater's website.
Copyright © 2010 Scott Bywater
One of the big things which sells online is information on how to get more traffic.
And while that is obviously important, I believe it is given far more importance than it should.
I mean obviously it's easy to sell.
It's the carrot, right?
But here's the thing.
It's not actually that difficult to get traffic. All you need to be able to do is pay lots of cash in order to get more traffic.
Simple, really.
And there's plenty of places where you can do this...
But here's where the problem lies.
If you cannot convert that traffic into sales, then you cannot afford to continue to advertise.
Putting traffic before conversion is, quite frankly, like putting the horse before the cart.
Think about it.
Imagine you find a way to generate 5,000 visitors a week.
That's great.
But that's going to cost you something. Let's say $2,000 a week.
Here's the bottom line. If you cannot generate at least $2,000 a week through having good sales copy on the page that traffic hits, you'll go broke before you do it well.
Listen, conversion isn't sexy.
It takes work. It takes effort.
But the bottom line is conversion is what will make all the traffic worth it. And without the ability to convert your web site visitors into cash in the bank, traffic is worthless.
About the Author:
Scott Bywater is a direct response copywriter with extensive experience in B2B and B2C writing. Mr Bywater is the author of Cash-Flow Advertising and More Customers Made Easy. You can gain access to his copywriting and marketing tips via his entertaining and eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Visit Scott Bywater's website.
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