Free Content for Individuals

Free Content for Individuals

by: Ron Tower

Free content added to Web pages using an HTML fragment is usually intended for Web sites. But why can’t individuals also use it? It will be useful for them as well as promoting the Web site of the content provider.

There is a lot of free content available. You can get headlines, weather, search forms, jokes, cartoons, a word or quote of the day, tickers, and much more. For examples of free content available as HTML fragments, see Free Sticky (http://freesticky.com). Webmasters can paste the HTML into a page on their site, but what can an individual without a Web site do?

One approach is to have a simple HTML file on your machine that acts as a container of the free content. For example, see the Free Content Container (http://www.sugarloafsw.com/ia/freecc.html), a simple HTML file that already includes some free content and explains how to add or replace that content with content you like. You can just save it to your computer and then access it from your disk to create your own very simple information aggregator.

Go to http://www.sugarloafsw.com/ia/freecc.html. Click on Modify Me to see how you can modify the file. Save the file to your computer using File Save As from your browser being sure to use the กHTML file onlyก option. Edit the file with a text editor such as notepad and you will see that it is a simple table. HTML from free content Web sites can be simply pasted into the file at the places indicated by the comments.

Once you understand the basics of your container, you can do searches on the Web for กfree contentก and create different HTML files with different content. You can use this yourself or send the HTML file to friends as an email attachment and they can also use what you found from their computer, no need for a Web site.

Another approach is to get an information aggregator that supports HTML fragments. The HTML fragments can be placed on personal portal pages along with other content such as RSS feeds. See http://www.sugarloafsw.com/ia/ia.html for more on the use of information aggregators to allow individuals to use free content.

The final approach is to take the plunge and get your own Web site. There are several free options available, such as GeoCities (http://geocities.yahoo.com). You can add your modified Free Content Container to your site along with your other content.

About The Author

Ron Tower is the President of Sugarloaf Software and is the developer of Personal Watchkeeper, an information aggregator supporting a variety of ways to summarize the Web.

http://www.sugarloafsw.com

This article was posted on December 08, 2004

by Ron Tower

5 Simple Ways To Promote

5 Simple Ways To Promote

by: Larry Johnson

Learning to promote your business online is one of the most important steps in being successful.

Otherwise your site may as well be in some dark closet, because no one is going to stumble over it.

Here are 5 simple ways to promote your site and gain some needed traffic for your business.

AUTOMATE IT

As much as possible you should automate your promotion efforts. One of the easiest and quickest ways to do this is the use of autoresponders.

There are many paid ones available and they okay for the most part. Personally, I like to use a fr*ee one you can find here: http://www.freeautobot.com

It comes without any types of ads, and I have found it to be very dependable and useful.

SWAP ADS

There are always those online who are willing to swap ads, bannners or links in order to gain some additional fr*ee exposure.

Search for them in your email messages and in a variety of directories related to your type of business.

For example, here is one that is not fr*ee, but it is wellestablished as a great resource for locating reputable ezines in which to advertise:

http://www.directoryofezines.com/

JOINT VENTURES

Directories can also provide a wealth of contacts for potential Joint Ventures.

For a small percentage of your profits you can enlist the help of other sites and publishers to promote your offer.

One simple way is to use http://www.ClickBank.com which has a builtin affiliate program to help you with just this type of thing.

WRITE ARTICLES

Yes, it takes a little effort, but writing articles to promote your site does pay off.

Sharing a little bit of information in the form of articles with others has many rewards.

Hey, we are working in an information media type of are here, right ? Everyone is looking for the answer to some problem. Help them find it with a wellwritten article and get some deserved promotion when it is published in otherกs newsletters or ezines.

PUBLISH A NEWSLETTER

Online promotion is a slow learning curve for most folks, but it is one that has many rewards in terms of traffic and sales for your online business.

While this list is not inclusive, it does give you a starting point to begin your online efforts at building traffic and gaining some needed exposure.

Remember, กRunning a business without advertising is like winking in the dark. You know what you are doing, but no one else. does.ก

Larry Johnson, author

Biz Site Biz Ezine http://www.BizSiteBiz.com/

About The Author

GET A QUICK START in this FR*E, weekly promotional marketing ezine. Each issue offers powerful marketing tips, resources, fresh ideas and original articles on how to create, promote and market your own business. You will discover information with a กHowtodoitก approach. Join us now for the full scoop. Mailto:[email protected]

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 24, 2004

by Larry Johnson

Yanik Silver Asked Some Questions That Peaked My C

Yanik Silver Asked Some Questions That Peaked My Curiosity

by: Jason Blackston

Itกs so simple! I wish Iกd discovered it a year ago!

There are a few marketers that stand out from the crowd. One of the hippest guyกs on the internet scene these days is Yanik Silver.

Heกs about to turn 30 and has already made a huge name for himself online. Since I am almost a year younger than Yanik, I find his success a tremendous motivator.

So what has Yanik Silver taught me?

Actually lots!

But the one thing that stands out like an 8 foot tall man stepping out of an elevator, is Yanikกs use of questions in his sales copy.

The title of this article is, กYanik Silver asked some questions that peaked my curiosity.ก That title may lead some of you to think that Yanik actually called or emailed me some questions. But this simply is not the case.

The truth of the matter is that when I went to some of Yanikกs web sites and read the sales copy, it was like he was personally speaking to me.

If youกve ever read any of Yanikกs copy, youกll notice how he poses questions. Some questions are simple and obvious questions, while others make you think a little harder. But he doesn’t stop there…

He asks you a question and then he puts you in a situation where you start seeing the benefits. For example, he has a site called กInstant Sales Letters.ก

Hereกs how it starts and here were my initial thoughts:

Dear Friend,

How much is one good sales letter worth?

ME: Iกm not sure…

Suppose you could sit down, write a simple letter to your prospects and customers, mail it and then have your phone start ringing off the hook.

ME: Iกd like that.

Imagine…one letter could bring you tons of hot leads and new customers, get them to keep buying over and over again, reactivate ‘lost’ customers, and even provide you with a constant stream of referrals. So anytime you need more business you simply turn the tap on… it’s like having the goose that lays the golden egg.

ME: WOW! I want to know more!

Yanik asked a simple question then he followed it up with a hypothetical situation. Heกs peaked my interest and I want to know more.

He has hooked me into reading the rest of the sales copy…

And the funny thing is that he never gave me a direct answer. Why does he do this?

Simple. The value of a good sales letter is going to differ depending upon the person. Yanikกs objective is to get you to think about the question on a personal basis.

So what can be learned from this information?

First, don’t just ask a question to your readers! Make them use their imagination. Put them in a position where they want to know more about you and your product.

Itกs kind of like this:

How does a 5 day 4 night all expense paid trip for 2 to Hawaii sound?

Suppose you could lay on the beach and be waited on hand and foot for 5 whole days..

Imagine..seeing some of the worldกs most beautiful scenery and experiencing the peace and tranquility of the Hawaiian islands. And it won’t cost you a penny!

Sure a 5 day 4 night all expense paid trip for 2 to Hawaii sounds nice. But itกs the hypothetical situation that hooks the reader. Just asking the question is not enough…

Itกs imperative that you involve the reader. Make them imagine sitting on the beach being waited on hand and foot! By doing this, you are peaking their curiosity and they will inevitably want to know more.

Asking a question seems so simple, but itกs what you do with that question that makes all the difference!

GoVisitors.com http://www.govisitors.com

Discover how to turn your web site visitors into paying customers! Sign up for your free epackage at:

http://www.govisitors.com/epackage.html

GoVisitors.com © 2003

About The Author

You can download a formatted (60 Character version of this article at http://www.govisitors.com/jb/article6.html * Read the ‘read Me Firstก text file for distribution information. Have a great day!

[email protected]

This article was posted on December 15, 2003

by Jason Blackston

Get Thousands Of Clicks To Your Website For Free

Get Thousands Of Clicks To Your Website For Free

by: Vinay Kumar

Do you want to advertise about your website?Wait and have a look here. Don’t just start spending money on advertising because there is a very effective way to increase traffic on your website and the important thing is itกs free. It will boost your bussiness like crazy. Just try it.
The only thing that you need is a little writing talent. If you think that you can write couple of articles a week, what are you waiting for.
Do you know what,there are thousands,ohh sorry,millions of ezines and websites out there,trying to find new articles for their website. Try your talent and send your articles to different websites and ezines. Most of them accept the articles without any problem.
It is really simple what they need is what you have. They need to pass on good,valuable information to their customers. So help them and inturn they will give you free advertising.
Ok here are few steps about what you have to do…..
1. Write an article on something that you like or some topic related to your website.
2. Include two or three lines of text giving information about you and your website at the end of the article. Also don’t forget to give a link to your website.
3. Send the article to ezines and your done.
Look itกs so simple and you will have instant clicks to your website. And if the article is published and reprinted over and over again,there is nothing like it.
Itกs a very simple free marketing tool,just try it and see the results

About The Author

Vinay Kumar is a graduated student from MIT. He is also the founder of www.sourcecode.co.nr. His educational background and work experience is basicly in the field of computer science and programming

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 03, 2004

by Vinay Kumar

4 Dynamic Marketing Tactics

4 Dynamic Marketing Tactics

by: Bob Leduc

Some of the simplest marketing tactics often produce the most profitable results. Here are 4 examples that have proven highly effective for any business.

1. Focus on Your Best Prospects

Imagine how profitable your business would be if more of your new customers were like the best customers you have now. Hereกs how you can make that happen…

Take some time to analyze your current customers to determine what key traits they share and why those traits make them ideal customers for you. Then revise your sales message to appeal specifically to them.

This will increase both the number of new sales you get and the profitability of each new customer.

2. Pile on the Benefits

Customers usually buy something to save time or to save money. Offer them an opportunity to do both and you will boost your sales. But offer them multiple opportunities to do both and you will cause your sales to soar dramatically.

For example, structure your sales message to stress both the time saving and money saving benefits of your product or service. Then include a discount price offer if they buy before a certain deadline (more money saved). Finally, figure out how you can deliver all or some of what they are buying immediately (more time saved).

Tip: If you cannot deliver all or part of your product immediately, add something to the purchase that you can deliver immediately. It can be as simple as a series of helpful tips related to your product posted on your web site …but available only to new customers.

3. Make Buying Easy

Make it easy for potential customers to buy from you and more will buy. Look for ways you can make your buying process easier and faster.

For example, design your selling procedure so prospects do not have to make unnecessary decisions. Every decision they have to make interrupts the buying process …and diverts their attention away from completing the sale.

Tip: Don’t ask for unnecessary information during the ordering process. Instead, follow up after the sale with a personalized ‘thank youก message and include a brief request for the information.

4. Follow Up Again and Again

Selling is not a one step process. Most people do not buy something the first time the see or hear about it. You can salvage many of these potential customers with an effective follow up system.

Your follow up can be as simple as contacting these prospects periodically with a new offer. Or, better yet, follow up periodically with some useful information …and don’t charge them for it. Youกll build a supportive relationship that gains their trust and eventually the sale.

Tip: Make sure you have a way to get the email addresses of visitors to your web site. You need it to follow up with them. For example, offer them a complimentary special report or other useful information …delivered only by email.

Each of these 4 dynamic marketing tactics provides a simple way for you to boost your sales and profits quickly. They are simple to use, highly effective and require very little if any new expense.

Copyright 2005 Bob Leduc

http://BobLeduc.com

About The Author

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards …and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. Youกll find his lowcost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com or call: 7026581707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

This article was posted on February 24

by Bob Leduc

Simple Website Design for High Rankings : A Legiti

Simple Website Design for High Rankings : A Legitimate Home Business Idea

by: Alexandra DeBoer

I began my adventure as an at home web designer almost three years ago, and today feel very pleased with the outcome. I started out wanting a website created for my home craft business, and had my husband Ben, a network administrator, show me some simple HTML. I gradually fell in love with the detailed world of web design, creating content, and figuring out what the search engines looked for in a high ranking web site.

Today, I have created several successful websites, many high ranking pages, written several articles, been interviewed, paid for my work, and taught many people how to create high ranking websites. I began without any formal training, and do believe that this field is wide open for anyone truly passionate about learning. It is a wonderful, and legitimate home business opportunity for anyone who has the desire to learn.

I really want to get the word out that a series of small, simple steps can successfully optimize a website, and that ANYONE can learn how to do this, and even charge others a good rate to do so!

I would recommend that anyone interested in this career should be:

Entrepreneurial in nature

Patient

Computer friendly and willing to learn some basic HTML

A good writer

A person who enjoys teaching others and communicating

The first step would be to create some websites in the computer for yourself, and practice, practice, practice. I would also recommend subscribing to some free web design newsletters in order to really keep up with what is going on with search engine and programming trends. Once you feel confident in your ability to design even a simple optimized website in a few hours, get a business license and start hitting the streets in your area. Talk to small business owners and find out which ones don’t have a website. Explain to them why they do need one, what your abilities are, and how much it will cost.

Don’t lie about your limitations or feel bad about charging an hourly rate for your work. Remember that a website you design will usually be less money than a large firm would charge, and that you probably know far more about web design than that business owner does! It may not hurt to locate a graphic designer who would like to do the artwork for the website, as search engine optimized websites are mostly about text, but look nice with some small business logos that match the ขthemeข of the businesses’ other advertising.

About The Author

Copyright 2005 by Alexandra DeBoer. For more information about the author or a career in web design, please visit her website at: www.webdesignfromhome.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 09

by Alexandra DeBoer

LowCost Marketing With Postcards

LowCost Marketing With Postcards

by: Bob Leduc

Hereกs a simple way you can generate lots of sales leads …or traffic to your web site. Use postcards. They’re highly effective and very lowcost. Plus, postcards provide the following 6 unique advantages over most other types of advertising.

1. Maximum Exposure for Your Sales Message

Postcards are delivered ‘ready to readก. Even people who usually ignore other advertising will find it hard to avoid looking at your message when itกs on a postcard …especially if you keep it brief.

With other types of advertising you often lose prospects who would have been interested in your offer …but they never saw it.

2. Simple and LowCost

Postcards are simple to produce and very lowcost. You can print 4 x 6 inch postcards on your own computer for less than 2 cents each. Or you can reduce the cost down to about 1 cent each if you print 4 at a time on 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of card stock and cut the sheets into quarters.

Even postcards printed by a commercial printer are not expensive …usually about 4 cents to 8 cents each.

The postage for mailing postcards is low too. In the US you can send postcards by First Class Mail for only 23 cents. This reduced postage rate applies to postcards that are at least 3 1/2 x 5 inches but not over 4 1/4 x 6 inches.

3. Get Immediate Results

Because postcards are simple and easy to use they produce results quickly. Often your postcards can be mailed within a week from the time you decide to use them. You will start getting replies 2 or 3 days later.

4. Gain Control of Your Sales Activity

Postcards put you in control your sales activity. You can avoid getting too many or too few responses during any time period by regulating how many postcards you mail and how often you mail them.

That means you can quickly boost your sales activity anytime it slows down. And you can avoid losing customers you can’t handle immediately because you got flooded with too much activity at one time.

5. No Wasted Advertising Expense

Postcards enable you to spend your entire advertising budget on your best prospects. You don’t have to pay for advertising to a large audience in order to reach a few good prospects.

With a little advance planning you can make sure your postcards only go to prospects likely to be interested in what you offer …and who also have a prior history of acting on offers that interest them.

For example, analyze your customers and make a list of the characteristics they share. Then call several national mailing list brokers and tell them what you are looking for. Youกll be surprised at how specific some mailing lists are today.

6. Can Evaluate Results Quickly

Postcards normally generate 90 percent or more of their total number of replies within 7 to 10 days. This enables you to quickly and accurately evaluate the results of postcard advertising. Youกll know in about a week if you can confidently send more of the same postcards or if you need to make some changes.

Don’t overlook postcards when you want to generate sales leads or web site traffic. They’re highly effective, very lowcost …and they provide these 6 unique advantages you cannot get with most other types of advertising.

Copyright 2004 Bob Leduc

http://BobLeduc.com

About The Author

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards …and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. Youกll find his lowcost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com or call: 7026581707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

This article was posted on September 28, 2004

by Bob Leduc

Keep It Simple, Stupid: The Beauty of a Clean Cut

Keep It Simple, Stupid: The Beauty of a Clean Cut Website

by: Tom Antion

Don’t knock it; ขKeep It Simple, Stupidข is a great rule to live by. Nobody likes a website to ขyellข at them, with blaring colors and flashing lights. Too many buttons will turn customers off. I had this problem with my homepage at http://www.antion.com. A colleague of mine, who makes a lot of money, pointed out the cluttered look of my site. I had worked so closely on every detail of the page; that I couldn’t see it for what it was anymore.

I set out to simplify my site, first by removing the banners and combining my navigational buttons. The goal was a clean looking homepage, so possible customers would not get frustrated or confused and click away.

I also eliminated many of the choices on my site, narrowing it down to two groups for my main clientele, ขNeed a Speakerข or ขBe a Speaker.ข The concept here is to make it simple for my customers to locate what it is they are looking for. Reducing the choices on my site will save customers from having to wade through all of my stuff. This would do nothing more than waste their time and reflect poorly on me and my ability to help them.

About The Author

Tom Antion provides entertaining speeches and educational seminars. He is the ultimate entrepreneur, having owned many businesses BEFORE graduating college. Tom is the author of the best selling presentation skills book กWake กem Up Business Presentationsก and กClick: The Ultimate Guide to Electronic Marketing.ก It is important to Tom that his knowledge be not only absorbed, but enjoyed. This is why he delivers his speeches laced with great humor and hysterical jokes. Tom has addressed more than 87 different industries and is thoroughly committed to his clientกs needs. http://www.antion.com.

This article was posted on August 30

by Tom Antion

The Most Powerful Marketing Weapon Ever Invented

The Most Powerful Marketing Weapon Ever Invented

by: Christopher Kyalo

It was probably first discovered out there in the caves or wherever else the history of mankind begun. And yet this weapon has been used so sparingly over the centuries. It is so powerful that those surprisingly few who have stumbled on to it and appreciated and respected its power have ended up making untold fortunes.

Even the greatest mail order marketer of them all, Joe Karbo, created a selling system that showed he fully understood the power of this weapon. (More on that at the end of this article.)

I am sure you’re dying to hear what it is. Let me warn you, you may be disappointed because like most great ideas which have changed the course of history, it is simple. So simple that you may just brush it aside – and lose a real chance to change your fortunes forever. Well, you have been warned.

Here it is.

It’s a FREE SAMPLE.

Let’s look at a reallife example that could happen in your neighbourhood corner right now.

Picture a small business selling doughnuts at a street corner. Potential clients in their hundreds pass by and ignore the seller’s smile and well displayed juicylooking doughnuts. At the end of the day, he has barely sold a dozen.

Then a simple selling system involving tiny, miniature versions of the doughnuts being given away for free to passersby is introduced. A few people stop to sample the free doughnuts, at least half of them end up purchasing a doughnut or two. The small business owner does some arithmetic at the end of a hectic day. The bill for the samples was high, but his cash box is bulging like it never has before and the sheer volumes of business has reduced the expense for the free samples to a tiny fraction of his takings.

No matter how complex your business is, it can benefit tremendously from the power of a free sample. A few more examples;

An office cleaning concern wanted to expand its’ client base to restaurants but had a lot of difficulties making any head way until they came up with a simple selling system. They approached restaurants and offered to clean up free of charge, the only condition was that the owner sees the dirt that will be cleaned off their premises before it’s disposed of. (If you know the right places to look, any premises will give you a load of dirt enough to make anybody sick.)

Well, almost anybody because only 80% of the restaurants that were cleaned free of charge, signed up to have the firm clean up their premises on a regular basis. Not good enough for the city health inspectors but an unbelievably high percentage for any selling system. It naturally revolutionized this cleaning business.

A media company was facing very stiff competition getting advertisements into their newspaper. They designed a simple system where the company sales representatives approached a carefully selected client list with samples of their advertisements redesigned and placed on a dummy page. The response rate? Well, 4 out of every 10 clients approached in this way signed up for advertising space on the spot.

A company selling solar panels in the heart of Africa wasn’t making much headway until they bit the bullet with the following crazy selling system. They found a simple way to assess the income capabilities of rural homes that had no access to electricity. They would then knock on doors and offer to install solar electricity free of charge. They would then come back a week later and if the house owner liked it, they would pay for it and keep it. If they didn’t the solar firm would simply take their equipment and leave.

The firm which tried this strategy a few years back has bluntly refused to release the response rates for publication. But I can tell you one thing, this system helped to build up the company and today it’s the largest solar energy firm in East and Central Africa, having sold hundreds of thousands of solar systems in a part of the world that has one of the lowest per capita incomes on earth.

And I could go on and on with hundreds of other examples.

The point is that we are always trying to complicate things with elaborate new ideas when all we need to do is keep it simple and look back at the history of mankind. I can almost see that vicious looking hunter violently refusing to exchange part of his kill for a basket of fruit from the fruitgatherer. That’s until he tastes a free sample of the fruit. Then he happily gives away half his kill for the entire basket.

Let’s wrap it up with Joe Karbo’s amazing selling system. His offer was simple. Order his book The Lazy man’s way to riches. Don’t pay for it now. Simply send a postdated cheque dated 30 days later. Receive the book (a free sample because you have the option of returning it to the sender and not paying for it) and then if you are satisfied, you keep it. Millions of words have been written about Karbo’s techniques, but everybody seems to have missed this simple secret behind his success. A free sample will always do it where everything else has failed.

About The Author

Christopher Kyalo has over 20 years experience in marketing and creative writing. He provides a service that dreams up brilliant article ideas, and writes and posts them on the net thus creating tremendously effective advertising for any business. Email him now at [email protected] to get your first article created, written and posted FREE with no obligations. Offer for a limited period only. He is also a consultant for magazines.

This article was posted on September 02, 2004

by Christopher Kyalo

The Jigsaw Virus

The Jigsaw Virus

by: Gary Durkin

Stay with me on this, the ‘penny may drop’ about halfway into the article!

Target in very general terms, this article is targeted at anyone involved in business, whether it be offline ‘realworld’ business, or online ‘cyber’ ebusiness.

Let’s define the title.

ขjigsawข a puzzle with multiple parts which requires some element of skill to correctly piece them all together in the right way, making one complete ‘picture’.

ขvirusข an infection which grows, replicates and spreads.

Make sense yet? No!

One of the key fundamental basics in business starts with this. Business is based on the law of ’Supply and Demand’.

In simple terms, this means that if people have a demand (need or want) for something, then someone (perhaps you, or other businesses) supply them.

In simpler terms…. Have a product or service that customers want, then provide them with it.

JIGSAW…. Now has 2 parts / pieces…. Product (or service) and customers (people who want / need it).

If YOU are the business supplying customers with what they want, you may look at other products which complement or contrast. You may also look at adding new ways to deliver your product or service, perhaps new markets / countries / demographics…..

You may also want to have different versions / types of your product…. Plus you may want to promote / market your company in new / additional ways.

Also, you may want to have added computer systems, take payments in different forms, different currencies….. translation (remember stay with me on this!)

You have seen competitors using ‘800’ Freephone numbers….. You’ve read about faxback services, callcenters, fulfilment services….. You want to get involved in these.

JIGSAW….. From the original (and simple) 2 parts / pieces….. Your jigsaw now has many more, even dozens (or more) of pieces. The simple puzzle is infected. It’s spreading and growing. .. It’s out of control.

The original focus you had, is now a distant blur. Even if you had as many arms as an octopus, you still wouldn’t piece together THIS puzzle.

Let’s take just one piece of a small, simple jigsaw puzzle, and call it ขAdvertising, Marketing, Promotionข. They all mean the same…. ‘spreading the word’.

This single piece can start like this. Put a simply poster in the back of your car, on a notice board, in a shop window.

Then, get business cards, then marketing ‘postcards’…….then leaflets, a brochure, a fullcolor glossy brochure….a catalogue…..CD Rom business cards, interactive multimedia…

Advertise in the local ‘free papers’, then a small ad in the town newspaper, then a halfpage….fullpage ad…. Full color……. Then a 10 second ad on radio….. Then 30 seconds…..

Then 20 seconds on local / cable TV….. Then 60 seconds….. And on…and on.

Get a domain name, a website, software, design, hosting, auto responders, mailing list, Flash, Audio, Video, Keywords, Meta Tags, Keyword Density, Pay Per Click, Search Engine Optimization…

Ask a few friends to hand out some leaflets for you, create a reseller program, an affiliate program, an introducer scheme, get the software, the systems, Advertising Agencies, Copywriters, Professional Marketers, International Business Promoters…..

Where will it all end? With an army of Armani suited Harvard Graduates jetsetting all over the planet, trying to sell your widget?

Once the virus infects, it spreads, it grows and it can get out of hand very quickly.

Your ‘Jigsaw Puzzle’ is infected, the infection has spread, and grown and replicated the couple of pieces you originally started with, and turned into something unmanageable.

Just as you cannot take antibiotics to cure a virus in health, there is no simple cure in business.

Prevention is the best cure.

Your Jigsaw Puzzle should start with the simplest of forms…. 2 pieces (remember the 2 parts to basic business? Supply & Demand have a product or service which people want or need, and give it to them (well…. Sell it!).

Make sure the first two pieces of your puzzle fit together perfectly, before you even think about adding pieces.

Once the first 2 are set, then perhaps consider expanding your jigsaw puzzle but ONLY ONE PIECE AT A TIME.

Once that third piece fits, then move on. Don’t try adding multiple pieces all at the same time, and trying to fit them altogether in one go.

If you’re first few (2, 3 or 4) pieces of your puzzle don’t fit, then STOP.

Stop right there. Reassess the situation.

If you cannot get the pieces to fit correctly before moving on, then perhaps that piece of the jigsaw, doesn’t belong to your puzzle.

Many people fall flat on their face by ignoring this point.

If they cannot fit the pieces, they put them to one side, and get more pieces to try….. And some of them won’t fit, put them aside…. Get some others…

INFECTED!!!

The final part of the article goes back to our army of Armani Suited Harvard Graduates… remember them?

The point of that paragraph was to illustrate how the ’infection’, if unchecked, will go on and on… where will it end?

Is your Jigsaw Puzzle ’infinite’? How far will you push your business? Is there a point where it’s just too much?

You may have carefully put together your jigsaw puzzle completed finished….. And you may not even realize it!

Know when and where to STOP… and BLOCK the Virus.

© Copyright 2005 All Rights Reserved worldwide.

About The Author

Gary Durkin

Founder of the Internet Advice Center®

http://www.InternetAdviceCenter.com

Gary has more than a decade of offline international business success behind him, and has been doing business online for 6 years.

If you would like to join thousands of subscribers to his newsletter ‘Delivering Success’ send a blank email to [email protected]

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This article was posted on April 23

by Gary Durkin

A Quick and Simple Tip for Gaining Customers

A Quick and Simple Tip for Gaining Customers

by: V. Berba Velasco Jr., Ph.D.

In the course of my career, I’ve had to deal with a lot of vendors—software companies, sensor manufacturers, electronics distributors and more. Some of them have left lasting impressions on me, whereas others have been eminently forgettable. I’d like to talk about two of the more memorable vendors, and the simple technique that they used (perhaps unknowingly) which made them stand out in my memory.

As my byline shows, I have the letters ขPh.D.ข after my name; however, I seldom use that title, except in my various writings and official correspondence. For professional reasons, I do have these initials on my business cards and my email signature; however, I never expect people to call me ขDoctor,ข and if they do, I almost invariably insist that they call me by my first name instead. For most of my daily affairs, this title simply isn’t very important.

Most salespeople don’t mention this title either, which suits me just fine; after all, I’ve always been a fairly informal fellow. On two occasions though, a vendor actually took notice of my degree, and chose to address me using the ขDoctorข honorific. Even though I normally eschew that title, this was still a pleasant surprise. It was nice to see a prospective vendor take notice of such details, however unnecessary they may be.

Any good salesman knows that building rapport and making yourself pleasantly memorable are key elements in developing customer loyalty. This simple, trivial act made these particular salesmen stand out prominently in my memory, and in a pleasant way. I’m almost ashamed to admit this, but I found that I almost wanted to send these people some of my business—perhaps because such deference is noticeably rare.

This simple tactic can be especially helpful when dealing with prospective customers of foreign descent. Remember that some cultures are more titleconscious than American society is. The failure to mention this title may prove offensive to some of these individuals—or at the very least, it may suggest a lack of attentiveness. Better to err on the side of caution, I would say.

This simple technique is exceedingly trivial to use, requiring no additional investment of time or effort. At the very least, it can be one way to make yourself stand out from the crowd of other vendors who are vying for someone’s attention. So why not try it? It costs nothing, it can’t possibly hurt, and it may just land you some new customers.

About The Author

V. Berba Velasco Jr. is a senior electrical and software engineer at Cellular Technology Ltd (http://www.immunospot.com, http://www.elispotanalyzers.de, http://www.elispot.cn) a biotechnology company with its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio.

This article was posted on November 04, 2004

by V. Berba Velasco Jr., Ph.D.

Promote With Simple กFolksyก HowTo Articles!

Promote With Simple กFolksyก HowTo Articles!

by: Ron Knowlton

When it comes to article writing, not everyone is a Dave Barry or even a Bob Leduc or a Kevin Nunley for that matter (three great article writers, by the way).

But really, thatกs okay.

There are simple yet effective articles you can use on your web site or send out (even if you aren’t a great writer) that can still work for you!

Here are three simple ideas:

1. A simple กfolksyก howto advice article will always pull in readers.

You don’t need to be a great writer!

Just write the way you talk!

You don’t need a long article either. One writer only provides three short tips in each article he writes (usually each tip is only one paragraph or so in length). And still he is able to get these short articles published.

Sprinkle these articles liberally on your web site. Or send them out to article announcement lists where newsletter publishers can see them and maybe reprint them in their newsletters.

For a list of article announcement lists, just type in กarticle announcementก or กarticle submissionก into your favorite search engine. It should return a pretty good list!

2. An honest yet กcontroversialก opinion will draw in readers.

You have to be careful with this approach however, because you may alienate some who would be your customers (now that they hate that terrible article you wrote saying those terrible things!).

Could be, though, that you attract more customers than you alienate and your กcontroversialก article proves to be a great hit (and sales puller as well).

And maybe it even pulls in some free publicity (don’t laugh it could happen newspapers, TV reporters, and even magazine feature writers are always looking for something unique or different!

3. Top 10 lists are still very popular.

Write a one sentence introduction and then present your top ten list.

Could be the 10 most unique ways people use your product.

Or … could be the 10 most common ways people use your product.

Or … how about the 10 least likely places where you would use your product.

Come up with a top 10 list with 10 unique or even offbeat ideas, and people will read them!

And there you have it how to write a great article even if you’re not the best writer on the internet!

About The Author

Ron Knowlton helps others market and promote their products. Get 25 marketing lessons just for subscribing to Ronกs newsletter at: http://www.soaringprofits.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 07

by Ron Knowlton