Towards A Healthy Economy + Marketing World

The bright old Chinese proverb has a very strong implication; the catchphrase explained the fact that each and every person acknowledges an event a great deal if it is seen. Through video production or videography it is practical to capture a sequence of events.

At the present time in different commercial presentations, video recording is repetitively utilised. By using video production services it is feasible to offer the crucial info to quite a lot of different potential consumers to help convince them. Online Video production at present is employed for numerous purposes; however, more than a few promotional videos and awareness related presentations are usually made in order to achieve certain company objectives.

Audio video presentations are currently in vogue and are therefore used in almost any type of corporate activity. Video production agencies normally interact with a specific client or a firm that seeks to produce an online video commercial, a presentation or a series of video clips. The total work of video production is frequently carried out by individual freelancers; nonetheless there are a couple of online video production agencies around at the moment.

Input of music composers, cameraman & script writers can also be very common when creating internet video productions. Furthermore, marketing agencies & public relations agencies have very recently become involved with video publishing and distribution. If you are looking for a company that specialises in corporate video production in London then look no further than Vidify.

I get so frustrated when people call me lucky. They
tell me they wish they could have the things I have,
or they wish they could travel or see the world like
I do. They tell me I’m lucky…. but they ignore
the fact that luck is what you make of it.

My friends and family also wonder HOW I could go
on 4 or 5 vacations a year, or fly around the country
to visit people when I do not “WORK”

They tell me I am SOOO Lucky and they WISH
they could do that. I watch, they work, go home,
burn on the boob tube, or play games on their computer
and then wonder why they have no time or money.

Then they say I’m LUCKY. UNREAL.

HMMMM I do NOT believe in LUCK. I am blessed
and I am thankful I was able to break out of the mold
and overcome my early training to fit into the “normal”
where we report to a JOB, give our 8-10 hours, come
home, watch tv, so we can do it all over again.

There was NO luck involved in that. It was simply
pure determination, and hard work, and failing a lot
of times before I learned to get it right.

There were times I did have that normal JOB, and I
came home after serving my sentence, to get online
or on the phone, and work for 6-8 more hours. I
would get up 2 hours early to answer email and work
then go to that JOB. I would put in time on my
business weekends, nights, every spare moment
I was doing SOMETHING to grow my business.

I was determined to succeed and let nothing stand
in my way. That’s NOT luck, it’s WORK.

Thinking back, I really do NOT know how I did it.
I failed MANY times. I made some ROTTEN choices.
I started over more times than I can count on my
fingers and toes. I got knocked down, cheated,
lied to, mislead.

With each failure, I learned something and looking back
I would say, it was a learning process. I learned more
from the failures than the successes, and I learned what
NOT to do, so I knew how to look for the pitfalls and I
developed a keen sense of intuition.

Also, because of the many failures, I decided to diversify.
I decided it is better for me to build a solid income with
multiple checks. This way, should one not go so well,
or let me down, I would not be without an income, or
completely starting from scratch.

I did NOT build multiple incomes all at once, but one
by one. It’s proven to be a wise choice, as today, I have
5 checks that come in, some monthly and some weekly.

START where you are now, focus on it, build it, and grow
it and then find something that fits well with it and start
another income stream. Talking to prospects becomes
a matter of helping them, get what they want, in the
way they want, so you learn to buile the relationship
first.

THERE IS NO LUCK.

I learned Luck is simply being willing to step up to the
plate, and swing. If you miss the ball, you swing again
and again till you hit that home run. Home runs are not
limited to ONCE in your life, so you get up and do another
and another.

That’s my LUCK. If you want to be lucky yourself, you
just have to get up, and decide what you want, then go for
it. NEVER let anyone stop you. Just take action.

Don’t listen to the critics. Use your brain. Don’t you think
if they knew HOW to do it, they would. IF you want to make
10,000 per month, don’t listen to someone making 1,000.
Look around, pick a roll model. Find people that ARE already
doing what you want to do.

WHO ARE YOU FOLLOWING?

Choose a mentor, and learn from them and with them. Do
something daily to grow your business, even if you have only
30 minutes. USE your time wisely, and stay focused on
those goals.

Again no luck. I do believe I am very fortunate to have
stuck with this, and not listened to the so called experts that
preach to us all.

Here are a few things I was told over the years that I have
were totally UNTRUE. The experts were wrong there
when they said:

1. You can not build a “real” business on the internet.
2. You can not build more than one company at once.
3. You can not build relationships online.

I have done all 3.

I LOVE A challenge and each time an EXPERT claimed I could not
do something only made me more determined to prove them wrong.

I look around at the so called “heavy hitter” experts in our business. Most of them may have built a fortune at one time in a company, but they do not tell us what they spent to do it. They tell us only what they want us to hear so we will follow them.

In addition, I do not know of ANY big name person, in our industry that is with the same company today as when I knew them 5-10 years ago. SO….if their theory of only doing ONE company holds true, why did they move to another one?

One other thing to ponder, while the EXPERTS told me I could
only succeed in one, the same experts were selling autoresponders, web sites and tools to their downline, something I’ve NEVER believed in.

So to me, if someone says something CAN’T be done, I am more
determined than ever to do it. I don’t believe in the word can’t any more than the word luck.

JUST DO IT.

For myself, if you tell me I can’t, I will prove you wrong.

I will find a way, I will move mountains, or go over, around or through.

I know one thing, if I can do it so can you! I have no special talents, I am NOT a public speaker. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that most of you out there, are much more talented than I ever thought of being, so it’s not about talent.

Use your talents and don’t be stopped by critics.

Luck is nothing more than ACTION and persistence and good hard
work. Want your luck to change, change your outlook and take
action today. Go to WORK, and focus on the task at hand, build
your business so down the road you friends can call you lucky too.

GO to work and meet me at the TOP and let’s celebrate together.

Diane “AKA MLMBlonde” Walker is a professional network marketer
that has build her business using the power of the internet. She has also developed MULTIPLE income streams and is committed to helping others reach their dreams. http://mlmblonde.com

Reprinting this article is permitted with this footer included.

Copywrite 2005 - Legendary Ventures

I know what you’re thinking, “Why is having your own product essential?” Quite simple really, without your own product you will never market to your full potential. We all want to make as much money as possible. That is the nature of business and because of this I have listed below my favourite and most powerful reasons why you need your own product to promote as opposed to be an affiliate for somebody else’s product.

Please read and understand these reasons because they make a whole lot of sense.

1. Affiliate Program - Without your own product it is possible to have your own affiliate program. Big deal, what’s so fancy about having your own affiliate program? I’m glad you asked because it is a BIG DEAL. When you sell online you are only one person and your results depend completely on you but when you have your own affiliate program other people do the work for you. They make you sales and your sales are muliplied expontially without any additional effort on your behalf. The best part is they only get paid when they have made a sale. Having an affiliate program is more than a good idea, I would go so far as to say, it’s essential. The best and only affilate software that I would recommend is JVManager (http://www.PrivateRights.com/JVManager.html ), so flexible and worth every penny.

2. Product Packaging - I would like to see you package together a whole lot of products via an affiliate link. The word, impossible, comes to mind because normal affiliate programs just don’t work that way, you have very limited contol. But why would you want to do that anyway? Primarily because people love a bargain, and in addition to that your product/offer will have a lot more impact when it is combined with related items/bonuses.

3. Special Offers - One of my personal favourites that is only possible with your own product (unless you have very good relationships with a product owner and you have some major clout as an affiliate), is the ability to offer people a lower/special price. If you own your own product, you control the price so you decide whether you want to reward your customers for their loyalty or just infuse your cash flow if it is a little low with a firesale.

4. Joint Venture Partnerships - Only with your own product is it possible to wheel and deal with other product owners and put together a joint venture deal that will knock people’s socks off. Joint ventures or JV’s can allow you to reach a target market that will only be possible with other partners.

I could keep on going but these are my favourite benefits of having your own product and why I strongly suggest you do everything possible to get your own product.

You don’t have to spend a fortune or a lot of time creating
your own product Private Label Resell Rights are the easiest
and cheapest solution to this problem.

Paul Kleinmeulman makes it dead easy to own niche information products instantly. To discover 10 reasons why private label resell rights are 10 times better than ordinary resell rights simply visit:
Private Label Rights

To create a presence on the internet, businesses need to have a
good understanding of what they wish to achieve before they
start developing their site.

While this may sound very simple, often businesses focus on
their core capabilities or just simply running their business.
When it comes to developing a website, they do not put in as
much time or thought as they should.

Knowing what you want to achieve with your website will help
your web developer to meet your needs as efficiently and
effectively as possible.

Knowing why you want a website and being able to communicate
this to the web developer is very important. Ultimately this
will save you money and help to build your business. There are
three key reasons for having an internet site. Often the purpose
of the business website will cover more than one of three
categories:

1. Letting people know you exist, and how to contact you
2. Automating a service which your business provides
3. Selling your product or service, and gaining new business

Let’s explore each of these in turn.

1. Letting people know you exist, and how to contact you

This is an extension of your yellow pages advertisement. If
someone wants to find your business they can type in your
companyname.com / .com.au / etc into their browser’s address bar
to find your address, phone number, what you offer, and maybe
complete an online form to ask you a question.

2. Automating a service which your business provides

There are many tasks carried out by your business on a day to
day basis. Some of these tasks may be carried out through your
website, or could be in part replaced by allowing your customers
to self-serve from your website. For example, if you receive
many calls from your customers inquiring as to the estimated
delivery date or progress of their order, you may decide to
allow the customer to quickly see the status of their order via
a secure order tracking feature on your website. This will
provide a better service to your customers, streamlining your
processes and often theirs, and allow you to concentrate your
resources on fulfilling the orders.

3. Selling your product or service, and gaining new business

On an ecommerce site, where a customer can order and pay for
your product or service and in so doing, kick start the process
inside your business to fulfill his or her request. The process
to fulfill the customers request may take many forms, for
example an email with purchase details sent to the right person
or department in your business or, in more sophisticated
solutions, the creation of an order in your manufacturing
control system. This type of website will also provide
information regarding your product or service to assist in the
sales process and help customers to make an informed decision
about whether it is your product or service that they require.
Effectively promoting your product or service via your website
and an online marketing strategy can assist you to increase
your sales and reach additional target markets.

Copyright Contact Point IT Services

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Heather Maloney has a Masters in Technology (Internet) and has
been operating a business in the provision of web development
and technology solutions since 1996. Heather has also project
managed a broad range of IT projects for a wide range of
businesses from small through to multinational companies.

If you would like to explore ways to utilise the internet for
your business, please feel free to contact me via:
http://www.contactpoint.com.au

Why do most online small businesses fail? Because they fail to recognize and act upon the profound difference between offline and online commerce. Offline, it’s all about “location, location, location.” Put your business where people crowd by and you’re all set. Get your cash register ready! Online, small businesses fail to act on the fundamental reality of how people use the Web. No one “passes by.” They search for “information, information, information.”

Any business takes hard work, but learning to build a successful ebusiness may be simpler than you think. Provide in-demand information about something you know or are passionate about. From that point on, everything else should flow effortlessly. Use the following 4-step process to build your Internet business the intelligent way.

Step 1) Content

Web users search for information and solutions. They are not looking for you. They don’t even know you exist. They want the information that you hold though. So give it to them. Convert your knowledge into in-demand content. To succeed online, start where your customers start - at the search engines.

Step 2) Traffic

Your content ranks high at search engines like Google, Yahoo! and MSN. Your high ranking content is attracting free, targeted, open-to-buy visitors. These future customers meet you and your products or services at your site. When you provide excellent content, the search engines provide you with free customers! You need visitors and the search engines need to provide excellent search results. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Step 3) Pre-sell

Complete strangers begin to develop trust and confidence in you. They do this because you pre-sell them by over delivering what they were looking for- relevant, original, information that solves their problem or answers their question. Building an online relationship is the most effective way to create raving fans! Word-of-mouth spreads and you receive even more visitors for free.

Step 4) Monetize

Convert warm, pre-sold raving fans into income. This is called monetizing. Believe it or not this is the easy part. You have already created content, received free visitors, and developed a trusting relationship with them. Monetizing cannot happen if you fail to first execute the content-traffic-presell process. This is where 99% of small e-businesses fail.

Succeeding in any small business is the result of hard work. Learning how to conquer the Internet is simpler than many imagine it to be. Choose the right tools and build your e-empire with ease.

Copyright 2005 strength-training-woman.com

Lynn VanDyke’s website now ranks in the top 1% of all sites in the world. Her Alexa ranking is 115,146 of over 56 million websites. For your free step-by-step guide to starting your own online business or work from home business visit:
http://strength-training-woman.com/sone.html

One mistake new affiliate marketers make time and again is thinking that
their ‘product’ is the merchant’s product.

While one can certainly view their business from this perspective, it puts
you in the mindset of ‘pushing the link’, rather than building a relationship
with potential customers.

Super successful affiliates understand that their job is not to sell, but to
presell - and their real product is content.

Let’s look at this from a customer’s viewpoint to see why building a
content-focused and interactive site is so powerful, and why this type
of site can radically boost your commissions.

1. Shopping and Connecting

When the average shopper goes online, he or she is likely to have a list of
trusted sites already in mind. This is particularly true for certain classes of
products in the tangible goods marketplace.

However, there is a large pool of potential customers seeking information
and doing research before they buy. These may be first-time internet
shoppers - or they may fall into a special interest group and have a lot of
comparision shopping to do before they make a decision.

These are the customers you can draw to your site with quality content.

But I would like to recommend you go one step beyond just linking up
some articles or putting up a newsletter. Instead, build a site that creates
a sense of community.

In other words, provide a place where people can connect with their
interests and with each other. Why?

Simple: Any site that creates a sense of support is going to generate trust,
spawn word-of-mouth referrals and attract repeat visitors. Your site
becomes a ‘hub’ or ‘authority’ on a subject, making it an ideal ‘jumping off
point’ in the buying process.

It’s like shopping with friends. There’s safety in numbers. There is also
much more activity where ideas are shared freely. Not only that, a
customer-focused, interactive site allows you to collect feedback and
quickly adjust to the needs of your target market.

2. Designing a Community

Setting up this type of site is no more difficult than setting up a static
content site - it just requires a little more advanced planning.

What you need:

- Structured content
- Message board system
- Newsletter
- Multiple related affiliate products

This affiliate site model relies on having multiple products to promote within
your niche. For example, let’s say you’ve chosen “The South Beach Diet”
as your niche.

In your profit model, you would have a selection of products like the
following: a south beach diet e-book, a south beach diet recipes e-book,
a recommended merchant for supplements or vitamins and so on.

Your content should be structured around beginning, intermediate and
advanced topics related to the diet. Your newsletter content will cover
these topics as well, but with an enhanced focused on recommended
’solutions’, ie, your affiliate products. Of course, your affiliate links will be
sprinkled throughout the online content as well.

Now, here’s where a clever tactic comes in. You set up a message board
for customers who have purchased your recommended products through
your link. Their ability to create usernames and participate on the forum is
dependent on them mailing you their receipt of purchase.

However, general sections of the forum remain open to all guest visitors
for viewing. These sections should be focused discussions on user’s
success with the product(s).

Basically, what you’ve done is set up a ‘user’s group’ for a product where
one didn’t exist previously.

This accomplishes several things. It allows your faithful visitors to do
extended preselling for you, and create additional content on the fly. It
creates an atmosphere of trust, but also allows the visitor to be subject
to “peer influence” in the selling process, thus, taking the focus off of your
site making sales behind the scenes.

Finally, the message board will give you access to reams of data:
customer opinions and experience, their feelings about the products, what
they’re really looking for and a lot more. You can quickly adjust your
offerings based on this feedback, as well as compile a super list of ideas
for creating your own product - a product which meets and even
exceeds their expectations, because you now know what they did and
did not like about the competitor’s products you just sold to them.

The type of site I just described to you is the same kind employed by most
successful super-affiliates.

Of course, you can still do quite well just using a simple landing page and
newsletter to promote one product. However, if you’re looking to target
one niche and plumb it to its depths, this expanded model is the one I
recommend.

So, go ahead and set up some landing pages, start collecting leads and
test the response you get for various niches.

When you hit on one that’s hungry and hot, go ahead and move up from
the one page-one product model and build an interactive, super-affliate
hub. You’ll soon find yourself dominating your niche, and able to reap the profits from a variety of product offerings!

About the Author

Ewen Chia’s Free Secret Manual “Web
Money Formula” Reveals How You Can
Start Making Quick Cash Online In As
Little As 7 Days…Even From Scratch!
Click Now For Instant Download:
http://www.InstantMarketingSecrets.com

The word Website appears first in the title of this article because, especially in the
home based business and network marketing industries, you will often be dealing
with an individual Webpage or Website as opposed to a large company. That Website
might be the independent representative page of a representative, or it could be an
independently developed page operated by an entrepreneur.

Even if you are looking at a Webpage that is owned by a company, often you will
have to go no further in the evaluation process to rule out a particular Website or
opportunity. Then, only if the Website passes your tests, do you go on to evaluate
the company and opportunity.

Please realize, also, that this article does not really address the issues involved in
evaluating the opportunity side of a company, or fully evaluating the company and
opportunity combined. On the Homepage of ABCIncome.com appears a 13-point
criteria developed out of two decades of experience with evaluating business
opportunities. The version on the Homepage is only an overview, but a more
complete version of what to look for will appear soon in the form of a new article.

One other point before we really get started, is that this article is not concerned with
aesthetic issues. Granted, there are certain, “generally accepted Web design
practices,” some of which will be talked about here. However, just because a
Website uses a certain type of graphics, or perhaps a wild color scheme (or a boring
one), doesn’t mean that it can’t offer good content or opportunities. There are just
too many factors having to do with personal preference for these to be considered a
major factor for the purpose of this article.

Ok, with that said, here are some of the things that you should be looking for when
evaluating a Website or a company:

1. Is the MAIN Website directly accessible via a URL (Web address) that reasonably
makes sense?
Some Websites, most notably those that are questionable, will
occasionally set up even their main URL so that it isn’t very intuitive or accessible for
the general public. For instance, normally a Website name might look something like
this:

www.evaluateawebsite.com

Or www.evaluateawebsite.com/index.htm

Or www.evaluateawebsite.com/main.asp

On the other hand, if something isn’t quite right it might look something like this:

www.evaluateawebsite.com/prelaunch/

Or www.evaluateawebsite.com/comingsoon/

Or www.evaluateawebsite.com/invitationonly/

Let me immediately point out that simply because a URL ends with a name similar to
one of the examples above that doesn’t mean that the Website isn’t legitimate. If,
for instance, you are reading this article directly on the Website of ABCIncome.com
instead of in my email newsletter, then it ends with a name that is tacked onto the
main Web address of ABCIncome.com. It’s pretty standard practice in the industry to
add forward slashes and additional directories, folders, and/or page names to the
right of the main URL.

However, IF you cannot erase those extra characters to the right and directly access
the Website with just the portion that ends in .com, or .net, or .biz, or .ws, etc., that
may be cause for concern. Many Websites direct visitors to pages that aren’t the
main Homepage. However, if you can’t get to the Website’s main Homepage, again,
that may be cause for suspicion. Business Websites are all about marketing a
product or service, so any normal Website owner would typically want to make sure
that their Homepage is accessible to any and all visitors.

2. What kind of contact options are provided? Email, Contact Form, telephone
number, etc.?

If there are no contact options, unless there is a VERY good reason, such as that the
site is undergoing construction or maintenance, consider it to be a big RED Flag!

If the site offers a way for you to purchase something, but there are no contact
options (until after purchase, you hope), then absolutely consider it a BIG RED Flag!

In general, the more contact options, the better. I would feel the most comfortable,
for instance, dealing with Website where an email address or contact form, and a
phone number, and a street address are provided. I would feel least comfortable
with a Website where only an email address and nothing else is provided.

Remember also that you can, or should, view Websites owned by individuals slightly
differently than Websites owned by a company. Any legitimate, reputable company,
for instance, should offer at least some contact information, again, the more the
better. However, it is not uncommon for Websites owned and managed by
individuals to feature less contact information. Especially if it is owned by a home
based business person; he or she might not be comfortable publishing their home
street address or phone number on the Web, for instance.

In rare cases with certain types of replicating Websites (where many representatives
have the same type of Website) the user may not have the option of providing more
contact details. But, again, that’s rare. These days even most Websites aimed at
individual users allow the user to add and update their contact information.

Even a P.O. Box is better than no address at all. Here again, whether dealing with a
giant company or an individual, it is not uncommon for companies or individuals to
use P.O. Boxes to more efficiently handle their mail.

True, some unscrupulous operators hide behind P.O. Boxes. However, they are a
much smaller percentage in comparison to legitimate users. The main reason is
that, especially after 9/11, in order to apply for and use a P.O. Box or address
service the applicant has to provide various kinds of information, including a real
street address, and proof of identity, etc.

Some Websites provide only an instant chat username as a means of contact. Here
also, usually to be considered a red flag.

Because scam artists know that providing a means of contact considerably increases
the credibility of a Website, one of the cleverest tactics to watch out for is a site that
provides a “Live Chat” or “Live Support” or “Live Customer Service” option, etc., but
it is never really staffed!

The above tactic is often combined with the additional tactic of the site claiming to
be located in a part of the World that just happens not to be open for business
during regular business hours in busy parts of the World such as the USA and
Canada.

I saw that tactic employed by a scam Website claiming to be located in the UK. It
offered, “Live Support,” but noted that they operated according to UK time, which,
conveniently, meant that by the time that most people in the USA and Canada got
out of work and visited their Website, it was too late to make contact due to it being
after hours in the UK. In reality, the site’s “Live Support” option was never staffed,
but most visitors never caught on due to the cleverness of the scheme.

3. After checking the items above I usually look for an “About Page.”
Here again a
Website run by an individual might not have one. However, the best companies,
whether large or small, will almost always have at least one page if not more
devoted to information about the company. Sometimes information about the
company’s management is provided as well.

These pages also go by names such as, “Company info.,” “Our Company,” or just,
“Company,” etc.

The About page can often tell you a lot about a company, including how long they
claim to have been in business. In general, the longer the better!

4. Does the Website feature any certifications, affiliations, or rankings, backed by
reputable and unbiased 3rd party organizations such as The Better Business Bureau,
Chamber of Commerce, Dun & Bradstreet, TRUSTe, Alexa, DSA (Direct Selling
Association), etc.?

Though none of the above organizations endorse or guarantee companies,
membership in and/or certification by a respected 3rd party organization can go a
long way toward giving you greater peace of mind that a company or individual is
legitimate and trustworthy.

Something that people don’t commonly know about the Better Business Bureau is
that they can establish a file and keep records on ANY company or individual
whether they are a member or not. The difference is, however, that a company who
is not a member has not agreed to the terms of the Better Business Bureau, cannot
display their logos, and has no way to really showcase a good record if they have
one.

However, even if a company is not listed with the BBB, IF they’ve been around for a
while and you can verify that fact, at least the BBB may have on file any negative
complaints that have been filed.

I must stress, however, this really applies only if the company that you are doing
business with has been around for a considerable length of time, and you can verify
it. That’s because a common tactic of scam artists is to start a new company, take
people’s money, and then simply close their doors, start another new company, and
repeat the process all over again. Thus, if they are not a BBB member, they may very
well have taken advantage of many unsuspecting victims, but simply haven’t been
around long enough for complaints to have reached the BBB yet. That’s why it is a
requirement that when a business or individual applies for membership they must
have been in business for at least 6 months to a year, and, further, the BBB goes as
far back as 3 years in their files to see if there have been any past complaints before
granting membership.

Unscrupulous companies that try to evade detection by closing their doors and then
opening up again under a new name are often detected in the BBB’s database. So, if
you know that a company previously operated under a different name it would be a
good idea to check to see if any complaints were filed against the company under
its previous name(s).

5. WHOIS and Alexa are tools that you can use in combination to further develop a
profile and picture of what a Website is all about.

Alexa ( http://www.alexa.com/ ) allows you to track various data about a Website’s
activity, perhaps how long the site has been around, and maybe who owns it.

Alexa can be a great tool, but you have to be very careful if you aren’t familiar with
what all of the various pieces of information mean. For instance, just because a
Website has a high Alexa rating doesn’t mean it’s credible.

There are enough people who love money enough to jump onboard any scheme or
scam even if it seems too good to be true that unscrupulous Websites have often
been able to achieve high Alexa ratings. The thing to watch for is most of the traffic
being generated by the people who are jumping onboard the scheme and
advertising the site, as opposed to the Website climbing up in the rankings on its
own merits.

Again, it may take you a while before you are able to interpret and read the data to
be able to discern such things. However, one potential clue that “might” be a tip off
is when you see a Website appear out of the blue and all of a sudden it has a high
Alexa rating. Maybe it’s ranked at #77,000, for instance, but it’s only been on the
charts for a few weeks or months. Not always, but, especially if you are utilizing the
other methods discussed here, you may be able to determine that such a brief and
rapid change in ranking is a red flag for that particular Website.

You also have to realize that Websites and the companies and individuals behind
them are separate entities. For instance, Sears Roebuck had obviously already been
around a long, long time before they ever had a Website. And even companies or
individuals that have a Website sometimes add new ones, etc. So, if a company or
individual says they’ve been around for a while, but their Website hasn’t been
around as long, that isn’t necessarily a red flag as long as you can verify the
information.

As for WHOIS, there are numerous WHOIS servers that you can use. Many in fact.
However, three of the best known and most popular are:

InterNIC
http://www.internic.net/

VeriSign
http://registrar.verisign-grs.com/whois/

and Network Solutions
http://www.networksolutions.com/en_US/whois/

WHOIS is a special database that lets you find out about a Website by typing in the
domain name (the Website address). Among the things that you may be able to find
out are out how long the Website has been around, who owns it, and where that
company or individual is actually located.

Earlier I mentioned a scam Website that claimed to be in the UK. Well, using the
same kinds of methods that I’m telling you about here I quickly found all kinds of
red flags. One of the biggest was that when I ran a WHOIS query the result came
back that the site owners were not really in the UK as they claimed to be, but were
actually registered on the offshore island of Belize, a common tactic of, and a HUGE
red flag characteristic of scam operations.

Another thing to watch for are private registrations by companies or individuals who
are obviously advertising as doing business with the public. Private registrations are
those where the real identity of the Website’s owner is not revealed. That’s fine if
someone just wants privacy. However, companies doing business with the public are
by their very nature doing business with the public! Therefore, it really makes no
sense, in most cases, for someone to file a private registration. It can be a red flag
that makes one wonder, who really owns this Website, and why don’t they show
themselves?

6. Dun & Bradstreet and similar business intelligence and credit reporting agencies,
most notably Hoovers, are also excellent options if you really want to find out more
about a company.
From Microsoft to Motorola, Dun & Bradstreet (also known as
D&B) is THE industry’s most respected credit reporting and business intelligence
source for that kind of information.

Unlike most of the other resources mentioned in this article, D&B primarily focuses
on large companies like the Fortune 500, or larger “small” businesses. So, many, if
not most individuals and small businesses will not be listed. Additionally, these
services require a fee, which can be substantial in order for you to pull a report on a
company, unless you have a subscription, which also involves a fair amount of cost.
You can, however, run limited queries at no cost that may be helpful to you.

7. One last point to consider is one that most people never give much thought to
when evaluating a Website or a company, and that is the payment methods they
accept.

Limited payment method acceptance (the inability to accept online payment) may be
a red flag when dealing with all but the smallest companies or individuals.

The bottom line is that the more payment methods a site is able to offer the greater
the convenience for the customer, which equates to more sales. Therefore, no
established company would want to be without the ability to accept multiple forms
of payment, unless, of course, something is wrong.

This article is already lengthy, and space simply does not permit going into detail
about the different types of payment processors. However, in general, a Website
that accepts payment via a secure merchant shopping cart of its own has probably
passed the most rigorous application, credit check, and background verification
process. With a third party processor, such as 2Checkout, ClickBank, or PayPal, this
is less so, but still applicable.

If a company or individual can’t qualify for an account with one of the above
processors that can often be a red flag and a sign of either credit and/or financial
problems, or even fraudulent activity. If a company has had problems that could
explain why they can’t accept common forms of payment. An online Website saying
that it can only accept payment in the form of a money order, cashier’s check, etc.,
should probably be viewed with suspicion.

Also, if a Website features StormPay as the only payment option, and not also
PayPal, that too can be a red flag. That’s because StormPay has much less stringent
application and maintenance requirements than PayPal. So, a Website who HAD an
account with one of the most respected payment processing company accounts like
those described above, but then got into trouble and had their account banned or
terminated, may still be able to get a StormPay account. Certainly not all StormPay
accounts fall into this category, but, again, if it’s the only payment method
accepted, it may be cause for concern.

Likewise, a Website offering as it’s only means of conducting transactions the e-
gold service, may also be cause for concern and even a red flag. e-gold is an
alternative service that allows companies and people to use gold instead of dollars
as a means of conducting transactions. Though e-gold is a legitimate service that
continues to grow and is accepted by many reputable merchants, it is often used by
scam artists for obvious reasons.

GRPMAX, L.L.C. was founded by CEO Phil Covington in 1979 and is the parent
company of ABCIncome.Com. GRPMAX specializes in developing Uniquely Innovative
Technologies & Solutions and has worked with clients ranging from small
business, to government, to the Fortune 500. Specifically, GRPMAX creates solutions
that automate processes that previously required human staffing and interaction.
Mr. Covington’s interest in the home business field started in the 1980s and
developed out of relationships with some of the industry’s most talented and
highest earning individuals, during which time he has actively pursued the creation
of the ultimate home business passive income solution.

Are You Treating Your Internet Business As A Hobby?

By

Michael Murray

Are you treating your Internet business as a hobby? I know I
was for a long time. Then someone gave me a good, healthy
slap in the face (not literally, of course). You may be treating
your Net business as hobby and not even know it. I thought I
was doing everything right. Ask yourself the following three
questions. If you answer “No” to any of them, you may need to
rethink your web strategy.

HAVE YOU STARTED AN OPT-IN LIST YET?- You
probably noticed that every “Expert” says this. Why? Because
it works! The list is gold. My only regret is not starting one
sooner. I seriously needed to be screamed at to start one. So I
started one, still not fully understanding why I needed one. But
then I started seeing a significant increase in my income. Don’t
be a “Doubting Thomas”. Start a list and you’ll thank me later.
Think of it this way: You only have one shot at your website to
get a visitor to buy your product, then they’re gone forever.
Not very good odds. But if they join your opt-in list, you have
multiple chances at selling to them. START THAT LIST……..
NOW!

HAVE YOU PAID YOUR TUITION? Doctors go to Med
School. Lawyers go to Law school. Have you gone to Internet
marketing school? You have to invest in your future. Believe
me, I’ve paid my tuition to get an education in this field! Yet,
some people are “appalled” that they have to pay for an ebook
or a course. If you went down to the local community college,
would you expect to receive a free education? Maybe if you
had a scholarship, but there are none for Internet marketing.
You have an incredible opportunity at your fingertips. Take it
seriously. Learn how to do it. Fortunately, tuition for Internet
marketing is minimal. You just have to find the RIGHT course.
A good course for beginners is the Instant Internet Cashflow
System over at http://www.marketlikeapro.com/cashflow.html.
I call it “Internet Marketing 1101″.

DO YOU HAVE A WEBSITE?- This may seem obvious, but
some people don’t have one. Sites that affiliate programs give
you don’t count, either. Just like you must invest in an
education, you must invest in proper tools, such as your own
DOT COM. And that all it is. An investment. You’ll get it back
tenfold.

Sometimes people e-mail me and say they have no startup
money. I used to be a real softie. Then one of my associates
pointed out that “there are sacrifices that one must make to
obtain a goal. Maybe it means cutting the cable, or selling the
house.” At first this statement shocked me. But it was true.
That’s what separates a hobby from a business. Commitment.
I’m not saying go out and sell your house. That’s an extreme.
Just be willing to make sacrifices. I’m not just talking money,
either. It will take a lot more time and effort than it will money.

The Internet really is the next “gold rush”. And people are
staking their claim. Don’t get left out. We all need hobbies, but
the Internet isn’t a hobby for me. It’s a business. What is it for
you?

Michael Murray is webmaster of http://www.marketlikeapro.com
and http://www.marketinglikeapro.com/
You can subscribe to his free weekly ezine by sending a blank
e-mail to mailto:marketlikeapro1@aweber.com

This article will teach you the basics of starting your
first internet business. You’ll be introduced to some very
useful products and services. You can also use this as a
checklist to help stay focused and make it easier to set up
and improve your internet business.

1) ‘Find a Market’ - Find a market before you decide on a
product. If you pick a product first then find out later
there isn’t a market for it, you will have wasted a lot of
time and money. So be sure to look for the market first.
Also try to find an area that inspires or excites you. If
you find your passion then it’ll be easier to stay motivated
when building your business. Use Google to search different
keywords. Try searching with Yahoo to see what else is
selling. Check eBay for all their different categories. And
use ClickBank to look for interesting markets. When you
locate a market and find out what people want, all you’ll
have to do is sell it to them. After your first internet
project is up and running, and is profitable, then you may
want to start looking for your next market. Remember it’s
very easy to jump from one project to the next before the
first one is finished. So try to find a market or project
that you really like and stay with it until its making
money.

2) ‘Find a Product’ - After finding a market you’ll need to
find a product to sell. You could search the internet to see
what other people are selling to get some ideas. Or buy
resale rights to a product. Maybe you can sell an affiliate
product. Remember you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Find
a product someone else is selling and make it a little
better, different, lower in price, or add a bonus whenever
someone buy from you. If you choose to sell digital products
you will find many extra benefits such as: no shipping or
handling, low start up cost, your profit margin will be
close to 100%, your customer will get their product right
away. And a lot of it can be set up automatically so there’s
less work for you. Make sure to take full advantage of the
automation possibilities of the internet.

3) ‘Get a Domain Name’ - You’ll want to have your own domain
name. Try to think of a few different names because your
first choices may not be available. Choose a short name and
it will be easier for people to remember. If possible get
domain names ending with .com. You should also try to get a
name to match your product. And maybe use keywords in your
domain name to get a better listing on search engines.

4) ‘Hosting Companies’ - The purpose of hosting company is
to keep your website running properly. They will make sure
everything is working properly so your customers can
navigate through it and buy your product or service. So this
is a very important responsibility. If your website isn’t
working properly or not at all then you are losing money.
You may find some free hosting companies, but you really do
get what you pay for. So it may be better to use a paid
hosting company.

5) ‘Create a Website’ - Create a website so your customers
can buy your products 24 hour a day. You will be competing
with lots of other websites so try to make yours unique. If
your site takes a long time to upload your potential
customers will go somewhere else. Graphics are nice to look
at but slow to upload so have more text and less graphic.
Remember its words that sell products. To get ideas for you
website search the web and look for sites that you like.
Make sure your website is easy to navigate. And if you are
short on time and have the money you could hire a
professional to build your site. Or if you want to save
money you could do it yourself.

6) ‘Payment Processor’ - To collect money for your products
you will need a payment processor. Make sure that you accept
credit cards because most transactions will be made with
them. But you should also consider other options as well,
like accepting checks and money orders. And you may want to
use PayPal. The more ways you can collect money the more
sales you’ll make. And if you’re selling a digital product
you may want to use ClickBank.

7) ‘Autoresponder’ - If you want to make your internet
business easier, then you’ll want to automate as much as
possible by using an autoresponder. You can automate a lot
of your every day business tasks leaving more time for you
to concentrate on more important things. Here are a few
examples: send out email advertisements to everyone on your
list at predetermined intervals. Automate the delivery of
several different mini courses all at once. Send out
sequential emails automatically whenever someone buys one of
your products. Have all of your digital products sent out
automatically. And with an autoresponder you can collect
names and email addresses and add them to your list of
customers and much, much more.

‘Free Advertising’ - This may be a good way to start out
if you are limited on funds. But this will be slower than
paid advertising and will take a lot more time. And time is
money so figure out how much you’re worth and monitor your
time. If you are spending a lot of time with free
advertising and not getting the results you like, then you
may want to try something else. Keep in mind when using free
advertising someone else may also place their ad with yours
and this is not very professional. Also when you join these
free advertising lists it usually means everyone on that
list can send free advertising to you. So you may get a lot
of unwanted emails.

9) ‘Paid Advertising’ - You may get better results with paid
advertising. And at first you may think blasting your ad to
as many people as possible will make you the most money. But
this really isn’t a good idea for a couple of reasons. First
a lot of people won’t have an interest in your product so
they’ll probably not even read your ad. And second you may
be accused of spamming which is something you never want to
do. So always try placing ads with your specific targeted
group. And always test your results to make sure that its
cost efficient.

10) ‘Collect a List’ - This gets 5 stars. Start collecting
your list of names and email addresses as soon as possible,
add to your list often, and cherish your list because it
will make you money over and over again. Whenever you need
extra money you can send an email promoting a product to
your list. So you’ll want to collect names and emails
addresses by offering free e-books or a mini course, by
having them join your newsletter and of course whenever they
buy your great product.

And remember to always invest in yourself. Invest your money
for quality information that will help expand your business,
and invest your time to thoroughly read the information.

Copyright © Duane Marx

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Duane Marx
For a list of internet marketing resources
and other free marketing tips please visit:
www.internet-checklist.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You have permission to publish this article electronically
or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are
included.

About the Author

Duane Marx
For a list of internet marketing resources
and other free marketing tips please visit:
www.internet-checklist.com

Have you ever received a sales letter or marketing piece that didn’t speak to you at all?

What about receiving a communication that addressed you as ‘madam’, when in fact you are a chap? (… and vice versa)

One of the biggest secrets of getting a better response and a higher ROI (Return On Investment) for your marketing messages is to ensure you ‘BEST FIT’ the communication to the differing segments within your list.

Say if you’ve 500 people in your customer list, 25% of them happen to be women, would you necessarily send out the SAME marketing piece to EVERYONE on the list?

Most marketers of products and services… DO EXACTLY THAT! … BIG MISTAKE…

Breaking a list into its various segments, sub-segments, splinter groups, and carefully targeting the message to each of those groups will ensure that everyone is spoken to… specifically and… personally.

Let’s say that 35% of your list is politically aware and have an affiliation to one or other of the particular parties.

Having a ‘dig’ at the opposition party in the mailing, website, promotion, etc, will more likely keep your people locked in and attentive to what you have to say, than if you didn’t include that piece of vital information.

Of course, be sure NOT to send the same mailing piece to everyone on your list!

What are the other important characteristics of a customer group, that could then be split from the whole and separate marketing messages sent to perfectly matched to their desires?

How about breaking the list into:

• Gender
• Income of Customer
• Geography (Country, Postcode etc.)
• Amount a Customer Spends (top buyers, inner circle etc.)
• Age
• Ethnicity
• Most Burning Concerns and Fears

The vital question to take from this article is to ask yourself… “How Best Can I Divide Up My Own Customers So I Can Communicate To Those Specific Groups With More Targeted Messages”.

Happy Slicing and Dicing.

Copyright 2005 Nick James

About The Author

Nick James is a UK based direct marketer and product developer. During the last 3 years Nick has sold in excess of £1 Million of products and sevices. Subscribe to his Free Tip Of The Week at: www.Nick-James.com New Product: www.FlashAudioWizard.com.