netbusiness4u-the next financial center

Children's economy

2008-09-09T16:34:00.002+08:00

7 reasons not to mess with children.
A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales.

The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small.
The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale.
Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible.
The little girl said, 'When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah'.
The teacher asked, 'What if Jonah went to hell?'
The little girl replied, 'Then you ask him'.

A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child's work.
As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.
The girl replied, 'I'm drawing God.'
The teacher paused and said, 'But no one knows what God looks like.'
Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, 'They will in a minute.'

One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast on her brunette head.
She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, 'Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?'
Her mother replied, 'Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white.'
The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then said, 'Momma, how come ALL of grandma's hairs are white?'

The children had all been photographed, and the teacher was trying to persuade them each to buy a copy of the group picture.
'Just think how nice it will be to look at it when you are all grown up and say, 'There's Jennifer, she's a lawyer,' or 'That's Michael, He's a doctor.'
A small voice at the back of the room rang out, 'And there's the teacher, she's dead.'

A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. Trying to make the matter clearer, she said, 'Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood, as you know, would run into it, and I would turn red in the face.'
'Yes,' the class said.
'Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary position the blood doesn't run into my feet?'
A little fellow shouted, 'Cause your feet ain't empty.'

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray:
'Take only ONE . God is watching.'
Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.
A child had written a note, 'Take all you want. God is watching the apples.'

Starbucks to close 500 more shops

2008-07-02T23:57:00.002+08:00

The froth has come off Starbucks in recent months.

Coffee chain Starbucks plans to shut 500 stores in the US on top of the 100 closures it had already announced.

Up to 12,000 full and part-time jobs will go, although Starbucks will try to move staff into other stores...BBC

It looks like it is another doom and gloom story. What is the world coming to? If everybody closes their businesses, who is going to profit from this economic halt?

Are we facing a World War soon?

Technorati Tags: Starbucks,shops,business

Google Finance

2008-05-09T13:45:00.000+08:00

5 Ways To Accelerate Your Earnings

2008-03-29T16:49:00.000+08:00

5 Ways To Accelerate Your Earnings During An Economic Slowdown

Business Turbo-charger #1:
Generate passive income with a niche site

If you're looking for an extra source of income, this one's for you!

A niche-centered Internet business is the best way to profit from a downturn... Because the cost of entry is lower than any other business and the upside is enormous.

On top of that, an Internet business is very forgiving. You never have to "bet the farm" on an Internet idea. If something isn't working, you'll find out right away and you can either fix it or move on to something better.

(Just be sure to take the time and do the necessary research to prove the niche is actually a profitable one!)

Business Turbo-charger #2:
Join affiliate programs that align with your
current business model

This is the fastest and easiest way to add a new stream of income to your business, guaranteed.

Your existing customers are three times as likely to buy something from you as a stranger who has no experience with your products. So how do you get these people to buy from you again if you only have one product?

Simple -- you offer them an affiliate product!

All you need to do is conduct some research into your market and discover what products your audience is clamoring for (beyond the ones you already provide them).

Next you need to find an affiliate program that offers such products, and add them to the "back end" of your site.

... Then simply email your list special offers for these products -- and mention them on your site, in your newsletter, and your blog... and watch the extra orders come rushing in!

Business Turbo-charger #3:
Start a blog to strengthen your relationship with
your customers

In turbulent times, the cream rises to the top.

... In other words, the ones who are truly successful will go the extra mile to build a strong relationship with their customers and prove that they're a rock-solid business that always has their customers' best interests in mind.

And starting a blog is a GREAT way to do this!

A blog helps you personalize your business, and allows your customers to get a glimpse of the people behind the website. This goes a LONG way to reassuring wary online shoppers that you're someone they want to do business with!

Not only that... search engines absolutely LOVE the fresh and frequently updated content of a blog -- which means you'll get a great boost in the search engine rankings and drive more qualified visitors to your site!

Business Turbo-charger #4:
Widen your circle of potential partners by joining
a social business network

If you're searching for new income opportunities, a great place to look is a popular social business networking site, such as LinkedIn.

LinkedIn has more than 19 million registered members -- all of whom are professional business people who are interested in meeting other people whose business interests are similar to their own.

... When it comes to looking for joint venture opportunities, new business partners, or people who are looking to buy your product or hire your services, LinkedIn is a virtual gold mine!

(Plus, it's a great place to get professional feedback and free business advice!)

Business Turbo-charger #5:
Write helpful articles to boost your reputation
and credibility

A great way to spread word about your business and boost your reputation as an "industry expert" is to write free articles on topics related to your industry and then submit them to the 'Net's top article directories.

The benefits of doing this are twofold...

1) Your audience will become more familiar with your name, and will be far more likely to buy your products

2) The links you'll get from the article directories pointing back to your site will give you a nice boost in your search engine rankings.

... The bottom line is, every little thing counts. In times like this, you have to do what you can to separate yourself from the pack and make yourself stand out from your competitors.

And you have to keep your eyes open for every opportunity to add a new stream of income to your business.

That's ESPECIALLY important during an economic slowdown -- because even if one of your income streams dries up, your business will continue to thrive.

With an Internet business, you never have to get locked into a losing proposition.

As long as you build your business on a solid niche, and are always looking for ways to diversify your income streams, you'll always be able to keep your head afloat... even when others around you are drowning.

So keep your chin up -- and don't give up on your dreams!

Remember, optimism is the best antidote to any downturn.

Think small

2008-03-29T16:46:00.002+08:00

People share their interests with us, then ask us if they could base a profitable online business on them.

But the problem with many of the ideas people share with us is the markets they're thinking of targeting are WAY too big!

They say they're interested in natural health... or weight loss... or online marketing... or golf, for example.

... But these are all HUGE, general, overcrowded markets that are absolutely saturated with competing sites already offering a multitude of perfectly good products!

If you type "personal life coach" into the search engines, you'll get 1,670,000 results!

And a quick search using the keyword research tool in BeBiz shows that only 9 people are actually searching for a "personal life coach" every day -- that means there's a whole lot of competition, with very little demand.

... Not a great recipe for a successful online business!

But that doesn't mean you should give up hope...

Just because you start off wanting to target a huge, overcrowded market, doesn't mean you're on the wrong track!

It just means you've got to DIG DEEPER -- and find a small, narrowly focused group of people WITHIN that general niche whose needs are not being met by any of the solutions they're able to find online.

For example...

* If you're interested in natural health products, you may discover there's a market for naturopathic asthma remedies for young children

* If you're interested in weight loss, you may discover there's a market for a vegetarian cookbooks based on a high-protein, low-carbohydrate plan.

* ... Or if, you're interested in personal life coaching, you may discover there's a market for eBooks directed toward older women who are being forced to return to the workforce after more than a decade, and looking for advice on how to overcome their fears and boost their self-confidence.

... These are purely hypothetical examples, of course. If you want to find a niche that really is a money maker, you've got to do your own research -- because nobody is going to do the work FOR you.

(Not without charging you $1000s, at least!)

The most important thing to remember is this:

When you do your niche research,
you've got to think SMALL.

For home-based entrepreneurs, the BIG money online is in small, untapped markets.

If you start with a large, general market, you've got to be patient and explore all the possible avenues.

You've got to drill down, down, down -- until you finally strike gold!

Because once you've found a group of people who are all looking for a solution to the same problem -- without much success -- you will have discovered the “hidden treasure” that will form the basis of your successful online business! ... IMC

Malaysian Poetry

2008-02-03T19:41:00.000+08:00

This is a story about Malaysian society
Where the different races supposedly live in harmony
In 2003, came along a P M by the name of Badawi
Who led his party to a resounding election victory.

This is a PM whose promises are many
All his slogans are equally catchy
As a result, many people are taken in completely
By his humble and Mr. Clean personality.

First among his chief promises is to combat corruption immediately
That has everyone applauding loudly
But until today, all the major cases are still one big mystery
Lack of evidence or is he fooling us secretly?

Not long after, he introduced Islam Hadhari
Some complained there is only one version of Islam from the Almighty
Anyway, what is it all about, no one knows exactly
Except for some broad points outlined in theory.

Then, he said we need to cut our budget deficit quickly
Which started the dismantling of Tun M's legacy
This caused us to hear about the crooked bridge flip flop story
With all the accusations, what is fiction and what is reality?

By his own admission, his son is extremely wealthy
Because he controls a listed company by the name of Scomi
Was once implicated in the shipment of banned components to a Middle Easterncountry
But his son claimed ignorance and that's the end of the story.

He also has a son-in-law by the name of Khairy
Not elected but is UMNO Youth's deputy
Got entangled in the merged Avenue-ECM Libra entity
Which happened right under the nose of the PM-led Finance Ministry.

Then, we came across a foreign newspaper reporting factually
Of his adventure to see a yacht at a faraway place somewhere in Turkey
This is not true, he said insistently
But I don't see the newspaper issuing any apology.

Next, came the jet on the itinerary
Bought or leased, he is lucky that Malaysians are not financially savvy
The jet is also for the Agong's use, he said publicly
I wonder whether the Agong requested for one specifically?

Later, we read of his holidays in an Australian city
Staying in a mansion owned by someone whom an old man named as PatrickBadawi
We shouldn't be so critical if he was only away temporarily
Except for the fact that there was a major flood in our own territory.

Then, we get the case of Proton disposing off a subsidiary
Not for a large amount but for a mere penny
Many think behind the deal something's very fishy
Tun M's pet project is certainly going awry.

Overall, crime rates are going up highly
Confidence in our police is at its lowest historically
But the IGP got his tenure extended easily
He must be thinking everything's hunky-dory.

He has also been busy launching economic regions lately
Trying to attract foreign investments into the country
Sadly, some are saying that the northern development is benefiting a crony
While others argue the southern one will end up as LKY's colony.

You see, I can go on and on about this indefinitely
Because it is easy and I do not need to create any of them individually
They are all plucked from the web where the stories about him is a plenty
From promoting judges unfairly to always being sleepy.

Actually, I am just an ordinary Malaysian who cares about her country
And I have to state that I am not against him or his policy
For I do not care who is the Perdana Menteri
As long as the person is capable and thrustworthy.

The LOGIC works in the world

2008-02-03T19:36:00.000+08:00

Father: I want you to marry a girl of my choice

Son: "I will choose my own bride!"

Father: "But the girl is Bill Gate's daughter."

Son: "Well, in that case...ok"

Next Father approaches Bill Gates.

Father: "I have a husband for your daughter."

Bill Gates: "But my daughter is too young to marry!"

Father: "But this young man is a vice-president of the World Bank."

Bill Gates: "Ah, in that case...ok"

Finally Father goes to see the president of the World Bank.

Father: "I have a young man to be recommended as a vice-president."

President: "But I already have more vice- presidents than I need!"

Father: "But this young man is Bill Gate's son-in-law."

President: "Ah, in that case...ok"

Moral : Even If you have nothing, You can get Anything , If your
attitude is positive.

Alibaba, net company working its magic

2007-10-28T21:43:00.000+08:00

Alibaba.com Ltd is one of China's fastest-growing technology companies. It will reached its goal of raising US$1.5 billion in its initial public offering this Saturday. Alibaba, an e-commerce portal, sold 858.9 million shares, or a 17 percent stake, at roughly $1.75 each, a source told Dow Jones Newswires on condition of anonymity. The shares will debut on the Hong Kong stock market on Nov. 6.

Analysts said surging demand for Alibaba and other shares had pushed up the local currency, prompting the monetary authority — Hong Kong's de facto central bank — to step in for the second time in a week to defend its peg to the U.S. dollar.

Alibaba Group founder, Jack Ma, has said proceeds from the IPO would be spent on acquisitions and development, designed to grow the company's business both in China and overseas.

Alibaba — whose Web sites allow companies in China and overseas to trade with one another online — is one of China's fastest growing Internet companies. It has seen its registered members soar from 6 million in 2004 to 24.6 million in 2007. Paying members increased from 77,000 in 2004 to 255,000 by June 2007.

Google - The Search Giant

2007-10-12T16:59:00.000+08:00

The top search sites in August were:

Google sites 37 billion searches
Yahoo sites - 8.5 billion
Baidu 3.2 billion
Microsoft sites 2.1 billion
NHN 2 billion
eBay 1.3 billion
Time Warner 1.2 billion
Ask 743 million
Fox 683 million
Lycos 441 million
Total worldwide searches: 61 billion

*Source: comScore

Google powered more than half of all search requests carried out around the world in August, according to a report. A global study by analysts comScore revealed that more than 61 billion searches were performed by more than 750 million users in the month. Users performed more than 37 billion searches via Google, more than all the other major search engines combined.
Yahoo was the second most used engine, followed by Baidu, the Chinese language search engine, the report said.

Is this information important to you?

Yes it is. That means if you want to reach the mass traffic across the internet, you better be in Google good books so that you can be found. If not, your websites can be the most beautiful in the world, but it will be buried in a massive heap and unsearchable.

Google shares continue to surge

2007-10-10T19:38:00.000+08:00

Google shares have risen almost 20% in the last month. Shares in the search giant Google surged again on Tuesday following strong comments from analysts. Lehman Brothers said it expected Google to move into the mobile phone market and predicted it could launch its own handset as soon as February 2008. The shares closed up 0.9% at $615.18 (Google went public in August 2004 at a price of $85 a share) having earlier been up as much as 2%. Its brief rise above the $620 mark made it one of the 10 most valuable listed US companies for the first time, overtaking Johnson & Johnson.

Google is at the forefront of the internet business. When Google sneezes the whole Internet world catches a cold. If Google continues it strong run in the share market, it would only mean better news for all net-preneurs who depend on Google's algorithm for a living.

As an internet enthusiast, it is wise to be on the alert on what is happening in Google and any future plans of this teenage giant who has yet to be fully grown up.

Sub-Prime Mortgage losses of US$5.5 billion

2007-10-07T23:57:00.000+08:00

Merrill Lynch has warned it will have to write down a $5.5bn (£2.7bn) loss for bad investments linked to defaulted US sub-prime mortgages. Merrill, the latest investment bank to reveal its exposure to the downturn in the industry, said it would post a third-quarter loss as a result. It will now make a 50 cent loss per share over three months to September, instead of an expected $1.43 profit.

Nobody expected the bubble to burst so fast, especially when the economy in US and most parts of the world are relatively more buoyant compared to the 1997 crash. As the saying goes, "If something bad can happen, it will happen". The sub-prime mortgage crash has created ripples throughout the financial markets of the world, and even though the incidents happened sometime ago, the repercussions are still being felt today.

Housing markets and loans used to be one of the more stable investments as compared to other higher risks economies such as stocks, bonds, commodities or currency speculations. The instability cycle of highs and lows seems to be recurring at a faster frequency and many of the analysts prediction are now in disarray. The gut feeling of an analyst is now no longer reliable.

So where do we turn to for our source and tips for investing? Go for the fundamentals. Look at the balance sheet and the profit and loss statements. Check the principal activity of the companies and ensure that they are inline with what has been declared. If possible, visit the premises of these industries and see for yourself, first-hand knowledge, that the company is really in healthy financial status.

Merrill Lynch is a huge bank with tremendous confidence in their financial prudence yet they can be caught in such a predicament. Do you think they did their research?

Would you as an investor, trust big names of banks and investors more now than before?

What is the best industry to invest in today? Would it be traditional industries or new start ups?

Gambling bull

2007-10-06T00:48:00.000+08:00

Record close for New York shares. Traders on the New York Stock Exchange say the Dow Jones has not closed above 14,000 since mid-July. Today it has broken the record. New York's leading shares have broken their record closing level after economic data made an interest rate cut more likely.

It looks like the sub prime mortgage disaster is over and the gambling phenomena in the market is catching up again. Financial markets will always be going through a yo-yo fever. Many gurus will come up with their own brand of analysis such as candle graphs and wave analysis, but nothing can beat the unpredictability of weak financial structures concocted by the greediness of traders.

Are you a stock market player? Would you join in the so called bull run now?

How much would you gamble in the market this time? How many percent of your total investment would you invest in the market now?

Crackdown on illegit e-business

2007-09-30T18:28:00.000+08:00

"...the Johor Baru city council will crack down on cyber cafes that allow illegal online gambling..." from The Star Malaysia.

The Internet is a technological marvel and has really changed the landscape of every aspect of society. It used to be easy for the authorities to close down all forms of illegal activities which they deemed are detrimental to society such as gambling, pornography, drugs etc. But the web has not only promoted such "yellow" culture but it has vast opportunities to promote them.

Can the authorities really close down online gambling? What do you think?

Can an online activity be curbed by the government? Do you know that if the cyber cafes are cracked down, it will only pushed such activities to the confines of homes or community centres?

Wouldn't it be more logical and forward planning to organize education at all levels of primary and secondary schools to inform the ills of such online activities rather than trying to fight a futile war against an stoppable enemy.

It is a fact that inline gambling is one of the biggest money spinning business that is in the e-commerce world today. It is fueled by the habits of gamblers that seek for them.

As for me, I believe in wholesome e-business not online gambling. I have no quarrels against those who wants to be involve in them, but a moral obligation is more important than a destroyed lifestyle.

What do you think? If you have a choice, would do promote e-gambling online and earn their dollars?

E-commerce success tips

2007-09-27T11:08:00.000+08:00

Excerpts from "The Star" ...

BUDDING e-commerce merchants should keep one thing in mind: The Internet business platform is not immune to bad business practices, said Blooming.com.my’s managing director, Martin Cheah.

“You will still need a sound business model that works. The usual business basics apply to e-commerce, but keep in mind that there are also other factors to consider,” he said.

“Some business models may appear logical on paper, but it may not work online,” he said.

“And just because an idea worked in one place at one point in time does not mean it’ll work again at another place and time,” he said.

For example, several local companies failed when they tried to set up a virtual mall in Malaysia. But when Yahoo! did it, it was very successful, said Cheah.

“And what doesn’t work at one point doesn’t mean it would not always work – perhaps it is just not the right time or marketplace,” Lelong.com.my’s Tan added.

Also, not all products are suitable to be sold online, he said.

“You have to evaluate the type of product – whether it is breakable and how you’re going to ship it,” he said.

If you’re new to e-commerce, you need to find a way to differentiate yourself, he added.

“You need to bring something new to the table that others are not offering or cannot provide,” he said.

“Since the entry barriers to e-commerce are low, anyone else can easily come in and take over your market,” he said.

Traditional business might be more slow-moving and predictable, but the e-commerce landscape is not, said Cheah.

“It allows creative energy from anyone and anywhere to compete on the same platform,” he said.

He said those who want to venture into e-commerce have to understand that rapidly changes and continually evolves everyday.

“In this business, you need to expect surprises and be ready to react to it – you’ll never know when a young boy with a bright idea might just come and change everything,” he said.

Monkeys and Company's Policy

2007-07-03T21:05:00.000+08:00

(This is based on an actual experiment conducted in U.K.)

Put eight monkeys in a room. In the middle of the room is a ladder, leading to a bunch of bananas hanging from a hook on the ceiling. Each time a monkey tries to climb the ladder, all the monkeys are sprayed with ice water, which makes them miserable.

Soon enough, whenever a monkey attempts to climb the ladder, all of the other monkeys, not wanting to be sprayed, set upon him and beat him up. Soon, none of the eight monkeys ever attempts to climb the ladder.

One of the original monkeys is then removed, and a new monkey is put in the room. Seeing the bananas and the ladder, he wonders why none of the other monkeys are doing obvious. But undaunted, he immediately begins to climb the ladder. All the other monkeys fall upon him and beat him silly. He has no idea why.

However, he no longer attempts to climb the ladder. A second original monkey is removed and replaced. The newcomer again attempts to climb the ladder, but all the other monkeys hammer the crap out of him. This includes the previous new monkey, who, grateful that he's not on the receiving end this time, participates in the beating
because all the other monkeys are doing it. However, he has no idea why he's attacking the new monkey.

One by one, all the original monkeys are replaced. Eight new monkeys are now in the room. None of them have ever been sprayed by ice water. None of them attempt to climb the ladder. All of them will enthusiastically beat up any new monkey who tries, without having any idea why.

This is how any company's policies get Established.

Inspiration for today

2006-10-21T22:26:00.000+08:00

communication is changing

2006-07-04T21:17:00.000+08:00

here are some of the other ways communication is changing:

1. Podcasting is the hottest idea on the internet.
Starting in 2004, people began downloading homebrewed radio shows to their iPods. So instead of "broadcasts" they're "podcasts". Unlike streaming audio, podcasts require the file to be downloaded. The advantage of podcasts versus streaming is that you can take itwith you when you're not on the net. The disadvantage is that streaming audio is much easier for a customer to play at his or her computer. The solution is to do both - create an audio file for streaming, and an mp3 for podcasting. The same recording can be used for both.

2. A vlog is a video blog.
Unlike podcasting, vlogging can refer to either streaming video or downloadable shows. Combined with the rapid development of internet video delivery, vlogging seems poised to take off. As with audio, you can prepare your video file in both streaming and downloadable formats. Also like audio, you can begin with very low-cost tools and work your way up to full blown professional equipment. Remember that people like good production quality, but they like watching something interesting even more.

3. Wikis are websites that are editable by the site users.
Content becomes part of a dialogue among the users, instead of something fixed. This interaction can build strong communities, and produce large sites with enormous information. Up until recently, wikis have been difficult to use, and limited to techs. New approaches to wikis are making them easier to use, and reinforcing the next trend:

4. Social software.
Community sites that encourage sharing and conversation are springing up in many areas. Photography and music have been drivers of this trend, in addition to political activism. Interaction builds community, and community is where the market is.

5. Almost all of these tools involve RSS, a technology for feeding information to people who want it. Unlike email, which is "pushed" by the sender, rss feeds have to be "pulled" by the user. While still not completely mainstream, rss is a rapidly growing delivery system.

Bank ATM Warning !!!

2006-06-20T21:08:00.000+08:00

Bank ATM's Converted to Steal IDs of Bank Customers

A team of organized criminals are installing equipment on legitimate bank ATM's in at least 2 regions to steal both the ATM card number and the PIN. The team sits nearby in a car receiving the information transmitted wirelessly over weekends and evenings from equipment they install on the front of the ATM (see photos). If you see an attachment like this, do not use the ATM and report it immediately to the bank using the phone on the front of the ATM.

The equipment used to capture your ATM card number and PIN are cleverly disguised to look like normal ATM equipment. A "skimmer" is mounted to the front of the normal ATM card slot that reads the ATM card number and transm its it to the criminals sitting in a nearby car.

At the same time, a wireless camera is disguised to look like a leaflet holder and is mounted in a position to view ATM PIN entries.

The thieves copy the cards and use the PIN numbers to withdraw thousands from many accounts in a very short time directly from the bank ATM.

Equipment being installed on front of existing bank card slot.

The equipment as it appears installed over the normal ATM bank slot.

The PIN reading camera being installed on the ATM is housed in an innocent looking leaflet enclosure.

The camera shown installed and ready to capture PIN's by looking down on the keypad as you enter your PIN

Protect Your Computer 24 hours a day

2006-02-01T12:23:00.000+08:00

These simple to apply tips will help you - but not guarantee - to stay virus and spyware free, even if you're connected to the Internet 24 hours a day.

1. Protect Yourself

Good protection on the Internet these days consists of 3 components: anti-virus software, anti-spyware software and a firewall.

Good virus protection does NOT need to cost you a fortune. You can get the excellent no-cast anti-virus software I have used for years at http://www.grisoft.com Even the professional version of their software is very affordable.

For spyware protection, go to http://www.lavasoft.de and download Ad-Aware SE Personal, also no-cost. This will zap the most common spyware and adware found on the Internet.

If you have a Firewall installed make sure it is always enabled. Alternatively you can visit a site like http://www.download.com and search for Zone Alarm, which has an excellent no-cost
version.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to keep your anti-virus software up to date. An anti-virus program that uses definitions that are months old is just about useless, so
update your anti-virus and anti-spyware software at least once a week.

2. Stop Opening Every Attachment You Receive.

Most of the devastating worms and viruses of recent times were distributed via email. These viruses feed on the curiosity and also the ignorance of a huge number of email users. People will
get an email from falsename@falsenamedomain.com and they'll just open whatever file is attached to it.

If you don't know the sender, don't open the attachment - just delete it. It doesn't matter if the subject addresses you by name and promises you'll see Joe Robson on his head on the kitchen
table, just delete it. Well you would anyway I suppose:-)

If the email is from someone you know, always scan attachments first with your anti-virus software before opening them.

If every email user in the world followed these simple guidelines the distribution of viruses via email will grind to a halt.

3. Stay Clear Of P**n*graphic And Illegal Software Sites

If you want to pick up viruses and spyware quickly, visit some porno web sites. One wrong click on a subtle little pop-up or security warning window which you'll run into often on these
type of sites ( so I'm told:-) and you'll have infested yourself with trojan horses, spyware, dialers and other unfavorable software that could leave your computer wide open to further attacks.

The same goes for web sites distributing software, serial codes and cracks illegally (warez).

Simply put - keep out of the dark side of the web and the odds of keeping your computer clean shifts decidedly in your favor.

4. Be VERY Careful What You Download

Spyware is embedded in a lot of software on the Internet - especially those related to ripping, converting and playing music and videos. That free MP3 player or DVD Ripper you just
downloaded may have installed a bunch of harmful spyware without you even knowing about it.

5. Keep Yourself Informed And Up To Date

Major anti-virus software developers like Symantec and Grisoft update their sites regularly with the latest virus alerts. Visit these sites frequently to keep yourself aware of what threats are doing the rounds and how to avoid them.

6. ALWAYS Back Up Your Data.

ALWAYS back up your data frequently. A system crash caused by a worm or virus is not only a massive inconvenience but years of irreplaceable information could be lost forever unless you have backups of your most precious data. Use CD's to copy it at least weekly, but most people forget and allow it to lapse. An easier and inexpensive way is to purchase reputable and proven Backup Software like WinBackup. http://tncinfo.com/speedup.htm

Summary;

Using these simple tips and software is not rocket science. Just stay alert, use some common sense and you too can stay bug free while still enjoying your Internet experience.

10 Incredible Ways To Keep Your Sales Soaring

2006-01-30T21:09:00.000+08:00

10 Incredible Ways To Keep Your Sales Soaring

1. Maximize the effectiveness of your banner ads. Don't just use the same ad on every banner, use a variety to attract the greatest number of clickers.

2. Make your web site load much faster by cutting down on banner ads and start using more buttons. Button ads are also smaller and take up less space.

3. O.ffer f.ree advertising space to well known and respected companies on your web site. Sometimes people link their business credibility to yours.

4. People have been taught all their life to respect people in authority. Tell your visitors that you are the president or CEO of your business.

5. O.ffer people a f.ree telephone consultation before they order your product. When they get to know you personally, it could convert to more sales.

6. Test the "bill me later option" on your web site. Most people are honest and will pay you. It is a powerful little niche and could i.ncrease your sales.

7. Find a charity your target audience would likely support. Tell people on your ad copy that you will give a percentage of the p.rofits to that charity.

8. Hold a "b.uy the most wins contest" on your web site. Tell people each monthly w.inner will get their entire purchase refunded.

9. Attract visitors to your web site by offering them a f.ree course. You could package the course on a follow-up autoresponder and send lessons daily.

10. Interview people related to your industry and get their legal permission to convert it to an article. Promote your web site by submitting it to ezines.

10 Hot Ways To Sell Your Products Like Crazy

2006-01-29T21:06:00.000+08:00

10 Hot Ways To Sell Your Products Like Crazy

1. Turn your ad copy into a story or article. Your visitors won't be as hesitant to read your ad and will become more interested in your product.

2. Give visitors a freebie for filling out your online survey or they usually won't. Surveys will give your business valuable intelligence for your business.

3. Enhance the power of your ad copy benefits by using attention getting words, highlighting keywords, using color, bolding key phrases, underlining, etc.

4. Give your visitors tons of choices so they don't get the feeling of being controlled. O.ffer them a variety of ways to order, contact you, navigate, etc.

5. Put yourself in your visitors shoes. Design your site for them, not for yourself. Create your product around your visitors not because you would b.uy it.

6. Get f.ree advice from successful online business owners. Participate in business chat rooms and message boards to chat with them.

7. Use your f.ree bonuses to create an urgency for your visitors to b.uy. Only o.ffer them for a limited time with your main product.

8. O.ffer your customers extra add-on products at the point of purchase. For example, if they are buying an electronic toy try to sell batteries with it.

9. Make your visitors feel good about themselves by giving them compliments. If they feel good they will also feel good about buying from your web site.

10. Add multiple p.rofits to your web site. If you're selling business books try to sell business services, courses and supplies too.

10 High-Impact Viral Marketing Strategies

2006-01-28T21:02:00.000+08:00

10 High-Impact Viral Marketing Strategies

Viral Marketing is allowing people to giveaway and use your f.ree product or service in order to multiply your marketing quickly over the internet. The idea behind viral marketing is that you include your ad with the freebie people giveaway or use. Below are ten high impact viral marketing strategies:

1. Allow people to reprint your articles on their web site, in their e-zine, newsletter, magazine or ebooks. Include your resource box and the option for article reprints at the bottom of each article.

2. Allow people to use any of your freebies as f.ree bonuses for products or services they sell. Include your ad on all your freebies.

3. Allow people to use your online discussion board for their own web site. Some people don't have one. Just include your banner ad at the top of the board.

4. Allow people to sign up for a f.ree web site on your server. Since you are giving away the space, require them to include your banner ad at the top of the site.

5. Allow people to add their link to your f.ree web site directory. Just require that they return a link back to your web site, advertising your directory.

6. Allow people to provide your f.ree online service to their web site, visitors, or e-zine subscribers. They could be f.ree e-mail, e-mail consulting, search engine submissions, etc.

7. Allow people to give away your f.ree software. Just include your business advertisement inside the software program.

8. Allow people to give away your f.ree web design graphics, fonts, templates, etc. Just include your ad on them or require people to link directly to your web site.

9. Allow people to place an advertisement in your f.ree ebook if, in exchange, they give away the ebook to their web visitors or e-zine subscribers.

10. Allow people to give away your f.ree ebook to their visitors. Then, their visitors will also give it away. This will just continue to spread your ad all over the internet.

10 High Powered Ways To Increase Your Traffic

2006-01-28T20:59:00.000+08:00

10 High Powered Ways To Increase Your Traffic

1. Trade links with other web sites. They should be related to the subject of your web site. Instead of trading links, you could also trade banner ads, half page ads, classified ads, etc.

2. Start an e-zine for your web site. When people read each issue they'll be reminded to revisit your web site. They'll see your product ad more than just once which will increase your orders.

3. Form an online community. It could be an online message board, e-mail discussion list or chat room. When people get involved in your community they will regularly return to communicate with others.

4. Write articles and submit them to e-zines, web sites and magazines that accept article submissions. Include your business information and web address at the end of the article.

5. Give away an electronic freebie with your ad on it. Allow your visitors to also give the freebie away. This'll increase your ad exposure and attract people to your web site at the same time.

6. Combine your products or services into one big package deal with other businesses offerings. You could share a web site and advertise the package deal; which means double the traffic.

7. Submit your freebie to the online directories that list your particular item or service for free. If you're offering a free e-zine, submit it to all the free e-zine directories on the internet.

8. Participate on message boards. Post answers to other people's questions, ask questions and post appropriate information. Include your signature file at the end of all your postings.

9. Exchange classified or sponsor ads with other free e-zine publishers. If there is a huge subscriber difference between e-zines, one can run more ads to make up for it.

10. Post your ad on free advertising areas on the internet. You can post it on free classified ad sites, free for all links sites, newsgroups that allow ads, free yellow page directories, etc.

10 Heavy Duty Online Sales Grabbers

2006-01-27T20:54:00.000+08:00

10 Heavy Duty Online Sales Grabbers

1. Give your prospects extra incentives so they will order quicker. It could be free shipping, a faster shipping option, free gift wrapping, etc.

2. Make your small business look big on the world wide web. Design your web site using professional graphics, ordering systems, organized layouts, etc.

3. Attract a lot more customers by giving them clear ordering instructions. Give them all the information they need so they can complete their order easily.

4. Give your customers buying incentives so they'll make repeat purchases. Offer them discounts, free gifts, bonus points, etc.

5. Tell people about your site whenever you get a chance. Those people will tell other people and so on. It's a cheap way to multiply your advertising.

6. Write and send press releases for your web site. Use a strong headlines, make it newsworthy, and tell the journalist why their readers would like it.

7. Use a lot of headlines on your web site and ezine. Some types of headlines are free offers, questions, problem solvers, sales, and statistics.

8. Design graphics, templates, buttons and banner ads for other sites. Allow people to use them in exchange for your web link on their home page.

9. Use time saving promotional software. You can automate your search engine submissions, posting to online classified sites, etc.

10. Advertise your online business by dressing in clothes that are imprinted with your ad. It could be a T-shirt, ball cap, coat, etc.

10 Eye Popping, Jaw Dropping Ad Copy Secrets

2006-01-26T20:51:00.000+08:00

10 Eye Popping, Jaw Dropping Ad Copy Secrets

1. Use a hand written letter on your ad copy instead of text. Write the ad on a piece of paper, scan it and publish the ad on your web page. Adding a personal touch will always increase your sales.

2. Publish a list of famous and respected customers who have bought from you on your a copy. People will think that if these people bought from you, they should also trust your business and purchase your products. Make sure to get their permission first.

3. Show before and after photos for your products on your web page copy. Show the problem picture and then beside it, show the picture of the resolution to the problem when they use your product.

4. Include an article or review that has been written about you or your business with your ad copy. This will show people that your business is respected and will increase your credibility.

5. When you offer free bonuses in your ad copy, also list the dollar value beside each bonus. People will feel they're getting a good deal and it will increase the value of your product.

6. Hire a famous person to endorse your product or service. Make sure the person is well known to your target audience. Include their picture and statements on your ad copy.

7. Include your own picture on your ad copy. This will show people that you're not hiding behind your ad copy and will increase their trust. Also, include your contact information below the picture and a brief statement or quote.

8. Tell your potential customers on your ad copy that you will donate a percentage of their purchase price to specific charity. This will show them you really care about the people. They may just buy your product to donate to the charity.

9. Ask your potential customers plenty of yes and no questions in your ad copy. The questions should remind them of their problem and make them think about what will happen if they don't purchase your product.

10. Tell your potential customers they will receive a free prize if they find the five words in your ad copy that are misspelled or spelled backwards. The longer you can keep someone reading your copy the greater chance of them purchasing.

10 Extreme Ways To Rocket Launch Your Profits

2006-01-25T20:46:00.000+08:00

10 Extreme Ways To Rocket Launch Your Profits

1. Advertise your web site with banner ads that are animated and include a call to action. You must grab people's attention and make them to click.

2. Use pop up windows or advertisements on your web site. They grab your visitors attention because they jump right out at them.

3. Buy internet business books, ebooks, private site memberships, etc. Study and learn all the new web site promotional ideas you can.

4. Analyze all your promotional efforts. Concentrate on the ones that work and drop the ones that don't work. Don't waste your valuable time.

5. Get the most from each one of your visitors. Ask them to subscribe to your e-zine, participate on your message board, bookmark your site, etc.

6. Use text links if your banner ads are not pulling traffic. People don't ignore text links as much as they do banner ads.

7. Trade content with other ezine publishers or web sites. This is a powerful and effective way to place your links on other targeted web sites.

8. Keep your product available to your customers at all times. If you have to backorder it, they may end up canceling their order.

9. Use content on your web site so people can skim through it easily. Most people have little time so try using lists, short tips, short articles,etc

10 Add a message board or chat room to your web site. If people enjoy it, they will revisit your web site to participate regularly.

10 Explosive Ways To Turbo-Boost Your Sales

2006-01-25T20:43:00.000+08:00

10 Explosive Ways To Turbo-Boost Your Sales

1. Design your web site to be a targeted resource center. Choose one subject and build on it. You'll gain repeat visitors that are interested in that topic.

2. Offer something that is really free. If people go to your site and what you said was free really isn't, you'll lose their trust and they won't buy anything.

3. Add a chat room or message board to your web site. People want to interact with other people that have they same interests as them.

4. Entice people to link to your web site by giving them something free in return. This'll increase your ranking in some search engines.

5. Trigger your reader's emotions in your ad copy. Example, if you sell a book on gambling tips, tell them the feelings they'll get when they win money.

6. Make sure your site looks good in all browsers.
You could be losing sales because it looks distorted in some web browsers.

7. Increase your sales by e-mailing full page ads to your e-zine subscribers. Remember to tell people before they subscribe or they may consider it spam.

8. Ask people questions in your ad copy that make them think about their problems. For example: Do you want to be free of your debts?

9. Magnify the size of your prospects problem in your ad; show how your product can solve it.
The bigger the problem, the more sales you'll have.

10. Invest a percentage of your profits right back into your business. Spend it on marketing, product improvement, customer service, advertising, etc.

10 Electrifying Ways To Explode Your Orders

2006-01-16T21:06:00.000+08:00

1. Persuade visitors to link to your web site. Give them a freebie in exchange for them linking to your web site. It could be content, software, etc.

2. Link to web sites that provide useful information or services for your visitors. If you have many useful links on your site, they may make it their start page.

3. Spice-up your web site's wording using plenty of adjectives. It gives your visitors a clearer vision of what your explaining or describing to them.

4. Don't make your banner ads look like ads. Most people ignore banner ads. Design them to look like content and have them click to read the rest.

5. Join affiliate programs that go with the theme of your web site. You'll just be wasting valuable space and time if your visitors aren't interested in them.

6. Market your web site as a free club instead of a web site. This'll increase your repeat visitors and sales because people enjoy belonging to groups.

7. Interact with your online customers on a regular basis. This'll show them you care about them. You could use a chat room, forum or message system.

8. Check your web site links regularly. After people click on one link, and it doesn't work, they usually won't risk wasting their time clicking on another one.

9. Give visitors a positive experience when they're at your web site. Provide them with original content and free stuff. They'll tell all of their friends about it.

10. Share customers with other businesses that have the same target audience. Offer their product to your customers if, in exchange they do the same for you.

10 Effective Ways To Reduce Your Business Costs

2006-01-15T21:03:00.000+08:00

1. Barter
If you have a business you should be bartering goods and services with other businesses. You should try to trade for something before you buy it. Barter deals usually require little or no money.

2. Network
Try networking your business with other businesses.
You could trade leads or mailing lists. This will cut down on your marketing and advertising costs. You may also try bartering goods and services with them.

3. Wholesale/Bulk
You'll save money buying your business supplies in bulk quantities. You could get a membership at a wholesale warehouse or buy them through a mail order wholesaler. Buy the supplies you are always running out of.

4. Free Stuff
You should try visiting the thousands of freebie sites on the internet before buying your business supplies.
You can find free software, graphics, backgrounds, online business services etc.

5. Borrow/Rent
Have you ever purchased business equipment you only needed for a small period of time? You could have just borrowed the equipment from someone else or rented the equipment from a "rent-all" store.

6. Online/Offline Auctions
You can find lower prices on business supplies and equipment at online and offline auctions. I'm not saying all the time, but before you go pay retail for these items try bidding on them first.

7. Plan Ahead
Make a list of business supplies or equipment you'll need in the future. Keep an eye out for stores that have big sales. Purchase the supplies when they go on sale before you need them.

8. Used Stuff
If your business equipment and supplies don't need to be new, buy them used. You can find used items at yard and garage sales, used stores, used stuff for sale message boards and newsgroups etc.

9. Negotiate
You should always try negotiate a lower price for any business equipment or supplies. It doesn't hurt to try. Pretend you are talking to a salesman at a car lot.

10. Search
You can always be searching for new suppliers for your business supplies and equipment. Look for suppliers with lower prices and better quality. Don't just be satisfied with a few.

10 Cool Ways To Attract People To Your Web Site

2006-01-14T20:59:00.000+08:00

1. Give people a free subscription to your e-zine.
Almost everyone is publishing a e-zine nowadays
so it's important to give something extra with the
free subscription. You could offer a free gift or
advertising when people subscribe.

2. Provide your visitors with free content. Your
content will be more attractive to your visitors if
it's up-to-date or original. You could also offer
people the option to reprint the content in their
e-zine or web site.

3. Offer a free online directory. The directory
could be full of interesting ebooks, e-zines, web
sites etc. If people find your directory to be a
valuable resource they will visit it over and over.

4. Give your visitors a free ebook. You could
also include your own ad in the ebook and allow
other people to give it away. If you don't want to
take the time to write one, you could ask other
writers permission to use their articles.

5. Hold free online classes or seminars. They
could be held in your web site's chat room. The
idea of "live" information will definitely entice
people to visit your web site. You will become
known as an expert on the topic.

6. Give visitors a free entry into your contest or
sweepstakes. The prizes should be something of
interest or value to your visitors. Most people
who enter will continually revisit your web site to
get the results.

7. Let visitors download free software. It could
be freeware, shareware, demos etc. You could
even turn part of your site into a free software
directory. If you created the software, include
your ad inside and let other people give it away.

8. Offer free online services or utilities from your
web site. They could be search engine submitting,
copy writing proofreading etc. The service or
utility should be helpful to your target audience.

9. Give free consulting to people who visit your
web site. You could offer your knowledge via
e-mail or by telephone. People will consider this
a huge value because consulting fees can be very
expensive.

10. Give your visitors a free membership to your
online club. People want to belong to something,
why not your online club. You could also give
away a free e-zine for club members only.

10 Boundless Ways To Anchor Down More Sales

2006-01-13T20:56:00.000+08:00

1. Multiply your marketing and advertising efforts
on the Internet. You can accomplish this by starting
an affiliate program or using viral marketing.

2. Increase your ratio of visitors that purchase your
product(s). You could change your headline, offer a
stronger guarantee, add testimonials, etc.

3. Find out who are your strongest leads for buying
your product by offering a free ezine. The visitors
that are very interested will subscribe to it.

4. Team up with your competition by starting an
association for your specific industry. It could lead
to a profitable partnership with them.

5. Publish an e-zine for your employees. This could
motivate them to do a better job or fill them in on
were your business is headed

6. Search for your business' name in newsgroups
and discussion boards. Some of the comments you
find could help you improve your business

7. Attract people to link to your web site. You could
offer them a discount on the products you sell or
give them free stuff for linking.

8. Develop your own opt in email list by giving your
visitors a reason to give you their e-mail address.
Allow them sign up to free stuff and contests.

9. Create a "PR" web page for your business. List
information that could be considered newsworthy
for e-zines, newspapers, magazines, etc.

10. Give your business and products credibility by
linking to web sites that have written positive stories
about your business.

10 Blockbuster Ways To Ignite Your Sales

2006-01-11T20:53:00.000+08:00

1. Sign-up to win web site awards. When you win,
some award sites publish your web site link, name
and description on their site.

2. Join online business associations or clubs. If you
join, they will usually list all their members on their
web site. It will give your business extra exposure.

3. Utilize a simple form of viral marketing. Write or
have someone else write a small report with your
ad included on it and allow others to give it away.

4. Improve your business by promoting customer
feedback. Tell them you want their honest opinions
about your business, good or bad.

5. Design your packaging so it sells your products.
Utilize colors and lettering that make your product
more attractive to your prospects.

6. Compare your product's guarantee to your main
competitors. Find a niche were your can design
your guarantee to be more powerful.

7. Try not to assume your audience understands
everything in your ad copy. If you have words they
may not know the meaning to, define them.

8. Build alliances with other online businesses. You
could trade links or ads, create joint venture deals,
cross promote your products, etc.

9. Design your web site to be a valuable resource
for people. Include original content, links to other
interesting web sites, ebooks, software, etc.

10. Compete with the highly branded businesses by
practicing good customers service, strong product
quality and speedy service.

10 Blazing Ways To Sky-Rocket Your Profits

2006-01-10T20:43:00.000+08:00

1. Use a "P.S." at the end of your ad copy. This
is were you either want to repeat a strong benefit
or use a strong close like a free bonus.

2. Publish a free ebook and give it away from your
web site or in your e-zine. This will increase your
traffic, sales and e-zine subscribers.

3. Create multiple streams of income with your web
site. You could sell your own products, join affiliate
programs, sell advertising space, etc.

4. Give your visitors compliments in your ad copy.
This can earn their trust and put them in a good
mood, in return they will be easier to sell too.

5. Create new products or services only if there is
a strong need for them. You won't have anyone to
sell them to if you don't have a market.

6. Sell your backend products to your customers
right after they order. Take them to a "Thank You"
web page that includes other products you sell.

7. Sell a few products on your web site instead of
selling a large amount of products. To many choices
can overwhelm your visitors and they won't buy.

8. Include content and free stuff on your web site
that promote the products you're selling. If they
don't read your ads, they may read your offerings.

9. Remind your visitors that you're human not just
a web site. You could publish information on your
family life, a picture of yourself , a profile, etc.

10. Provide a "Contact Page" on your web site.
Give your visitors as many options to contact you
as possible. This'll add credibility to your business.

10 Benefits Of Submitting Articles To E-zines

2006-01-06T21:37:00.000+08:00

10 Benefits Of Submitting Articles To E-zines

1. You'll brand your web site, business and yourself by submitting articles to e-zines. You could include your name, business name, your credentials, web site address and e-mail address in your resource box.

2. You will become known as an expert on the topics you write about. This will give you and your business extra credibility which will help you compete against your competition.

3. Your article might also be placed on the publisher's home page. If they publish each issue on their home page this will give you some extra exposure.

4. You might get extra exposure if the e-zine publisher archives their e-zine on their site. People might want to read the back issues before they make the decision to subscribe.

5. You will get free advertising. This will allow you to spend your profits on other forms of advertising. You could buy advertisements in other e-zines that don't publish your articles.

6. You might get extra income from people wanting to hire you to write other articles, books, or even ask to speak at seminars. This is a great way to multiply your income.

7. You could allow e-zine publishers to publish your articles in their free e-books. Since people give them away, your advertising could multiply all over the internet.

8. You will get your article published all over the web when you submit it to an e-zine publisher that has a free content directory on their web site. They'll allow their visitors to republish your article.

9. You'll gain people's trust. If they read your article and like it, they won't be as hesitant to buy your product or service. You will then be able to increase your profits.

10. You could get your article guaranteed to run in an e-zine. You could agree to run one of their articles in your e-zine if, in exchange, they run yours in their e-zine. It's a win/win situation.

Quote of the Day:
"...even without success, creative persons find joy in a job well done. Learning for its own sake is rewarding..." -- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

10 Awesome Ways To Attract More Orders

2006-01-05T21:33:00.000+08:00

10 Awesome Ways To Attract More Orders

1. Create a free ebook directory on a specific topicat your web site. People will visit your web site to read the free ebooks and may see your product ad.

2. Turn part of your web site into a members only web site. Instead of charging for access, use it as a free bonus for one of your products.

3. Add a free classified ad section to your web site. You could then trade banner ads with other web sites that have free classified ad sections.

4. Create two versions of your e-zine so people can choose if they want ads included with it or not. This'll attract the people who hate ads to subscribe.

5. Publish your e-zine only on your web site. Have people subscribe to a "new issue" e-mail reminder. This could really increase your traffic and sales.

6. Sell advertising space in your product package. You could sell inserts, flyers, brochures, booklets, and digital ads for electronic products.

7. Offer daily or weekly visitor bonuses. This will increase your repeat traffic and sales because your visitors will visit regularly to get the visitor bonuses.

8. Allow people to download software or e-books from your web site at no cost. Just ask your visitors in return if they'll refer their friends to your web site.

9. Build up the number of people that join your free affiliate program quickly by temporally offering your product for free to the people that sign up.

10. Negotiate with e-zine publishers to get free or discounted ads by letting them join your affiliate program and earn commissions on the ad you run.

Quote of the Day:
"Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it." -- Horace

10 Killer Ways To Multiply Your Sales

2006-01-04T21:20:00.000+08:00

10 Killer Ways To Multiply Your Sales

1. When you make your first sale, follow-up with the customer. You could follow-up with a "thank you" email and include an advertisement for other products you sell. You could follow-up every few months.

2. You could upsell to your customers. When they're at your order page, tell them about a few extra related products you have for sale. They could just add it to their original order.

3. Tell your customers if they refer four customers to your web site, they will receive a full rebate of their purchase price. This will turn one sale into three sales.

4. When you sell a product, give your customers the option of joining an affiliate program so they can make commissions selling your product. This will multiply the sale you just made.

5. Sell the reprint/reproduction rights to your products. You could include an ad on or with the product for other products you sell. You could make sales for the reproduction rights and sales on the back end product.

6. You could cross promote your product with other businesses' products in a package deal. You can include an ad or flyer for other products you sell and have other businesses selling for you.

7. When you ship out or deliver your product, include a coupon for other related products you sell in the package. This will attract them to buy more products from you.

8. Send your customers a catalog of add-on products for the original product they purchased. This could be upgrades, special services, attachments, etc. If they enjoy your product they will buy the extra add-ons.

9. Sell gift certificates for your products. You'll make sales from the purchase of the gift certificate, when the recipient cashes it in. They could also buy other items from your web site.

10. Send your customers free products with their product package. The freebies should have your ad printed on them. It could be bumper stickers, ball caps, t-shirts etc. This will allow other people to see your ad and order.

Quote of the Day:
"Never talk defeat. Use words like hope, belief, faith, victory." -- Norman Vincent Peale

How to Win the Advertising and Promotion Game

2006-01-03T21:13:00.000+08:00

How to Win the Advertising and Promotion Game

I am certain that, as a business owner, you have often entertained the question as to how much to spend and where to spend your advertising dollars. For most small business owners, these questions can add to the headaches suffered in the course of normal everyday operations of their business.

THERE ARE NO SIMPLE ANSWERS

The how much to spend and where to spend it questions have no easy answers.

Depending on your type of business, many people suggest that the *how much* should be equal to anywhere from 4% to 10% of your gross receipts.

The quandary is that a business cannot survive without a fresh flow of incoming customers. But, a business can seldom generate a fresh stream of customers without spending money to get the word out about their business.

THE CHALLENGE OF DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING

Have you ever paid for advertising and sat back to await the fresh flow of customers, only to find yourself sitting and sitting and then sitting some more?

Don't feel bad about that. It has happened to many of us before.

See, knowing where to spend the advertising money is not enough to get the job done.

Where to spend the money only begins to highlight the other issues connected with advertising:

Ë‡ Marketing Plan
Ë‡ Advertising Strategy
Ë‡ Headlines, Ad Copy and Visual Presentation
Ë‡ Tracking the Success of Your Advertising Campaigns

THE MARKETING PLAN

The Marketing Plan is used primarily to identify your own products and services, costs, strengths, weaknesses and the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.

ADVERTISING STRATEGY

It is important to understand what you expect to gain from your advertising.

Do you simply wish to get your name known so that when your customer will need you, they will think of you first? Or, do you wish to get your customers in your front door on Saturday?

Do you want your customers to come in and take a look around to discover the next object that they cannot live without? Or, do you want them to come in and buy a specific widget?

Do you hope that enough people will come in to buy enough products or services to pay for your single ad? Or, do you expect to gain a lifelong customer who will help pay for your advertising over the course of several years?

When you know what you want, then you will better understand just how to do it.

HEADLINES, AD COPY AND VISUAL PRESENTATION

You might be surprised how many business owners put out advertising without regard for the quality of the sales pitch or presentation. The quality of your distribution outlet or the amount of money you spent to get there will do little for you if the advertising vehicle is a junker.

Test all of your advertising materials in smaller markets before blowing your advertising bank roll on it. You must absolutely know the value of your advertising before putting large sums of money behind it.

TRACKING THE SUCCESS OF YOUR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

Tell your customers to save another 10% when they tell you they heard or saw your ad in such-and-such location. Suggest that they can register to win a free widget if they fill out a form and have them to tell you how they heard of your business. Advertise a specific widget in your ad and track the sales of that widget.

It does not matter how you track your advertising --- just make sure you do it!

IN SUMMARY

The ideal way to spend your advertising budget is to buy a rifle with a high-powered scope and to only shoot your targets in the light of day.

If you are not tracking your advertising, then you are shooting a pellet gun without an attached scope, with blinders on, and shooting in the dead darkness of night.

Even with a bigger gun, the blinders in the dark constitute the single largest mistake made by advertisers. If you are unable to track your advertising to learn what is working well, what is working somewhat, and what is a money pit, then you are condemned to repeat your mistakes over and again.

By relying only on gut instinct, you may be choosing to spend more money in the money pit and to lose all of your money in the process.

When you get down to the nuts and bolts of making money from your advertising, you should plan, prepare, track and study your results. You must have factual information on which to base your advertising decisions. When you are making the right advertising decisions, then making money from your business might just come easy.

Understanding the Different Methods of Online Promotion

2006-01-02T21:07:00.000+08:00

Understanding the Different Methods of Online Promotion

Did you realize there are only three types of online promotion?... This statement may seem odd and even untrue in your mind, but I am speaking in more general terms than you might be thinking.

Let me explain.

The three types of promotion are Junk, Active and Passive promotions.

JUNK PROMOTIONS ARE MONEY PITS

Junk promotions are those that seem to produce results, but by their very nature are really only illusionary promotions.

For example, let me begin with FFA (Free For All) pages. You might find yourself subscribing to a submission program that tricks you into believing you are submitting your links to tens of thousands search engines.

According to the Open Directory website, they have only approved 1705 search engines and directories for inclusion in their database (http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Searching/).
I like using the DMOZ directory as an example because submitted links are tested by human beings with integrity, for the honesty used in site description. Search Engine Watch and other search watchers tend to show fewer than these 1705 engines, primarily because a lot of the engines provide very little value.

Yes, you can submit your URL to a FFA page, but FFA's usually only permit 100 or 1000 links on their page at any one time. So, if ten thousand people are submitting a link to an FFA page on a daily basis, then the average life of your link is between seven minutes and 144 minutes. I suspect the actual number of submitters is much higher and the results are much worse. Given that few people surf FFA pages, the chances of your submission being of any real value is practically nill!

Most of the people telling you that you can submit your site to tens of thousands of search engines are truly only submitting your site to FFA pages! Beware of the false promises.

Another junk promotion method is Safe Lists. A safe list is a mailing group that is signed up to be received by people who want to submit their own ads. Now, most safe lists have thousands of subscribers who are able to submit their ads daily or weekly. The person signed up to receive the list will receive anywhere from twenty to 140+ messages a day from the list. These messages will be received by people only interested in promoting their own thing who do not have the right motivation to open, let alone read Your Advertising. As a result, thousands of messages go out daily or weekly that will never be seen by anyone but the sender of the ad.

Where is the value in that? There is none.

ACTIVE PROMOTIONS

Active promotions are the type that require you to go out on a daily basis or a weekly basis and put out your advertisements. With active promotions, you will either place your advertising or you will not sell your products or services. Your choice is simple --- work or starve.

Examples of active promotions include Pay Per Click Search Engines (PPCSE's), Direct Email, Ezine Advertising, Solo Ezine Ads, Newsletter Publishing, Ezine Ad Swaps, Classified Ads, Auctions, Site Sponsorship and Banner Ads.

Some people are able to utilize these methods very productively, while others are destined to drop their money into the bottomless pit of failed Internet promotions.

PASSIVE PROMOTIONS

Passive promotions are those promotions that can continue to provide results for you long after you have invested the work to make them available to the Internet community.

Examples of passive promotions include: Link Exchanges, Articles, Ebooks, Content Exchanges and Writing Testimonials for others.

Let's look at articles as a solid example of my point.

You are reading an article that I have written to promote my own business. This article is timeless and therefore could have been written five years ago and still have been as valuable as it is today.

Due to the fact that the article is timeless, it can and will be placed in newsletters/ezines and their accompanying online archives, on websites and in ebooks for many more years to come.
As a result, this article will continue to serve me well beyond the time in which I wrote it and submitted it to publishers and webmasters for public consumption and publication.

This is the best example I can give you of an excellent passive promotional method.

AVOID THE MONEY PITS

Many try and even fewer succeed to conquer the Internet and to produce their dreams of online wealth.

My hope is that you will be one of the people who conquer the challenges before you and to make a nice living while working online. It will take drive, determination, study plus trial and error, but you can make it work for you.

Please continue to educate yourself so that you can avoid the money pits - instead, strive to find the money barrels.

Networking Your Home Business within Circles of Influence

2006-01-01T20:49:00.000+08:00

Networking Your Home Business within Circles of Influence

When you need an auto mechanic or an air conditioning repairman, where do you turn for help? Sure, some people turn to the yellow pages. But most will turn to friends and family and ask if they know of anyone who can do the work.

The best place for your business to be positioned is to be the business on the tips of the tongues of the people asked to make the referral.

THE 300 RULE

Preachers, funeral directors and people in a few other professions have learned "the 300 rule" through their own personal experience.

"The 300 rule" states that the average person knows 300 people on a friendly level. Wedding planners tend to make reservations for 300 guests. Funeral directors tend to need to make room for 300 mourners. You get the idea.

DOODLING WITH CIRCLES OF INFLUENCE

Imagine your circle of friends, family and acquaintances, a.k.a. your circle of influence. Now, draw your circle of influence as a circle on a blank piece of paper.

Next, contemplate the people in your parents' circle of influence. Some people who know your parents also know you. Therefore, you will share some influence with the people your folks know. Now draw your parents' circle of influence on your piece of paper.

Your circle and your parents' circle will intersect in one area, although the larger majority of the two circles will not intersect. If you are like most people, the two circles on your page at this point looks very similar to the MasterCard logo.

Now imagine drawing a page full of intersecting circles, each circle representing the circle of influence of the people who are within your own circle of influence. Imagine trying to encapsulate an accurate rendering of where your circle and the circle of your friends will actually intersect.

Some circles will share a large area of space, while others will barely cover one another.
Actually, you can only imagine at this point what your piece of paper will look like. The actual layout of the circles imagined in this analogy is simply too overwhelming for the mind to comprehend.

THE BIG PICTURE

300 multiplied by 300 equals 90,000. By using the analogy of doodles in the previous section, the average person can actually network with up to 90,000 people! Even factoring in the overlap, one can still probably network with 50,000 people through their own circle of influence!
Simply amazing, isn't it?

HERE IS THE SECRET TO YOUR SUCCESS

There are 300 people on this planet whom you have a reasonable amount of influence. Take advantage of this fact. Make darn sure that every person within your own circle of influence KNOWS that you are in business for yourself, and make sure they understand what your business offers.

When your friend is asked to make a referral, they will recommend you.

PASSIVE VERSUS ACTIVE REFERRAL NETWORKING

When people ask your friends for a referral and your friend mentions your business, that is passive referral networking.

Active referral networking is when you can get your friends go directly to their friends and say "Hey, I have a friend who just started a business. If you are in need of what he offers or you know someone who will need his services, would you please give my friend a call or make the referral to his business?"

If you can get even a portion of the people in your own circle of influence to actively refer your business, then you have built the foundation to build an advertising campaign even more effective than the average local television advertising campaign.

Think about that for a moment.

Most people only dream of reaching 50,000 potential customers with their television advertising dollars. You now have the knowledge to reach 50,000 people without spending a single penny.

Why a Website?

2005-12-13T22:37:00.000+08:00

Why a Website?

Websites today are used by many different businesses and for many different reasons. It's not just a matter of "ecommerce," like what most people think. It's more than that.

Websites are powerful tools to:

1. Market your products services.
2. Provide better customer service.
3. Maintain constant contact with prospects.
4. Serve your local or "preferred" clientele.
5. Acquire an almost instant "guru" status.
6. Get your book published or self-published.
7. Attract more business partners or investors to operate your own small business.
8. Recruit people for your multi-level downline.
9. Promote your resume while looking for a job.
10. Connect with people with similar interests.
11. Buy and sell (and profit!) on auction sites.
12. Sell other people's products as an affiliate.

And much, much more!

More and more people are using the Internet to promote their wares, reach their people or connect with like minded people. A website is not just a "business." There are so many uses!

If you're trying to find a job, trying to serve your customers better or simply trying to create a "special place" where people can meet, talk, shoot the breeze, exchange files, etc. then you need to get your own website and have it hosted. You can use free website building scripts such as PHP-Nuke or osCommerce provided by your hosting company for you via the web hosting control panel.
With PHP-Nuke you can design a regular website or use osCommerce to design your own eCommerce store the easy way.

Who Gets the Most Out of having a website?

Everybody.

Tons of small or home offices, small businesses with a handful of employees, home-run businesses, service providers, professionals, job-seekers, multilevel marketers, web stores, group communities, extended families, etc.

From selling products and providing assistance to clients,to simply having a place for people to meet and exchange ideas, website can be used for a great number of things!

Some people turn their websites into private photo albums!

But what happens if that person is NOT knowledgeable of the Internet, technology, codes, designing, whatever?
Well, that's where the ease and flexibility of Website building scripts (PHP-Nuke and osCommerce) comes in!

They need only follow a step-by-step process that guides them through the scripts library in the hosting account control panel that handles all the complex "backend" stuff for you! All you have to do is read the instructions then point and click.

Setting up a website has NEVER been THIS easy!

OK, But For What Reasons?

Having a website so fast and simple enables anyone to focus on building a business rather than managing one!
It takes all the grunt work and guesswork away from operating a website.

Whether it's a service provider who wants to build a clientele, be it local or global (such as a carpet cleaner or car mechanic, to the programmer or consultant!);

Whether it's a self-employed contractor who wants to use the Internet to promote a specific knowledge or skill, and build a second income or home-run business;

Whether it's a salesperson, marketer or small business who wants to leverage their exposure, generate qualified leads or upsell secondary products to existing clients;

Whether it's a professional (such as a doctor, lawyer, dentist, accountant, veterinarian, etc) who simply wants to use the Internet to increase their productivity;

Whether it's a local business with local clientele who wants to get an edge over the competition, and provide a different level of customer support or information;

Whether it's an Internet affiliate (like promoting books from amazon.com for a commission) who wants to earn thousands of dollars WITHOUT a product of their own;

Whether it's a real estate agent - who wants to use the Internet to recruit, list and show new listings, and even close deals;

Or whether it's simply a family, organization or group whose members are dispersed throughout the world and needs a place to converge, meet and exchange... The web can become a powerful tool in anyone's arsenal!

The current economic slowdown has turned it incredible boom for people who want to take advantage of the Internet to grow their business with LESS effort, money and energy.

Why? Because competition is little, tools are in abundance and the cost is much less.

What services do you currently perform?
What knowledge are you "selling" right now?
What skill- set do you possess that you could sell to others?

For example,
you can be:

A car mechanic.
A dental hygienist.
A massage therapist.
An industrial architect.
An interior decorator.
A marketing consultant.
A landscape designer.
A personal trainer.
A lance writer.
An expert in antiques.
A baseball cap collector.
A real estate agent.
An interpreter or translator.
A comic strip artist.
A writer of haikus.
A visual basic programmer.
A ceramic doll importer.
An investment specialist.
A professional speaker.
A French proofreader.
A cookbook editor.
And so on.

And all of these situations are PERFECT for the Internet!

People will pay for skills or knowledge that you possess - because it is cheaper for them to pay for it than it is to figure out how to do
it AND then do it themselves!

Whether your reach is global or local, it doesn't matter. With Your own Hosting package and free website building tools, you can build a web
presence that attracts targeted, qualified visitors, and sells your services online.

Is it Only About Selling?

No, it's more than that... Much more. The web can be used for a host of different reasons, from marketing and promoting affiliate links, to gathering and sharing with other people.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg!

Many people jump into the web for a variety of reasons.
But in general, a website can be used for one of four major benefits:

1. A distribution channel - whether it's to simply set-up a faster ordering process with a distributor, or to offer digital files such as software, ebooks, graphics, etc;

2. A marketing channel - to gain greater exposure and credibility, such as publishing an e-newsletter, attract targeted visitors or set-up your own affiliate program;

3. A sales channel - to add an extra income or sales process to your existing business model, or perhaps to "upsell" your current client base with additional offers;

4. A communications (or support) channel - to offer better customer service, answer queries faster or just to increase productivity with your current client base;

Or a combination of any of the above.

So, your website can be used as a way to help connect with other people, clients or associates - you can even use the web as an inexpensive way to survey and research them!

Some marketers publish an ebook, even if it's just a small one, and let it pass around on the Internet - that way, they gain instant "guru" status. That's "viral marketing!"

Some businesses go online only to deepen the relationships with their current customers, such as through publishing an ezine, emailing special offers or announcing new products!

Get online right now and use your website to attract traffic and targeted prospects; sell your products or services; or just strengthen the relationships you currently have!

"Stake your claim" on the web right now! See...

The Importance Of Targeted Traffic

2005-11-30T11:41:00.000+08:00

The Importance Of Targeted Traffic

Why targeted traffic is the key to a successful website?

Targeted traffic (or the lack of it) is what determines the success or failure of any commercial website. A site can receive thousands of visitors per day and still fail if most of that traffic isn’t targeted.

What is targeted traffic?

Have you ever clicked on a link or an ad only to discover that the site you land on has nothing to do with what you thought it would? Have you ever been redirected to another website that offers something you aren’t interested in?

If so, your visit to those websites consisted of untargeted traffic because you simply weren’t interested in the item(s) being sold on those sites. You got there expecting one thing but found something different. Or even worse, maybe you got there without even knowing you were going there.

Receiving targeted traffic simply means receiving visitors who are pre-qualified because they clicked on an ad or link that accurately describes your site and/or what it has to offer.

If someone clicks on your ad that explains how you sell top-quality green widgets, the chances are very high that she is actually interested in green widgets, perhaps even looking to buy one!
But if someone clicks on your link that describes green widgets only to discover that your site actually sells blue gadgets, you not only have just received an untargeted (and probably upset) visitor who has no intention of buying your product, you have also wasted valuable bandwidth and possibly advertising fees!

How to get targeted traffic to your website
Obtaining targeted traffic is simple, but it isn’t easy. Here are a few great ways to do it:

1. Exchange links with other websites that specialize in the same thing you offer.

Many webmasters are reluctant to do this because they see it as linking to their competitors. Such an attitude is misguided and short-sighted.
Why? Suppose you have a link for your green widgets site on another green widgets site. Anyone who clicks that link is obviously interested in green widgets and is very likely to buy. Traffic simply cannot get more targeted than this!

But if you’re like many webmasters, you’re probably thinking “But I’ll be sending my precious visitors to a competitor’s website!”.
Yes, that’s true. But your competitor will also be sending his precious visitors to your website! It all balances out in the end.
In reality, it more than balances out because the on-theme inbound link to your website boosts your search engine rankings a bit, which in itself brings you even more targeted traffic from the search engines!

In a nutshell, if done properly, exchanging links with your competitors will always results in a net increase in targeted website traffic and sales! Always!

2. Buy advertising space on high-traffic, relevant websites and ezines.

If you sell green widgets, a great place to advertise would be on a site or in a newsletter that reviews green widgets.

3. Build an effective pay-per-click advertising campaign for your main keywords.

And be sure to use relevant synonyms to bring in the most targeted traffic possible.

4. Write articles that provide valuable information about the items you sell, then offer those articles to other webmasters for free to place on their site as long as they include your link in the article.

For example, if you sell green widgets you can write an article explaining how to properly care for green widgets and offer to let other green widget sites publish it along with your link.

5. Create an ebook about green widgets with your link on each page and give it away for free.

You can even offer to let other webmasters give it away for free (as a bonus, for example)!
These ebooks get passed down time and again, extending your website’s reach and boosting its targeted traffic to ever higher levels.

Conclusion

Lots of targeted traffic is essential for the success of any commercial website. On the other hand, untargeted traffic is very expensive (in more ways than one) regardless of how cheap it is, and it does nothing for your bottom line.

If you’ll spend your valuable time building a great website and getting lots of targeted traffic to it, you’ll enjoy great success in your web-based enterprise!

10 Ways To Increase Your Site's Prominence On The Web

2005-11-30T11:18:00.000+08:00

10 Ways To Increase Your Site's Prominence On The Web

It’s a strange world, this place we call the internet. Many things here are stark opposites of their real life counterparts. Take for example the following. Whereas blind dating is a most dubious manner of meeting people in real life, it is the norm in cyberspace. Whereas multi-level marketing carries with it a stigma of disaster in the actual world, it is a venture very much sought on the web. And whereas traffic tends to irritate us in our daily existence, online denizens would kill to increase the same for their websites.

Traffic, or the volume of users who visit your site, is what ultimately dictates the success or failure of your enterprise. You may have the best looking site on the planet, offering the most beneficial package for would-be customers, but if no one gets to visit it, all would have been for naught.

Thus, generating traffic for your online business should be of utmost importance. Here are some proven ways in increasing the quantity of users who would visit your site.

1. Use Overture.

Overture is a Yahoo subsidiary that offers a very useful keyword suggestion tool that could help you come up with the right keywords. Using the right keywords would rake in more visitors for your site. Simply punch in the words that are related to your products or services, and see how many searches were made for those particular entries. The more searches there are, the more you should consider using those keywords in your site.

2. Submit your site to the many search engines on the web.

People who are looking for particular information use search engines to determine their destination. You would want to have your website shown once a search is made.

3. Know the value of keywords.

Search engine spiders are sent to fetch the keywords embedded in your site, so it would serve you well if your pages are populated with the right keywords you’ve acquired from Overture.

4. Provide quality content.

Populating your site with keywords would be useless if done carelessly. Your visitors would be looking for information, and it would be best to give them that. Otherwise, they’ll just leave as quickly as they came. Remember, you want quality visitors, those who have the highest possibility of purchasing what you have to offer.

You have to provide good, informative content for them so that they’ll stay. Try to publish articles or special reports on your site, where your keywords are strategically positioned in the body of your content at a density level of at least 2% (2 mentions of the keywords per 100 words of the body).

5. Consider setting up multiple sites.

It has recently been discovered that the number of sites linked to yours influence your search engine ranking. By setting up multiple sites under different domains, and linking them together to form a congruent whole, you will be able to climb up the search engine ladder.

6. Link exchanges.

You may also exchange links and/or banners with webmasters who operate a site that is related to yours. This would increase the possibility of cross-jumping visitors who would get exposed to your site and the products or services you offer.

7. Promote in online communities.

Join forums, mailing lists, discussion boards and similar gatherings of people online. Most of them would start threads asking for help. Aid them with your field of expertise. Establish connections, and then invite them over to your site. Often, some of these mediums allow you to have a signature where you could put a link to your page, and this would most certainly bring in some visitors as well.

8. Create your own means of inviting past guests to visit your site again.

You could build your own mailing list to keep in touch with them and offer some promos from time to time. Or you could incorporate a forum in your website to provide for a venue for your visitors to come together and discuss certain topics. This would simulate the semblance of a community they could call their own, and they would keep visiting your site to join in the discussions.

9. Constantly change your content.

Not only will this method win the favor of search engines, this would also increase the possibility of attracting visitors you once lost.

10. Use Adword.

Adword is a pay-per-click service that requires you to pay Googles in exchange for a prominent display of your website’s link whenever a search is made that is related to your keywords.

At the early stages of your site’s existence, traffic may come slow. But do not be discouraged into resignation. With the techniques shared in this article, you would increase the flow of visitors in due time, resulting in a high level of activity for your online venture. And with a prosperous site naturally comes a prosperous business.

Regards,

Steven W

2 Keys To "Manual Surf Traffic Exchange" Success

2005-11-30T11:10:00.000+08:00

2 Keys To "Manual Surf Traffic Exchange" Success

Do you use Manual Surf Traffic Exchanges to drive traffic to your websites or affiliate links?

In case if you are a new internet marketer and do not know what is a Manual Surf Traffic Exchange, here is a short explanation:

“Manual Surf Traffic Exchange is a online service, where members can show their websites to other members, by viewing (surfing) other members websites.”

This is a very easy way to receive traffic, especially if you have limited budget, but have time to view other websites. And if you don’t want to pay your time, you can purchase traffic directly from traffic exchange programs.

However, you should know that these type of traffic is “ineffective” traffic. Ineffective means the conversion rate of your product or service from traffic exchanges will be lower than other highly targeted traffic sources like PPC visitors.

Note, this does not mean using traffic exchange is not profitable. This is because the cost of each traffic exchange hit is greatly cheaper than other traffic sources. And if you do it right, the ROI (Return On Investment) will be positive. Positive ROI means this is a good business.

Many marketers claim that Manual Surf Traffic Exchange is not useful. They are completely wrong because they missed some very important keys when using traffic exchanges.

Now let me expose two of the secret keys that will turn your traffic exchange failure to success:

1. Method - Capture Leads And Do Not Sell Directly

Every traffic exchange user is busy at surfing. They do not have time and intention to read your long webpage. So NEVER put your sales page. Instead, put a lead capturing page with a “Attention Grabbing Headline”, “Amazing Benefits” and a “Opt In Form”. Remember, your purpose is to capture email addresses and then follow up with additional sales materials.

2. Target - Webmasters Who Want Traffic

Do you notice the common purpose of the traffic exchange users? Yes they are webmasters or affiliates who want to promote their own websites. Remember, these people is your target market, not kids, not elders. If you are promoting high quality advertising related product or service, then I can guarantee you will convert them to sales very well!

Now it is your time to make money by using traffic exchanges! Here is the number one manual surf traffic exchange that I would like to recommend - Trafficswarm.

Trafficswarm not just provides real and steady traffic, and its wholesale membership is also the best among all traffic exchanges. You not just receive traffic, but you are sure that the visitors to your site are real human eyes and not some computer robot somewhere in cyberspace.

Visit this link to join:

To your online success,
Steven W

How to Stay Focused on Your Home Business Goals

2005-11-29T18:35:00.000+08:00

How to Stay Focused on Your Home Business Goals

When you are the owner of a home business, you will find hundreds of distractions that vie for your time, energy and focus.
Common distractions include: children, family, friends, neighbors, pets, phone calls, mail, household chores, video games, television, neighborhood children, visitors, and so many more.
As an owner of a home based business, you must always remember your purpose in bringing your profession home.
What was your reason for wanting to own a home business?
Was your goal to work from home so that you can share in the lives of your children?
Was your goal to be out from under the rule of a tyrannical boss?
Was your goal to have the freedom to work when it is convenient for you?
Was your goal to make tons of money working for yourself?

Here's a few good tips that will help you stay focused on your home business:

TIP #1:
Whatever your reason for going out on your own, you must keep your reason in the forefront of your mind. If you forget your reason for starting your own home business, you will not be working for yourself for long. It is far too easy to let circumstance drive your activities --- and when circumstance is in the driver's seat, you are more likely to crash and burn.

TIP #2:
Remember --- your own business is a lot like a real job. Some people go to work to play, some go to socialize, and others --- most often those who are paid in a commission or tip environment --- go to work to work and to make money. When you work for yourself, your salary is directly proportional to your productivity. Therefore, wouldn't it make sense to stay focused on getting as much done in as short of a period as possible?

Go to work to work and to make money. Leave playtime and recreation for when your workday has ended.

TIP #3:
When you are dealing with family in the course of your workday, it is important to schedule your activities as much as possible. With small children, you must take time when you must, but you should also work hard to make sure you dedicate a specific number of hours to your workday.

With older children, it is much easier to tell them that you will be working between the hours of x and y. Your children and your friends must understand that certain hours of your day are devoted to the activities of your business.

TIP #4:
Don't permit your friends and extended family to run over you. Many people get the blind idea that if one works from home then they are not actually working.

Well-meaning people may try to fill your doorway to bring advice about getting a real job. Others may simply believe that if you are at home, then you are fair game for chitchat and socialization.

You must stand firm. You must make certain your friends and family understands that when you are working, then you ARE working! If they wish to socialize with you, then they need to do it during the hours that are not dedicated to your home business.

You are the only one who can stand up for you. Your friends and family will seldom be able to appreciate your dedication to your home business, unless you make the effort to make sure that they have the same respect for your business that you do.

TIP #5:
You should allot a certain portion of your day to email and to regular mail. For example, allot one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon to handling your written communications.

Unless you dedicate certain times to the handling of these communications, you will soon find yourself on the downward slope of decreased productivity.

TIP #6:
When you find yourself spending too much time doing non-productive activities, then you should seriously consider finding a third-party service provider who will assist you in those non-profitable business activities.

As an example, you might be in the mail-order business. You might believe that your time is best spent writing ad copy and setting up your advertising, but you find yourself spending far too much time taking care of your books to take care of your advertising in the manner that you should. In this event, it might make more sense to hire a bookkeeper to handle your financial records for you.

CONCLUSION:
In the end, the success of your home business is entirely and completely reliant upon you and the decisions that you make.

You had your reasons for deciding to start your own home based business. You must always keep your reasons in the forefront of your mind. You must always be able to rely upon your own self and your dedication to the success of your business.

Your friends and family might be annoyed that they cannot come visit upon their own whim, but when success comes to you and your business, they will better appreciate you for putting your foot down when necessary.

Success is within your reach, if only you can stay focused on your goals. You must decide to reach for your goals, and then, you must have the discipline necessary to reach them.

Our FREE package* will show you...

2005-11-29T18:25:00.000+08:00

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Home Business for Everyone

Finding Your Net Business Niche

2005-11-15T21:25:00.000+08:00

Finding Your Net Business Niche

When some folks begin to think about a business of their own, they know in that very moment what kind they are going to start.
Then, there are the rest of us...

Knowing that we want to have a business of our own is not enough. Many of us have struggled with the important question of what type of businesswe would like to start.

Franchises offer a simple pre-packaged money making idea, but the cost of a franchise often makes it a prohibitive option to most folks who contemplate going out on their own.

For those who do not have a million dollars to buy a McDonalds franchise, we must look to other ideas for our own business.

There are literally hundreds of lucrative home business ideas for you to choose from, which will suit every type of personality and all levels of financing. From selling information on the Internet as a infopreneur, to growing delicious gourmet mushrooms for sale to restaurants and catering companies; there is a pile of money to be made by filling a need, for these and a host of other necessary services.

Of course, actually liking what you do, will have a lot to do with the success of your new venture, so be sure to pick a home business that you'll enjoy running and that will keep you motivated.

For example, if you're a math whiz, an accounting or income tax service might be the ideal home business for you to start.
Perhaps writing is your forte and you'd like to start your own home based copywriting service or advertising agency. Each of these businesses can be run successfully--and profitably from the comfort of your own home.

Academia might not be your cup of tea, but maybe you are good with your hands --- having a creative genius where crafts are concerned. Craft items are red-hot sellers at swap meets, country fairs and world wide over the Internet, and they can provide you with solid profits. If crafts don't interest you, then why not start a laundry service with pick-up and delivery, or a shopping service for shut-in's--even a companion service or granny sitter or a doctor shuttle service; any of which, could be much in demand, in and around your neighborhood or community.

When brainstorming new ideas for your future home business, keep in mind the soul of any successful endeavor is providing a product or service that others will actually purchase in quantities. Satisfy the needs of your target market, and your target market will keep you and your home based business healthy, happy and profitable.

Below are some suggestions for home business ideas that might help you decide on a suitable venture in which to invest.

M.ulti-level-marketing, floral/plant service for offices and hospitals, pooper-scooper service, dog walking service, answering service, vending machine service, gift basket service, homemade soap maker, mobile windshield repair service, mobile tire repair service, income tax specialist, researcher, freelance writer, business card and letterhead designer, courier, shut-in/shuttle service, landscaping service, tree trimming service, wood crafter, carpenter, crafts and crafting supplies, pool cleaning service, plants/nursery starts, growing herbs, growing mushrooms, garage sale and swap meet vendor, proofreader, private investigator, typing service, interior decorator/designer, website design, wedding consultant, hot
lunch/snack vendor at local courthouses, pet sitting service, pet grooming service, Internet entrepreneur, paralegal, gourmet catering service, new media production, mobile cosmetic technician, mobile nail technician, mobile hair stylist, aerobics instructor, personal fitness trainer, advertising consultant, companion service, small printing service.

Ideas, ideas; hopefully the above ideas will give you some fresh ideas of your own to mull over. A spring board if you will, on which to dive into your own chosen home business.

When you work from home, any business you start has the potential to explode into a perpetual gold mine! It just depends on how much your home business is in demand around your community or on the Internet. Your home business might start slow and steady, regularly picking up clients as you become more established. On the other hand, your chosen home business may take off like wildfire, quickly becoming too hot for you to handle by yourself (well done!). This is the time to enlist the help of willing family members to help you out in your time of need, which will make your business into a friendly, family concern. This will also help family members better understand your business and get a grasp on the mechanics of profit.

Good luck in all your decisions and have fun with your home business, which ever one you choose, and don't forget to enjoy your newfound freedom!

Is a Home Business Right For You?

2005-11-14T12:55:00.000+08:00

Is a Home Business Right For You?

Every morning as people wake up and make the commute to work, many dream of the day when they will finally work for themselves. Every time the boss lets someone know that they must give up their weekend plans for the good of the company, people contemplate the benefits of being the owner of their own business.

Are you one of these people?

If you are, it is important to ask yourself some very important questions before you make the uncertain leap into
self-employment.

Many dream of the benefits of home business ownership, but few take into account the sacrifices that must be made to bring the dream to fruition. Please don't make this mistake yourself.

You must approach home business ownership with your eyes wide open. Ask yourself the important questions, and more importantly, answer your own questions openly and honestly.

AN IMPORTANT QUESTION

Are you the type of person who relishes every chance to gather around the water cooler for social interaction?

If so, then home business ownership may not be the right decision for you.

Instead, if you feel that you can be quite content sitting alone at your desk; speaking only to clients and really minding your own home business, then you might have what it takes to succeed as a home business entrepreneur.

If you feel at ease with your own company and don't need a dozen coworkers milling around your desk, then you, too, could savor the freedoms that will allow you and your family, to live the lifestyle you know you want and deserve.

THE KEY TO HOME BUSINESS SUCCESS

Self-motivation is the key to success when you start a home-based business. You need to possess the ability to push yourself ahead. Your drive and determination will be reinforced with every new sale.

The level of success that you will achieve greatly depends on the time and effort you are willing to plow into your new home business. Your organization, planning and marketing skills, will all be put into practice when you embark on your liberating journey from employee, to being your own boss. In fact, you will be the wearer of many hats and gain a wealth of business experience along the way, when you finally make that commitment
to work at home.

YOUR SUCCESS RESTS ENTIRELY UPON YOUR OWN SHOULDERS

You will now be the boss. Are you truly able to work independently? Do you have the drive; the tenacity, to persevere with your home based business? Will you be able to invest the necessary time to nurture it, to watch it grow and see it through, from germination to full, glorious bloom? When you're the boss, you are responsible for the success of your home business, from A to Z, from disappointments to victory.

When you work at home, it will empower you to achieve many things you were unable to do when you were stuck working for that tyrant boss. Remember him? He's the guy that wouldn't let you take time off when your baby was sick...the same guy that called you in to work on a HOLIDAY.

A home business means that you can take good care of your family and make money from home, simultaneously. You will have the best of both worlds! Just think--no more dirty laundry piling up--you can do it while you work. No more scurrying around at the last minute searching for a babysitter either. And no more worrying about getting fired; you'll be the boss.

IN CONCLUSION...

Stay positive and focused on your home based business, even if, when sales aren't up to par, you get occasional negative remarks or derogatory comments from people with stuffy, dead-end jobs.
Ignore their cutting words and bear in mind that success is the best revenge! Keep your admirable, positive attitude at the forefront and show them what you're made of!

Home Business Tips! - freebies

2005-11-11T21:51:00.000+08:00

Home Business Tips!

Here are some *freebies* or free stuff that you can start to learn about Internet Home Business.

* FREE Get Out of Debt System
http://www.ezinfocenter.com/8869537/FREE

* FREE Secrets of Internet Millionaires
http://www.ezinfocenter.com/8869537/SIM

* FREE Internet Income Course
http://www.ezinfocenter.com/8869537/Register

Question: Is a Home Business Right For You?

Question: What level of experience and interest you have in a home business...

Question: What kind of information you would like to know before you want to go into this internet business?

Register and find out more:

"From what we get, we can make a living;
what we give, however,
makes a life." -- Arthur Ashe

All the best!

Steven W

EBay Fake Buyers

2005-11-10T20:24:00.000+08:00

This came in from an experience eBayer warning Sellers to beware of fake Buyers.

Seller's 10 red flags.

1: Buyer offers to pay you way more than the actual value of the item if you will end the auction early.

2: Buyer is in Nigeria/Indonesia/Romania (no offense to honest buyers from these countries) and wants to pay you using Western Union money order.

3: Buyer keeps asking you to send item before you have cash in your hands.

4: Buyer wants you to ship FedEx overnight.

5: Wants to buy off-eBay.

6: Wants to pay with a credit card using seller's merchant account.

7: Zero feedback member, usually registered on the same day they contact the seller, or only a day or two prior to the contact.

8: Interested in high-priced item (inconclusive if not in combination with other red flags)

9: E-mail written in broken English (also inconclusive all by itself, but could reinforce other red flags).

10: Buyer asks you to send the item to relatives or friends (usually in another country).

View some of our Real Actual Products sold at:eBay <<-- Click Here!

What is Studio Traffic?

2005-11-10T17:05:00.000+08:00

What is Studio Traffic?
Studio Traffic is an advertising website that allows members to sign up to join their program. The members make money by watching the advertisement that is displayed on their computer. This advertisement is self rotating and so you are actually surfing their websites automatically. This is called auto-surf. The money you make is called a commission. You can also make more money by telling others about this program, and they sign up, using your referral link.

Where does the money comes from?
The advertisers who placed their ads for you to watch will pay Studio Traffic a certain amount and Studio Traffic will take some of that and pay you to watch the ads. This is similar to the television where you are watching someone else's ads. The difference between Studio Traffic and your television station is that Studio Traffic pays you to watch advertisers' websites, whereas your TV station allows you to watch TV ads for free.

How does it work?
When you sign up, Studiotraffic will give you a Free US$10 account level. Then, all you need to do is log into your account, click on the Surf STV button, and watch the ads. A new window will open for you, and show you the advertiser’s web sites, on a 20-second timer. Every 20 seconds, the website will be refreshed to show another advertiser's ad. Once you have viewed your allocated number of sites, you will be credited with 1% of your account level. With a free account of US$10, that’s US$0.10 a day!

What if I want to earn more?
If you want to earn more, you can also choose to upgrade your account to more than US$10 to earn even more! Presently, they allow you to upgrade to a maximum of US$20,000 account level. If you are at this level, you can earn 1% x US$20,000 = US$200 per day!
On the other hand, there is no obligation to upgrade or to pay anything at all. You can join this program for free and continue to use it for free. So you can potentially earn anything between US$0.10 up to US$200 a day.

Can I advertise my website too?
Yes, you can. When you are surfing and watching the ads, you also will earn credits that you can use to advertise your own website. You can be a member or an advertiser or both at the same time. There are thousands of members watching the ads everyday. They are also surfing and watching the ads like you do. These people will click on your website if they find anything interesting and spend money at your website. Wow, you are actually earning money from this program and also advertising your website too.

Does Studio Traffic have other programs?
Yes, the Studio Family of Programs has many other programs that you can become involved in and make money with them.

They have:

StudioWalker
http://www.StudioWalker.com
Providing all kinds of internet services to build your business.
Forecasted revenue in year 2006: $1-$2 million

StudioPay
http://www.StudioPay.com
Global payment processing company with offices worldwide.
Forecasted revenue in year 2006: $45 million

StudioShopper
http://www.StudioShopper.com
Worldwide affiliate network, merchandise sourcing, corporate gifts and our very own StudioTraffic merchandise.
Forecasted revenue in year 2006: $2 million

StudioRocks
http://www.StudioRocks.com
Our very own radio station.
Forecasted revenue in year 2006: quarter of a million

StudioBlogger
http://www.StudioBlogger.com
A multi-purpose website where one can blog, shop, promote, accept payments and everything under one roof. - In beta stage.

StudioForum
http://www.StudioTraffic.org/forum
A business forum
Forecasted revenue in year 2006: quarter of a million

StudioHug
A global virtual office network.
Expected launch date to be ready in first quarter of 2006.

StudioHolidays
A ticketing, tour booking and reservation travel site. All members can participate in homestay and tour guiding services.
Expected launch date to be ready in first quarter of 2006.

StudioZines
A print magazine to be distributed worldwide
Expected launch date to be ready in first/second quarter of 2006.

StudioTraffic receives revenue from these whole range of products and services.

Join Studio Traffic and make money today.
Click here to begin:
Studio Traffic

or click any of these banner:

Amazon Book Pages for Sale

2005-11-06T14:59:00.000+08:00

Amazon made a decision to sell only chapters of books.

This is really a business motivated move. I have bought books and magazines from Amazon before but I have never thought of buying half a book. Which buyer would want that? Someone who only wants to read a few chapters (very unlikely) or someone who is not financially able to purchase the whole book.

Amazon will allow customers to buy only what they want in a book rather than buying the complete work.
Online retailer Amazon.com has unveiled "two innovative programmes" to allow readers to access parts of books rather than buying the complete work.

I believe this is not a good move and Amazon is trying to overcome the bleak holiday period of slowing sales growth.

Amazon has proved itself to be a good source of all kinds of books especially those that you cannot find at the local book store and you are not willing to drive miles around just to hunt for a book. Amazon should stick to its tradition of marketing their wares the good old way.

This new strategy of giving flexibility to the customer could also be a direct response to the actions of Google (and lately by Microsoft) to launch a virtual library, allowing online access to millions of "public access" books from major libraries. Text of these books - which are out of copyright - are being put online by tGoogle's digitisation project. You can search for the text using Google search engine and also save the images of the pages of the book.

Anyway, I think Amazon is great and I will continue to stick to buying their whole books online. Half a book will not do.

60 Reasons Why You Want to Do Network Marketing

2005-11-05T18:25:00.000+08:00

There is so much hype about network marketing, saying that it is going to be the future business, recession proof, multi billion dollar business etc...etc., so I thot I would study a bit more about this business and explore it here.

Here goes:

60 Reasons Why You Want to Do Network Marketing

1. Better Health
2. Better Lifestyle
3. Happiness
4. Financial Freedom
5. Personal Development
6. Opportunity to Help Others
7. Products at Wholesale Price
8. Earn what You are Worth
9. Independence
10. Build a Business
11. Low Overheads
12. Conventions
13. Proven and Tested System
14. Free Training
15. Leverage
16. Effective Support System
17. International Sponsorship
18. Leadership Bonuses
19. More Income
20. New Skills
21. New Friends
22. Security
23. Positive Attitude
24. Mix with Winners
25. Renewable Income
26. Recognition
27. Willable Income
28. International Income
29. Work Flexible Hours
30. Travel
31. Excitement
32. Tax benefits
33. Family Business
34. More Confidence
35. Duplicate your Effort
36. Fun
37. International Business
38. No Stress
39. Change Lives for the Better
40. Live the Good Life
41. Sense of Achievement
42. Successful Track Record
43. Networking
44. High Quality Products
45. High Profits
46. Tremendous Growth Potential
47. Management Opportunities
48. Achieve Free Holiday Trips
49. Care and Share
50. Work from Home
51. Be Result Oriented
52. Feeling of Belonging
53. Better Self Esteem
54. Choose Who to Work With
55. Improve the Economy
56. Live Longer
57. Debt Free
58. No More Worries
59. More Family Time
60. Incentives

< ! +++++ ! >

The above was from a recognized networker

Google Adsense - Refer someone

2005-11-05T18:02:00.000+08:00

The latest avenue for revenue from Google Adsense is tremendous. It is an opportunity which does not cost you a single cent! Google is giving away free money, something like that. Google Adsense have started a new referral program.

If you're already an Adsense publisher then you do not need to do anything more.
All you got to do is log into your account, accept the new policies and cut and paste some code into your blog/website (paste it into the HTML source of your site) to get the referral button up. If you refer someone to Adsense who earns $100 you'll get a payment of $100 also.

Referrals offer you a new revenue opportunity while increasing your users' awareness of useful products and services from Google. Adding a referral button to your website enables you to generate additional earnings by directing users to download or sign up for products such as AdSense.

See my site, I have already done that. Voila!

What is Network Marketing?

2005-11-05T16:54:00.000+08:00

WHAT IS NETWORK MARKETING?

"The reason I support network marketing so much is because the word 'network' is the word that the very rich use..." by Robert Kiyosaki, author of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad"

So What is Network Marketing that so many people are talking about?

Answer:
1. It is a system of distributing goods and services.

2. It is a friends - doing - business - with - friends method of retailing.

3. It is a group of independent business owners working together for their mutual benefit.

From the dictionary:

Network means "...a large number of people, groups, company, institution etc. that have a connection with each other and work together as a system."

Marketing means "...the part of a business which is concerned with the way in which a product or service is sold. It is synonymous with the word "distribution"

So when we combine the meanings from the Dictionary, we can define Network Marketing as "a large number of people that have a connection with each other and work together as a system to distribute a product or service."

Network Marketing is also known as Network Distribution and MLM (Multi Level Marketing)

What is a blog?

2005-11-05T16:37:00.000+08:00

What Is A Blog

What is a blog?

A blog is a web page made up of usually short, frequently updated posts that are arranged chronologically — like a what's new page or a journal. The content and purposes of blogs varies greatly — from links and commentary about other web sites, to news about a company/person/idea, to diaries, photos, poetry, mini-essays, project updates, even fiction.

Blog posts are like instant messages to the web.
Many blogs are personal, "what's on my mind" type musings. Others are collaborative efforts based on a specific topic or area of mutual interest. Some blogs are for play. Some are for work. Some are both. Blogs are also excellent team/department/company/family communication tools. They help small groups communicate in a way that is simpler and easier to follow than email or discussion forums.

Use a private blog on an intranet to allow team members to post related links, files, quotes, or commentary. Set up a family blog where relatives can share personal news. A blog can help keep everyone in the loop, promote cohesiveness and group culture, and provide an informal "voice" of a project or department to outsiders.

What's a blog?

A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world. Your blog is whatever you want it to be.

There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules. In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not.

Since Blogger was launched, almost five years ago, blogs have reshaped the web, impacted politics, shaken up journalism, and enabled millions of people to have a voice and connect with others. And we're pretty sure the whole deal is just getting started.

Publish your thoughts

A blog gives you your own voice on the web. It's a place to collect and share things that you find interesting— whether it's your political commentary, a personal diary, or links to web sites you want to remember. Many people use a blog just to organize their own thoughts, while others command influential, worldwide audiences of thousands.

Professional and amateur journalists use blogs to publish breaking news, while personal journalers reveal inner thoughts. Whatever you have to say, Blogger can help you say it.

Get feedback

The blogging experience is about not only putting your thoughts on the web, but hearing back from and connecting with other like-minded folks. Blogger Comments let readers of your site from all over the world give feedback on what you share on your blog. You can choose whether or not you want to allow comments on a post-by-post basis (and you can delete anything you don't like).

Group blogs can be excellent communication tools for small teams, families, or other groups. Give your group its own space on the web for sharing news, links, and ideas. Blogger Profiles let you find people and blogs that share your interests. And your profile lets people find you (but only if you want to be found). Your Blogger Profile lists your blogs, your recent posts and more. Clicking on interests or location takes you to other people's profiles, whose blogs you might enjoy.

Post photos

Sometimes you just want to share a photo. There's a button for uploading photos in the Blogger interface. Just click the photo button to upload a photo from your computer. If the photo you'd like to put on your blog is already on the web that's fine too. Just tell us where it is. You can also upload photos by attaching them to any email sent to your own mail-to-blogger address. And you can send camera phone photos straight to your blog while you're on-the-go with Blogger Mobile.

Go Mobile

Blogger Mobile lets you send photos and text straight to your blog while you're on-the-go. All you need to do is send a message to go@blogger.com from your phone. You don't even need a Blogger account. The message itself is enough to create a brand new blog and post whatever photo and text you've sent.

Later, if your want to claim your mobile blog or switch your posts to another blog, just sign in to go.blogger.com and use the claim code Blogger sent to your phone. There's even a feature, called AudioBlogger, that lets you call Blogger from any phone and leave a message that is immediately posted to your site as an MP3 audio file. (It's fun at parties.)

Get started

The fastest way to understand blogging is to try it out.
Just click the link below, and you can be part of the phenomenon that's transforming web and media to a participatory activity in less than five minutes. Seriously.

What will happen then? Who knows. It might be fun, though. And remember: Blogger is totally free, and if you have trouble, just click the Help button from any screen, and you can find the answer you're looking for—cheers to all.

Create a blog now