Today I stumbled upon a cool music player – it worked so well, it was so easy and intuitive – it simply delivered. In fact it was quite remarkable. Take a look at that word – remarkable! Remark-able, yes, I was able to make voluntary, un-coerced positive remarks to my friends. They also liked it and may just tell their friends. What makes one website/product so remarkable? Well simply put when a website solves a problem, meets a need or satisfies a want, it’s likely to be a good site. However a remarkable site does all that so well that it literally over-delivers, surpasses all expectations and makes its visitors feel good just for finding it. In what way is your site, your product remarkable?
Why do you care? Because you want traffic, traffic, traffic. A good site may only convert 2- 5% of its traffic, so the higher your traffic, the more you sell. But other than positive, pervasive word of mouth you will have to work or pay for that traffic. I say work because there are some ways of generating traffic that don’t cost much money – rather they demand time and effort.
One of the best ways to draw people to your site is through original content, articles specifically. There are hundreds of sites dedicated to article postings and within your ‘author bio’ you can post the link back to your site. People go online primarily for content. They are looking for answers, looking for ideas and solutions – sure some people are just bored and browsing, but your potential clients will only exchange their hard earned money for the promise that your product will get them closer to their goal. If you can write articles that show you understand them and that you have a special insight into their interests, they may in return believe in your product enough to give it a try.
You can also write some press releases. A press release is nothing more than a written announcement that discusses something exciting and hopefully newsworthy about your business. Typically it will have contact information so that any member of the press can easily reach you in case they have questions. There are many press release sites that can educate and help you spread your news.
These ideas are just the tip of the marketing strategy iceberg. You ought to find a mentor who can help you do all the above and more. Remember – be remarkable. Let’s give them something to talk about!
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.
Tampilkan postingan dengan label web design. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label web design. Tampilkan semua postingan
Minggu, 23 Oktober 2011
Minggu, 28 Agustus 2011
Purchasing Websites vs Building Your Own
When you decide that you want to run your own online business, the question will soon come up in your mind about whether you should purchase an established website, or build one from scratch. The answers may surprise you, and in this article I want to go over both strategies in detail.
Building your own website from scratch is a lot of work. You will have to work very hard, and unless you have thousands of dollars up front to get started, you shouldn't expect to start earning any serious money until after a year has passed. It takes time for a brand new site to build link popularity, traffic, and content. It is necessary for a website to have these things before it can begin to earn money.
When you build a new website, you may find it hard for seasoned webmasters to take your site seriously. I've found that some webmasters will even refuse to exchange links with your site if it is brand new and has a zero page rank. You can avoid this to some extent by adding lots of content to your new site.
Purchasing a website is easier in the sense that if you buy a site that is already established, there is no need to wait long periods of time in order to get it to the point where it is earning money. If you purchase a good website, you should begin earning money within a month of making the purchase.
However, there are a few things you need to know before going out to purchase a website. You need to do careful research on the site you're interested in to make sure it earns what the owner says it earns. Request from the webmaster a copy of earning statements for the last twelve months.
Join webmaster forums and ask other veteran webmasters their thoughts on the site you're interested in. Listen carefully to their answers. If more than one person says that they wouldn't buy it, and gives good reasons for doing so, you may want to take their advice. It is also important to get the website appraised. Make sure that is is worth exactly what the seller says its worth.
You also want to make sure you buy a site rich in content. Check to make sure the content is original and not copied from another source. If you are a busy person who doesn't have time to build a website from scratch, purchasing a website would be an excellent choice.
However, purchasing an established website which is earning money will not be cheap. You can expect to pay at least $10,000.00 for a three year old website with a pagerank of 5 or 6 which is earning $500 per month. It is important to do your research and look at all the factors involved in both building and purchasing a site.
Building your own website from scratch is a lot of work. You will have to work very hard, and unless you have thousands of dollars up front to get started, you shouldn't expect to start earning any serious money until after a year has passed. It takes time for a brand new site to build link popularity, traffic, and content. It is necessary for a website to have these things before it can begin to earn money.
When you build a new website, you may find it hard for seasoned webmasters to take your site seriously. I've found that some webmasters will even refuse to exchange links with your site if it is brand new and has a zero page rank. You can avoid this to some extent by adding lots of content to your new site.
Purchasing a website is easier in the sense that if you buy a site that is already established, there is no need to wait long periods of time in order to get it to the point where it is earning money. If you purchase a good website, you should begin earning money within a month of making the purchase.
However, there are a few things you need to know before going out to purchase a website. You need to do careful research on the site you're interested in to make sure it earns what the owner says it earns. Request from the webmaster a copy of earning statements for the last twelve months.
Join webmaster forums and ask other veteran webmasters their thoughts on the site you're interested in. Listen carefully to their answers. If more than one person says that they wouldn't buy it, and gives good reasons for doing so, you may want to take their advice. It is also important to get the website appraised. Make sure that is is worth exactly what the seller says its worth.
You also want to make sure you buy a site rich in content. Check to make sure the content is original and not copied from another source. If you are a busy person who doesn't have time to build a website from scratch, purchasing a website would be an excellent choice.
However, purchasing an established website which is earning money will not be cheap. You can expect to pay at least $10,000.00 for a three year old website with a pagerank of 5 or 6 which is earning $500 per month. It is important to do your research and look at all the factors involved in both building and purchasing a site.
Kamis, 25 Agustus 2011
What is a Web Directory
A web directory in it's simplest form can be thought of as a human indexed search engine. Humans can visit a directory website and make resource suggestions through an online form. A human editor will review the suggestion and add it to the directory provided it meets the submission guidelines for the directory.
General vs Niche Directories
There are two major types of web directories on the internet, general and niche. A general web directory will have it's resources sorted into a large number of categories covering a wide range of topics. Niche web directories tend to focus on one subject with resources sorted into a smaller number of highly related categories.
Purpose of Web Directories
The major purpose of a web directory is to provide directory users with a categorized list of high quality websites from a chosen field or industry. With the advent of search engines as the preferred method for finding internet resources the importance of directories as information provider's has diminished. But, as search engine technology and the field of search engine optimization have evolved, a new use for web directories has materialized.
Directories and Link Popularity
Current search engine ranking algorithms place a huge importance on back links to a website as an indicator of it's importance on the internet (known as link popularity). Search engine's value links to websites from web directories because these directories have human editors. Having your website listed in a respected web directory is an indicator to the search engines that your website has met a certain standard for quality and is a site worth linking to.
Search engine's also tend to serve up category pages from trusted web directories near the top of their search results so having your website listed in as many high quality web directories as you can should be part of any website marketing plan, especially when your website is new.
Getting your website listed in a web directory is also an excellent way to build high quality, search engine friendly back links to your website and gain targeted web traffic from both directory users and the boost to your search engine rankings from the increased link popularity of your website.
Please note, it is worth taking the time to carefully review a directory prior to making a submission. Not all directories are search engine friendly or provide traffic to their listings so it is up to the submitter to gather as much information about the web directory submission guidelines, linking structure and reputation prior to submitting a resource for inclusion.
General vs Niche Directories
There are two major types of web directories on the internet, general and niche. A general web directory will have it's resources sorted into a large number of categories covering a wide range of topics. Niche web directories tend to focus on one subject with resources sorted into a smaller number of highly related categories.
Purpose of Web Directories
The major purpose of a web directory is to provide directory users with a categorized list of high quality websites from a chosen field or industry. With the advent of search engines as the preferred method for finding internet resources the importance of directories as information provider's has diminished. But, as search engine technology and the field of search engine optimization have evolved, a new use for web directories has materialized.
Directories and Link Popularity
Current search engine ranking algorithms place a huge importance on back links to a website as an indicator of it's importance on the internet (known as link popularity). Search engine's value links to websites from web directories because these directories have human editors. Having your website listed in a respected web directory is an indicator to the search engines that your website has met a certain standard for quality and is a site worth linking to.
Search engine's also tend to serve up category pages from trusted web directories near the top of their search results so having your website listed in as many high quality web directories as you can should be part of any website marketing plan, especially when your website is new.
Getting your website listed in a web directory is also an excellent way to build high quality, search engine friendly back links to your website and gain targeted web traffic from both directory users and the boost to your search engine rankings from the increased link popularity of your website.
Please note, it is worth taking the time to carefully review a directory prior to making a submission. Not all directories are search engine friendly or provide traffic to their listings so it is up to the submitter to gather as much information about the web directory submission guidelines, linking structure and reputation prior to submitting a resource for inclusion.
Senin, 17 Januari 2011
WYSIWYG?
Many web sites seem to have graphics and moving images on their pages, some even have music, personally I think that music Is just wasted space on a website anyway, as a large percentage of people don’t even have their volume on. If you want to incorporate music it is good practice to let the visitor decide if they want to listen to it or not and give them a play and stop button.
The problem with this is the time it takes for the page to load.
Many visitors to a website will not wait for the graphics to download they will simply back out and go to the next website in the listings and you have just lost yourself a sale.
High resolution graphics and music is fine for most people with a high speed broadband connection, but if you have anything less than that then waiting for graphics to download on a web page is very frustrating.
For the web designer themselves it is wise to test the website you have created on a 28.8 connection speed and see how fast your site downloads, it should be viewable within about 3 – 4 seconds maximum. It is recommended also that a site be no larger than 50k, you can still fit great graphics and content into a site with around 30k of content.
A tip is to make your graphics smaller in size and to use fewer colours, instead of a million, use 216 and try to keep your images smaller than 4k.
Instead of using graphics you can try colouring the cells, or changing the colour of borders. If you experiment a little the effects can be fantastic and obviously the less graphics you are using, the faster your webpage will load.
The thing to remember when developing a website is that less is more, we live in a world where we want everything now, so give the customer what they want!
The problem with this is the time it takes for the page to load.
Many visitors to a website will not wait for the graphics to download they will simply back out and go to the next website in the listings and you have just lost yourself a sale.
High resolution graphics and music is fine for most people with a high speed broadband connection, but if you have anything less than that then waiting for graphics to download on a web page is very frustrating.
For the web designer themselves it is wise to test the website you have created on a 28.8 connection speed and see how fast your site downloads, it should be viewable within about 3 – 4 seconds maximum. It is recommended also that a site be no larger than 50k, you can still fit great graphics and content into a site with around 30k of content.
A tip is to make your graphics smaller in size and to use fewer colours, instead of a million, use 216 and try to keep your images smaller than 4k.
Instead of using graphics you can try colouring the cells, or changing the colour of borders. If you experiment a little the effects can be fantastic and obviously the less graphics you are using, the faster your webpage will load.
The thing to remember when developing a website is that less is more, we live in a world where we want everything now, so give the customer what they want!
Sabtu, 20 November 2010
Web Accessibility Facts: 10 Things You Didn't Know
So here is the top 10 accessible tips:
1.With the deadline for website accessibility is October 2004 when all points of the DDA become part of British law.
2.The Disabled Rights Commission (DRC) is a government-funded body empowered by the Disability Rights Commission Act 1999 to instigate formal investigations aimed at eliminating discrimination and encouraging good practice in the treatment of disabled people.
3.The DRC conducted accessibility testing on over 1,000 UK public and private sector websites and published their findings. Stopping short of naming and shaming, they stated that "swathes of businesses may not be complying with existing equal access laws" and that it is "only a matter of time" before they face legal action from disabled consumers.
4.One in seven people in the UK - about 8.5 million - suffer from some form of disability (Source: DRC).
5.Two million people in the UK have a sight problem (Source: Royal National Institute of the Blind).
6.8-10% of the male population has some sort of colour-blindness - for some reason it is more prevalent in men.
7.The world's first successful action over accessibility (Barry Maguire vs Sydney Olympics Organising Committee) netted the litigant just $20,000 in damages. But the legal costs and subsequent web development bill ran into millions.
8.AOL settled out of court in an action brought by the US National Federation of the Blind but they continue to be haunted by bad publicity from this case.
9.In February 2003 the Guardian newspaper slated Abbey National plc over its poor design and inaccessible web services - we bet they are on the DRC's list.
10.Accessibility isn't just about serving groups of disabled users: the same standards also enable web-access by phone and PDA. There will be 993 million people accessing the net through these devices by 2006
1.With the deadline for website accessibility is October 2004 when all points of the DDA become part of British law.
2.The Disabled Rights Commission (DRC) is a government-funded body empowered by the Disability Rights Commission Act 1999 to instigate formal investigations aimed at eliminating discrimination and encouraging good practice in the treatment of disabled people.
3.The DRC conducted accessibility testing on over 1,000 UK public and private sector websites and published their findings. Stopping short of naming and shaming, they stated that "swathes of businesses may not be complying with existing equal access laws" and that it is "only a matter of time" before they face legal action from disabled consumers.
4.One in seven people in the UK - about 8.5 million - suffer from some form of disability (Source: DRC).
5.Two million people in the UK have a sight problem (Source: Royal National Institute of the Blind).
6.8-10% of the male population has some sort of colour-blindness - for some reason it is more prevalent in men.
7.The world's first successful action over accessibility (Barry Maguire vs Sydney Olympics Organising Committee) netted the litigant just $20,000 in damages. But the legal costs and subsequent web development bill ran into millions.
8.AOL settled out of court in an action brought by the US National Federation of the Blind but they continue to be haunted by bad publicity from this case.
9.In February 2003 the Guardian newspaper slated Abbey National plc over its poor design and inaccessible web services - we bet they are on the DRC's list.
10.Accessibility isn't just about serving groups of disabled users: the same standards also enable web-access by phone and PDA. There will be 993 million people accessing the net through these devices by 2006
Jumat, 05 November 2010
Freelancing - The Way Forward for Webmasters
Ten years ago the internet was in its infancy. Computer science was hardly a proper, or prudent, choice of career for the serious person. Those who tended to enrol themselves in such courses were expected to end up with jobs as computer technicians and nothing more than that. Such careers had no particular gravitas – but all that has changed.
The modern world is a global village and this is thanks to the internet above all else. Markets have been made available that would hitherto have been hidden – and the field is rife with potential for success. Companies are slowly catching up to this latent hegemony – and the power that lies beneath the fingertips is being recognised internationally from governments downwards.
Small and large companies alike are vying for pole position in attempting to capture the imagination of the huge international markets. Such demographics have enormous spending power as is evidenced by the success of firms such as Ebay and Amazon. With costs kept so low compared to more conventional brick and mortar businesses, there is little wonder as to why so many companies have ‘gone online’. Even the humble webmaster working from his garage or bedroom can make millions, most recently the school student Alex Tew made his first million by selling pixel adverts! He sold one million pixels in half a year!
Competition is tough however – everyone wants a slice of the advertising potential of the internet. Markets can be powerful yet fickle and attempts to capitalise on these new areas can be fraught with danger for the inexperienced.
Great emphasis is now placed on the visible branding of a company. Web designers and developers convey specific messages to their audiences – working as both artists and public relations officers in their quest to secure leads for their clients by producing enticing and practical designs and structures.
The humble computer graduate has never been so eagerly sought after. A whole new breed of web developers has sprung up. There is now a work force of eager, attentive, enthusiastic and energetic freelancers available to the savvy employer. Vitally, these individuals tend to opt for this type of work not out of a need for profit, or a lack of choice, but because they actively enjoy web design and development. You cannot pay for such devotion in most other fields of work.
It’s the win-win situation to beat all others. There has never been a better time to hire freelance web designers and developers – and it has never been such a good time to be one! Many have noted the irony that has befallen the career of the computer science expert – now the most coveted of all professions.
Powerful Tools: Outsourcing and Hiring Freelancers
Knowing your limitations is the subtle art to being a webmaster. Knowing when to do the work yourself and when your time is better spent on other things is a skill in itself! Investing in the expertise of a freelancer can save you money and time. But where do you find them? Fortunately there are sites that do the hard work for you – where freelancers meet to fight for the privilege to work for you!
The modern world is a global village and this is thanks to the internet above all else. Markets have been made available that would hitherto have been hidden – and the field is rife with potential for success. Companies are slowly catching up to this latent hegemony – and the power that lies beneath the fingertips is being recognised internationally from governments downwards.
Small and large companies alike are vying for pole position in attempting to capture the imagination of the huge international markets. Such demographics have enormous spending power as is evidenced by the success of firms such as Ebay and Amazon. With costs kept so low compared to more conventional brick and mortar businesses, there is little wonder as to why so many companies have ‘gone online’. Even the humble webmaster working from his garage or bedroom can make millions, most recently the school student Alex Tew made his first million by selling pixel adverts! He sold one million pixels in half a year!
Competition is tough however – everyone wants a slice of the advertising potential of the internet. Markets can be powerful yet fickle and attempts to capitalise on these new areas can be fraught with danger for the inexperienced.
Great emphasis is now placed on the visible branding of a company. Web designers and developers convey specific messages to their audiences – working as both artists and public relations officers in their quest to secure leads for their clients by producing enticing and practical designs and structures.
The humble computer graduate has never been so eagerly sought after. A whole new breed of web developers has sprung up. There is now a work force of eager, attentive, enthusiastic and energetic freelancers available to the savvy employer. Vitally, these individuals tend to opt for this type of work not out of a need for profit, or a lack of choice, but because they actively enjoy web design and development. You cannot pay for such devotion in most other fields of work.
It’s the win-win situation to beat all others. There has never been a better time to hire freelance web designers and developers – and it has never been such a good time to be one! Many have noted the irony that has befallen the career of the computer science expert – now the most coveted of all professions.
Powerful Tools: Outsourcing and Hiring Freelancers
Knowing your limitations is the subtle art to being a webmaster. Knowing when to do the work yourself and when your time is better spent on other things is a skill in itself! Investing in the expertise of a freelancer can save you money and time. But where do you find them? Fortunately there are sites that do the hard work for you – where freelancers meet to fight for the privilege to work for you!
Senin, 01 November 2010
Free Stuff = Solid Profits
Here is a well-known, but little used fact: People like free things. If you went to a street corner and started handing out staples, people would line up to take them from you. This is true even if you were giving away something they don’t need. If you told them the staples cost $2, they would feel proud of having snagged one for free.
Now what would happen if you gave out something that people actually wanted, that they actually wanted to pay for, even stand in line for. In fact, we assume that if something is given away free then it must be inherently invaluable about it. When we receive something that we know has value, either in dollars or in its interest to us, we not only remember who gave it to us, but we actually feel indebted to them.
Seth Godin is the author of an amazing book called ‘the ideadvirus’. In that book, to simplify, he states that in order to quickly spread a message (virus), one needs to give something of value away, make it significant enough that others spread it on your behalf, and if the message is ‘virus-worthy’ it will quickly spread through a group without much work from you. How can you profit from this? Read the book. To illustrate this, Seth gave the whole book away free on his site, asking only for emails in return and he asked readers to forward the book onto friends and workmates. Knowing the crowd he was looking infect with his virus, he knew that if they liked what they read – they would want to tell people and boast of what they smartly found for free. He actually had about 400 000 downloads in the first few weeks, and just before you think he made no money: when he released the hardcover through amazon.com, it climbed to the top of its sales charts. In fact people who had bought the ebook version, went and purchased the hardcover – they felt like they owed Seth. This was a 400 page book… I read it, twice – it was that good, and proof of the actual theory he was exposing.
Be aware that what is free for your visitors will cost you something – it will cost you in your bandwidth/hosting costs, it will definitely cost you something in terms of time and effort to produce the site and the very thing you give away – but if you play the strategy right, it can pay off well. Get a good idea of what you are trying to accomplish, and determine what you can do or give away to help you grow.
1. get something of value to your audience
2. Get them to give you something in return – their email and their friends email
3. Give them permission and instructions on how to share that free download.
4. Encourage, or reward those who share that download (sometimes if your stuff is good – the pride of sharing something great is enough to motivate people – but it has to be amazing!)
5. With all the awareness, buzz and traffic you generate – find away of profiting from that.
It’s not hard, but its easy to get greedy and mess up the strategy. In fact it takes a lot of courage to do this. You will be giving away something you could be earning from – Seth Godin gave up 500,000 potential sales – instead he had 500,000 advertisers who willingly and honestly spreading the word in a well defined market which resulted in sales of that book – and with his new popularity, many others. By the way, I don’t think its free anymore. It doesn’t need to be… companies actually buy books by the box for all their marketing employees. How did that happen? Because some net savy marketing VP downloaded the book – loved it, and bought a hard copy for his CEO, who thought it was brilliant and ordered it for everyone… and the waves of impact spread. You can do this too!
Learn from the masters. Find a mentor who can help you do your best!
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.
Now what would happen if you gave out something that people actually wanted, that they actually wanted to pay for, even stand in line for. In fact, we assume that if something is given away free then it must be inherently invaluable about it. When we receive something that we know has value, either in dollars or in its interest to us, we not only remember who gave it to us, but we actually feel indebted to them.
Seth Godin is the author of an amazing book called ‘the ideadvirus’. In that book, to simplify, he states that in order to quickly spread a message (virus), one needs to give something of value away, make it significant enough that others spread it on your behalf, and if the message is ‘virus-worthy’ it will quickly spread through a group without much work from you. How can you profit from this? Read the book. To illustrate this, Seth gave the whole book away free on his site, asking only for emails in return and he asked readers to forward the book onto friends and workmates. Knowing the crowd he was looking infect with his virus, he knew that if they liked what they read – they would want to tell people and boast of what they smartly found for free. He actually had about 400 000 downloads in the first few weeks, and just before you think he made no money: when he released the hardcover through amazon.com, it climbed to the top of its sales charts. In fact people who had bought the ebook version, went and purchased the hardcover – they felt like they owed Seth. This was a 400 page book… I read it, twice – it was that good, and proof of the actual theory he was exposing.
Be aware that what is free for your visitors will cost you something – it will cost you in your bandwidth/hosting costs, it will definitely cost you something in terms of time and effort to produce the site and the very thing you give away – but if you play the strategy right, it can pay off well. Get a good idea of what you are trying to accomplish, and determine what you can do or give away to help you grow.
1. get something of value to your audience
2. Get them to give you something in return – their email and their friends email
3. Give them permission and instructions on how to share that free download.
4. Encourage, or reward those who share that download (sometimes if your stuff is good – the pride of sharing something great is enough to motivate people – but it has to be amazing!)
5. With all the awareness, buzz and traffic you generate – find away of profiting from that.
It’s not hard, but its easy to get greedy and mess up the strategy. In fact it takes a lot of courage to do this. You will be giving away something you could be earning from – Seth Godin gave up 500,000 potential sales – instead he had 500,000 advertisers who willingly and honestly spreading the word in a well defined market which resulted in sales of that book – and with his new popularity, many others. By the way, I don’t think its free anymore. It doesn’t need to be… companies actually buy books by the box for all their marketing employees. How did that happen? Because some net savy marketing VP downloaded the book – loved it, and bought a hard copy for his CEO, who thought it was brilliant and ordered it for everyone… and the waves of impact spread. You can do this too!
Learn from the masters. Find a mentor who can help you do your best!
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.
Jumat, 25 Juni 2010
Common Sense - The Missing Link in Online Business
I like to think that my approach to business is 1 part experience, 1 part research and 2 parts common sense. I know my business; that’s my experience. I read as much as I possibly can to strike a balance in my efforts between tried and true and newer methods of business planning and marketing. But to me, the most important, and often lacking in my opinion, is the common sense part of running any business, especially online.
I do not claim to be an expert in SEO or SEM or any of those acronym concepts. In fact, I’m not sure who legitimately can claim to be. In my observation, the rules to those theories seem to change daily if not more often. However, like most online entrepreneurs, I do try and pick up as much as I can from all sources in trying to market and run my business.
In working on both my own business and my client’s, I have found that too often I can get too focused on the technical aspects of my website and business. We are constantly inundated with tips, tricks and techniques for getting more traffic and finding new leads. Please don’t think I’m discounting any of those or disparaging those giving advice. On the contrary, I think it is necessary to take in as much information as possible in determining your own strategies. The problem, in my eyes, lies in getting too involved in these “new” concepts and losing sight or doubt your innate sense of how to do things.
I am not suggesting any hot new modes of marketing, nor am I guaranteeing any way of making thousands of dollars a week! I am merely suggesting that before, during and after implementing any new techniques, you always take a look at your website and all your materials from your customer’s point of view. Better yet, have someone else take a look.
Make sure that you have designed your site and written your copy in a way that is accessible to both ends of the spectrum: the techies and the technically challenged alike. In a perfect world, each visitor to your site would be very computer and internet savvy. Unfortunately, we all know it is not a perfect world. You must make your site as user-friendly as possible.
I spent a lot of time designing my website. I put a lot of thought into what I wanted to say, how I wanted to say it and how I wanted it to function. Those are all important things to consider and steps that must not be skipped. However, shortly after launching the site I discovered what I could improve.
The first thing I did when I uploaded the site was to inform all my friends and family. I knew within two days that I needed to make things a whole lot simpler! I had not taken into account that I have grown up in the internet age and things that I take for granted like knowing how to navigate a site via a site map or navigation bar are not second nature to everyone. I got the best feedback from my 91 year old grandfather who really wanted to see the whole site and know what it was all about. He tries so hard to keep up with the technology, but using the internet is not his cup of tea.
After speaking with him and a few other relatives, I sat down and took a hard look at my site. I went through and made two ways to get to every single page. I tried to simplify things as much as possible. I didn’t change the copy because I had made a point to write copy that was inviting to potential clients from any background. I used my keywords as much as I felt comfortable doing without sounding like a broken record.
Albert Einstein once said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.” In our excitement to boost our search engine rankings and generate traffic, I think it’s important to remember those words. The more people who can use your site and hear your message; the more customers you will have!
I like to think that my approach to business is 1 part experience, 1 part research and 2 parts common sense. I know my business; that’s my experience. I read as much as I possibly can to strike a balance in my efforts between tried and true and newer methods of business planning and marketing. But to me, the most important, and often lacking in my opinion, is the common sense part of running any business, especially online.
I do not claim to be an expert in SEO or SEM or any of those acronym concepts. In fact, I’m not sure who legitimately can claim to be. In my observation, the rules to those theories seem to change daily if not more often. However, like most online entrepreneurs, I do try and pick up as much as I can from all sources in trying to market and run my business.
In working on both my own business and my client’s, I have found that too often I can get too focused on the technical aspects of my website and business. We are constantly inundated with tips, tricks and techniques for getting more traffic and finding new leads. Please don’t think I’m discounting any of those or disparaging those giving advice. On the contrary, I think it is necessary to take in as much information as possible in determining your own strategies. The problem, in my eyes, lies in getting too involved in these “new” concepts and losing sight or doubt your innate sense of how to do things.
I am not suggesting any hot new modes of marketing, nor am I guaranteeing any way of making thousands of dollars a week! I am merely suggesting that before, during and after implementing any new techniques, you always take a look at your website and all your materials from your customer’s point of view. Better yet, have someone else take a look.
Make sure that you have designed your site and written your copy in a way that is accessible to both ends of the spectrum: the techies and the technically challenged alike. In a perfect world, each visitor to your site would be very computer and internet savvy. Unfortunately, we all know it is not a perfect world. You must make your site as user-friendly as possible.
I spent a lot of time designing my website. I put a lot of thought into what I wanted to say, how I wanted to say it and how I wanted it to function. Those are all important things to consider and steps that must not be skipped. However, shortly after launching the site I discovered what I could improve.
The first thing I did when I uploaded the site was to inform all my friends and family. I knew within two days that I needed to make things a whole lot simpler! I had not taken into account that I have grown up in the internet age and things that I take for granted like knowing how to navigate a site via a site map or navigation bar are not second nature to everyone. I got the best feedback from my 91 year old grandfather who really wanted to see the whole site and know what it was all about. He tries so hard to keep up with the technology, but using the internet is not his cup of tea.
After speaking with him and a few other relatives, I sat down and took a hard look at my site. I went through and made two ways to get to every single page. I tried to simplify things as much as possible. I didn’t change the copy because I had made a point to write copy that was inviting to potential clients from any background. I used my keywords as much as I felt comfortable doing without sounding like a broken record.
Albert Einstein once said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.” In our excitement to boost our search engine rankings and generate traffic, I think it’s important to remember those words. The more people who can use your site and hear your message; the more customers you will have!
I do not claim to be an expert in SEO or SEM or any of those acronym concepts. In fact, I’m not sure who legitimately can claim to be. In my observation, the rules to those theories seem to change daily if not more often. However, like most online entrepreneurs, I do try and pick up as much as I can from all sources in trying to market and run my business.
In working on both my own business and my client’s, I have found that too often I can get too focused on the technical aspects of my website and business. We are constantly inundated with tips, tricks and techniques for getting more traffic and finding new leads. Please don’t think I’m discounting any of those or disparaging those giving advice. On the contrary, I think it is necessary to take in as much information as possible in determining your own strategies. The problem, in my eyes, lies in getting too involved in these “new” concepts and losing sight or doubt your innate sense of how to do things.
I am not suggesting any hot new modes of marketing, nor am I guaranteeing any way of making thousands of dollars a week! I am merely suggesting that before, during and after implementing any new techniques, you always take a look at your website and all your materials from your customer’s point of view. Better yet, have someone else take a look.
Make sure that you have designed your site and written your copy in a way that is accessible to both ends of the spectrum: the techies and the technically challenged alike. In a perfect world, each visitor to your site would be very computer and internet savvy. Unfortunately, we all know it is not a perfect world. You must make your site as user-friendly as possible.
I spent a lot of time designing my website. I put a lot of thought into what I wanted to say, how I wanted to say it and how I wanted it to function. Those are all important things to consider and steps that must not be skipped. However, shortly after launching the site I discovered what I could improve.
The first thing I did when I uploaded the site was to inform all my friends and family. I knew within two days that I needed to make things a whole lot simpler! I had not taken into account that I have grown up in the internet age and things that I take for granted like knowing how to navigate a site via a site map or navigation bar are not second nature to everyone. I got the best feedback from my 91 year old grandfather who really wanted to see the whole site and know what it was all about. He tries so hard to keep up with the technology, but using the internet is not his cup of tea.
After speaking with him and a few other relatives, I sat down and took a hard look at my site. I went through and made two ways to get to every single page. I tried to simplify things as much as possible. I didn’t change the copy because I had made a point to write copy that was inviting to potential clients from any background. I used my keywords as much as I felt comfortable doing without sounding like a broken record.
Albert Einstein once said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.” In our excitement to boost our search engine rankings and generate traffic, I think it’s important to remember those words. The more people who can use your site and hear your message; the more customers you will have!
I like to think that my approach to business is 1 part experience, 1 part research and 2 parts common sense. I know my business; that’s my experience. I read as much as I possibly can to strike a balance in my efforts between tried and true and newer methods of business planning and marketing. But to me, the most important, and often lacking in my opinion, is the common sense part of running any business, especially online.
I do not claim to be an expert in SEO or SEM or any of those acronym concepts. In fact, I’m not sure who legitimately can claim to be. In my observation, the rules to those theories seem to change daily if not more often. However, like most online entrepreneurs, I do try and pick up as much as I can from all sources in trying to market and run my business.
In working on both my own business and my client’s, I have found that too often I can get too focused on the technical aspects of my website and business. We are constantly inundated with tips, tricks and techniques for getting more traffic and finding new leads. Please don’t think I’m discounting any of those or disparaging those giving advice. On the contrary, I think it is necessary to take in as much information as possible in determining your own strategies. The problem, in my eyes, lies in getting too involved in these “new” concepts and losing sight or doubt your innate sense of how to do things.
I am not suggesting any hot new modes of marketing, nor am I guaranteeing any way of making thousands of dollars a week! I am merely suggesting that before, during and after implementing any new techniques, you always take a look at your website and all your materials from your customer’s point of view. Better yet, have someone else take a look.
Make sure that you have designed your site and written your copy in a way that is accessible to both ends of the spectrum: the techies and the technically challenged alike. In a perfect world, each visitor to your site would be very computer and internet savvy. Unfortunately, we all know it is not a perfect world. You must make your site as user-friendly as possible.
I spent a lot of time designing my website. I put a lot of thought into what I wanted to say, how I wanted to say it and how I wanted it to function. Those are all important things to consider and steps that must not be skipped. However, shortly after launching the site I discovered what I could improve.
The first thing I did when I uploaded the site was to inform all my friends and family. I knew within two days that I needed to make things a whole lot simpler! I had not taken into account that I have grown up in the internet age and things that I take for granted like knowing how to navigate a site via a site map or navigation bar are not second nature to everyone. I got the best feedback from my 91 year old grandfather who really wanted to see the whole site and know what it was all about. He tries so hard to keep up with the technology, but using the internet is not his cup of tea.
After speaking with him and a few other relatives, I sat down and took a hard look at my site. I went through and made two ways to get to every single page. I tried to simplify things as much as possible. I didn’t change the copy because I had made a point to write copy that was inviting to potential clients from any background. I used my keywords as much as I felt comfortable doing without sounding like a broken record.
Albert Einstein once said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.” In our excitement to boost our search engine rankings and generate traffic, I think it’s important to remember those words. The more people who can use your site and hear your message; the more customers you will have!
Sabtu, 01 Mei 2010
Beat the Big Boys Online
There are more than a hundred websites; in fact the number of website is exploding exponentially. If there were only a hundred Web sites, you might think they would each get a lot more attention, but that’s not the case. If there only a hundred web sites, no one would bother surfing the Web at all. It’s the large number of sites covering a large range of topics that has caused hundreds of millions of people to go online.
Web presence is not a zero sum game. That’s a term that economist use to describe a situation where one person making a gain means that someone else is making a loss. Instead, the more people who play the Internet game, that surf and interact online, , the more audience and money there is to go around. Because of this, other sites aren’t the enemy. Other sites are your friend.
Here in Toronto, there is a district that seems to be saturated with computer stores. You can get computer parts at great prices. There is intense competition, as the different stores compete on price, on the latest technology, on selection and quality. If you think about it, these shops are all cooperating. Even if the owners of the shop never speak to each other, even if they despise one another, they make the district the place to go for computer parts. And by offering such a huge selection overall, they make sure that anyone looking for a part is sure to find it there – no matter how obscure. In contrast, the shopper at an unattached computer store may not find the desired part.
The stores are in competition, but competition and cooperation are not mutually exclusive. If you start an online site offering currency trading education and three other sites do the same, you are in competition with them. However your real competition is the similar educational tools in brick & mortar bookstores. If people start thinking that the web is the best place of tried and true trading strategies, then it helps you all.
All that is passive cooperation. It doesn’t require anyone to directly make plans with anyone else. Most of the active cooperation you are likely to be involved in will be with sites that are not offering exactly the same products and services that you are. Instead, you should try cooperating with sites that share the same audience but different products. A site that offers Country music may cooperate with a site that sells Cowboys hats.
The overall point is that there is a large ocean of potential clients out there, and when you cooperate with others trying to fish in this ocean, you increase your chances of success. Better to have 1% of a billion dollar market than 100% of a million dollar market.
Think about working together with others online – learn from people who are doing what you want to do. The internet market is still growing – in both the number of users, but even the current users’ willingness to engage in commerce online. Be a part of it – even if it’s a small part, the rewards will blow your mind.
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.
Web presence is not a zero sum game. That’s a term that economist use to describe a situation where one person making a gain means that someone else is making a loss. Instead, the more people who play the Internet game, that surf and interact online, , the more audience and money there is to go around. Because of this, other sites aren’t the enemy. Other sites are your friend.
Here in Toronto, there is a district that seems to be saturated with computer stores. You can get computer parts at great prices. There is intense competition, as the different stores compete on price, on the latest technology, on selection and quality. If you think about it, these shops are all cooperating. Even if the owners of the shop never speak to each other, even if they despise one another, they make the district the place to go for computer parts. And by offering such a huge selection overall, they make sure that anyone looking for a part is sure to find it there – no matter how obscure. In contrast, the shopper at an unattached computer store may not find the desired part.
The stores are in competition, but competition and cooperation are not mutually exclusive. If you start an online site offering currency trading education and three other sites do the same, you are in competition with them. However your real competition is the similar educational tools in brick & mortar bookstores. If people start thinking that the web is the best place of tried and true trading strategies, then it helps you all.
All that is passive cooperation. It doesn’t require anyone to directly make plans with anyone else. Most of the active cooperation you are likely to be involved in will be with sites that are not offering exactly the same products and services that you are. Instead, you should try cooperating with sites that share the same audience but different products. A site that offers Country music may cooperate with a site that sells Cowboys hats.
The overall point is that there is a large ocean of potential clients out there, and when you cooperate with others trying to fish in this ocean, you increase your chances of success. Better to have 1% of a billion dollar market than 100% of a million dollar market.
Think about working together with others online – learn from people who are doing what you want to do. The internet market is still growing – in both the number of users, but even the current users’ willingness to engage in commerce online. Be a part of it – even if it’s a small part, the rewards will blow your mind.
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.
Sabtu, 17 April 2010
Attracting Web Business
So you’ve finished building a great website and you’re ready to start raking in the profits – if you can figure out how to let the world know your business exists. Although creating an attractive website is an important first step if you plan to start your own online business, it is definitely not the last. In fact, once the website is complete you’ve still got quite a lot of work on the horizon.
Just because you have a website up and running, it doesn’t mean people will automatically know where to find you. And yet, surprisingly, many first-time web entrepreneurs drop the ball at this point in the game. They assume customers will find them amongst all the other sites floating around in cyberspace, as if through some kind of psychic connection. But if you think about it, this type of thinking is very misguided.
It is the same with any business: customers won’t start flocking to your store unless you invest some time and money into advertising. Depending on your budget, you can either blast the trumpet really loud or toot the horn a little bit at a time. But in the end, you have to make some kind of noise in order to be heard.
But how do you achieve this in the vacuum of cyberspace? Or perhaps more fittingly, how do you make yourself heard amidst a crowd of other aspiring musicians all trumpeting their own cause? Obviously, online marketing is different from marketing a bricks-and-mortar business, so it’s important to know exactly where to begin. If you take the proper steps you will be attracting interested customers in no time.
The first step is to know your customer, inside and out. This is key if you want to be successful in your marketing strategy because you can’t market to potential customers if you don’t know who they are. For someone selling baked goods, targeting the “Carb-Haters of America” might not result in the profits you are anticipating.
Next, determine where you want to market your product. The Internet allows every new or expanding business the opportunity to reach a global market, but not every business is aiming for that goal. If your website is set up as one arm of your existing offline business, you might wish to target potential customers in your local area who also want the option of online shopping. In this case, integrate your website into promotional materials for your store so people will learn about the new branch of your business. Essentially, the efforts you make to promote your business outside of the Internet can be used to get your web address out there as well.
Internet Marketing
But of course, most people who begin an online venture are looking to broaden their customer base and attract a global clientele. There are several ways to start advertising online. Just remember: online marketing is always changing, and nothing works perfectly for every business. You might have to tailor a marketing plan to suit your company’s specific goals, or if Internet marketing makes your head spin, you also have the option of hiring a company to do the marketing for you.
Step one: register with search engines. Unfortunately, this doesn’t guarantee hits to your site, and the promises many search engines make are usually more pie-in-the-sky than realistic, but it is still a necessary evil. If you have to choose, register with Yahoo! and Google, as the highest percentage of web traffic originates from these two giants. In the past, achieving top search results could be done for free; now you have to shell out some cash if you want to get top placement and advertising space. Yahoo! Express and Google’s Adwords program are two examples of this type of paid search engine placement.
Another way to get noticed is to participate in a link exchange. Simply put, this involves seeking out other websites that are related to your company or product in some way and asking the owner if he/she will post your link on the site. If the owner agrees, you offer to post their link on your site, hence the term “link exchange.” This is a good way to start advertising your site because it involves targeting the right kind of people (someone visiting a site already related to your business) and forming solid bonds with other websites. And the more links other sites have to your site, the more popular you become with the search engines, without having to pay for top placement.
Finally, don’t sit back and wait for customers to come to you. Be proactive and go directly to your clientele. Of course, this means you must know where to find them, but this sounds harder than it actually is.
For instance, many new businesses actually use eBay to source potential customers. It depends on what you’re selling, but if you know a lot of people looking for your product spend a good amount of time making eBay purchases, that might be a good place to begin and get your name out in public. Use eBay as a marketing tool – sell a few items for very low prices, get people on your email list and invite them to consider future purchases from your website. EBay is more than a place to sell goods; it can be used as a highly effective marketing tool.
Or, as mentioned above, make business connections with people in a related business. Pay to have banner ads displayed on other websites to help spread the word about your business. This will bring you closer to the people who make up your target market.
This is just the beginning when it comes to online marketing, but if you start off on the right foot and persevere, you will succeed.
Just because you have a website up and running, it doesn’t mean people will automatically know where to find you. And yet, surprisingly, many first-time web entrepreneurs drop the ball at this point in the game. They assume customers will find them amongst all the other sites floating around in cyberspace, as if through some kind of psychic connection. But if you think about it, this type of thinking is very misguided.
It is the same with any business: customers won’t start flocking to your store unless you invest some time and money into advertising. Depending on your budget, you can either blast the trumpet really loud or toot the horn a little bit at a time. But in the end, you have to make some kind of noise in order to be heard.
But how do you achieve this in the vacuum of cyberspace? Or perhaps more fittingly, how do you make yourself heard amidst a crowd of other aspiring musicians all trumpeting their own cause? Obviously, online marketing is different from marketing a bricks-and-mortar business, so it’s important to know exactly where to begin. If you take the proper steps you will be attracting interested customers in no time.
The first step is to know your customer, inside and out. This is key if you want to be successful in your marketing strategy because you can’t market to potential customers if you don’t know who they are. For someone selling baked goods, targeting the “Carb-Haters of America” might not result in the profits you are anticipating.
Next, determine where you want to market your product. The Internet allows every new or expanding business the opportunity to reach a global market, but not every business is aiming for that goal. If your website is set up as one arm of your existing offline business, you might wish to target potential customers in your local area who also want the option of online shopping. In this case, integrate your website into promotional materials for your store so people will learn about the new branch of your business. Essentially, the efforts you make to promote your business outside of the Internet can be used to get your web address out there as well.
Internet Marketing
But of course, most people who begin an online venture are looking to broaden their customer base and attract a global clientele. There are several ways to start advertising online. Just remember: online marketing is always changing, and nothing works perfectly for every business. You might have to tailor a marketing plan to suit your company’s specific goals, or if Internet marketing makes your head spin, you also have the option of hiring a company to do the marketing for you.
Step one: register with search engines. Unfortunately, this doesn’t guarantee hits to your site, and the promises many search engines make are usually more pie-in-the-sky than realistic, but it is still a necessary evil. If you have to choose, register with Yahoo! and Google, as the highest percentage of web traffic originates from these two giants. In the past, achieving top search results could be done for free; now you have to shell out some cash if you want to get top placement and advertising space. Yahoo! Express and Google’s Adwords program are two examples of this type of paid search engine placement.
Another way to get noticed is to participate in a link exchange. Simply put, this involves seeking out other websites that are related to your company or product in some way and asking the owner if he/she will post your link on the site. If the owner agrees, you offer to post their link on your site, hence the term “link exchange.” This is a good way to start advertising your site because it involves targeting the right kind of people (someone visiting a site already related to your business) and forming solid bonds with other websites. And the more links other sites have to your site, the more popular you become with the search engines, without having to pay for top placement.
Finally, don’t sit back and wait for customers to come to you. Be proactive and go directly to your clientele. Of course, this means you must know where to find them, but this sounds harder than it actually is.
For instance, many new businesses actually use eBay to source potential customers. It depends on what you’re selling, but if you know a lot of people looking for your product spend a good amount of time making eBay purchases, that might be a good place to begin and get your name out in public. Use eBay as a marketing tool – sell a few items for very low prices, get people on your email list and invite them to consider future purchases from your website. EBay is more than a place to sell goods; it can be used as a highly effective marketing tool.
Or, as mentioned above, make business connections with people in a related business. Pay to have banner ads displayed on other websites to help spread the word about your business. This will bring you closer to the people who make up your target market.
This is just the beginning when it comes to online marketing, but if you start off on the right foot and persevere, you will succeed.
Rabu, 24 Maret 2010
Aim for the Moon, If you miss...
The saying goes like this "Aim for the moon, if you miss at least you will be among the stars!"
When it can’t be done – do it. If you don’t do it, it will not be done.
A new idea can be either unfamiliar, or silly, or both. It can be judged by description, it needs to be done to exist. It’s unlikely that anyone will invest or sanction the cost of something they don’t understand, therefore you have no choice but to do it yourself. You have to find a way to get it done
It’s exciting. It’s difficult and it’s fun. If it was easy anyone could do it. The film Citizen Kane is a very good example. It was stolen not sanctioned Orson Wells couldn’t find any financial backers, but he raised a small amount for casting. He begged, borrowed and milked people into building sets and shooting full –blown screen test which eventually formed a third of the film. Now it existed.
Backers could see what they were getting and he got the money. Without him doing it when it ‘couldn’t be done’ it would be another in the endless list of ideas that never happened. Myles Munroe says the wealthiest underground deposits are not the oil fields of Arabia or Alberta, not the Natural Gas deposits of the North Sea, it’s not even the diamond mines of South Africa – rather its cemeteries across the world. For in those graveyards are books that were never written, art never painted, songs never written, companies never started. In those tombs lies the greatest wealth potential – ideas.
You have them every day – what will you do with yours? What stops you from pursuing yours? Fear? Perhaps you are searching for an idea – well think outside the box. If you can’t think of anything that hasn’t been thought of already, then you need to start playing by the rules.
The person who doesn’t make mistakes is unlikely to make anything. Benjamin Franklin said “I haven’t failed. I’ve had 10,000 ideas that didn’t work. Thomas Edison said “Of the 200 light bulbs that didn’t work, every one of them told me something that I was able to incorporate into the next attempt. Theatre director Joan Littlewood said “If we don’t get lost, we’ll never find a new route.”
All of them understood that failures and false starts are a precondition of success. It takes a positive attitude to make mistakes well. Samuel Beckett said “Fail, Fail again, Fail better!”
It’s wrong to be right.
Being right is based upon knowledge and experience and is often provable. Knowledge comes from the past and its safe. It is also out of date and the opposite of originality.
Experience is found in solutions to old situations and problems. The old situations are probably different from the present ones, so that old solutions will have to be bent to fit a new problems) and possibly fit badly). Also, the likelihood is that if you’ve got the experience, you’ll use it. This is lazy.
Experience is the opposite of being creative. If you can prove you’re right, you are set in stone. You cannot move with the times or with other people. Being right is also boring and you mind is closed. You are not open to new ideas.
Star being wrong and suddenly anything is possible. You are no longer trying to be perfect. You are in the unknown, with no clue as to what will happen, but there’s more of chance of it being worthwhile than if you try to be right.
Most people worry about suggesting stupid ideas because of what others will think. Yes, it’s a risky business – you can look silly. Risk is a measurement of a person. People who won’t take them are trying to preserve what they have. People who do take them often end up having more.
Let’s dare to try new things, to aim high knowing that if we miss – its ok… we are closer to something new that has never been seen or heard of.
You should take a look at Internet Marketing, Forex Trading and other crazy ideas that everyone will doubt and predict your failure in. But its ok to try and fail… but what happens if you don’t fail? What would your life look like if you were not afraid of the new, of being wrong or failing once again?
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.
When it can’t be done – do it. If you don’t do it, it will not be done.
A new idea can be either unfamiliar, or silly, or both. It can be judged by description, it needs to be done to exist. It’s unlikely that anyone will invest or sanction the cost of something they don’t understand, therefore you have no choice but to do it yourself. You have to find a way to get it done
It’s exciting. It’s difficult and it’s fun. If it was easy anyone could do it. The film Citizen Kane is a very good example. It was stolen not sanctioned Orson Wells couldn’t find any financial backers, but he raised a small amount for casting. He begged, borrowed and milked people into building sets and shooting full –blown screen test which eventually formed a third of the film. Now it existed.
Backers could see what they were getting and he got the money. Without him doing it when it ‘couldn’t be done’ it would be another in the endless list of ideas that never happened. Myles Munroe says the wealthiest underground deposits are not the oil fields of Arabia or Alberta, not the Natural Gas deposits of the North Sea, it’s not even the diamond mines of South Africa – rather its cemeteries across the world. For in those graveyards are books that were never written, art never painted, songs never written, companies never started. In those tombs lies the greatest wealth potential – ideas.
You have them every day – what will you do with yours? What stops you from pursuing yours? Fear? Perhaps you are searching for an idea – well think outside the box. If you can’t think of anything that hasn’t been thought of already, then you need to start playing by the rules.
The person who doesn’t make mistakes is unlikely to make anything. Benjamin Franklin said “I haven’t failed. I’ve had 10,000 ideas that didn’t work. Thomas Edison said “Of the 200 light bulbs that didn’t work, every one of them told me something that I was able to incorporate into the next attempt. Theatre director Joan Littlewood said “If we don’t get lost, we’ll never find a new route.”
All of them understood that failures and false starts are a precondition of success. It takes a positive attitude to make mistakes well. Samuel Beckett said “Fail, Fail again, Fail better!”
It’s wrong to be right.
Being right is based upon knowledge and experience and is often provable. Knowledge comes from the past and its safe. It is also out of date and the opposite of originality.
Experience is found in solutions to old situations and problems. The old situations are probably different from the present ones, so that old solutions will have to be bent to fit a new problems) and possibly fit badly). Also, the likelihood is that if you’ve got the experience, you’ll use it. This is lazy.
Experience is the opposite of being creative. If you can prove you’re right, you are set in stone. You cannot move with the times or with other people. Being right is also boring and you mind is closed. You are not open to new ideas.
Star being wrong and suddenly anything is possible. You are no longer trying to be perfect. You are in the unknown, with no clue as to what will happen, but there’s more of chance of it being worthwhile than if you try to be right.
Most people worry about suggesting stupid ideas because of what others will think. Yes, it’s a risky business – you can look silly. Risk is a measurement of a person. People who won’t take them are trying to preserve what they have. People who do take them often end up having more.
Let’s dare to try new things, to aim high knowing that if we miss – its ok… we are closer to something new that has never been seen or heard of.
You should take a look at Internet Marketing, Forex Trading and other crazy ideas that everyone will doubt and predict your failure in. But its ok to try and fail… but what happens if you don’t fail? What would your life look like if you were not afraid of the new, of being wrong or failing once again?
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.
Senin, 01 Maret 2010
A Plan to Stop Working Soon
After you have figured out how much money you need to retire, you are stuck with one major problem – well two: How long will you need that money and where are you going to get that money! Well both have the same answer in a sense. You find residual income that is at the very least consistent, but possibly growing. Residual income by definition is recurring income that comes, usually without recurring efforts. For example... if you build a house and rent it out. The rent you receive is residual in that is comes in regularly and without extra effort beyond the initial construction. Once you pay your maintenance costs, then you have your residual profits. You will have that income as long as you keep the house – and you can keep the house as long as it brings in a profit – ideally as long as you live!
So besides real estate what kinds of investments bring residual income with minimal risk and fluctuation? Well if you have enough seed money, you buy dividend paying stocks or income trusts. You can easily research the dividend history of a company, look for ones that pay consistent dividends year after year. Banks and insurance companies are good for this. If in the last 20 years they have never missed a dividend you have a candidate. If they have gradually increased the dividend payout over time, you also have a solid winner. You don’t really care what the stock price does, you want to know how much dividend you can depend on from the company.
A $500 000* dollar investment in a diverse group of dividend paying stocks can let your retire on perhaps $50,000 per year* (* These numbers are just examples not real or validated.) If $50k is enough for you to retire on and live on for the next however long then you know how much you need to accumulate before you can retire. Another benefit of dividend income is that the tax rate on investment income in most western countries is much less than earned income taxes. So you get a break in all directions.
I recommend that you look into some great online income generating businesses. Maybe you won’t make millions – that’s possible too. But if in the next few years you can make more money than working could get (unless you are an E*ron CEO) – and you continually re-invest that in a residual investment vehicle, you could retire real soon. Your online business would also be residual and expanding and reinvesting part of that income into other areas would create multiple streams of income.
But if you are like me, the first major hurdle is how to come up with that initial investment. Well you build a business that requires less investment. Then you use the income from there to invest in other residual income sources. Internet Marketing is a great place to start with opportunities growing everyday as more and more people come online. It’s easier than you think, but requires some action on your part. The best thing you can do is find a mentor – someone who has done it before and is willing to help you get started. Don’t umm and haw – the worst that can happen is that you don’t make all the money you thought you would – but you have made more than you would have if you did nothing, and depending on the kind of life you have that little extra may be just enough!
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.
So besides real estate what kinds of investments bring residual income with minimal risk and fluctuation? Well if you have enough seed money, you buy dividend paying stocks or income trusts. You can easily research the dividend history of a company, look for ones that pay consistent dividends year after year. Banks and insurance companies are good for this. If in the last 20 years they have never missed a dividend you have a candidate. If they have gradually increased the dividend payout over time, you also have a solid winner. You don’t really care what the stock price does, you want to know how much dividend you can depend on from the company.
A $500 000* dollar investment in a diverse group of dividend paying stocks can let your retire on perhaps $50,000 per year* (* These numbers are just examples not real or validated.) If $50k is enough for you to retire on and live on for the next however long then you know how much you need to accumulate before you can retire. Another benefit of dividend income is that the tax rate on investment income in most western countries is much less than earned income taxes. So you get a break in all directions.
I recommend that you look into some great online income generating businesses. Maybe you won’t make millions – that’s possible too. But if in the next few years you can make more money than working could get (unless you are an E*ron CEO) – and you continually re-invest that in a residual investment vehicle, you could retire real soon. Your online business would also be residual and expanding and reinvesting part of that income into other areas would create multiple streams of income.
But if you are like me, the first major hurdle is how to come up with that initial investment. Well you build a business that requires less investment. Then you use the income from there to invest in other residual income sources. Internet Marketing is a great place to start with opportunities growing everyday as more and more people come online. It’s easier than you think, but requires some action on your part. The best thing you can do is find a mentor – someone who has done it before and is willing to help you get started. Don’t umm and haw – the worst that can happen is that you don’t make all the money you thought you would – but you have made more than you would have if you did nothing, and depending on the kind of life you have that little extra may be just enough!
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.
Selasa, 19 Januari 2010
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.
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.
Jumat, 15 Januari 2010
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.
“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.
Kamis, 07 Januari 2010
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.
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.
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