7 Tips for Purchasing and Using a Microphone for Recording Audio on Your Website

Copyright 2006 Cathy Linderman

Tip One

You have a lot of considerations for choosing a microphone for recording audio. First, decide whether you need a dynamic or condenser microphone.   A dynamic microphone is rugged and good for handling noise.  It is great for webcasts (live audio and video).  A  condenser microphone is more sensitive with better frequency response and is better suited  for a studio type situation.

Tip Two

You have to decide if you want a omnidirectional or unidirectional (cardioid) mic. Omni directional mics are good for recording seminars, lectures or meetings, where cardioid mics are more sensitive to sound thus better for recording one voice and interviews.

Tip Three

Determine your usage for the mic.  Do you need a handheld mic for the speaker(s), or is a lavaliere (clip-on) mic better for the presenter(s).  Wireless mic's are great in that you avoid cables and are easier to use.  Desk-top mics are great for panel discussions and for one person usage also.  Good headsets with microphones also have high quality for computer usage.

Tip Four

Be careful of cordless headsets for computer usage as you can get interference and ground hum from a lot of equipment in one location.  This can cause poor audio.  If purchasing a headset determine if you need sound blocking, as that will determine how light or heavy the set is on your head.  Be sure a headset microphone is adjustable on your head, and try moving the mic above and below your mouth for quality of your voice pitch.   Plantronics is a leader in microphone headsets.

Tip Five

Determine what features and supplemental supplies you need along with the purchase of your microphone.  A popshield  (foam shield) can help deter those annoying 'p' and 's' sounds.  Stands are great for speakers and panel sessions. Determine if a magnetic shield needs to be purchased to reduce interference with computer or other equipment in the room you are recording in.  Use balanced cables for higher quality audio.

Tip Six

Listen carefully to your audio, and determine the quality. Have others critique it also.  If the audio sounds hollow or like you are in a  tunnel, try moving the mic closer to the speaker.  If the audio sounds distorted, then move the mic away from the speaker.

Tip Seven

Purchasing locations for microphones are numerous.  Local stores around the country include locations like Best Buy, Office Max, Office Depot, Circuit City, and Radio Shacks.  Online stores are numerous and be sure to do a search on Google or Yahoo for reviews of microphones.  You'll get some great comparisons of purchasing sites for online purchase.

Conclusion

Do your homework when purchasing a microphone for recording audio on your website.  There is nothing like quality audio. Experts have even said you can have a lower quality video file, but if the audio is bad, you have lost that customer totally!  They expect nothing less than quality audio recordings.

So take the time to do your due diligence before purchasing a microphone for recording audio for your site.  Of course, your budget may dictate some of that purchase to begin with, but in the long run don't sacrifice quality for a few dollars savings now.  It will pay down the road!

7 Steps To Skyrocket Your Internet Business Profits.

There are many ways to bring your income to the next level, and it all relies on just a little work that you can take anytime. So what do you need to take action on for your online business venture?

Here are a few ways you can create a greater stream of income through your own Internet Marketing:

1. Publish an e-zine
Have you started publishing your own e-zines yet? E-zines are newsletters that you send out every few days for your subscribers so that they can read and gain information from.

E-zines can also help you improve the relationship between you and your subscribers, sell your products, and promote any affiliated programs. As many gurus have mentioned, “the gold’s in the list”.

2. Publish testimonials
Testimonials can greatly increase your sales as it works like a proof – that the products you sell works. No one wants to buy junk, people are skeptical with anything that includes money.

So clear off the doubt in your visitors and show them the proof, testimonials from your customers, and that will greatly increase trust which eventually leads to profit.

3. Write articles
When is the last time you have written articles to be published in article directories? These articles you’ve written and submitted will be seen by thousands and thousands of people, and sometimes if your articles are good they’ll be used and published on websites.

This way, you can drive tons and tons of traffic to your site without cost at all, and every visitor are potential buyers.

4. Tracking your advertising
It is important that you track your advertising. If you have involved in Pay-Per-Click advertising like Google Adwords or Overture, you can clear off the ineffective keywords, and only bid on more profitable keywords that brings you profit.

5. Offering a guarantee
This is extremely important. 70% of people who sees no guarantee will leave the sales page just because they’re not convinced! If your product delivers well, why won’t you offer a guarantee?

You must earn your visitor’s trust, only then will they be comfortable in investing their money for your product.

6. Promote your own affiliate program
Whenever you have the chance to do so, execute the plan. Many times people will not have the urge to take action until they are asked to do so. Try to emphasize the benefits over and over again about affiliating your product, provide sufficient tools, and you’ll be receiving a whole lot more in your profits.

7. Publish an affiliate newsletter
Once you have gotten your affiliates, you can’t let them do it all by themselves. Provide them an affiliate newsletter, share affiliate tips and strategies with them so that they can successfully promote your product.

If you haven’t included these steps in your online business venture, make sure you’ll grab hold of it right now and execute them right away to multiply your revenues.

To your success,

7 Secrets To Building Your Online Credibility

In a way, the Internet may be compared to the Wild Wild West. (Where do you think the acronym 'WWW' came from?) There is no real central authority that is in charge and many scam artists take full advantage of this. Especially as a small business owner with no large company name behind yours, building credibility in the prospect’s mind becomes crucial.

Here are seven ways to build your online credibility.

1. You may find it beneficial to place your picture (even a smugshot) on your website.

Brick and mortar stores have the advantage since the clerk has a direct face-to-face conversation with the customer. It is therefore easier to ‘connect’ and form a relationship.

I recently read an interesting thread on a marketing forum message board with several people giving their opinions on the pros and cons of placing your picture on your site. Most of the fears expressed were that people might be turned off by the owner’s ethnicity. Even though this is a real fear I think that the best reaction I read on this point came from an Italian-American small business owner. She said that she would not want to do business with someone who was prejudiced against her anyway – I thought to myself – “Problem solved!”

Your photo helps your visitor to reach across the great chasm of the Internet and touch your customer -– right from their monitors. Why do you think cellular phone customers are trading in their ‘old phones’ for the new ‘talk-to-me-and-see-me-at-the-same-time’ models?

2. Provide an audio message in your own voice.

This is closely tied to the former tip. It all has to do with feeling connected and human. We are not computers – we just use them. We have emotions and use them to communicate. There is nothing that can communicate emotions like the human voice.

I can still fondly remember those days before my family could afford a television. As children we often listened to those radio dramas. You were there in the center of the action. ‘The Loooooonee RRRRanger!” the gallop of the horses, the crackle of gunfire … trust me, you were there. You smelled the gunpowder and rode those horses!

What can you use your voice to do? At least it can say, “There is a REAL person behind this website”. In this our automated age REAL counts.

3. Place your PHYSICAL address and contact information on every page.

Here again you are being transparent and in the open about your identity and how you may be contacted. You have nothing to hide, and you do not intend to take their money and close down your website the next day.

Your address also adds a sense of structure to the very fluid environment of the Internet. It is much like the sign on a brick and mortar store – this is where I’m located. That is why just a post office box number would not suffice.

Can you be reached by fax, landline phone, email, and mobile phone? This information adds to your credibility, not to mention your perceived availability.

4. Do not use a free email or hosting service as your main site.

Tied closely to credibility are the perceptions that you create of your business. Some say that in business image is everything. That may be taking it a little too far but you are NOT who you think you are but what the customer perceives you to be!

If you use a free email service such as hotmail.com what does this say about you? You are so successful but you cannot even afford a paid email service? Most spammers use these free email accounts anyway – that’s another count against you. It may be best to use the account associated with your paid website’s domain. I think that almost all web hosting services provide POP email accounts.

5. Have an ‘About’ page.

When a surfer appears at your site for the first time it is like going on a blind date. The visitor may have heard a little about you and know where to find you but she is practically just window-shopping. The ‘About’ page gives her a good chance to get a quick background check on you. She can then know if you are the one she really wants to build a relationship with.

Information you should place on this page includes:
- a personal and professional biography,
- maybe a photograph of yourself,
- name, address and telephone number,
- your company objectives,
- a comprehensive description of you and your company.

Just knowing this ‘outline’ of who you are places the visitor at ease and most of the nervous jitter hopefully disappears. Why? She sees you are not afraid to be checked out.

6. Include a ‘Privacy Statement’.

Internet users are becoming more and more sensitive to how their personal information is being used. This makes it almost imperative for you to provide a page with your privacy policy.

General concerns that would have to be addressed are:
*How you use the information that is collected.
*Is the information shared with a third party?
*Let them know how they can opt out of any mailing list they sign up for.
*Why you track their IP address.

For a more detailed discussion on website privacy you may check: http://www.truste.org/

7. Use your customers’ unsolicited testimonials and product reviews.

What you say about your product or service is not really taken seriously. I mean what are you expected to say anyway? It’s your product ... duh. What carry the greater weight are the opinions of other experts in your field. But what carries the greatest weight is what the customers themselves say.

This means that you can get instant credibility if you present the unsolicited testimonials of your satisfied customers. These testimonials should be accompanied with the email address or website and full name of the customer. The less information you give about the customer who is providing the testimonial the less believable it is. I have had visitors who actually contacted these customers to confirm that the testimonials were real.

So pour on the testimonials – too much is not enough.

There you had it. Use all these strategies to help build your credibility online and see more customers willing to open their wallets and their hearts.

7 Critical Steps-To Launch A Successful Internet Home-Based Business!

The concept of starting an Internet Home-Based Business either Full time or Part-time is catching up with most people in the developed economies of the west. The Global Business Opportunities the internet offers an entrepreneur today is something that was unimaginable ten years ago and the smart ones are jumping on to the bandwagon. Furthermore the uncertainties of present day employment, commuting long distances to workplaces and the desire to spend more time with the family are contributory factors towards this desire and urge to start an internet home-based business.

1. Get that Special Feeling:

“The first and most important step towards SUCCESS is the feeling that we can SUCCEED”--Nelson Boswell.

Yes, start getting that special feeling of being a Successful Internet Home-Based Business Entrepreneur. Motivate yourself and start believing in yourself. Ask yourself “If others can be successful why can’t I?”

2. Prepare a Business Plan:

Once you have made a decision to start an Internet Home-Based Business, Preparing a Business Plan should be your first priority. There should be a short term and a long term plan. What is your goal? How do you propose to achieve it? The product you wish to sell or promote, the funding strategy, the tax benefits, and the support system you have, should all be planned out.

3. Choosing a Product:

Selling your own product is the quickest and easiest way to make money from home but starting off as an Affiliate is often the best option for all new home-based business entrepreneurs. There are several Affiliate Programs promoted by successful and highly respected Internet Marketers in addition to leading organizations such as the Amazon.com and Strong Future International. There are also several leading Affiliate Program providers such as Commission Junction, Link Share, Clickbank and ClixGalore who provide a whole range of Affiliate Programs to choose from. Do some research, avoid the Scams and choose a niche product i.e. a product that satisfies a specific need of customers. Choosing the right products is the gateway to success.

4. Website, Domain Name and Web Hosting:

The website is the most important vehicle that showcases your internet home-based business to the internet marketing world. For this and other technical reasons which are beyond the scope of this article, you have to obtain the services of a professional to design your website unless of course you are capable of doing it yourself. Again the advice of a professional is useful in helping you to choose a domain name and in selecting a web hosting company, since fancy domain names and unsatisfactory web hosts can stand in the way of your business success.

5. Stick to your Full-time Job:

Stick to your full-time or day job while you are in the process of building your Internet Home-Based Business. Do not under any circumstances leave your job until your home-based business has started generating a profit and you are able to sustain yourself from it.

6. Be Passionate and Educate Yourself:

 Success comes only to those who are really passionate about whatever tasks they do. So if you want to work at home and succeed in your internet home-based business, you have to be completely dedicated and focused on your business. Motivate yourself to succeed for success is your goal. Failure is no option for you.

Keeping abreast with the technological developments taking place in your chosen field of activity is vital both for your survival and success. In other words you have to be knowledgeable in whatever you do. Knowledge also elevates you to a position of authority and boosts your image in the world of Internet Marketing and Internet Home-Based Business.

7. Promote your Internet Home-Based Business:

Once your Internet Home-Based Business website is up and about, your prime work now is to make your presence known to the internet business world. Having done the preliminaries such as preparing and optimizing the content of the website, submit it to the Search Engines and Directories. Reciprocal link building, writing articles, submitting to article directories and article submission sites will start generating traffic to your site. Building opt-in lists and advertising your internet home-based business will start bringing in additional traffic and sales for your business boosting up your morale.

These steps if followed with dedication and perseverance will take you up the ladder of Success to reach your goal of being a Successful Internet Home-Based Business Entrepreneur.

7 Benefits Of Building Niche Blogs

In this article, I will describe 7 benefits of building niche blogs.

A "niche" refers to a targeted market with profit potential that is not saturated with competitors. The whole idea is to realize the benefits of building niche blogs and then find the niche markets out there and start building.

Benefit #1

Niche Blogs are essentially niche websites that are alive!

That's because your blog will grow as you continue to publish posts or pages regularly to your blog. In contrast, many niche websites are seldom modified or updated after they are created.

Benefit #2

Blogs are designed to publish and update contents easily once you have them set up, configured and running.

Once you get the hang of it, it's a matter of getting into that habit of writing blog posts and pages and publishing them regularly.

Benefit #3

They are either FREE or cost very little to set up.

You can create your blogs easily by visiting blogger.com or wordpress.org and taking time to study and learn the "how-to".

Benefit #4

You can make money with your niche blogs in many ways, such as:

- Publishing third-party ads in your blogs (eg. Google Adsense pubishing)

- Recommending affiliate products and services in your blogs (eg. Amazon)

Benefit #5

Unlike websites, blogs are interactive. Visitors, or blog readers, are usually allowed to post comments for a blog post (or article) to the blog owner.

This 'dialog' helps to build rapport and relationship between the blog owner and his visitors or members.

Benefit #6

Since blogs are usually updated regularly via blog posts and pages, blogs will rank higher in search engines as compared to websites. In contrast, you have to do a lot of tweaking to a niche website through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques.

Search engines will visit your blogs more regularly as you blog more regularly.

Thus, you can also place links of your other websites to get them indexed quickly by the search engines.

Benefit #7

A blog's syndication function is its most powerful benefit!

You can syndicate the contents of your blog by allowing other website publishers to publish your feed (or channel) on their sites. This helps to bring more traffic to your blogs as the visitors of these sites subscribe to your feed via web-based or desktop newsreaders.

So, with the above benefits, doesn't it make a lot of sense to start building niche blogs as quickly as possible?

6 Steps to an Effective Online Business

Creating and running an effective online business is realistically comprised of several hundred, rather than 6, but this will serve as a guide for the direction of your efforts.  Contrary to what you may hear rampantly on the Internet, there is no cookie-cutter, get-rich quick scheme on the web.  Not only is every online business different, what works for one person or in one month may not work for another person or in the next month. 

The Internet is constantly changing, and the online market is inherently different this year than it was last year.  New technological improvements occur monthly, and impact the online business environment.  What works for one individual when he is the first to sell a certain product a certain way may not work just six months later when he has sold his idea to 40,000 other marketers, and they all begin to promote it.  Traffic generation tactics are significantly different than they were just a year ago, and hardly resemble profitable strategies three years ago.

These 6 Steps are simply the bare-bones skeleton of what has to happen for your online business to be successful.  They are foundational, and although the implementation strategies are different today than several years ago, the basic steps remain the same. 

1.    Develop or discover a product.  You must find a product that meets today’s needs.  A 5 year old product whose resell rights you can buy for a dollar or get for free probably won’t meet the needs of today’s consumers.  You must be willing to pay for the rights to sell a current , useful product, or become an affiliate marketer, where you promote a popular product, and in exchange are paid a percentage of the income from the sale.

2.    Determine how the potential customers can view your product and see a sales presentation.  If you develop your own product or purchase the rights to sell someone else’s, you will need a website.  A few tips here: Rather than accept free web hosting, purchase your own domain name and pay to have your domain name and web site hosted by a professional web hosting company with a reputable history.  If your free web hosting company goes bankrupt, they generally take your fledgling business with them.

3.    Once you have your web site up and running, unless you are using an affiliate program that supplies a sales page, you must develop a sales script and web copy.  Aside from your web hosting decision, this is probably the most important thing you can do.  You may be tempted at first to write a sales pitch on your own, but unless you already have a lot of experience in the offline market writing effective sales letters, you need to, absolutely must, invest in a few courses on web copywriting.  Be willing to spend some money upfront on learning this skill.  Too many marketers try to wing it in this area and after a few months of losing money online, finally break down and purchase the knowledge to write a good sales pitch.  Do it the other way around—buy the knowledge first, and start making sales from the beginning.  Customers will not buy just because you have a web site---they buy from the web site that does the best job of convincing them it has the best product for their need.

4.    You must develop a traffic source that works.  When you first begin, you may be on a shoestring, and that is OK.  Assuming you have been willing to spend some money on sales letter writing and a decent web host, you may be able to skimp in the traffic arena for awhile, if you have plenty of time.  If you do not have money to advertise, nor time to seek out low cost advertising, you probably shouldn’t be attempting an online business.  If you do choose to go the low-cost route—know two things up front—the returns are really low and you will spend vast amounts of time on traffic generation.  Once you begin to make sales, you must invest your income in paid forms of traffic generation.  If you do not, you will run out of enthusiasm for generating the free traffic, and without reinvesting the income from your first sales into advertising, you are sure to fail.  Good sources of low-cost, but time consuming traffic are: writing articles and posting them to article directories, low cost classified ads, and ezine ads.  You may see hyped-up ads for thousands or visitors for a low cost or millions of banner ads for another reasonable price—both of these methods may have worked 2 years ago, but they are a sure waste today.

5.    Once you begin to get traffic to your online business site, you must keep detailed records of where the traffic comes from, and what percentage of visitors from each source are purchasing your product.  If you have visitors that cost you $50 per hundred to come to your web site, but on average they only purchase $25 per hundred visitors, the income may feel good, but you are not profitable, and are losing money.  By tracking your expenses on each type of visitor and by tracking your revenue on the same sources of visitors, you can determine which campaigns need changes or need to be eliminated and which need to be increased in intensity.

6.    By following this pattern of steps, and by keeping diligent records (there is plenty of good web site tracking software on the market that can help you do that), you can develop a profitable online business.  Again, it will not happen overnight, and you will not get rich quick.  However, if you build a solid online business with a solid foundation, and are willing to spend some money learning how to do it right, you really can become successful in business online.

6 Reasons WHY John Reese's VRE(Virtual Real Estate) Concept Is The Way To Go In 2006

Who would of ever guessed that Virtual Real Estate on the Internet would one day make many netpreneurers thousands, if not, millions of dollars.

I know I sure didn't when I first got started online, but am glad I ran across the concept while searching the web one night.

The facts are true and John Reese who is an Internet pioneer and the author of one of the Internets most powerful home study courses called "Traffic Secrets" is just one of those individuals who is successfully profiting from his Virtual Real Estate empire as we speak.

John Reese has been around since the being when the Internet first became a commercial entity and knows what works and what doesn't online simply because he is known as a Test Freak(I mean that in a good way John).

If you want to read up more on John Reese go to ==>
http://www.internetwondersezine.com/traffic-secrets.html

Now, some of you might be wondering what Virtual Real Estate is so I'll give you a quick definition:

Virtual Real Estate is simply a Information Packed website with hundreds, if not, thousands of webpages full of targeted information.

That's all they are. It doesn't have to get any more complicated then that.

I'll also give you some examples of VRE sites towards the end of this article.

Now that you know what Virtual Real Estate is, what there main purpose is and who is successfully doing it right now, lets dive into the -- "6 Reasons WHY John Reese's VRE (Virtual Real Estate) Concept Is The Way To Go In 2006".


Reason #1. People come online for Information.

One of the main reasons WHY people come online is to search for Information that's either related to a problem they're facing or for some consumer reviews on a particular product or service they're thinking about purchasing.

People rarely come online with the intent to buy something. Most of the time it's for Information.

How do you think the Internet got the nickname - The Information Super-Highway.


Reason #2. VRE sites can target any Niche.

This is the true beauty of VRE sites simply because they can target ANY niche on the planet, it doesn't matter.

They can be about Pets, Sports, Business, Family, Hobbies, and the list goes on and on.

I think you get the picture.


Reason #3. Us other peoples content.

The real cool thing about VRE sites is you don't have to produce ANY of your own content if you don't want to.

There are literally hundreds of places on the web where you can get and use other peoples work to build your VRE empire, and more importantly, they're more then happy to give it to you.


Reason #4. Google will pay you if you want.

Want to make some $CASH$ at the same time?

Good, because Google will happily pay you for adding a little piece of code to your webpages by signing up for their Google Adsense program, and depending on what market your targeting, they could pay you some handsome commissions every month and all that is required to get paid is for someone to click on one of the Googles ads.

And again, all this can be achieved without you writing a single word.

Pretty COOL!!


Reason #5. Add targeted affiliate programs for more $CASH$.

Want to make even more money with your VRE sites?

Depending on what market your targeting like in Reason #4, you can also add others peoples affiliate programs that are targeted towards the content within your VRE site that usually pay between 35% to 75% on every sale made.

If you've been online for any length of time then you know that content is an excellent way to Pre-Sell to your potential customer, so you've already gotten your foot in the door to possibably make a potential sale.

There are many places online that offer affiliate programs. Simply type in - affiliate directories - into any search engine and they will display all the results for you.


Reason #6. Unlimited FREE Traffic to your VRE sites.

The more your VRE site or sites grow, the more FREE targeted traffic you'll get.

Your probably asking, "where the heck does this FREE traffic come from?"

I'll tell you where it comes from. It comes from search engines like Google, MSN, Yahoo!, just to name a few.

Content is "Search Engine Food". And search engines love content, so in order for them to be continually fed the search engines send out a little robots called "Spiders" which crawl the web continuously looking for NEW webpages to index into their database.

So, the more content that is added to your VRE site or sites, the more often these little "Spiders" will stop by to give your VRE site a crawl and index any new content you've added.

Point being, the more optimized webpages your VRE site or sites have that get index, the more FREE search engine traffic you'll receive.


Do you see NOW how Powerful VRE sites are and why you should consider building a network of these that target different niches?

All your doing is giving your potential customer what they want which is Information and at the same time offering them a solution by adding Google Adsense ads and targeted affiliate programs, which is where you get paid for your efforts.

And remember, you don't even have to write a single word if you don't want to, and you still get paid!

John Reese really hit a home run with this concept I have to say which is way he encourages all to start building and growing them in 2006.

Now as I mentioned at the beginning that I would give you some examples of what a VRE site might be so here are a few examples for you to get started with: Article Directories, Review Sites, Directories, Mini Sites and Niche Blogs.

Well, that's it. Now it's up to you to get your creative juices flowing and start building your network of profitable VRE sites.

6 Powerful VRE(Virtual Real Estate) Business Models You Can Start Building In 2006 Using Google Adsense - Part 2

Okay, it's now time for the next installment of... "6 POWERFUL VRE(Virtual Real Estate) Business Models You Can Start Building In 2006 Using Google Adsense" series.

By now you should have a good idea of what Virtual Real Estate is and why it's to your benefit that you start a network of your own VRE sites depending on the model you choose.

In the last installment of this series I covered "Article Directories".

In this part of the VRE series I'm going to cover "Web Directories" in general and then give you some examples of what they might be and look like.

Sound good?

VRE Model #2. Web Directories.

An "Web Directory" is simply a directory on the World Wide Web that specializes in linking to other web sites and categorizing those links. Web Directory owners will often allow site owners to submit their site for inclusion. Then human editors will review their submission and if accepted, will be added to their database.

The one thing about Web Directories is they are often used as part of a website marketing strategy for being indexed in the major search engines like Yahoo!, Google, MSN to name a few.

The main strategy behind someone submitting there website to a directory is that a new site needs to quickly build inbound links from reputable sources. In doing this they will get a higher ranking within search engine results under there target keywords depending on the PR(popularity ranking) of that directory or inbound link.

That's the basic run-down of what an Web Directories purpose is and why they make a great VRE business model.

Web Directories can be and target anything you want them to. It's your directory, so you make the decision as to what it is about.

As your directory grows, so will its traffic.

And if you have targeted affiliate programs strategically placed on your directory along side your Google Adsense code, you could be making a nice, steady income form your directory like many others are right now.

Now... as I said at the beginning of this article I would give you some examples of some Web Directories with Google Adsense so you see for yourself whether or not this is something you want to venture into.

So, with that said, here are 3 directories that I think will give you a good idea of what to expect:


Free Stuff Directory:
All Free Things - http://www.allfreethings.com/

eBook Directory:
Wisdom eBooks - http://www.wisdomebooks.com/

Software Directory:
Software5 - http://www.software5.com/

Now remember, your Online Directory can be about anything you want. Your in control.

These are just some examples of whats out.

Did you happen to see the Google Adsense ads?

BINGO!

Also, pay special attention to where those Google Adsense ads are positioned because this is KEY to getting a good CTR(Click Through Rate) with your Google Adsense ads.

Now, at this point, it's up to you to make the decision on whether or not this is the type of VRE business model you want to use and start.

I recommend you surf around and see whats out there with your interests in mind. By doing that you will be able to get some good idea's as to what to expect and more importantly, model your directory and/or VRE sites from.

Well, that's it for now.

6 POWERFUL VRE(Virtual Real Estate) Business Models You Can Start Building In 2006 Using Google Adsense - Part 1

VRE -- better known as "Virtual Real Estate" is literally everywhere online.

That's right. Everytime you do a search on whatever it is your searching for via the Internet you get a list of results. Within that list of results lye's thousands, if not, millions of pages of Virtual Real Estate that is making someone out there on the WWW some handsome profits.

The question is... "what have you done in order to stake your Internet "VRE" claim so you too can enjoy some of that profit as well?"

If you haven't started anything yet, that's okay because I did a little research for you and came up with these "6 POWERFUL VRE(Virtual Real Estate) Business Models You Can Start Building In 2006 Using Google Adsense" so you too can benefit like the many others out there online.

The first VRE business model I'd like to talk about are -- Article Directories.


VRE Model #1. Articles Directories.

Article Directories are in my mind are probably one of the best VRE business models on the web simply because they offer your audience and publishers Multiple Channels of information on any topic.

And the facts are, people come online for information.

So, what do Article Directories contain?

That's right... Information! ... and lots of it.

The other great benefit to Article Directories is that you don't have to write a single word if you don't want to because the whole purpose of starting your Article Directory in the first place is to get other people(we also call them authors) to submit their content for your readers and/or publishers to read and use.

Now, the Rule Of Thumb is simple when it comes to growing your Article Directory and that is... the more authors you recruit, the more your Article Directory will grow, filling it full of targeted information for your readers to digest and for publishers to use on their websites.

It gets better, so keep reading.

Did you know that the more pages you have within your Article Directory means... the more search engine food you'll have for the search engines to come and index into their database which will then be displayed within the search engines search results.

Remember in the beginning of this article when I was talking about the search engine results being full of Virtual Real Estate. This is where your Article Directories webpages(or your Virtual Real Estate) will be listed for web surfers find.

This also means that you'll receive a lot of FREE targeted search engine traffic to your Article Directory as it grows giving your authors FREE targeted traffic to their sites and keeping them happy, and at the same time, will be building your VRE nest egg on the WWW.

Are you starting to see the benefits to starting your own Article Directory on the Internet?

I hope so.

But don't go anywhere just yet, I'm not finished.

There's two more things I want to talk to you about before this part of the article series ends.

The first is RSS -- better known as "Real Simple Syndication" and what RSS does is it allows you to syndicate your Article Directories content or just content in general through an RSS feed so that any reader and/or publisher who subscribes to a particular RSS feed within your Article Directory will receive ANY new updated content that is published... INSTANTLY!

The other benefit to a RSS feed is... lets say you have 1000 publishers subscribed to one of your RSS feeds and one of your authors submits a new article at your Article Directory, all those publishers who subscribed to that RSS feed will receive it once that RSS feed updates and when someone clicks on the link within that RSS feed to read the new article, guess where the visitor is sent to?

You guessed it, your Article Directory, with your Google Adsense ads(I'll talk about that in a second) and whatever other related affiliate links you have on that webpage.

Now... for the BEST part, how-to make a $Profit$ with your Article directory.

I'm telling you, this is the easiest money you'll ever make for simply supplying your viewers and the Internet(A.K.A. The Information Super Highway) with what it needs the most, Information!

How do you do it?

Heard of Google Adsense(as I mentioned just a minute ago), because if you haven't, now you have.

What is Google Adsense?

Google Adsense is Googles affiliate program for publishers and how it works is it displays ads targeted towards the content on that particular webpage being viewed.

How do you get paid? Simple. Your reader just has to click on one of the ads within the Google Adsense ad box on that webpage and depending on what the topic is and keyword could pay some handsome commissions(usually between 35% to 50%).

And, guess what? You didn't even have to do any selling OR follow-up.

Not bad and believe me those clicks add up Fast and by having the search engines returning frequently for regular indexing and having RSS feeds(remember, when someone clicks on the RSS feed link on someone elses website they get redirected back to yours with your Google Adsense ads on it and other affiliate links) for other publishers to use on their websites you'll soon see your Google Adsense profits get Bigger and BIGGER!

Well, that's it for now. So be sure to be on the look out for my next installment of the "6 POWERFUL VRE(Virtual Real Estate) Business Models You Can Start Building In 2006 Using Google Adsense".

5 Ways to Increase Targeted Visitors...That Work!

I have talked to a number marketers on the Internet and by far the biggest reason most of them haven't made money is because they don't bring enough  targeted visitors to their websites. I am not saying they don't know how to bring target visitors to their site, because I am sure many of them do. What I am saying is that most marketers are not willing to put in the effort it takes to drive massive amounts of traffic to their sites.

No one likes to admit it, but let's face it most of us are lazy, we are always looking for an easier way to do things. There is nothing wrong with that, but there are some things that just have to be done a certain way and there just isn't a short cut.  When it comes to targeted traffic we have all looked for an easier way. I tried auto traffic exchanges, it doesn't get much easier than that. Would you like to guess how many products I sold using auto traffic exchanges. Don't waste your time guessing I have never sold a product using auto traffic exchanges and don't remember ever selling a product using manual traffic exchanges for that matter. I am not against using traffic exchanges they have their place, but selling products is not one of them.

You are probably thinking when is he going to get to the 5 ways to increase targeted visitors. I am getting there, but you need to understand the 5 ways are important, but the reason you are not making money is not because you don't know the 5 ways to bring targeted traffic to your site, the reason you are not making money is because you don't believe they work. You may have tried a few of the ways to get targeted traffic, but never put in a lot of effort or did it the way you wanted to do it because doing it the way you were told to do it would just take too long. The people that will make money after reading this article are the people that have a burning desire to make it no matter what the cost, and no matter how much time it takes. The people that came to the Internet looking for an easier way to make money than going to a dead end job will have to wake up and realize that making money on the Internet is not a lot easier than going to that job. Those that accept that and stop looking for the easy way to make money will benefit from this article.

5 Ways to Increase Target Visitors

1. Writing Articles

2. Search Engine Traffic

3.Posting In Forums

4. List Building

5.Viral Marketing

An article is restricted to a certain number of words so I can not tell you exactly how to use the 5 ways to increase targeted visitors, but you can find that information at any marketing forum for free, one I use a lot is The Warrior Forum. I hope you noticed that most of the 5 ways to get targeted traffic involve writing, most people have trouble writing, I have trouble with it, that is what this article is about, just buckle down and do it no matter how hard it is. Don't be like some people and write an article and say to yourself, it took so long to write this article I will just submit it to 10 article directories. You need to submit that article until your fingers can't type any more, if you will do that it can get easier, because then you will be making some money that you can use to have ghost writers write articles for you.

Good Luck!

About The Author

Clint Pollard has been marketing on the Internet for nine years.

If you have trouble writing, but need massive amounts of traffic to your site, visit http://easywriting.ncave.com

5 Ways To Drive Visitors Away From Your Website

There are tons of resources available that will teach you how to make money on the internet. Heck, I've written tutorials like that myself. But, perhaps it's easier to demonstrate what to do, with a lesson on what not to do. This article will teach you how to drive visitors away from your website screaming "Get me outta here!" If you prefer being alone with your website and don't want all those pesky visitors bothering you, then follow the guidelines below and you'll get rid of them quick as a blink.

1. Don't state on your website what you do or what you sell. Make it a complete mystery why you decided to build your website in the first place. It's like a secret club -- your visitors are left in the dark. Have you been to sites like this where you show up and think "What the heck is this site about?" If you're not presenting a clear statement about why your visitors should spend their money (or at least come back again), then you're on your way to hermit-land.

2. Overwhelm visitors with lots of information. Almost as bad as the "What the heck is this site about?" problem is the "Oh my Goodness! Oh my Gracious!" sites. As a visitor, you know the sites I'm talking about. The page opens and your jaw drops. There is a sea of banners, with links everywhere and articles galore. Where do you go? What do you do? I'll tell you what I do. Click the little "x' in the upper right-hand corner to get the heck outta there!

3. Make the ordering process really complicated. There's nothing I love more than putting items into my shopping cart and then spending 20 minutes trying to figure out how to set up an account and pay. Guess what? I sure don't click the 'contact us' button. I click the "x" instead. You've succeeded in getting rid of yet another pesky customer who wanted to spend money.

4. Fill your site with outdated information and broken links. Pfshew. You dodged a visitor with that one. They clicked on a link that was broken -- and off they went.

5. Make sure there's no way for an interested customer or business partner to contact you. Heaven forbid, you might get some spam if you have your contact information on your site.

Thank Goodness you don't have those gosh-darned customers emailing you while you're trying to read up on Brad Pitt's love life.

Obviously, I'm being silly, but you do know that these examples are true. You've seen sites that seem like they are trying to drive you away. If you are spending time and energy putting up a website to make money, then, make some money. You CAN do it!

5 Tips For New Internet Surfers.

When you are new to the web, trying to start a new business to make a living online, you need advices to make your surffing life easier...

Everyday, thousands of new surfers open their browsers for the first time, it is confusing in the beginning, but if you have some good advices in the early beginning, you can surf easier and faster with a friendly browser...

 Tip 1: Surf in security.
 The first action that you will do if you are new to the net is to open your browser to surf. If you have a PC, like most of the Internet population. You will have Internet explorer installed in your computer, but it is not the best browser available on the net, and it is in fact limited. You may think that it is hard to surf on Internet.
When you will discover Mozilla Firefox, you will be even more happy to surf on Internet, for sure.
One of the first reason you should use Firefox is the integrated Firewall, which protect you against spyware and other adawares.

Tip 2: No need to tape http://www.---.com all the time.
The second reason to choose Firefox is that you save time; for instance, when you went on ebay.com yesterday, you wrote: http://www.ebay.com with Firefox, you just tape “e” in the address bar of your browser, then http://www.ebay.com will appear in the drop down menu, it's like magic, and it's fun too.

Tip 3: See all your pages in only one window.
I really love this one; you can surf in tab. That is really powerful.
For instance, with Internet Explorer, whenever you click on a link, you have 2 choice: open the page in the same window, or open it in a new window. Firefox enable you to open several pages in one window.
Let's explain: you are now looking yahoo.com, and you want to see the news, you just right click on the link, select open in a new tab, and you have now two pages in only one window. To switch between your pages, you just need to click on anyone of the page you want to look in, all that in the same window. You can open fifteen windows in one time if you want.
Better, you can bookmark(in Internet explorer, bookmark is favorites) a tab, and open it later. It is a very intelligent way of surfing. It is very efficient when you are doing some researches on a subject, on google for example.

Tip 4: All your downloads at the same place.
The fourth reason to choose Firefox is that when you download a file on your computer, sometimes, you want to open it, but you face a problem: Where did you save that file? With Firefox, just  click on tools, and then you select download, and a pop up window appear. You just scroll to find your program. It will save you time and a lot of headaches.
However, it is recommended, for the  first time, to save your download on your desktop, then after save your file in the folder you choose. You can download firefox for Free. You just type firefox in google.com and you're done.

Tip 5: Don't forget a good anti virus,
While you surf on Internet, some hijackers will attempt to damage your computer, by introducing a virus in it. If you don't take your precaution, you may loose all that is stored in your hard disk. You can download AVG, which is excellent at download.com.

There is a lot to learn when you start on Internet, but take your time. And everything will go smoothly.

5 Tips For Developing A Website For Your Audience

Developing a website is important if you want to be a player in ecommerce. However, you don’t want to just develop a website any old way. Instead, you want to develop a website for your audience. When doing research online you have probably seen generalized information on how to develop a website, however it is unlikely you have found significant information on how to develop a website specifically for your audience. The following tips will be really helpful to you to develop a website just for your audience.

Tip #1 Goal

First you need a goal when you are developing a website for your audience. If you do not know what you are looking to achieve then it will be very difficult to be successful. Also, it takes a goal to drive your website where it needs to be. A goal is what allows you to develop an initial plan for your website and helps guide you in developing your website as well.

Tip #2 Audience

Your audience is very important and should be considered in conjunction with your goal when developing a website. Basically, you are developing your website for a certain audience and these are the people that will help meet your goal so this is very important to consider. Just make sure you determine who your audience is before you begin developing your website.

Tip #3 Content for Audience

Once you have determined your goal and your audience it is time to determine the content that will be used for your audience. You might not realize it, but the type of audience you are focusing on will really affect the content you use on your website. So, make sure you have your audience targeted so you know what content will work best for these individuals.

Tip #4 Update

Another important tip for developing a website for your audience is to plan when you will provide updates. This might seem like something you could consider down the road when your site needs updating, but is really not the case. You need to know when your audience will most likely be viewing your site and when they won’t so you know when to provide updates. A little bit of planning will go a long way.

Tip #5 Format

The format of your website is also a very important aspect and one that will really affect whether or not you reach your audience. Once you know who your audience is you will have no problem developing a format that will reach them. Also, your format improves your site’s message, so it is beneficial in a variety of ways.

5 Steps To A Successful Internet Business

STEP 1. Find something you feel is a good business opportunity. You can scour the internet for all sorts of different business ideas and opportunities. Doing a search on any search engine with the keywords Work At Home, Business Opportunities, Home Based Business, Affiliate Programs, Make Money Online, etc., will produce 1000's of different search results. Affiliate programs are THE ABSOLUTE BEST business opportunities out there because the ONLY thing you need to do to run your internet business is to market your affiliate link. With a traditional business you must deal with inventory, storage, packing, shipping, complaints, returns, phone calls, emails, checks and credit cards just to name a few! Not so with affiliate programs, once someone has clicked on your affiliate link your only job is getting the next person to click on it. Sweet deal!

    STEP 2. Get your own webpage. You want to put your internet business on a webpage of your own. A webpage is like a store front. It projects respect to your business and who you are. Think about it. Do you feel the same about buying from a vendor on the street as you do about buying from a person in a store? They’re both vendors, but the store gives you a certain feeling about the person you are buying from that a street vendor just can’t give you! Your webpage dose not have to be fancy. If you only have a brief description of what your webpage is about along with individual descriptions of your product or products people will respect that. If it is affiliate programs you have decided upon, simply put a BRIEF description of what is being offered along with your affiliate link. Do not disclose too much in your description because people might THINK they know what it is all about and not click on your link. You want to let your affiliate website do all the selling for you. These sites are professionally designed to maximize the number of people who buy or join so a brief description, just enough to spike their curiosity, is sufficient.

    STEP 3. Get your own Blog and make one post a day. A Blog, short for, “Web Log,” is a great way to establish yourself as an authority figure on whatever topic you decide. As people return to read your daily articles, they will eventually come to view you as an authority on whatever your Blog is about. They will eventually develop confidence in what you are saying, and will begin to trust you. As a result some people will check out your webpage to see what you have to offer them, and people tend to buy more from people they know and trust. Their confidence in you will be an additional factor that will compel people to buy from you. There are many places online that will host and let you set up your Blog for free.
   
STEP 4. Put Cost-Per-Click(CPC) advertising such as Google AdSense on your website. Having Cost-Per-Click advertising on your website is a way to earn additional income that can be VERY substantial. Most people who visit your website will not buy from you. If people are going to leave your website, wouldn’t you rather them leave through a link on your website that will pay you money every time someone clicks on it? Google makes putting their AdSense on your website E-A-S-Y! The ads are relevant to the content of your website. Google can even put its AdSense on your Blog as we’ll.

    STEP 5. Write and submit articles to article submission sites. This is the most important advice you need to know. This is how you will get FREE advertising! People are searching the internet for free information. When you submit your articles online, the search engines will eventually find them and will spider every word. When people do a search using keywords or phrases that are in your articles, they will turn up in the search results, so be sure to insert highly searched for keywords and phrases into your articles! You will need to include at the bottom of all your articles your bio. Your bio will contain a brief description about who you are along with a link to your website. It might read for instance [ John Doe is the owner of yoursite.com. John helps people to work at home using various business opportunities that include affiliate programs. If you desire your own home based business visit http://www.yoursite.com] The more articles you write and submit, the higher the chances are of your articles keywords and phrases showing up on search results. The more links you have pointing back to your website, the higher your websites page rank with the search engines will be, meaning the higher up on the search results will your article turn up, so don’t stop writing and submitting articles! I do want to stress however, quality over quantity. Take your time and check your spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc. No one will take what you have to say seriously if you don’t write correctly.

    So there you have it! Having a successful internet business is simply a matter of understanding how things work, and applying that knowledge. It dose not take any special skill or any great intelligence.  If you follow these five steps, you cannot fail. The most important thing, as with anything in life, is persistence. Continue following steps three and five and watch your internet business grow!

5 Proven Ways To Find Link Exchange Partners

If you're like most small business websites on the internet today, you use link exchanges to market your website. But sometimes finding websites to exchange links with can be a time consuming task. Here are a few proven methods for finding websites to exchange links with.

1: Search Engines Queries

Using Google or Yahoo, perform the following searches, replacing “keyword” with a keyword related to your site.

Keyword add url
keyword add site
keyword add link
keyword submit url
keyword submit site
keyword submit link
keyword link exchange
keyword link swap
keyword reciprocal link
keyword related sites
keyword links directory

2: Find out who's linking to your competitor's.

If you can find out who is linking to your competitors, you can try to acquire a link to your site ob each site that already links to your competitors. Just search for link:http://www.competitors-url-here.com

3: Other link directories

Find sites that relate to your site that have link exchange directories. Visit each site in their link directories and attempt to exchange links with each site.

4: Link exchange tools

There are several excellent websites that match webmasters with related sites that are interested in exchanging links. Two of the best are Linkalizer and SiteSell's Value Exchange. In general, you'll want to stay away from sites that completely automate the link exchange process. I have used some of them, but the search engines do not like these sites, and may penalize your site if you use them.

5: Software

There is also software available that searches for and automatically emails sites to see if they will link exchange with you. I have used and like LinkAssistant. If you decide to use this method, ensure that you comply with all spam laws and the search engine's guidelines.

All 5 of these methods are proven, dependable ways to find link exchange partners. Use them and start gaining more free links to your website today!

5 Mistakes You Must Avoid When Starting A Home Based Internet Business

2 years ago I left my job as a sales manager to start a home based Internet business. I had already bought a lot of books promising substantial incomes within days or at least a month.

Nothing could stop me now – I had several project up and running in no time.

First mistake to avoid is rushing into a home-based business that program that you know little or nothing about. Many people on the Internet want to make money from selling you the perfect home based business. In many cases they haven’t even tested the program themselves.

Second mistake to avoid is thinking you can go from zero to a successful Internet business in 30 days or less. I am not saying it is impossible, but most end up with a giant information overflow and no money in the pocket. You must plan for a modest income the first 3-5 months.

Produce a list of alternatives and try to identify the critical success factors and skills needed. Be realistic – you have to have some of the key skills needed it you are going to succeed.

Third mistake is quitting a program to soon. What I did and you should not repeat is thinking that it is something wrong with the program when the money doesn’t start pouring in. Often it is a question of making minor changes, measuring the effects of the changes and wait for things to start happen.

Forth mistake is starting cheating when you get desperate and low on self-esteem There are a lot of scrupulous people out there making money from guys like you who has been knocked in the first round

A lot of communities is exchanging clicks for Google AdSense. Did you really think you could get away with it? You end up getting banned from the program and excluded from one of the best home based Internet businesses you can find. Again be patient – you will succeed if you really try.

Fifth mistake to avoid is not learning the basic stuff. The basic skills for succeeding with a home-based business is to create content, attract visitors and make money from you visitors. You can buy some product and services that helps you on the way, but you must understand and be able to handle the basic stuff if you want to establish your home business and survive.

Starting a home based Internet business is like a boxing match. Be patient – work hard and smart and you will become the champ of home-based Internet marketing.

5 Essential Elements of Profitable Sites

What technology tools do successful websites use? Remember that a website is a store front; it’s your customer service rep, delivery guy and your marketing department rolled up into one.

“We are open”
People don’t enter stores that have a closed sign at the door. (Well some do, but… you know, we talking about the law abiding kind here.) Nothing says ‘Closed” louder on a website than old content: old date references and postings. So one of the best things you can do is to get a script that keeps the current date front and center for your visitors. You don’t have to update it everyday – it does it all by itself.

Now that people think you are home, and open for business, they may inquire about your product. You must have a customer service desk. This can take the form of a form where they fill out their name and email. It can be to simply subscribe to your newsletter or they may have a specific question. If you want to have a ‘stress-free’ site, try post an FAQ section – Frequently Asked Questions. Then one of the important things you will want to have is an autoresponder.

An autoresponder will keep your site in the mind space of your potential clients who have signed up for your newsletter or requested more information. It will send out preformatted emails at defined intervals automatically. Did you know that after 5 emails, the likelihood of making a sale increases steadily? It may seem like you are being intrusive, but they will be able to unsubscribe if they wish.

Urgency Sells: When you offer limited time offers, you cause people to make decisions. You need a script that keeps a deadline up to date on your website. It would generate a line that looks like this: This offer expires on XX/XX/XX, so act quick!

The Popup Generator - Pop up windows that appear on your web site when a visitor enters or leaves your web site have been shown to dynamically boost subscriber rates and sales. Even if you don't have any programming knowledge, you'll be able to add a popup to your site with a single click

Tell A Friend Generator - No matter what promotional tools you use on your site, no tool is a match for the power of viral marketing. Use this generator to create a quick, one-step button that you can add to your web site that will let your visitors tell their friends about your site with just one click! Add this to your site and watch a whole new flood of targeted traffic come in!

All these types of scripts are available for free or for a small fee online. I suggest that in addition to these sites, that you visit lots of sites you would like to emulate and see what they do well, what strategies are particularly effective and find ways to incorporate them.

I know even just the little bit above seems overwhelming. Well perhaps a mentor, someone who has done all the above and more would be of interest to you.

Thanks for reading,
Your Rich Cousin
(Author and Business Success Story) Get the free e-book that got me started and helped me start making money at http://www.richcousin.com It's so straight forward and easy to understand AND you will have the support you need to start making a great income online.

5 eBay Selling Tips for Newbies

I’m directing this article to those who are just starting their eBay Selling Venture.  Whether you’re selling books, DVDs, CDs, collectibles or clothing, all things (with the exception of eBooks and services) need to be mailed.   And it’s the postage, handling fees and mailing that seems to cause a great deal of angst among new sellers. 

You’ve heard the advice – don’t overcharge for shipping.  That is very good advice, indeed, as nothing turns off potential buyers like sellers who gouge you on the shipping costs.  It’s also a practice that can rack up bad feedback.

However, I’m going to play Devil’s Advocate here and suggest that you don’t go overboard and give so much of a break on shipping that you’re chipping away at your profits.  It’s good to remember the “hidden costs” of shipping:  bubble wrap to secure your breakables, tape, shipping envelopes, boxes, etc.  Then there’s the gas you put in your car to take all those trips to the post office.

You might think I’m being cheap, but, if you added up all your eBay expenses for the year (as some did for their recent taxes) you might be shocked to see how all the packing materials and gas for your car added up and took a little chunk out of your eBay profits.  And, believe me, they do add up.

Some people are even more surprised to find they underestimated the weight of their packages, causing their profits to shrink even further. 

How can you be fair to both you and your buyers?

1.  Buy a scale.  It may sound simple, but purchasing a scale can save you a bundle in shipping.  If you’re just eyeballing the weight of the package, you can often times guess too low, and be in for quite a shock when you go to the post office and see the package is going to cost twice what you thought to ship. 

2.  Know the dimensions of your packaging before listing the item.  Some packages cost more to ship because of their dimensions.  Knowing the weight alone isn’t enough. 

3.  Offer the buyer a variety of shipping methods.  Some prefer speedy delivery with Express mailing, while some prefer to save money with parcel post even though the wait is longer. It’s always a good idea when using parcel post or other slower ground shipping to alert the buyer by email that it can take anywhere from 8 to 10 days.

4.  Save yourself money whenever possible by using boxes that have been used.  Most stores are more than happy to let you rummage through their old boxes and take some home with you.  But, do remember to choose boxes that are presentable, secure and strong enough for your items.  And, if you have breakables, don’t skimp on the bubble wrap.

5.  Give yourself a small handling fee that will cover your expenses.  Some sellers add on an additional $1 or $2 to the shipping fees for their handling fees (depending on the cost of the item and how much packaging you have to use).  I really advocate doing this because your expenses will add up if you do a lot of selling on eBay.  Be sure to be upfront with your buyers that you have a small handling fee so they can’t complain about it later. 

Being fair to both yourself and your buyer will keep you both happy, and keep more of your profit in your pocket.

5 Big Internet Business Lies

You have heard from people saying Internet Business is a waste of time, you will not make any money, there is no real money to be made online, it will never work and so many others negative words coming from people who don’t really understand in this Internet Business industry.

The thing is, it does work. Why some people make a fortune and some don’t even make money at all? Simply because the people who make thousands or millions of cash knew all the lies in this business and they will not trust these lies.

So what is this big internet lies? Below here are the 10 big internet lies that you should know:

1. Starting And Running A Business On The Internet Is Expensive

Do you know that you can start your business with zero cost? You can actually earn your income by joining a very high quality affiliate program. Usually, as an affiliate marketer, your job is concentrating on marketing only. All the follow up, delivery of the product, answering questions from customers and so on are done by the owner of the program.

Usually the ‘expensive’ statement often comes from people who are living in non-U.S. countries, especially if the country’s local currency is smaller than that of the U.S. Dollar. If it is not a currency issue, it is a vision issue. See and think small to get small. See and think big and your results will have a tendency to match your thoughts.

2. You Can Make Easy Money From The Internet

Most people believe you can make money overnight and by not doing anything at all. If it is what you have in mind right now, this myth is what sets the realistic apart from the unrealistic. You have probably heard of stories of how people make 5 to 6 figure incomes in the shortest period of time imaginable.

These stories might be true but did you know most of them have failed so miserably several times before they can really make money? They have learned from their mistakes and move on. It may seem as if some gurus are overnight successes with the wild numbers some people have brought in during a day or a week selling information or products online.

Some interesting facts about overnight success – it normally takes months if not years to realize. In other words, they prepare, they create a joint ventures, they get ready and then build up anticipation for a launch – then BOOM it explodes!

3. You Must Know HTML, Programming And Graphic Designing In Order To Start Your Business

You don’t need to know all of these at all. Period. In fact, one of the biggest shockers was the discovery that most of the biggest on the gurus today do not have the first clue as to how to build a web page.

These gurus earned more money because they knew how to reach people. They either outsource for professional help or establish Joint Ventures with other individuals who can compensate their lack of knowledge in any one of these areas.

As a matter of fact, most successful people are true successes because they only focus their time on what brings them successes.

If you want to create your web pages without having to learn programming, HTML and designing skills, just find someone else that can do it for you. There are many professional web designer you can find on the Internet which you can hire them to design your web pages exactly like you wanted.

4. On The Internet, There Is No Need To Know How To Sell

This statement has make people who hate selling are attracted to ads that read “no selling required”. Think for a moment, is there any logic at all you can make money without doing anything at all? Usually these programs are usually unworkable and some are run by fly-by-night operators.

In this business, don’t try to sell to other people. Instead, you inform your potential customers. Show people what their lives would be like with what you offer and you will have a sale without selling anything at all!

5. You Don’t Have To Build A Mailing List At All

Laughing out loud – that is like saying, “I don’t want to be in business”. Put this in your head, your mailing list is as important to you as the “Yellow Pages” is to a conventional B2B business.

“The money is in the list”. You probably heard this from most gurus out there. But you should also have this word in your mind, “The money is in the relationship”. The idea of networking with people is unattractive to most who hate to sell.

Remember though, you are not selling anything. You are just showing people their life and how it can easily be enhanced by what you have to offer.

All the above are just some of the big Internet lies. Actually there are a lot more Internet lies you should stay away from. You have to be smart in order to really achieve success that you could possibly imagine. Success is like enlightenment. It is a path and not a destination.

4 Tips To Increase Your Blog Readership Fast!

Aside from being a fun hobby, what is the point of having a blog? The answer is to draw readers. Whether you are selling advertising, a product, or just your own set of ideas, you want as large a readership as possible with most blogs. So if that is the case, then it is important to know how to draw readers to your blog. There are a number of ways to increase the readership of your blog. Here are four tips that will help you to increase your blog readership that are easy to do and will definitely pay off for you.

First of all, to increase readership you would want to increase the number of pages each reader is seeing. You don’t want to be judged only on your last post, but rather on the whole of your work. To that end, try highlighting related posts within your blog. At the end of an article, highlight posts that may be of interest to those who like the current post. Most blog platforms are fitted with plug-ins that will help you with this, but if they are not, then go ahead and at least list the links to other pages manually. Another similar idea is to highlight the related posts within the content of your post. If you are talking about a subject you have discussed before, link off of one of the keywords into the past post that is related. This will also help a past post to maintain its freshness.

A second tip for increasing your blog readership is to think about doing a series. A series is a great way to keep a reader coming back again and again. In addition, if you are linking back, you can get readers looking at multiple posts even after you are done with the series. Be careful when doing a series, because you do not want to frustrate readers. However, if you have a topic you genuinely think you should handle over a period of time, then a series can really help your overall readership. If you are curious as to whether or not a series is working for your blog, then check posts. See if readers are posting through the series to see if they are following you. If they are, then your series is a success and you are only helping your blog readership.

Another way to increase readership is a little more “controversial” if you will. You can try putting excerpts on the front page of your blog from certain posts. Many people claim it is just a way to get more hits on your site. The truth is that extra hits are a little side benefit of it, but the real value is that it can make your site more engaging. By adding excerpts to the front page you can manage the front and keep it fresh while also teasing those who get that far into reading more than just your most recent blog post. This will encourage a prospective reader to explore your blog site a little more than they may have normally. Again, you want to be judged by the whole of your work, or at least by a larger piece of your work than just one post and this will do that. If your writing is up to par, then, you will see a rise in your readership.

Finally, if you really want to build and increase readership, you have to have good quality content. It should be useful, original, and interesting to your target audience as well as keeping them wanting more of the same. The more you raise the quality of your blog’s content, the more you will see your membership, readership, and page hits go up without even having to use any other “tricks.” People know what they like and they like quality for the most part. Giving the readers what they are after is probably the best way possible to increase your blog readership.

Having a blog can not only be fun, but if you are doing it right it can also be profitable. Either way, though, you want to maintain and increase a following, or readership. There are as many tips out there to increase blog readership as there are blogs, but to really get things going, consider using these four tips. Follow them and you will see your readership grow.

4 Tips To Build A Content Site With More Repeat Visitors

This article reveales 4 tips you can use to build a content site that can attract more repeat visitors fast and easily.
On the internet, content is known as "the king". People visits a site not for the flashy graphics nor the wonderful website designs, but because of the information they learn from the website.

Having high quality content not just attract visitors, it also attracts search engines to visit your sites more and increase your search engine placements.  However, in order to get more traffic that can turn into money,  you'll need repeat visitors who are eager to read your new update on your content site.

Therefore, your website should have rich, premium, informative content to capture repeat visitors and more search engine traffic.

Here are some simple tips that would help you build a content site that can attract more repeat visitors:

   - Make sure your website's layout is simple and easy looking to the visitors' eyes.  Don't add too many flashy features in your webpage to disturb your visitors's focus when they are reading on your content.

   - Always remember the most important part in your content is the headline and the first few paragraphs. Whether your reader will read on or not heavily depends on the attractiveness on these parts. Always try to capture their interests and give them what they want to know.

   - Update your website with fresh new content frequently. When your visitors revisit your site and find you have not add new content, they will visit elsewhere immediately. And if this situation goes on, they will not visit your site again. Besides, search engines love websites that update content frequently, and give them higher search rank.

   - You should consider to use blogs.  Blogs are very easy to set up and update.  Once you have entered your entries, all you have to do is to click a button to publish them. And blogs are getting indexed fast and easily in most search engines!

Content is king, and you can take benefit from it easily!

4 Things Web Analytics Can Teach You - What Your Traffic’s Telling You

Brick-and-mortar stores often change displays, move goods around, and put impulse items beside checkouts. The reason behind these changes is they’re analyzing customer traffic and studying behavioral patterns to understand how consumers shop. As an online retailer, you need to study your customer traffic as well in order to increase sales.

Listen: Your Customers Are Talking

There are a number of web traffic analytics companies, such as http://OneStat.com and http://StatCounter.com, that analyze your customers’ shopping patterns. They follow your customers’ clicks to and through your web pages and provide you with valuable info on how your customers experience your website:

1. You see which keywords bring you, not only the most hits, but also the highest conversion rates. People often find the generic words they use bring them a great deal of traffic, but that traffic averages a shorter stay on the site. The longer people spend on your site, the more likely they are to buy something. Analyzing that data allows you to see which keywords are effective for you.

2. You see the average amount of time users spend on your site. Due to latent conversion, this is a good indicator of how business will be in the coming months. If your users are taking their time, looking at things carefully, that tells you they’re really interested and will likely come back to complete the transaction.

3. You see if your traffic’s leaving as soon as they hit your landing page—if they are, you know you have a problem. As soon as users get there, you want to reinforce to them they’re in the right place. Says John Marshall, founder and CEO of http://ClickTracks.com, “Make sure the keyword the user clicked is associated with, and strongly connected to the copy in that landing page, and throughout the experience… Just paying attention to that could probably get you a 20% to 50% improvement in your conversion rate.”

4. You see where people are exiting your site. This is especially important when you have customers leaving in the middle of checkout. If you see a high rate of users, with full shopping carts, leaving on a particular page, you can pinpoint what’s costing you sales:

• If they’re exiting on the page where you explain shipping costs, you might see your shipping appears higher than your competitors’.

• If they’re leaving halfway through filling out the buyer’s information, you might consider that your buyer questionnaire’s too long.

Web analytics puts you in a position to see what’s working on your website and what isn’t. It’s a way to see where you need to make changes and then measure how effective those changes are.

4 Instant Tips for Running a Successful Internet Business

Running an internet business is not a difficult task; but running a successful internet business can be a bit more difficult.  There are thousands of people that have their own online business, but many of them are not having any luck at all.  If you want to be successful while running your internet business, there are a couple of tips you can follow.

1. Before you can run a successful internet business, you are going to need the necessary knowledge.  In other words, if you are looking to start an internet business, choose an industry that you are familiar with.  By doing this you will ensure yourself of knowing where to start, and how to handle problems as they arise.  Of course, it is possible to run a successful internet business even if you do not have past experience.  You will just want to make sure that you do your homework before starting.  This way you will have some background information on the industry instead of simply going into the venture blind.

2. Make sure that you are organized from the very start.  The most successful internet businesses are ones that have a quality business and marketing plan in place from the start.  This will allow you to follow your plan as the days go by so that you do not get lost.  It is hard to be successful in anything if you do not know where you are trying to go.  A business plan will give you an idea on how you want your company to progress, where as a marketing plan will direct you on how to grow your company.  These are two things that are synonymous with every successful internet business.

3. Never be ashamed to ask for help if you are having a rough time.  A lot of business owners do not like to ask other people for help because they do not want to hurt their pride.  This is something that you should come to grips with before you even get started.  It is impossible to know everything about your industry, so there are times when you will have to ask questions.  Instead of thinking of this as a bad thing, why not look at it as a way of making new business contacts?  If you are having a technical problem that you cannot figure out, you should get in touch with an IT company right away.  There is nothing wrong with doing this.  In fact, if you do not ask questions to other people you will only be holding your company back.

4. Do not reinvent the wheel, by following an established Internet Marketing Plan you can take a shortcut to your online success. Be aware though to not follow unsuccessful plans, there are free ones which are just excellent like "The Internet Marketing Master Plan".

By following the tips above you will be well on your way to running a successful internet business.  Remember, anybody can run a business, but to be successful you will have to be determined.

3 Simple Tips For Making Money Online Even If You Don’t Have Anything To Sell!

Have an idea about making money online but don’t know where to start?

There are several ways to make money on the Internet – even if you don’t have a product to sell. Keep in mind that running an online business takes time and effort, just like running any business. However, you can get started without any products, which is one less roadblock for most people wanting to start a business.

You don’t need to be a computer expert to run an online business, but you do need t...

Have an idea about making money online but don’t know where to start?

There are several ways to make money on the Internet – even if you don’t have a product to sell. Keep in mind that running an online business takes time and effort, just like running any business. However, you can get started without any products, which is one less roadblock for most people wanting to start a business.

You don’t need to be a computer expert to run an online business, but you do need to either be able to set up a website, or have the resources to pay someone else to do it for you.

Here are 3 simple ways to make money online even if you don’t have your own product:

Affiliate programs
Being an affiliate means you are selling other people’s products, and you get a percentage of the sale, or you make a small fee for each person who requests more information. Most major retailers offer affiliate programs, along with many smaller retailers (with lots of good products and services). It’s not a good idea to try to compete with an established retailer like Wal-Mart, Target, or Circuit City. A better way to make money is to find a “niche” that serves a smaller group of people, that you can easily reach.

For example, rather than selling sporting goods to everyone, you might start a fishing site that sells canoes and fishing products to people who like fresh water fishing. You can also find smaller retailers who may offer more specialized products to those who know a lot about fishing, while selling the basics from Wal-Mart to beginners.

A good place to start is Commission Junction (http://www.CJ.com), and you’ll get an idea of the products you can offer. Be creative in finding your niche, start with something you know a little about, or enjoy doing, and before long you can be making money online!

Adsense from Google
Adsense is an advertising program from search engine Google.com (there are other advertising programs you can offer, but for now Google’s is the biggest and most popular). By placing ads on your site, you earn money for each person who clicks on the ad. Google will automatically determine which ads are best for your site, based on the topic of each web page. All you have to do is place the code on your web page, and Google does the rest.

You can also sell individual ads, and determine your own terms and price. But using a program like Google is simple, and if your set gets a lot of visitors, you can make good money. Again, the best way to succeed is to find a niche, create a website around that topic, and Google will be able to determine the best ads for your visitors.

Write a “How-To” booklet
If you don’t want to sell other people’s products, but don’t have a lot of money to create your own, a simple way to get started is to write your own “how-to” booklet. Pick a topic you know enough to write about, and start writing. Information products are always good sellers – the key is to solve a particular problem. “How to catch fresh water fish” or “How to plan a fishing vacation on a tight budget” are possibilities for the fishing niche mentioned above.

To learn more, do a search for “creating information products” or “writing e-books”, and you will find lots of resources. Once you create your product, Clickbank.com offers a simple service to help you sell your information product, and there are others to help you get started.

Again, be creative, there are lots of problems out there that people need help with. And offering a good solution can make you lots of money!

Making money online takes more than just building a website. You need to pick the right products or services. Then you need to find the right audience to sell those products and services. Then you need to promote your website to enough people so you can make money. For now, you should have enough ideas to get you started – even if you don’t have a product to sell yet!

3 Simple Steps to Your Own Website - Explained.

So you want to build that website – for whatever reason, perhaps you’ve started a business or simply wish to share pictures of the new addition to your family. Let me tell you it’s easier than you think – all you need is directions that you can follow and you will soon be online.

Let’s talk what it will cost upfront. For $10 - $20/month you can have a working website (Imagine: www.yourname.com), available to anyone in the world with internet access. That’s a trip to your favourite fast food joint. (Yes, you can afford it!) There are also some ways of getting a free site – still residing at www.yourname.com, but lets learn about all those weird internet terms first.

There are 3 basic components required to building a personal, custom website.
You need:
-     A domain name
-    A hosting account and
-    Content written in HTML or some other web language.
I know, what’s a domain name!!!?

Here is an analogy I teach:

You live in a home that is built on a certain piece of land (that you rent or buy). That piece of land has a specific address.

Your website (a collection of individual web pages) sits on a hosting account that you rent. That hosting account is found at a specific address – called a domain name.

Your Home    Your Website
Your Street Address: e.g. 1 John St, Anytown   
Your domain name: e.g. www.yourname.com
Your plot of land    Your hosting account
Your physical house    Your web content

Here is the 3 step process:
STEP 1: Choose your address
STEP 2: Rent some space on a computer connected to the internet
STEP 3: Build the house you want and place it on the space you bought in step 2

Let’s explain each step:
STEP 1: Choose your address (a domain name)
With the internet you can choose what you want your address to be (your domain name).  What are you selling? What would make a cool name? Understand that after over 10 years of public internet access – a lot of good names have been taken. So get creative, and be unique but understandable. An easy place to start with is your full name for a family/personal site or your product name for a business site. Make a list of about 10 possibilities that you like in this format www.yourdesiredname.com Move to the next step.

STEP 2: Rent some space on a computer connected to the internet (A hosting account)
With a quick search for the words “Web Hosting” on the internet, you get a list of web hosting companies – all eager to sell or rent you some space on their computer. GoDaddy.com and 1and1.com are some recommended companies – feel free to look into others, but there are thousands upon thousands – so don’t waste your time searching for the cheapest (you pay for what you get, but $10+ will get you a decent hosting account.

Many of the hosting companies will either give you or sell you your choice of domain name at the same time you start your hosting account. Bring out your list from STEP 1, and when instructed in the purchase process, enter in your first domain name choice. You will be informed if that name is available or not. Keep trying out your names in order of your preference until you find on that is available. Finish the purchase process and let the hosting company instruct you on how to access you account. (They’ll send you an email – and if you go with one of the companies I recommended, you can call them with your questions.)

STEP 3: Build the house you want and place it on the space you bought in step 2
You have some choices to make here:
A - You can ask someone to build you a site.
B - You can build it yourself.
C - Use a free website builder – (like a blog)
Each has its pros and cons.

The first option is great if you can afford it and can find someone reliable. If you want cheap, post a job at your local high school – someone in computer club will be able to help you for really cheap. The problem is that they may not always be around when you need them to make changes. Enter choice B

It’s great to learn a new skill, and you can learn for free online – just invest a little time. Remember once you know how… you own that knowledge forever and you will never depend on someone else to build your site. Again search online for “how to build a website” They will tell you how to design, build and upload your site onto your hosting account form STEP 2.

If you don’t really require a customized design and all you want to do is place some text and perhaps some pictures online. I suggest starting what’s called a blog - these are often free, and have a really simple “HTML CODE FREE” way of adding your content. All you do is type and publish. You can often still have your own domain name here, but each blogging company is different. Again search online for blogging – and read what the various companies offer.


Content
There is one thing that is really important and that ONLY you can do! That is come up with the content and the idea. Think about what you have to offer and what problem it solves for your visitors and prepare your content so as to answer that problem. E.g. You write great jokes. People are looking for jokes… your website should give people some jokes and perhaps they can register for your daily joke email.
Write simply, write short, write clearly. As time goes on, remember to keep your site fresh. Keep the content updated and relevant to your ideal visitors.

The goal of this article was to give you easy steps of how to get a website for yourself. Naturally you can learn more about each step, and there are many people who can give you help, but now you can start the journey. Create your list of domain names, purchase a hosting account (including the domain name you want) and build your site and keep the content fresh.

In future articles I’ll take about next steps:<br>
-    “I build it, but they ain’t coming to see it.”<br>
-    “I built it, but nobody’s buying”<br>
-    “I built it, but I don’t know how to improve it.”

A journey of a million miles starts with one step – so go to step 1 and start. (Don’t worry – this is not a long journey – but it’s exciting!).

Here to Help You!

Thanks for reading,
Your Rich Cousin
(Author and Business Success Story) Get the free e-book that got me started and helped me start making money at http://www.richcousin.com It's so straight forward and easy to understand AND you will have the support you need to start making a great income online.

3 Easy, Money-Making Internet Business Models

Copyright © 2006 Gobala Krishnan

Amid all the noise and hype on the Internet today, not many people realize that all the ideas and techniques you can find are petty much useless if you don't first understand your business model. In other words, even the most amazing Internet marketing technique will not work if you don't understand how to apply it to YOUR business.

The 3 most popular business models are:

1) Affiliate Marketing

This is perhaps the most popular one out there, since there are absolutely no barriers to entry. Almost anyone can sign-up for an affiliate program for free and start promoting the product or service on the Internet with hopes that someone will buy, giving them instant commissions. Affiliate marketers don't carry any risk, since they do not pay for the creation of the product, they do not handle customer service and they do not need any up-front investments.

When you consider that those are the top three things people want to avoid, it's no surprise that almost everyone and their neighbor promotes an affiliate program or another. In fact, if there is a single reason why the Internet today is so proliferated with ads and banners, it's because of affiliate programs.

Even though there are so many affiliate marketers out there, only 5% ever make any money and only 1% makes big money. The "Super Affiliates" do it very differently from all the other millions; therefore they earn the big checks.

2) E-book and Information Publishing

Sitting at the other end of the spectrum, e-book authors need to be more disciplined in their approach to Internet marketing.  Of course, they also need to invest more than affiliates do. While affiliates can get away trying to "get something for nothing" the same is not true for the e-book type of business.

If you're thinking about publishing and selling your own e-book online, and you think it's going to be easy, think again. You'll need to learn a lot more than affiliates are required to. You'll need to spend some amount of money getting your business up and running. However, when you do it right, the payoff in this online business model is much more rewarding.

The reason why e-book marketers and "Infopreneurs" make more money is simple; they have very, very low production and maintenance costs. Anything digital doesn't cost a single cent to be produced in millions if necessary. Whatever initial start-up costs spent can be covered by selling just a few copies of high-margin e-books, and you can even recruit an army of affiliates who are more than willing to do all the selling for you.

Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds, but the point is, when done properly, the "E-book Publishing" model is a truly profitable business.

3) Internet Based Network Marketing

I've heard many people say that the Internet and network marketing are a match made in heaven. In my opinion, though, almost 90% of people get it wrong when it comes to Internet based network marketing. People in this business usually think they're talking about network marketing, but in reality they are talking about affiliate marketing.

They try to make the Internet do all the work. They hide behind their computers and pretend everything's going great. They focus on selling more and more every month. They have systems that are so complicated only they can understand it. Well, that doesn't sound like network marketing to me!

Internet based network marketing is simple if you understand it, and are willing to put in the effort. The role of the Internet here is only to get you the names and contact details of people you can talk to, after which YOU, not a computer, has to build a relationship with these people and help them to start their own business.

For this simple purpose, it is not necessary for you to have a high-tech system and pretend that your auto responder is building relationships for you. It's not going to work. The key is to have simple systems that are duplicable, something you can teach to all those people you have built a relationship with.

E-book authors, no matter what they say, have no obligation to teach you their "Secret Strategies to Become a Millionaire” of any variations to that. The reason is simple; why tell you the absolute truth when you'll end up as their competitor? No one wants more competitors, right?

Internet based network marketing is very much the opposite of that. You HAVE to tell people EVERYTHING you know or your business will never take off. For this reason alone, I always recommend that if you're new to the online world, you need to first join an Internet based network marketing business at least to learn. Rest assured, no one will be selling you half-baked truths when their success ultimately depends on yours.

No matter which model you choose, make sure you understand the basics, and stop listening to and buying things that are not applicable to your business. Information overload can stop you before you even get started.

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