How To Dramatically Improve Your Websiteกs Convers

How To Dramatically Improve Your Websiteกs Conversion Ratio

by: Dean Phillips

According to the socalled experts, a decent conversion ratio is right around one percent. In other words, one out of every one hundred visitors to your website converts to a sale.

Personally, I think a one percent conversion ratio sucks! My website consistently converts right around ten percent. And so do a lot of my Internet marketing collegues. I can assure you, the websites of superstars like Marlon Sanders, Terry Dean and others convert a lot higher than one percent.

Why? Well, besides knowing what we’re doing, we’re also ultracompetitive and don’t settle for mediocre results. And with very few exceptions, a one percent conversion ratio is mediocre.

Unless you’re selling a bigticket item and making $100 or more per sale, itกs extremely difficult to make any real money with only a one percent conversion ratio.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and if your website is attracting mega traffic like Yahoo, then obviously you can do quite well with a one percent or lower conversion ratio.

But what if you don’t have mega trafficand most websites don’t. Then what? What if you’re selling a $20 ebook and you’re only attracting a hundred visitors a day to your website? With a one percent conversion ratio, that means your website is making a measly $20 a day. And believe me, thatกs much more common than you realize.

However, what if you could improve your conversion ratio to five percent? All of a sudden, you’re making $100 a day with the same amount of traffic. Improve your conversion ratio to ten percent and voila, that $100 a day turns into $200 a day!

So, how do you go about improving your conversion ratio? Well, the first thing you need to do is make sure you have a trustworthy and credible website. People buy from websites they trust.

For instance, is the design of your website up to par? Is it easy to navigate, or are you using distracting flash or stupid, meaningless graphics that don’t mean a damn thing and take forever to load? Simplify your website. Get rid of the flash, graphics and popups!

Do you have your own domain name, or does yours contain names like, กGeocitiesก, กAngelfireก or ‘tripodก? Be a professional. Get your own domain name.

Prove what you say. Back up your claims with cold, hard, indisputable and verifiable facts?

Put your name, telephone number and street address on your website?

Use authentic customer testimonials, complete with first and last names? Make sure you get your customers permission first.

Offer a fair and reasonable moneyback guarantee? Thirty days is good. Sixty or ninety days is better!

Make it easy for your customers to pay. And offer a variety of payment options. I can assure you, if you’re using Paypal only, you’re losing sales. There are a lot of people out there, myself included that just won’t do business with Paypal. Itกs too much of a hassle!

And most importantly of all, you have to have a powerful sales letter. A strong and effective sales letter can blast your earnings into the upper stratosphere!

YOU MUST HAVE A POWERFUL SALES LETTER!

If you aren’t capable of writing that type of sales letter, hire me to write it for you.

Follow the steps set forth in this article, and your websiteกs conversion ratio will improve dramatically!

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Make Money Online! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will teach you how to make money online, starting today…Guaranteed! For details just visit my website.

Website: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

This article was posted on September 29, 2004

by Dean Phillips

Don’t Use FFAกs To Build Your Newsletter Subscribe

Don’t Use FFAกs To Build Your Newsletter Subscriber

by: Dean Phillips

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, The initials FFA stand for กFREE For Allก and my advice would be don’t waste your time! FFAกs DON’t WORK!

FFA sites are directories where anyone can place their ad for free. And thatกs exactly what you geta zillion people posting free ads.

When you post your ad on an FFA directory or site, hereกs what will happen. Youกll immediately get back in response to your ad a truckload of autoresponder emails from every Tom, Dick and Harriet soliciting you to join their programs. Hardly anyone ever actually reads your ad. FFAกs will produce next to zero new subscribers to your newsletter.

Here are some suggestions to help you build your newsletter subscriber list:

1. Put a subscriber box on your web site. People can easily enter their email address and send it to you. A percentage of people who visit your web site will sign up for your newsletter. Just don’t scare them off by asking for a lot of personal information. Put their minds at ease by promising not to share their email address with anyone else.

2. Announce your newsletter in the ezine announcement directories. There are several sites with searchable catalogues of ezines. These sites get lots of visitors and are a surefire way to find hundreds of new subscribers. Here are a few to get you started:

http://www.ezineuniverse.com

http://www.escribe.com

http://www.ezinemarketing.com

3. Trade ads with other ezines. Find newsletters that focus on topics similar to yours. Theyกll run your ad in exchange for you running theirs.

4. Consider emailing a press release to the media. Your release should announce your newsletter and explain whatกs interesting or helpful about your newsletter. There are a number of press release services that will email your release. Here are just a few:

http://www.ereleases.com

http://www.majon.com

http://www.majornewswire.com

http://submitexpress.com

Whatever you do, DON’t add people to your newsletter list who haven’t asked to be on it. The spam gods will come down on you like a ton of bricks! Thatกs why many newsletter publishers insist on double optin. Whatกs double optin?

Double optin is your protection against the sending of unsolicited email. For example, after visitors register at your site, they will receive a confirmation email. By replying to the confirmation email, your visitors have กdouble optedinก which means that:

1. They are the owners of their email addresses

2. The address is working

3. They indeed want to subscribe

Usually the confirmation action is as simple as replying to the confirmation request or clicking on a link.

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Make Money Online! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will help you make money online, starting today…Guaranteed! For details just visit my website.

Website: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

This article was posted on September 30, 2004

by Dean Phillips

Give People What They Want And Watch Your Profits

Give People What They Want And Watch Your Profits Soar!

by: Dean Phillips

Do you know why the majority of people use the Internet?

The majority of people use the Internet to do some type of research. In other words, to read.

Now, how can you use this knowledge to your advantage?

Simple. Give people what they want! Provide plenty of good, quality, free content on your website and refresh it regularly.

Whatกs free content?

Well, free content can take on many forms, from ebooks to free advice and everything in between. However, what Iกm talking about is free content in the form of articles.

But they shouldn’t be just be any kind of articles. The articles should closely match the theme of your website. For example, if your websiteกs theme is about Internet marketing, then you would have articles relating to advertising and marketing.

If your websiteกs theme is about computers, then you would have articles relating to the service and maintenance of computers, and so on and so forth.

So, where do you get free articles?

Well, you could always write your own. Itกs really not that difficult. However, if you find writing your own articles too daunting a task, thereกs a million places on the Internet that can provide you with free content. Here are just a few:

http://www.articlecity.com

http://www.ideamarketers.com

http://www.ezinearticles.com

http://www.goarticles.com

http://www.sitereference.com

Also, capture your visitors names and email addresses. How? Start your own ezine or newsletter and ask your visitors to subscribe.

Since people rarely purchase anything the first time they visit a website, capturing their names and email addresses will give you countless number of opportunities to keep your name and the name of your business fresh in your customers and prospects minds.

And don’t be afraid to have a feebased ezine or newsletter. Remember, the true value of anything is in the eye of the beholder!

By giving before you take, youกll put your visitors in a much better frame of mind to receive your offer.

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Make Money Online! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will help you make money online, starting today…Guaranteed! For details just visit my website.

Website: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

This article was posted on September 28, 2004

by Dean Phillips

Think All the Good Domain Names are Taken?

Think All the Good Domain Names are Taken?

by: Dean Walden

Have you heard of the other tlds (top leve domains) such as: .free, .church, .video, .travel, .llp, .golf, .school, .agent and .love? There are many more too. Wait! Don’t wretch just yet. Iกll tell you why in just a minute.

If you look for a great domain name for very long you will learn how rare they are. Trying to find a one word dot com is a futile effort. The only exception to that is the occasional name that someone gives up. The problem with that is you must search a list of thousands (or tens of thousands) to find one and of course you must get there ahead of the next person. If you just have to have a one word dot com, be ready to shell out thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

Then there are the dot net, us, cc, org and biz. Generally if you checked a dot com a few years ago you could find the net, org or biz equivalent. Not so anymore. Besides, the only one of these related to business is biz.

So why am I writing this you ask. First, though, think about it for a bit. I did that and realized it would be (is) great to have stockpick.free, camera.video, poem.love, game.video and loan.travel. Are you beginning to see what I mean? Don’t you agree that these are somewhat better than allthefreeebooksyouwant.com or stopheretogetaloan.com.

The point being made here is ‘type in trafficก (people who go online and just type what they want in the browser). You could wait for years for someone to go to the internet and type in one of those dot coms.

Think again, though, about how many will be looking for toy.free or camera.video. What would it be worth to you to have 30 or a hundred or a thousand people searching for a video camera typing your name into their browser? Pretty obvious now, huh.

I told you not to wretch, now Iกll tell you why. There is a wesite where you can get these tlds, and there are lots of them. They are at new.net. When you finish reading here go and see for yourself, but let me tell you two more things.

1. You need to download a plugin to view these sites (very easy)

2. 175,000,000 people already have theirs

Copyright 2004 Dean Walden

About The Author

Dean Walden is the owner of http://www.clikngo.us. If you find some value in this article please do some searches with us (clikngo is a ppc search engine).

This article was posted on April 01, 2004

by Dean Walden

Googleกs Wonderland: Trouble In Paradise?

Googleกs Wonderland: Trouble In Paradise?

by: Dean Phillips

The fairy tale existance of Google is starting to experience shockwaves.

So, whatกs the source of these shockwaves? Click fraud. As my readers know, Iกve written several articles on the subject of click fraud, suggesting that since itกs the market leader, Google should take a more proactive approach with the problem of click fraud.

Until now, Google has been mostly quiet about the subject, issuing this single statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission:

กWe are exposed to the risk of fraudulent clicks on our ads. We have regularly paid refunds related to fraudulent clicks and expect to do so in the future. If we are unable to stop this fraudulent activity, these refunds may increase. If we find new evidence of past fraudulent clicks, we may have to issue refunds retroactively of amounts previously paid to our Google Network members.ก

So, why isn’t Google doing more about click fraud? In one of my articles, I theorized that with the amount of money involved, itกs actually more cost effective for Google to issue an occasional refund to its advertisers, than to develop technology to eliminate click fraud.

That theory was echoed in a recent article, in which the author wrote:

กGoogleกs primary defense against click fraud has been to refund advertisers their money if they complain and Google sees evidence that fraudulent clicks have occured. The problem with this is that the burden of proof is on the advertiser … and Google knows that most advertisers will not take the time to argue. Therefore, Google has a financial incentive not to deal with click fraud on their own. It not only costs them to deal with the problem but if they do find a solution to stopping click fraud … it will cost Google much more when they don’t get paid for 20 percent or more of their clicks.ก

However, all of that may be about to change. At an investor conference last Wednesday, Google CFO George Reyes stated:

กI think something has to be done about this really, really quickly, because I think, potentially, it threatens our business model.ก

My question is this: What took Google so long to come to that realization? Itกs not like click fraud just magically appeared yesterday. The media has been reporting on the problem for at least the last 3 years.

Smug in its ivory tower, did Google think the problem was just going to go away by itself? Or was it waiting for Overture or one of the smaller payperclick companies to solve the problem, so it wouldn’t have to deal with it?

These are troubling questions, to say the least. Even more troubling is Googleกs passive approach to a serious problem, which in my opinion has been reprehensible.

It should be interesting to see what Googleกs next move is. Google CFO George Reyes statement notwithstanding, Iกll believe Google is serious about eliminating click fraud, when I finally see it!

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected].

Visit his website at: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

This article was posted on December 07, 2004

by Dean Phillips

Spyware: What It Is and How to Combat It

Spyware: What It Is and How to Combat It

by: Dean Phillips

Spyware is software or hardware installed on a computer without the userกs knowledge which gathers information about that user for later retrieval by whomever controls the spyware.

Spyware can be broken down into two different categories, surveillance spyware and advertising spyware.

Surveillance software includes key loggers, screen capture devices, and trojans. These would be used by corporations, private detectives, law enforcement, intelligence agencies, suspicious spouses, etc.

Advertising spyware is software that is installed alongside other software or via activex controls on the internet, often without the userกs knowledge, or without full disclosure that it will be used for gathering personal information and/or showing the user ads. Advertising spyware logs information about the user, possibly including passwords, email addresses, web browsing history, online buying habits, the computerกs hardware and software configuration, the name, age, sex, etc of the user.

As with spam, advertising spyware uses the CPU, RAM, and resources of the userกs computer, making the user pay for the costs associated with operating it. It then makes use of the userกs bandwidth to connect to the internet and upload whatever personal information it has gathered, and to download advertisements which it will present to the user, either by way of pop up windows, or with the ad banners of adsupported software. All of this can be considered theft in the cases of advertising spyware that installs without disclosure.

And while antivirus software like Symantecกs Norton Anti Virus or McAfeeกs ViruScan can offer some protection, one of the best ways to combat spyware is with antispy software. Two of the best are Lavasoftกs Adaware and Spybotกs Search & Destroy, which are available as free downloads.

http://www.lavasoft.de/

http://www.safernetworking.org/en/index.html

The free version of Adaware does not proactively protect against spyware infestation. You have to start the Adaware application and initiate a scan to detect spyware. But the paid version, Adaware Plus does remain alert in the background, like Spybot, to deflect any attempts at infestation. In recent tests, Adaware Plus and Spybot both protected systems extremely well.

If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend installing Microsoftกs Service Pack 2. SP2 tightens your PCกs security with a new Windows Firewall, an improved Automatic Updates feature, and a popup ad blocker for Internet Explorer. Plus, the newly minted Security Center gives you one easytouse interface for keeping tabs on your PCกs security apps.

There are also other steps you can take to protect against spyware. One simple step is to switch from Microsoftกs browsers, which have security holes for spyware programs to exploit. A good alternative is Mozilla Firefox. Another not sosimple step is switching to the Mac or Linux operating systems, which don’t have spyware problems.

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Double your income! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will teach you how to double your income, starting today…Guaranteed! For details just visit my website.

Website: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Double your income! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will teach you how to double your income, starting today…Guaranteed! For details just visit my website.

Website: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 22, 2004

by Dean Phillips

Do You And Your Website Have Credibility?

Do You And Your Website Have Credibility?

by: Dean Phillips

I recently received an unsolicited email from some company offering me their search engine optimization services for $199. Even though I had absolutely no interest in the offer, just out of curiosity, I decided to check out this company with the various search engines.

Incredibly, they were nowhere to be found! I couldn’t find them on Google, Yahoo, Dogpile, anywhere! Thatกs because they didn’t really exist. They never did. They were just another one of the many prevalent email scams out there.

The point is, even though I had zero interest in their offer, had I been interested, this companyกs credibility was totally shot, for two reasons: First of all, for spamming me and secondly for obviously being a scam at best.

Another time, I was surfing the Internet, checking out different business opportunities to review for one of my clients, when I came across this company selling ‘turnkeyก website packages for $1295 and up. As I was reading the information about the various packages they had to offer, I came across their various addresses and telephone numbers.

Again, after doing some checking, I discovered those addresses didn’t even exist. In addition, the company was based in Israel and the only type of payment they would accept were wire transfers.

Anyway, there were more than enough red flags and alarm bells for me to get the picture pretty quickly. This company was an obvious scam and I advised my client of that fact.

What about you and your website? Do you have credibility?

If you offer website design services, is the design of your own website up to par?

Do you own your own domain name, or does yours contain the names, กGeocitiesก, กAngelfireก or ‘tripodก?

Can you back up your claims with cold, hard, indisputable and verifiable facts?

Do you have your name, telephone number and street address on your website?

Do you use authentic customer testimonials, complete with first and last names?

Do you offer a fair and reasonable moneyback guarantee?

If you choose not to have a merchant account, do you use a reputable payment processor like ClickBank, that will actually stand behind and honor your guarantee?

If you can’t answer yes to every single one of the above questions, you have a serious credibility problem! And itกs costing you a lot more money than you realize.

When potential customers arrive at your website for the first time, they’re both apprehensive and skepticaland rightfully so. With so many scam artists and ripoffs prevalent on the Internet, you have to expect and anticipate that type of mindset.

Thatกs why itกs critical you put your prospects minds at ease the moment they land on your website. And the best way to do that is to instill confidence by utilizing the steps that I mentioned earlier.

If you follow those steps, I guarantee you and your website will both have credibility and youกll have the profits to prove it!

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Make Money Online! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will teach you how to make money online, starting today…Guaranteed! For details just visit my website.

Website: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

This article was posted on September 24, 2004

by Dean Phillips

Trinkets, Lockets And Empty Pockets

Trinkets, Lockets And Empty Pockets

by: Dean Phillips

It never ceases to amaze me how many people setup a website, without any type of plan or clue about how to promote it, how to write a sales letter, how to write an ad nothing!

Even more amazing is how many people try to conduct business online without any money.

The other day, I received an email from a woman named Nadia inquiring about my Email Consultation Service.

In her email, she explained she had กempty pocketsก and couldn’t afford my subscription fee. However, since her ancestors were gypsies, she had plenty of jewelry and sheกd be willing to pay me with a few ‘trinkets and lockets,ก in exchange for my help. I politely declined her offer.

I get my share of crazy emails, so I have no idea if that one was a hoax or not. Iกm assuming it was, since I never heard back from Nadia. Besides, I get so many emails every day from people asking me for free help and advice, I generally skim over them quickly and delete them.

People, listen to me, please! You can’t conduct business online or offline without any money. You just can’t do it! Now Iกm not saying you need thousands of dollarsalthough that wouldn’t hurt.

However, you need to at least have two or three hundred dollars in the bank to work with.

Itกs a myth that you can make money without having any money just a myth!

The number one reason why most businesses fail is because they’re undercapitalized. They come online with just enough money to buy one adhoping to make a killing!

If that ad happens to be a successbingo, instant cash flow! But if that one ad fails, just like that, they’re out of business.

I know you’re excited about your new business, and you can’t wait to get started. However, instead of rushing into things, take a few more weeks or months to save up a little more money, and then get started.

Doing it that way does require a little more patience. But by having a little money to fall back on, you give yourself a greater chance to succeed, and in the long run, youกll be a lot better off!

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Visit his website at: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

This article was posted on November 10, 2004

by Dean Phillips

Put Some Pizazz in Your Software Arsenal

Put Some Pizazz in Your Software Arsenal

by: Dean Walden

The software giants don’t do everything and don’t always produce the result that we want. At least if you’re like me, and you’re not where you would like to be (profitwise).

The fact is that there are tons of small software companies looking for niche markets with products that do some very unique things such as: gather auction data from ebay, send masses of mail (not intended for spamming), keep track of your bowling league stats and so much more. The majority of these are marketing their stuff as shareware.

If you haven’t heard that word before, it means that you can download software and test drive it for a short time (generally a month). If it does what you want/need done then you must register (pay).

Pricewise most of it is far less expensive than the major vendors, though it is usually more specific in itกs purpose. In other words they don’t try to be everything to everyone.

The good part is that when a company narrows itsก focus the results can be very impressive. If you’re not selling fluff you can get a lot done.

Of course, when you look for something among hundreds of producers it can get a little complex. There are dozens of sites that host these programs and put them in categories to make them easier to find.

If this sounds interesting try a few of these links to get started. When you get to the site and find something that looks good just follow the links, download it to your hard disk, double click on it and follow the installation program. The next thing you know you have a new program.

Sometimes they download as zip (compressed) files which means you need a program (winzip if you us windows) to unzip (uncompress) them. The evaluation copy of winzip (free trial) is at http://www.winzip.com . Click on download, then evaluation.

Listed below are download sites with an unimaginable quantity of shareware.

http://www.bluechillies.com

http://www.download.com (the largest)

http://www.simplythebest.com

http://www.jumbo.com

http://www.shareware.com

http://www.sharewarejunkies.com

http://www.downloads.aspshareware.com

http://www.tucows.com

http://www.galttech.com

http://www.superfiles.com

http://www.freewarefiles.com

http://www.passtheshareware.com

and on and on and on…

or go to your favorite search engine and type in shareware.

Copyright 2004 Dean Walden

About The Author

Dean Walden is the author of ก50 Shareware Reviewsก which is an ebook with reviews of 50 shareware programs. The ebook gives the site name, the cost, a rating and size. To learn more or purchase go to http://www.freewebbook.com/sharebok.htm

This article was posted on March 24, 2004

by Dean Walden

Switchboard.com: The King Of Great Local Search

Switchboard.com: The King Of Great Local Search

by: Dean Phillips

Forget about local search with Google, Yahoo! or MSN. They don’t have a clue. When it comes to great local search, Switchboard.com is king!

And no matter how hard Google, Yahoo! and MSN try, when it comes to local search, theyกll never even be in the same league as Switchboard, because Switchboard.com gets it. Local search is what Switchboard does better than any other search engine or directory on the planetperiod!

You won’t believe how easy it is to get incredibly relevant results for virtually anything you can think ofand I do mean anything!

Before writing this article, I played around with Switchboard for hours, trying to trip it up. No matter what I typed into the search box, Switchboard found it. I typed in กice cream parlor,ก no problem. กOld books,ก no problem. กPost officeก, no problem. กItalian restaurants,ก no problem. กStuffed animals,ก no problem. กSoft pretzels,ก no problem.

And it not only gave me amazingly relevant local results every time, it gave me the businesses web site, directions on how to get there, and what other businesses were nearby.

Plus, you can search town directories, by category, classifieds, address and distancethereกs even a trip planner!

Switchboard is a pioneer in the online yellow pages industry. After launching in February 1996, Switchboard introduced the Internetกs first interactive yellow pages display ads, serving more than 20,000 ads covering 2,000 categories. These ads were the first to capture the look and feel of traditional yellow pages print ads in an online environment.

Switchboard provides a fast and easy way for people and businesses to find each other on the Web. Each day, millions of consumers find the businesses they need through Switchboardfrom a local florist, to a nearby car dealership, to the restaurants closest to a planned travel or vacation destination. At the same time, Switchboard gives merchants an easy way to connect with consumers who are ‘ready to buyกhelping them establish and grow their presence on the Web.

So, if youกve had it with the pitiful local search results provided by Google, Yahoo!, MSN and other amateur wannabeกs, I highly recommend you step up to the กking!ก

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected].

Visit his website at: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

This article was posted on October 27, 2004

by Dean Phillips

The Truth About The Fallacy Of ก7ก

The Truth About The Fallacy Of ก7ก

by: Dean Phillips

Ted Nicholas is a marketer with a proven track record. He has started, operated and sold 21 profitable businesses, and is responsible for the direct or indirect publishing of hundreds of books and publications. Ted Nicholas is a well known and respected leader in the information marketing business.

Ted Nicholas has mastered the art of selling. His million dollar best selling books and other successful ventures will show you how you can use the power of the written and spoken word to grow your business.

His business development strategies are designed to help you achieve higher profits and lower taxes. Ted has assisted hundreds of entrepreneurs in building successful businesses. His skills as a copywriter and direct mail marketer have earned him the title กGuru of Direct Mail Marketingก.

All of that notwithstanding however, in my not so humble opinion, he has also perpetrated one of the biggest and most inaccurate fallacies in the history of marketing.

Ted has convinced countless number of marketers to, when pricing their products and services end their prices with a ก7.ก

For example, instead of pricing your product at $19.95, price it at $19.97. Or better yet, he advises dropping the change altogether and pricing your product at $17.00 or $27.00 or $97.00. His research supposedly proves that the number seven dramatically increases sales.

Even more remarkable is how many marketers accepted this fallacy as gospel, without doing any real testing of their own.

I have no idea what scientific formula Ted used to arrive at his conclusions, but with all due respect to Ted Nicholas, his theoryกs a bunch of bull!

How do I know? Because I thoroughly tested his theory myself and discovered no discernible difference in response or profits.

I also base my conclusion on perhaps the greatest authority in marketing: Televison infomercials.

If you want to see marketing at its absolute finest, watch television infomercials. Yes, I know many of the products are garbage and don’t work as advertised, but the marketing itself is simply brilliant! And their market research is second to none.

In other words, producers of television infomercials are masters at pricing products for optimum response.

And almost without exception, every infomercial Iกve watched over the years, regardless of the product, have prices that end with a five or a nine. For example, $29.95, $39.99, $249.95.

Of course, you don’t have to take my word on this, you can check it out yourself at:

http://www.AsSeenOnTV.com

This website features literally thousands of the famous tv products youกve seen advertised over the years. Just check how they price their products.

And Iกll take it one more dramatic step further. Iกm sure youกve heard of Ron กVegOMaticก Popeil. But just in case you haven’t, Iกll give you some background information.

Ron Popeil is the undisputed กkingก of infomercials and a multimillionaire many times over. Over the last 40 years he has sold more than a billion dollars worth of products. He was voted by กSelfก magazine readers as one of the 25 people who have most influenced the way we eat, drink and think about food.

The 70 year old Popeil is still going strong, his latest product, the กShowtime Rotisserie and BBQกwhich he inventedflies out the door by the thousands every week.

Hereกs his website:

http://shop.ronco.com/

Again, check out how he prices his products.

This man has sold more than a billion dollars worth of products, so I would say heกs got this pricing thing pretty well mastered, wouldn’t you?

In conclusion, the number ก7ก may be lucky in dice, but in marketing, itกs just another number!

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Double your income! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will teach you how to double your income, starting today…Guaranteed! For details just visit my website.

Website: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 22, 2004

by Dean Phillips

The Truth About Stuffing Envelopes And Home Assemb

The Truth About Stuffing Envelopes And Home Assembly Programs

by: Dean Phillips

Two of the oldest scams around appear to be as popular as ever. Iกm referring to stuffing envelopes and home assembly programs. Letกs talk about stuffing envelopes first.

Ads for envelope stuffing กopportunitiesก seem to be everywherefrom your mailbox to your newspaper to your email box. Promoters usually advertise that, for a กsmallก fee, they will set you up to earn big money by stuffing envelopes at home. And they claim that they will pay you a dollar or more for each envelope stuffed, resulting in hundreds or thousands of dollars for you each week.

Now I want you to think about something very carefully. Why would any legitimate company, pay you a dollar or more for each envelope you stuff, when they can use hightech mailing equipment that can stuff thousands of envelopes at a time for only pennies apiece?

The answer is, THEY DON’t PAY YOU! Hereกs how the scam works: After you send in your money, you will receive a letter telling you to place the same กenvelopestuffing ad that you originally responded to, in newspapers or magazines, or to send the ad to friends and relatives. The only way youกll ever earn any money is if other people fall for the scam like you did, respond to your ad and pay the fee.

Home assembly scams work pretty much the same way as envelope stuffing scams. This scam requires you to invest money in instructions and materials and many hours of your time to produce items such as baby booties, toy clowns, and plastic signs for a company that has promised to buy them.

Once you have purchased the supplies and have done the work, the company often decides not to pay you because your work does not meet certain กstandards.ก You are then left with merchandise that is difficult or impossible to sell.

If you have spent money and time on a workathome program and now believe the program may not be legitimate, contact the company and ask for a refund. Let company representatives know that you plan to notify officials about your experience. If you can’t resolve the dispute with the company, file a complaint with the following organizations:

The Federal Trade Commission works for the consumer to prevent fraud and deception. Call 1877FTCHELP (18773824357) or log on to: http://www.ftc.gov

Also contact:

* Your stateกs Attorney Generalกs Office.

* Your local consumer protection offices.

* Your local Better Business Bureau.

* Your local postmaster. The U.S. Postal Service investigates fraudulent mail practices.

* The advertising manager of the publication that ran the ad. The manager may be interested to learn about the problems youกve had with the company.

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Make Money Online! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will teach you how to make money online, starting today…Guaranteed! For details just visit my website.

Website: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

This article was posted on October 04, 2004

by Dean Phillips