Welcome To RGNetwork

Build Your Website First to Avoid Wasting Your Marketing and Advertising!

2010-04-01T03:46:00.001-07:00

One Thursday last December, I had an interesting encounter with one Mr. K - CEO of a new startup - who claimed to be a web designer (having started out with a large IT training company as an instructor, before going solo). I had visited his startup company office in one of my "guinea pig" experiments to check out the web developer training course he offered.

Why? Well, out here, many times I have found that most trainers offer rather watery training content to their students. So whenever the opportunity comes up, I try to "check" for myself to see if the advert matches the quality of learning on offer. Speaking with Mr. K led me to conclude he was very comfortable with "money" side of the business. I however differed with him on his obvious preference for labourious focus on manual coding with PHP and other languages in web development.

It's not that I feel manual PHP or other coding is wrong or bad, but my experiences out here convince me MOST clients just WILL NOT pay enough to make it worth any good developer's time to do much of such manual work! That's why over the years, I have offered clients (and educated prospects about) the option of either adopting pre-built templates, or using Content Management Systems like Joomla, or at least WordPress. If you want to make enough PROFIT developing web solutions here in Nigeria, this is the way to go. One exception - if you have the "connections" to get outrageous contracts from big companies, then maybe what I say here may not matter.

Anyway, Mr. K at some point said he was too busy to build a website for his new venture - a special trip overseas for certification training. He had placed adverts in various media, and even via phone SMS. While I was with him, calls from potential students for his advertised services repeatedly came in. I watched him in amusement, as he fretted over the poor telephone conversation skills of his two young female staff, who often failed to get important details like names, phone numbers etc from callers!

When he took the calls himself, he did a better job, but on at least two occasions I had to motion for him to ASK the enquirer to SMS his email address (instead of waste time/money reading it out on phone!) so that the FULL details could be sent to him/her, later! I was shocked to learn from Mr. K that he had NOT prepared a website to SUPPORT his marketing and advertising campaign for a project of this nature.

Indeed, my concern was justified when one caller asked if Mr. K had a website he could check out before sending payment for the registration form. Rather than say NO (since there was none for THAT particular service), Mr. K gave him the website address for his other company focussed on sales and service of POS machines!! What kind of impression would that have given the intending buyer?? Certainly not a good one.

Later on, Mr. K was able to free himself from routine, stress filled work to listen to me suggest the following:

1. Get a website up specifically for this project, with ALL details about the services you offer on it.

2. Add a Frequently Asked Questions page to the site, to address most of the common questions that people have been asking. That way, when they call you, they will be close to the point where they just want to pay.

3. Ensure you have a system setup on the website to get valuable contact details from those who visit the site - names, job title, location, email, phone numbers, comments etc. This will help you get a feel for the "profile" of people who are interested in your offering. It will also give you a mailing database of pre-qualified contacts you can follow up with.

To be honest, what I gathered from that day's conversation was that this gentleman was a much disorganised person, who lacked the ability to approach his tasks systematically. Or how do you explain a person who kept telling me he was a web designer, graphic designer, PHP programmer and business man, failing to prepare simple systems to REMOVE the headache of having to answer PRELIMINARY inquiries about a service advertised to a NATIONAL audience??

Using a well developed website system, comprising response generating copy, automated request forms, with auto responders which allow visitors get most of the basic information they need to have to decide if they wish to discuss "buying" with the advertiser, would have saved him and his staff so much stress.

And that was what I offered to do for him - starting with getting his responses to my website content generating questionnaire that I have used since 2004. Would you believe that he was to tell me the next day that he began to doubt my ability to build a decent website BECAUSE I chose to "OVER-MARKET" him by asking him to fill a questionnaire, instead of CLOSING THE SALE, and getting on with the job?!

He went as far as saying that he suspected I could not use Macromedia Flash, and that he would pay me N50k if I was prepared to use Flash in his office to build the site. When I took him up on THAT offer, he said "Anyway, don't worry".

Mr. K claimed to be interested in my helping him QUICKLY setup the above on a website, ostensibly because he was "too busy". But he also said he had a limited budget of N15, 000 (Fifteen thousand Naira), and that this would be enough since he only wanted a basic site. I actually offered to use a pre-built HTML template to setup a website for him - just to help.

He would however spend the whole of our meeting the next day trying to prove to me that the websites I showed him I had done did not have (a) Flash Movies (b) what he called "Pizzaz" etc. In fact he got another person to sit in who proceeded to show me a 100% flash ICT website built - believe it or not - at a price of N10,000 (Ten Thousand Naira)!! My response was "then don't waste any more time with me - hire THAT guy who is THAT cheap, and THAT good!".

A question I asked him was: "Why not say what you want to see in your finished site, and let's look at it against your budget?"

Needless to say, I came away with the conclusion that Mr. K NEVER intended to hire me - all he wanted to do was "test" me. The reality however was that HE was the one who could not do what he claimed to specialise in.

My conclusion: Mr. K could NOT do as much as he claimed he could. He had always been the "money man" in the past - hiring others to execute web design projects he won!

Why hire me - when he was able to do it? Okay, maybe he was busy. But why didn't he think to hire someone before I came around? How come he failed to THINK of building the site well BEFORE spending heavy advertising money promoting his new service to thousands of people? This happens a lot out here. People keep thinking they can "wing it". Rather than do proactive THINKING, they throw money at their ventures, and hope something clicks. Most times, even if they do not lose out, they fail to get as much as they could have, out of it.

To save yourself from making a similar mistake, don't just hire ANY web designer - hire one who knows how to develop a web marketing system that at least helps you SAVE money, time, effort and resources, in a manner that COMPLEMENTS the marketing and advertising you will do!

To learn more about how having a web marketing system can help you, read my article titled: How To Choose The Right Web Design Company

Final Words

Just for the records, I learnt Macromedia Dreamweaver, Flash and Adobe Photoshop the old fashioned way, using professional web design magazine tutorials/videos produced by gurus based in the US and UK - and I have successfully coached one paid student to do some of the stuff I can do.

What I learned from the gurus however taught me that you don't use technology for its sake: there MUST be PURPOSE. What purpose will your intended flash animation serve in achieving your website goal? Do you know how many of your target customers use browsers that are flash enabled? If few, that might be a good reason for you to export your flash movie in GIF format - which will show in any browser.

What about their internet connection bandwidth? These affect the visitor's ability to view your flash movies.

One more thing. Research has actually shown that most visitors choose to SKIP a flash movie and move on the view the content they came looking for. So, why waste time developing flash components that do little to "sell" you to your visitors?

Use it where appropriate, and move on. We must use technology intelligently. This is not about showing off your skills!!!

Self-Development/Performance Enhancement Specialist - Tayo Solagbade - works as a Multipreneur, helping individuals/businesses develop and implement strategies to achieve their goals, faster and more profitably.

Depending on the opportunities that appear in the market, Tayo earns multiple streams of income by developing Custom Web Marketing Systems to make Nigerian websites work, delivering Pre-Programmed MS Excel Spreadsheet Solutions/Training and providing Customisable Talks, Seminars and Coaching Programs on Self-Development, Micro-Business Startup/Entrepreneuring, Best Practice Systems Development etc.

Download his latest e-book titled "How To Start Your Business With Little Or None Of Your Own Money" from http://www.lulu.com/sdaproducts. Visit http://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com to subscribe to Tayo's Self-Development Digest newsletter.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

How to Earn Easy Money Online - Earn $50 Today

2010-03-25T23:43:00.001-07:00

The Free and Powerful system is a tool that newbies can plug into and start making money right way. If you tired of struggling and frustrated because your not making at least a few hundred or even thousand dollars a day online you have to check this out because here is a system that does all work for you and all you have to do is simply give your website to someone else. How easy is that.

One of the best things about this system is that its very duplicable and everybody that joins completes the 3 Step-by-Step Instructions in the system and gets paid PERIOD. As soon as you join your account is credited fifty-dollar from the start. Also, as soon as you sign up you'll be guiding on how to market your free system the Co-Founder does a really good job on explaining the compensation plan etc. Because he knows that alot of people are struggling trying to make money and there continously
spending money of courses and ebooks.

So heres my point, just like any other business online there is no guarantee that you will make money but I can tell you is that this is probrobly one of the easiest systems out there. there is a system overview video that leads you through how to set your marketing system up, but also how to become successful through your marketing enterprises. You will be taught about how applying different social networks and basic marketing techniques can help you become a successful affiliate marketer.

Despite all these great things that the system possesses, there is still so much more to the system in comparison to other affiliate marketing systems that promise results that they never seem to follow through with. With the Free and Powerful system, affiliate marketers will finally get the chance to offer products that sell.

With the system you get $50 DOLLARS Just for Joining, free auto responders, free lead capture pages, as well as free video tutorials. And lastly the whole entire system is free. If you really want to know how to earn easy money online truthfully look know further.
Get Your Free and Powerful System and watch it start making money for you! This free online home business is a unique blend of key marketing tools, simple formatting, and multiple income opportunities.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

E-book Resale Rights - Making Money With the New Book on the Block

2010-03-25T21:41:00.001-07:00

Looking for an online business product? With internet based electronic books being the glamorous new avatar for paperbacks, you too can make profits from this technological innovation. E-books are a creative way towards a successful cyberspace business.

If you are wondering how exactly you are supposed to go about making money from e-book resale, look no further. Your first step is to locate the precise e-book which you will resell. This is a highly simplified procedure as there are thousands of e-book options which you can choose. Just use your favorite search engine and search "ebooks resale rights", and similar phrases. Find that perfect book which will strike a chord with your site visitors so that you can get the most profits. What is good for you is that you need to purchase only a single copy which will last you throughout.

Once you've found the e-book you like, make sure you are getting Full Reselling Rights so you can resell it without any problems. Ordinary Resale Rights as they are called, enable you to resell the e-book and pocket the profits earned. Master Resell Rights give you with the right to pass it on along to others with Resale Rights for them.

Compared to the benefits they give you, e-books are relatively very cheap and affordable. They might even cost you less than a dollar! This brings good tidings for newbies since they don't have to worry about making huge initial investments. The catch is that the more loved the e-book is, the more expensive it gets. One important tip would be to start buying expensive e-books once your business has taken off.

To kick start your e-book resale business and generate huge profits, you need to have a website of your own. This helps customers to be aware about your latest offerings. In the initial stages you can post your information on free sites and as when your business grows, you can build your own website. Using a website builder you make an eye catching website where you can put up newsletters and articles for addressing your readers.

Here are a few tips which will boost your business:

Associate yourself with affiliates to promote your website.
Selling unreleased or extra chapters of your book adds to your income.
Letting customers preview your e-book for a token price is a bonus for your business.
Offering freebies like ezines, newsletters, e-book updates can increase traffic to your site.
Put forward dual versions of your e-book but keep a price difference between the two. This gives customers a chance to select what they prefer.

The main aim of business is profit and this is what makes you strive ahead and do better each day. However, there are certain other considerations which make the e-book resale business an instant hit! Some of them which will surely motivate you to start your resale business soon are:

Minimum Capital Investment
No Headache of Maintaining Inventories
Immediate Money Transfer
Very Little Overhead Expenses Incurred

With so much to offer, e-book resale is the one of the best bet for an online business. It supports newbies and gives established players the potential to grow in there ventures. Please visit http://www.squidoo.com/selling-ebooks-online-make-the-most to find out more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=GL_Hollaway

How to Increase Your Penis Size in Just Weeks - Natural Tips to Get That 8'' Erection

2010-03-18T21:32:00.000-07:00

How to Increase Your Penis Size in Just Weeks - Natural Tips to Get That 8'' Erection

By David J. Williams

Article Word Count: 435 [View Summary] Comments (0)

Isn't really what everyone is trying to find - natural methods to shed weight, to increase penis size, to stop baldness and so on? Every person feels natural ways will always be much better, healthier, stronger, as well as long lasting. In truth, everyone's correct. it certainly is much better to utilize natural remedies regarding anything that has to do with your wellness.

This is the reason why an increasing number of men are seeking techniques to increase penis size naturally with the what is known as Natural Penis Enlargement. These are all DIY ( do it yourself ) techniques which can be done exclusively by you, that ensures you the privacy that you'll require if you need and desire to increase your penis size naturally.

The best and most successful enlargement technique I could think of is utilizing male enhancement pills and patches but only combined with another method and I'll reveal in a moment what I'm talking about. You absolutely will not regret in case you choose to try them. Make absolutely certain these are medically confirmed to be effective, have passed numerous medical tests, are produced by a trustworthy organization, possess all the components listed, include 100% money back guarantee and have permanent effects.

Although quality pills and patches do work, to get maximum results and in a short period of time, go for those that provide free access to a penis exercise program with your purchase. Combining these 2 methods will increase your penis size. Visible results usually appear within a couple of weeks but great results should be expected after 4-8 months. Trust me you need to be really consistent as well as diligent to get highest results which fulfill your anticipations.

Remember that natural ways to increase penis size require additional time compared to surgical procedures, for instance. But, bear in mind that natural is definitely a lot better than surgical, and even if a natural penis enlargement system does not give results (that is very unlikely), certainly it's not going to harm you. On the other hand - surgical procedures are often permanent and conceal numerous dangers for your wellness, therefore do not think about these in any way, till you have experimented with each and every method with no success.

A different natural way to increase your penis size is through the use of penis enlargement devices. This is a very efficient way to increase penis size and if you are comfortable with wearing this device under your clothes, go for it. It is designed to de invisible but you should really wear it indoors, just to be safe.

Want To Know How To Get An 8'' Erection In Just Weeks? Click Here!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_J._Williams

2010-03-07T22:28:00.001-08:00

To eBay or NOT to eBay

FACT: eBay's Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS) 2003 - GMS, the total value of items sold, was a record $24 billion, representing a 60% year-over-year increase from the $15 billion reported in the full year 2002

FACT: Over 79 million times a day, eBay users find products and brands of their choice.

FACT: In the final quarter of 2003, reported and increase of 41.2 million active users, up 3.8 million from the previous quarter.

(Exerts from January 21, 2004 - eBay? Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2003 Financial Results.)

When I read the 2003 Financial Results, the first thing I thought of is 'what a lot of traffic'.

Think about it 79 million times a day people are looking at the eBay site for products or services.

And if you think anything like me ? the next thought would be, 'can I drive some of that traffic to my site'

The answer is YES!

This scenario is the 'norm" in an auction.

Seller lists item
people visit auction
some make bids
highest bidder wins (one winner)
product sold and delivered

Question: What happens to all the people who visited the auction and didn't bid or bid and didn't win?

Answer:Lost Revenue, Lost Opportunity

It doesn't matter what kind of service or product you are selling or decide to sell.There are TECHNIQUES that can help you DEVELOP constant flow of traffic, SALES and GENERATE LEADS.

If you use eBay solely as an auction site, then you will make a few dollars, a couple of thousand if you are bulk selling.

Power eBay Sellers know that they real money comes when you drive people from your auction sale to where ever else you need to send them.This of course should firstly be to your own website, but you can send them to affiliate sites just as easy.

eBay is more that a giant flea market, you see, eBay auctions attract millions of TARGETED customers.You don't have to go in search of subscribers ? they will come to you.

About the Author

Gillian Tarawhiti, is Founder and CEO of Community Training Centre, an Internet Marketing firm providing Online Training and Support to the new and not so new netpreneurs. Gillian is also the author of eBay Billion Dollar Goldmine and the creator of the Multiple Ripple Effect System © 2004.

Permission is granted to reprint this article in print or on your web site so long as the paragraph above is included and contact information is provided to http://www.ezy-money.com

let the leads come so fast

2009-05-18T00:52:00.001-07:00

Leads the list is the name, or a list of prospects, people who are willing to receive free information via email from us with the name and enter their email box on the opt-in or as a newsletter that is in the top left of this blog.

Data capture name and email from a visitor to your website is the absolute requirement for success online.

Just as in any business, location is the success of our efforts at continuous leads or prospects of the new continuously. If you stop the business leads will also stop.

Once the importance of leads, then we should be able to catch visitor data as the first priority if you want to create a website / blog is good.

Leads can be arrested with a box to install a newsletter, and should attract a visitor want to enter your name and email. If not, for what they give the name and email to you?

Penariknya as you can give something to them to switch the name and the email they provide.

For example: Report, Free Ebook, Free Software, Business Tips, Articles, or what is appropriate to the topic website / your blog.

Products can be free earlier in google.com by entering: "Free Giveaway" for example, or "Free Ebook" Then you will get lots of goods which can be given instead of a list of their names.

Then you also need the Autoresponder will send your leads automatically, periodically, email that you have prepared beforehand.

Is the location of the power of online business. You can continue to follow up to prospects / leads that you already agree to receive information from you!

If you do seriously, you have many leads, and send email on a regular basis, then you already dijalan towards online business success. Because you can control your business, and you have assets.

Asset leads is that you are very valuable. Darisana you can get the revenue kontinyue, you can get many ideas about what is needed by your leads. Ibaratnya you are in the heart of your business.

You can do a survey about what they like, what the obstacles they, what they desire, consequently, you can create products or offer products that comply with all the info earlier.

See, everything has a newsletter! :)

** So, how draw buyers? or sale? **

Once you have a lot of leads that are kontinyue receive periodic email from you, then they will believe you, if you really give a good email, which contains tips to help them. After some time you receive an email, they usually have to believe, even meresponse have your email.

Trust is a time where they would like to receive your recommendations, they want to buy from you.

So tawarkanlah their solutions on their problems by providing the appropriate product.

People basically do not like dijuali. But they offered a solution like the top of their problems.

If you buy something, I'm not sure you purchase it, but you buy the solution on your issue is not it?

So menjuali place for visitors to your website, and not with the install or put a banner on the website / blog you, but you via mail.

However, not direct selling in the first email, you must obtain raport / impression that both of them first.

Let them feel comfortable to be in your newsletter.

Just as the frog does not realize that he is being boiled, it is also that you do:)

After some time to send their tips, useful information, start menjuali they have something that benefits them or the needs. Many of them will buy your products, or products you recommend.

by kerjakeras.com

2008-07-16T02:36:00.000-07:00

A SECRET OF
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
By: Safir Senduk

From IndoExchange.com

A huge earning is usually considered for measuring the wealth of someone. However, why do so many people with huge income frequently end up running out of money in the middle or at the end of the month? What is the problem?

If you have a job now, do you remember the first one you ever had? Usually, the first experience on work is the most unforgettable experience.

Let's take an example. Anto was still living with his family until he got a job at the age of 23, as a clerk in a trading company. At that time, he had just graduated. Although he had to go through a probationary period, Anto was so excited when he knew that he would get his first salary. His salary was Rp 600,000, which he would receive on the 27th.

We can guess what he would want to do: he wanted to treat his family. He wanted to express his gratitude for getting a salary for the first time in his life, and he also wanted to show them that he was independent now.

Let's see: he received the salary on the 27th. On the 29th he took his family out for a meal in an all-you-can-eat restaurant, so each of them could satisfy their appetite. The pre-tax cost for one person was Rp 22,000, and after tax was Rp 24,200 per person. All of his family members were 7, consisting of his father, mother, one big brother and 3 annoying younger brothers. All was 6, plus Anto made it 7. It means that he had to pay the dinner bill of Rp 169,400. Which means, only 2 days after he received his salary, he had already spent 28% out of his salary for that month. So, he had only Rp 430,600 left for the rest of the month.

"No problem", thought Anto. "It's my own family that I treated, not other people. Besides, it's not every day I do that. Once a month is enough." Days went by. One week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks. "Hmm…that stuff in the mall looks pretty good. There is a very interesting looking shirt. Okay, it costs Rp 28,000. There's also this nice pair of trousers to wear for work. Very cheap, costs only Rp 65,000. It won't hurt to look stylish at the office". He then started buying things. "Okay", Anto thought, "one shirt and a pair of pants for this month. The rest of my salary would be used for transportation and food until the end of the month" .

What happened? On the 24th of the next month, just three days before his second-month payday, he had only Rp 50,000 left.

Anto started thinking. Okay...., such was because he spent most of his money to treat his family. Also this was his first time working. Within the coming months, his finance would be better.

The second month, he got his salary again. Still in the same amount. No raise yet. The difference was no more treating the family. Days and weeks went by. A few days before his third salary, he only had Rp 75,000 left.

Three months passed by, he was finally accepted as permanent employee. He got a Rp 150,000 raise to Rp 750,000. "Not bad", Anto thought. This meant that I would be able to "breath" and save a little. But strangely, a few days before even one month period ended, his still had only little money left. The sixth month, the seventh month, the eight month, although he got a raise, but he still ran out of money and could not put any into savings.

As a matter of fact, Anto is not the only one, whose income is under Rp 1m, with this problem. Even people with millions per month income still have trouble saving money.

What is really happening? Many people think that by getting a raise, they will not run out of money in the middle of the month and they can save for sure. Every month they hope that they will get a raise the next months. But after they really get a raise, they still run out of money.

It is clear that the solution here lies not on how big your income is. The amount of your income does not guarantee that you will not run out of money in the middle of the month. The size of your income does not guarantee that you will be able to save. The key here is not how much money you make, but how you manage your income so that it can be stretched in a one-month period.

There is no fixed way on the right method to manage your finance. However, based from experiences, there are several things that can help you manage your finance well each month:
Plan your income and outcome every month.
Carry out the plan strictly.
Have reserved fund.
Join insurance plan.

2008-07-08T03:32:00.000-07:00

My Two Cents

Hi all and thanks for taking some time to read the blog, we really do appreciate it.
As allways, we are hard at work on a new addition to the ezine, which at the moment is falling snow on the pages, we think this'll be a really cool effect and our audience (should) like it.
Graeme has been pushing for firefox as usual and is now pushing even harder for a private forum and chat room. I for one don't like this as it would need to be moderated constantly and it would be a big waste of lunch, or, as he puts it, a period that we'll get out of to do it. IMO this is stupid, as no-one would be on it in a period and there would be conversations ending abruptly as we wern't allowed to let some posts get through.
Graeme also seems to think that a CMS would be a good idea, though i like the project as it's nice to have to do something and not have a computer automatically run your site for you all the time. However, i suspose this is a group decision and my say is almost irrelavent.
To end on a slightly nicer note, the e-zine has been re-organised(internally) by graeme and ewan. This was a great effort on their part and has left us with a much easier to use heierchy(spell?).
If you got through reading this, you deserve a medal. in fact, we should have an award ceremony for you!

from here : http://ezine.blogspot.com

2005-12-31T17:36:00.000-08:00

How to get more hits!

How to market your website. What it takes to get more hitsAfter you finish reading this page, make sure to read Mitch's latest article on how to promote your business websiteBy Mitch Cohen, Webmaster SiteRightNowWill anyone find your Website? Not unless you put some work into it. I think one of the most common misconceptions people have when they build a website is that people will miraculously find you.

This is just not the case.I have been thinking about writing an article on “how to market your website” for the past several months. As hundreds of customers continue to signup and build websites on SiteRightNow, I thought we should give our customers the benefit of our own marketing experiences. After all, the more success you have with your own website, the longer you are likely to stay with us as a happy customer.In this article, I have nothing to sell. There won’t be a “1000 tips for getting more hits” kit available for $19.95 at the end of the article. I am going to try to outline what I think is necessary to build a successful site. I want to stress that unless you are willing to put some work into marketing your site, you might as well stop reading now. Marketing does not have to be expensive, but it will involve a desire to be successful and a willingness to do some work.

The Dot Com MemorialI was watching the Super Bowl last year thinking to myself how can a dot com company afford to spend millions of dollars on one commercial? Will enough people see their ad, visit their Website, and purchase their service to break even? How can Priceline.com run commercials every few minutes on radio and TV paying William Shatner as their spokesperson? Do they really make enough money on bargain airline tickets? Well, the answer was a resounding no. Many of the hot dot com companies have disappeared over the last year or so. Others, like priceline.com have shown huge losses. These companies were great at raising money from investors and spending the money very quickly. Once the money ran out, the investors were not quite so quick to give them a new bankroll.

Slow and steady wins the race... I think steady consistent growth is the key to an on-line businesses success. I would advise firms that have the funds to avoid the tempting flashy ad campaign that may give you a brief spike in traffic. The traffic soon disappears and you are left with no customers and a large bill to pay.We decided to build our site, SiteRightNow.com, from its profits instead of relying on money from investors or banks. This approach is not easy and takes patience and time to succeed. If you have a regular business or job, you can continue life as usual while you steadily grow your new on-line business.We have been profitable from just about day one, because we were able to do most everything ourselves without paying outside services, and we didn’t spend a fortune on marketing. We decided to start the site with a minimum investment of our own money and expand using money generated from the site. We are the Tortoise in the classic Tortoise and the Hare story. Slow and steady wins the race. We have established a steady consistent stream of new customers. As our exposure grows through our own low budget marketing efforts, this stream increases. We strive to keep our customers by providing the best customer service we can.

TIPS: We think customer service is the thing that makes us different than our competitors. People can reach us quickly and we do everything possible to help them. I think it is important for any business to identify why customers will use their service or product. Do you know what makes you different from your competition? Do you talk about this on your website? Let your customers know why they should use you!Even though we have the funds available, we still do not run expensive short-term marketing campaigns that have little hope of breaking even let alone generating additional income. These campaigns may produce a large splash for the day or month that they run, but what happens when the campaign is over? With a Website, I think you should be more concerned with daily marketing. Don’t expect a huge short-term campaign to make any difference, other than wasting your investor’s money. New people will be looking for what you offer everyday.

These people may have missed your expensive ad campaign that finished last week. What are you going to do to stay in front of people every single day?
TIP: If you are planning an expensive ad campaign, do you know how many customers it will take from the campaign to break even? Forget about esoteric concepts like Brand Building or Name Recognition unless you have a bunch of investor money you need to get rid of. I think the purpose of your advertising has to be to generate new immediate business. The ad needs to pay for itself or you should stop running it immediately!

Get Listed on the Search Engines!Where are people going to start looking for your site? I think most on-line business need to concentrate their efforts on getting good listings on the major search engines. About 95% of our customers find our site through one of the search engines, such as MSN.com, Yahoo, Hotbot, Altavista, Google, and others. They sit down at their computer, bring up their favorite search engine, and type in a search phrase, such as “create your own website”. If we come up on the first or second page of the listings, people might visit our site and see if they like our service. If we’re not there, they choose someone else. It’s pretty much as simple as that.

Getting listed on the search enginesI suggest following these steps to get listed:1) Figure out your key search phrasesTake time to think about what people might type in a search engine to find you. Write down a list of keywords or phrases you would use if you were looking for what you offer. Then, go ask one of your friends, who doesn’t know as much about your service, what he or she would type in. In my case, I found myself too close to the business to come up with phrases that people really typed. I asked friends and business associates to send me a list of phrases they would use if they were looking for our service. Don’t Guess! After you get this list, try out some of the phrases using this free website to check their popularity. (Take the free trial!)http://www.wordtracker.com/New!Try Overture.com's premium listing suggestion tool. It's even easier than Wordtracker.2)

Use Your Keywords on Your Site!Work on your Website and make sure you use the phrases you picked out. Without being obnoxious, try to include the phrases you are targeting throughout articles on your home page. Be careful not to repeat the key phrases too many times in a row, or some search engines will think you are trying too hard, and they will not index you at all. Just write your page naturally and make sure you include the phrases a few times.You don’t want to work hard targeting a particular phrase only to find out no one ever uses it! This site will check the phrase you type in against its database and let you know how many people actually typed it in. (I included this link again, because I think it is such a valuable tool. Sign up for the free trial.)http://www.wordtracker.com/New! Try Overture.com's premium listing suggestion tool. It's even easier than Wordtracker!

TIPS: If you are selling products or parts, try to include a list of some of these, so people might find them when searching. Many people will search for a part number. I suggest creating an article at the bottom of your home page with the headline “here are some of the items we carry”. Type in a long paragraph with a list of all of your parts and part numbers separated by commas.3) Use our Meta Tag featureAt the bottom of your control panel, you will see a Meta Tag button. Meta Tags are special codes that many search engines use to help index your site. SiteRightNow will create these codes automatically based on what you fill in on the form.
TIP: I think the most critical part of getting seen on the search engines is to start your title, description, and key words with your most important phrase you are targeting. Most search engines pick up on the first words you use. If you are a Michelin tire dealer and are targeting the phrase “Michelin tires”, your Meta Tags form might say something like this:Title: Michelin tires at discounted prices from Bob’s TiresDescription: Michelin tires are available online. We carry popular Michelin tires such as the X24, X53, and X55Key Words: Michelin tires,X24,X53,X55,Michelin,tires,discounted tires, discounted Michelin tiresYou don’t want to repeat the same phrase too often in your Key Words section, but you can include different forms of the phrase (plurals or upper/lower case), and you can also break the phrase apart into separate words.4) Submit your site!Now you should be ready for your first try at submitting your site. ANNOUNCING THE GRAND OPENING OF OUR NEW WEBSITE: HitsTalk.com.To submit your web site to the search engines, visit our new web site dedicated to helping you get more hits.

You will find a FREE auto submission tool to announce your web site on the search engines along with advice on how to get more hits! Add your own comments to the discussion. Visit HitsTalk.com5) Re-submit if you aren’t high enoughTo see if I am listed, I usually visit a search engine, such as HOTBOT and type my company name (SiteRightNow). If nothing comes up, I try pasting in the exact URL that I submitted, such as http://www.siterightnow.comIf you still don’t come up, then you are probably not indexed yet. If you do come up, then you should go ahead and try out your targeted phrases. If you show up on the first two pages of the search results for your targeted phrase, you did pretty well for your first submission! If you don’t show up, it’s time to start again. You need to go back and change around your Meta tags. If you chose a phrase that was too broad and had too much competition, maybe there is a phrase you can use that is more specific to your site. Sometimes these specific phrases will actually generate more targeted visitors, who will be more likely to purchase your product.

Buy Your Way to the Top!New!You may have noticed the "featured listings" that show up at the top of your search results on Yahoo, Hotbot, Lycos, AltaVista, and other search engines. You can now pay to show up at the top of the search engine search results for the phrase or phrases of your choice. This can be a great way to get immediate traffic. It is one of the best marketing tools we are currently using for our own website. Buying "featured listings" can be very profitable, but it can also be a quick way to lose money, if you don't keep a few rules in mind.Overture.com offers their Premium Listing service. These listings are seen by almost all Internet Users who use search engines. The listings show up at the top of popular search engines, such as AOL, Yahoo, Lycos, AltaVista, Netscape, Cnet, Hotbot, Ask Jeeves, and others.The way that it works is that you bid on how much you want to pay "per click" for the search phrase or phrases of your choice. Overture.com provides you with the current bids. Bidding starts at 5 cents per click and goes up as high as the market will bear. Overture.com provides you with a way to check to see how many people actually typed the phrase for the previous month, to give you an idea of how much traffic you should expect.To do this, you give Overture.com your credit card, and they charge you for each time someone clicks your listing. They will bill you $50 at a time or more, depending on the billing method you choose.Shop Smart and Don't Waste your Money!I would suggest a few rules to keep in mind before you find yourself owing Overture.com thousands of dollars and getting nothing in return. When placing your bids, I suggest following these rules:
You need to figure out your conversion rate. Figure out how many qualified visitors it takes before someone buys something from your site. You may need to get a month or so of history before you know this. You can use your hit counter to average how much business you received for each visitor to your site.

Figure out the amount of your average sale. How much does a typical customer buy from you. Again, you may need a month or so of history for this.
Once you know the two figures (conversion rate and average sale), you can figure how much you can bid in order to make a profit. If you can predict that it takes you 100 qualified visitors to sell $100, you could afford to bid up to 1 dollar per click to break even.
Make Sure You Pick Highly Targeted Phrases! This is critical. Don't be enticed by general phrases that may bring you thousands of clicks, but may not bring you a customer who is ready to buy. Spend time picking phrases that only people who would be looking for your product would type in. This should help lower your cost, since many of these specific phrases will be much less expensive than the broader less targeted ones. If you don't do this, you could be paying your money for people who are just looking!Comments from Mitch: I wanted to add a few comments to this section of my article. Keep my cautions in mind, but don't let this stop you from trying the Overture.com service. This is currently the most effective marketing technique we have found for on-line businesses. You get almost immediate results, and you only pay when people actually visit your website.

This is unlike most other advertising I have found, where you have to pay whether someone clicks your ad or not. If you are the type of person who does not like taking risks, you can put yourself on the "monthly limit" plan. This will prevent you from being billed more than the amount you choose during the month. Your listing will disappear from the search engines after you reach your limit, but you can experiment this way without much risk. If you have a business website, and want to get customers right away, I think that this is definitely the way to go. You can get near the top of virtually all of the search engines, including Yahoo, within a week. Also, to save money, you can use Overture's self-service plan. The main difference with this plan is that you have to write your own listings.

MSN.com is the second most popular search engine next to Yahoo. Yahoo also offers a similar service, but we have not tried it ourselves. With Yahoo’s site, I have trouble going through their categories to place our listing, so I have opted not to pay them $200 yet.With the Looksmart service, they do not guarantee where you will be placed, but I think you can expect to be placed high for the words they end up using in your title to describe your company. You can help this by doing a good job on your home page explaining what you do. When the Looksmart staff visits your site, they will use the information on your home page along with what you type on the order form to describe your site.Two days after using the service, we showed up as the second listing for “create a web site” on MSN.com. Looksmart's staff started our description with “create a web site without a designer…” If there is room on the order form, it doesn't hurt to request that they start your description with the phrase you are targeting, but there are no guarantees. Most likely, the Looksmart staff will properly identify some of your key services, and you will show up well.Here is the link for the Looksmart service:http://submit.looksmart.com/info.jhtml?synd=US&chan=looksmartComments from Mitch: When I originally wrote this article, the Looksmart service was one of the best ways to get noticed. Since then, I have had more time to use the Overture.com premium listing service that I discussed in the previous section. For those of you who have a limited marketing budget, I recommend that you put your money towards the Overture.com Premium Listing service. The Looksmart service is still a valuable tool, but if you had to choose one method, I would condider Overture.com first.

Guerilla MarketingHow do you compete with companies who are spending a fortune on ads on the major search engines? Well, you could wait until they eventually go out of business (after they keep spending their investor’s money on the expensive ads). Or, you could sneak up on them with a little guerilla marketing! Instead of running an expensive ad on a search engine, why not run a reasonably priced ad instead that will get you better results. Do a search for your favorite phrase, and see what sites come up on the first page of the search results. With a little luck, you might find a site on the first page that isn’t a competitor and doesn’t look like a huge company that will want you to spend thousands on an ad. If you can find the right site, I suggest e-mailing them and asking them if they will let you run an ad on their site. In your e-mail, offer them something you think is reasonable that will work for your budget and see if they agree. Many of these smaller sites just happen to show up high in the search engines for your target phrase, and they are happy to get the extra money you want to offer them!This technique has worked very well for us.

We continue to look for new small sites that may let us run an ad. As our long-term strategy, we plan on showing up on the first page for all of the key phrases ourselves, but for the short term, you can get some immediate business sneaking up on the big guys.If you need to create a quick banner ad to use, here is one place to visit:http://www.animationonline.com/
Google’s AdWords Google.com is another popular search engine that just started offering relatively inexpensive advertising. For as little as $15 you can get listed on the first page of the search results for the key phrase of your choice! You can fill out a simple form and submit your ad and immediately show up in the search engines. You buy 1000 impressions of your ad for $15. I put a limit of $50 on my campaign, which resulted in 3355 impressions and generated 114 clicks. That’s a 3.4% click through ratio, which I think is pretty high. Depending on the service and the ad you create, you may only generate a 1% click through ratio.This is a pretty inexpensive way to try out an ad to see how it does, but it can get expensive in the long run. I recommend this type of advertising for companies with higher ticket items. You want one sale to more than pay for the price of the advertising. If you have a lower ticket item, I would stay away from this sort of advertising. With a popular search engine like Google, my $50 went by in only 2 days! I recommend sticking to campaigns that you can at least get a month’s worth of exposure.Here is the link to Google's AdWords:http://www.google.com/ads Note: Check out Google's new AdWords Select using the same link shown above. This is their new Pay Per Click service that competes with Overture.com

Banner exchanges, 1000+ site submissions, etc.There are a number of other hit generating vehicles out there that you could try, such as banner exchanges and opt-in e-mail campaigns. I think that most of banner exchanges look unprofessional on your site and really don’t do much for your business. Don’t be tempted to signup for the offers that submit your site to 10,000 search engines. Only the major 40 engines make much difference. Most of the other directories are “free for all links” sites where your listing will be lost among the other million and never be seen.Opt-in e-mail is the new vehicle that is getting popular. As opposed to SPAM e-mails where e-mails are sent out unsolicited, opt-in e-mails are supposedly sent to people who included their names in various databases. We have not tried this technique ourselves yet. If anyone out there has a success or a horror story with opt-in e-mail, go ahead and e-mail me at mitch@scentral.com. I’ll see if I can find your message buried in the middle of the 50 or so opt-email messages I received today (and I sure don’t remember signing up on any mailing lists!).
Search Engine Positioning ServicesWe are currently trying out a few “Search Engine Positioning” services that charge a fee for guaranteeing they can place you high up in the search engines. So far, none have worked any better than our own techniques that I described in this article. I will let you know if I find one of these services that are worth their fees.
My Best AdviceWhen starting out, here’s what I would like to see every SiteRightNow customer do:

Figure out your target phrases. Ask others what they would type to find you. Use Overture.com's suggestion tool. Create a good descriptive home page that talks about what you offer (make sure to use the target phrases!)
Use our Meta Tag button!

Submit your website manually to the major search engines. Click Here For Submit Links.
For business websites, consider Buying Your Way to the Top of the search engines , If you have a small budget for running ads, try sneaking up on the big guys with Guerilla Marketing
If you have a larger ticket item product and want some immediate attention, give Google's AdWords a try.If you have any comments or need help marketing your site, please email our help line at help@siterightnow.com.. We will be glad to take a look at your site and give you some suggestions on how to get noticed.
Include articles like this one on your Website and get more hits!Although this definitely wasn't my original intention for writing this article, I am delighted that this page is getting a good number of hits per day from new people searching for marketing ideas. As another tip for getting more hits, you may want to try including articles on your own site that visitors might find helpful. Announce the link to your new page on the search engines using the techniques I outlined above.

I invite visitors who are not already SiteRightNow customers to use my marketing tips. With the extra visitors finding this page, I thought I should go ahead and give SiteRightNow.com a not so subtle plug so:Please feel free to browse our website before you leave. Learn how you can build your own website without programming on SiteRightNow.com

I wish all of you much success,Sincerely,

Mitch Cohen

Webmaster

2005-12-25T21:25:00.000-08:00

A well designed site is a pleasure and a money maker
One of the most critical steps in creating a new web site is the design phase. Many people skip this phase entirely, and it's easy to tell when you look at their site. The signs are everywhere and easy to see: site difficult to navigate, purpose of site difficult to discern, too many graphics and not enough text, bad colors, and other obvious errors.
Designing a web site is easy. Sit down at a table with a stack of paper in front of you and think. Just think for a while. What is the purpose of your site? What do you want a visitor to do? Buy something? Send you emails? Join an association? Whatever your purpose, that's what your site should be designed around.
If you want your visitor to purchase something, then you must make it easy and convenient. Everything must flow to the purchase, and nothing must stand in the way. If you want them to join your association, then flow your site to that.
Now, get your stack of paper and a pencil and storyboard your site. Draw it out, just like you were designing a house. Design each page, paying particular attention to navigation, color schemes and, again, tying it all in with your primary purpose.
When you have your entire site drawn out on paper, sit back and look at it for a while. Go for a long walk. Go to sleep. Do something else for a while. Then come back and look at it again, paying particular attention, yet again, to ensuring it is tied to your purpose and that the navigation works.
Some rules to follow:
ALWAYS link back to your home page. Remember other web sites may link anywhere, and you want to give your visitor a way back to the rest of the site no matter where he lands. This is critical.
Put a button on every single page which allows your visitors to send you an email. A form is better than going to the email program because you have more control of the format and what questions you can ask. (Remember though, you MUST answer your emails if you allow visitors to send them).
Make sure your color scheme works. You don't want to hurt your visitor's eyes.
Pay attention to load times. Don't include big graphics, or if you must then thumbnail them to be kind to your less patient visitors.
Stay legal - don't steal images, text or bandwidth.
Stick to the point. You want your visitor to do something - don't wander around or you may lose him.
Design for search engines. Include meta-tags, ALT tags on images and you MUST be sure to include a descriptive title.

2005-12-21T00:54:00.000-08:00

The Secret of Success
Dr. Robert Schuller

Success is an unselfish goal, while failure is a selfish goal.

It is impossible to succeed without helping a lot of people along the way.

The secret of success is simple:

find a hurt and heal it;

find a problem and solve it;

find an obstacle and remove it, bridge it,

or turn it into an opportunity.

this is indonesian great opportunity http://arga21.cjb.net

2005-12-20T05:54:00.000-08:00

Personalized marketing (also called personalization, and sometimes called one-to-one marketing) is an extreme form of product differentiation. Whereas product differentiation tries to differentiate your product from competing ones, personalization tries to make a unique product offering for each customer.
Personalized marketing is most practical in interactive media such as the internet. A web site can track your interests and make suggestions for the future. Many sites help customers make choices by organizing information and prioritizing it based on the individuals preferences. In some cases, the product itself can be customized.

2005-12-19T23:40:00.000-08:00

4Freebie.com is a new revolutionary marketing concept giving consumers free hot products such as Xbox 360 and Ipods thanks to sponsorships with reputable sponsoring companies.
(PRWEB) December 10, 2005 -- 4Freebie.com announced today that they have just launched a new internet site that gives consumers an opportunity to receive cash and high quality free products, while advertisers get instant access to hundreds of thousands of potential new customers. Through a cross promotion strategy with large businesses, retail outlets and online stores, the company’s unique business model works in such a way that the advertisers like Blockbuster, Citibank and BMG pay for the products that get sent to the consumer. These sponsors are looking for new customers and in exchange for trying their products and services the consumer receives high end, and totally free products. The sponsors pay 4Freebie.com referral fees for helping them acquire new customers and this money in turn goes towards the cost of the free items sent to the consumer. In order to participate in the program, consumers must first visit www.4Freebie.com and fill out a simple registration. Secondly, the consumer must complete an online offer. These are special online offers from well-known advertisers, and can be found on the "Offers" page once a person is logged in. Once a member tries one of these offers and completes the referral requirements they receive a free product. In order to receive the free products, each consumer must refer friends or business associates to the site and have them click on their referral link. Once that new person has joined, they must also complete one online offer from their account. The more referrals a member makes, the more credits they receive that can be used towards free products. Once the consumer has completed the above steps, 4freebie.com will ship their order out promptly exactly the same as ordering through any other online store. The difference is that the consumer doesn’t pay a dime. 4Freebie currently offers Apple 30GB Video iPod, Xbox 360, Digital Cameras, a $500 Wal-Mart Gift Card, PayPal Cash & more. The company plans on offering numerous high quality free products as more advertisers begin to participate in the company’s unique advertising model. About 4Freebie.com 4Freebie.com is a unique way for advertisers to access potentially new customers while giving consumers the opportunity to receive cash and high quality free products.

2005-09-28T21:18:00.000-07:00

West Hills, CA (PRWEB) December 12, 2005 -- Cyber Monday is quickly becoming Cyber December as online sales continue to grow at astounding rates this holiday season, expected to reach $18 billion before it’s over, according to Forrester Research, Inc. But in a world where offline commerce still accounts for 95% of all retail sales, innovative business marketing strategies that bring the e-shopper back home must be used. Your Hometown Marketplace, an online directory of small businesses in every city and town across the United States and Canada, is doing just that. That’s a good thing since The Conference Board predicts that 34% of all consumers will buy gifts online this holiday season. Cyber holiday shopping officially began on the first Monday after Thanksgiving, when people got back to their fast Internet connections at work. Last year, according to Shop.org/BizRate, 77% of online retailers said that their sales increased substantially last year over the preceding year on Cyber Monday. Visa reports that online customers spent about $505 million on the Internet on Cyber Monday, the highest spent thus far in one day this shopping season.“Your Hometown Marketplace caters to people who are surfing the Web and doing their holiday shopping online. We provide a haven for e-shoppers overwhelmed by the special promotions, discounts, and sheer number of websites vying for their attention and their dollar. If you choose to focus your buying power in your own local area, Your Hometown Marketplace is the place for you this holiday season,” states Your Hometown Marketplace owner, Sara Hoos.Your Hometown Marketplace is designed to maximize the presence of home-based businesses on the Internet. The advertising directory cross lists on- and offline small businesses by category and by city, making it simple for socially conscious shoppers to locate and support small businesses in their own communities. “Small businesses should realize that the purchasing momentum generated from Cyber Monday can continue by advertising throughout the year in Your Hometown Marketplace,” suggests owner Hoos.Sara Hoos, designer and owner of Your Hometown Marketplace, is a work-at-home mom. Visit Your Hometown Marketplace at www.YourHometownMarketplace.com