Feature: "What's a Web-Ring?"
By Synergy Marketing Solutions
There are currently over 15,000 active webrings on the
Internet today. Topics range in scope from the "X-Files
Webring" to the "Veterans of Foreign Wars Webring" to the
"Friends of Rodeo Webring". There are also a number of
webrings dedicated solely to entrepreneurs.
Some of the business related webrings are: the "HomeBiz
Webring", the "MyLink Webring", the "Netrepreneurs' Web-
ring" and the "Homebiz Opportunities Webring".
Webrings are free to join and very simple to implement.
If you see a webring that you'd like to belong to, you
just click on the link for instructions. Usually, there
are just three simple steps to complete to get set up:
1.) Copy & Paste the html from the instructions page onto
the site you'd like to add to the webring.
2.) Fill out a simple form with your contact information,
URL, web site title, keywords, & description.
3.) Change the "mailto:you@yourdomain.com", "siteID#__",
and "this webring site is owned by___" to include your
actual information. Your site ID # will either be e-mailed
to you by the webring manager, or it will be generated when
you fill out that simple form.
That is all there is to it, folks! It's simple & free to join
a Web-Ring. A perfect example of "Synergy".
You can find examples of some entrepreneurs' webrings at
the following sites:
http://www.freeyellow.com/members/bizonline/index2.html
http://www.freeyellow.com/members/SynergyMS/index.html
If you would like to search the entire database of Webrings,
go to: http://www.webring.org/ringworld/
Six Breakthrough Strategies for Your Business
In my twelve years of coaching and training, I've observed
how successful business people "break through" existing
boundaries and move their business and their lives to a higher
level. I have identified six aspects of the enterprise where it's
possible to achieve these breakthroughs.
These Breakthrough Strategies are:
STRATEGIC VISION SYSTEM:
This is the process of surfacing and clarifying the areas of
significance to you and your business. Establish meaningful
goals in each of these areas.
With clear purpose and direction, your efforts will be laser-
focused on the results you want.
TACTICAL ACTION SYSTEM:
These processes ensure that your actions and decisions are
aligned with your values and vision. Set critical milestones,
success yardsticks and key tracking indicators so you will
achieve your goals faster and easier.
QUALITY OF LIFE SYSTEM:
In our high-demand, knowledge-based economy, issues such
as free time, happiness, satisfaction and peace of mind are not
just nice-to-have. These things are crucial to your ability to
operate an enterprise at peak effectiveness.
LEVERAGING SYSTEM:
Leverage to produce high-impact results is attained through
support people, automation, outside specialists, smart
delegation and shrewdly managed priorities.
What are the handful of activities that produce the results that
you want?
STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS:
Inevitably, the largest share of your income flows from a
relatively small number of key economic relationships,
generally your top clients and referral sources. Identify these
special relationships that require nurturing and create action
plans around retention and developing maximum potential
from each.
LEARNING AND CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT:
Set aside time daily to consciously learn from your
experiences. You will discover a little-known secret that will
put you on a course to life-long, continuous learning and
improvement.
Bottom line.... these Breakthrough Strategies provide a
practical, systematic way to achieve remarkable results.
###
Gary Lockwood is Your Business Coach.
Get Gary's Free BizSuccess newsletter -
http://www.bizsuccess.com/newsletter.htm
or send any blank email to: mailto:subscribe@BizSuccess.com
Email: mailto:Gary@BizSuccess.com Web: http://www.BizSuccess.com
Office: (800) 272-1575 (USA) * Fax: (815) 361-3041
EDITORIAL: Publish Now Or Perish Later
Strangely, after it has proven itself to be a leading marketing
tool, ezine publishing is still one of the most underutilized
online business building methods. Beyond the fact that it is
efficient and cost-effective, the intimacy of email provides
ecommerce merchants with an extraordinary advantage over
offline, more traditional forms of marketing communications.
Agreeably, email is still in its infancy and there's still a lot of
ground to cover. First, email will become even more effective
as time goes on, especially once spam becomes a nonissue --
not because it is unethical, tasteless, unprofessional, illegal (in
some areas) and all the other negative adjectives associated with
spam, but because it is simply not profitable in the long term.
But second, new technologies and interactive processes are now
being developed that will make ezine publishing an even more
effective marketing tool in the coming years (if not months). We
have barely scratched the surface in terms of harnessing the
power of email marketing let alone the Internet, and the need to
start using this yet greatly untapped resource is overwhelming.
Where the marketer's axiom used to be "publish or perish," the
advent of the Internet has changed it to "publish now or perish
later." In fact, the Internet used to be a place that embraced
change but soon it will become a crucible consisting of only
those who create it, leaving the slow starters *way* behind.
Nevertheless, having one's own newsletter (or at the very least
a regularly published mailing to an opt-in subscriber-base) is
a powerful way to attract not only prospects but also referral
sources, affiliates and centers-of-influence. It is powerful in
that a newsletter doesn't outright promote one's company or
product, but one's expertise and value in the marketplace.
A newsletter is often more effective than an advertisement or
brochure because the publisher is demonstrating its expertise
in its particular field rather than stating it outright. Similar to
public relations for example, ezine publishing is sometimes
more effective because it comes from an apparently objective
third party -- in other words, a newsletter reads more like an
educational tool rather than some self-serving commercial.
And therein lies the key. People are constantly bombarded with
commercial messages everywhere they go. But a constant supply
of solid information that attempts to educate rather than promote
will place a higher degree of credibility in the prospect's mind
on the company from which the information originates.
As my mentor in the professional speaking business once told
me, "Don't be a speaker, be an expert who speaks. Don't be a
consultant, be an expert who consults. Don't be a writer, be an
expert who writes." I would add: "Don't be a online merchant, be
an expert in the field (or on the product) one merchandises."
That same mentor also told me, "Implication is more powerful
than specification." Again, one should aim at being perceived as
(and not specifying that one is) an expert in a specific niche or
industry. The newsletter therefore, especially if it's free, can
inform prospective clients of what a company is all about before
people actually make the buying decision. That "buying decision"
may very well be a simple referral -- and repeat and referral
sales are indeed where companies' profits are realized.
But the idea is nonetheless to target a specific audience, and to
have the people who read the ezine want more and come forward
to get it. With information being one the major shifts the business
world has experienced, the ezine can also help make a company's
presence known in a quicker and more inexpensive way.
In other words, the electronic newsletter not only uses the more
economical email system but it also delivers that information to
eager subscribers in a matter of seconds. More important, it
builds relationships and, in this day and age where consumers
are more leery than ever, by offering a personalized approach it
will position a company as one with a stronger customer focus.
Relationship marketing enables marketers to be in front of their
prospects more often. If subscribers happen to need a marketer's
products or services at any given time, or if they come to know
anyone who does, the marketer is there, in front of them, when
their time is right. Like a bolt of lightning, the thought of a
specific company -- one that maintains a relationship with the
subscriber -- will come immediately to mind especially when a
need presents itself. "Out of sight is out of mind," as they say.
Finally, publishing a newsletter helps to position a company very
effectively. Whether the subscriber will or not buy right now from the
marketer, maintaining a constant contact also creates top-of-mind
awareness. The continuous flow of information between publisher
and potential client can help to reinforce the unique, competitive
advantage a company has over others within the same category.
Publishing an electronic newsletter should never be considered
as a business expense. In a hypercompetitive marketplace that
changes at the speed of electricity, one satiated with cautious,
more educated and sophisticated click-happy consumers, it is
an investment. In reality, not publishing one is the true expense.
--- This week ---
Do you publish your own newsletter? If you haven't started yet,
our feature article this week provides some helpful advice on
where to start. Our guest article is somewhat special... It's
from Jennifer Johnson of Promoting Your Site, our new panel
expert at IMC's exclusive Private Site. Her article deals with
the importance of focus. Welcome aboard, Jennifer!
Enjoy!
Michel Fortin, Ph.D.
Editor of the Internet Marketing Chronicles
mailto:editor@MarketingChallenge.com
FEATURE ARTICLE: Starting An Opt-In Mailing List
No matter what you're marketing online, developing a mailing list
is absolutely critical. Forget about unsolicited email or spam,
we're talking about a list of prospects who want to receive email
from you -- because they are interested in what you have to say.
As the online community strikes out against spammers, an opt-in
email newsletter is the most effective way to keep in touch with
your prospects and customers. First we'll explain why, then we'll
show you how to set one up, next we'll detail the art of turning
web site visitors into subscribers, and finally we'll talk a
little about content.
Email marketing can be very lucrative, but most people who
try it really have no idea what they're doing. And rather than
making lots of money they find that after their first mailing,
their site has been shut down and their ISP account canceled.
It may be tempting to buy a CD-ROM containing millions of email
addresses that you can blast with your ads -- but don't do it.
The software and other necessary technology you'll need is
expensive, response to unsolicited commercial email is pitiful,
you'll ruin your reputation, and before long you'll probably have
a hard time sleeping at night. Don't say we didn't warn you...
On the other hand, anyone can start an "opt-in" mailing list or
newsletter and ethically, responsibly, and legally send out all
the email they want, through any ISP in the world, without
getting into any trouble at all. And unlike spam, people will
actually read your messages with sincere interest.
You see, an "opt-in" email list or newsletter is one which people
willingly subscribe to because they are interested in the content
or benefits it provides. And because people have requested it,
there are no complaints to your ISP -- and you won't need
expensive "bulk friendly" Internet service and web hosting
providers to conduct your business.
You won't have to cloak, forge, or relay your mail through
unauthorized servers. You won't be violating any laws or breaking
the unwritten rules of Netiquette. You won't be hacked, blocked,
mail bombed, cussed at, or the least bit offensive to anyone at
all. Yes, even spam-hating hackers approve of opt-in email
marketing strategies.
The bottom line is that people buy things from those they know
and trust. And there's no better way to get prospects to trust
you than to show them that you're an expert at what you do.
Sending them helpful information via email on a regular basis
is the best way to develop long-term relationships that are
conductive to sales.
Think about it. If you wanted to become a real estate investor,
would you purchase an educational course from a door-to-door
salesman or someone who had been sending you a free newsletter
for the past year? Never forget that people buy from those they trust,
and no one trusts a spammer. Unsolicited email is dead.
Whatever it is you're marketing online, an opt-in mailing list is
worth it's weight in gold. Do yourself a favor and start one now.
With a little work you'll soon have an invaluable asset that you
can use in numerous ways to grow your business. We'll get to
all of that soon enough, but first you need to set it all up -- and
then work on integrating it into your web site.
--------------- Condensed from the IMC Private Web Site ---------------
Why reinvent the wheel ... wasting time and money going it alone ...
when a bunch of highly-successful webmasters and marketers have
SPILLED THE BEANS at a new Private Web Site?... Learn from our
mistakes and you'll have more time to actually grow your business!
Click for INSTANT access: http://www.MarketingChallenge.com
GUEST ARTICLE: Bringing Everything Into Focus
Have you ever wondered what the difference between wildly
successful business people and those who barely manage to
make ends meet is? The people who are doing very well for
themselves must have a superior product or service, have lots
of money to promote their business, or they must just be gifted
and talented when it comes to business, right?
In some cases, that may be true; in the majority of cases,
though, I don't think any of those things are the reason people
become successful. Many people with a great product or service
are lucky to make a handful of sales, quite a few people on a
shoestring budget manage to get the word out about their product
or service and make a handsome living, lots of people who are
extremely smart and talented live from paycheck to paycheck.
What is the difference between wild success and just getting by?
In my opinion it's focus. People who are successful in business,
especially online, have a definite focus. Of course, talent, money,
and a great product or service play some part in the success of
a business; it would be foolish to say they don't, but I think one
of the most important factors in whether your business does
well or not is focus.
The American Heritage Dictionary gives this as one of the
definitions of focus: "To produce a clear image (of)."
There are two ways this relates to your site. The first is, do you
have a clear image of who your target market is? The second,
does your target market have a clear image of the message
you're trying to get across? If you answered "no" to either
question, it's time to bring things into focus.
Let's tackle the first issue. Who are the people that are most
likely to be interested in your product or service? Please don't
say "everybody." You must be somewhat specific.
For example, let's say I'm selling diamond-studded cat collars.
Think of the entire population as a pie, the first cut we make is
to separate cat owners from the general population. Next, we
slice again to divide all cat owners; we want cat owners with
salaries in excess of x dollars/year (not everyone can afford a
diamond-studded cat collar, huh?) and so on. Eventually we've
got a small "piece" of the entire pie, but the people who
comprise this piece are highly likely to be interested in our
product. This is our target market.
If you can not identify your market in one or two sentences,
you've got work to do. Identifying your target market is the
springboard for your online advertising efforts.
After you have defined your target market, the next step is to
make sure your message is getting across to them. Your
"message" should tell your target market, in a way they can
easily understand, how your product or service fulfills their
needs and satisfies their desires.
Let's say your target market is males 18-21 with a household
income of $15,000 or less who collect "number 3" pencils. Now,
what do these people need and want (other than a life :-) and
how does your product/service fulfill these needs and wants?
Suppose you sell a pencil organizer/display case for $19.99.
Your product addresses the needs of these people -- the need
to organize their collection affordably. It also addresses their
wants -- the desire to have their collection handsomely
showcased. Your message should stress these points.
Imagine this ad in the "Number 2's Are For Loozers!" ezine:
Number 3's Rule!
Is your killer collection collecting dust in a drawer? You
need our Number 3's Rule! Organizer/Display Case. Not
only will your be able to find your faves easily, think of how it
sweet it will look with each individual #3 in its own lighted
display section. Order yours now, for under $20.
This message clearly communicates to your target market how
your product satisfies their wants and needs.
Is your message being communicated effectively to your target
market? Do you have a message to begin with? If not, it's time to
take pen in hand and write down the message you want to convey.
Once you have done this, take a critical look at every point your
company interacts with customers and see if this is the message
the customer is receiving. This includes not only your web site,
but email contacts, newsletters, advertisements etc; any place
where you and your customer "meet."
Once you set out to bring your target market and your message
into focus, I think you'll see that your sales will improve!
------------------- About the Author -------------------
Rate My Site(TM) -- What People *Really* Think About Your Site at
http://www.promotingyoursite.com/ratemysite. Find out what works
and what doesn't, AND how to improve it. Get a free site review!
To subscribe, email: mailto:ratemysite-subscribe@listbot.com.
DON'T FORGET THE CLASSICS!
------------------------------------------------------------
4 Classic Marketing Tools You Can Use to Promote
Your Online Business in the Offline World
1. BROCHURES
A brochure is a tool as basic as your business card. Think
of your brochure as a business card introducing your entire
company, not just an individual. Your brochure can
communicate with prospective customers about your business,
your products and your services. Use your brochure to
function as an introduction before sales and then again as a
reminder for referrals from your customers after the sale.
A paper brochure is economical for large distribution,
especially when using a targeted mailing list. A simple
direct approach to design and layout is most effective. For
minimum cost, use a preprinted brochure form. When you find
a brochure design that works for you, stick with it. Make
sure your URL is printed in the brochure.
2. PRESS RELEASES
A press release can be a powerful marketing tool. As an
effective promotional tool, media coverage is better than
advertising because your information is presented as news.
All forms of media, including radio, television, newspapers
and magazines, need a steady stream of stories to present to
their audience of readers, listeners and viewers. Some
statistics indicate that over 60% of news comes from outside
news sources such as press releases.
Editors are always looking for interesting stories. Your
press release must contain enough news to capture the
attention of an editor or it will wind up in the trashcan.
3. PROFESSIONAL PRESS KIT
A press kit is simply a folder of materials containing
information about your company. When accompanying a press
release, the information in your press kit provides more
detailed information to reporters than they can get from a
single press release. Simply put, a press kit tells the
story of your company.
Reporters get hundreds of press releases each day. If a
press release catches the eye of a reporter who is
unfamiliar with your company, having additional information
available in the form of a press kit will make it easier for
the reporter to work on a story idea.
When should you use a press kit?
The two biggest reasons for press kits are to accompany a
press release and for distribution at trade shows or
conferences. Press kits provide the press with background on
your company. A press release is generally focused on one
event and, if your company is small, the additional
information in a press kit is helpful so the reporter can
put the press release in context.
Instead of blanketing the media with your press kit,
distribute the kits as a method of following up on questions
when you are contacted about a story. Once a reporter has
expressed an interest in you, send your press kit for
background information.
Do you need a press kit?
If you have helpful and relevant information that will help
the media put together a story, then it would be appropriate
to create a press kit. Newsletters, testimonials, and
company background sheets provide the type of information
that reporters need. Do not waste the media's time by
including sales brochures or advertisements in your press
kit.
4. TRADE SHOWS
Trade shows have developed into a huge opportunity for your
company to market your products or services.
Define your goals for the show so that you can develop a
strategy for working the show. Ask yourself, "What do I want
to happen as a result of marketing at this trade show?" Some
common examples of objectives for trade shows include:
-> Performing market research
-> Gathering leads
-> Qualifying leads
-> Increasing sales
-> Writing orders
-> Getting exposure for your company, products or
services
A good marketing plan conveys your company's vision to your
customers, employees and investors. Determine which
marketing tools you will use to achieve your purpose and
goals. Let your marketing methods emphasize those unique
benefits that customers can get from your products or
services.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Kate Schultz is the Publisher of E-ZineZ: the E-Zine About
E-Zines! To subscribe to E-ZineZ put SUBSCRIBE in the BODY
of an e-mail to mailto:e-zinez@oaknetpub.com.
Why Do Most Network Marketers Fail?
By Gordon Taylor
Many of the clients that consult me about starting a home
based businesses ask this question in some form or another.
"I hear great things about Network Marketing, and would love
to give it a try, but I have known several people that have
tried it and failed. Should I give it a try?"
My answer is always "YES." I believe Network Marketing,
MLM, Cooperative Marketing or by any other name you want to
call it, is by far the best choice for a home based business.
Network Marketing presents unlimited, residual earning
potential and is directly responsible for more self made
6 figure incomes than any other entrepreneurial venture on
this planet. Period.
Yet, many people fail when trying Network Marketing. When
failure occurs, most run back to their comfortable former
income generator, THE JOB. Others keep trying one program
after another, blaming their failure on the program, their
upline, the product etc. And most are right in their
assumption. But the reason that those components failed is
not really the program, or the people or the product. The
reason all of those components failed is for one or more
of the 4 general reasons you are about to discover.
=================
Reason Number One
=================
By far the number one reason that most people fail in
Network Marketing is a lack of leads. All programs teach
you to work your warm market. Make a list of everyone you
have ever known. Your friends, relatives, old school mates
you haven't seen in many years.
While that may have worked in the 70's, 80's and early
90's it is no longer true. Your immediate warm market,
friends and relatives, is still very important, and can give
you a real boost as you start your new business. But the
rest of the old training isn't valid any more. We are at the
dawn of the new millennium, and with it are new success
stories, using new methods of selecting and sorting prospects.
The truth is, no matter how many people you know, most of
them will never join your program or any one else's. It
doesn't matter if their your closest friends, good family
members or casual acquaintances, most of your warm market will
not join you in your success.
What was that word I just used at the end of the last
sentence? Success? Yes, if you learn to overcome the four
reasons I am listing here, you will be a success in Network
Marketing. Pretty big statement to make, but absolutely true.
A new era requires a new approach and many people are
adapting the new technologies that are emerging, to their
programs and having unheard of results.
=================
Reason Number Two
=================
The second most common reason for Network Marketing
failure is training. Not lack of training, but lack of
proper training. Most organizations are so busy trying to
produce results, that they tend to neglect the importance of
training. Notice I said most. Some companies have realized
the importance of this valuable resource and have
incorporated excellent on going training programs.
You would not believe the number of companies spend tons
of money on glitz and glamour in the form of presentation
materials, supply systems and product development and have
little or no training beyond initial new distributor
orientation.
Most professionals, regardless of their profession, never
stop training. The same is true in most good MLM companies.
And if not within the company, certainly within successful
groups within those companies. Constant, consistent training
is an absolute requirement for success in Network Marketing.
Stop training and your organization will fall apart.
Another big statement, but the facts are indisputable.
===================
Reason Number Three
===================
The third reason most common among Network Marketing
failures, is lack of program adaptation. Times are changing
faster than ever, and we must adapt to the change or your
business is dead.
Not all of us are computer whiz's, capable of adapting
all this new technology to our programs. But all of us are
capable of learning it. Companies on the leading edge of
this market sector are adapting these technologies to their
operation, and then sharing it down the line with their
distributors.
A few years ago, most people never even heard of the
Internet. Now it is becoming a dominant force in every
aspect of your life. It will affect both your personal and
business future, and unless you learn how to understand and
use these new technologies, your business is doomed to
failure. Another big statement, but none the less fact.
There are people that will argue this point with me
endlessly. The fact is that I have been involved with
computers for more than 30 years, yes 30, and never have I
seen a technology impact every day life as the Internet has.
It will change the way we do everything. Everything. Brick
and Mortar store chains are already feeling the impact of
the Internet, and the Internet is only responsible for about
5% of all retail sales at this point.
There are many figures being thrown around about the
number of people that are coming on line. The most consistent
number, and the one that I think is most accurate, is 47,000
a day. A DAY! Now, armed with the technology that is out
there, what does that say about your prospect base.
==================
Reason Number Four
==================
The fourth reason most Network Marketers fail is due to
running out of money. Many people pay their startup fee,
by products and sales aids and run out of money before
they ever make a dime from their business.
The key word here is business. Many people enter into
a Network Marketing program without thinking of it as a
serious business. And it really is a deadly serious business.
It requires the same types of attention any business does.
If you open a gift shop on the corner, you know that it
is going to take money and time. Network Marketing is no
different, except that as a home based business you can
control how much time and money you invest.
By adapting the new technologies available to your
program you can leverage that time and money investment.
Used properly, technology can increase the amount of
exposure your program gets by hundreds of times.
For example, on any good day, the average Network
Marketer might get to do his/her presentation 3 times.
Extrapolating that out to a normal month that's an
average of 60 people a month that listen to your
presentation. We all know the industry percentages of
conversion means that 9 will take it to the next level
and maybe one will sign up.
By using technology to sift and sort prospects, you
can reasonably expect to present your opportunity to
at least 1000 a month. That means that you will talk
to 50 people a month, but those 50 have are already at
the next level, and you will find your conversion rate
on those 50 to be at an unheard of 50%, not 5%.
So, you have talked to 10 less people a month, but
put 24 into your business. These numbers are real, they
are being accomplished every day and are about average.
And, you have leveraged your time and money by talking
only to qualified prospects, qualifying them much more
economically.
_____________________________________________
Gordon Taylor is a professional Network Marketer and the Publisher
of A Home Business Opportunities Ezine. He can be contacted at
gtaylor@werwinners.com or visit his web site at
http://www.werwinners.com
Advertising Vs. Publicity }}
========>>>
I've recently come to the conclusion that the vast majority of
companies doing business on the Internet don't understand the
Internet. Even most of the big ones, they guys with millions of
dollars to spend.
Here's what's become the "traditional" Internet business model.
First, figure out what you want to sell. Second, spend tens of
millions of dollars on advertising. Third, go and find more
money, because you've run out and your income isn't enough to
self fund.
Here's an example. Food.com spent, according to Newsweek, $54
million on banner advertising, at the end of which they had
very little business ... so they went back for more investment.
What's so crazy is that few of these companies are using the
real potential of the Internet. They're getting lazy, using the
old-world model -- spend huge bucks on paid advertising. But
the Internet provides an incredible way to connect with people
at a very low cost.
As an example, my business partner, Mike Ceranski, recently set
up a store using our BizBlast.com software ( you can see it at
http://www.SoftNeon.com/ ). He's selling flexible neon
tubing that you can use to decorate anything from cars and
motorbikes to trees and fences. As soon as he had the site up
and running he started looking around for ways to promote it.
I gave him a list of newsletter-related Web sites to check out,
which he did that evening. He e-mailed a few editors of
newsletters that seemed appropriate, and was amazed at the
response. He got a great response from editors wanting to
review or feature his products, in both online and paper
publications. It didn't take much time, and didn't take any
money.
And remember, reviews and features are more powerful than
advertising, because they're third-party endorsements.
Everybody knows adverts are biased, of course, so they listen
more closely when the person recommending your product _isn't_
related to your business.
I'm in the process of trying to build an Internet promotions
department, for the benefit of Top Floor Publishing and
BizBlast.com. I'll start small, just one bright,
computer-literate kid, then build from there. I'll give this
kid the bible for this kind of online promotions, my own Poor
Richard's Internet Marketing and Promotions
( http://PoorRichard.com/promo/ ), and a little training, and
set him loose. There are just so many ways to promote a business
online, at such a minimal cost. Make sure you're registered
everywhere you can be, make sure newsletter editors know about
your products, offer giveaways and review copies to related Web
sites, build a list of journalists, Web sites, and newsletters
that are interested in your products and keep them up to date
with special offers ... This stuff takes time, but very little
money.
The big companies should try something like this. Food.com, for
instance, could have taken just 0.7% of everything they spent
on banner ads and run a ten-person grass-roots marketing studio
for a year, a team that could have created a tremendous buzz
online.
Some of the big companies do recognize the power of grass-roots
marketing. Amazon.com and CDnow, for instance, realize just how
important their affiliate programs are. In particular CDnow
really works their program hard, holding contests for
affiliates, giving them special deals, and so on. In fact CDnow
has a team like the one I've just described. When I last
visited them, in the summer of 1998, they had about five people
working online, getting the word out about their store.
Copyright "Poor Richards Newsletter". To subscribe, send a blank e-mail message to
subscribe-prwebnews@lists.lyris.net
CUSTOMER SERVICE ON THE INTERNET
Make the difference between a hit and a sale
By Sue Barrett
Do you have a high-traffic website but low sales?
High traffic doesn't mean high profits unless you can turn
those visitors into customers. One way you can convert
them into buyers is to give them first-class customer service.
Although business on the internet operates differently than
business offline, people still expect top quality service.
It's challenging to give your customers that personal
attention when you aren't able to look them in the eyes and
hear a voice, isn't it! There are some things you can do,
however, to gain your customers' trust and make them want
to return to your website. Put your customers at ease, and
you'll gain their respect. Their respect for you will give you
credibility, and they will return to your website and buy
because they like and trust you.
Offering great customer service also plays a major part of
looking like a professional, reliable and established
business. Your first impression is just as important for a
business online as it is offline. It can help build you
customer base if your visitors like what you offer.
In addition to gaining customers, you'll (1) improve your
company's image, (2) build a strong competitive edge and
(3) save money by increasing customer retention. Develop
your online business so that people find it helpful,
informative and it improves their lives or businesses.
Here are some things to focus on:
Communicate Empathy.
As with business offline, you need to identify with
your customers and let them know you understand
them. However, since they aren't able to see or
hear you, you need to make sure you are very clear
in communicating that you're on their side. Ask
them questions so that you can understand them
and help them better.
Respond Quickly.
Speedy service is very important to a business's
success on the internet. People go to the internet to
get instant information and solutions. If you don't
respond to their questions quickly, they will go
somewhere else to find the answer.
Treat Each Person Like Your Only Customer.
Communication on the internet can feel very distant
or impersonal. Make your business stand out by
giving your customers the personal attention they
appreciate. Don't treat everyone alike, because not
everyone is looking for the same thing.
Focus on the reason for the purchase rather than
the merchandise itself. Your prospects don't care
how much you know until they know how much you
care ? about them. If they trust that you will find a
solution to their specific problem, there is no reason
for them to go elsewhere.
Know Your Product.
Customers want assurance that your company
provides a knowledgeable person that they can go
to for advice, support or questions. Make sure that
the information that you give your customers is
always correct and consistent. This will help build
trust and respect for your business.
Share what you know with your customer as you
customize the sale to fit their needs. As you solve
their problems, you can also create opportunities by
using your knowledge to suggest more ideas that
will help them.
Follow-Up After the Sale.
Check in with your customers after a sale to make
sure that they're happy with their purchases. Help
them with any questions they have, and let them
know you're there to support them if they need
anything. This is a great opportunity to make
ad-on sales or get customer referrals.
Action speaks louder than words. Follow-up when
you say you will and don't promise more than you
can deliver. Once your customers see your high
service standards and commitment to them, they'll
continue to trust you and tell others about you as
well.
Use Different Techniques to Interact with Your
Website Visitors.
Customers appreciate becoming more involved in
the decisions that your business makes. Give them
opportunities to voice their opinions.
Customer Surveys or Polls
Customer Discussion area (Message Boards)
Product or Service Feedback Page
Also, the easier you make it for your customers to
find information and get questions answered, the
more confidence they will have in your business.
Frequently Asked Questions Page
Give a variety of ways customers can contact you
(e-mail, phone, fax, mail, etc) Listen and learn from
your customers. Don't be afraid to make changes
to accommodate your customers' needs.
Customer service on the internet is not difficult. It's just a
matter of getting into the habit of treating your website
visitors like friends. Spend a little more time getting to know
them initially and gain a customer for life. By interacting with
your customers, you'll be able to keep track of their growing
needs, and you can predict changes that need to be made to
your online business before that sale becomes just another
hit.
###
Sue Barrett works for FApublications and operates the
Home Business Center, which has helped hundreds of
people successfully start their own home businesses.
For more information on growing your business, visit
http://www.homebusinesscenter.com or contact
Sue at, mailto:editor@homebusinesscenter.com
Target Your Market!
------------------------------------------------------------
By Elena Fawkner
Copyright © 1999 All Rights Reserved
The inspiration for this week’s article was a
submission I received from Esther Hinchliff (see her guest
article “Untax Yourself? below). In email discussion with
Esther about her article, I mentioned to her how refreshing
it was to receive an article submission that actually had
some real relevance to the subject matter of my newsletter!
That got me thinking. How do you all decide where to target
your marketing efforts for your businesses?
I’m sure you’ve all heard, ad nauseam, how writing articles
and having them published in newsletters together with your
byline and resource box is an effective way to generate
publicity for your business. It’s excellent advice so long
as your article gets read by a targeted audience that has
an interest in the subject matter of your article.
It seems every day I receive at least one article
submission request. I’m glad because I welcome article
submissions from writers. I publish a guest article every
week so I’m constantly on the lookout for fresh, relevant
material that I think you will find useful.
So why is it that some people insist on sending me articles
about things like nutritional supplements (a case in point)?
I have nothing against nutritional supplements (I take them
myself!) but this newsletter is about how to start and
successfully operate your own home business.
And these articles aren’t about starting up a home business
as a distributor of nutritional supplements (THAT would
actually be useful), but, rather, about the health benefits
of the particular nutritional supplement being promoted.
WHY would I put something so irrelevant to the raison
d’etre of this newsletter in front of you? Sure, a few of
you might, coincidentally, be interested in nutritional
supplements but that is not why you subscribe to this
newsletter. And if you’re not interested in nutritional
supplements then all I would achieve by publishing an
article on the topic is a whole heap of unsubscribe requests,
and rightly so. So I’m not going to waste your time with
it, no matter how well written and engrossing the article
may otherwise be.
In order to be effective in promoting your particular
business, whatever it is, you have to seek out your target
market. This is as true online as it is offline. Just
because you CAN reach massive numbers of people with your
message on the internet far more cheaply (read “free?) and
quickly (read "instantly") than you can offline, does
this mean you SHOULD?
What’s the point of devoting your time and energies to
marketing to a massive group of people without first
knowing whether they, as a group, have a general interest
in your subject matter?
It’s MUCH more efficient and effective, not to mention
smarter, to first find out where your prospective customers
congregate and then target that congregation than it is to
use a scattergun approach and hope that one of your bullets
will find its target. You will find that by selectively
targeting your prospects before marketing to them, your
conversion ratio (the proportion of your target market
that actually purchases your product) will be much higher
than the results you will achieve taking potshots in the
dark.
After all, what would you rather have, a conversion ratio
of 2% out of a target market of 100 or a conversion ratio
of .00002% out of a target market of 10,000?
If your business is nutritional supplements, find
newsletters that deal with health-related issues and submit
articles (and classified ads) to the publishers of those
newsletters. If your business relates to promoting knowledge
of the tax-breaks available to home business owners, target
newsletters related to home businesses.
This is how Esther found us. She researched the home
business category in Ruth Townsend’s Directory of Ezines,
and targeted publishers of related newsletters. Lo and
behold, she found a publisher who was looking for useful
and informative content for this week’s newsletter!
To SUBSCRIBE to this Newsletter:
mailto:subscribe@fawkner.com
Untax Yourself
------------------------------------------------------------
By Esther B. Hinchliff
Copyright © 1999 All Rights Reserved
If you are currently running a home business or plan to
start one with the intent of making a profit, there are
numerous tax deductions you are legally entitled to. If you
are not taking advantage of them, you are making Uncle Sam
your #1 charity!
If you operate a home business, your home is your primary
business location. The “business use? proportion of your
home, garage, or even your barn may qualify for beneficial
tax deductions.
Taxes alone cost the typical family more than their home,
food, and clothes combined and are, in fact, almost double
the cost of any of the other typical family expenses.
Cutting those taxes is the single most important money saving
strategy you can employ - ever!!
If you operate a home business, many formerly “personal?
expenses are now legally tax-deductible (on a proportionate
basis), including mortgage (and other) interest, rent,
insurance, utilities, telephone, computer, fax, and most
importantly...your car!
No different from many people, I thought logging my trip
mileage was a nuisance at best, until I was given this small
test. On your next trip to Office Depot, or to your Shell
Station for gas, oil change, battery, or to the Post Office
for stamps, xerox copies, or mail pick-up...do this:
l) set your odometer back to zero;
2) reach in your wallet and take out $1;
3) when you have driven three miles, throw it out the window;
4) repeat steps 3 and 4 until you get back home.
Your automobile, one of the most costly monthly expenses of
the typical American family, can instead become one of your
largest tax deductions because you can use it daily in your
business. Plan ways to promote your business from the moment
you leave your place of business (your home) in the morning
to the moment you return, and you will find that by properly
documenting your use, up to 100% of your vehicle use can be
deductible. For a 20,000 mile per year vehicle this amounts
to over $6,500 in vehicle tax deductions for your business.
For example, shopping trips become opportunities to compare
prices and prospect other customers at the grocery store,
the mall, virtually anywhere! Church and school visits
become opportunities to promote your business while
converting formerly personal expenses into substantial tax
deductions.
Another tax advantage of a home business is that you can hire
your children (under the age of 18) to work in your business,
and convert the former expense of allowances to tax
deductible wages without paying ANY payroll taxes. Now you
may pay each of them up to $4,250 per year TAX FREE, and
deductible to you, as wages for helping you in your
business. For a family with 2-3 children, this deduction
alone can be worth $8,500 to $12,750 in tax deductions,
all because you are now in business for yourself!
Naturally, you must document their employment by way of time
cards and actual checks written and deposited to their bank
accounts. But wouldn't you rather give it to your children
than the government? And...things like school clothes can
be paid for from this account, as well as class trips, lunch
money, hair cuts, and any other 'personal' expense. The
residue certainly would build up for college tuitions.
Other tax advantages of a home business include the
(proportionate) costs of purchasing, renting or leasing a
security system and the depreciation of your home and
equipment such as computers and printers. With a little
creativity, “hobbies? such as golf, hunting, fishing and
even vacations with your family can become opportunities for
you to actively promote your business and therefore realize
more tax deductions.
Without question, if you are going to use the tax laws to
your best advantage, you will need ongoing accounting and
tax saving strategies and advice, just like the Vanderbilts,
the Mellons, the Kennedys, and Bill Gates. Wealthy people
spend thousands to save millions and, in proportion, you must
be prepared to spend hundreds to save thousands in order to
keep more of what you earn.
LAWFUL tax minimization (note we are NOT talking here about
AVOIDING one’s tax obligations, rather MINIMIZING, using
lawful means, the tax we are obliged to pay) is one of the
most important elements of acquiring and retaining wealth.
A new home business is born every 11 seconds, but in order
to qualify for business-related tax deductions, you must be
able to prove that you are in business, actively
participating, and working towards making a profit. Even if
you do not make a profit from your business right away, so
long as you have a genuine profit motive you are lawfully
entitled to potentially thousands in tax deductions, provided
you can document active business participation.
Just like all those companies you have ever worked for, as
owner of your own business, you are entitled to the same tax
deductions they have enjoyed for years. And, like them...
YOU can get to keep more of the profits. But if you don't
ask, no one will offer!
---------------------------------
Esther B Hinchliff, AIM Associate
We are..."masters of the game".
http://www.aimpays.com/Uwin
mailto:soaskme@ilovemoney.to