Warning - All Traffic Is Not Created Equal! by Tony Stafford

If you are like most people online you have seen the offers for traffic. It seems that everyone and his brother has "unlocked the secret" to getting huge amounts of traffic to your website.

But is that true? Are those offers real? And if they are real why are so many people still desperate to get enough traffic to their sites?

The fact is - all traffic is not created equal. And if you think "hits" to your site will do you any good you might be shocked by what you read next.

You see, there are two sources of traffic. One is visits by real people who are interested in what you do. The other is what some call "raw" traffic, which is simply a visit to your site by a computer robot.

I'm sure you know that the first type of traffic can make you rich while the second will leave you disappointed, disillusioned and (usually) with much less money in your wallet.

The next thing you need to know is this - there are only two ways to get real traffic. You either buy it or you earn it.

Now I'm going to assume for this article that you are not made of money and can't spend $1000 a day buying traffic from Google. So let's look at how you can earn some real traffic - remember by real traffic I mean real people who want to know something more about what you offer.

There are four key factors when getting real people to visit your site. Happily, they have nothing to do with keywords or search engine optimization or cloaking or any "white hat" or "black hat" tricks.

They just work . every time!

KEY FACTOR 1 - Involve people, not robots. If you had ten friends who sent 10 friends to your site how much traffic would you get? If you answered 100 visitors you are only partially right. Let me explain.

When people visit a site they generally do one of three things. They buy, they bookmark or they leave. It has always been so.

That means that the 100 visitors you get today could well return. Assuming that 25% of them do return (which is conservative) then on day two you would get 125 visitors. And so on it goes. When those 125 tell their friends, magic happens.

Just imagine having 20 friends send traffic your way! Or having 10 or your friend's friends sending you traffic.

This viral marketing is the power of the Internet. Be sure to put it to use in your business.

The key to getting real people to send traffic to your site is that this traffic builds and lasts. Very important.

KEY FACTOR 2 - Offer something people want. What do you want? I'm willing to bet that you want more real people to visit your site, which is why you are taking time to read this article.

Guess what - that's what everyone wants. Everyone wants more traffic.

Consider this. What if a good friend of yours, someone you trust, said to you that they could give you all the traffic you wanted to your site and it would only cost you 10 minutes of your time. Would you check it out?

Sure you would.

When you begin to offer people what they really want they will visit your site in record numbers. Selling is hard but giving is easy.

What can you give that people want?

KEY FACTOR 3 - Immediate gratification. Offering something people want is one thing. Giving it to them now is something else.

In what ever you do, be sure there is an element if immediate gratification. Offer something that people can do right now, something they can benefit from in the next 10 minutes. When you do that you will see your traffic numbers rise dramatically.

What if there was a way for people who know and like you to recommend you immediately? Or to act on your advice quickly?

Review how you get traffic, or try to, today and ask yourself "is this working quickly enough?" If the answer is no, keep searching for a quicker solution.

KEY FACTOR 4 - Leverage - One effort creates many actions. This is huge. When it comes to generating traffic for your website you simply can not afford to spend all day every day placing ads or posting to blogs or any of that.

What you must do is find a way to do the work once and reap the benefit many times.

Think of it this way - would it be more effective to build a site and get 1000 visitors or to work with a site that gets 10,000 visitors? If you answered with the latter, you understand leverage.

You don't need to reinvent the wheel to succeed. By partnering with sites that have traffic now you can get all the traffic you want and begin to build your own powerful web presence.

Using the tips above I believe you will discover that getting more, and better, traffic just might be easier than you think!

Things You Need to Know About Internet Gurus by Matthew Bredel

Most of us have had a share of self-proclaimed experts telling us to do this or that in order to make money online. Who are these people teaching us the art of being rich? Why are they called the Internet gurus?

I'm sure you have seen piles of offers from these gurus, claiming to make you rich in an instant. They spill out their best kept secrets so you can be like them too!

But how do you know if they are legitimate or not? How do you know if they're just out there to rip you off? Who among these gurus should you run away from? And who are you going to run to when you need genuine help? Here are some pointers that might help you:

A real Internet guru is can help you promptly. Try to ask your questions directly via email and see how this guru answers to your inquiries. Was he able to answer everything the way a real guru would? Did he write the reply himself, or was it just something his staff wrote for him? Was it a prompt reply? Make sure that this guru replies to you within 2 to 3 days; any grace period longer that that would only mean that he's got no time to help you out at all.

Attend conferences to get to know online marketers better. They can give you tips and ideas about online marketing, and they can even recommend a reliable Internet guru.

Lots of these gurus usually offer products that they claim can help you succeed in the world of online marketing. When a guru offers you a money-back guarantee for the products, it simply means that he believes in the effectiveness of the material that he sells. A real guru should have this confidence on himself and on his product that he offers.

Internet gurus who have nothing to run away from usually include their physical address and telephone number in their home page or in their email signatures.

Real Internet gurus might not be able to give everything for free, but they make sure that you make the best out of what you pay for.

3 Tips to Make Viral Marketing Work for You by Scott Bannon

While some forms of Viral Marketing may work better than others, there is sure to be some out there that works best for you. There are so many ways to get started but probably the most important thing is to first determine what product or service you are trying to sell/give away. Once you have that established, the rest should be fairly easy.

Probably the best and cheapest form of viral marketing is word of mouth. This is such an important aspect of Viral Marketing. There are a couple of ways to help push along the word of mouth process though.

1. Offer something for Free - People love free stuff. This is commonly used when dealing with software. For example lets say you have created a new software. What many have done before is that you can offer a limited version of this software for free. Then when people realize how much they need this new program, they can then pay to get the full version.

2. Using e-mail/Newsletters - It's important to stay in contact with your customers to let them know when new products become available. As long as someone has had a positive experience with your products, they begin to tell others. This will help you to gain more targeted traffic to your site.

3. Utilizing Social Networks - This is a tool that many independent filmmakers or musicians use. It's a very popular form of viral marketing on sites such as MySpace. Just by spending a few minutes a day, you can get your films, music or any other products into plain site of any of the members of these pages. This may not always bring you targeted traffic, but it can be a very effective word of mouth tool.

The Autoresponder -Your Million Dollar Employee by Jo Mark

One tool that is an absolute necessity in generating income from articles is a good autoresponder. The reason is simple. Very few people will make a purchase on their initial viewing of your article. Most people will not buy until the fifth, sixth, or seventh contact. For that reason, you need a tool to stay in touch with them on a regular basis. That tool is the autoresponder. You can set it up to contact the people on your list as often as you like. I find it kind of annoying if I'm contacted every day, but every two or three days is fine.

The initial goal of the autoresponder is to make your prospects comfortable with you. In the beginning, send them plenty of FREE REPORTS and free gifts that are related to the products you offer. Of course, you can add a short blurb at the end suggesting that they go to yoursite dot com for additional information, but as rule, don't over-sell in the beginning. In your first six emails, you should make heavy pitches no more than twice.

I like to send out a few three or four page MINI REPORTS. I make sure I send them out one at a time. They are designed to be viral sales pieces. I let prospects know that two or three of these reports make great incentives to get people to opt into their list. I let them know that they have resell and reprint rights for each item. Each mini report contains some good information along with two or three ads for items that I'm currently promoting. They work pretty well because I'm still selling product from Mini Reports that I stopped sending out six months ago.

There are many options available in selecting an autoresponder. Some are free, some can be hosted and operated from your own computer, and some are hosted by companies that charge a monthly fee. The fee based autoresponders range in price from a few dollars per month to over a hundred dollars each month.

Determine how you intend to use your autoresponder before beginning your research. If you will be using it to send out a newsletter to 8000 people monthly, make sure they can handle that many (at no additional charge). If you intend to send out pdf files, make sure your autoresponder can do this and also investigate the maximum download sizes permitted.

After determining how you are going to use it, you are ready to perform a search. By doing a search, you will find a wide variety of autoresponders available. Before making a decision, test them out. Many will allow you to send out test emails to your own email account. Make sure that the test emails do not all wind up in your bulk, or junk email box. If they do, you would be wise to continue looking.

The best thing about your autoresponder is that it will never come into your office and ask you for a raise.

Hey Contractors, Testimonials Fuel Your Advertising - Go Get Them by Ron Roberts

Got enough work? Is your sales funnel empty? Look at your marketing. Defective marketing systems cause empty sales funnels.

Fix the marketing, fix the sales lead problem.

The surest way to fix a broken marketing system is to collect an abundance of powerful testimonials. Today, you are going to learn how to build a file cabinet full of powerful testimonials.

If you are like most people, you are reluctant to ask your clients for testimonials. You probably feel like you would be asking for some huge, monstrous favor.

There's really no need to feel that way.

They hired you. That was the hard part. Giving a testimonial is easy in comparison.

Now it's true that some of your customers will be uncomfortable giving you a testimonial. Some are naturally very shy while others are unwilling to lend their personal credibility to someone else.

But in general, you will find that most of your customers will be happy to give you a testimonial - if you write it for them!

Here's what you need to do to build an arsenal of powerful testimonials:

1. Be aggressive. Go for testimonials as hard as you go for sales.

2. He who hesitates is dead. Go for the testimonial as soon as possible. The euphoria your service created in your customer's heart wears off quickly. The longer you wait, the less enthusiastic will the testimony be.

3. Ask if they were pleased with your service. "Were you happy with my services? What aspect did you like best?"

4. Ask for the testimonial. "Would you be willing to give me a testimonial I can use to promote my business?"

5. Have your customer refer to struggles they were suffering previous to your company riding in to the rescue.

6. Offer to write the testimonial for them. Suggest a few ideas. Get their approval on the general subject. Go write the testimonial and send it back to them. Follow-up within two days.

7. Frame their testimonial to promote a specific benefit of your service. Each testimonial should be crafted to address a specific problem or concern. For example, if your customers value prompt service, make sure you have a testimonial bragging about your company's promptness. Same for quality, communication, flexibility, reliability, budget assistance, etc. Don't collect generic "they were great" testimonials. They are useless.

8. Ask your customers how they wish to be identified. By first and last name? By first name and last initial? Anonymously? With or without their company name?

9. After your customer approves the written testimonial, try to talk him or her into recording an audio version.

10. Thank them graciously with a card or small token of your appreciation.

11. Take a picture of your client. Pictures lend credibility to testimonials. The reader is less likely to think you fabricated the testimonial. Audio testimonials are even better driving credibility but their use is limited to web sites and radio advertisements.

To see an example of how testimonials can amp up advertising copy, visit www.instantaudio.com.

Something to think about. If you make a claim, the claim is hollow.

If your customer makes the claim, the claim is gospel.

Waterless Tattoos & Promotional Products As Retail Babysitters by Michael Merrick Crooks

I almost laughed out loud. A clerk tried to explain the features and benefits of a hair dyer to a woman who had a small child with her. The clerk's sales attempt was interrupted every 20 seconds with, "Mommy, look at this!", followed by mommy's horrified look as she foresaw three possible outcomes:

1) Junior was about to maim himself;

2) Junior was about to maim someone else;

3) Mommy was about to spend way more than she intended on something that she didn't want -- that was about to be broken into at least 5 pieces.

Since it wasn't my kid, I found it hilarious. The salesperson was exasperated. And mommy? Well, mommy finally said, "heck with it", took Devil Child by the arm and left the store after a carefully stacked display of towels suddenly became un-stacked -- because Junior grabbed the towel on the bottom.

When children hinder the sales process, salespeople can't effectively do their job and profits suffer. Smarter retailers know they MUST occupy the children if they want mommy and daddy's attention. That's where Retail Babysitters come in.

For a promotional item to serve as an effective Retail Babysitter it should meet the following criteria:

1) Be age appropriate;

2) Be clean and mess free;

3) Consume children's time.

A fourth criteria that, while not mandatory to keep kids from sabotaging your sales efforts, is VITAL if you want to get the best R.O.I.:

4) Whenever possible, Retail Babysitters should contain a tangible component to aid in the continuing promotion of your business or service off-premise. Logoed items that meet the above criteria include stickers, sticker sheets, waterless tattoos, coloring books, crayons, your letterhead and custom activity sheets.

Businesses such as flooring showrooms, vehicle dealerships and furniture stores where children remain visible, can create a children's area with carpet, a table and chairs. Suggesting to small children that they make a card or picture for mommy and daddy can work wonders. You can provide your letterhead, 8 1.2" x 11" sheets of construction paper, logoed boxes of crayons and logoed stickers or sticker sheets.

Waterless temporary tattoos can also be used in this way as they transfer well to paper products as well as the skin. Themed coloring books with your imprint on them along with the crayons are another good option.

For older children, create custom activity sheets. For instance, the sheet for a flooring store could contain a word search where kids search for words such as flooring, carpet, vinyl, etc.; a word jumble; a maze and other activities.

If you can't create a Kid's Corner, placing a coloring book & crayons with some stickers and waterless tattoos in a logoed paper lunch bag can fill the bill. Many kids will sit on the floor next to the parents, look through the bag and begin to apply stickers, waterless tattoos, use the coloring books or decorate the paper bag.

To aid in off-premise promotion of your business, offer a monthly coloring contest. The kids either finish a coloring book picture while at the establishment or finish it at home. The parents can drop the finished picture off later. (This gets them back in the store). Pictures are displayed and once a month, one or more winners is chosen and goes up on the winner's wall. Each child who turns in a drawing gets an entry prize of some sort with the monthly winners getting larger prizes. (Monthly winners must come in to claim their prize.)

To provide the most benefit to your establishment, all prizes (water bottles, plastic flyers, knit caps) carry your logo and contact information. You can also get lot's of play out of featuring selected children's drawings in your monthly newspaper/print ads and on your website. You can also use the drawings to create a custom business calendar.

If you work with a competent promotional products consultant, they can be on the lookout for and bring select items to your attention that are on closeout or are seasonal specials. This will also serve to keep your prize selection fresh and seasonally appropriate.

Children can be a salesperson's worst nightmare. But with a little thought and the right promotional products to serve as Retail Babysitters, children can actually become an asset as you use them to leverage favor -- and sales with the parents.

Increase Your Bottom Line With More Web Traffic by Aaron Michaels

Getting traffic can be one of the most perplexing parts about owning a website. Let's say you have spent your valuable time, energy, and money setting up a website with great content that delivers fantastic value to your visitors. You even have relevant products to sell on your site, and you're ready for the money to start rolling in. Only problem is, you're not getting the visitors you need to start converting visitors to sales.

There are a number of ways to drive traffic to your website. One way which is practically guaranteed is to use Pay Per Click. If you're not familiar with this term, it simply means that set up an account with Google Adwords, write a three-line ad, choose relevant search terms, set a bid price, and press go. Then whenever people search on Google for the search terms you've chosen, your ad will show up on the right-hand side of the screen. Based on your bid price, you will pay for each time somebody clicks on your ad and goes through to your website. The great thing about Pay Per Click is that you are virtually guaranteed to get visitors to your site. The downside, though, is that it does cost you money. If you do choose to use Pay Per Click, you will want to make sure that your website is one that people will want to come back to again and again.

Another way you can drive traffic to your site is to get it ranked in the search engines. This is known as Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. The problem with this is that it can be very complicated, as well as very competitive. If you are tech-savvy and good at research, you do a search online for SEO and you will find mountains of information on how to get your site ranked in the search engine results pages. If you are able to implement the information, you will find yourself getting totally free targeted traffic from peoples web searches.

Reciprocal links are another way to pursue website traffic. Not everyone will agree on this, because the search engines have recently changed their policy on reciprocal links. In the past, any links in to your website (called backlinks) where counted by the search engines in order to increase your sites ranking. Many website owners began trading links with each other in order to collect these backlinks. Even though the search engines have caught on and no longer count reciprocal links to improve your ranking, you can still use them to drive targeted traffic. This works most effectively when someone is visiting a site related to yours, which has some information they are interested in, but not enough (or they are looking for something specific.) When they visit the resources or links page of the site, they see your sites description and surf on over to get exactly what they were looking for. Voila: free targeted traffic to your site.

These are far from the only ways to get traffic to your website. If you put your mind to it, you can use your creativity to come up with many more. Lots of separate small streams eventually add up to a flood of free traffic if you keep working at it.

101 Mind-Grabbing "Bucket Brigade" That Will Keep Your Prospects' Eyes Glued To Your Sales Pitch! by Corey Geer

Dear Friend & Subscriber,

It's getting very hot in Vancouver.

I'm swimming like 3 times a week now. Feels good and COOL to be in the water. Plus, I've lost 5 lbs since I started swimming again a month ago!

I usually like to go to the pool in the evening... fewer kids and parents... less interruption... more room to "splash at will."

Currently, I can swim the pool back and forth 20 times without stopping or taking a rest... my goal is to bump that number up to 30 times... and my ulterior motive is to live until I'm 100+.

Cheer for me, will ya?

Anyway, let's get back on track here...

If you want your sales letters to be super-magnets, with messages so compelling that your prospects' eyes are glued to every word, if you want to achieve the "can't look away" pull of a car accident... then you're going to love this issue of the Rant.

In it, you're going to learn exactly how to create your own "grab 'em, hold 'em, and never let 'em go sales letters... and I'm going to be your teacher.

There are lots of ways to capture someone's attention. Stand on the street corner and scream "Hey" at people, and you'll have their undivided attention...but only for a moment.

The biggest challenge in crafting an effective sales letter is keeping your prospect involved... engaged... reading. If you forget for a moment to emphasize the "What's in it for you" nature of your offer, your prospects will tune out, turn off, throw your direct mail piece in the trash or remove your web sales page from their "Favorites" list.

Your sales letter can't just get a prospect interested... it has to keep the prospect interested...until you make the sale!

"Ah yes, Dan, but how?"

Well, my eager student, to get your prospects to arrive at "Buy Street," you need to lead them step by step through all the benefits they'll receive from taking advantage of your offer...overcoming every possible objection they might raise before it sidetracks their interest.

"Ah yes, Dan, but how?"

Inquisitive, aren't you (...if not a little repetitive)? Excellent. I like curious question-askers. People with the heart of an explorer like you usually end up with the bank account of a sultan... like me! (Excuse me for a moment while I lasso my ego... it's on the loose again.)

Okay, back to YOU.

It's time for you to learn an age-old strategy... but in a brand new way.

Have you ever heard of a "Bucklet Brigade?" It was a serious of people who passed buckets of water continuously from one to another in order to put out a fire.

Well your Bucket Brigade is going to light a fire -- a sales inferno -- under your prospect's butt... And it will keep turning up the heat bit by bit until they're burning with desire to buy, Buy, BUY.

What exactly is a "Bucket Brigade"?

They're simply phrases and words that "join" together paragraphs in your sales copy. Don't overlook these "covert operatives" that secretly (but very effectively) keep your reader "in the loop."

Your sales pitch needs to be seamless so that your prospect never has a chance to "slip out" the sides. They can only go one way -- forward to your sales offer.

A good "Bucket Brigade" is a series of miniature "cliff hangers" that literally suck your prospects in your copy and keep them reading until they buy!

There are a probably a million different ways to get from Point A to Point B to Point Sold, so to save you time and testing, I've compiled a list of 101 Proven "Bucket Brigade" Superstars for you.

They've got the muscle you need to hold on to your readers until the job (selling!) is done.

Enjoy!

1. As you carefully scan each and every word of this page...
2. As you may have noticed...
3. Aside from that, one thing's for sure
4. And that doesn't take into account the fact that...
5. And here's some great news for you:
6. And to prove it, here is...
7. A word of caution:
8. Astonishing, isn't it?
9. And remember...
10. And that's not all...
11. And best of all...
12. And what's worse...
13. But before I jump into the details, let me say this...
14. Back to what I was saying...
15. But don't take my word for it...
16. But I must let you in on a secret...
17. Before we go any further, I want to set something straight...
18. But you're still unsure? You'd rather be safe than sorry?
19. But what if you could...
20. But make no mistake about it...
21. But wait, it didn't stop there...
22. But if you're still not convinced, let me SWEETEN the deal for you...
23. Bear with me, because I'm going to show you how...
24. But there is just one small catch...
25. But more on that later...
26. But that's not all... Far from it!
27. But you know what else?
28. But wait! You have seen NOTHING yet...
29. Bottom line is...
30. But how do you know if (Insert Your Product Name) is for you?
31. But it doesn't stop there, either.
32. But don't worry...
33. Consider this:
34. Can this be true?
35. Can you imagine how great that feels?
36. Can you really afford not to....
37. Do you follow me so far?
38. Does this make sense to you?
39. Don't forget...
40. For example...
41. For instance...
42. Fair enough?
43. Here's the real kicker:
44. Here's the story:
45. Here's something you probably don't know about...
46. Heck, you don't even need...
47. Here are some examples...
48. However, the problem is...
49. How can you beat that?
50. Hang on to your seat because...
51. Have you heard enough?
52. Here's what else I'll do for you...
53. How?
54. I'm not kidding...
55. If you think it's nothing, think again...
56. I know, you're probably skeptical. Right?
57. I can't stress this enough...
58. In the next 5 minutes...
59. In truth...
60. It all comes down to this...
61. Just imagine...
62. Just let this sink in for a minute...
63. Let me ask you this question...
64. Let's face it...
65. Look at it this way...
66. Let me show you exactly how this works:
67. Let me explain...
68. Let me give you a bit of an idea of...
69. Let me show you how dead serious I am...
70. Let me be a bit more specific...
71. Let me just quickly recap...
72. Listen, I'm not kidding around...
73. Now, you're probably wondering...
74. Now, tell me...
75. OK, I'm nearly done, but...
76. OK, let me repeat that...
77. OK, I know what you're thinking...
78. OK. You might be asking...
79. Reality is...
80. Seriously, put some thought into this...
81. Still not convinced?
82. So instead of wishful thinking...
83. So, here's what else is in store for you...
84. So hang on while I explain...
85. Think about it...
86. The fact is...
87. The best part is that...
88. To top it off...
89. That's just the tip of the iceberg
90. There's a saying...
91. This is really cool...
92. The result?
93. Why?
94. What does all this mean to you?
95. What's more...
96. Want to see how it works right now?
97. What makes this so special?
98. Want proof?
99. You see...
100. You're going to love this...
101. Yes, you read that right...

My List is just step-one in creating Your List. There're a lot more buckets you can add to your brigade. In fact, whenever you're "hooked" by someone else's transition phrases, you should jot them down and "save" them in your swipe file.

You know I advocate testing. So once you finish your first draft of a sales letter, read it out loud, go back and really examine the transition sections.

If the flow isn't smooth as silk... sprinkle a couple of these "Bucket Brigades" throughout the copy... you'll be amazed at the effects it will have!

Changes in adipic acid uses by Market Publishers Ltd

The production of polyamide resins and fibre constitutes a major application area for adipic acid. According to Merchant Research & Consulting Ltd (UK) consulting agency, the use of adipic acid in the manufacture of polyurethanes has been expanding, since the market for polyamide resins and fibre is mature and these products are largely competed by polyesters and polypropylenes.

Current polyurethane production and consumption growth rates are higher than those demonstrated by polyamides and, particularly, by polyamide fibre. Thus, the demand for adipic acid exhibited by western European producers of polyurethanes has been steadily growing (by 12-15% per year, at present).

The demand for polyamide (nylon) applied in the production of plastics has been growing, too. The Asia-Pacific region is responsible for a large portion of this growth. The production of polyamides in this region consumes up to 85% of adipic acid, which is not used in the synthesis of polyethers (polyether is mainly used for the manufacture of polyurethanes in the Asia-Pacific region).

The demand for adipic acid in the Asia-Pacific region remains cyclical. The average annual demand growth rate is forecast to stay at 3-3.5% worldwide.

Russia fails to have its own production of adipic acid, though the prerequisites for its origination are quite favourable, since the vital feedstock (cyclohexanol, cyclohexanone, nitric acid) is available and major consumers of end-products (plasticisers, monomers) are present.

The prospective annual demand for adipic acid in Russia reaches several dozen thousand tons.

In Russia, adipic acid is used in the production of plasticisers, polyamides, pharmaceuticals, polyurethanes.

"Adipic Acid Market Research" also features the following information:
- Analysis of the global adipic acid market; - Analysis of the adipic acid market in the CIS countries; - Adipic acid applications; - Prospective consumers of adipic acid; etc.

Google AdWords introducing Radio Ads by Isha Sharma

Google's commitment to enhance user experience takes headway as Google is all set to broadcast Google AdWords over radio. As per reports, Radio Ads by Google AdWords shall stay abreast of the Google's tradition of highly targeted, minimally intrusive and cost-effective advertising.

With Radio Ads, Google visualizes a tomorrow where the gap between relevant enriching information and advertising will further narrow down. Google seeks to utilize GPS location-based delivery in radio broadcasting to circulate highly targeted ads. In so many words, the CEO of Google envisages a tomorrow when his in-car-radio would personally address his needs, as he would cross a relevant store.

This vision of Google took a real garb last year only, when Google acquired dMarc Broadcasting, Inc., the California based digital solutions provider for the radio broadcast industry, in mid January. Google integrated dMarc's innovative radio broadcasting technology with its enormous online advertising system and introduced AdSense for audio API to make possible a seamless user experience for the radio advertisers. Ever since, Google has been beta-testing radio ads across 19 Greater Media radio stations (Detroit), Broadcast Electronics (BE), ENCO Systems and LAN International's VIERO, to offer highly refined and useful radio broadcasting of Google Ads. Garnering partnership with as many radio broadcasters as possible, including Clear Channel Radio with its 675 AM/ FM stations, Google has been arming itself to provide ample options and opportunities to the advertisers.

With beta-testing phase already over as per the latest news, Google is promising efficiency, accountability and increased ROI with radio advertising across US. Google AdWords shall utilize the innovative and robust digital advertising platform of dMarc in conjunction with Google AdWords for Audio Interface, to let advertisers launch their ad campaigns targeted by location, station type, day of the week, and time of the day. Unlike ever before, the interface shall also let the advertisers view strategic information regarding the exact time when their ad was played. The advertisers shall be able to directly connect to radio stations and efficiently purchase and track their ad campaigns. Google plans to implement set price ad model for Google's radio ad, rather than its customary ad auction model.

Google Radio Ads promise to capture the radio broadcast media effectively and innovatively for a much-reduced cost per advertisement. Venturing into offline broadcast platform, Google is all set to reach the common man beyond the approach of the Internet. Creating ripples of anticipation and speculation across the online industry and the radio broadcasting business, Google's radio advertising is all set to expand the archetype of Google AdWords!

Do you still see online marketing as a luxury? by justin Lloyd

Even if your products or services rival Apple's 'must have' brand, the answer must be a resounding no. Sadly, some business owners still believe online, or Internet, marketing merely consists of creating a website. Others, incredibly, can't be found at all online.

However, establishing a website is just the beginning of any online marketing effort. How will your prospective clients know your website exists or where to find it? Being found by luck plays no part in the marketing process.

Across the globe, the business landscape has been radically redifined, and especially so in America. For business owners everywhere the shape of commerce has changed. Superior products and services are aimed at more sophisticated markets, and that requires taking advantage of superior technology.

Word-of-mouth and selective print advertising still have their place, however 'clued-in' entrepreneurs understand that in order to be successful comprehensive online marketing is absolutely essential in today's competitive business environment.

An online presence is critical for connecting to your target audience. When effectively integrated into your existing marketing strategy, it becomes difficult not to reach your target market profitably. Hence, online marketing, increasingly considered a painless alternative to expensive print and broadcast marketing, can reach the people you want without breaking the bank.

Think about this: as the USA currently enjoys 69.9% Internet penetration* (that's right - 211,108,086 of 301,967,681 people use the Internet in some form) your audience is already online, so all you have to do is deliver your message. *Source: Internetworldstats.com

The benefits of online marketing are far greater than just delivering your message. Here are some serious considerations:

- More enquiries must lead to more sales

- Maximise your website to be a virtual office, which works even while you sleep

- Reduced operational and marketing costs, especially the time and expense of phone enquiries or sales

- The nation, if not the world, knows your business exists, so you can now communicate with a considerably larger market

- Ability to launch additional products at almost zero cost and effort greatly increases your profit margins

To initiate all this good news, you need only work with a professional marketing company who understand the complexities of online marketing. They can develop your message, integrate your web presence into your overall marketing strategy, then implement it effectively. The result can be highly profitable for any size of business.

By covering research, legal, market awareness and commercial issues, Seven Communication can help you get it right. If your company can benefit from Internet marketing services, please visit http://www.sevencommunication.ws

You can never do it alone and on your on. Harnessing the use of tools that will make you work faster and reach more people as you go about the Internet marketing business is essential for your success. While you may be an extremely talented person, you can definitely use some help especially if you are aiming to reach consumers by the thousands in the Internet jungle.

There are two things that you need to learn about the Internet marketing business that, when used together, will yield you increased likelihood of business success. Automation and outsourcing are these two things. Let us look at each of them in-depth and see how they work together in making you a more efficient and productive Internet marketer.

Automation

At first, you may find some ease doing things manually. But as your business expands, you may find difficulty managing all the operations on your own. The memberships, which is of particular interest to the Internet marketer, has the capacity of building exponentially, and you may not be able to follow up on them as frequently as you would like if you do not make use of automation in your system. Simple defined, automation is all about making use of mechanisms to be able to reach more people. Some people think that automation is a drab activity. But actually, you can render your automation techniques a personalized touch to it with help of software such as Super Squeeze Page Generator.

You can find that automation makes your life easier. You just have to paste some script or program that will help you manage more members and more activities in less time.

The last thing you need when you are doing Internet marketing is to be bogged down by the more menial aspects that do not really lead to you making more money and bringing in more people to your site. Automation helps solve part of the problem. But when the needs go from mere programming to actual human legwork, we go to its partner.

Outsourcing

Partner to automation, outsourcing is delegating specific tasks in your business to other people, possibly more qualified than you are to do that specific job. Some of the people you can outsource include writers, programmers, web designers and the like. People you can outsource for this job are known to specialize on the job, and spending money on them is little compared to the amount of work they will saving you from. You have to be able to get the best in these fields.

This increases your productivity and gives you more time to focus on what you do best, which is, Internet marketing at its very core. You no longer have to worry about not being able to meet standards in writing, designing and programming since you have already acquired the services of people who are good at it and know what they are doing.

Once you have done these two, you will find all your systems constantly updated, manned with the best hands from different industries, with you raking in the dollars that can help you become one of the few Internet moguls who learned to master these techniques in their business.

How To Create Professional Looking Copy by Dan Farrell

When you sell on the internet it is very essential to remember 3 things. Have a hot expanding market, which wants and needs what you have to offer. Secondly make sure that your product or service will solve their needs and greatly aid them.

Thirdly have strong marketing methods to give them what you have. Finally and most importantly you need a strong sales letter to convert your sales.

Most people neglect to put the essential effort into their sales pages and suffer the consequences of very bad or nonexistent sales. Sales pages are the core of your home based business and without a top one even the best product cannot get sold. Here are some tips to get you off the mark and create that killer sales page:

1. Learn from the top marketers- look at Sales pages written by master copywriters like Joe Vitale and other professional copywriters. You can get a quick learning class by looking up the first 5 copywriters in Goolge and see their written style. Note their style and ideas but, never copy and paste, this might get you in more trouble than it's worth. 2. Understand the 3 P's of Copywriting a. Make it personal b. Make it precise and streamlined c. Make it persuasive 3. Fit your sales page to your product or service. There are many different layouts that you will be able to use. In reality your sales letter will be in three sections.

a. The first will be stressing to your reader's attention, the problem and emphasizing it. b. Secondly you will be presenting your product or service, and showing your reader how it definitely will assist their perceived problems with benefits etc. c. Conclusion: This part will include the a call to action, and a guarantee etc. 4. Go to work on headlines first and then sub headlines, finally fill in the details. Always remember the headline is your attention grabber. The headline shall appeal to your reader and make them whet their curiousity. Your sub headlines must also bring attention and pull your reader into the actual the sales letter.

5. Ensure you have 'an iron clad' guarantee. This amplifies the reader's trust in you and be more inclined to order.

It takes a little time to perfect the art of copywriting, and most all professional copywriters will tell you that no sales letter is ever set in stone. Lots of time just a word or two will expand sales.

Split testing: This is a very necessary part of getting your sales copy to produce the best sales conversions.

Measure Marketing Actions: How Well Are Your Advertising Methods Working? by Sam Miller

The capability of determining how effective are the activities involved in marketing and to prove that value to the bottom line of the company is more important than ever before for professionals in the field of marketing. Marketing personnel must be able to place quantification markers on the effectiveness of existing programs and to trace and judge the return on the investment made in marketing over a period of time in order to be able to document that the budgets for the department or group are worthwhile.

In perhaps no other area of business activities, marketing personnel must have quantification so they will know whether the investment is providing expected and anticipated returns. Marketing definitely is a business activity that requires tracking in real time.

As with many of the performance metrics developed by a company, it's important that all levels of management be aware of the role of marketing in the business before attempting to set metrics which reflect how well the marketing group is meeting the satisfaction of the goals.

In order for the business marketing group to be successful, they must improve the return on investment and must be able to prove that their methods are working.

One of the measures of accomplishment of any campaign is the use of a survey. This can be tied effectively as one of the measurement devices for determining whether or not the customer has found and is using the marketing information which has been developed by the company.

Obviously marketing is related to the bottom line revenue figures but to wait until an entire campaign is finished before checking to see if it worked or not makes it difficult to respond early in the campaign to tweak something which is not working as well as it could be.

Instead of measuring the success of the marketing campaign by how many sales have been made, use metric on increasing the sales list through such methods as a direct marketing email list. If the marketing group is effectively reaching and developing leads then having people joining an email list of some sort would be an effective way of determining whether or not you are reaching for target audience.

You can determine the success rate of the marketing campaign by measuring the number of people who are responding to an email request for free information. As your marketing group learns more about the potential customer, the products which you offer are more tailored to the people who are most likely to respond to that particular offer.

The assumption is always that the more contacts a certain individual has with your organization, the more likely he is to purchase from you. So if you are measuring various factors and features which together make up an effective marketing plan, you can use metrics such as the growth of your email distribution list as one very effective metric. As your mailing list grows, it is almost inevitable that your customer list will grow as well.

Product Launch Hype: Before You Buy That Hot New Product Stop And Do This First by Nikki LeRoi

If you are on several internet marketing lists, you know what happens when it's product launch time. Your email inbox is filled with lots of enticing offers designed to trigger your insatiable desire to buy it now.

This is hot!

You've gotta have it!

You don't want to miss out on this newest, greatest thing!

You begin to think that if you don't get this new fangled product, you'll be missing out on something that could get you closer to your dream of making a full-time living online.

But are you?

Before you pull out your credit card, stop for a moment and think about the following:

Can you afford it?

The hype has gotten you really excited and you may be tempted to put off paying a bill or two to buy this new fangled product right now. Grab your bank statement and look at the total. Now go through the bills that you owe. If buying this product is going to put a strain on your budget, then it's not worth it. If the product is that good, it'll be around for months. You can always save up for it like you do when you buy something on layaway.

Does it provide good value?

Does the product creator have a good reputation for providing lots of value for the money spent?

Check around and see what other people think about this person's past products. If they are new to the scene, who can vouch for them?

Any internet marketer worth their salt will over deliver on the product and not give you any fluff and filler. Try to find out what's in the package first. It may be best for you to wait and see what other people (real buyers) say before plunking down your own money.

Can you use it right now?

It may be the greatest product in the world, but if you can't use it for what you're doing, then what good is it to you?

Lots of people have hundreds of dollars worth of information products sitting on their computer hard drive that they bought in the heat of excitement - only to never open this material up and use it. What a waste of money.

You should have a clear use for this product right now or in the near future. It should be able to take you to a higher level in your online business. If not, then you should pass on the opportunity.

Will it save you time?

Like they say: time is money.

Some products are great at saving you time in doing something tedious. If you find that it's a chore to do a certain task, and this product does this same task (or shows you how) fast and cheap, then it could be a good value for the money.

Will it make you money?

This is the BIG question that must be answered. Ask yourself if this product is capable of making you real money when you use it. When it comes down to it, you are working to make money online and after careful consideration, if you are sure this product can help you make more money, then go ahead and buy it.

However, if you feel there is a lot of value, but not something you can use personally in your venture to make money, then pass it up.

Hopefully, you'll stop and consider the above questions before hastily making a buying decision during the next great product launch. Remember, there will always be new information and software to buy. There will always be a new product launch.

You've got to become resistant to the hype and figure out what you need and don't need. This will save you a lot of time and money so that you'll have more of both to use in building your own online empire.

How "Al Bundy" Can Boost Your Conversion Rate! by Corey Geer

Dear Friend,

Are you familiar with the advertising campaign, "Reading is FUNdamental"? Well, here's something less "FUN" that the ads don't mention:

90% of the people in North American have the reading skills of a 12-year-old. "So what," you say?

"Who cares," you mutter.

"What does the reading level of North Americans mean to a high-powered, soon-to-be living in the lap of luxury marketer like me," you ask?

Get with the program! This is big, REALLY BIG stuff. If most consumers are at a seventh grade level, it means:

* Your sales writing must be SIMPLE * Your sales writing must be CLEAR * Your sales writing must be EASY ENOUGH for AL BUNDY TO UNDERSTAND

Don't think of your average consumer as a discerning, highly educated person who just loves to crunch numbers and sift through dense information. If you do, you'll be on the copywriting road to hell.

Instead, put an image in your mind of Al Bundy. (You know... the lovable, if not too bright, guy from the TV series "Married with Children.") Believe me, there's a "little bit o' Bundy" in all of us -- a pinch of Al, a hint of peg, Peg, a touch of Kelly, and a smidgeon of Bud).

When you sit down and write a sales pitch, envision your customer stretched out on a plaid sofa with a brew in one hand and the TV remote in the other. He's taught his dog to "fetch" the TV Guide from across the room. When the phone rings, he's too lazy to get off his butt to answer. When a commercial urges, "Call NOW," he thinks, "Maybe later."

How motivated do you think this "Bundy" is to place an order for whatever it is YOU might be selling? You're right -- not very.

To appeal to all the "Bundys" out there -- to get them off the couch and onto the ordering process -- you'll need to use words, sentences and paragraphs that are easy-as-pie on the eye (and the mind) of the consumer.

= = = = = = = = = The "Al" Factor = = = = = = = = =

Every time you write a word, sentence or paragraph, ask yourself this question...

Would Al "get it"?

If the answer is yes... if Al understands it... your customers will be able to, as well.

= = = = = = = = = = = = Playing By The Rules When There Aren't Any = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Are there any hard and fast rules? Wouldn't that be lovely? Sorry -- no rules in knife-fights and short-and-sweet marketing copy.

No rules... but many excellent guidelines. Here's a sample:

Forget What Mrs. Grammarpants Told You

You know all those rigid rules that you learned from your high school English teacher? Forget 'em! You're not writing for a language scholar, you're writing for Joe Schmo, the guy who was sitting behind you in English class trying to figure out how to give the nerd sitting next to him a hot foot.

Joe Schmo doesn't mind putting on his glasses to read, but please don't ask him to put on his "thinking cap." Use plain, easy to understand language that's so simple and so direct that even a 6th grader -- or someone with a 6th grader's reading level -- can understand.

= == = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Writing is "Speaking" on Paper = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

When you read your copy aloud, it should sound pretty much as if you were talking to a buddy face to face. Don't use fancy, overblown words and phrases that are hard to understand. Use words that paint clear and immediate pictures.

One way to remember this is the word KISS --

Keep It Simple, Stupid (or more gently, "Keep It Simple, Sweetie.")

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Put Your Writing on a "Budget" = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

As far as words, sentences and paragraphs go... don't use a ten-dollar word when a 25-cent "bon mot" will work just as well.

Less is more. Keep your sentences relatively short... say, 14-17 words or less. And if you have longer ones, break them up with ellipsis (...) or dashes ( -- ).

As a general rule, paragraphs should not exceed 6 lines. However, I usually stay around 2 to 4. And it's a good idea to mix it up... have some one sentence paragraphs... even one or two word paragraphs...

...exactly what I've been doing in this letter to you!

= = = = = = = = = = = Learn from the Masters to Earn Like the Gods = = = = = = = = = =

Actually, one of the best ways to learn how to write clearly is to study proven sales letters. Keep the ones that "sold" you and the ones that were easiest to read and then model their layout/style.

If you're not already collecting sales letters, get started now.

RUN, don't walk to add your name to these mailing lists:

* Agora Publishing - http://www.agora-inc.com * Phillips International - http://www.phillips.com * Boardroom - http://www.boardroom.com * Rodale Books - http://www.rodale.com * Nightingale Conant - http://www.nightingale.com

Shell out a few bucks, buy one or two products from each of these information "motherlodes" and you'll get more good, good-er, GOOD-est sales letters, magalogs, bookalogs, etc., than you can shake a stick at.

And here's something for the "Al" in YOU -- everything's delivered right to your front door! (Have your spouse answer when the postman rings!)

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Are You Using Your Tools? = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Did you know that you have a "marketing analyst" build right into your computer? If you use Microsoft Word, you can test the readability of your ads and sales letters using one of the functions in the Tools menu.

Here's what you do:

1. Click on the Tools button at the top of the screen.

2. A menu will come up. In that menu click on Options.

3. Then you'll see a Spelling & Grammar button...click that.

4. Do you see a box at the bottom that says, "Show readability statistics"?

5. Check that box.

Now whenever you spell check your document, you'll get a box that displays the information you need. In general...

You should aim for a grade level of 6 or lower. You should aim for a reading ease of 70 or higher.

Neat, huh?

= = = = = = = = = It's Time for LCD = = = = = = = = =

Are you worried about the non-Bundy readers that will receive your "Simple Simon" ("Simple Al"?) sales message using LCD (Lowest Common Denominator) language? Are you concerned about turning off the "Braniacs" with your pitch?

Don't worry ahout the Brainiacs. First of all, only about 10% of the people that read your message fall into this category -- a clear minority. Second, if you're offering something the Brainiacs want to receive, they'll appreciate the simplicity and clarity of your message (which the rest of your audience will also be able to understand.) Third, Brainiacs LOVE to feel smart, and they'll feel like big-cranium, super-smarties because they'll understand your message perfectly.

Even if every consumer you contact is a Dr. or Mrs. Einstein, or even a little Einstein in diapers, they're still going to be busy little beavers, with lots of things on their minds and 1000's of advertising messages vying for their attention everyday. If your message isn't a SUPER-AD -- faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to jump over the competition's message in a single bound -- consumers will just ignore it!

It's human nature to look for shortcuts and find the easiest way to our destination. So why would you want to make a consumer WORK to understand your message's "endpoint?" It's one of the reasons that the new rash of "cute-sy" corporate identity ads (for ING, let's say) are much more than just puzzlin... they're ineffectual. It takes a university professor to figure out what the heck they're selling)

Dumb... Dumb... Dumb...

So always remember to read your copy with the eye of the world's favorite everyman and you'll never talk over the heads, but will go straight to the consuming hearts of your average "Bundys."

Your marketing sifu*,

Dan Lok

P.S. Here's another little "golden nugget" to make sure the "eyes have it": People read 25% MORE SLOWLY from a COMPUTER MONITOR than they do from paper. Don't cause eye-strain or brain drain. Be EXTRA-clear and as easy to understand as A-B-C when creating content for your online sales materials.

How To Become A High-Paid Marketing Consultant Or Copywriter FAST! Part 1 by Corey Geer

Question: Hi Dan, My husband and I are talented writers who produce enormous amounts of great content on a regular basis. I would desperately like to know how we can streamline our efforts and creativity into tons of well-deserved moolah.

We know how to create, to work hard, and to gets jobs done -- we just don't know how to stop reinventing the revenue-stream wheel. We're making a lot of changes in 2005 - I want to make sure they involve working smarter, NOT harder.

I can totally relate to your situation because I've been there myself! The turning point of my life...what Oprah Winfrey would call a 'light bulb moment'... is when I stopped thinking of myself as a writer and started thinking myself as entrepreneur.

As a writer, or any profession for that matter, you get what I called "earned income." You do a job; you get paid a buck. If you want another buck, you have to do another job in an endless cycle of more work for more money. It's exhausting!

What you need to do is to create multiple streams of income in your life...or more specifically, multiple streams of passive income, income that will keep coming in without much constant effort or supervision.

When people ask me, "Dan, are you a professional copywriter?" I always said, "Yes and No." To me, writers are broke and entrepreneurs are rich. I am an entrepreneur FIRST, a marketer SECOND, a copywriter THIRD.

Writing is a skill I HAVE, but I never look at myself as only a copywriter.

Marketing is a skill I HAVE, but I never look at myself as only a marketer.

What I really am is a professional businessperson. I am involved with quite a few companies owned and operated by other people, besides running two companies of my own.

And frankly, the reason I am doing hell a lot better than other writers who might have 10 or 20 years more writing experience than me isn't because I'm a better writer, a more creative writer, or a genius at writing...it's because I'm a genius at business and a much better businessperson (and with a well-developed ego, too!)

I surround myself with smart people. I know how to build a team. I know how to build businesses. I know how to leverage other peoples money and other peoples time.

Plus, I am a pretty good public speaker and leader so I can motivate and influence.

I don't mean to brag here, but I am trying to make a point: Most writers know NOTHING else, except writing.

So the $64,000 question you gotta ask yourself is, "How I can leverage off my skill sets to create multiple streams of income?"

Can you use your skills to sell other products besides selling your own services? Do you have the ability to sell online and offline? Can you use your skills to write for entrepreneurs get a percentage of the sales generated?

You see what I mean? The minute you stop thinking like a writer, the sky's the limit.

But I gotta warn you, the transition from a writer to an entrepreneur is NOT easy. And its definitely NOT for everyone. You'll have to take risks... and that can be scary.

You'll have to be willing to delay gratification and that can be tough in the age of 'I want it NOW.' But be prepared, when you're selling a product, you might not see profits for months and months.

And there will be moments when you'll feel like giving up and going back to the same old, same old. You'll want to pull the covers over your head, curl up into a fetal position, and go back to your warm, familiar comfort zone.

Don't do it! If you can 'tough it out' and if you're willing to take the first step, you will be that much closer to your ultimate goals.

So the short answer to your question is to use your writing skill to build a business. Start a business in your spare time. Develop other essential skill sets that will make you a better entrepreneur.

And you'll always have your writing to 'fall back on' while you're building your empire!

How To Become A High-Paid Marketing Consultant Or Copywriter - FAST! Part 2 by Corey Geer

Question: Dan, if you were starting out and had no references or a substantial resume, how would you go about finding paying customers for your services?

To answer your question, I'll assume you're a junior copywriter or marketing consultant.

When I first started out and didn't know a soul, I'd open the yellow pages and cold-call the business owners. I'd go to networking events and try to get business. (Sucks!)

Sometimes I'd do a little 'switchcraft' and call the companies who sent me direct mail letters.

Before I had a track record, I wrote a lot on a results-oriented basis. This is also know as a 'sink or swim' or 'thrive or starve' approach.

I'd write an ad or sales letter for a client, with the guarantee that if the ad didn't work, I didn't get paid. If the ad did work, I'd receive a flat fee.

Once I'd proven myself as a credible, conversion-oriented copywriter, I switched to requesting compensation based on a percentage of the sales.

Ultimately, I changed to a flat fee, plus a percentage.

It wasn't easy. It's a good thing that 'thin is in' because I've been through a lot of lean and hungry months. I got ripped off so many times I can't even count them. Understand... I'm not saying this is what you should do, but that's what I DID.

In the beginning, you have to be pretty much shameless and willing to check your ego at the door.

Be prepared to take on any kind of job for any kind of price.

You want to make yourself damn busy. You want the law of supply and demand to work in your favor.

Your goal is to build up a portfolio of satisfied clients as quickly as humanly possible.

If it soothes your wounded ego, think of the process as 'earning as you're learning.' By taking a wide variety of jobs, you'll not only hone your skills a hell a lot faster, you'll also build up a reputation as someone who's 'earned his chops.'

And don't forget to collect testimonials.

Success breeds success.

Ultimately, just like me, when you're in demand, you'll be able to name your own price and do business on your own terms. If a prospect has a problem with how much you charge, you don't need to have a problem with them.

All you have to say is, NEXT!'

Don't worry, if you're good at what you do, you don't have to 'settle for less.' (If you're not good at what you do, and aren't striving to make yourself better, you have no business being in business.)

Here's another plus about providing good value: your clients will tell other people about you. You won't have to go looking for clients; clients will come looking for you. That's the position you want to be in...at the head of the 'receiving line,' picking and choosing your clients.

Your skills are in demand. The business world needs good copywriters. And good copywriters are rare. So the pro's in this profession are always in high demand.

As a marketing consultant or copywriter, you're better off if you don't have to engage in actively persuading prospects to hire you. You're in a much more powerful position, of course, if they come to you.

An excellent way to make yourself the 'go-to' writer that everyone wants is to establish yourself as an expert. Writing a book, creating a website and speaking at events are all excellent ways to gain a reputation as 'Miss Information' or 'Mr. Know-It-All.'

Donald Trump's Marketing Secrets Revealed! by Corey Geer

It's official!

Now in it's third season, Donald Trump's killer television series "The Apprentice" is officially a "franchise."

With new seasons in the making, a clothing line that carries "The Apprentice" brand, DVD's in production, and mega-fortunes to be made, it's no surprise that the king of real estate... a man who knows a good thing when he sees it... is involved.

I like Donald Trump a lot.

Mostly because I learn something new from him every time I watch him in action.

One of the barbs critics aim at Donald Trump is that he's a shameless egomaniac who can't get enough of the spotlight.

Well, they may call it egomania, but from my perspective... it's a brilliant business strategy.

I'll admit it: I'm a marketer.

My job is to make people sit up and take notice of my clients (and their products or services), and to deliver a "brand" message at every opportunity.

That's exactly what "The Donald" does.

If that makes me him an egocentric, self-congratulatory target for media pundits, who cares? Because it also makes him a "household name"...in households from Bangor, Maine to Bangkok Thailand.

Brand recognition is the foundation of every marketing strategy.

If you're a small business owner, YOU are your brand.

That means you must sell yourself as well as your product or service.

Trump understands the concept, and what's why you see his brand Trump on everything.

You've got to be willing to get name out there... Willing to say, "Hey look me!"... Ready to stand up for yourself, believe in yourself, and blow your own horn...

Loudly and as often as possible.

Have you noticed that each episode of "The Apprentice" includes a segment devoted to a current Trump project?

This as an opportunity for "The Donald" to billboard a success story.

Week after week, he tells millions of people, "I'm a great real estate giant and here's the proof." Take a tip from "The Donald"...

You've got to be your own full-time marketing campaign 24 hours a day... because nobody else will!

Especially if you're an entrepreneur.

When you're the own of a business, especially a new business, it's kind of like being a parent.

Before your business can "talk"... before your "little one" has grown and established a reputation that literally "speaks for itself"... you need to be the "spokesperson."

How long will this last?

You may not want to hear this, but the answer is -- forever. You must always be ready to carry the banner for your business and your success.

So, before you give Donald Trump "two thumbs done" for shameless self-promotion, consider how his ego... and his knack for savvy marketing... is a real asset to his business empire.

If it's good enough for "The Donald," it's good enough for me... and YOU, too. The next time you sit down for the next episode of the "Book Smarts vs. Street Smarts" season of "The Apprentice," open your mind.

Instead of picking at the negative traits of "The Donald" or his "top guns" Carolyn and George, think about their success and ask yourself...

What can I learn from this guy? How does he marketing himself? How can I adapt this concept to me and my business?

The truth is, if you can't get at least a handful of "golden nuggets" from this super-successful entrepreneur, you may be hopeless.

What I'd like to do is share some of the key marketing insights I've learned from Donald Trump and "The Apprentice" that you, too, can use in your business.

Before we get to the marketing insights, however, there's a bigger business concept that you need to understand.

I'll give it to you the way I like best... straight... "Lok-ed and loaded" to blow your mind:

You have something to learn from people of any age, any background, any education, and any level of success.

The candidate on "The Apprentice" can't hold a handle to Donald Trump's success. Yet each week, they pull rabbits out of hats, rising (more or less) to meet the challenges presented to them.

Every new task makes them better in business as they evolve, refine strategies, and respond to what they're learning. There's no better formula for success than the flexibility and resilience they demonstrate.

So don't just focus on "The Donald" for your weekly dose of marketing magic.

Keep an eye on the candidates, too! You never know who's got something to teach you.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Apprentice Marketing Lesson #1 - Too Much Is Never Enough

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Actually, "too much is never enough" was a successful slogan from the early days of MTV, but it could just as easily be the "poster child" for marketing. You can never connect with consumers too frequently.

There's a marketing truism out there: To sell a prospect, you'll need to make repeated contact. That's why most direct mail campaigns use a minimum of three messages, why magazines put as many as five subscription forms in each issue, and why "The Donald" says the word "Trump" as many times as he can in every episode of "The Apprentice."

Does it make a difference? Can it make "The Donald" even more successful? Definitely.

In the 21st Century, every consumer is bombarded with advertising messages...up to 3,000 a day for some people.

After a while, they just tune out. Or, if they don't tune-out, consumers are often so distracted that they don't really hear or see a marketing message.

It's more effective to send three mailers to 1,000 prospects than one mailer to 3,000though the cost is the same. Another approach is a "timed" or "sequenced" campaign.

In this kind of campaign, message #1 is a teaser. #2 is the "guts" and a gift offer. #3 gives ordering instructions. The sequenced approach allows you to generate both expectations and recognition.

Prospects look forward to hearing from you.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that you need to keep hammering away at the eyes and ears of potential prospects. But the main reason for this many not be as obvious as you think...

By repeating your marketing message over and over, you "imbed" that message in the consumer's mind. Then, when the consumer needs what you have to offer, they'll think of you first... even if aren't actively marketing to them in the moment.

The goal is to make yourself the automatic go-to solution for a problem whenever that problem occurs. The consumer's sub-conscious will do the driving.

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Apprentice Marketing Lesson #2 - Sex Sells, But Too Much Sex Repels

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The candidates chosen for "The Apprentice" are uniformly attractive, articulate, and the kind of people that most other people enjoy looking at.

The producers of the show -- including Mark Burnett who produces that other mega-hit "Survivor" -- know that sex sells on television.

Sex sells in marketing, too.

During the second season of "The Apprentice" when "The Donald" pitted the men against the women, tasks were routinely won thanks to sex appeal... women's AND men's.

(You may recall that the men's team used one of their attractive members to flirt with and win over a table of gay diners during a restaurant challenge.)

But if you weren't watching closely, you might have missed the episode where sex didn't sell -- big time... and THAT is the point of this mini-lesson.

In one of the last episodes of the second season, candidates were challenged to sell candy.

On one team, two blonde women donned matching red leotards and flashed -- their smiles only -- at male prospects.

Sales were brisk because, as we all know, sex sells... and for most men there's nothing sexier than a leggy blonde.

The other team was struggling, so with just minutes to spare before the end of a task, one team member offered to drop her skirt as a way to convince male passersby to buy her candy.

They bought... in droves.

They weren't buying candy, of course, they were buying sex... just like the guy who finds a car suddenly irresistible because of the leggy swimsuit model that's advertising it at the Auto Show... and just like the guys who bought from the blonde "twins" on the other team.

The problem with the "buy my candy and you can see my buns" approach is that it was over the top.

As "The Donald" pointed out in the boardroom, the candidate wasn't selling candy... she was selling sex literally, with a candy bar bonus.

That, my friends, is why so many marketers are referred to as prostitutes... and why the candidate who dropped her skirt was dropped from the show at the end of the task.

As "The Donald" put it so eloquently: You're fired!

The skirt-dropping candidate was fired despite the fact that she had fulfilled her mission -- to make money. Why? By over-selling sexuality, she left a negative over-all impression.

Sex is powerful stuff...use it wisely and sparingly.

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Apprentice Marketing Secret #3: Cross-Promotion

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I've talked about this concept until I am blue in the face, but I still meet prospective clients who stubbornly say, "My product is such a winner that I don't need to partner with other businesses and give away any of my profits." That's insane!

Or more delicately "No man is an island"...and no business is either. There's not a company on earth that can survive without a constant stream of qualified prospects coming through the door.

So it doesn't matter what industry you're in or what product/service you make available, whoever you are...

Tying your product to another popular product, service, business, or person is always a winning marketing strategy.

"The Apprentice" has featured cross-promotions with Burger King, Pepsi, the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain, and other well-know, extremely successful businesses.

If these super-corporations benefit from cross-promotions, doesn't it seem logical that your business can, too?

The biggest trend in high-end marketing today is film and TV cross- promotions. Ever since E.T. gave Reese's Pieces a huge boost, marketers have aggressively tried to get their products "placed" in films and television shows.

Having a good product or service is NOT enough... although it's certainly "Job 1." Quality and value bring your customers back for more. But how the heck do they do how wonderful your stuff is if they haven't even bought from you yet?

In order to make a sale, you need someone you can sell to. To achieve that you need effective marketing systems to get these people in your funnel in the first place.

Cross-promotion is the key.

Customers who are already "sold" on the business your partnering with become, essentially, pre-sold on you.

And cross-promotion allows you to expand your marketing reach without spending any additional marketing dollars.

Can you imagine how much Burger King would have to pay for a 15-second spot during "The Apprentice."

By appearing within the show in a carefully negotiated cross-promotion, Burger King gets all the gain (aka the audience) with none of the pain (advertising expenses)

What did "The Donald" get out of all of this? In addition to finding a company willing to let his apprentices take over their business for the day, consumers will now "think Trump" when they purchase one of the burgers promoted on the show.

Clever, huh?

You're Fired... Fired-Up, That Is

I've "distilled" the essence of just three of the effective marketing concepts that Donald Trump has accidentally shared on "The Apprentice." They're the same strategies he uses in his own business, but he's let the cat out of the bag and now his secrets are YOUR secrets

If you're inspired by what you've read here and would like to go deep into Trump's mind, "The Donald" has written several powerful books filled with stories, anecdotes, secrets, and amazingly effective techniques for making it to the top... and staying there through thick and thin.

*Trump: How to Get Rich *Trump: The Way to the Top *Trump: Surviving at the Top *Trump: The Art of the Deal *Trump: The Art of Survival

Did you notice that each book leads with the word "Trump"? He never misses an opportunity to promote his brand.

I told you "The Donald" was a master marketer!

And consider this: if you can beg, borrow, or steal just one or two ideas from a man who's sitting on a billion-dollar empire... ideas that could jumpstart your business empire... wouldn't it be worth 20 bucks? (Less if you get a second-hand copy on Ebay).

This is your chance to be "The Apprentice" of Donald Trump... to learn from the master... without worrying about getting fired on national television.

9 Unusual Ways To Use Postcards In Your Mortgage Business by Tom Domin

Postcards can be more than an inexpensive way to "stay in touch" with your mortgage customers and prospects. This tiny billboard is actually a powerhouse of a marketing tool with almost unlimited uses.

Traditionally, we use postcards in our mortgage business to pass along holiday greetings, reminders, and general information that helps keep your name in front of your customers and prospects.

Let's think outside of the box, harness this little dynamo, and you'll find a surge of new mortgage marketing opportunities.

Here are a few unusual ways you can use postcards in your mortgage business:

1. Use them as hand-outs: You can use postcards as a hand-out at seminars, meetings, or networking events. Consider it your over-size business card with lots of room to promote your mortgage services and company.

2. Use them as coupons: You can use postcards to entice a visit to your office location. When customers come in to your office, they can bring the postcard offer with them to receive a discount or reduction in appraisal fees or whatever.

3. Use them as reminders: You can use postcards as a reminder to your customers that it's time to come in for their free annual mortgage check-up. This is a great opportunity to review details about their mortgage they probably have forgotten. This is your chance to be their hero.

4. Use them for free offers: You can use postcards to offer free reports and information if your prospect contacts you. It may be mortgage market information and changes, or it may be a free report about refinancing, home improvement, or credit.

5. Use them as invitations: You can use postcards as an invitation to your seminar, your office open house, your presentation about a new mortgage service/loan program, or to point them in the direction of your website.

6. Use them for feedback: You can use postcards as a quick survey of your mortgage services. Your recipients can check a couple of boxes and fax them back to you. It's likely you'll get a good response with such an easy-to-complete format.

7. Use them as a referral tool: Offer all of your customers an incentive for referring new leads and business. Be careful about your offer as not to violate RESPA guidelines. A general statement that "you never forget the source of your mortgage leads" may be all you need. Just letting people know that referrals are an important part of your mortgage business can sometimes generate immediate referrals.

8. Use them to gather and then publish customer testimonials: You can use postcards to solicit testimonials from your existing mortgage customers. Then, publish excerpts from your good testimonials and distribute them via postcards to your mortgage prospects. Testimonials can be a powerful sales tool and are very much under-utilized by mortgage professionals. You can use postcards to make it happen.

9. Use them as a newsletter: You can use postcards as a mini-newsletter. We all know that a mortgage newsletter delivered over a period of time is a great marketing tool. Unfortunately, most of us don't invest the time and money to generate a good newsletter. The mini-newsletter in postcard form is the answer. It's short, sweet, and inexpensive to put together. What's more important, you are providing valuable information to your customers/prospects using your name and company.

So, the next time you look at using postcards in your mortgage business, think outside of the box and you'll find that by doing so, your mortgage pipeline will also improve.

3 Steps To Increase Your Sales In Forums by KC TAN

Most new forum members often have difficulties selling their products or services in the forums due to their lack of experience or credentials. Most buyers will only engage services with those reputable traders that have been with the forums for quite some time. This article will highlight the 3 important steps to increase your sales in the forums despite your membership duration in the forums.

The first step is to ensure that you have an attractive headline so that members will click to see the detailed offer. If a headline is poor and not attractive, it is pointless to proceed to the following steps. One helpful advice is to leave out your products or service's price in the headline if you command a big price tag.

I have seen most headlines failed simply because the sellers do not understand the importance of creating an attractive headline. The other tip is to call for action in the headline. If you do not do this, chances are the members will forget about your listing while shopping around. One great example is to indicate that your offer is valid for today only. This type of headline will attract more clicks than normal listing.

The second step is to offer initial discount for the first few takers. This is especially critical if you are selling at a higher price. By offering discounts, people will tend to take up your offers sooner. You can also try selling in an auction format with a low starting bid to encourage sales. You can start off by offering as high as 50% discount to the first ten buyers.

Even after utilizing the above two steps, most sellers will still find it difficult to attract sales. The reason is because of their credentials. One solution to resolve this issue is to offer free review copies to the senior forum members. Their positive reviews will absolutely help your product or service. However, you must be aware that most senior forum members will post honest reviews, meaning that it may affect your listing negatively if you do not offer a good product or service.

To conclude, most forum members will not purchase a product or service from a very new forum member and the only way is to boost up your credentials or by helping the other members one way or another.

Affiliate Marketing - 3 Critical Mistakes You Should Avoid To Succeed In Affiliate Marketing by Himanshu Joshi

Affiliate marketing is a concept that has been around in the webs for quite some time now. However there are lots of people who are ignorant to the facts of affiliate marketing and tend to think that affiliate marketing can be used for making quick money. However in reality, this is not the case.

The first thing people have to realize is that affiliate marketing is not a one-day task. It is more like an on going assignment where modifications have to be constantly made on the advertisement to ensure increased sales. You will have to try out different advertising techniques; different means of adding affiliate banners and text links to the site and maybe even join different affiliate programs to find out which affiliate program tends to perform the best. In other words, realizing that lots of trial and error is involved in affiliate marketing will help you succeed in affiliate marketing.

Second mistake most affiliates make is of having a list of about 20 affiliated banners on a single page of their site. In such situations, though most people will see the web page, they won't bother clicking on the banners and thus visit the affiliated sites as your web page looks more like a link farm to them. It is instead better to only add affiliate links or banners that have relevance to the information found on your web page. Place about three affiliate links on your web page, and you have a better chance of your visitors clicking on the links to reach the seller's web page.

Third reason people fail in affiliate marketing is insufficient advertising. There is no way you can expect sales if you just add affiliate material to your site and don?t have any traffic to your site. You have to directly advertise the affiliate links or perhaps add the affiliate links to your website to succeed in affiliate marketing. With SEO, you can improve the page rank of your website, and with this, there is an increased traffic flow to your website. Once there is an increase in traffic to your site, the higher is the number of clickthrus your affiliate links receive. This in turn leads to an increased possibility of sales, and thus you earning money through affiliate marketing.

The Nature of the Wholesale Trade Industry by Gunaseelan

Most of us normally buy everyday goods and necessities from superstores, and other retail outlets. Superstores, gas stations, department stores, different branded products, are some examples of retail outlets. These are called retail outlets because they sell products at retail price, and not wholesale price, meaning, that they keep a certain significant percentage of the selling price as their own profit.

Now, where do these retailers buy their goods from? Naturally, they buy it from wholesalers. Many times, offices and universities also buy goods from wholesalers. This is because they need stationary and other supplies in large quantities, and the best option for them is to buy from wholesalers.

The wholesale trade industry has different sizes and scopes. This is because wholesale products are not limited to a certain item; rather, they apply to almost all the products sold in the world. They sell any and every type of good. Companies which manufacture products may buy their raw materials from wholesalers, for example, a textile production company may buy cotton from one wholesaler, and dye from another. Many times, schools, universities, and offices buy items which are used in abundance in the normal course of their operation, such as stationary, furniture, and so on. Similarly, a departmental store may buy clothing, crockery, and other items in wholesale, and then resell at retail. Wholesale traders may sell one particular item, from one manufacturer, or a particular item from different manufacturers. They may also sell different items from one manufacturer, and different items from different manufacturers. Some wholesalers sell only a narrow range of commodities, such as very specific machine tools; while others sell a wide-ranging goods, such as all the equipment essential to open a new store, including shelving, light fixtures, wallpaper, floor coverings, signs, cash registers, accounting ledgers, and perhaps even some merchandise for resale.

Wholesale trade firms play an extremely vital role in the improvement of economy. They act as the intermediary in the relations between the manufacturing party, and the final customers. The manufacturers sell their product to the wholesalers, who in turn sell to the retailers. Thus, the manufacturer does not need to keep contacts with the different customers; this is taken care of by the wholesaler. They provide services such as customer service, order processing, and technical support, and therefore support the manufacturers. Since they are wholesalers, they usually have warehouses and storerooms where they can keep the products until the customer acquires them. Because of these warehouses, the manufacturers can produce their goods in large quantities, and have the wholesalers store them, and the customer can buy goods in bulk as needed. This means they may store goods that neither manufacturers nor retailers can store until consumers require them. In so doing, they fill numerous positions of the economy. They provide businesses a nearby source of goods made by many different manufacturers; they provide manufacturers with a controllable number of customers, while permitting their goods to reach a huge number of users.

The Role of the Wholesale Distributor by Gunaseelan

Only the manufacturers and the retailers know the real importance of the role which the wholesale distributor plays in the whole process of creating the good, and then selling it to the customer. Therefore, it is understood that neither the manufacturer, nor the reseller, or retailer can survive without them.

Now what exactly is it that the wholesale distributor does, which makes them so important in the whole lifecycle of product creation and selling? Simple: They act as the middle party. They buy from the manufacturer, at the lowest price possible, and they resell to the retailer or reseller at a profit, who then sell products at a higher profit. For example, let's take a can of motor oil. It is manufactured, and then packaged. Then it sold to the resellers who sell it at a profit. Te key player between the manufacturer and the reseller is the wholesaler. They move the product from the manufacturer to the customer. The merchant wholesale distributor will buy the product from the manufacturer, and then store it in warehouses. When needed, (from time to time) the wholesaler will sell the product to the reseller or use it for himself.

According to U.S. Industry and Trade Outlook, published by The McGraw-Hill Companies and the U.S. Department of Commerce/International Trade Administration, wholesale trade includes establishments that sell products to retailers, merchants, contractors and/or industrial, institutional and commercial users. Wholesale distribution firms, which sell both durable goods (furniture, office equipment, industrial supplies and other goods that can be used repeatedly) and nondurable goods (printing and writing paper, groceries, chemicals and periodicals), don't sell to ultimate household consumers.

Products exist in all shapes, sizes, forms, and types. Anything and everything around us is some sort of product. This indicates that there is a lot of room for growth in this area. As a wholesale distributor, you will perhaps run a separately possessed and operated organization that purchases and puts up for sale products of which you have taken ownership. Normally, such operations are run from one or more warehouses where stocked goods are received and afterwards transported to clientele.

Therefore, as a wholesale distributor, you will be buying goods, but will be selling them as a profit. Put this way, it seems like that is pretty much the same thing which a retailed would do. However, the difference is that a wholesaler does not contact the customer; rather he/she contacts other businesses. Therefore, the wholesale distributor works in a business to business realm, by selling to resellers and possibly other wholesale dealers too. However, this is the traditional definition of a wholesaler. There are many distributors who open for certain hours to serve the general public, so that they too get a chance to buy products at a lower price, i.e. wholesale price, and not retail price. However, in such cases, the public may have to buy products in bulk, and not in selective quantities, like they may do so at resellers. However, the traditional wholesale distributor is still the one who buys "from the source" and sells to a reseller.

Where to Buy Wholesale Merchandize From by Gunaseelan

Of course, every business, office, university, and college needs to buy wholesale products. It may be simple stationary, or it may be a variety of things. It may be a department store buying wholesale products to resell, or it may be you, yourself, who may want to shop for wholesale products.

The only problem is where to locate a wholesaler? Where to buy that certain item you need? How do you find the wholesaler who will offer you the perfect price? If you are a business who needs to buy items from a wholesaler, then it is best that you find the trader who offers products in the price range which suits you.

The first thing you can do is to try visiting a competitor, who sells the same product line as the one which you want to put on the market. Make note of their prices, and the brands which they carry. You may also try to visit some of the online stores, and make note of the product prices, delivery charges, and so on. Then try to find out where the products are bought from. Usually, wholesalers are well known, and they offer their services to a variety of clientele.

A trade show is one of the best places for a retail business to buy wholesale products. Wholesalers will put up many different products in trade shows. To find out about the different trade shows in your area, try looking through the internet. Open your favorite search engine, and search for tradeshows. Look through the ones which are coming up in your area. However, normally, tradeshows are not normally open for the public, so your company will have to show suitable proof, such as business cards, or a resale certificate to be permitted to attend the tradeshow. If you have such a permit most wholesale merchants will sell to you, although they may entail you to purchase a minimum amount in order to get the lower prices. If you resell or try to resell the items you have acquired or resell something made from the items you purchased, you will qualify as a legitimate business. You may have to do a little research on fees, taxes, and other legal requirements to see if it is a cost efficient direction for you to pursue.

The ideal place to look for wholesale traders is the telephone book. The yellow and white pages will have a complete listing of the wholesalers in a certain area. You may also want to try to join different forums and groups on the internet. There are many discussion forums where useful information about the different wholesalers can be found.

The initial steps are difficult for all businesses to open. It might be difficult to find the right wholesaler initially, but once your business has opened, and you are running the whole thing successfully, then you will see that wholesalers and distributors will come up to you and your management themselves, and offer you the goods they have for sale.

Where to Buy Wholesale Products by Gunaseelan

When you buy retail, you are usually paying more than the worth of the item. This is because retailers have to gain profit, and thus they add their profit margin to the wholesale price of the product, and so sell products at a profit. Even when one tends to buy things on sale, and at a discount, the retailers do make a profit, although it is minimized because of the discount offers. However, the best way to save money is to buy wholesale. One can definitely beat even the lowest prices which the retailers have to offer by buying wholesale.

But where do you find a wholesaler? Following are several areas which one can explore:

1. Look through the yellow and white pages, i.e. the phonebook! Flip the pages until you reach the business section, and then search through the category of the product you want, until you find a wholesaler or wholesale business which deals in that product. For example, let's say you want the wholesaler for shampoos. Then search until you find a wholesaler which deals in cosmetics, and particularly daily utilities. Contact them, and ask about the different deals, and the timings which allow the general public to buy from them.

2. Use the Internet!! The internet is the best place to start. There are different forums and discussion platforms where people share ideas and different shopping strategies which benefit the general public. Find a discussion platform where people openly discuss wholesalers, and the best place to buy wholesale items for different products.

3. If you are buying items for your house, such as furniture, building supplies, flooring, wallpaper, and so on, one can always try to pull some contacts. Meaning, there may be a chance that one of your friends, colleagues, and/or family members can refer you to a sub-contractor who can give you a good price on such items. It never hurts to try!

4. There are different wholesale markets held from time to time in parts of cities, or near cities. If you know of such a market, then you can call up the organizing committee, or the managing authority, and have them give you an update as to when the next wholesale market will be held, and if it will be open for the general public. Such markets are ideal places to buy jewelry, and other personal items.

5. You can also try checking through the newspaper. There are several classified advertisements which mention timings and locations of manufacturer's representatives selling samples of their product at low prices. These classified ads are normally for clothes, carpets and rugs, art work, accessories, jewelry, and so on.

6. Wait! Don't blindly trust the wholesaler! It always helps to know the retail prices of items you wish to buy wholesale. It also helps if you are in the position to compare the prices of different wholesalers, because there may be times when even the slightest variation in price would save you several dollars; especially if you're buying a lot of things in bulk!

Wholesale Suppliers Directory by Gunaseelan

A wholesale supplier directory is the best source to get information about the wholesale suppliers around the globe. Wholesale supplier directory can offer you the best information of he best suppliers. You can deal with these suppliers to save you valuable time and money. And above all you are given a choice to select any supplier any where in the world. You are provided with comprehensive information of all the suppliers. This could open up new horizons for your businesses and for yourself.

While starting your new retail business, it may be very difficult for you to find out good suppliers on whom you can trust. Finding a perfect supplier for your business could become a bottleneck in starting your business. You may lose an opportunity because of loss of some valuable time. This a daunting task which is time consuming and affects your business in lots of ways.

But you don't need to worry. If you are smart enough, there is a pretty good solution for your problems. A good wholesale supplier directory could be very helpful to you. You can save your time and effort and can get accurate information instantly.

Now you must be wondering that how could you do this all and how could you get such an extensive information by sitting in home. So, the solution is very obvious, world wide web. Browse through the internet. Visit a few websites and you will be amazed that how much information you can get through these webites. These websites offer a lot of free information which is also very user friendly .

A wholesale supplier directory can offer you links to a lot of suppliers. These are listed in the directory and you can get the contact information and all the products they are selling.

Most of the suppliers are genuine, some of them are authenticated by some kind of authority. But you need to verify the authenticity by yourself for your satisfaction. One thing that is considered best is that you can establish durable and good contacts with best of the suppliers existing in the industry. Supplier directory could certainly be a turning point in to your business. You can develop long term contacts with the best suppliers. So you need not to worry about the delays that are caused by bad suppliers and that could effect your business in many ways.

Obviously this is the easiest and most effective way of find best suppliers of the products with which you are concerned, but sometimes the easiest ways have their shortcomings. The biggest problem is that over the internet you do not know who is on the other side of the screen with whom you are dealing with. So you need to be very careful while dealing with the unknown suppliers.

Verify the suppliers with an some reliable authority before venturing into a deal with these suppliers. Find out whether the website, wholesale suppliers directory or he supplier is reputed and whether any sort of complaints have been filed against the company.

The Impact Of Niche Marketing by Wonder Nyatanga

Marketing a home business is a lot of work. One way to make things easier is to try niche marketing. Niche marketing is about finding a very specialized market to sell your products to.

There is a lot of competition in business. With so many businesses now going online, the competition is even more fierce. That is why so many business owners use niche marketing.

Niche marketing is a specialized technique of marketing where a business finds a small segment of the market that is highly focused and they advertise to this segment.

A niche market is more than a target market because it includes some very specified characteristics. More than just a general area of the market, it focuses on a smaller segment of the market.

When finding a niche market a business owner has to find the characteristics of their niche market. The niche market should have certain qualifications. It needs to have a very specialized need.

A niche market needs to be easily defined. All the people in the niche market need to be similar. They should be in the same general financial bracket and with the same general needs.

When compared to a larger market, a niche market is going to be able to be clearly defined. The niche market will have a specified need for the product. It will include people that are similar and it will allow a business owner to produce targeted marketing and avoid heavy competition.

Niche marketing is a very important aspect of marketing a business. It will give focus to a marketing campaign and it will allow a business owner to advertise to the people who are the most likely to buy their product. It can really help a business owner to get their business off on the road to success.

5 Top Tips to Allow You to Unleash The Power of Publicity. by Hamish Jones

A must for any successful business owner, that is often forgotten is the power of publicity. Publicity is much more valuable than advertising and, best of all, it is much cheaper than advertising (often free). This article offers you five top tips for unleashing the power of publicity, allowing you to exponentially grow your business.

* Become Newsworthy- The best way to get the media to notice you is to become newsworthy. You may think that you have the greatest products or services in the world, but that doesn't mean that your product is newsworthy. To gain publicity, you need to find an angle to reel in the journalists. For example, journalists like feel good stories that are personal.

* Become and Active Community Member- Volunteer in the community, go to public forums and write letters to the editor, especially if these things can be in any way related to your business. This can help get your name in front of the media and your prospective customers. Groups such as Chambers of Commerce and Rotary Groups can e great community organisations to get involved in.

* Branding- Stick a sticker on your car, and wear company tshirts. Make sure they have your company name and website. * Don't forget the internet- Many businesses, especially offline, have a website, but do not fully utilize their website. There are a variety of tools online that can be used freely or cheaply to boost your sales through publicity. You can optimize your site for organic results through search engines, and you can engage in one-to-one communication through blogs and forums. Forums can be a great way to make friends and business partners. It's like business networking online.

* Offer Freely of Yourself- If you are confident in your product or service, offer free quotes and estimates, freely answer the phone and make yourself available. Offering of yourself freely allows you to develop closer business relationships with your customers and partner's, whilst also making it easier for them to refer people to you as they see you give freely of yourself.

What Julia Roberts Taught Me About Email Marketing by Amin Motin

Now, I just know that a title like that has to raise some questions. I mean, Julia Roberts is an actress, isn't she?

So what lessons can she teach us on how to make more money on the internet? Well, before I get into that let me tell you a story that will help you to understand.

I watched a family comedy this evening. The opening scenes were of a young woman - not an actress I know - but there was something about her that was eerily familiar. Then I realized that she was virtually the twin of Julia Roberts, but a blonde version.

Now I happen to love Julia Roberts - she's a great actress and I always enjoy her films. And let's be honest, she's very pretty. So when I saw what looked like her blonde twin I immediately felt that I would enjoy the film.

That's not actually logical, because I've never seen this actress before, but my emotional response was exactly the same as if it had been Julia Roberts. I guess, if you want an explanation, that the part of my brain that recognizes faces kicked in and sent a message to my anticipation center that Julia Roberts was in the house - so to speak.

When the actress spoke she also sounded like Julia Roberts so that made the connection even more realistic. In the end I had a very good time watching the film, it was thoroughly enjoyable and a good time was had by all the family.

At the end of the film I got to thinking how really good marketers use the same phenomenon to make more sales. Let me explain...

If John Doe comes to you with a sales pitch, you will view him with some degree of neutrality, or possibly even negativity, because you don't know him. But if a member of your family recommends something enthusiastically, you tend to listen with an open and receptive mind. The issue of trust has already been established.

The very best marketers know that it's cheaper to sell to your existing customers than it is to acquire new ones. Why is that? Well, you already have a relationship with them, based on some degree of trust. They parted with their money and you provided them with a product, or service. If you did a good job of that - and you should - then they'll be more inclined to listen to you the next time you have something to say.

That's also one of the reasons you see so many marketers all pushing the latest product launch for someone else. I may not have a relationship with Mike Filsaime, for example, but I probably do with one of the many affiliates he has. If someone known to me promotes the offer, I am far more likely to pay some attention even if I'm not really interested.

So by using the existing connections of their affiliates - 'friend of a friend' - the big marketers can maximize their sales dramatically.

What about the small marketer? You may not have huge numbers of customers. But you can keep building your list AND make sure you contact your existing customers regularly, preferably with some information of value. That way, when you do promote a product, they'll be more likely to consider the offer because they will have a feeling for what you're all about.

Pretty much the same way I felt about an unknown actress who made me think of Julia Roberts.

"It's cheaper to market to an existing customer than to capture a new one."

It's one of the oldest pieces of advice in the book, but my experience is that businesses generally do not put enough time into exploring the value of their current customer base.

And if you do only have a few people on your list you can and should still market to them. You're likely to get more sales than you would by approaching the same number of strangers, aren't you?

And that's what visitors to your website are the first time they visit - strangers.

So it really does pay to maintain your relationship with your existing customers because they are, without exception, your best business asset. Protect them as you would money in the bank.

Because that's what they'll be putting in your bank account, if you treat them right.

Five Focused Questions To Energize Your Marketing by Lisa Nirell

In 2001, I was in charge of the worldwide account team who called on Microsoft, and was preparing for my first presentation to 18 top executives at their Redmond headquarters office.

This was the biggest account of my 20 year consulting career. Even though I was fully prepared for that presentation, I walked out of that meeting feeling that something was wrong.

That's because most of these people hardly knew our company--we had NO credibility with them--we had not yet earned the right to tell them about how they were ineffectively investing their dollars with us!

Within two days, the Microsoft executives asked my boss to fire me from the account. And he did.

What I realized in that moment was that I HAD to change my life and my business focus QUICKLY. I needed to view "marketing" in a whole new way.

Not only the marketing of our $11M business--but the marketing plan for my life.

As a result of this "career defining moment," I resigned, launched my new business, and was profitable - all within 90 days.

Ever since that time, I have been compelled to share these five key questions that minimize similar marketing and planning mistakes for other seasoned professional services firms.

When you regularly ask these questions, you will attract more enjoyable clients, build dedicated teams, and, most importantly, you will be energized.

1. What percentage of our team can clearly explain what we do? How many can recite our company's "elevator statement" from memory? In the last 2 years, I spoke to over 17,000 business owners. And I did an informal survey. I asked them: "If you walked casually around your office and asked your team 'in 30 seconds or less, what do we do?, what percentage would answer that question CORRECTLY and CONSISTENTLY? What do you think I heard?

The honest people responded with "10%." Imagine the untapped potential in the 90% of your team!

Alan Weiss, author of "Million Dollar Consulting" and 17 other business best sellers, reminds us that "Language controls discussion, discussion controls the relationship, and relationship controls the business." A strong, clear description of what you do that takes 30 seconds or less is your gateway to a meaningful discussion. In the action groups we lead, we call it your "audio logo."

2. What are our top three lead generation methods? How well have we documented these plans in our company?

According to a $1M study by the New Client Marketing Institute, the five most effective methods are, from least to most effective, are:

5. Networking 4. Community and civic involvement 3. How-to articles in client-oriented press 2. Speeches at client industry meetings 1. Small-scale seminars

If you are a professional services firm, think about what methods you are using. If you are investing thousands in brochures, advertising, and expensive client appreciation luncheons, you are probably wasting money.

3. How effectively have we defined and aligned our selling and marketing systems?

Many small businesses treat marketing planning as an art form. Worse yet, they abdicate the responsibility to an outside firm.

Here's an example: One of our community banking clients wasted $60,000 on advertising to keep up with their competitors. They saw no results. After they started working with our team, they cancelled several ad contracts and diverted those funds towards defining a marketing system. Their managers were lacking any process that would later become their common approach to attracting profitable clients. Within just 60 days, their confidence and clarity about whom they serve soared.

You are responsible for defining your marketing communication and sales process. Period. Outside marketing firms should teach you how to fish--not drop you off at the dock and take over the helm! Leave the outsourcing for your IT support and bookkeeping.

The clarity and quality of your lead generation, sales and service approach dictate your sales success - or failure. When you align these activities, selling becomes A LOT easier, marketing becomes more enjoyable, and the buyer feels more confident about what you do.

4. What thoughts stop us from attracting all the business we want?

There are two major roadblocks to growth in an entrepreneurial venture----lack of planning, and our limiting thoughts. The most COMMON limiting thoughts I hear from seasoned professionals are:

* Marketing is tacky, and I'm a (CPA, engineer, attorney, etc.)...I can't do that. "I tried that 8 years ago and THAT WON'T WORK!" "Marketing/Planning is for people who aren't busy enough." "Marketing is too expensive." "My services are too hard to explain." (in other words, "I'm too arrogant to explain what we do.") "When I obtain this other advanced degree/certification, then I'll be ready to market." (affectionately called the "I'm not smart enough yet" mindset)

When working with clients, we use Byron Katie's process to help their plan succeed. Go to www.thework.com to learn how to break yourself free from limiting thoughts about marketing.

In addition, Sharon Begley's new best selling book, "Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain" supports the importance of conditioning our thoughts. Dozens of new, cutting edge scientific studies prove that our marketing mindset defines our marketing reality.

5. What daily rituals help me to stay focused and energized?

Jeld-Wen Development, Inc. is a model company practicing healthy company rituals. According to CEO Jerry Andres, "Our ongoing management meetings are guided by the culture we have created. Our values and our culture enable us to be the first choice of customers seeking the highest value in real estate and service."

Jeld-Wen Development has achieved their profitability targets for several consecutive quarters because they do not waiver from their company celebrations and cultural norms. They continue to command market share - even in a highly competitive, declining real estate market.

You have now learned the Five Focused Questions™ to help you identify business energy drainers. What will you do differently now to transform your next 'career-defining' client meeting?

Internet Success Is In The Numbers by Steve Peck

A key to success in any business is in the numbers. Maybe that's why there are so many accountants! Why?

Your numbers give you a concise and predictable roadmap to follow as you grow and expand your internet business. Some people call these their gauges, just like the ones a pilot uses to navigate. The pilot uses his gauges to see if he's on course and to make corrections if the plane starts to get off course. What happens if his gauges don't work.... the pilot gets lost or even my crash and burn. These numbers must be important.

What does this mean to internet marketing success? Knowing your exact conversion statistics gives you a guide or a set of gauges for your business. As you check your gauges, you'll be able to tell if you are on course. More importantly, if you start to get off course you'll be able to tell where you need to make adjustments or refinements. Is it your ad? Is it the place your ad is running? Is it your sales message?

Now if you are also looking for MLM internet success, the value goes even higher. Just think, once you've plotted a course. Have the gauges to see if you are on track, and can share this with your team. What do they have? Of course, they now have a course to follow with predictable results. And with the gauges, if they aren't getting the results you and others are getting...you have a tool to help them pin point what to adjust in their efforts for there internet success too.

In my own off line, traditional MLM business I had gauges and statistics. One of my biggest hang-ups from the days when I was less than successful was not knowing the conversion figures of my business, and to tell you the truth, when you spend your time calling leads or personally interacting with your prospects early on, it's hard to even keep track of how reliable your figures are because you as a rep directly influence them. You or the Person involved was personally a big part of the system and the results. If you are great on the phone and others aren't, they won't get the same results. The system wasn't really duplicateable. Results weren't predictable once you got to the step where the person became a part of the system.

This is why I am such a large proponent for internet network marketing. Internet Success still requires effort but the results are more predictable. The figures never change and they never lie because the system does the selling NOT you.

I can confidently tell my team if they can generate 100 leads in the course of a month they will at least recruit 5 new team members into their business. I know this because the numbers say.

Just knowing your sign up conversion ratio is just the beginning. * Do you know your retention rate? * Do you know what percentage of people upgrade to the premium level in your business? * Do you know how many people go out and duplicate your results?

If you don't, stop now and take the time to find out. Once you know your numbers a clearly defined path to your own Internet success will show itself to you. Then all that's left for you to do is put it to work for you!

Steve Peck

Embrace Your Automaton by Brandan Collins

Many people can and have made a few dollars online or in the offline network marketing world. However, many people do not make the really big money. It's not that difficult, it's about applying the two best friends you can ever have, that is the leverage known as duplication and automation.

Anyone who does any form of network marketing knows all about leverage, after all that's what building your downline is all about. Even though they know they need more people there is a tendency among many network marketers to ignore the additional leverage afforded them by duplication. In this instance duplication doesn't just mean teaching your downline then marketing system, but it means keeping track of every effort you make, keeping track of which ones produce results and duplicating those effort as often as possible. This means getting your downline to duplicate these efforts as well.

When attempting to duplicate successful efforts you must first start by meticulously documenting your every effort. You most know which media did you use, phone, text ad, online ad, email ad, flyer or business card. Where did you use it, which newspaper, parking lot, forum or networking event. Who was your target audience old, young, male, female, affluent or not. What day of the week was it. What time was it. What was the weather like, I'm not kidding everything withing reason you can thing of applies here.

Next you need to figure out not just how many positive results you have had, but how much did each result COST you. Getting 100 positive results is not so great if it costs you $2,000 a piece and you know your lifetime payback is only going to be $500. That's not good roi. However if you get 100 positive results and it only cost you $2.50 you should be one happy camper.

After you have done the research and figured out what works for your business you need to automate it. Automation does NOT mean spending 23.5 hours of every day with a computer screen in front of you and a headset jammed in your ear. If you spend that much time doing something it doesn't qualify as automation in our sense. Automation is a form of leverage, it is TIME leverage.

You can get automated and leverage your time by using a PC and PC based programs to machine automate some tasks, by using pre-printed materials, sales copy that is known to work for instance instead of writing your own. You can also get automated by outsourcing to people at reasonable rate of course those things you don't have to do personally. Don't print out 25,000 mailers and lug them to the post office if you can find a print shop or high school student who can do this cheaply for you.

Spend your time doing the things that are most effective at getting positive results for you. In the MLM world this means those things that grow your downline. If you find what works and duplicate, then you automate yourself to free yourself from mundane tasks you will have unleashed some potent leverage. If you duplicate and automated you will have embraced the successful network marketing machine, the leverage automaton.

One last word these concepts like so many others in the marketing world are powerful, but they only work to full effect if you apply them liberally and consistently.

What do you do when your engine or outboard motor stops or will not start on your boat? by Kristy Bateman

You are out for a nice day of fishing or boating, and your engine stops. Wouldn't you like to know how to fix the problem, or not have to call a mechanic? After you have checked to the gas gauge and the battery and discovered that they are not the cause of the problem, there are a few more places to check:

Did your engine overheat? Check to see if something is blocking the water intake. If so, remove it and give the engine time to cool down before restarting it.

Are the spark plug wires cracked? These can short out when there is too much moisture in the air. If these are cracked, cover all of the wires with duct tape. This will keep the moisture out, and prevent further damage to the cables.

Did the water or fuel hose break or slip off. If the spare hose you have is too small, place one end in boiling water to stretch it over the fitting. If the spare is too big, cut it lengthwise, and fit it inside the other hose making the opening smaller.

Is the oil gasket leaking? If you are pumping oil through a leaky gasket, and don't have a spare, you can use your marine chart. Trace the old gasket on the chart and cut it out. You may use more chart for desired thickness.

Because you never know when something can give out, or go wrong; you should always carry spare parts with you on the boat. Some quick fix-it parts that may come in handy are: small tools, duct tape, light bulbs, batteries, hose, gaskets and a one-size-fits-all drive belt.

Brand Identity by Scott White

Developing a strong brand identity is the most important thing any company can do to develop its brand. It cannot get any simpler than that. Most organizations fail miserably at this very basic task though. Brand identity is how you want your company or products to be perceived. If you get this wrong it could lead to big time problems later in your brand image. So how does a company build its brand identity?

Start with performing some branding research. When was the last time you went out to customers, prospects and past clients and asked them what they thought of your industry? Do you really know what clients desires are? What about what they do not want? Do you know where they go first to find a company like yours? Are they going to the internet and doing searches or finding you in a trade publication?

Now you need to perform that same research internally with key employees. What do they think? How do they perceive the company? Is this in line with what you want your brand identity to be? Do you even have a clear identity? Do your employees know your brand promise? Is there a brand promise? Do you have a value proposition? Do they know what it is? If you have answered no to any of these questions you will need help!

Okay, so your research is done and you know what you want your identity to be. What do you do next? We recommend establishing a new positioning with that identity. If Volvo the automobile equals safety and Apple computer equals creativity what do you want to equal? It should be very clear and easy.

What are the next steps? Start with developing strategies and tactics that will leverage that new brand identity and positioning. They should all tie back to corporate objectives. Avoid wasting money on reactive marketing that gets you know where and wastes your marketing budget. Some of the tactics may include search engine optimization, direct mail, advertising, banner ads, e-newsletters, e-mail marketing, trade shows and much more.

It is imperative to choose the tactics that will benefit you the most. Do not waste money on advertising if you are only going to place two ads for the year. It will not work. Instead invest in tactics that will give you more bang for your buck like search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is a great way to build brand identity and increase sales.

What Do You Put In Your eMail Follow up System - Without Writing a Word by Steve Peck

You are reading this because you want to be a successful internet marketer. You know you can harness the power that is just sitting there on your desk but are not sure how. You have even heard about capturing leads, building a list and all that. Lets assume you have that part figured out - now all you need is an effective email follow up system.

Yeah right! Where do you even start? I know for me I struggled with high school English. This stops most people from setting up their own email follow up system. They have absolutely no idea what to write. Here is a high powered email follow up system you can set up WITHOUT writing a single word.

I like to keep things as simple as possible. Let me lay out the steps exactly as I performed them myself while setting up my own online network marketing follow up system.

First before you can set up a follow up series you need an auto responder. There are plenty out there to choose from or you can even have one on your own web site with a little cgi code. (This may be free from your hosting company.)

Do not waste time coming up with my own messages instead leverage the information that you have available Namely your organizations sales letter! All I did and all do to create a follow up series of messages to exposed my prospects to my business over multiple interactions is I take my companys sales letter and just chop it up into little chunks.

What do I mean? Here is a sample sales letter . . . (you will want to use one specific for your business) http://www.DigitalSuccess.org

Just take small sections of the sales letter and create a message for your follow up series and then move to the next section and do it again and again until you run out of sales letter to do this with.

Pretty simple right?

Now you have the secret to creating follow up messages without having to write a single word. Use this information to take your network marketing organizations growth to the next level.