Advertising and Color

Whats the quickest way to create mood without saying a word? Color! Before they read your marketing piece, they see it and their feeling about your business begins. So its a good idea to take some time to find out what colors mean and how they can help sell for you. When you learn the psychology of colors you will be able to add a whole new layer to your marketing materials. Heres how using certain colors will help you attract a specific target market and evoke the desired response:

-The color scheme you choose for your flyer or business cards can help or hurt the overall tone of the piece. For instance, if you own a gift shop, you would want to work with a lot of yellows, including coral, orange, amber and gold. Why? Because yellow symbolizes joy. It exudes energy and happiness, and is associated with being welcoming and homey.

-Red, which includes mauve, magenta, crimson, and scarlet, is the color of power, romance, and vitality. Its an eye catcher, and makes us sit up and take notice. Thats why its so often used in the financial arena when the numbers are going in the wrong direction. Red can also have a physical effect, even raising blood pressure! Use red in your ad when you want people to take action.

-If, on the other hand, you need a very friendly, non-threatening campaign, green is your color. Green and its shades, including lime, leaf green, sea green, emerald, teal and sage, symbolize life and nature. Its good for us, and your reader will receive that impression about what you are selling as well. In contrast to red, in the business world, green symbolizes growth and prosperity.

-When you need a more serious, classic look that conveys law and order, dependability, and trustworthiness, go for the blue and purple palette. This includes sky blue, ultramarine, violet, purple and azure. These colors work great in certain markets, specifically for older, more mature audiences. Its common in financial institutions, hospitals, and the legal and medical professions.

So what kind of business do you have? Do you sell a product or a service? Think about your target market, and try to determine what emotion will appeal to them the most. Now try to match that with one of the above color palettes when you are designing your ad. With the right colors, your marketing piece is sure to be read.

Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services, a unique design firm for todays entrepreneur. Whether you outsource your promotional pieces or are a do-it-yourselfer, Karen takes the mystery out of marketing. Learn the Top 5 Mistakes that can cost you money by signing up for her FREE e-course, available for a limited time. To take advantage of this e-course and find out how easy it can be to attract more clients, go to http://macgraphics.net/freeecourse.phpVicki Blog90356
Viva Blog5244

Keeping The Registry Clean With A Registry Cleaner

The registry is the backbone of the operating system. It is the record keeper of all that is stored and where it is stored on the system. Keeping the registry clean will keep your computer running smoothly.

Windows uses a system called the system registry. This is a central database that is used by all modern Windows platforms. This registry or central hierarchal database contains all the information that is required by the operating system to configure the system and make it operate efficiently. The operating system constantly refers to the registry for information. This may be several times a minute and the information sought may range from user profiles, which applications are installed on the machine, to what hardware is installed and which ports are registered and used for what service. The system registry was introduced in the late 1990's along with Windows ninety-five and replaced the older version of recording data in .INI files. The entire registry is composed of binary code and keeps on growing as the operating system adds entries to it. This slows down the system and it needs a registry cleaner to erase all the useless sentries to make the system more efficient.

What is the Registry?

As we use the computer the operating system keeps updating the registry with the new data it has to refer to for smooth operation. Let us take for example the simple file saving information, when we save a document the system has to record where the document has been saved and when it was saved also by which user. All this information is entered in the system registry. No consider how many times you save a document on the system. In addition to this consider how many sites you access on the Internet. Each time you open a site entries are made in the system registry. This makes the registry grow and slow down. Registry cleaners are programs that scan the registry and remove all the redundant entries. Registry Cleaners such as Windows registry cleaner is programmed to identify redundant entries and remove them. This makes the system faster.

So How Does The Registry Slow The System?

As the programs refer to the registry for information such as the location of a particular file or folder it has to start rummaging through the file from the beginning until it comes to the file entry it is looking for. All the entries are entered in hierarchical order so every time the programs refer to the registry they have to start from the beginning. They will also have to go through the broken links and useless entries, which number many thousands. This is why the registry slows the system. A registry cleaner like Win XP registry Cleaner scans the registry and identifies all the broken links and redundant entries that are entries not associated with any application, and removes them. This speeds the system up greatly.

Arvind Singh is admin and technical expert associated with development of computer security and performance enhancing software like Registry Cleaner, Window Cleaner, Anti Spam Filter etc. More information can be found at http://www.pcmantra.comVikky Blog84299
Vernice Blog5185

Fundraisers: 5 Key Things To Look For When Choosing A Fundraising Company

Fundraising is big business these days. As a recently retired high school teacher and mother of two, I have found myself in charge of more fundraisers than I care to remember over the years. Here are five key things to look for when you start searching for that just right fundraising company.

1. Make sure you sell a good product. Dont sell junk! Choose a good product and chances are people will ask for it again. So when it comes time for your next fundraiser, your old customers will be ready to buy again. Many groups find a product to be quite successful and decide to use the same fundraiser on an annual basis with excellent results.

2. Get free Shipping. There are plenty of fundraising companies that offer free shipping. Although some require a small minimum number of items sold, there is absolutely no need for you to incur shipping costs on your fundraiser items. The minimum is usually low enough that almost any group can meet it.

3. Items are delivered pre-sorted by participant. For teachers, coaches, and anyone who is in charge of a fundraiser, this is a huge plus to look for when choosing a fundraising company. More and more companies are starting to offer this service so save yourself much time and effort by finding one that does. The fundraiser items will arrive in boxes or packages clearly marked with the sellers name on them so that there is no sorting required when the order arrives.

4. Your group should make at least 50% profit. There are plenty of fundraising companies that offer a 50% or more profit for your group, so dont settle for anything less.

5. All materials should be provided free with no up front costs. Some companies will charge for materials needed to conduct the fundraiser, items such as brochures, samples, etc. Again, there are plenty of companies that dont charges for these items. You should be provided all materials needed free of charge so that your group incurs no start-up costs.

Linda Hinkle is a fundraising consultant. During her 29 years of teaching in public schools she has been in charge of more fundraisers than she cares to remember, but she has learned what to look for when seeking out a good company. She may be found at http://www.thefundraisingplace.com.Ermengarde Blog9439
France Blog24237

Why You Need To Integrate Your Online And Offline Marketing

There are many businesses that seem to have split in half. They have their traditional brick and mortar location, which relies on their traditional advertising and marketing strategies. Then, they have their online location, which operates based on an entirely different set of assumptions and strategies.

The fact that this has happened is understandable. The newer technology of the internet can seem radically different from traditional ways of doing business. Adopting new technology can invariably lead to some level of disconnect with other aspects of an endeavor and its routines.

Some people have gone so far as to intentionally create this division. They see their storefront as a means of doing business with one set of clients, and their website as a means of reaching another.

That approach, however, falls far short of being successful, and should be abandoned as soon as possible, whether it was intentionally implemented or was an accidental outgrowth of the way things unfolded. Thats because the distinction between those two groups of customers is becoming increasingly artificial.

The same person who may walk by a storefront this afternoon may very well be surfing the internet tonight. More and more people are relying on the internet to find information and places to spend their money on the products they need.

Demographically, those who use the internet do tend to be a little younger and tech savvy than those who dont, but the overlap between net customers and walk ins is growing so rapidly the division no longer makes a great deal of sense.

As such, it is important for companies to understand that they can and should integrate their online and offline marketing strategies to work with one another in a mutually reinforcing way. There are specific tricks on both sides of the equation, of course, but in the bigger picture, marketing is marketing and ones overall strategy should reflect that fact.

Does your business have on online presence? If so, is it successfully integrated with your other marketing strategies? Do the two elements feed off one another and work together to improve your bottom line?

If you are like many business operators, you probably answered no to those questions. If that is the case, it is time to consult with knowledgeable guides who understand marketing in both the traditional and online senses and who can help you devise a plan to put both aspects of your sales efforts on the same page.

Integrating online and offline marketing isnt necessarily a complicated proposition. In fact, it can be relatively easy. Its also effective. By combining the two elements into one seamless strategy, a business can obtain results that dwarf previous fragmented efforts.

Sharon Odom Fling is the author of "How To Promote Your Local Business On the Internet" and creator of GeoLocal Marketing Center, which focuses exclusively on internet marketing for small local business. For free articles, case studies and podcasts, visit http://www.geolocal.com/newsFatima Blog79579
Valida Blog15196

The Easy Way To Making Money Online

Most people thinking working hard and long hours are the key to making tons of money. Well sure for some of them, but for most people we dont want to work hard and long hours only to make and average income.

People today want to spend extra time at home, and still make that above average income. Well now you can do that working online. I am sure if you do a simple search for work at home you will find many businesss trying to sell you on there junk home business programs.

You might have even already bought into a few of them. The truth is there is no program out there that you just hit a button, and the money begins to roll in. The way people make money online is investing. You make money, and invest into other things to make more money. And if one program goes under you have others to rely on still.

The mazu business pack is a program that teaches you how to make money investing into sports arbitrage trading. You can learn how to make up to 15% a month on any investment into the trading pool, or you can make 1% to 3% daily trading and investing on your own.

Investment is key in making money. You work less, and this allows you to put more time into other things in your life. Like I always say. Its better to work smarter not harder.

If you are someone that is serious about making money online, and would like to learn more about how you can do just that visit http://www.businessprogramsreviewed.com

Chris RohrerViole Blog12404
Fabrice Blog20597

Real World MLM Marketing Tips....Reach Your Target Audience Through Guest Speaking

Here's another "creative" method of offline marketing that will take some effort on your part .... but no cash outlay.

Volunteer as a speaker for various business, educational, or other organizations. This is a great way to reach a targeted audience and brand yourself as an expert in their eyes.

Groups like your local Chamber Of Commerce, PTA, Garden Club, Hunt Club, Single Parents, Home Owner's Association, VFW, Church, Little League, Soccer Club, Kiwana's, VFW, American Legion, Moose Lodge, Alumni Association, etc. hold meetings where they frequently need speakers. Do some research and find out all such groups in your area then contact them to volunteer your services as a speaker.

You'll have to do some work to prepare a talk pertinent in subject matter to their interest .... of course. But the event itself as well as the contacts you'll make create a great networking opportunity for you.

People will be curious about what you do. The host will obviously introduce you before you speak and include a little about "who you are". Just make friends and share as appropriate when appropriate.

This is more about branding yourself in the community and reaching large groups while doing it.

An added benefit of this method is the opportunity to hone your presentation/communication skills and practice simple networking.

I don't suggest setting up any kind of display of your "wares" .... but you certainly may have some type of momento made available to the guests. Perhaps something like mugs, pens, refrigerator magnets, and such with your logo and website url. Maybe even a "gift basket" or 2 as a door prize .... donated by you of course .... with your business card inside. Just be subtle not obvious.

Of course do have plenty of business cards to share IF asked. Don't force them on anyone but be prepared.

The point is just to gain visibilty .... network .... make contacts .... and DEFINITELY follow-up afterward.

Another related tip is to be sure that any write-up of the event for local print media includes not only your name as guest speaker .... but something like your website url for curious readers also.

Michael Lemm is the author of the Best MLM Resources Blog where you can get more MLM tips, wit, and wisdom [ http://Best-MLM-Resources.blogspot.com ]. You should also read the ebook Michael rates as his #1 recommended resource .... [ http://www.FreedomFire.therenegadenetworkmarketer.com/ ]Felita Blog74340
Venus Blog13848

Fast Business Loans- A Bridge between Your Business And Success

A constant funding for your business serves it in the same way as fuel serves to your car. If you apply right kind of fund in right amount, your business will grow and run smooth without any hiccups. But on the same side, you may not be able to provide that fund from your own pocket. You obviously need to look out for other sources of fund. Fast business loans are one such opportunity which can both satisfy your business purpose as well as they are easy for you to avail.

You can require fund for either types of businesses, i.e. when you need to give a boost to your business, or you want to start a new one. In both the cases, business loans offer fast money and serve as a financial backup to your business. There are various reasons why you may require a fast business loan. If you are running a business, you may need money to expand it and make it large. On the other hand, if you are planning to start a new enterprise, you need money to meet the initial expenses of buying furniture, manpower, resources etc.

There are various options available to get business loan, but in order to get fast and quick money, you have just one option and that is to apply online. Online lending provides you not only speed but also variety where you can make your own choice. Fast business loans save your time and effort because they require a very less amount of documentation as the entire process is carried online. You will just require to give details about your business, its annual income, profits and losses etc. and a business plan if you are going to start one.

You can get a fast business loan in both secured and unsecured forms. If you wish to take a secured loan, you need to offer a security as collateral to the lender. You can put your home, car, real estate, or any valuable property as collateral. But, if you do not have a property or you do not want to put your property at risk, you can opt for unsecured business loan which do not require any kind of security. Choose the right kind of loan, but before that it is important to know that secured loans offer a bit low rate of interest than unsecured one because the presence of collateral.

A secured business loan can get you amount ranging from 3,000-75,000. However if you put a higher value collateral, your loan amount might get as high as 100,000. The repayment term is around 3-25 years. If you take an unsecured loan, you will get a loan amount between 1,000 and 25,000, with a repayment of 1-20 years.

Fast business loans are available to all types of borrowers including bad credit holders. They offer you all kinds of benefits required for your business. Avail fast business loans and you will soon se your business reach heights.

Tim Kelly is an expert in finance having completed his LLM in Finance (Master of Laws in Finance) from Institute for Law and Finance at Frankfurt University. He is currently working with BusinessLoansUK as a financial advisor. To find Fast business loans, small business loans uk, business loans uk, business loan uk, new business loans uk, small business loan uk, business loan rate uk, unsecured business loan uk, secured business loan uk that best site's you need visit http://www.businessloans.uk.comEssy Blog95876
Farrand Blog58224

Buying a New Home, Paying For College and Starting a New Business Has Never Been So Easy!

A Government Grant is an aid program specially designed for helping those who have financial difficulties and cannot achieve, due to lack of finance, certain goals the government is interested to promote.

Government Grants Explained

Though there are many different government grants for a lot of purposes, as noted in the first paragraph, most of them concentrate on three goals: Helping people start their new business, helping people pay their way through school or college and helping people buy their first home.

Grants are provided by government agencies all over the country and at all levels of administration: There are Federal Government Grants, State Government Grants and Local Government Grants.

Each agency has its own requirements and though qualification is not as difficult as it may seem, the truth is that you need to be informed in order to successfully apply for a Government Grant without fear of being declined.

Grants amounts range from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. As the loan amount gets higher, it becomes increasingly difficult to qualify for. So you ought to know the requirements beforehand and apply as early as possible. It is known that most Government Grants are granted on a first arrived, first served basis, so timing is a very important issue not to be bypassed.

The smartest thing to do is, by analyzing grants requirements, to select the Government Grant you are best qualified for and concentrate on applying to it. There are certain grants restricted to citizens of certain states or towns. Others are restricted for those working on certain fields or for those coming from certain economic conditions.

Government Grants Purposes

The main help grants provide is focus on aiding those who want to buy a new house or rent. Real State agents are fully aware of these programs and should be questioned about them when their services are hired. Most applicants qualify for this kind of aid though they usually ignore it, so dont hesitate to ask your realtor about the government grant programs and ask them for help. Your real estate agent is more than capable of helping you fill all the paperwork so you can effectively apply for Government Grant.

Another use of Government Grants is paying for college. College fees have increased over the years and it has become increasingly difficult to afford college education, especially for those whose income has remained untouched. There are mainly federal grants and loans for those starting college and some, but not many, specific estate grants available too.

When it comes to starting a new business, government grants are of a great help for those who are working in a field the government is especially interested to develop. Government grants are mainly destined in this case to acquire machinery, supplies, pay for salaries for a certain period of time, etc. Generally speaking business government grants provide the finance needed for a business to get started and become independent. There are also grants for helping undertake international business transactions.

Do Your Research

Should you decide to apply for a Government Grant, there is a lot of information on the internet. Take your time to do a thorough research, take note of those grants you think you qualify for and contact the agencies to get further information and all the documentation you need to fill. If time is an issue there are some sites that provide access to all this information without having to search all over the net. They usually charge a small fee though, but worth every cent since youll be saving time and money.

Bryan Quinn is a financial advisor with more than thirty years of experience in the field of finance who aids people undergoing financial problems and helps them obtain personal loans, home loans, student loans and grants, consolidation loans, car loans and many other financial products regardless of their credit situation. For more smart tips on Home Loans you can visit http://www.badcreditloanservices.com and also learn more about other financial options.Verine Blog61023
Fredelia Blog12145

Old School (DVD) Review

One of the funniest movies of 2003, Old School is silver screen gold for anyone who lived the life of a college party animal or once inhabited the halls of a beloved fraternity house. In the spirit of Animal House and PCU, Old School brings together a strange amalgam of immature males who wreck havoc on their college campus through wild parties, outrageous pranks, and outright criminal activities. Starring Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and Will Farrell (of Saturday Night Live fame), Old School reads like a great SNL skit. You'll laugh yourself silly over this one.

When Mitch Martin (Luke Wilson) returns home early from a business seminar at his extraordinarily boring job, he finds his girlfriend cheating on him. They break up, and he's forced to move out. Moving into an off-campus dwelling at his old school, Mitch's friends Frank Ricard (Will Farrell) and Bernard "Beanie" Campbell (Vince Vaughn) reminisce about the glory of their fraternity days. The days of all fun and no work Frank gets married, despite Beanie's attempts to talk him out of it at the altar (during the ceremony), but he quickly grows despondent and longs to enjoy the freedom of his youth once again. Meanwhile, Beanie is a bona fide family man with a successful business, but he too would like to relive the fun of their fraternity days.

Together, the three men decide to turn Mitch's house into a fraternity. They recruit a series of misfit students from around campus - nerds, social rejects, homeless men, and ninety-year-old womanizers. The hazing rituals are beyond description, and the parties are ridiculously outlandish and hilarious. All is going well (for everyone but Frank whose wife catches him running down main street naked) until Dean of Student Affairs Gordon Pritchard (Jeremy Piven), a former estranged classmate of the three men, decides to crack down on the fraternity. When he does, the fraternity must pass a series of tests and obstacles in order to retain their charter (and this, the climatic high-point of the film, is also the funniest of all).

Fun from beginning to end, Old School will not win any awards for dramatic scenes or cinematography. But it will win a lot of points as an outright hilarious comedy. If you haven't seen this film, then you really don't know what you're missing. Old School is a classic cult comedy fulfilling the dreams of countless former college fraternity members who ache to relive the greatest party days of their lives. Because it's so funny, Old School is a definite must-see film. Miss it at your own risk.

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one. Source: http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/old-school-dvd.htmlValida Blog55401
Fanchon Blog77567

5 Business Success Planning Tips

Plan, Do, Achieve - Business Success

Action planning can help you get there fast!

Let me ask you three questions - Does business success planning sound more fun than business planning? To be successful in business, do you need to take action? Do you take action more quickly and easily when you are having fun, or when you know that your action will make a difference? Answering 'yes' to any of the above questions indicates that you are ready for business success planning - an action-oriented approach to help build your business faster. The driving force behind this is the thought that you can move faster and with more ease when you focus on doing what you enjoy and when you understand key requirements to grow your business. This eliminates the worry and loss of time that results when you have no business success plan.

Knowing your ultimate destination, planning and considering your options along the way, and taking focused action to meet milestones, will help you reach that destination one win at a time. This is a key aspect of business success planning - a fun variation on old-fashioned business planning. It's not just creating a plan document. It's an action-and-results oriented approach to plan, do and achieve business successes, which helps you to maintain business building momentum and, also, adds to your credibility along the way. Plan, do and achieve, starting with 5 Business Success Planning Tips to move forward fast:

1. Get clear on your purpose and products, and pace yourself Understand and be able to convey your vision, your mission and why you are in business. Identify and plan competitive products/services to sell today and tomorrow. And, pace yourself. Outline timelines for milestone achievement that will help you to reach your ultimate destination, and get into action.

Think about what products and services you will sell to meet your goals. How will you do it? Why are you the one to deliver this, and what sets your business products and services apart from the competition? Do you have a mantra and mission that propels you forward? Do you know that this is not an overnight journey? Have you identified milestone achievements, so you can pace yourself to get where you need to go?

2. Write it all down Document everything along your business journey! With good documentation, you will be surprised how much of the work will already be done when you need to share information for marketing, sales, financing, staffing or other business requirements.

Think about customer needs, existing and future products, competitors, suppliers, human resources, etc. Write you findings down to keep track and make sense of them as you explore your business development and take action. It will help you to understand and think through your business, how it will work and the requirements to be successful. Compiling your business success plan along the journey assures that the documentation will be ready when you need it.

3. Validate your plan, share it and always be open to revising it Share your findings and action results with "independent parties." Listen carefully to their reactions and recommendations. Be open to making revisions that will help you achieve your milestones and your ultimate goal.

Think about what it will take to be successful, including predictions and thoughts on products, services, financing, market demand and competition. Consider how you will respond to market, technology, financial and other business changes today and tomorrow.

4. Get help to develop and maintain your success plan in order to meet milestone commitments, and be willing to adjust your course as necessary While you definitely need to commit to milestone achievements and testing your plan out, you may need to change course slightly or shift your business to reach your destinations. Working with a business consultant or coach can help you navigate shifts and stay on track to meet your mark.

Think about what help you need to commit to milestone achievements and testing your plan out. Identify and hire qualified resources who are committed to milestone achievement and your longer-term business success. Where will you find this help?

5. Do the math Think through (and document) the financial requirements for your business in the near, medium and long-term.

Think about the capital you need to realistically prepare for and attain milestone achievements. How will you track business progress to measure efficient capital deployment and to remain in business? Your investment in the business in terms of time, money and effort is only worthwhile if you know and understand your business financial requirements and can fund activity along the way. This is key to reaching milestone achievements and, then, longer-term vision.

Use these tips to make your business ownership journey success-oriented and rewarding. You can even aim to make it downright fun!

© 2007 Time2Market Inc. All Rights Reserved

Megan Tobin, an independent business development coach based in New York and doing business as Time2Market Inc., works with entrepreneurs and business managers on focused-action planning to achieve business results - fast! She emphasizes keeping a positive, yet realistic perspective on the business planning and building process at all times. Her blog can be seen at: http://www.time2marketblog.comVinnie Blog13907
Felicdad Blog63844

How Do Internet Coupons Affect Company Branding?

Branding is very important to companies nowadays. Through the brand, a company can communicate with its consumers. A brand is considered to be valuable if it elicits a positive response from its consumers. When a consumer sees a product with a certain brand label on it and buys the product, then the brand is considered to be highly valuable. Anything that helps a product be sold is valuable. Anything that increases company value is valuable. If a brand can increase the sales of the company, then in turn it will make the company more profitable. If the brand is useful in generating more sales, then the brand is considered to be of value.

Internet coupons can affect branding in so many ways. The following examples are both positive and negative ways wherein branding is affected. Let us first look at the positive effect. When a certain consumer sees an internet coupon, he or she will most likely have a positive response to the product. For example, an internet coupon with the ad, Buy two of these calculators and get one free, will let the consumer know that they could make good use of these calculators. Who would not want three calculators for the price of two? The brand of the calculator will be positively affected because the consumers will say to themselves that this company values its consumers so much that it is now giving away a third calculator for free. The consumer will then say, We should get this calculator from the shop now. This is a positive response.

On the other hand, the internet coupon may also affect the brand of the calculator in a negative way. When a consumer sees the internet coupon, Buy two of these calculators and get one free, he can always think otherwise. He may think that these calculators are being given internet coupons because they are not selling in the department store. This internet coupon campaign is a desperate attempt of the company to sell these lousy calculators. When the consumer thinks like this, then they will basically not buy the calculator. What is worse is how it affects the brand. Since these coupons may elicit a negative response, then no one else may want to buy these calculators because of the image it conveyed through the internet coupons. The brand of the calculator will be affected both now and in the future. No one may want to buy these calculators because since they were sold at a huge discount before, they are likely lousy in performance.

Companies should think very well on how they issue internet coupons. These internet coupons will affect their company brand either in a positive or a negative way. A company should not simply issue internet coupons left and right, they should think twice or even thrice before making such move.

Taisha Grant writes about http://www.perfumefragrancecoupons.com/Categories/Women's/Skin%20Care.html and http://www.perfumefragrancecoupons.com/Coupons/Perfume%20Emporium.html.Faye Blog787
Eudora Blog11031

Selling E-books for Revenue

Can you get rich selling e-books? Huge profit is not guaranteed, but you can build a nice income for sure and you can also create some nice links for your website. Improving your links will help create better search engine ranking and more visitors to your site.

E-books are electronic versions of printed material that can contain text, sound, and images. The profit potential from selling them is high because start up and operating expenses are very low. The biggest expense is purchasing books for sale.

You can earn even more money if you write some of your own e-books. Your writing skills don't have to be stellar. There are online sources that will take your research and craft an e-book for you. Some of these companies even take care of marketing, payments, and shipping.

Buying e-books for Sale

You can purchase e-books from authors online. eBay is another source for e-book buying. Purchase e-books with resell rights. This allows customers to sell the e-books they buy from you themselves thus providing an incentive for them to do business with you.

Make sure the e-books you buy (or write yourself) are full of useful information and resources. Some e-books are nothing more than ads and sales pitches for the writer's products. These "ad books" will turn off customers and decrease repeat business.

Do your research to determine what types of information people are seeking. Getting rich selling e-books will depend on the topics covered, customer base, and marketing campaign.

Before buying an e-book for resale, do an online search for the title. If lots of web sites are selling the book, it's probably a popular title and will be a good seller. It also helps to sell e-books that cater to a specific market niche. Search online forums and other group sites to locate potential target markets for niche titles. Contact these groups with a short email inviting them to visit your site. Offer an incentive such as 20% off first purchase to increase site traffic.

E-books about current trends or hot topics will generate more income. Your income will really get a boost if you can spot the "next big topic" and write or purchase e-books to sell before the competition saturates the market.

Marketing Extras

You can use a common template for your e-books web site or sell them on an existing site you already have. However, to stand out from the competition, create you own web site to sell e-books. Always add new titles to your stock to keep old customers coming back and to attract new ones. Use email to notify customers of new titles and special sales. Offer discounts on slow moving titles.

Affiliate programs are another way to get rich selling e-books. The affiliate pays you a commission for of its e-books you sell. To earn extra cash from e-books you write, start your own affiliate program.

There are plenty of online and print books that will help you learn how to get in on the e-book sales bandwagon. A good place to begin reading is "Make Your Knowledge Sell," by Ken Evoy and Monique Harris.

Sources

"About Making Money with E-Books," (about-the-web.com)

"Make Money Selling Ebooks," (christianet.com)

"Make Money Selling Ebooks," (homebusinessmag.com)

"Is Your Dog Selling eBooks Too?," (marketingsource.com)

Selling Ebooks for RevenueVinny Blog64004
Virgina Blog46807

Open Source Technology, a Must For Your Small Business And Links To Get You Started

Are you looking for innovative ways to increase your ROI, your bottom line and downright save a ton of money on your IT costs? Let me answer that for you! Of course you are, you would not be a savvy business owner if you did not seek out ways to stretch your money. Drum roll please, introducing Open Source technology a new way for small businesses to even the playing field with their enterprise and big boy competitors.

Why is this important? You now have access to the same or comparable solutions that normally costs hundreds if not thousands to implement and deploy. Case in point, the Open Source version of SugarCRM, which is a Customer Relationship Management tool can be had for free while one of its proprietary and commercial competitors Salesforce.com cost about $1,000 to start per year for a five user license. Another quick example has Ubuntu, which is a full-featured Linux based operating system against Microsoft XP. XP Professional edition costs $299.99, while Ubuntu costs nothing and comes freely loaded with Office utilities that rival Microsofts Office software suite. You do the math. Remember to include per user and or per pc price and upgrades. Yeah, I know, you have been suckered for a long time and we didnt even mention the server operating system and licenses. Ask yourself, why am I paying for something when I can get it done for little or no cost?

Using Open Source is like using guerrilla tactics for your small business IT needs. Does free mean cheap? Lets take a look. Open Source software affords the user to have software developed by hundreds of developers instead of just a few. Most of the Open Source solutions mentioned here are tried and tested solutions. Did you know that you already use Open Source? Yep, in fact if you use a web browser or use email your using opens source software. The Internet is built upon open standards and runs on Open Source software. Who currently uses Open Source software? IBM, HP, Oracle, whole governments, Google, Yahoo and Amazon just to name a few.

So you might be asking yourself, what exactly is Open Source? Open Source software in its simplest form is software that freely distributes the source code along with the object code (the actual program that you install and use), so that any programmer familiar with the language can tweak, improve, modify or customize it without needing to ask anyone for permission or wait for a vendor to do it for them. For a more verbose definition, please visit http://www.opensource.org. The bottom line is, this model of software distribution can give you a freedom and a savings that compels you to at least become a bit more knowledgeable to its uses.

These are some useful links to help get you started on the Open Source road.

http://www.opensourceweekly.com (for the latest is Open Source technology for small business owners)
http://www.sourceforge.net (the world's largest Open Source software development web site)
http://www.freshmeat.org (Open Source software repository site)
http://www.theopencd.org (a collection of high quality Free and Open Source Software.)
http://www.ttcsweb.org/osswin-cd/ (a collection of over 100 free/Open Source software for home and business.)
http://www.itservants.com (Open Source Technology Consultants)

Top Open Source Applications for your small business needs.

http://www.openoffice.org (Great alternate to the Microsoft office suite.)
http://www.firefox.com (Open Source web browser, great alternative to Internet Explorer)
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird (Thunderbird email application, similar to Outlook)
http://www.tightvnc.com (for remote connection to your computers)
http://www.mysql.com (The worlds most popular Open Source database)
http://www.phpmyadmin.com (database management tool)
http://filezilla.sourceforge.net (Filezilla- ftp application to upload and download your web content)
http://www.joomla.org (Website Content Management System or CMS)
http://www.mamboserver.com (Website Content Management System or CMS)
http://www.apache.org (Very popular Web server application)
http://www.oscommerce.com (online shop/ e-commerce solution)
http://www.sugarcrm.com (the CRM tool mentioned in this article)
http://www.dotproject.net (project management web application)
http://www.gimp.org (Image manipulation program)
http://www.nvu.com (complete Web Authoring System)
http://www.gnucash.org (personal and small-business financial-accounting software.)
http://www.subversion.tigris.org (Subversion- Document management and revision control system)
http://www.k5n.us/webcalendar.php (WebCalendar- Online calendar program for single or multiple users)
http://www.openvpn.net (full-featured SSL VPN solution)

Desktop Linux Distributions

http://www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu
http://www.redhat.com Redhat
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki Fedora
http://www.novell.com/linux Suse
http://en.opensuse.org OpenSuse
http://www.slackware.com Slackware

You can also get the server versions to take care of your business client/server needs such as Email, file, print, FTP, Web, Database, Domain, Authentication etc., There are many distributions of Linux available please check http://www.distrowatch.com for additional resources.

This list is not at all exhausting and not meant to be. This should serve as a starting place on your journey into the Open Source realm. For general questions feel free to email me, if you have specific questions about any software listed here try posting to the respective forums. A good book to read is Open Source Solutions for Small Business Problems, written by John Locke. My definition of Open Source was found in this book.

What have we learned? Before you plunder hundreds of your hard earned or borrowed money into software seek out or find someone who is versed in this technology. Research and evaluate if an Open Source solution can fit your needs. Remember, Open Source Saves!

Paul Williams is a technology consultant, who teaches people how to save money by using open source software to solve their top 10 technology business problems. http://www.opensourceweekly.com.Ester Blog6901
Evanne Blog75986

How to Make a Free Web Site

In the present time the internet craze has swept the nation and these days everything and everyone is online. Everyone having fun on internet and get knowledge from the web site.

If you want to know how to make a free web site, the good news is that you've set an easy goal for yourself. Learning how to make a free web site is about more than just getting your web domain for free - you need to know how to put information on that site as well. Many domains offering free web sites also feature free online tutorials that will help you write your web pages. Some sites are so user-friendly; you don't have to write any of your own web code at all! You can select colors and font sizes from the domain's own page editing service. When the domain is willing to write your pages for you, it's very easy to learn how to make a free web site.

Once you have decided on the topic of your website, it is time to start writing. The text should flow naturally and be divided into easily read paragraphs. Your first objective is to make sure your visitors can easily navigate your website and quickly access your content. According to the web designer point of view If you try hard enough, you can probably come up with some funky style for a page with for example, a new wacky navigational menu. The problem is that everybody expects to see a web page layout follow certain basic rules; navigation sections have to be arranged in a certain way, links have to look a certain way ... being consistent makes the web site easier for the visitor to use. Your site should have content that changes frequently, encouraging return visitors.

And once you know how to make a free web site, you'll have your own space on the Internet that others can visit. It's free, it's easy, and it's your own piece of the world wide web. After all, everyone else is on the Internet - why should you be left behind?

Sean McGill is Business Head for The Web Design Company http://www.webdesigningcompany.net, and is into web-design, development and Search Engine optimization.Francine Blog62579
Valentia Blog46951

Do This And You Will Lose A Lot Of Traffic

To make money online and earn financial freedom from your online business, all you need is lots of traffic to your website. No traffic simply means no business. It is just as simple as that - but it is not so simple to get that traffic.

Most business owner fail miserably to make money online just because they could not get enough traffic to their website. And some do stupid mistakes by not taking good care of their incoming traffic.

1) Annoying your potential customer

Do not annoy your customers by presenting products on your website that are marked "Sold" or pages that say "Under Construction" or "Coming Soon." What is the point for you to show this page to your customer anyway? You will not make any money online doing this way and your credibility as a business owner will drop drastically.

Do add new content frequently so returning customers will not be bored by seeing the same products they saw four months ago. If your site is dated or has current references, be careful to change these references frequently so you don't give the perception that your site is gathering dust.

2) Broadcast too many emails to customer

"Money Is In The List", there is no doubt about that. But if you always send them email everyday about your offer, your customer feels that you only want to sell your things without taking care on what they want. You will lose a lot of money online. Plus, you will receive a lot of "Unsubsribe" click more than you could make one.

3) Lazy to keep track of any changes to your website

When you make changes to your site and resubmit your pages to search engine and directory services, document what you have changed and when you submitted your edited pages. Keeping track of these changes and submissions will help you understand why a particular ranking may increase or decrease.

4) Did not provide any benefit for customer

Before joining or buying any product or services, people will ask "What's in it for me?" Fail to answer this question, you will not make money online.

Offer additional value on your website for affiliates and partners. You can place links to their sites and products, for example, and ask them to do the same for you. In addition, you can advertise affiliate or partner books or videos if these products relate to your industry, and are not in competition with your own product or service line.

5) Using unrelated keyword for website

If your website is about "cat food", it will not make any sense if you are using "healthy food lifestyle" in your content. Search engines consider where you place your keywords, and how many times you use them, in order to figure out your ranking and the relevancy of your site to a customer search request. You want to be ranked as high as possible on the search engine list, so place keywords in the page titles and Meta tags and early in the content of your page.

It does not need a rocket scientist to figure out how to get a lot of traffic. You need to have an attitude of helping other people to make money online. With the right mind set and burning desire, you will have that quality traffic coming to your website freely.

Izrul Fizal has made a living earning himself a residual income every month. Get your FREE Special Report on creating an Automated Internet Business Model to Make Money Online at http://make-money-online1.blogspot.com and http://www.highprofitbizz.comEssy Blog32697
Verna Blog95372

The Secrets Of Internet And Online Marketing

There are a plethora of things you can do online and of all the things you can do online, there is one that you should definitely know how to do. MARKET YOUR OWN BUSINESS ONLINE!

Now with the incredible power of the Online World to reach millions of people, online marketing is definitely an amazing tool that every business should utilize. The simple fact that advertising is can be very low cost and sometimes even practically free. The ability to get the results of thousands of dollars in free publicity is practically unheard of in the business world today. Only recently have more and more people figured out how to utilize the ever exploding online world to market their business ventures.

There is probably isn't a business in existence that wouldn't benefit from free publicity! The fact that properly utilizing free and low cost advertising raises net profits to unbelievable levels! Using any or all of the major online services can help you market your business efforts.

Let's begin with plain advertising. For example, on AOL, they will let you place classified advertisements for free! They have a variety of classifications and categories to choose from. By placing some of these free ads you can generate some very quality leads that can turn into sales. If you are an excellent marketer you could sell something straight from your free ad.

There are other services that offer free advertising from time to time. When they do charge for classified ads it is usually a very low cost, and they are still a great deal considering how many people may see them. When you place any ads you should always "track" your ads. This means put something in each individual ad that will tell you, if you get any business from it, which ad it came from. This way, you will probably find that some sections are better producers than others, and you will want to concentrate on these sections and not the ones that weren't making any money.

To track an ad you could make them request a certain "report" for more information. You should give each report different tracking links for each ad. Such as: "ask for report #1tv" , this way you would know that this request came from the ad on television, for sale category, and so forth. If they send you an order straight from the ad, make them give you an order #, which would be different for each ad. THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ADVERTISING ONLINE ARE NOT USING THESE AD CODES!!! THIS IS A MAJOR MARKETING MISTAKE!!!

If you do not track exactly which ads are making money, then you are wasting your time by continually placing ads in "loser" categories that don't provide any sales. ALWAYS keep track of every ad you place. Make a note of what it said, where and when it was placed. You will be pleasantly surprised when you analyze your "ad data" and see some positive trends developing. Just repeat these trends and it will help you to make more money!

Wouldn't you like to have a name list of several hundred (or even thousand) people who might be interested in the particular product or service you are selling based on their jobs or interests? Wouldn't that be great!? Well, you can! And the Online Services supply this service as a part of your regular membership.

This little unknown tool is called the "Member Directory!" You can do searches in the directory for other users with certain characteristics. For example, if you were selling fishing equipment, you could do a search by "fishing." All of the people that were registered in the directory and had listed fishing as one of their hobbies would show up on that search list. You could now send each one of those people an e-mail message telling them about your product or service, it's just like using a mailing list, but you have no postage! (*Make sure you check with your online service to see if they allow unsolicited email.)

The bottom line is that you "test" and record the results of your Online Marketing efforts. Then just repeat the steps that are making you money and expand on them to reach more people. You should conduct split-testing on your site. A method were you have two different pages, performing the same function but with different copy so you can tell which one is converting better.

You will also find hundreds of articles on the World Wide Web. By searching one of the WWW search engines like Webcrawler you can find all the information you can read. Use search strings such as: "online marketing", "internet advertising", "selling online", and so on.

You can also find many books on the subject at your local bookstore or being advertised online.

Wayne Van Dyck is a former venture capitalist and builder of offline technology companies. He is the founder and developer of Simple Money Machines. Simple Money Machines is all the money making technologies in one, easy-to-use, hosted application enabling non-technical people to set up online businesses in less than 30 minutes. It's made for people with 9-5 jobs, retired folks, stay-at-home moms and college students. To get a FREE copy of "STARTING A HOME BUSINESS MADE SIMPLE", go to: http://tinyurl.com/ykyoqx.Ventura Blog27779
Vin Blog80869

FREE Advertising For Your Internet Business

Are you thinking of starting your own internet business? How do you plan on advertising the product or service that you are promoting? The cost of advertising alone can make or break your business and creating an advertising budget is crucial to the success of your internet marketing venture.

Budgeting advertising dollars can be a difficult thing for most beginning internet entrepreneurs. The problem is that your own money is used to fund the business which usually comes in the form of a credit card and if you are not careful you could find yourself in loads of debt later on.

It doesn't take an "internet marketing guru" to tell you that, "you have to spend money to make money", right? Unfortunately, most of us feel that way so we blow all kinds of money on e-zine advertising in hopes that the .1% of the 100,000 that you are advertising to will find your product or service useful. Mind you that .1% of 100,000 potential customers doesn't sound so far fetched but when you think about it 100 buying customers could put you in profit! You see, it's the "potential profit" which makes e-zine advertising so attractive to most beginners and too many bank on it too early in there internet marketing career.

Free advertising has it's advantages and disadvantages. Even though it's more cost effective it can be more time consuming and most beginners don't have a choice. Some forms of free advertising include posting in forums, setting up your own blog, writing and submitting articles to article directories, and using traffic exchanges.

Forums are a great way to advertise because you can use what is a called a sig file or signature. Your sig file can be set up as a link to your website and everytime time you post a message your sig file will always be at the bottom of the message for someone to click!

Writing and submitting articles to article directories and blogs are useful because it creates one way links back to your website helping improve your website ranking in the search engines. Writing articles isn't for everyone but for about $20 per month you can have someone write them for you.

Traffic exchanges are a quick way to increase traffic to your website. How it works is when you click on someone else's ad you earn credits to your account which in turn allows others to see your ad. Most traffic exchanges are free to use with a paid upgrade version available. If you have about an hour a day, you can literally earn thousands of hits per month to your website using traffic exchanges alone. You can also build downlines in these programs and earn a percentage of their traffic which will help you leverage the time that you spend surfing for credits.

Free advertising can be effective IF you have the time and the patience. But more importantly it will allow you to promote your product without spending a dime in your budget and also it will keep your sanity in check when the credit card bill arrives in the mail.

To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit: Work From Home Business Opportunities

Copyright © Steve Gitto

Steve Gitto currently has his own website located at http://www.home-based-bizzops.com. Fidela Blog66923
Fina Blog458

Petition Marketing- The Next Big Viral Marketing Phenomenon

The most powerful form of internet marketing these days is viral marketing. Essentially, viral marketing is word of mouth advertising on steroids. With viral marketing, visitors and/or members of a website are given not only an incentive to pass on the site's marketing message, but in the best cases they are also given the tools that make it easy to spread the word.

The internet marketing world has recently learned about a big viral marketing phenomenon, known as Petition Marketing. Petition Marketing uses one of the most powerful viral marketing concepts ever developed. It takes petitions, which are already pretty powerful viral marketing tool in and of themselves, and combines them with a complete viral marketing system to achieve results that have never been seen before.

Petition Marketing provides marketers, as well as anyone with the desire to create a petition, with both the strategy and the tools to turn any given petition into a viral money making machine. Petition marketing combines your petition with our powerful viral marketing system, allowing you to take advantage of the next big viral marketing phenomenon.

Allow me to let you in on a secret....

Petitions, like any other webpage or blog page, can be monetized in such a way that they instantly become viral money making machines!

For the absolute latest information on Petition Marketing, please visit www.PetitionMarketing.com

Darrin McLaughlinVerile Blog2744
Vitia Blog3328

How Do You Know If Its A Good Internet Business Opportunity?

Now days Internet businesses are popping up all over the place and I mean that literally! Seems every time you visit a website if it isnt already suggesting you join, just as you click to leave, you see a pop up window asking for your name and email!! There are so many of these types of ads that it has become an annoying factor, making for pop up blocking options within most browsers.

However, some of these pop ups can actually be a legitimate Internet business opportunity. The challenge comes in knowing which ones you should take action on and which ones to simply delete or ignore.

One-way to judge whether you should sign up, is to look (study) the information on the screen itself. No matter if its in the form of a pop up or youve gone directly to the URL address. Use your common sense, if it appeals to you and your senses chances are it will be appealing to others as well. This may make for easy or easier duplication when you decide to market or promote the same information.

A sign of a good Internet business opportunity is seeing they have an attractive lead capture page. Without an appealing lead capture page, you can bet there will not be any solid system in place to contact or follow up with your prospects. Most lead capture pages will gain the prospects name and email address as a bare minimum, others may go a bit farther and request the users phone number as well. Some even go as far as to require the individual to supply a valid address along with other items of interest such as; occupation, hobbies, etc.

The more information required the less sign ups however, it becomes a trade off. Requiring more information usually turns into more quality leads but less quantity. Depending on your method or preferences for following up a lead, you may prefer a slim selection to a detailed web form.

A good Internet business opportunity will also have a built in auto responding system. Once a lead is captured, it should request a confirmation from the prospect and immediately send the first of many auto generated letters. Prompting them to take action on your behalf. By requesting (actually requiring) a confirmation to their registration, you will eliminate bogus email addresses and eliminate SPAM accusations.

You will want to verify any testimonials or case studies that may be published to gain your confidence. Sometimes you will see an overkill of information making you feel as if matters must be true. When it may just be part of the marketing tactics of the promoter. The most common form of advertising today is long copy! Placing readers into overwhelm and giving the impression of gosh it must be real (true) look at all these peoples results! Focus on the FACTS and not the HYPE!

The old saying Facts tell, stories sell definitely applies when researching for a real Internet business opportunity.

Aubrey Richardson is the founder of http://www.logofax.com - logos & clipart site. Find out how you can tap into earning money online http://www.internet-based-business-opportunity.com.Vinnie Blog13907
Fatima Blog16229

What is Internet marketing?

Starting from the early 1990s Internet, or online, marketing made an amazing development from simple text-based websites that offered product information into highly evolved and complete online businesses promoting and selling their services on the Internet.

Nowadays, the Internet marketing industry has become a complicated and branchy science involving a great deal of theoretical knowledge in combination with applied techniques. As a science, it ranges from browser-side and server-side programming and coding on one end to marketing and economics on the other.

Internet marketing means the use of the Internet to advertise and sell goods and services. It includes Banner and Text Advertising, Email Marketing, Interactive Advertising, Affiliate Marketing and Search Engine Marketing (including Search Engine Optimization and Pay-Per-Click Advertising).

You should focus on Search Engine Marketing (SEM) as a specific area of online marketing. SEM's main purpose is to increase targeted traffic from search engines via organic search engine ranking, paid listing and advertising. The main principles of SEM are Search Engine Optimization (SEO), link building and paid advertising campaigns.

As a business owner looking to optimize your search engine rankings, it pays to be comfortable your Internet marketing specialist (the company you hire) is aware of top search engine demands and will consider these for improving on-the-page and off-the-page factors for your business web pages. It is important to remember there are numerous important factors influencing search engine ranking of any web page.

There are certain techniques that go beyond SEM that can help improve your sites' online visibility. These include, for instance, creating and spreading a banner / ad network and / or paid link partnerships, as well as email marketing and building affiliate relationships with other websites.

Email marketing is an independent branch of Internet marketing. This has been dealt with in another article, as it doesn't have much in common with SEM.

By covering research, legal, market awareness and commercial issues, Seven Communication can help you get it right. If your company can benefit from Internet marketing services, please visit http://www.sevencommunication.ws

Justin Lloyd writes for Seven Communication - web design, Internet marketing and multimedia creation at http://www.sevencommunication.wsVeradis Blog70746
Farrand Blog1292

Attention: Home Business Owner--Are You A Time Waster?

It's a sad fact that the average home business owner never earns a profit in their business. It has become clear to me as I meet more and more new business owners why it is that the vast majority of them are struggling to earn money with their businesses. They waste their time on the unimportant stuff and neglect the key activities that will begin to make them money in the home based business industry.

Given the lack of training provided by some companies, and given that the blind often end up leading the blind in business, I though it would be helpful to lay down some basic necessities for the new business owner to use as a blueprint to success in their home business:

1. Find a mentor or create what Napoleon Hill calls in "Think and Grow Rich," a mastermind group. A group of people who meet regularly to game plan and work out answers to problems that they or the other members are having. This group can be in person or via an online conference room. These types of people will guide you with their own successes and difficulties the have faced in business and provide you with a reality check about the level of desire, commitment, and dedication you must have to build a successful business from home.

2. Stay away time wasters. I mean ALL time wasters. If you often find yourself searching link exchanges for the newest way to "Get Rich Quick," or "Earn Money in 15 Minutes" you need to reexamine your level of dedication to the business you are trying to build. If I can impart only one pearl of wisdom to you it is this: there is NO "super simple" road to wealth. All wealth creation takes time, but some methods are just simpler or more effective than others. Set up a daily schedule and stick to it, you'll be amazed by how much more productive you will become when you follow a checklist.

3. Make "Work Time" actual Work Time. Just because you are sitting at your desk doesn't mean you are working. Wasting time may be fine when you're someone's employee, but when you are your own boss ask yourself whether you'd be happy with your own level of activity and productivity. Work time is not chat with your significant other time, call your mom time, shop on the Internet time, chat online time, or pay the electricity bill time. Work time should be scheduled in stone and given the respect it deserves. I promise, the amount of work you do in the beginning will make or break your business.

4. Just because you are on the phone with a prospect doesn't mean that they are the type of person you want to do business with. Sometimes it's hard to do it, but there are time when YOU should reject a prospect--they're just too much headache. These prospects are the feet dragging, penny-pinching, malcontents that complain about your program before you explain it to them, seem to get irritated by the minute details of what you are saying, and then ask "How long before I start making $50,000 a month?" These are not the type of people you want to work with, and in the end you will be much happier when you don't have to waste time with someone who wants you to drag them toward success. You'll make more money without them in your organization.

5. If you find something that works, stick with it. Too often I find new business owners that want to "reinvent the wheel," as the old clich says. They go into business with someone who has achieved a high level of success, but won't follow directions when given advice that will earn them income if carried out. It's ridiculous how many people will not follow simple directions. The people who make it the biggest in the home based business industry are those who follow directions the best. And on the flipside: never take advice from someone who is more screwed up than you. It's amazing how many people will chime in with their two cents on how you should build your business or why it's never going to work, or why it's a scam. Let them have their day jobs and their opinions, I'm just happy not to have to make that commute to work anymore.

Regardless of what opportunity you are in, wasting time is truly the scourge of virtually every new and struggling business owner. The fasted route to success is by following in the footsteps of those who have achieved a level of success that you want to achieve, and are willing to instruct you on their methods for building a home based business. All you must do is clean out your ears, be willing to follow directions, ask someone for the answers to the hard questions. But most of all you must respect your time, and respect your teacher's time as if it were your own. When people begin seeking you out for answers you will begin to truly see why your time is so valuable.

Jesse BolandFey Blog86450
Fortune Blog53657

Choosing Small Business Website Names

I disagree with the comment made by some web developers that all the good domain names are taken. Search engine optimization, or seo, does not depend heavily on the www name you select. For my clients just starting out the decision choosing small business website names has never been an issue. It is a fact that all the 3 character and 4 character domain names with the key extensions are taken. Furthermore, I agree that a vast number of choice domain names are no longer available; however, the selection of a suitable www domain for your small business is possible if you remain flexible.

The real value in the name you choose from a search perspective is how easy it is to spell and remember. Of the two types of visitors to your site, the human visitors and search engines, the ability of a person to remember your domain name and spell it correctly to pass it on to others outweighs any SEO value. Search engines are robots and don't care.

Using words like "greatest", "best", or other exaggerated terms in your domain name is thought by some to be a disadvantage and penalized by search engines. Search algorithms change often and likewise that theory, and although you may not be penalized for using such words, consider the reaction of your human visitors. They may not stick around if they feel you boast without the content to back it up. For a serious small business commercial enterprise, my advice is avoiding adjectives in the domain name entirely.

In some cases new clients approach me to redesign an existing website, and it surprises me that some of the basics are overlooked. For example, a commercial enterprise in business for profit should not select a dot ORG domain simply because the dot COM was taken. This was the case from a conversation with a client interested in a site makeover. Their ORG version was online for two years with little or no backlinks or serious indexing from search engines. The mindset of getting one particular name should be reconsidered especially if it's your first online venture.

Here's a breakdown of the most desirable domain extensions and the usual purpose of each:

COM - Commercial for profit enterprise
INFO - Information only related website
NET - Companies providing internet services
ORG - Non-profit organizations

Certainly there are many more like BIZ, US, WS, and others which are all reasonable choices, but for your commercial small business my recommendation is always acquire a dot COM www domain name. The client mentioned earlier did not realize a dot ORG was intended for a non-commercial enterprise, and they decided the poor website SEO performance was something that justified getting a new dot COM. We easily found an available www domain using their company initials and one key word about their target market which is medical. Despite my advice that they keep the existing site and simply change the theme, they decided to just let it go when it expired.

My commercial site choice was my first and last name, and very unique at that. Using your name is okay, and expected if you're famous. There is, however, little or no value as far as keywords in my www domain to attract visitors, so is that a mistake for search engine optimization? Certainly not. The fact that I have collected more than 100 screenshots of generic phrases relative to my business that made Google page one is evidence the content, not the domain, is key.

Here's some advice to help you when choosing a new dot COM small business website domain name.

Start out with a list of about 10 domain names that you would like to have. Next, make a list of market related single word terms about what you do and the customer base you service. If your market is localized, consider geographical terms that relate to where you sell or provide services. Spend 30 minutes brainstorming to come up with the initial names and additional lists of single word terms. You may want another list of significant initials.

Next, search for "WhoIs" in Google to find free online services that keep a database of available domain names, and follow the link in the search results. Each database has a search box which allows you to input the domain name and extension. Begin with your first choice and work down the list and keep track of available names for review later. It may not be easy, so try combinations of the key terms as you continue to search, and keep in mind you want a domain name that is easy to spell and remember. By the time you're done you should have a half dozen or more available names, so take your time and select the best one, and then register the name immediately.

Tip: The domain name may not be significant for search engine optimization, but the length of your registration can be. My advice is registering domains for 2 years minimum, and 5 to 10 years if that's in your budget. Search engines consider that the length of your registration reflects your commitment to be online long term, so at today's prices 5 years is practical and should cost less than $50 USD.

There's nothing wrong with getting the dot COM domain name you want, and then registering the other major extensions that are available for the same name. If you are highly successful in your online venture, having the other extensions registered in your name prevents others from attempting to take advantage of your reputation by association. In conclusion, the concept that all the good domain names are taken is a myth. You may not get exactly what you want, but practical options are available with a little research and due diligence.

Jim Degerstrom writes small business advice based on 30 years in management, sales, and marketing, including GM or President of small companies in 5 states. He is proficient in website and graphic art design, and runs his online Small Business Resource Center http://www.jimdegerstrom.com and offers advice on his Small Business Advice Blog http://www.jimdegerstrom.com/blog from Kissimmee, Florida USA.Vera Blog27062
Frayda Blog93500

Top 3 Newbie Marketing Mistakes

If you are reading this chances are you want to make it big on the internet. A few lucky individuals find success almost instantly. For most of us however, we need to work a bit harder for that allusive internet fame and fortune.

I started online marketing about 10 years ago and initially had mild success. After managing to sign up 240 people to a downline builder I was hooked. The downline builder fell over but that one success kept me motivated and trying new things even when it looked like I was going nowhere.

Having learnt a lot since those times I have compiled a list of 3 of the most common mistakes made by newbie affiliate marketers.

3) Looking for the next Sure Thing Everyone dreams of hitting it big. Weve all seen the ads. Earn Money The Easy Way, Make $5,000 In One Week It can happen but its usually those individuals who already have systems in place and can capitalize on a new opportunity.

If we are just starting out we need to think long term. I prefer the building quality content websites approach. Some use squeeze pages to build giant opt-in lists and others dont even have a website. They can all work. Find an approach that suits you. The important thing is do your research, take your time to set up your program and you will see results.

2) Failure to build on what you have When I first started out I was building referrals for traffic exchange programs. Nothing was happening so I moved on only to find out about 5 months later that the program was still generating traffic to an old website. You may not have the same system but I be you have something you can build on. Even if you think you have nothing, start building today for your future success.

Here are some things you can start with.

* Build a website. You can use a free website builder such as NVU without needing any knowledge of html. You can download it from www.nvu.com

There are other free and paid versions you can look into yourself.

* If you want to get a bit fancier with your websites and you dont know html, you can learn it hear for free www.htmldog.com I recommend learning at least basic html at some stage.

* Do keyword research on your specific interest. You can start at overture here - http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/


* Set up an autoresponder. I like aweber.com or followingup.com. Your opt-in list will eventually be your biggest asset.

It is beyond the scope of this article to go into any detail about any of the above points. It is a starting point to put you in the right direction. Again, think long term and start building an internet presence today.

1) Giving up to soon Someone once said The greatest oak tree was once a tiny nut that stood its ground. You may feel like that tiny nut, but believe me, persist and build on what you have and you will see greater and greater results.

Make a plan and stick to it. Each week I make sure I spend time updating my websites, exchanging links, writing articles, traffic generation, researching keywords, looking for content, partners or learning from competitors.

Just do a little each day. Keep focused on your core business and spend most of your time building that up. Dont give up and you will see incredible success.

Jeff Pettit has been online marketing for the last 10 years and provides resources and tools for affiliate marketing and online business promotion. Offline Jeff also runs a successful business in the service industry and is a licensed Real Estate Sales Representative. You can find more articles like this one at http://www.masteraffiliate.org/articles.Fay Blog62409
Freddie Blog17063

How To Market Your Website With Free Publicity!

Ask them and they will come. Share the wealth. Spread the word.

Press releases and well written informative articles are a cheap and easy way to get public awareness of your site and promotions. Not all submission sites charge to send out your PR, although most have some sort of limitation to them unless you pay for features. This article should show you how to get around having to pay anything for some great online visibility!

Are you quaking in your boots about having to write something from scratch? It is not as challenging as you may think, and you don't always need a professional copywriter to do all the work for you! The main goal to writing a publication is to provide valuable information. It may be something as simple as how to properly wash you hands. That may not sound like much, but to a company that sells soap or paper towels that bit of information could end up making them a lot of money!

Step #1 - Think of something relevant to you or your company to write about!

As I mentioned above, it doesn't have to be something major like a public stock offering notice. Something simple, easy to understand and relevant to you is all you need. Somewhere in the world there is someone who wants to know what you have to share. Going back to the example of an article explaining how to wash your hands correctly, there are any number of people or groups that could find this information valuable. Hospitals, dentist offices, supermarkets, Microsoft, you never know! And neither will they unless you tell them.

Step #2 - I have to write now???

Soon, but before you have to get into your creative mode there are some tips that might make things easier. From experience, looking at a blank piece of paper can be scary. It is easy to get lost in the blankness of how to fill the white void.

Solution: Make yourself a template and break the page up!

Not only will a template help you start writing easier, it will help you organize your thoughts, form a well structured document, AND have it ready for all those online submissions later on! Here is a sample template you can use while getting ready to create a document. Notice how the headings are put in brackets to help distinguish the sections.

[DATE]

[TITLE]

[SUMMARY]

[BODY]

[RESOURCES/LINKS]

[AUTHOR]

Step #3 - Great! You have something on that blank page now right? Now you are wondering what to put in each of those sections. Let's go through them briefly.

[DATE] - This should be self explanatory. This is more for records keeping than anything. Maybe you write a great article and want to share it more than once, but you want to give it a month or two before resubmitting it. Now you know when it was first published.

[TITLE] - The title may be the first and last step of your creativity. Many times a title that was started with changed dramatically by the end. Still it is a good place to start. Give your article something to go on.

[SUMMARY] - Tell the people what you are going to tell them, briefly. Hit the high points of what you are going to say. This section can either help focus your ideas, or you can come back to it after you are finished writing the bulk of your text.

[BODY] - Here is where your true genius shines through! This part of the writing I can't give you too many tips on. The content really depends on you and what you want to say. Some general tips: Be thorough. Be concise. Be intriguing. Write information you want your audience to read and remember. Stylistics: For online reading if you can keep your paragraphs to no more than 4-5 lines long it is easier to read. Remember to spellcheck!

[RESOURCES/LINKS] - Feel free to back up your information with supporting data! Your website/blog being the #1 prime location to link to. Other supporting resources that will provide your readers with valuable information are also good. You may have a great new idea, but help your credibility with supporting data.

[AUTHOR] - Who are you? Where are you from? What do you do? Who do you work for? Why should someone listen to what you say? How can someone contact you? Provide your information here.

Step #4 - Almost done! Now you have your article prepared. What do you do with it?

First of all I would suggest having someone proof-read it. Spellcheck doesn't always catch wrong words. Now it's ready for publication! Below is a long list of sites where you can submit articles and press releases for free. I am not supporting one over another as there are many popular to professional news agency sites listed. You will most likely have to create a user account on each before they will allow you to publish your work. Be careful as most free submission sites will try to get you to pay for certain features. Feel free to use any features you like, they can really add to your visibility, but they can add up ($$$) quickly and are not always needed.

What should you expect to get out of all this work? Getting your name and information out to the public should be worth enough, but there are other perks. Search engines love linkbacks from quality sources. How much more quality can you provide than using yourself as a source publishing around the world? It can be a huge boost to any search engine optimization plan. If you can get people talking about you, good or bad, it's all publicity.

Hopefully this article has helped you in some small way. If it has then it was worth the effort of writing it!

Good luck and go get that free publicity!

[RESOURCES]

[Press Release Submission Sites]
PR Free [http://www.prfree.com/]
SBWire [http://www.sbwire.com]
Press Zoom [http://presszoom.com/]
Press Base [http://www.press-base.com/]
Express Press Release Distribution [http://express-press-release.com/]
Press World [http://www.press-world.com/]
Open PR [http://openpr.com/]
Free Press Release [http://www.free-press-release.com/]
Free News Release [http://www.free-news-release.com/]
I Newswire [http://i-newswire.com/]
Newswire Today [http://www.newswiretoday.com/]
PR.com [http://www.pr.com]

[Article Submission Sites]
iSnare [http://www.isnare.com/]
ArticleBlast [http://www.articleblast.com/]
Ezine Articles [http://www.ezinearticles.com/]
GO Articles [http://www.goarticles.com/]

Steve Terjeson is an Online Marketing Specialist with over 10 years programming and web experience. As a search engine optimization expert, he has managed hundreds of web sites in high performance search engine rankings and has set up marketing campaigns with exceptional results.Vikky Blog10103
Fifi Blog17308

Running A Home Business & Working Full Time Outside Your Home

Very few people will claim they are bringing enough money home to meet all their needs and wants. Several will begin a home business to supplement their income while remaining at the full time job outside. This can take a toll on the personal life as well as the health of just about anyone running a home business and working full time outside the home.

One of the first considerations should be whether or not the home business in conflict with the full time job as many employers will not tolerate competition from one of their employees. For example, a person working in a retail environment in nearly any capacity may find themselves in conflict with company policies if they begin an online retail outlet. Or someone working for a carpet cleaning company starting a home business offering cleaning services part time as a home business. Being in conflict often forces the employee to make a choice of keeping their full time job or finding work elsewhere.

There are many home business opportunities available that will not conflict with outside work environments, but the time involved in operating the home business will need to examined to determine if it can be done effectively while working full time. The business operator will only have limited availability as well as time to spend on the business and the time needed to run the business will have to be reallocated from another part of the day.

A person with a family will need to know that any time needed to run the home business will have to come from time usually used for family functions or just spending time with the wife and kids. The full time employer will not tolerate someone spending time on their home business while being paid so dividing the time between work, running the business and family may or may not be worth the extra income from a home business.

In some cases, there are home business opportunities that require little time and enable it to be run at the convenience of the owner. With these jobs time can be arranged in which to run the business without losing time with family and friends, although sacrificing sleep or relaxation time may be necessary. Overall, there will be some sacrifice of time and personal involvement when running a business and working full time outside the home.

Time management will be essential in creating work-life balance as well as remaining organized so as not to allow important aspects of work, home business operation and family slip through the cracks. A single schedule guiding the commitments for all obligations will be needed in order to accomplish everything that needs done and to stay ahead of the work.

Michael LaleyeFarah Blog58583
Vilhelmina Blog14591

Advertising and Color

Whats the quickest way to create mood without saying a word? Color! Before they read your marketing piece, they see it and their feeling about your business begins. So its a good idea to take some time to find out what colors mean and how they can help sell for you. When you learn the psychology of colors you will be able to add a whole new layer to your marketing materials. Heres how using certain colors will help you attract a specific target market and evoke the desired response:

-The color scheme you choose for your flyer or business cards can help or hurt the overall tone of the piece. For instance, if you own a gift shop, you would want to work with a lot of yellows, including coral, orange, amber and gold. Why? Because yellow symbolizes joy. It exudes energy and happiness, and is associated with being welcoming and homey.

-Red, which includes mauve, magenta, crimson, and scarlet, is the color of power, romance, and vitality. Its an eye catcher, and makes us sit up and take notice. Thats why its so often used in the financial arena when the numbers are going in the wrong direction. Red can also have a physical effect, even raising blood pressure! Use red in your ad when you want people to take action.

-If, on the other hand, you need a very friendly, non-threatening campaign, green is your color. Green and its shades, including lime, leaf green, sea green, emerald, teal and sage, symbolize life and nature. Its good for us, and your reader will receive that impression about what you are selling as well. In contrast to red, in the business world, green symbolizes growth and prosperity.

-When you need a more serious, classic look that conveys law and order, dependability, and trustworthiness, go for the blue and purple palette. This includes sky blue, ultramarine, violet, purple and azure. These colors work great in certain markets, specifically for older, more mature audiences. Its common in financial institutions, hospitals, and the legal and medical professions.

So what kind of business do you have? Do you sell a product or a service? Think about your target market, and try to determine what emotion will appeal to them the most. Now try to match that with one of the above color palettes when you are designing your ad. With the right colors, your marketing piece is sure to be read.

Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services, a unique design firm for todays entrepreneur. Whether you outsource your promotional pieces or are a do-it-yourselfer, Karen takes the mystery out of marketing. Learn the Top 5 Mistakes that can cost you money by signing up for her FREE e-course, available for a limited time. To take advantage of this e-course and find out how easy it can be to attract more clients, go to http://macgraphics.net/freeecourse.phpEulalie Blog94527
Verine Blog21409

Article Marketing Domination Review

My favorite free Internet marketing strategy is article marketing. I've been using this technique since 1995 online and offline with great success. Many e-books (including mine) cover this topic but Article Marketing Domination goes one step further to maximize your article marketing efforts.

Article Marketing Domination by Joshua Spaulding is unique in that it focuses on advanced strategies for article marketers with some experience. Joshua is the CEO of Spaulding Marketing, Inc. an internet marketing firm that provides top-notch marketing services to small business owners.

The chapters of this 29 page, single spaced e-book include:

Introduction
About The Author
What You Must Know
Effective Article Creation
Effective Article Distribution
Studying EzineArticles.com
Marketing Your Article Marketing
Latent Semantic Indexing
Conclusion
89 E-Zines Where You Can Publish Your Articles
Valuable Resources
Closing Thoughts

Joshua opens the e-book by focusing on the changes in article marketing over the past few years. He offers his perspective as an article directory owner an as an article marketer.

Joshua covers keyword selection that will help article marketers stress less about keyword use and density. He also focuses on title creation and how to create an effective resource box.

An after submission strategy created by Joshua helps article marketers get the most out of their submissions. This strategy is truly unique and worth the price of this e-book.

Joshua closes his e-book with a list of e-zines that accept article submissions on the topics of health, home business, travel and home and family. He then suggests some valuable resources and closes with inspiring quotes.

Included as a bonus to your purchase of Article Marketing Domination is the software "Article Submitter" and an e-book "Write Like A Maniac".

Joshua and I have different opinions on only two points: the importance of proper grammar and spelling in articles and the recommended length. On all other points we agree and Joshua even taught this long-time article marketer a thing or two!

I found Article Marketing Domination to be an excellent resource for article marketers who are looking for an edge over their competition.

(c) 2007, Davis Virtual Assistance. Reprint rights are granted to all venues so long as the by-line is included and all links are made live.

Sign-up free for new reviews by Bonnie Jo Davis at http://www.small-business-reviews.com and purchase Article Marketing Domination at http://www.articlesthatsell.com/domination.htmFifi Blog31214
Faustina Blog61783