Richard Chitman just posted a new Press Release titled No Reason Not To Have Your Own Cash Back Mall. Please take a look and leave a comment...

Richard Chitman just posted a new Press Release titled No Reason Not To Have Your Own Cash Back Mall. Please take a look and leave a comment...

Using Tags to Get More Traffic to Your Blog through Blog Directories

Using Tags to Get More Traffic to Your Blog through Blog Directories:

Tags are generally ignored by site owners and bloggers in terms of potential.  They're small, for one and very often easy to overlook.  Furthermore, those who do not understand their use or significance or at least why and how they work may not often appreciate their value.  This is unfortunate because tags can help increase the traffic coming in to your blog from blog directories.  Learn what tags are and how they work so you can maximize their use.

Tag – you're it

A tag, also referred to as a meta tag, is a keyword that is used to label specific information found on a web page.  A meta tag uses HTML tags that are hidden from plain sight but clearly 'visible' to web crawlers.

A tag functions mainly for identification of an article, for example, or a title, subheading, site description or image – hence the name 'tag'.  They are often used as tools to ping multiple search engines, create a presence for use in social bookmarking and to drive traffic to your site, especially your blog.  With tags, it will be easier for your site, article or web page to be found in search engines where they are supported. 

Put simply, a tag is a small piece of identification on your blog that informs a search engine bot or spider what your site is about and how it should be indexed.  If you can choose and design the right combination of tags for your blog, you will be able to manipulate the number and type of traffic that reaches your site from blog directories legally.

Using tags on your blog to drive more traffic

Blog directories are repositories of information and news regarding the types of blogs available for a particular topic or subject.  As such, they can be very useful sources of highly targeted traffic for your own blog.  To maximize the use of blog directories for this purpose, consider doing the following:

Choose your words carefully

Keep in mind that your blog is just one of millions out there vying for attention.  Even if you're trying to build a reputation within a relatively smaller niche industry, you will still be competing with at least a dozen others in your market segment.  Careful consideration in choosing the specific keywords (or tags) to use with your blog will help you stand out in blog directories.

There are three important tags that you should focus on when designing your blog for traffic increase from blog directories.  These are the title tag, the description tag and the keyword/s tag.
The title tag.  The title of each blog entry you have should contain the most essential keywords that appear in your write-up or are relevant to your content.  This will help optimize your entry and make it easier for search engines to find and index.
 
Prospective visitors who perform a search using Google, Yahoo! or MSN Search, for example, will be able to reach an optimized blog, since it's more likely to appear in a search engine list.  As a result, you drive more traffic to your blog.

The description tag.  Although description tags are ignored by some search engines, adding this to your blog can help influence how your blog (or at least its web pages) is described. 
The keyword tag.  The keyword tag is the word or phrase that you will repeat within the content body or web page in question.  Used strategically, these keywords can help increase your blog's results in search engines and bring in more traffic to your site by allowing visitors to easily find you.

Don't be afraid to combine keywords, though.  That's how you will be able to create highly targeted key phrases to optimize your blog.  Three- to four-word key phrases will do.  Multiple word tags are advantageous to single word searches as well.  If you use a keyword phrase tag that says 'rock paper scissors', for example, your blog still has the potential to show up in case someone uses only the word 'rock' or 'paper' in his search.

Don't overdo the use of tags

If you don't watch out, tags can be addictive.  It could reach a point where you might find yourself using tags that have little relevance to your blog.  This usually happens when you try too hard to make sure that your blog or web page appears in more listings. 

Although it may seem like a good idea to help increase traffic to your blog particularly as a means to shine in blog directories, overuse of tags can be counter-productive.  Try to be careful in choosing only the kind of tags that your blog truly needs.  Leaner but highly targeted tags are much more effective than generic ones.

Follow through

A good tag can gain initial interest in your blog and increase traffic coming from blog directories.  However, it can only do so much.  Now that traffic is beating at your door, you should be able to throw a real party thereafter.  Make sure that the content associated with your tag/s is well worth your visitor's click.  It should offer specific information for a specific purpose and should include the content that you so readily promised in your links.

Otherwise, you won't earn the trust of a loyal readership or following.  A baited title that lacks the backing of useful content will be viewed as a cheap trick and won't earn you a lot of respect – or traffic.

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The Continuing Potential of Internet Income

MOORE'S LAW

Moore's Law describes the falling cost of digital technology. When my daughter was born in 1980, the price of the memory chip for a home PC was $1,000.00 (not the whole PC, mind you, just the memory). When my daughter was one year old, the same amount of memory cost only $500.00. When she was three years old, the price was $250.00. When she started the first grade, the same amount of memory cost only $62.50. When she graduated from high school in 1998, the price of that same amount of memory had fallen to less that $0.25. When she began her junior year in college, the cost for the same amount of memory as in that original PC was just pennies. I assure you that nothing else we have purchased over her lifetime has decreased in cost anything like that!

We, of course, upgraded the amount of memory we used over the years. Each time we upgraded, we spent about the same amount of money but got more and more computing power. So, what really happened was that our computing power increased by four times every three years for the same cost. Gordon Moore, one of the co-founders of Intel Corporation, made mathematical observations in the 1960's of the engineering practices which allowed miniaturization in semiconductor technology. This miniaturization applies to processors and other computer components as well as memory chips. What he observed mathematically is that computers can be made four times more powerful every three years for the same cost. Some argue that this same formula has held true for a full century, if you include the mechanical computers of the early 1900's and the old-fashioned transistors that followed. If you knew that you could get four times more raw materials every three years with no increase in cost in a given business, would you want to get into that business? The overwhelming answer everywhere is, of course, a resounding "yes!"

All businesses, even traditional brick and mortar businesses, must market their goods and services. Because businesses look for the lowest cost to perform their processes, more and more marketing information and marketing processes, even for brick-and-mortar businesses, has become digital. Moore's Law ensures that Internet businesses, especially Internet marketing, will continue to grow and flourish at an astounding rate. Will Moore's Law continue to hold true in the future? Can engineers keep making computer chips cheaper? Intel's engineers assure us that Moore's Law will continue to operate for several more device generations, if not indefinitely.

ACCEPTANCE OF DIGITAL ENVIRONMENTS

The next factor that ensures continued growth for Internet businesses is the acceptance by consumers of digital environments. People have taken to Cyberspace. Despite the many predictions to the contrary, people have warmed up to digital environments with enthusiasm. Many Web communities have been formed and their participants report feeling all warm and cozy in those digital environments. Participants have developed a strong sense of identity with the digital communities such as Twitter, Facebook, and others. As Moore's Law has continued to operate over the years, technology has become more and more capable of producing engrossing digital environments in which most of the world's population enthusiastically participates.

CONVERGENCE

The third factor assuring a prosperous future for Internet entrepreneurs is convergence. Simply defined, convergence is the coming together of separate things. Convergence has occurred at both the industry level and the consumer level. On the industry level; computing, communications, and media companies have merged. On the consumer level, smart phones and smart TVs are commonplace. Consumers have combined their phones, personal computers, and televisions into one integrated media system. Even our money has become digital, as we have automatic bank deposits of our earnings while we buy things with our smart phones or the quick swipe of a debit or credit card. The Internet has so involved itself in our personal lives, there is no turning back. We have converged into a digital world.

THE CONTINUING POTENTIAL

These three factors--Moore's Law, acceptance of digital environments, and convergence--assure us that the potential of the Internet for the home-based entrepreneur continues to be nothing less than incredible. In the digital world, the large corporations have to compete, not just with each other but also with the home-based entrepreneurs. The large conglomerates no longer have the exclusive advantage. Given the low cost of computing power, individual entrepreneurs now have at their disposal the raw materials to develop digital products and processes and make them available to the world. Even more importantly, individual entrepreneurs can ban together in digital environments (such as SFI) to combine their skills and knowledge and use convergence to their advantage in a very efficient way, rivaling the large companies with the results.

HOW TO POSITION YOURSELF

To obtain convergence, you must bring together computing power, media content, and information processing. To obtain the economies of scale, you should position yourself within a digital community where resources can be shared. Despite the low cost of computing, there is still power in numbers with regard to media content and information processing. To position yourself as a marketer for one of the longest lasting and most successful digital communities in existence is without doubt the smartest move you could possibly make right now. Having done that, you can use your individual creativity, skills, and resources in an environment of freedom employing the low cost computing power at your disposal to obtain your financial goals. Due to the three factors discussed in this chapter, there is an unprecedented opportunity available to you right now as an SFI affiliate. You have but to take advantage of it. Just Click Now!

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Differences between Marketing and Advertising

Differences between Marketing and Advertising:

Marketing and Advertising, although they sound similar but in reality they are not. Advertising is only a part of the bigger game called Marketing. Marketing encompasses complete conceptualization of a brand right from research to designing to advertising to sale. Advertising, on the other hand is a component of the marketing process which is nothing but conveying the message through variety of mediums to promote the product.

Advertising is one of the most important component of a marketing strategy and also the most expensive. Advertising constitutes sending the message across the public about your company, product or services. It also constitutes behind the scenes work like the process involving formation of various strategies and coming up with a right one to target the viewers. The strategy consists of planning things like placing ads, deciding what media to use, what time, frequency etc. The advertisements are generally placed via mediums like television, snail mail, newspapers, internet, emails, radio, magazines, mobile messaging, flyers, billboards etc. The most popular one is of course television although advertising on internet is becoming increasingly popular too.

Easiest way to differentiate advertising from marketing is to consider marketing as a cake and if you cut the cake, advertising as one of the pieces of that cake. The other pieces of cake are market research of the product, product designing, media planning, PR, product pricing, customer satisfaction, customer support, sales and many more. All these components or pieces of cake should work independently but collectively in achieving the bigger goal i.e. sell product and build company's reputation in the market. Marketing is a marathon process involving many tasks that involve hours sometimes days of research. The research part of marketing takes the longest duration as it involves thoroughly understanding the behavior of people towards a product. Designing the product and developing advertising strategy is also a time consuming process. Only components that take less time are executing advertisements and sales. Marketing can also be perceived as a medium between consumers and the company.

But many companies often make mistake of confusing advertising with marketing. They try to ape big companies like Coke and Pepsi in advertising but they simply ignore the work that goes behind that. The classical example of this is, take the case of logo for instance. Many business owners are so hysterical about the logo of their company in their advertisements that they think that it will simply bring in the sales. But what makes a logo works is none other than the reputation of the company and the logo must have a feeling to it and should truly reflect company's values. One should also remember that these companies spend fortunes on advertising which a new start up business can't. Rather than spending unnecessary money on branding your product one should invest money and time in communicating to the consumers that they can address their expectations. After building reputation and growing to a big size company one can think of these lavish ideas. Educating the consumers also helps as it will give them an understanding that you know what you do and are best at doing that.

Smart marketers are aggressive in approach rather than passive. They provoke reader's minds by prompting them to do something rather than just making them knowledgeable of the product. Smart marketers also bring home the names, addresses and contact numbers of people who are really interested in hiring your company by employing aggressive marketing. Thus having a good marketing campaign speaks a lot about the company and their products and advertising gives that finishing touch to the hard work done by the marketing people in selling a product.

MLM Lead Generation - Get What You Want

MLM Lead Generation - Get What You Want:

We've recently learned lead generation is the lifeblood of an MLM marketing business, and that without customers, you don't have a business.  We also learned you need to work at lead generation, no matter how you feel about it, because very simply without it, you are dead in the water.  No leads, no team, no business.

Ok, so you're not big on generating leads.  You're shy, you're afraid people will reject you, or you don't like using the phone.  Well, you have to ask yourself some hard questions right about now.  Do you really want your business to grow and generate residual income?  If the answer is YES, then you have to do lead generation.

You'll only get the desired results if you approach it with the right attitude.  You have to want it!  If you don't, it'll show!  That doesn't mean you have to be desperate.  It means you need to be positive and confident.  If you're new to MLM marketing and networking, then fake it till you make it.  The more you do lead generation, the better you'll get at it.

To be positive and confident you have to:

* Be proactive in your lead generation duties
* Learn new skills that stretch beyond your comfort zones
* Be patient and persistent
* Understand who is your client
* Be willing to choose the right type of clients for you
* Make the first move, don't wait
* Be creative in your approach
* Be prepared to listen to find out what your client needs and wants
* Be prepared to follow up with your contacts

If you want a positive team, then you have to be a positive Leader.  If you can't find it within yourself to step up to the plate and take action each day, then your team won't either.

6 Ways to Get Referrals without Asking

Business Referrals - 6 Ways to
Get Referrals without Asking

by David Frey

Do you hate asking your customers for referrals? Most people do. Fortunately, there are many ways to get a continued stream of qualified referrals without having to go through the painful process of asking for them face-to-face.

Yes, I admit it – I hate asking for referrals – don’t you? Be honest. Doesn’t your heart start to pump faster and hands start to sweat even thinking about asking a customer for a referral? If you’re like me, you hate to impose on others. Asking for names of friends or family members almost makes you feel as though you’re selling a multi-level marketing opportunity.

Not to worry. There are many ways to get a continual stream of qualified referrals without having to go through the painful process of asking for referrals face-to-face. The secret to getting referrals without asking for them is to develop referral systems that do the asking for you. Here are six innovative systems for getting referrals without asking.

Referral System # 1 

Make a list of people / businesses that sell complimentary products and services to your own product or service. If you sell athletic shoes your list might include health clubs, running clubs, basketball teams, or podiatrists. Now create a referral program that pays referral fees for people that are sent to you by your referral partners.

To make this system more effective, give your referral partners customized coupons, tickets, or cards that the referral brings with them to your business so that you can correctly track each referral source.

Referral System # 2 

Approach charities in your local area to get a list of donors that already give to the charity. The United Way is a good place to start. Most United Way donors make advanced pledges or set goals to give a specified amount to the United Way.

Now approach the executive sponsor of the United Way donation drive and make a proposal. Propose that for every referral that is sent from their organization to your business, you will take a percentage of your sale and donate it to the United Way (or whatever charity they are affiliated with) in their name.

Referral System # 3 

Local churches are always looking for innovative ways to raise money to sustain the programs they offer to their members. Most churches would be enthusiastic about the opportunity to receive a donation from you or your business.

Simply call up the ecclesiastical leader and ask if you can meet with him/her to talk about a potential fundraising activity. Propose that for every referral they send your way, you will donate a percentage of the sales to the church. In return, the church should agree to promote your business. This same referral tactic can be done with the booster clubs of local sports teams, Boy Scout troops and other organizations looking to raise money.

Referral System # 4 

Most everyone has a barber or hairstylist they use on a frequent basis, especially if you have children. I don’t know about you, but my barber always engages me in conversation during my haircut. And most barbers and hairstylists are very happy when you give them a $2 - $3 tip. Do you see where I’m going with this?

Why not approach the local barbers and hairstylists and offer them $1 for every referral card they pass out to their customers. You might even motivate them to talk up your business by promising them a percentage of each sale that results from their referral.

Referral System # 5 

The last referral system will not only bring you referrals, but will also create a lot of goodwill. I learned this tactic, strangely enough, by Princess Diana and a local real estate agent. When Princess Diana died a close associate of hers was interviewed and revealed that Diana always carried a set of “royal” thank you notes.

Every time she met with someone she would remember their names and as soon as she got in her car she would write a short thank you note to them. The people cherished the thank you notes they received from the Princess. After hearing that, I started to carry around my own box of thank you notes.

But here’s what really will make this referral tactic take off. Not long ago I received an email from a subscriber to my Marketing Best Practices Newsletter that had this phrase under the man’s signature:

By Referral Only

By Referral Only...means: We invest 100% of our time and energy to delivering first-class service to our clients. As a result, our valued clients, suppliers, and friends refer their family, friends and work associates to us for advice on buying or selling real estate. We're interested in building strong life long relationships one person at a time.

You see, its not enough to send a thank you note. People need to know that you want and appreciate their referrals. The phrase, in essence, answers the question, “What can you do for me in return for this nice thank you card?” Immediately, I had this phrase printed on the bottom of my thank you notes and my referrals took off.

Ideas For Making Money With A Cyber Yard Sale On Craigslist.org

Ideas For Making Money With A Cyber Yard Sale On Craigslist.org

You have a lot of items you want to get rid of or sell. The idea of a yard sale or moving sale does not appeal to you because you do not want to give up your weekend to sell your items. Auction sites on the web will not work for some of your items as you would like to sell larger things that are not easily shipped. They can also be expensive if the items do not sell. The ideal place for you would be a free website that has enough traffic to make it worth your while. Craigslist.org is what you are looking for. Chances are you are close to one of the 450 areas that this website covers. Here are some ideas for making money with a cyber yard sale on craiglsist.org.

The first step is to take great photographs of all of your items. A digital camera is the best way, but if you only have a 35mm or APS camera that is ok too. Just have the place where you get the film developed put the images on to a CD for you. Then write your ads. Use a good title with a keyword that will get it noticed. If you are selling vintage dinning room chairs, then in your title say "Vintage Dinning Room Chairs". This way, your ad will attract only the buyers that are looking for vintage chairs; not someone who is looking for a rocking chair. Your final step is to write a really good descriptive ad for your item. Be sure to include any flaws your items may have and if they are new state that. If they are used also state that. The price of the item should be clearly noted. Craigslist.org will protect your privacy. You can have all emails forwarded to you through their system. Your email address is not posted for all to see. Now that you have your ad written, do the same for every item you wish to sell.

Getting your ads posted is easy. All it takes is a valid email address to register. It is always free on craigslist.org. Once your ads are posted, you will have to manage them. Every ad you post is valid for 45 days. What is not told to you though is that as your ad gets older, it drops to the bottom of the listings. In order to keep your ad toward the top of the first page, you must delete and repost every 2-3 days. By doing this your ad will be visible to all. A lot of people searching for items do not search past the first page. If you have many items for sale and do not think you will be able to keep up with deleting and reposting in this time frame, then think about posting fewer items at a time, if you can. This way there is less to manage.

The advantages of selling your items in a cyber yard sale on craigslist.org are numerous. You do not have to depend on the weather. Traditional yard sales, no matter how well planned are at the mercy of the weather, unless you wish to bring it indoors. Another advantage is that you post and manage the ads, and then wait for responses. You do not lose an entire day or two. Finally, there is a greater level of security for you when using craigslist.org. Instead of advertising a yard sale with your address, everything is kept private and only interested individuals are given your contact information. You decide who you are going to sell to. This eliminates those who "browse" yard sales. Some of these browsing individuals may have ulterior motives.

Hopefully these ideas for making money with a cyber yard sale on craigslist.org have helped you. The internet has opened up a whole new way of turning our unwanted items into cash. Craigslist.org is a free way to get your unwanted items for sale in front of millions of visitors from your area. Many people are realizing how valuable an asset like this can be. With time becoming a rare commodity, why not use craigslist.org for your next yard sale. This way you can get to your kids baseball game without a conflict.

Why Your Website Must Be Responsive

Here’s Why Your Website Must Be Responsive

by Tim Parker

If people visit your website on their phone, do they just get a miniaturized version? How about on their tablet? Responsive web design makes sure each visitor has a good experience at your site, regardless of the device they're using. 

Image source: GraphicStock.com

If you’re like many small business owners, you have little knowledge of how websites work. You either hired somebody to do it or you bought a website template and figured out how to make some simple changes to fit your brand.

What is it?But the coding of your sites means nothing to you—You don’t have to be a website program but you do have to understand responsive design.

Unlike most techno terminology, the definition is in the term. Responsive, in web terms, means the same thing as in your own life. If you’re responsive to your customers, you listen and react to what they say or do. The same holds true with your employees and your family.

A responsive website reacts and makes changes based on a host of factors. The most notable is screen size. A responsive webpage changes image and font sizes, as well as moves elements around to fit the screen of the user.

If they’re viewing the site on their phone, the website has a design optimized for a mobile phone screen. On a tablet, the site will look slightly different and on a computer screen, even more different. Pretty cool, isn’t it?

Is it Really That Important?

Yes, but don’t take our word for it—let the stats do the talking.

According to Pew Research, 58% of American adults own a smartphone and of those, 63% use it to browse the Internet. As of August of last year, Facebook said that 78% of its 128 million active daily US users accessed the site on mobile.

There’s very little that “experts” agree on but there’s little doubt that mobile usage will continue to grow and the amount of people accessing your site on a traditional computer will fall.

Still not convinced? If you’re the type that browses the web on your mobile device, you’ve surely found yourself looking at a microscopic rendering of what somebody calls a website. You zoom in but after about 10 seconds of pure, unadulterated annoyance you go somewhere else hoping that your eyes are not permanently crossed. If that website was responsive, that story would have never played out.

As a business owner, you have to make sure that when your customers come to your site, their experience is positive. If your site causes even the smallest bit of stress, they’ll leave.

How about now? Are you convinced? Your website HAS to be responsive.

More Reasons to go Responsive

Google Loves it!

Nobody really knows how Google decides which websites are worthy of its front page but there’s no doubt that Google loves responsive design. Here’s what the company said:

“We recommend webmasters follow the industry best practice of using web design, namely serving the same HTML for all devices using media queries to decide rendering on each device".

That might seem a little to techy but this simply means that your site should be responsive. Yahoo and Bing also prefer it.

It’s Cheaper than the Alternative.

A little over a decade ago, the mobile web was becoming the next big thing. At first, developers were creating two websites—one for traditional computers and one for mobile. If you wanted to view the mobile site, you placed an “m” in front of the site and there it was. (Remember “m.yoursite.com?”) Technology developed allowing websites to automatically know the device accessing it and could automatically switch to the mobile version but now, there’s no need for two sites.

Responsive design is saving companies major bucks because responsive design is built into the site design. Nearly all new website templates have it and developers can easily include the code in most cases. The alternative is to “save money by not upgrading and watch your customers click away without giving you a chance.

Your Customers Want it!

The customer is always right, aren’t they? If more than half of your customers came to your store and said they wanted a certain item, you would get it, right? Your customers are coming to your site from their mobile devices. They might have found a link on Facebook or other social media platform but what if (gulp) you paid for online advertising and they came to your site but couldn’t read it? What an awful waste of marketing dollars.

The Good News

It’s probably not difficult to make your site mobile. If it’s a small, not-so-complicated site, simply buy a new template, install it, and make some tweaks. Platforms like Wordpress make this very easy. If you aren’t a tweaker, hire somebody. You can probably get the bugs worked out for a couple of hundred dollars or less.

If your site is custom made or has a lot of functionality that doesn’t make a simple template change possible, a good coder won’t have much of a problem adding the responsive programming in a short period of time.

The change isn’t likely to exhaust your technology budget but even if it does cost more than you hoped, the money you’re losing because your mobile customers can’t see your website is probably far more of a hit.

Don’t wait—get responsive. You’ll see an increase in your website traffic
.

Keep Customers Buzzing About Your Business

Use Email Marketing To Keep Customers
Buzzing About Your Business

by Tim Knox

Email marketing can be a great tool to keep you in the forefront of your customers' minds. But don't stop at just sending out a weekly or monthly newsletter. Here are some email ideas that will have your customers buzzing about your business.

Email marketing can be used as an effective tool for communicating with customers. Its is an effective medium of communication to boost sales by ensuring that your customers constantly remember you.

Obviously Paul's dentist reads my column because I've been preaching about using email to keep in touch with customers for years. OK, maybe he doesn't read my column and is just a brilliant guy in his own right. Either way, the point is clear: using email - no matter what type of business you're in - is an excellent way to keep the lines of communication buzzing between you and those folks who keep you in business.The other day my radio show cohost, Paul Finley, mentioned that he had received an email from his dentist. The point of the email was to let Paul know that his office would be closed for a week and included instructions on what to do in case of a dental emergency.

You'll notice that I didn't say to keep the lines of communication "open." I said to keep the lines of communication "buzzing," as in active, as in constantly communicating messages that will entice them back into your business.

The difference is huge. "Open" simply means that you're there if and when your customers happen to think about you. "Buzzing" means that you proactively do things to keep your business in the forefront of your customer's mind. Instead of waiting for them to come in only when they need something, you send emails that give them reasons to come in as soon as possible. You don't wait for Mohammed to come to the mountain; you send the mountain to Mohammed via email.

It's called "email marketing" and every business - including yours - should be doing it. Don't confuse email marketing with spamming. The emails you send your customers are never unsolicited or intrusive. You get their permission to send them occasional emails that are of benefit to them. And by benefiting them you increase your business and solidify your relationship with the customer.

Ideally you should collect email addresses from everyone who walks through your door, whether they buy something or not. Offer them the opportunity to sign up for your free email newsletter or announcement list and offer them an incentive to do so, maybe a $10 discount off their first purchase if they sign up today. The allure of saving $10 not only entices them to give you their email address, but to also make that first purchase while they are there to save the $10. See how that works? You got them added to your email list and they made an immediate purchase. You can now use email marketing techniques to turn them from a one time customer into a repeat customer.

Remember the number one rule of sales: it's easier to sell to current customers than to sell to new customers. The first sale is always the hardest. You should concentrate on building a legion of repeat customers and email marketing can help you do that.

Email should be a part of every business's marketing strategy. If you own a hair or nail salon you could email customers on slow days and offer a special discount if they come in by a certain time. If you own a clothing store you could email your customers every time a new clothing line comes in or if you're having a sale. If you're in the furniture business can email your customers about excess inventory and offer them a discount if they come in by a certain date.

Email marketing works for professional service providers, as well. Accountants can email their clients with special bulletins about changes in the tax law or to remind them when it's time to file forms. Stockbrokers can email clients about changes in the stock market or to tell about a hot new IPO that's on the horizon.

Doctors and dentists can use email marketing to notify patients that it's time for their annual checkup, to remind them of impending appointments, to inform them of new office hours, or to let them know about new services. Or perhaps you're in practice building mode and you want to offer a referral bonus for current patients who refer their friends and family to you.

You get the idea. Email marketing can increase your business's revenues, solidify your reputation, and keep you fresh on your customer's mind.

If you have questions about putting email marketing to work for your business just shoot me an email and I'll point you in the right direction. Or if you've successfully used email marketing to increase your business let me know about it and I'll share the news.

I'm sure others would love to hear about how smart you are.

How To Target More Traffic To Your Website

How To Target More Traffic To Your Website:

Clearly, no webmaster will ever want to have few visitors on a daily basis. As much as possible, they want to maximize the potentials of their websites, products, and services. They want a great number of visitors regularly. Why? Because that will essentially mean getting enough traffic for the site and boosting their ego that they are able to provide quality content and information to the public. So, how do you optimize your website? One way is to of course, to target traffic!

Why is it necessary to target traffic?

Seriously, traffic to any Internet website plays as a great factor considering the amount of money that it can potentially generate. A webmaster like you must have one determined goal. That is, to be able to generate as much traffic as you can.

What are the best techniques in targeting traffic to the website?

Through time, the experts have come up with a variety of ways on how to drive more traffic to the Internet-based businesses. Here are some of the tried and tested ones that you may likewise go for in order to ensure that your website gets a top rank as well.

Link Chain

This refers to the back links that you need to create. Back links can be formed from other webmasters whose businesses are focused on the same niche that you have. Link campaigning is very important as this will promote more traffic to your site.

Another useful way of generating a link chain is by means of writing informative and intelligent comments on forums and blogs of other individuals wherein you can leave your link for those interested to follow. This can be very effective because a lot of people out there are normally curious to find out what the link has in store for them.

Articles Submission

This is somehow being overlooked by some but is a very effective means to get more traffic. Unique, intelligent, and informative articles are necessary. Submit them to different article directories. You should play well with the essential keywords and key phrases that are related to your niche so that people can easily find them. Be sure to include a resource box that directs to your own website.

Join in the Free Directories

When you promote your website, that means it will be getting more traffic. But if you don't have the budget for that you can always go for the free website directories. When word has been spread about it, then, chances are always people will get to know about your business and eventually patronize it.

Blogging

Informative content is what your followers deserve. If you got the talent in writing and you are very abreast of different topics, you can come up with blogs. Be sure to update it every now and then. Don't forget to always include your website link.

Social Networking Website

Another effective means of gaining traffic is by promoting for free through the use of the social networking sites. Because you have a network therein, your marketing campaign can be easily pushed through.

Try all these methods and target traffic to your website. Why not do it now?

How to Learn Blogging Software

How to Learn Blogging Software:

A lot of blogging software is specifically designed to be
simple to use, but even the least intimidating blogging
program can feel very overwhelming to somebody who
has not spent a lot of time learning the ins and outs of
different kinds of software. Particularly for newer
bloggers, learning how to use the interface of blogging
software is the most difficult part of blogging. If you are
somebody who feels comfortable expressing themselves
in another medium, it may prove to be well worth your
time and effort to learn blogging software, but that
doesn't mean that the task will be easy.

The main thing that will help you find success as you
learn how to use a new kind of blogging software is to
try and take things slowly. Many people get so excited
about learning to blog that they try to rush into the thick
of it and start exploring the most complicated features
of a program right away. This can lead to getting
confused and feeling frustrated, and all too many
potential bloggers burn out during this stage of the
process.

If you take your time learning the basics of
your blog software program before you move on to
more advanced techniques, you will be more likely to
retain what you have learned, and to keep feeling
positive about your ability to understand the world of
blogging.

Do You Get Results From Your Web Video?

The Best Software For Web Video:

When you have decided to start making web videos, you may think that you don't need the assistance from various types of software.  However, when you do use software to help with your web video you are able to create videos that are interesting, entertaining and good-looking.  This is because with web video software they will take all of the guesswork out of creating a video, and will allow you to think more about the content you want to make, and not how you're going to make it.  There are some web video software titles that you should definitely own because they will help you immensely with the large task ahead of you.

Perhaps the best web video software available is the Easy Web Video.  After you have used this software, you will understand why its title is the way it is.  This is one of the only types of professional web video software titles available, and it is absolutely perfect for anyone.  It doesn't matter if you have never shot a web video before, or if you have been doing this for years.  You will be able to benefit from this software.  What makes this software so great is how it simplifies the monotonous tasks that all web video filmmakers have to go through.  It's because of its way of streamlining the process of creating a web video that so many people will only use this software to make their videos. 

Once you have a finished copy of your web video, you are able to easily upload and covert their video in a matter of minutes.  Within this particular web video software, you are able to customize the html code as well as even put affiliate links inside of the video, which is extremely important for many Internet Marketers.  This web video software is not to be missed, and if you are serious about creating a presence on the Internet through web videos, than you must have this software.

Another type of web video software is the Webmaster Mediamaker.  This particular software is one of the most put-together software packages available for web video makers.  With this software, you are able to perform many different tasks, all of which will simplify your life as a web video filmmaker.  Whether you want to convert your video to flash or block websites from accessing your video, you can do so through this software.  One of the coolest features about this web video software is its ability to let you change your video player appearance.

Now, with this software, you can have a video player that not only plays your videos with extreme clarity, but also, you can make the actual video player a great aesthetic asset to your website.  When you're searching for web video software, you want to have a program that allows you to customize your web video in all aspects. This is a great web video software title, and if you are looking for a way to create powerful videos, starting from the video player, than you will love this software.

Advertising in Yellow Pages

Advertising in Yellow Pages

Some people believe that yellow pages do not receive response like other advertising methods do and this is true to some extent but not in totality. When talking about traditional yellow pages, there sure is a decline in number of people opting for advertising in it. According to a recent report, even the most attractive advertisement in a particular section is not getting the response from callers like they used to get before. On the contrary, the prices of placing ads in directories are on a rise, which speaks a different, story altogether.

In reality different categories are witnessing different rates of decline. Like the lawyers category is seeing the maximum decline, where as emergency service provider's section has the same call rate. And sections like mobile phones, real estate and furniture are seeing a rise due to the increasing customer demand. Altering the size of the advertisement or changing the look cannot do wonders any more.

Experts suggest that relying on yellow pages to get customers isn't enough. Other options should be considered as well along with it. With the Internet reaching every home, nearly half of the Internet users use the net everyday. They prefer to buy stuff online, from the comfort of their homes. Research should be done on the Internet to get reviews about the product. People, who don't usually shop online, also are also opting to shop online as information is provided at the click of a mouse. It is easier for people to trust as customers who used the product give their feedback about the product after using it.

A relatively newer concept is the yellow pages going online. The good thing about them is that they are updated frequently unlike the printed directories and can be viewed from any part of the world. According to researches conducted, the response increased by twenty five percent every year. So those who are interested to invest in yellow pages advertising can think of going online.  Directories are submitted to search engines, which on typing a keyword or phrase bring the results. Small and local businesses, too, can land on the pages brought by the result. The cost of creating a website can be saved if all the relevant information about the company is included in the online yellow pages. Look out for the date to renew the directory listing, and if there is a need to change the advertisement, it is not a big problem on online yellow pages. Some starter websites offer to place advertisement in their yellow pages for free. Search out for such websites on the Internet.

Larger businesses can start their own websites and place links in the online yellow pages. Articles can be framed about the business and can be submitted to Ezines and websites related to the area of business. Some websites also allow posting articles for free. The purpose of the yellow pages is basically to get potential customers but that doesn't mean that existing customers should be neglected. Steps should be taken to strengthen the relationship with them and to retain their trust by maintaining the standard of the products supplied to them. Once they are completely satisfied, the price-rise won't bother them and they will talk about the company to people they know, which will fetch new customers.

The objective is to work smartly and select the right method of advertising. If a business isn't using any other method for advertising apart from using yellow pages, it can cause problems and the products may not sell. Analyze how much money is spent on placing ads in directories and estimate whether the amount of customers the business gets is desirable. Whenever a call is received from a potential customer, ask them how they got to know about the enterprise. This will help to analyze which advertising method is ideal for the business. It is never late to correct the mistake and go for the right method.

Blogging on a Social Network

Blogging on a Social Network:

Blogging is becoming increasingly popular and social networks are also becoming more and more popular as well. Social networks include popular websites such as MySpace.com where users can create personal websites and interact with other users. These websites may include a wide range of components including text, images, audio, video and blogs. Here system users can voice their opinions, provided updates on their life, offer insight into current events or accomplish a number of other goals. However, bloggers who utilize a social network to maintain their blog should consider a few different factors. This article will discuss some of these factors including whether to make the blogs available to the public or keep the private, considering the audience of the blog and dealing with harassment through the blog.

Making Blogs Private or Public

Most social networks enable users to make their website either private or public. Private websites are only available to the user and other users he specifically approves to view his website while public websites are available to all users of the system. These same capabilities also apply to the blogs which are maintained on a social network. For this reason bloggers must determine whether or not they wish to make their blog posts available to the entire social network or to only a fraction of this network.
This decision will be largely based on a matter of personal preference. Social networks can be quite extensive and some bloggers may be apprehensive about their blog being available to such a large audience while other bloggers may have no apprehensions about the size of the potential audience. Bloggers should carefully consider this option before staring a blog but always have the option to change these settings after the blog has been established if they change their mind about the choice they originally made.

Considering the Blog Audience

Bloggers who utilize a social network to maintain a blog should also carefully consider the potential audience for the blog. Most social networks include a broad cross section of the general public. Therefore bloggers should be aware of this audience when posting a blog and should consider how the blog entries will be interpreted by blog audience members. While it will never be possible to avoid offending all potential audience members some bloggers may wish to consider at least attempting to ensure the blog entries they post are appropriate for all members of the social network. If this is not possible the blogger may consider making the blog private. 

Dealing with Harassment through the Blog

Another aspect bloggers who use a social network to publish their blog should be aware of includes the potential for harassment from other members through the blog. This can be in the form of offensive comments posted in response to blog entries. Depending on the degree of the harassment the blogger may choose to ignore these comments or take stronger actions. Bloggers should review the policies of the social network and solicit their assistance in dealing with harassment from other users. In most cases dealing with the problem may be as simple as blocking the user from making comments on the blog but in some cases it may be necessary to contact the social network administrators in an attempt to get the user banned from the system. In this situation the administrators will review the situation and make a judgment regarding whether or not the user has violated the terms of service.

Find Your Niche Market on Ebay

Find Your Niche Market on Ebay:

Many of us dream of working from home by selling products on Ebay. But what would we sell? And how would we know if a market exists for the items we have? To avoid listing items that nobody wants, or items within an already flooded market, some research is in order. The goal of this research is to find your niche on Ebay.

Many Ebay sellers provide their goods within one niche. Others have a handful of niches that they specialize in. The key is to find a group of products that you're already familiar with. Perhaps you've been a collector of antiques for many years. If so, you probably know when you come across an item that could potentially sell for a good amount of cash. Likewise, you have a good idea of which items are likely to collect dust on your shelves. You can put this knowledge to work for you on Ebay. Your expertise with antiques gives you an edge over many competitors.

Once you have a good idea of the niche you wish to fill, it's time for the second half of your preliminary work. Start a spreadsheet that lists the different types of items you would like to sell. Then add a monetary value to each entry. This reflects how much you can expect to purchase the item for. Be realistic; you want to lay out an accurate portrait of how much money you will be spending to build up your inventory. Optimism won't help in this circumstance.

Expand your spreadsheet to include other niche markets, just in case. These can be items you enjoy working with, have expert knowledge of, or something you've always had an affinity for and think you could be successful with. Remember: no matter what your niche is, someone will buy from it as long as you list quality items at reasonable prices. Estimate the initial cost of each item, including shipping and sales tax. Then prepare to immerse yourself in Ebay as your research begins in earnest.

Go to Ebay and search through the completed auctions. This allows you to see the actual price that items similar to yours have sold for. Is the average price something you could live with? Remember to factor in shipping costs. Also, pay attention to the quality of the sold items when deciding whether this niche is something you wish to pursue. Items in “mint” or “like new” condition will bring considerably higher prices on Ebay than worn, scuffed items.

Now reflect on your findings. Did the completed Ebay auctions fetch your target price, or were the closing bids uniformly low? Did any of the items fetch a surprisingly high amount? If you were unimpressed by your findings, go back and consult your spreadsheet; it's time to start researching another niche.

If your observations were mostly positive, you may have found your Ebay niche already. In that case, go out and start building up your supply. Don't go overboard; you're still in the testing phase. Purchase a dozen or so items at fair prices. Then list them on Ebay.

For many sellers, waiting is the hard part. But you'll need patience for this phase of your niche-finding project. Monitor your listings and see how they perform. If they do well, you can build up your stock even more and increase your listings. If they don't quite live up to your expectations, you can go back to square one. Pick another niche from your spreadsheet and start researching it.

The key to finding your niche on Ebay, as with many challenges in life, is simply to never quit. If you have a wide variety of interests, you're more likely to find a profitable niche that you will enjoy filling. Think of all the things you enjoy doing, making, or collecting. Then come up with a list of ten items related to each. This sort of brainstorming is a sure-fire remedy for pushing past your seller's block. Let your imagination roam, and you'll carve out your Ebay niche in no time.

Working From Home And Loving It

Working From Home And Loving It:

There are a lot of people who are currently working from home and loving it.  These individuals have found a special niche in an industry that they enjoy.  Rather than searching for the highest paying opportunities, they worked hard to find areas that were capable of holding their interests.  This is an important strategy when attempting to move away from the traditional work force.

Self-Employment Requires Dedication

Many entrepreneurs are surprised to discover how challenging self-employment really is.  Although people are eager to be their own bosses and manage their own time, in reality, these responsibilities are not as easy as they seem.  Workers are conditioned to managing their time according to the dictates of their employers.  Self-employment, however, gives them a massive amount of freedom and if this freedom is not used wisely, it could lead to financial harm.

It is important to note that most self-employment opportunities do not pay by the hour.  In fact, most self-employed professionals are paid according to the results they produce.  Thus, earnings are often determined by the number of units of a product that get sold, services that are bought or work that is completed.  People who write from home can spend hours writing, but they will not get paid unless they can effectively market the resulting content.  Those who work in affiliate marketing can explain their services or goods to hundreds of people, but they will not generate any revenue until they are successful in converting prospects into paying customers.

Setting A Strict Schedule

Goal-setting is of the utmost importance.  It is important to know how much money must be generated in order to cover the costs of living and create a comfortable lifestyle.  This amount of money will be the most basic earnings goal.  With this data, people can establish a schedule that makes earning the required amount of money feasible.  One large part of working from home and loving it is being able to generate sufficient income for living comfortably.

Taking Some Of The Pressure Off

Another very vital aspect of working from home and loving it is making sure that you are not bogged down by financial pressure.   You can give more quality time to a growing endeavor if you do not feel pressured to make it succeed immediately.  By maintaining a part-time job or simply ensuring that you have a secondary source of income during the formative stages of your business, you can gain the peace of mind that is necessary for approaching your new company in the right way.  All of these strategies make it far easier for people to enjoy self-employment to the fullest.  Finding a niche you love, properly managing your hours, setting feasible goals and making sure to moderate your stress levels when possible, are all vital steps for ensuring that your new-found freedom provides optimal benefits. SFI can be one of them!

How to Write Articles Quickly

How to Write Articles Quickly:

Are you looking to make money by writing articles?  If you are, you may be curious how you make the most money.  Of course, you can find well-paying content writing jobs, but there is another approach you can take.  That approach is writing articles quickly, as you are able to make more money.  On that same note, you must still be able to provide quality content.

So, how can you write quality articles, but at a relatively fast pace?  For starters, give it time.  If you are just getting started with freelance web content writing, it may take you a few weeks or even a couple of months to get into the “grove,” of things.  After time, you will learn numerous tips and techniques that can improve your speed, while still allowing you to maintain the same quality.
Another way that you can write quality articles quickly is to opt for projects that are on subjects that you already know about.  This can significantly cut down on your research time.  Do you enjoy exercising or do you have a passion for pets?  Try finding writing jobs or write your own articles on these topics.

Next, it is important to reduce distractions.  For example, do you find the internet to be a distraction?  If so, temporarily disable it from your computer.  This will prevent you from surfing the internet when you should be writing instead.  Eliminating distractions will help to keep you working at a steady pace, which should allow you to write articles at a quicker rate of speed.
One problem that plagues writers is that of writer's block.  As previously stated, reducing or eliminating distractions is advised, but an outline can also help.  Before you start writing, open up a blank copy of Microsoft Word or grab a notebook.  Write down the main points that you want to cover in each article.  Creating an outline is nice, as it allows you to spend more time writing and less time thinking about what you want to write.

As it was previously stated, Microsoft Words is a great tool for writers.  Although your clients may provide you with a form to submit your articles through or you may have another writing program on your computer, Microsoft Word is recommended.  They have a nice spell check program, which you should rely on.  Instead of going back and fixing your errors right away, let Microsoft do the work for you.  Once your article is completed, you can simply go back and change the errors, which should be underlined in red for you.  On that same note, be sure to proofread your article still.
Speaking of proofreading, if you are writing a series of articles, like 3 or more, you may want to write as many articles as possible and then proofread when you are finished.  This may help to reduce writer's blocks.  If you get “in the zone,” with writing, you may not want to stop.  You may find yourself writing a number of articles at a very fast rate of speed.  However, if you stop to proofread each article, your flow may be disrupted.

As an important note, many new writers assume that the quickest way to write articles is to rewrite articles they find online.  This is a gray area.  If you are writing articles for someone else, your client may ask for unique articles.  If so, it is okay to use the internet to research, but not to copy an article.  However, some clients will ask for article rewrites.  Most times, you are rewriting PLR articles, which the clients in question own themselves.
As highlighted above, there are a number of ways that you can learn to write articles at a quicker rate of speed.  Although this will allow you to make more money, as you can write more articles, never underestimate the power of quality content.  In fact, most clients will prefer quality content over content that can be produced in a rush.

Internet Marketing Is 24/7, Not A One-Time Stunt

Internet Marketing Is 24/7, Not A One-Time Stunt

An oft-stated principle of Internet Marketing and Social Media Marketing is that it is not a one time stunt—it is a 24/7 endeavor. As we have discussed earlier in this course, you can profit indefinitely from the things that you build. But, that does not mean you can just create a Website and some social media profiles and then leave them to work by themselves. Nothing you build, no matter how clever, will work without your continued attention.

You may have very limited time. You may have a full-time job—perhaps even two jobs. You may have family responsibilities. As grand as it would be if we could, we simply cannot create extra hours in the day. Thus, it is understandable that you cannot devote 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to your Internet Marketing, no matter how promising the future might be if you could. What you can do, though, is care about your Internet Marketing 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can be mindful of it. You can ensure that you do carve out as much time as possible to devote to it.

Your goal is social media is to create conversations. Online conversations are understood to have pauses, no one is expected to be online all the time. But, conversations must have some steady flow or they will dry up. However limited your time may be, make enough time to keep the flow of your conversations as steady as possible. Do your best to respond to everything, even if it takes some time for you to get to it.

The most frequently made mistake in Internet Marketing, from my observations, is that someone will put a great deal of effort into creating a Website and setting up social media pages and then just ignore it, expecting it to work on its own. What you are creating when you create a Website and social media pages is a vehicle, a vehicle that must then be driven before it can go anywhere. You can build the greatest car in the world, but you go nowhere in it unless you crank it up and attentively drive it somewhere. You can take breaks and pauses in your trip, but you have to get back in again soon and keep driving in order to reach your destination.

If You Think You're Done Creating Content, Start OptimizingContent

The platitude, "if you think you're done creating content, start optimizing content', which follows from our discussion above, is expressed various ways. It is just another way of reminding Internet Marketers that the job is never done. There are times when we all feel that we have just said all there is to say for now. We feel we have worked hard and have covered everything that needs to be covered in our Website and our social media pages. When you have that feeling, start optimizing your content on the same regular schedule that you used to create your content.

You can optimize your content in a number of ways. First, you can review the language you used in your content and ask yourself if it could be more clearly expressed. Could you say the same thing is less words? Could you say it in a more understandable way? Are there 'power words' you can use to replace some of the bland words you have used in your content? Is there some better way to say essentially the same thing, but with much more impact? You can always find something to improve in your content. Often, those little improvements can make a big difference.

Always Respond

"Always Respond" is a very concise way of expressing the principle that we have been discussing as it applies to social media. You do not have to respond right away— although it is better if you do—but do always respond to every legitimate communication you receive through your Website or social media pages, regardless of how long it takes you to do so.

In polite conversation among friends, it may not be the best thing to always have the last word. In marketing, though, if you do it thoughtfully, it is good to always send the last communication. This way, you are always acknowledging that you have been contacted. Even if the last correspondence you received concluded all business at hand, it is still good to acknowledge that communication and let your contact know that you are available the next time they need to communicate with you.

Don't Try To Be Clever, Be Clever

We discussed being clever in your social media posts just a few lessons back. It is mentioned again here because it appeared regularly in the recent articles I reviewed. It is worth repeating that being clever only works when there is a surprise and an intelligent point is made. If you try and fail, it falls flat. If possible, have a business associate, friend, or family member review your posts that are intended to be clever and see if they have the expected reaction. If not, perhaps you should rethink the post. It takes a little extra effort to be clever and creative, rather than bland in your communications, but that extra effort pays off.

Not Everything Will Work And That's Fine

On the other hand, if you do try and fail, it is not the end of the world. Do not let the fear of failure paralyze you. Some of your posts will work. Some will not. Some of your Web campaigns will work. Some will not. Study the ones that do work and study the ones that do not work. Try to ascertain what is common among the ones that do work and what is common among the ones that do not work. If you observe your results carefully, you should be able to improve the percentage of your efforts that do pay off.

Conclusion

To have success in Internet Marketing, you must really stick with it. While you may not be able to make it a 24/7 activity, you can make it a 24/7 concern. Always being mindful of your Internet Marketing efforts will help you to find more time to make them work. Any time you have the feeling that you're done for now, focus on trying to optimize what you have done. You can always find ways to improve things and little improvements often make a big difference in outcomes. In social media, always keep the conversations going and always respond to communications, even if it takes you a while to get to everything. Every communication to which you fail to respond may be a lost opportunity. Be clever, at least at times, in your communications and responses. Because failed attempts to be clever can be harmful, have someone review your efforts before you post them. Sometimes your efforts will fail despite the thoughtfulness and cleverness you apply to them. That's OK. Observing what works and what doesn't work, will help you apply your efforts more efficiently in the future.

Material from my SFI Business Tool Kit at: Http://sfi4.com/12688726/First

Choosing An Online Business Opportunity

Choosing An Online Business Opportunity:

So you are looking for an online business opportunity.  Are you overwhelmed yet? As soon as you began typing in search phrases like “home-based business”, “working from home opportunities” and “affiliate marketing programs” it can seem like the list just keeps growing. Your e-mail box starts filling up with offers that seem too good to be true to say the least.  Where do you start? What do you look for when considering an online home based business opportunity?    Should you go with affiliate marketing or network marketing? The questions also can seem to pile up as every new program seems to spur new questions.

Passion 

The first and foremost consideration is that you choose a program that you are passionate about.  Trust your gut. Does that opportunity excite you and make you want to work the business?  This is important because to succeed you are going to have to work hard.

Product or Service

What product or service is being sold? Is it a product or service that you would buy? Is there good customer service? Is there a demand for it? These are great questions because without sales you aren’t going to make any money online. It is all about sales.  It is a one-time sales or recurring?

Commissions

How much money do you make per sale?  How often are you paid?   Many online marketers prefer to promote businesses that pay a recurring monthly commission. This is the best way to build up a nice residual income. Is the commission or profit substantial enough to allow you to spend money on advertising?

Marketing System

If you are like most people just getting starting with online business you probably do not know a lot about marketing or advertising. Many business opportunities online provide marketing training through ongoing webinars as well as written materials. You also want to find a program that has a built in system for marketing the business. There are many opportunities online that have all of the tools that you need already in place and all you have to do is plug into the system. That is probably one of the most important aspects of a great opportunity.

Support

The final thing you want to look for is does the company provide support for their affiliates. If you have questions or problems can you reach out to someone and expect to get help. Do they have customer service or support by telephone or e-mail or help desk. Many companies provide all of the above.   Be sure to ask questions before you get signed up.

MLM Lead Generation - Get What You Want

MLM Lead Generation - Get What You Want:

We've recently learned lead generation is the lifeblood of an MLM marketing business, and that without customers, you don't have a business.  We also learned you need to work at lead generation, no matter how you feel about it, because very simply without it, you are dead in the water.  No leads, no team, no business.

Ok, so you're not big on generating leads.  You're shy, you're afraid people will reject you, or you don't like using the phone.  Well, you have to ask yourself some hard questions right about now.  Do you really want your business to grow and generate residual income?  If the answer is YES, then you have to do lead generation.

You'll only get the desired results if you approach it with the right attitude.  You have to want it!  If you don't, it'll show!  That doesn't mean you have to be desperate.  It means you need to be positive and confident.  If you're new to MLM marketing and networking, then fake it till you make it.  The more you do lead generation, the better you'll get at it.

To be positive and confident you have to:

* Be proactive in your lead generation duties
* Learn new skills that stretch beyond your comfort zones
* Be patient and persistent
* Understand who is your client
* Be willing to choose the right type of clients for you
* Make the first move, don't wait
* Be creative in your approach
* Be prepared to listen to find out what your client needs and wants
* Be prepared to follow up with your contacts

If you want a positive team, then you have to be a positive Leader.  If you can't find it within yourself to step up to the plate and take action each day, then your team won't either.