Getting Started to Get Started

Getting Started to Get Started

by: Alan Huff

So you want to make it BIG online? You want to start an internet business. You register your domain, sign up with a hosting company, design or pay to have a website designed, go live online, and bingo, the money will soon start rolling in, right? Wrong (unless you have a ‘lucky’ horseshoe  ).
That’s basically how I started my own internet business but, I soon realized that much more is involved if you want to stand a chance at succeeding online. There are no ‘secret’ formulas to success. If you know of one which really works, please send it to me .
You must know how to do business online., and in order to that, you need to learn how. I know you don’t have time to learn, however, if really want to do it right, you’ll take the time.
Do yourself a favor. Before you start an internet business, read articles, ezines, ebooks, etc., written by those who have already made it. Write a marketing plan (sound familiar?), plan your website design and layout and content.
Bottom line; before you start an internet business, learn how to. You don’t have to do it the ‘hard’ way.
Focus on getting started to get started.
Alan

http://momony.com

About The Author

Alan Huff is the founder and president of MoMony.com.

You can contact Alan at [email protected]

This article was posted on July 03, 2004

by Alan Huff

They Didn’t Think I Could Earn A FullTime Income

They Didn’t Think I Could Earn A FullTime Income Online, But I Proved Them Wrong!

by: Al Martinovic

When I first attempted to make money online I was so naive just like any newbie. But I learned from the school of hard knocks. I learned by trial and error and by just doing.

In the beginning I submitted my site to every search engine under the sun. I tried traffic exchanges, banner exchanges, FFAกs, safelists, online classified ads etc. and not surprisingly I got zero results. If anything… I was very good at getting spammed.

I wasted weeks and even months of my time with stuff that didn’t work. But little by little I started to head in the right direction. I dropped all the stuff that didn’t work and looked for other ways to bring traffic to my site.

I subscribed to a whole bunch of ezines and started posting free ads. The results weren’t great but at least this time I was getting some results. My confidence started to build and I knew I was heading in the right direction.

Then I started to spend a little money on my business and used pay per click search engines and things really started to take off for me and my confidence grew more.

Then I started writing articles and press releases and and in the middle of all this I would spend time learning how to optimize my site for the major search engines to get a high ranking.

The sales started coming in regularly. But I didn’t sit back. I wanted to convert more of my visitors into customers.

I added an optin form on my site to capture email addresses and set up an autoresponder to automatically follow up with my prospects. Eventually I added an alert box to capture email addresses which really exploded my mail list.

I started learning more about copywriting and experimented with different copy and headlines etc. on my site to get maximum results until eventually I had a consistent sales machine over at http://www.ineedsmokes.com

And when I had a sales machine that was on autopilot I then started pursuing other projects to make additional money.

But you know, it took alot of work to get to this point. It is a constant learning process and I still try to learn as much as I can because you never กknow it all.ก

If you think you กknow it allก you are finished because the internet changes so rapidly youกll quickly get left behind.

If you’re new to online marketing… it won’t happen for you overnight. It will take work, dedication and even sacrifice.

You need to keep working your business, be consistent and learn as much as you can about this internet marketing game and most importantly apply what you have learned.

Some techniques and tactics will work great in one business… but not in another. You won’t know unless you try. Find the things that work for you and build upon it.

And eventually… youกll get there too.

About The Author

Al Martinovic publishes the Millenium Marketers Newsletter featuring powerful internet marketing concepts, killer strategies, useful tips, and no bull business advice. Subscribe Free Today: http://www.milleniummarketers.com

This article was posted on November 18, 2003

by Al Martinovic

The Number 1 Rule for Businesses Be Professional

The Number 1 Rule for Businesses Be Professional

by: Denise Hall

Have you ever walked into a store and things looked sloppy? Stores should have nice neat displays, right? Normally, yes, but sometimes they get a bit messy on busy days and we all understand how that can happen.

But what if you were to walk into a store as soon as it opened in the morning and the place looked liked it had been ransacked? What would you think?

Youกd probably think it wasn’t very professionallooking. If a rack of shirts was haphazardly thrown together, with all the styles, colors and sizes mixed up, youกd probably walk right past it without giving it a second glance.

If a sales associate wouldn’t answer your questions or help you find something, you would consider that unprofessional, too, not to mention rude.

When we do business in the offline world we expect a professional appearance and professional manner from those who deal with customers. The same is true for online businesses.

Your business depends on how professional you are. Your website, your customer service and the appearance and quality of your work all reflect upon you, the business owner.

Two key factors of professionalism:

Good Customer Service/Relations

Quality Appearance and Writing Skills

Recently I had problems submitting information to several websites. After trying for several days I finally emailed for technical support. (After all, the website owners had messages posted that said to contact them at any time.)

I didn’t expect an immediate reply to my inquiries. I know they’re busy running their businesses, and dealing with other people, too. But I have yet to receive any replies.

Where is the customer service? Why would I want to do business with someone who seems to be ignoring me? At the very least, if it typically takes them more than a couple of days to reply to email, support questions or other requests, they should post that information on their website so customers/visitors know what to expect.

Without good customer service, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Don’t expect customers to buy from you if you can’t afford them some common courtesy.

A professional appearance is mandatory to your business, also. How many times have you read an ad or article that had numerous spelling or grammatical errors?

We’re not perfect. We all make mistakes. But if we frequently had those little red check marks on our composition papers in school, we should probably use spell check and have someone proofread our copy before sending it into cyberspace.

A prime example is a website I visited a few months ago. As I started reading about the product the owner was selling I noticed an error with the use of the word กour.ก The site said กWhen you use กareก product…..ก OK, one little mistake. No big deal.

However, as I continued reading, I discovered the webmaster referred to กareก products and กareก website on the whole page! Not once was the correct word, กour,ก used.

Frequently I read ads and articles that contain many spelling or punctuation errors. For instance, ‘thinking back to when I first started my business. I had no idea how or where to begin.ก

Iกm not a teacher, but I can see that it should be one sentence, not two. The writer cut off the first sentence before actually finishing it. Itกs like the train of thought came to a screeching halt. (In this case, Iกm the writer giving you an example. So if this sentence resembles someone elseกs work, it was not done intentionally.)

The correct way to write it is ‘thinking back to when I first started my business, I had no idea how or where to begin.ก Itกs one flowing sentence. Now it tells you what I was thinking.

Another option is to change it just a bit to make it a complete sentence. กI think back to when I first started my businessก or กI remember when I first started my business.ก Then continue to the second sentence.

Iกm not wanting to demean anyone or be overly picky. Ads, web pages and articles just look much more professional when written with no errors, or at least very minor ones.

Many customers will shy away from a website or ad that seems poorly written or put together. The customer may see the business owner as an amateur, therefore their product, company or service may not be worth much.

Do your customers expect perfection? No. But they do expect professionalism. You’re running a business, so you’re supposed to be a professional. If you give a professional appearance, theyกll believe in you and your business.

About The Author

Denise Hall is the publisher of Home Business on a Budget Newsletter. Her weekly publication contains helpful tips, articles and resources. To subscribe mailto:[email protected] or visit http://www.homebusinessonabudget.com

This article may be reprinted in its entirety with this resource box included.

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 26, 2003

by Denise Hall

Pursue your Dream

Pursue your Dream

by: Sylvia White

It is a well known fact that out of one hundred people who join your home base business, only a very small proportion will continue and pursue their dream to make money online.

WHY ? There are a few reasons why this happens,

1/ Mistrust, 2/ Money, 3/ Understanding, 4/ Time.

1/ The majority of people who search the internet looking for a home based business are moms with small children who can’t go out to work. The unemployed person, and the person who loves the idea of retiring from work and being their own boss.

The problem is ! No one really trusts the internet except those that are already making money. They hear all about the scams and are frightened to trust their instincts as to what is good and what is bad. The internet seems so impersonal and cold when you first start searching.

So what is the best way to get started ! There is no doubt about it, you have to get started if you want to make money online and join the thousands of people that are already making it.

What do you put in the searches to find a business or job ?

Here are a few keywords to help you in your search. Make Money Online, Work at Home, Find a Job, Home Business. Any of these will take you straight to the Home business pages. There are many free to join businesses out there, this gives you the chance to really look at the business and find what sort of help you will receive before committing yourself. Most legitimate businesses will provide you with a mentor, a person to help and guide you on the best way to get started. It does pay to email your mentor and introduce yourself, Let them know that you are serious about starting the business. If they email back promptly with advice then you know that the help you require is really on the other end and likely to be good.

2/ Money: Almost every business will require a payment of some kind if you really want to pursue it. Some require a one off payment, and others monthly. They are always affordable payments and won’t break the bank. This is a normal practice as we already working online know, we made the decision to pay and got started.

3/ Understanding: No matter which business you start you will have doubts about whether you will be able to make your business work. This is understandable as to the normal everyday person there is a chance that all the information that comes from the actual business looks like double dutch. Take things slowly and read each part a couple of times to try and understand it. If this fails then your mentor will be on the other end of an email or possibly your messenger. If he or she wants to keep your interest they will explain it all carefully untill you understand exactly what you need to do. They are there to teach and guide you as they want you to succeed as much as you do. You are their stepping stone to higher things, as your own affiliates will be for you.

4/ Time: Something not a lot of people have. But that is the beauty of the internet, with most programs you can work whenever you have the time to spare, even if its only one hour a day.

And now for the crunch : The only way to be successful on the internet is to have patience. When things don’t seem to be moving and you feel like giving up. Keep at it, don’t let the downs get the better of you. When you reach the bottom there is only one way to go, and that is up. You will succeed with persistence and determination.

We all went through it.

http://www.sylviawh.co.uk

[email protected]

About The Author

Sylvia White Owner of home business and Marketing Website.

Copyright by Sylvia White

http://www.sylviawh.co.uk

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 10

by Sylvia White

Does Your Marketing Plan Need Changing?

Does Your Marketing Plan Need Changing?

by: Joy Gendusa

Change is good, right? Not always. But when is it bad? Is it a question of good or bad? Sounds philosophical. Maybe it is.

Philosophize on this…why would one take something that is going good – no.. great – and change it? Obvious answer is to make it better. Not!

In business or in marketing, change is not always good. When you have certain promotional actions that are in place making things happen, or in better terms, making you money – don’t change them! Why do I say this? Because I see it time and time again. Someone has a marketing campaign that is bringing in a good return on investment and they up and decide to change their postcard! What?!?!?!?!? Change your postcard – why??????? ขEr uh, we just decided to do something different.ข

And then some three or four months down the road, they call back with their tail between their legs and ask – no demand to have everything back the way it was before. In this latter case – change is good.

I am not just saying that to say that one should always keep their postcard marketing campaign the same and never change it. Quite the contrary. Change your marketing, change your habits, change your way of life when it warrants it. There is really some truth to the old adage ขIf it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.ข Maybe it is human nature to want to change everything once something gets going just the way they planned it. Who the heck knows? All I can say is step outside the humannature box. Change only when things are drastic or when change is warranted.

Drastic circumstances deserve drastic measures. But how do you determine drastic? Sometimes that is really easy. Your company’s income is crashing. Do something! Change! Or better yet, figure out what you changed and get it back to what was working.

How about a plateau? Does that deserve change? Depends on how long that plateau lasts. I have never seen things leveling off and staying level forever. It either goes one of two ways – up or down. I know an optometrist who had a very successful practice in small town USA. He never really marketed. He never really had to. People knew of him from miles around. Mainly he did PR stuff – a fundraiser here, networking there, etc., etc. His good works made him well known and respected and the community ooo’ed and ah’ed over him so much the paper loved printing it.

But things changed. Malls started opening up. People started shopping out of smalltown USA and into the bigger cities. The environment changed. But he didn’t. He still kept a good practice, but you could see something interesting – his gross income started to plateau. And over time – many years – that plateau gradually started to show where it was really going. I actually don’t have to say where – you’ve got the picture.

Now, would that demand drastic measures? Taking into account inflation, cost of living and other factors that are on the rise – yes, I would say that would demand drastic measures. Did he take them? Not until the direness became all too apparent. But yes, he finally did take them. He started postcard marketing his youknowwhat off!

I have another client that is just a dream. They have had the same list for the past 5 years, ever since they have been in business – thirty thousand physical therapists they mailed to over and over and over and over and … They never changed. They figured if it was bringing in the income it was the thing that was working. And it worked and it still works. And today – they made Entrepreneur’s 100 Hot List for 2005.

So, next time you think about changing your marketing plan, look to see if it needs it. Look at your numbers. Are they improving? Declining? If your income is going up – don’t change one single thing. But if it is going down or flat lining – for heaven’s sake, change!

About The Author

Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2004 the company did $9 million in sales and employed over 60 people. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. As an Expert Author, she is always willing to share her marketing advice through articles, interviews and speaking engagements; visit www.postcardmania.com.

This article was posted on September 07

by Joy Gendusa

Computer Traumas

Computer Traumas

by: Ieuan Dolby

It has happened! Computer games have started to control my life on and off the screen. No complicated games like Age of Empires, just the simple one of Tetris. You know the one, where different shaped and colored bricks fall out of the sky and you have to arrange them in nice lines at the bottom? Hopefully with the end result of all colors matching in straight lines so that they can be removed and point gained.

Crazy really, it first happened many years ago when I had this stupid bet that I could get more points than the next guy. What that really means is that, กI am going to be up all night playing this game and will be totally incapable of staying awake in the office tomorrow, unless of course I play the game in the office as wellก. That’s what computer games do to us. We become machines where food and sleep are secondary items to all else. Just keep on playing………….till you drop.

I managed to get through that episode with only a slight increase in my weight and a damaged back from not having moved anything else except my two fingers for a sustained period of time. The latest episode though has created havoc with my life in more ways than one and I am getting seriously worried about it.

I had been playing that game in the evening for around three hours and had then gone to bed early for a dreamless and normal sleep. All okay and expected you say? Well, the sleep was but when I drove to the office the next day things started to happen that rapidly woke me up to the danger that I was in. There I was in my blue car approaching the traffic lights when all of a sudden I swerved into the other lane thus ending up stopped neatly behind this other blue car. Behind me, confused and irritated drivers with green and red cars tooted their horns angrily wandering what this maniac was doing. But I? I was happy in that I had managed to get the colors arranged and all I needed was another blue car and then we could have a full line…………….oh, no, what is happening to me? I sat there for a while shivering as it dawned on me that I had entered the game itself, it had taken me over………I was a brick!

Yeah, and that was not all. I found myself one afternoon staring inanely at a house wall and following the line of bricks along trying to sort out in my mind which pattern was best and which was not. And at my desk I found that I had arranged all files and papers in a neat pattern according to color and size having totally disregarded any format associated with the importance of ingoing, outgoing, urgency, etc. Extremely worrying to say the least!

I have withdrawn from playing Tetris and other games of that sort hoping that I will stop having these off the screen episodes in real life. In the hope that I can return to a normal existence without having offthescreen battles. Do other people suffer from this or is it just me?

The other game that I played to have a break from Tetris was กPrairie Dogก. One of those annoying games where you have a choice of guns and dogs keep on appearing on the screen. Aim and fire being the next step. Bang, Bang, Bang, another dog bites the dust. Yes, I know, pathetic really, but great fun. Volume up full, there I would be furiously firing at any movement, reloading and starting again and the dogs would make a strangled sound as I hit them. But once again I one day realized that all was not well with me, as I used to sit on my balcony and take imaginary potshots at cars as they appeared on the road. Or in a busy street I would say กbang, bangก and pretend that I had cleared a path for myself through the crowds.

I played that other game Age of Empires many times to. Love that game as it takes s kill and thought as well as two fingers and rapid movement and I became extremely proficient at it as time went by. My computer often struggled to cope with the size of my army and the enemies that I faced. I would sit there for hours on end, maneuvering, shifting, attacking and withdrawing till the sun started to come up on the horizon. It would be then that I would force myself away and climb into bed only to resurface two hours later, make a large urn of coffee and reattack with a vengeance. Although this game never caused me to start charging at other cars on the highways or lobbing screwed up notes at others in the office it did cause me to take a good look at myself. What would happen if suddenly I started to do this sort of thing in real life? If I started to make deals with my neighbors to attack next door offices or ping elastic bands at the mail delivery boy? I’ve stopped playing games now and have become a serious and boring กbeen there, done that and cured myselfก type of person. I do have long and empty hours where I feel the urge to take up where I left off and I get extremely jealous when others talk about games or I see others playing them but I resist. I think it must be like smoking where one never loses the urge to light up and take a draw – just the one! No, No, I cannot! I now sit there and lecture others on the dangers of playing games and that they should stop before it is too late. And they? They just nod politely and then disappear to talk amongst themselves………….กmust be and explayerก, whisper, whisper, whisper.

About The Author

Ieuan Dolby, from Scotland is an Engineering Officer in the Merchant Navy. He has been travelling the world for 15yrs on an endless tour of cultural diversification. Currently based in Singapore he writes various articles for magazines and newspapers and is working on a marine glossary.

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 08, 2004

by Ieuan Dolby

Finding A Host That Cares

Finding A Host That Cares

by: Jane Fulton/Smart

This was one of the hardest things to do for me and I thought I would share my experiences with you.

Wow! I got my website done just the way I wanted it. I now needed to find a host to host กMy Perfectก website. I thought, กHow hard can this be? The hard part was getting my site builtก. Well, the experience didn’t turn out to be that easy……

Now remember, I was a กFreshก newbie. I didn’t know what a Control Panel really was, and had never seen one or operated one. I had only been using a PC for 4wks!

I started looking for ‘reasonableก hosting. At this time I was only interested in what it would cost. I found a host that I thought was ‘reasonableก. At least it was one of the better priced ones. 🙂

SecretI didn’t even know how much space was given to me. They listed it at 50MB. How much was that? I didn’t have a clue, but figured it was enough for me. It was, when I first started.

I won’t mention their name in this article. I went to their site and signup for a 50MB space for a website, paid my money and was anxious to get started. I couldn’t wait to see กMy Siteก on the internet!

I went to the control panel and tried to upload my site. (They had their own FTP). Well, I wasted about 4 days and then decided to email my host and ask for help. After another 3 days of waiting for a reply, I was very disappointed when I got the reply. They told me that they had a manualuse it! Guess what? I had already tried that. I couldn’t understand the ‘techyก talk. I emailed them back and told them that I didn’t understand what the manual was talking about, that I was a newbie. After another 3 days, they replied with, ‘thatกs the only help we offer.ก I emailed back and asked for my money back. After another 3 days, they emailed me back and told me that I couldn’t get a refund! Well, why not? I had paid my money, but couldn’t use the space I had paid for!

One thing I did learn, when I first came on the internet, was how to go about getting your money back, if you had been involved with fraud. I went to: http://ftc.com That is the Federal Trade Commission URL. I filed a complaint about the company and waited.

Well, in about 2 days, I received an email from the hosting company that they were giving a full refund of the money I had paid.

I then began my search, once again, for a host. I stumbled on my current host by accident. There was an ad in a newsletter, talking about a host. It also said they offered a Free site to start with. When I emailed the guy running the ad (Gary, my angel), he told me that I needed to pay for hosting, to be considered serious online. I told him about the experiences I had had with other hosts. He informed me that I could take a look at the control panel, before I decided to purchase hosting and that he would be my mentor through this process.

I took a look at the control panel and found that it didn’t look that hard, so I signed up for hosting. Gary was there every step of the way. Without him, I would be pulling my hair out! After my site was on the net for about 1 month, Gary got sick and I didn’t want to put a lot of pressure on him. I started emailing my host, Dan, when I had a problem.

The first email I sent to Dan, included the fact that I was a newbie and this was my first experience with a website. I soon found out that Dan was my second angel. He would tell me how to do something. If I didn’t understand what he was saying to me (because of the jargon), he would go in and do it for me. I admit that I didn’t learn much when he did it himself, but when I had a little Free time, I would go to the manual and try it over and over, until I could do it for myself.

Because of the problems I encountered with hosting and the one person I found to helpme, I decided to start my own hosting company and load it with features that I could have used as a new person just starting out. It had to be easy to use and I wanted it loaded with benefits that you didn’t have to go searching for. My solution? Have a look: http://jnjservices.biz.

Be careful when choosing a paid host. Make sure that they know you are a newbie and will need help. If they don’t have the time or won’t take the time to help you, then hosting with them is a waste of your money.

About The Author

Jane Fulton/Smart has been helping people online for over 5yrs now. She is constantly looking for solutions for you.Here is one of her affordable solutions for advertising: http://threedollarads.com.

This article was posted on April 19

by Jane Fulton/Smart

Persistence, Patience, Dedication The Nick Marti

Persistence, Patience, Dedication The Nick Martin Interview

by: Ofa Morgan & Paul Penafiel

Name: Nicholas John Martin aka Nick Martin

Age: 24

Residence: Copenhagen, Denmark (Europe)

Business name: LifeStyleNetworker

Business address: http://www.LifeStyleNetworker.com

Business description: Free lead generation and list building system with inbuilt email capabilities.

Q) First of all, can you tell us how you got started in internet marketing and what sparked off Life Style Networker?

A) I first got started with Internet Marketing in May 2000 when I was using the internet to search for a job in the US. Iกve always wanted to visit America and try it out for size. One day I fell over an ad with the headline กEarn $50.000 in 90 daysก and thought hell yeah!

I knew absolutely nothing about the internet at that time. I had just got my first email address lol. So I pursued the idea of earning $50.000 in 90 days and all I had to do was buy 4 reports and resell them … The first report told me I had to bulk mail loads of email addresses, so I started searching for a way to do that.

I got enrolled into the Internet Marketing Warriors looking for a bulk emailer software. It was there I met my first sponsor Quentin Brown and thatกs when I learned that harvesting emails and bulk mailing was a no no in Internet Marketing.

From there I started my learning curve. I read everything I could get my hands on and started building my first website. I can’t quite remember how I learned about Surf4Hits programs, but it was at that moment I knew they were the key to my traffic problems!

At that time there were only a handful of them out there so I joined them all and started surfing like mad.

After some time I thought to myself that there had to be a clever way of advertising these Surf4Hits, so one could build a decent downline in them. And thatกs how I started thinking about LifeStyleNetworker.

Q) And how long did it take to take it from the idea stage to reality?

A) Well the first version was actually called TTAN (TheEliteTeamUp Advertising Network) and it took me a few days to get the first script I had working like I wanted it to.

From there it has been a steady development and lotกs of changes have been made to get the LSN we see today. I like to think of LSN as my little baby lol. Always tinkering with the site and coming up with new ideas for it.

Q) Give us an example of a specific challenge you encountered in the beginning stages of Life Style Networker. How did you overcome it?

A) My members have definitely helped me a lot! When I was running TTAN, I soon after learned of a site called MoneyLegs and started working that program. I could see that Doug (the owner) had a much more advanced software and I couldn’t keep up with such a competitor.

That was the time when I decided to let TTAN go and asked all my members at that time to join me in MoneyLegs.

The response to that really took me by surprise! So many people emailed me and wanted me to continue what I was doing. There were also some who wanted to take over the site. Thatกs when I realized how much people liked my idea.

So thanks to my founding members support, I decided to drop TTAN and go even bigger and started work on LifeStyleNetworker 🙂

Q) What are your day to day responsibilities?

A) Emails! I answer support emails and post in my support forum. I wish more members would use the forum, but I guess itกs much easier to email Nick 🙂

Q) What aspects of running your own business do you enjoy the most?

A) When I receive PayPal payment Notifications . We must admit thatกs a good feeling, but to be perfectly honest what I really enjoy is when I get ‘thank youก emails from my members.

Thatกs when I really feel like Iกm making a difference and helping others. Of course the money is great, but there is nothing like ‘thank youก emails 🙂

Q) And which do you enjoy the least?

A) Hmm, thatกs a good question. I really love running my own business, but there are always some emails that I just don’t get answered immediately. The days when I open my inbox and see a lot of unanswered emails, thatกs probably what I enjoy the least.

Q) Why do you favour using traffic exchanges as one of the main Life Style Networker promotional techniques?

A) Because they work! Simple as that 🙂 There is no one in the whole world that can show me a better way to generate free traffic to a webpage period!

Surf4Hits programs really work if you know how to work them and whatกs even better you get results immediately. Surf 100 sites and you will see your hit counter going up almost immediately.

Q) Where do you see Life Style Networker 5 years from now?

A) The whole idea of LifeStyleNetworker is showing ordinary people how to get started with building their lists of contacts for free. In 5 years time thatกs exactly what LSN will be doing.

I will keep my eyes and ears open for any new free traffic generators that come along and will incorporate them into LSN. I will never put a price tag on LSN and it will always be free to use for members.

Q) How do you handle stress? What do you do to unwind?

Hehe … stress whatกs that? I love to play golf and have been playing for 8 years now. Thatกs really my passion and my goal in life is to be able to play anywhere in the world I like.

When I feel like unwinding I go to the golf course or driving range and hit a load of balls 🙂

Q) What advice would you give to someone reading this whoกd like to start their own online business program?

A) I would say that if they feel strongly enough about it then just do it and see it as a vehicle for developing their skills. Don’t expect to be a pro or even act as one. Be professional but be personal.

I see too many program owners being all administrative and hiding behind admin emails. Don’t be afraid to show that you are a real person after all thatกs who we like working with the best.

Oh and a shameless plug here at the end, they might want to take a look at http://www.LimitedEditionPro.com for a cool software to help them 😉

Q) What personal qualities do you feel an internet marketer needs in order to succeed?

A) Three words: Persistence Patience Dedication!

Thatกs what it takes to conquer the world. Any of us who have these three qualities will see success no matter how we pursue it.

About The Author

Ofa Morgan is the owner of Blue Moon Offers, a site where you can win a prize for your complaints. Find out how by visiting: http://www.bluemoonoffers.com. Paul Penafiel is a กdie hardก Life Style Networker. To learn winning surf4hits strategies while building your list of contacts at the same time. please go to: http://tinyurl.com/hmky.

[email protected]

This article was posted on October 17, 2003

by Ofa Morgan & Paul Penafiel

Last Minute Villa Holiday

Last Minute Villa Holiday

by: Peter Hartley

A Dream Business or A lot of work?

Have you ever thought of starting an online business? Have you thought of making money from the Internet?

That is exactly what I was thinking when I started my first online business venture. My head was turned by the figures people were quoting of how much is spent on the Internet every year. I thought to myself that it would be an easy way of making money without leaving the house. In reality it couldn’t be further from the truth.

It all started when I set up my first venture with a free website through one of the online Internet Service Providers. I decided that I wanted my own slice of the pie, so I set up a free website which can only be described as an embarrassing attempt at very crude web design. I knew exactly how to design a real website but didn’t have the funding to start. Anyway the website obviously did not attract anywhere near the visitors I thought it would. I had to move to plan B.

I then decided to register a domain name for the business which did, and justly so, take a while to come up with the perfect name. I registered www.lastminutevillaholiday.co.uk and started to build the website around this name. The first thing I had to do when choosing the name was deciding whom my target market was? And what sort of thing would they be looking for?

The First draught of this website was a lot better than the first. It was designed using a software design program and was coded to attract the Search Engines. The only problem I had was I had no villas on my website therefore if anyone did find the site they would not stay on it. The problem was overcome when I contacted a few villa owners to offer them free listings on my site.

Now as the website grew it seemed easy enough to make a little bit of extra money here and there. I, however, was not interested in a little bit of money I wanted to offer a service to my customers and get as much business as I could. Two months had passed and I was adding more properties to my evergrowing list of villas for rent. Now with the database of villas that I had I was then ready to concentrate on the advertising of the business. The best way I thought of advertising an online business would be to get it found by the Search Engines like Google, Yahoo, Msn etc. I plunged into the optimisation of the website heavily. I made sure that all the pages had the right keyword density and the content of every page was as accurate as I could get it (content by the way is the only true way to get a website listed on a search engine).

During this time I was approached by a number of companies who were offering to get my website found on Google and Yahoo. They would ask me for £200 to £500 and I would have to pay this up front before they would do anything for me. I did however have enough knowledge of the search engines to know that these sorts of companies would not get me the return on investment that I was looking for. Then sure enough 2 weeks later my website was listed on position 1 of Yahoo and Msn and Lycos. This is when things started to get out of control.

I had villa owners on the phone wanting to place adverts; I had enquiries from customers wanting to book villas. My small business adventure had turned into a second full time job. I new when I started this venture that I wanted to give my customers the best possible service in return for their custom which is exactly what I did. I gave up my day job as it were and went full time with the website. The thing that I did not fully realise when I started out with this venture was the amount of work that was involved in sustaining the website.

I have to add villas to the site which is very time consuming I have customers on the phone and emailing me to enquire about the villas. You would think this however would be straight forward but there is never a enquiry saying ข I seen that villa on your site I would like to book it pleaseข that is only what dreams are made of. A website is just like a Bricks and Mortar company you do have to work hard to get the rewards you are looking for.

The reason I am writing this article I suppose is to be of some benefit of those people thinking on starting an online business. Just to make them aware of exactly what they are letting themselves in for. My advice to them would be simply this. With a lot of hard work and a good business sense will help far more than any quick fixes. Always be aware that if something is too good to be true…It usually is.

Hope you had as much fun reading this article as I had writing it.

Good Luck with any business ventures you get involved in.

By the way if you want to rent a villa have a look at our website.

About The Author

Peter Hartley MD

www.lastminutevillaholiday.co.uk

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 20

by Peter Hartley

Design Your Own Website My Easy Five Step Formul

Design Your Own Website My Easy Five Step Formula For Creating Successful Websites.

by: Alexander Marlin

For me to demonstrate this, I will lead off with a little story, dating back a couple years.

Two years ago, when I first started online, my biggest nightmare was trying to figure out what program to use to build my websites, and which hosting company to house my web pages at.

I was always chasing the fast highway to riches. Finally, I could see why they call it the Internet Highway, I was on a highway and I didn’t realize that I could control my own speed. I stopped chasing the Internet Highway and started studying patterns online.

As time went by, I got better at not letting myself jump at the next กbigก or กgreat productก, I learned to focus and I slowly started to keep the plastic hidden. It became difficult for me to use my credit card online, unless it was for my education towards my vision.

So, why the change?

First, I believe the change came when I bought one affiliate marketing manual that really hit the spot, no, not one, actually two, but one was the catalyst. It was very easy to understand and read, stipulating exactly how to build website that makes affiliate programs earn cash for you.

My vision of how you can make money online changed.

I finally started to realize that every website I build online has the potential of earning me $500 monthly.

That is where I created the term: กMy eappartment complex.ก

My vision leads me to building successful eapartments, one after the other until my ecomplex has a total of 100 eapartments.

But, because, of greed, you will have to be realistic and start by creating your กfirstก eapartment. This article will help you get started, following the successful path not many wish to travel, while knowing that, if they do, success is guaranteed.

Armed with that knowledge, I will now share with you exactly what you need to do online to create successful websites, one after the other.

1) You Will Have To Master Keyword Research

I just can’t emphasize the importance of keyword research.

If you don’t know what people are searching for then, how in the world is anyone ever going to find your website online.

You must, and I repeat, yes, must, learn to build your website around keywords or keywords phrases that is being searched for online. No successful website online was built without targeting the right keywords.

2) You Will Have To Use A Website Builder That Is Easy To Master.

In short, when your just starting out online, you have to learn how to build your own websites. You will need a website builder you can master n a week, you can’t spend months online learning HTML, so, it will have to be WYSIWYG (WYSIWYG, stands for What You See Is What You Get). In other words, acts like your word processor where you just paste the text needed.

3) Discover Where to Get the Cheapest Hosting

Today, anyone online can open a reseller hosting account and start there own web hosting company for just $ 25 to $50 monthly.

But, the question is: Are they ‘techieก enough where trouble shooting is concerned?

You have to host you site with a company that has been around at least 5 years, because they are established and know the insanouts of what it takes to be an online web host, and have a very friendly customer service.

4) You Must Use some Kind Of Ad Tracking Software.

Ad tracking is the one thing you must master online if you want to build successful websites online. You will have to make small changes to your site and just check to see if your site performs better or worse. If you feel your headline isn’t pulling, just change the headline and monitor what happens.

The nice part about online businesses is, that you can make change instantly and have results the same day. No need to wait months for results, like the offline world. Your changes can be tracked and that makes it easy to constantly improve your websites.

5) Find Something That Excite You And Put Away The Plastic.

Once, you find your niche online, ditch the credit card. Take your time and study what is needed for you to be successful online, sign up for a couple forums and get active asking questions.

Your online presence will start to make you a professional in your field. Study your manual, going over it more than once, read between the lines and set your vision on the end results you want to accomplish. Just set sail, and keep focus.

In any human activity, just get going and you will notice that what once seemed impossible, is now simple for you.

Knowing this, I do hope you find your niche online and start building your first eapartment.

About The Author

Alexander Marlin, Ebenezer St. Maarten A.N.

Is an affiliate programs mentor, who believes that anyone online can learn how to master keyword research that will help you to design your own website while using ad tracking to improve your business.

This article was posted on August 04

by Alexander Marlin

Why You Should Write To Inform And Not To Sell

Why You Should Write To Inform And Not To Sell

by: Joyce A Corrales

Advertising is key! Unfortunately most people waste their money on advertising unless they can play by the numbers. Playing by the numbers is simply spending enough money on advertising and saturating the market so much, that percentage wise, enough people will want to see what you have to offer. In the long run your ad will pay for itself. Although costly, it may just be the best investment you make.

It is true what they say about advertising. The average person needs to see the ad at least three to four times before the average person wants become curious. In some cases it takes a bit more than that.

For example, I could care less about what Mathew Lesko has to offer with his government grants book offer. I have seen the ad on television at least 50 times. You know how much that probably cost him to put an ad on television and to run it over and over again? How many times have you seen it? Have you bought the book yet?

After about the fiftieth time I started thinking about getting the book for myself. Not because I believe he has something in it valuable for me. I think that if you can get all that money he claims you can get, some one beside, the author would be saying something about it.

No, I started thinking about getting it, so that I could share the information with others for a fee less than what the book cost. I also though, what if there’s a program in there that I can use, or someone else can use. I can share that information with that person for a fee. Perhaps, I can charge people to write the grants for an additional fee.

The point is that you want to give people as much information as possible as to why they should buy and try your product. I came up with the idea about the book due largely in part to that particular commercial. Because, prior to that commercial, I only though about my own use and not how I too may be able to capitalize off of buying his book.

What an article does that an ad does not is give the reader something to think about. If the article is interesting the reader will read the entire article. If the reader reads the entire article, you may have just sparked an interest to find out more.

Teaser articles are like cliffhangers. I may not want to go any further with it because it may just be another cliffhanger waiting for me and I really hate not knowing how it ends. What if time does not allow me to find out? I feel empty. Like a movie that ends where you don’t know if the criminal gets caught or the hero got the girl.

Articles with a lot of fluff are like politicians that talk about each other and not the issues. We don’t know where they stand if elected to office. It’s hard to decide what to do. Generally, people don’t go any further for fear of getting more of the same. Fluff.

Advertisements and testimonials serve a purpose, but they are not enough to convince us that we should buy because Joe Smoke of North Carolina liked it. Advertisements only serve as a reminder that we need to buy more toilet paper and the best advertiser gets our vote on which toilet paper to buy.

Articles are for selling an idea, a concept, or something unusual in the market. Just because you think it is great or you want it does not mean anyone else will.

I am currently looking to put together the best how to book on government, business and investing and I am looking for everyday people that have done it to write about it.

Join me: http://mailrunner.bravehost.com

About The Author

My name is Joyce A. Corrales and I started Mail Runner. I have been in the mail order business for 20 years and have learned many different ways to approach an untapped market. I started out selling advertising but quickly realize that I was doing a disservice to my advertiser. Now I give it away in the form of articles. The readers find it more interesting to get something meaty that they can take and use right away. The readers have learned that if it works, they are willing to pay for more. Iกve also been real estate and mortgage for about the same amount of time. I now write the ขhow toข on the escrow process, selling your own home, understanding income taxes, and much more. When my readers find the information valuable, they come back for additional services or material.

Join me: http://mailrunner.bravehost.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 02, 2004

by Joyce A Corrales

How Secure Do You Feel At Your Job?

How Secure Do You Feel At Your Job?

by: Jim Heim

We are all familiar with the term ขcorporate restructureข in this day and age. Do you ever think one will ever personally affect you? After being employed by a major Midwestern retail chain for 28 years I didn’t think so. I started working for them in college; you know to get through school. I was studying management so it was only natural to get involved in their management program there. After graduating I was offered a position that required moving. No questions ask, my wife and I packed up everything we owned, left our families and pursued the American dream.

After 25 years in management, working in 3 cities at 5 different locations I had slipped into that false sense of security. Then those meetings started about how the company was going to transform. ขBigข competition was moving into the area the company operated in, there had to be changes to survive and ขmove forwardข. The restructure inevitably meant cuts in overhead which of course translate into staff reduction.

It was early in January, after a successful Christmas selling season, that the tension really began to build. Changes in the wind were blowing strong now. All management personnel were to attend a mandatory meeting on Thursday. At this meeting a sketchy outline was given of the new direction the company was taking. We were thanked for our efforts in seeing the company through its best year ever. Then just as we were to be excused we were informed that over the next two days each of us would meet with the store manager to find out our part, if any in the changes.

The next day was the day I had my appointment. I entered the store manager’s office and sat down. Not 10 seconds after that I knew of my fate, ขas you know the company is restrictingข the manager said. He continued ขyour position has been eliminated, you will be ask to leave after this meetingข. I was astounded that after all the time and dedication I had poured into the company I was ขbeing eliminatedข!

I did receive a charitable severance package but then what. I was thankful that my kids were grown and on their own but how was I going to pay the bills? Could I afford to keep my home? What if the car quits? Energy costs are on the rise, can I heat my home? Can I even afford gas for the car? What would you do in this situation?

After the initial shock wore off I realized life would go on. My girlfriend, who also worked at the same store and suffered the same fate as I, started our own business. We do home repair with a focus on paint and wallpaper.

That works as well as the effort you put into it. Another problem is the Holidays. First, people don’t want their house torn up during the holidays. Second, they can’t afford to have changes because they are paying for the holidays.

Like many people I have a home computer which I enjoy. Hey! Why not make money at home with the computer? I searched around a bit, trying a few ขit’s quick and easy to make cashข programs. Watch out for the ขoffersข that suggest ขfor just $19.95 you can make cash todayข. Also be cautious of programs with a one or two page website. It didn’t take long to figure out it was them making the fast buck!

What I was looking for was a company with a solid background, one that had been around with a track record to prove it. One that offered more than an email address for support or questions, one with no money up front to join. With a bit of time and effort you can find a solid opportunity to invest your time and energy in.

How secure do you feel in your job?

About The Author

Jim Heim has over 25 years of retail management experience. He has his own Home Improvement business. He is an Executive Affiliate with SFI and is willing to help those who wish to help themselves secure their future. Learn more by visiting http://www.takethisjobandluvit.com.

This article was posted on February 09

by Jim Heim